It has been several years since Google's latest tablet and fans are still patiently waiting for the search giant's next tablet successor. After a highly-speculated December 2016 release, will fans finally get to see the next Nexus 7?

After HTC and Google's successful collaboration with the latest Pixel and Pixel XL phones, rumors of HTC manufacturing the next Nexus tablet are floating around the Internet.

However, a 2016 release may be highly unlikely as Huawei reportedly rejected Google's offer to be the manufacturer of their future phones, due to a disagreement on how the Huawei brand should also be included in the phone's branding. The electronics company, however, expressed interest on working with Google once again, but not as their phone manufacturer.

With this development, pre-production schedules may get delayed and the tablet's announcement date will most probably be affected.

As a result, Google has failed to make any announcements on the new Nexus device in October, despite expectations from experts and fans. A 2016 release is also considered to have a very slim chance as there are still no leaks of the tablet's design.

Recent rumors about the new device's specifications include a 7-inch Quad-HD display with pressure sensitivity, 4 GB of system RAM, 64 GB of internal storage, MicroSD-XC support for up to 2TB, and a 13-megapixel camera.

It is also rumored that the device's processing capabilities will be provided by Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 and Adreno 530 chips, but this specification may change with the recent announcement of the newest Snapdragon 835.

The Snapdragon 835 is made on a 10mm process in which, with Adreno 620 included, promises around 27% better performance than the 14nm chip present in the Google Pixel phones. It will also feature Quick Charge 4.0, which may charge a fully-drained battery to up to 50% by just 15 minutes.

The next Nexus 7 may also feature Google's Andromeda OS, but it may be unlikely due to the fact that the operating system, which is rumored to be a mash-up of both Chrome OS and Android, is designed for laptops.

For more updates about the upcoming Google Nexus 7 (2016), stay tuned.