As with most Android tablets launched, there has to be a comparison against one of Apple’s iPad. As the Nexus 7 features a 7 inch display it’s most matched with Apple’s miniature iPad which is outfitted with a 7.9 inch display. But how does the latest Nexus 7 from Google match up against Apple’s iPad Mini spec wise?
The first noticeable difference will of course be in the screen size, the iPad Mini’s screen is 0.9 inches bigger but, whether that’s better or not, will come down to personal preference. The slightly larger display of the iPad Mini means it measures 135 x 200mm and is 7.2mm thin, where as the Nexus 7 is slightly shorter but, also slightly thicker, measuring in at 114 x 200mm and with a thickness of 8.65mm.
Despite only being 0.9 inches smaller, Google have packed in an impressive resolution on the Nexus 7 2 which almost doubles the PPI. On the iPad Mini, the resolution is 1024 x 768 which gives a PPI of 163, where as the Nexus 7 2 has a full HD resolution of 1920 x 1200 which gives a 323 PPI. Impressive stuff.
Similarly, the processor is faster on the Nexus 7 and it has more RAM. While the iPad Mini is outfitted with a decent 1GHz dual core processor and 512MB of RAM, the latest Nexus 7 packs in 2GB of RAM and has a 1.5GHz quad core processor.
The iPad Mini slightly outdoes the Nexus 7 when it comes to battery life. Apple included a 4400mAh battery, while the Nexus 7 has a 3950mAh battery. For web browsing this shouldn’t have any impact, with both devices listed as giving 10 hours of browsing time. Video playback time is slightly less at 9 hours on the Nexus 7 though, over the 10 hours on the iPad Mini.
Both devices feature a 5 megapixel rear camera, capable of 1080p video recording, along with a 1.2 megapixel camera on the front, which offers 720p video capture.
Other differences include storage options, external card support and connectivity, software, not to mention price. The iPad Mini and Nexus 7 are both available in 16GB and 32GB options. The iPad Mini also comes in 64GB which is largely due to the fact that the iPad does not support an external memory card, where as the Nexus 7 does. The Nexus 7 also offers NFC and wireless charging. The Nexus 7 features a microUSB port which most smartphones sans Apple use. While the iPad Mini, uses the same connection as the iPhone 5: a lightning connector. The iPad Mini runs on iOS 6, where as the Nexus 7 2 launches on Android 4.3 and this is really the only thing that the numbers can’t give us an indication for which is better as it is purely down to personal opinion all the way.
Lastly, we have the price. There is always a premium for Apple products and this is where the difference between the two tablets becomes night and day. While Apple have premium prices for their products, Nexus products in comparison are priced competitively and in most cases are cheaper than other manufacturer’s Android products.
Apple add on an extra £100/$100 for more storage, where as the Nexus 7 is only $40 more for more storage. The iPad Mini is priced at $329 and $429 for the 16GB and 32GB respectively, where as Google have priced the 16GB Nexus 7 at $229 and the 32GB model is available for $269.
From just the numbers, the Nexus 7 2 is a very impressive device at a very decent price.
