Google has reportedly dropped Samsung and reached a deal with HTC over the next-generation Nexus 10, according to unnamed industry sources. The current Nexus 10 hasn’t been quite as successful as its smaller sibling, the Nexus 7, but Google will surely be hoping that HTC’s design expertise can change that.

It’s worth pointing out that this rumor comes straight from DigiTimes, so you’ll need to take it with a pinch of salt. However, this isn’t the first time we’ve heard HTC could be involved with a future Nexus tablet; last week a report from Taiwan claimed the company had secured orders for a future “high-end” Google slate.

The news is slightly surprising, however, given HTC’s previous success rate with Android-powered tablets. Neither its 7-inch Flyer nor the 10.1-inch Jetstream sold all that well, pushing the Taiwanese company out of the tablet market completely back in 2011.

Building a Nexus tablet may help HTC turn things around a bit. The company is famous for its design efforts — the HTC One is widely considered one of the finest smartphones on the market — and when you couple that with high-end specifications and a Nexus price tag, it could be a recipe for success.

HTC certainly needs some success, that’s for sure. Its struggle shows no signs of improving, with its share of the global smartphone market falling two percent in 2013. Its stock price has also fallen 80 percent following a two-year sales slump.

It’s unclear at this point when the new Nexus 10 might be available, but given the existing model is already well over a year old now, we can’t imagine Google will keep us waiting too long for it.

• SourceDigiTimes