Earlier today we reported that the Nexus 10 32GB model is now apparently out of inventory through the U.S. Google Play store. Just a few hours later, @evleaks and Pocket-Lint both released independent reports containing ‘leaked’ press renders and specs for what was allegedly the Nexus 10′s successor, these images where then re-posted by several major tech publications.

The leaked information originally came from an anonymous and unverified third-party tipster and interestingly enough, both @evleaks and Pocket-Lint have since removed the alleged images and specs. While neither of these publications specifically mention why they pulled down the information, it’s pretty obvious that the ‘leaked’ device was a fake.

Even before the image was pulled, we had begun actively discussing this rumor as a team and had drawn the conclusion that the render was a fake, largely because of the wallpaper in the screenshot. The leaked details claimed the Nexus 10’s successor would feature Android 4.5, yet the image was using an existing Android wallpaper. This stood out to us because every new version of Android at least going back as far as Android 4.1 Jelly Bean has introduced a new wallpaper.

Besides the mention of Android 4.5, the rumor claimed that the Samsung Nexus 10 would have an unspecified Exynos 5 CPU, a WXGA display, 3GB of RAM, 16/32GB storage options, and a 5MP rear camera and a 3MP front camera.

Is the Nexus 10 (2014) on its way?

The big takeaway here is that this isn’t the Nexus 10′s successor pictured above, but we are still rather confident that something is coming.

With the stock of the 2012 version of the Nexus 10 dry in at least a few major markets, the timing certainly seems right for a new tablet, at least unless Google plans to kill the line altogether. Of course, the tradition is to release a new Nexus device every time a new version of Android comes out. With Android 4.4 KitKat still rather new, it seems hard to believe that Google would already bring out Android 4.5.

Even if Google does unveil a Nexus 10 in the near future, it’s unclear who they will be partnering with to make it. For what it’s worth Google isn’t exactly pleased with Samsung due to the company’s insistence on differentiating its offerings by pushing away Google apps in favor of its own solutions, so they might be interested in working with someone else. Past rumors have suggested that Google might be ditching Samsung in favor of Asus, though again there is no real proof this will happen.

Regardless of who makes the next-gen Nexus 10, we speculate that the following will likely be true: the tablet will feature a Snapdragon 800 CPU due to Google and Qualcomm’s close relationship. The tablet will also likely have a 10.1-inch display with a resolution of 2560 x 1600, largely because so many display manufacturers (Samsung, JDI, LG) are already producing such screens, making it an obvious choice.

What do you think, should we expect a next-gen Nexus 10 soon? Do you believe Samsung will be behind it, or could we be looking at a new partner for the tablet this time around? Let us know what you think in the comments.

*A big thanks to several members of the AA Team for their contributions to this post, including Adam Koueider, Joseph Hindy, Bogdan Petrovan and Darcy LaCouvée*