HTC will indeed be making a 9-inch tablet for the Google Nexus program, according to a new report.
There have been numerous rumours over the so-called HTC Nexus 8 or Nexus 9 tablet for some months now.
Now, the Wall Street Journal has confirmed with its own sources that the Taiwanese manufacturer is indeed making a tablet for Google.
According to those people familiar with the matter, HTC engineers have been flying out to Google's Mountain View HQ in recent months in order to work on the Nexus 9 project.
As the report points out, HTC is a somewhat unusual choice of partner on Google's next tablet. While the company has a track record of making high quality smartphone handsets, its one tablet launch - the HTC Flyer in 2011 - was a commercial disaster.
That being said, such a choice would reflect Google's efforts to work with a range of manufacturers for the production of its Nexus devices. Both the Nexus 4 and Nexus 5 were made with LG, the Nexus 10 with Samsung, and both generations of the Nexus 7 were built by Asus.
The report also speculates that Google might be keen to give HTC a boost in order to fight back Samsung's near-monopoly of the Android platform. While HTC continues to build some of the best Android hardware, it also continues to underwhelm at retail., with its own distribution and advertising resources dwarfed by the South Korean manufacturer.
A couple of weeks ago, Nvidia leaked the existence of the Nexus 9, which will apparently be powered by the company's potent K1 processor. More recently, it's been suggested that HTC's October 8 event could see the launch of the Nexus 9.
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