Google has unveiled the next gen 7-inch Nexus 7 tablet. We take a look at its specifications and see how it compares to other competing tablets.
After a series of leaks and rumours, Google has finally unveiled the second-generation Nexus 7. The biggest difference that users will not notice is the fact that the new Nexus 7 is slimmer (by about 2mm) and lighter (by 50 grams) than its predecessor. The bezel surrounding the display too has been reduced.
The new Nexus 7 is still manufactured by Asus for Google and the improvements in specifications are quite impressive. To start with, the 7-inch display now has a 1920×1200 pixel resolution giving it a pixel density of 323ppi. The device comes in 16GB and 32GB storage variants but sadly there is no storage expansion option available. The Nexus 7 now has a 5MP rear facing camera and a 1.2MP front facing camera for hangouts.
Under the hood, the Nexus 7 has a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro quad-core 1.5 GHz Krait processor, coupled with Adreno 320 GPU and 2GB of RAM. The battery capacity of the tablet hasn’t been revealed but Google claims 9 hours of HD video playback and 10 hours of web browsing on the tablet. The new Nexus 7 runs on the latest Android 4.3 Jelly Bean straight out-of-the-box. If you are one who enjoys gaming on your tablet, then you are in luck as the device supports OpenGL ES 3.0.
The Nexus 7 will be available in three variants starting July 30 in the US. The 16GB Wi-Fi only is priced at $229 (Rs. 13,600 approx.), the 32GB Wi-Fi only model is priced at $269 (Rs. 16,000 approx.) and the 32GB 4G-LTE version will cost $349 (Rs. 20,700 approx.). Other countries, such as the UK, Germany, Japan, Canada, Spain, France, Australia, and South Korea will get the tablet in coming weeks. There is no information on when the tablet will hit Indian shores.
Now that you have taken a look at the specifications of the new Nexus 7, here is a quick comparison to see how it stands when compared to other tablet available in the market today.
|
Models
|
New Nexus 7
|
Old Nexus 7
|
iPad mini
|
Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 (8-inch)
|
Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 (7-inch)
|
Samsung Galaxy Note 510
|
Sony Xperia Tablet Z
|
iPad (4th Gen)
|
Samsung Galaxy Note 800
|
Nexus 10
|
|
Display size
|
7-inch
|
7-inch
|
7.9-inch
|
8-inch
|
7-inch
|
8-inch
|
10.1-inch
|
9.7-inch
|
10.1-inch
|
10.1-inch
|
|
Display Type
|
LED backlit IPS LCD
|
LED backlit IPS LCD
|
LED backlit IPS LCD
|
TFT LCD
|
TFT LCD
|
TFT
|
LED backlit LCD
|
LED backlit IPS LCD
|
PLS TFT
|
Super PLS TFT
|
|
Display resolution
|
1920 x 1200
|
1280 x 800
|
1024 x 768
|
1280 x 800
|
1024 x 600
|
1280 x 800
|
1920 x 1200
|
2048 x 1536
|
1280 x 800
|
2560 x 1600
|
|
OS
|
Android 4.3 Jelly Bean
|
Android 4.3 Jelly Bean
|
iOS 6
|
Android 4.2
|
Android 4.1 Jelly Bean
|
Android 4.1 Jelly Bean
|
Android 4.1 Jelly Bean
|
iOS 6
|
Android 4.1 Jelly Bean
|
Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean
|
|
Skin
|
NA
|
NA
|
NA
|
Samsung TouchWiz UI
|
Samsung TouchWiz UI
|
Samsung TouchWiz UI
|
Sony custom UI
|
NA
|
Samsung TouchWiz UI
|
NA
|
|
Built-in storage
|
16 / 32GB
|
32GB
|
16 / 32 / 64GB
|
16GB
|
8GB
|
16GB
|
16GB
|
16 / 32 / 64 / 128GB
|
16GB
|
16 / 32GB
|
|
Expandable Storage
|
NA
|
NA
|
NA
|
up to 64GB via a microSD card
|
up to 32GB via a microSD card
|
up to 64GB via a microSD card
|
up to 64GB via a microSD card
|
NA
|
up to 32GB via a microSD card
|
NA
|
|
Rear Camera
|
5MP
|
NA
|
5MP
|
5MP
|
3MP
|
5MP
|
8.1MP
|
5MP
|
5MP
|
5MP
|
|
Front Camera
|
1.2MP
|
1.2MP
|
1.2MP
|
1.3MP
|
1.3MP
|
1.3MP
|
2.2MP
|
1.2MP
|
1.9MP
|
1.9MP
|
|
Chipset
|
Qualcomm Snapdragon S4Pro
|
Nvidia Tegra 3
|
Apple A5
|
Exynos 4212
|
NA
|
Exynos 4412
|
Qualcomm Snapdragon APQ8064
|
Apple A6X
|
Exynos 4412
|
Exynos 5250
|
|
CPU clock speed
|
4-core 1.5 GHz
|
4-core 1.2 GHz
|
2-core 1GHz
|
4-core 1.5 GHz
|
2-core 1.2 GHz
|
4-core 1.6GHz
|
4-core 1.5 GHz
|
2-core 1.4 GHz
|
4-core 1.4GHz
|
2-core 1.7 GHz
|
|
RAM
|
2GB
|
1GB
|
512MB
|
1.5GB
|
1GB
|
2GB
|
2GB
|
1GB
|
2GB
|
2GB
|
|
GPU
|
Adreno 320
|
ULP GeForce
|
PowerVR SGX543MP2
|
Mali-400MP
|
NA
|
Mali-400MP
|
Adreno 320
|
PowerVR SGX554MP4
|
Mali-400MP
|
Mali-T604
|
|
Battery
|
NA
|
4325 mAh
|
Li-Po battery (16.3 Wh)
|
4450 mAh
|
4000 mAh
|
4600 mAh
|
6000 mAh
|
11560 mAh
|
7000 mAh
|
9000 mAh
|
|
Price
|
$229
|
Rs 18,599 for Wi-Fi only and Rs. 21,999 for the Wi-Fi 3G
|
Starting at Rs. 21,900
|
Rs. 21,945 for the Wi-Fi only version and Rs. 25,199 for the Wi-Fi 3G version
|
Rs. 17,399
|
Rs. 28,599
|
Rs. 44,990
|
Starting at Rs. 28,990
|
Rs. 35,490
|
Not available in India
|
From the above table it is clear that the specifications of the Nexus 7 have been bumped up to an impressive level especially considering what the competition has to offer. With the high-resolution display, you will be able to watch full HD 1080p videos on the device. Not to mention the fact that stock Android 4.3 will have an advantage over the Android 4.2 OS on the other tablets. The lack of expandable storage is a bummer but that has been the Nexus way for quite some time. All that remains to be seen is when the tablet will launch in India and at what price. We would also like to put the tablet through its paces before delivering our final verdict.
