Last night Nikon Japan updated their product pages to include a new 50mm f/1.8G AF-S lens, apparently a replacement for the long-in-the-tooth but still popular 50mm f/1.8D. This small, light (6.6 ounces, or 185g) lens has a few small differences from the one it replaces: 58mm filters instead of 52mm, f/16 smallest aperture instead of f/22, plus an AF-S focus motor. The lens covers the FX format and appears to have better MTF numbers than the older D-type lens. Unfortunately, later in the day, the page was removed by Nikon. Obviously, someone jumped the gun on Nikon's Web site. We'll just chalk it up as another strange tale in Nikon's long history of strange product marketing.
It now seems more likely we'll see an updated 85mm f/1.8 in G and AF-S form some time in the future. Nikon might even get around to sending out a press release on that one when they launch it, though maybe not ;~).