New reports claim that ASUS plans to unveil new mobile devices in the next couple of months, including the next-generation Nexus 7.

This time, however, rumors suggest that the second-generation Nexus 7 tablet, commonly dubbed the Nexus 7 2, will pack a Qualcomm processor instead of an Nvidia Tegra 4/4i SoC. The current Nexus 7 tablet from ASUS and Google comes with Nvidia's Tegra 3 under the hood, and many future Nexus 7 models have been expected to continue packing Nvidia processors.

If a new DigiTimes report on Monday, March 18, proves to be accurate, this might not be the case. According to the new report, ASUS and Google went for a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor instead of an Nvidia Tegra 4, likely because the Qualcomm chip comes with 4G LTE support. Tegra 4i chip versions have integrated LTE capabilities as well, but their launch comes too late to catch up with the second-generation Nexus 7 production needs.

DigiTimes has a mixed track record when it comes to predicting future products, but this time it is citing "sources from the upstream supply chain."

"The second-generation Nexus 7 is expected to launch in May and without the orders, Nvidia may lose almost eight million processor shipments in 2013," DigiTimes cites its sources.

The report further notes that Nvidia shipped over 10 million Tegra 3 chips for tablets in 2012, and six million of those units went to Google for the first-generation Nexus 7 tablet. The rest of the volume shipped to companies such as Lenovo, Acer and China's white-box players, according the Digitimes' tipsters.

The 7-inch sector of the tablet market got more competitive recently, as many consumers seem to favor the smaller form factor of slates such as the Nexus 7 and the Apple iPad Mini. If the specifications rumored so far prove to be true, the new version of Nexus 7 will likely make headlines in a big fashion. The next-generation Nexus 7 is expected to sport a competitive price just like its predecessor, but pack a Full HD touchscreen display with a thinner bezel.

The new 7-inch Nexus tablet from ASUS and Google will reportedly make its debut in May, likely at the 2013 Google I/O developer conference.