All hopes for a Nexus 10 2 release date this 2014 appear dead, reportedly killed by Google as the company is said to slug it out with the 7.9-inch iPad Air using an 8.9-inch slate that will be commercially known as the Nexus 8.

The strategic shift by Google, according to DigiTimes, strongly suggests that the tech giant is gearing up to "to compete in the large-size tablet segment ... and with low cost and mobility." The report somehow points to the likelihood that Google sees no business sense in issuing a second edition of the 10.1-inch Nexus 10.

Note too that prior to this report, analysts have forecasted that Apple will not produce a third iPad Mini and the 13-inch iPad Pro to purportedly focus on the iPad Air 2. With the first iPad Air (or iPad 5) selling better than the Retina-boasting Mini 2, the global tablet landscape seemed to have been altered again - this time favouring a big screen slate but with slim and thin profile plus powerful capabilities.

And Google is taking cue by setting aside the Nexus 10 2 and bet instead on the Nexus 8 but with a key reconfiguration, which is on the screen dimension. Previously, the latter device has been touted to retire the Nexus 7 and offer Android fans an 8-inch alternative.

Now, Google's tablet compass is pointed to an 8.9-inch standard and this fresh Nexus model is only expected to "prompt other brand vendors to turn to the large-size tablet segment," DigiTimes said on its report.

It is understood too that Asus from Taiwan will remain as the Nexus 8 builder though the same DigiTimes report did not discussed any details on specs and features.

However, earlier reports have indicated that for its 2014 flagship tablet, Google will pick a quad-core Intel chip with 64-bit mobile computing capabilities called Moorefield. The same chipset was unveiled by the giant chipmaker during the 2014 CES in Las Vegas.

Moorefield is supposedly ready for mass distribution in mobile devices by the second half of 2014, according to Intel, which seemingly suits with the rumoured release date scheduled by Google for the Nexus 8.

Android fans are very much anticipating the iPad Air and iPad Mini rival to hit the stage for a glimpse during the annual I/O Developers Conference that Google will stage on June 24 and 25 in San Francisco, California.

Afterwards, the vanilla Android device is expected to go live via the Google Play Store in the immediate weeks or days to follow, likely by early or mid-July 2014.

On its actual release date, the Nexus 8 is seen to showcase as well the following killer specs and features: a PowerVR G6430 graphic engine, up to 4GB of RAM, 32/64GB of storage options, LTE-Advanced connectivity and Android 4.5, which is alternately referred to as Lollipop or Key Lime Pie.