Normally, most of the product rumors come out before a company’s big announcement, which is why I was half expecting an updated ASUS Nexus 7 with a high-resolution display from Google I/O on Wednesday. Sadly, though, Google didn’t release any new Nexus devices, and instead showed off a stock Samsung Galaxy S4 and spent the rest of the time on mostly software products like the new Hangouts.
While the new Hangouts service is still more of a work in progress than a polished product, one of Google’s promotional videos for the service revealed something potentially interesting about the Nexus 7. In the video, a tablet looking almost exactly like the current Nexus 7 is shown, except this version has a notification light much like the one on the LG Nexus 4. This certainly isn’t a conclusive indication, but it doesn’t seem likely that Google would opt to photoshop a feature onto its tablet that isn’t really there.
Then again, the Nexus 4 used in the video is held upside down, and appears to be running the older Android Ice Cream Sandwich. As a result, it is quite possible that what appears to be an updated Nexus 7 in the film is just a fluke. Of course, I still think Google might update the Nexus 7 about a year after its release (July 13, 2012, for those who are curious), so I’m currently hoping that it could be released with Android 4.3 and the white Nexus 4.
[Reddit]
