The Nexus 7 (2013) Review
by Anand Lal Shimpi on August 22, 2013 6:00 PM ESTFinal Words
I really like the Nexus 7. It’s easily the best small Android tablet I’ve ever used. The build quality is great, the display is amazing and the hardware is fast. The new Nexus 7 also happens to be the most color accurate Android device we've ever tested - easily competitive with the iPad's Retina Display, and delivers the longest battery life we've ever seen from an Android tablet. You also get the benefits of owning a Nexus device: timely updates and unadulterated Android. My only real complaint about the Nexus 7 is that its screen feels cramped. If you’ve got a large smartphone, the jump between it and the 7-inch display may not be big enough. On the flip side, the 7-inch form factor does make the Nexus 7 quite portable. If you’re ok with the tradeoff, then I have no qualms recommending the Nexus 7 over other 8-inch tablets.
I typically find myself at odds with what a manufacturer wants to charge for a product, but in the case of the Nexus 7 that’s not true at all. At $229 the base 16GB model is extremely well priced. The adder for the 32GB model is a somewhat reasonable $40. If your Nexus 7 is going to be more of a mobile workhorse, you’ll eventually be able to get a LTE model for $349.
The original Nexus 7 gave us a decent Android experience at a very low cost. This year ASUS and Google raised the bar for sure. The new Nexus 7 is no longer just a decent tablet at a good price, it's an incredible tablet. With this Nexus, it's clear that Google no longer wants to rely on value alone. The 2013 Nexus 7 redefines what you should expect to pay for a truly great tablet. If you're in the market for an ultra portable tablet, and definitely if you're shopping for an Android tablet in particular, the new Nexus 7 should be at the top of your list. It's so good that I'm giving it our Silver Award.
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scavio - Thursday, August 22, 2013 - link
Seems odd that you compare the display to an iPad 4 and say you won't even bother comparing it to other android tablets. As far as I can tell you don't even include the iPad 4 in any of the graphs except pixel density and do include a bunch of android tablets.andykins - Thursday, August 22, 2013 - link
I noticed that too. You should include the retina ipad display in the graphs imo. Also redefines has been misspelt on the final paragraph of final words.Good article. Tempting :)
Anand Lal Shimpi - Thursday, August 22, 2013 - link
Fixed :)scavio - Thursday, August 22, 2013 - link
Thanks! The numbers really are close, I'm impressed.jiffylube1024 - Thursday, August 22, 2013 - link
Some of the tests (eg 3d mark) don't run on iOS, which explains the ipad 4's absence.mmarafie - Thursday, August 22, 2013 - link
The comparison to the iPad 4 is a way to detract from the real competitor to Nexus 7, the iPad mini. Not only does the Nexus 7 offer much better color accuracy than the iPad mini, it also has double the pixel density at 323 compared to 163...Anand calls the SOC in the N7 "performance mainstream" which has a Quad Core Krait @ 1.5GHz and 2GB RAM. Yet he omits to mention the paltry (2 year old) SOC in the iPad mini a Cortex A8 based Dual Core CPU running 1GHz with 512MB RAM and a GPU that is less than half the power of the Adreno 320 in the N7...mmarafie - Thursday, August 22, 2013 - link
Yes in general, apps are still slightly better optimized on iOS, but Android apps are closing in fast not only in quantity but also in quality. So a properly optimized app on N7 can easily get 2 to 4x CPU/GPU power compared to iPad mini. Also Anand omits mentioning the price deference between the N7 at only $240 compared with the iPad mini at $340. I understand the better build quality on the iPad, but paying $100 more for the comparatively pixelated screen and weak hardware of the iPad mini is just plain ridiculous...For the 32GB 4G version it gets even worse, the N7 costs only $350, while the iPad mini costs $660! Is this a joke or what? Again Anand omits to mention any of that...mmarafie - Thursday, August 22, 2013 - link
Sorry, meant to say $560 for the 32GB 4G version of the iPad minidyc4ha - Thursday, August 22, 2013 - link
Well, the fact that it is being compared to Apple's flagship tablet says mighty much already... I do not see the need to compare it directly with the Mini because, well, there isn't a comparison. I enjoyed the review btw, keep it up!mmarafie - Friday, August 23, 2013 - link
If someone is in the market for a smaller tablet say in the 7 to 8" size range, then they would be looking at say the Nexus 7, iPad mini, Galaxy Tab 3 and Note 8.0, Asus MeMo Pad etc. So these are the tablets that should be compared directly with each other in review. Although it's still a good idea to have benchmarks of the larger tablets for comparison too.To me the review is incomplete and omitting some variables that could help the buyer make an informed decision.