Google's and Asustek Computer's co-branded second-generation Nexus 7 tablet reportedly has adopted a solution from Qualcomm instead of Nvidia, which was the processor supplier of the first-generation Nexus 7, according to sources from the upstream supply chain.

The second-generation Nexus 7 is expected to launch in May and without the orders, Nvidia may lose almost eight million processor shipments in 2013, the sources noted.

Nvidia shipped over 10 million Tegra 3s for tablets in 2012 with six million units supplied to Google for the first-generation Nexus 7. The rest of the volume was shipped to players such as Lenovo, Acer and China's white-box players, the sources said.

The sources believe pricing is not the reason Asustek turned to place orders to Qualcomm as Nvidia's and Qualcomm's chips have a similar price level and is likely because of the chips' communication chip integration process. Although Nvidia has released the Tegra 4i with an integrated 4G LTE chip, the processor was not able to catch up with the second-generation Nexus 7's launch schedule.