2016 will turn out to be a very important year for Google because, for the first time in many years, it successfully ventured into another segment in the technology industry with the release of its Pixel smartphones. While consumers welcome a new major player in the smartphone business dominated by Apple and Samsung, there's another device that everyone expects to be launched right before the end of the year — the new version of the Google Nexus 7 tablet.

The previous iteration of the Google Nexus 7 was released in 2013 and was built by ASUS. This time, there has been a lot of talks about which company Google will tap to build the next-generation device. According to Mobile & Apps, HTC could very well be given the opportunity to take responsibility for the development of the tablet device after rumors that Google and the original company slated to work on the Pixel smartphones, Huawei, had some disagreements about how to market them. Although Huawei made it clear that it still is open to working with the American search engine giant, it's not clear if Google will want them to build the Nexus 7.

Back in October, everyone was under the impression that the device would be officially announced and unveiled by Google, but it didn't materialize; and since there only are a few weeks left before the end of the year, it is highly unlikely that consumers can get their hands on the new Nexus 7 as a Christmas present. Considering that there still are no photo leaks or concrete specs details, it's a long shot to expect that it will be released early next year.

Anyhow, it's not as if there aren't speculations as to what the device could be offering. As far as hardware is concerned, the obvious retention is the 7-inch screen, but this time, it is anticipated to be equipped with a quad high-definition display. Random access memory should be at least 4 GB, while internal storage starts at 64 GB, excluding the prospect of expansion via a memory card slot.

But the most intriguing prospect of all is the reported use of the Andromeda mobile operating system, which online reports describe as the combination of Google's own Chrome and Android operating systems.