The HTC Nexus 9 release date will reportedly happen on Oct. 15 to gain an edge over iPad Air 2 and iPad Mini 3.

According to Phone Arena, citing the web site Bright Side of News, Google's rumored tablet will be released one day ahead of Apple's iPad launch, and will be available for purchase in the U.S., the U.K., and in other unspecified locations on Nov. 3.

The report added that the tablet will be sold for $399, which is considerably more expensive than its predecessor — the Nexus 7 tablet is priced at just over $200. The price hike is probably due to the increase in size as well as the high performing hardware included in the device. According to rumors, the tablet will be powered by 64-bit Nvidia Tegra K1 SOC.

Based on the name itself, the screen panel of the tablet will be 9 inches with 2560 x 1600 pixel resolution. The HTC Nexus 9 is expected to battle head on with Apple's new generation iPads. With a screen size of roughly 10 and eight inches offered by iPad Air 2 and iPad Mini 3, respectively, Google is perhaps hoping to give users the right screen size, not too big yet not so small.

Moreover, introducing the tablet ahead of the titan of the tablet market may give Google an advantage.  The company has a good track record in making its Nexus tablets, offering fair specs and features at an affordable price. Nexus 9 will replace the previous Nexus 7 and Nexus 10 tablets.

Other rumored features of the HTC Nexus 9 include a 2GB RAM, 16GB and 32GB storage options, and an 8MP OIS rear camera.  It is also speculated that Google's newest tablet will be released alongside the Nexus 6 (Nexus X) smartphone and the Android 5.0 L operating system. However, Google still has not released an official statement about the rumored 9-inch device.