There will be only one Nexus tablet release date this 2014 and it will be for the 8.9-inch and HTC-assembled Nexus 8 that according to new reports will hit Google Play Store as early as July 2014.

That the rumoured Nexus 10 2 and Nexus 7 3 are no more was hinted in the latest DigiTimes report, claiming too that Google's sole tablet offering this year will reflect a major redesign effort from the Nexus maker and its device partner from Taiwan.

The jump from Asus to HTC in building the Nexus 8 also implied that "the Internet giant is considering adopting a new design and therefore has switched to a new partner," said DigiTimes, citing its sources from Asian supply chain players.

The 8.9-inch Nexus 8 that will come out of the box with a fresh form-factor could serve too as the final tablet release for Google as the same report suggested that the company will be less aggressive in competing against Apple and other rivals in the tablet market.

"Google is also not very aggressive about its third-generation Nexus tablet since the series has already served the purpose of boosting Android's penetration in the tablet market," said the DigiTimes report.

Practically, the new development redefined Google's tablet thrust in the current year and killed any hopes that the 7-inch and 10-1-inch tablet siblings of the upcoming Nexus 8 will be on hand soon.

The apparent re-focus by Google, however, seems to makes sense as market watchers started pointing to mid-sized slates as the new standard, seemingly sparked by the rollout in late 2013 of the slimmed down 9.7-inch iPad Air from Apple.

Basing on sales numbers by the end of December 2013, the iPad Air has regained its stature as the top tablet money-maker from Apple, snatching back that honour from the 7.9-inch iPad Mini.

So it appears now that Google is pouring its tablet energy and resources on the Nexus 8, which has a screen profile and likely a body-build - expected to be thin and light - that can slug it out with the sexy, powerful and hot-selling iPad Air.

For now, however, the actual make of the HTC-built Nexus 8 remains a mystery though Android fans can easily visualise a vanilla Android-powered slate that is the scaled up version of the critically acclaimed HTC One M8.

Should that be the case, then the next Nexus tablet like the HTC One before it will be wrapped in a metallic casing that serves not only as a stunning skin but also a tough covering for its high-end components inside.

And the hardware inside could be nothing short of the superlatives - likely headlined by a 64-bit Snapdragon processing chip, an equally powerful GPU that fires up the 2K display resolution packed with the 8.9-inch frame, massive battery for longer operating hours, higher built-in memory and generous RAM provisions.

Note that the above Nexus 8 attributes all measure up with the overall iPad Air capabilities.

Lastly, on its release date - the countdown of which should start on July 2014 - the Google Nexus 8 will most likely run on the latest Android, which according to reports would be build 4.5 or 5.0.