Google Nexus 8 release date could be delayed until the fourth quarter of this year.

According to Motoring Crunch, Google Nexus 8 will arrive in Q4 2014 as the production of the device will start in August. It was initially reported that the tablet will arrive at the I/O Conference next month.

Many Google fans were shocked when reliable tipster @evleaks tweeted that the search engine giant will not be making the successor of Google Nexus 5. However, this is not the case with the alleged Nexus 8 tablet, which is rumored to come this year.

The 8-inch Google tablet is expected to battle head on with Apple's tablet – iPad Mini with Retina display. Both iPad Air and iPad Mini with Retina display are doing very well in the market and are dominating the tablet market. The Nexus 8 tablet will pack an 8-inch panel and will replace the current Nexus 7 line. Reports stated that Google may gain more profits in the 8-inch market due to lesser competition.

Previous reports claimed that Taiwanese manufacturer HTC will take the helm in making the Nexus 8 tablet. HTC does not have a stellar record in the tablet market. However, Google is known for giving third party manufacturers a big break to prove their worth like what it did with Asus and LG. Now, the two companies were enjoying followers with their devices since their partnership with Google.

Latest rumors claimed that Nexus 8 tablet will no longer pack a Qualcomm processor. Instead, the 8-inch slab will get an Intel processor or the new Atom-based Moorefield chipset, to be specific. It is also most likely that the tablet will run with the upcoming Android 4.5 Lollipop OS. Google Nexus 8 was rumored to come with a slightly expensive price tag due to the high end specs and features. However, this price increase will not be a major jump from the average pricing of other tablets.