Nexus 8 rumors, release date: Specs of the upcoming 8.9-inch device by Google has been making rounds lately, initially many predicted it’s 8-inch in size. New speculations and rumors suggest that it will be manufactured by HTC. It may be launch end of 2014.

“Volume production is expected to start in July or August,” Rhoda Alexander, director of tablet and monitor research at IHS Technology told CNET in an email.

“The expectation is [that] this will be a lower volume product, carrying a premium price tag to support specifications.”

Predicted specs of the Nexus 8 include the all new Android 4.5, which many speculates will arrive by July 2014 and will be used to power the Nexus 8 device out of the box. The reportedly HTC-made device is also expected to feature a 64-bit processor that will rival Apple’s A7 chip. The processor has been rumored to be the upcoming Snapdragon 805 processor. A recent report has indicated that the size of the Nexus 8 will be 8.9-inches and it may have a 2K display resolution.

The Snapdragon processor will run the eight cores through four Cortex A53 CPUs and ARM Cortex-A57 CPUs. ARM’s configuration system will be controlling the system, making it possible to do scalable tweaks. Companies using the new chipset can fine tune the performance of the device.

In terms of pricing, there’s no solid estimate, but Alexander said that she “would not be surprised if it is higher than $299.”

In a report by the International Business Times, it noted that many consider the Nexus 7 series a success. The move to possibly kill the line is based on the fact that the 8-inch market for tablets has yet to be saturated. All the news surrounding the upcoming Nexus 8 device though are still rumors and will only be made official after a Google announcement.

Similar to what Apple has done traditionally, Google has been very secretive on its future releases and does not comment on devices in-development. Rumor on the Nexus 8 began when Google Android showed a picture of a female model holding a device that is slightly bigger than the Nexus 7. After news and speculations were published online about the image, Google pulled out the picture.