This week was a very exciting one for those with an affinity for technology, especially for tablet computer enthusiasts. On the 15th Google has presented its new Nexus product line – a smartphone, a tablet, a set top box and a new version of its mobile operating system, Android. A day later Apple, the tech giant based in Cupertino, has unveiled a series of new products as well – some new iPad tablet models (although no large screen Pro, as it was rumored), new versions of its operating systems, an updated Mac mini and a new iMac with Retina Display. Out of those presented this week, there are two products that are in direct competition with each other – the iPad Air 2 and the Nexus 9. Let’s take a look at both of them, to compare what each one has to offer.
Design
There is really just one way you can design a tablet computer, and both of the newly released products follow this trend – they are rectangular devices with rounded corners and cameras both on their front and their back, with connectors, speakers, buttons and similar things placed on their sides. In case of a tablet the Devil is in the details, though, so let’s take a peek on the finer things.
The Nexus 9 promises a soft grip back and a set of subtle curves to make it easier to hold and more comfortable to work and play with. It was built with a thin bezel, brushed metal sides (I have a tablet with a similar finish, and it’s great to hold). The new Google tablet is 7.9 millimeters (0.31 inches) thick and weights 425 grams (0.94 pounds) or 436g (0.96 pounds) in case of the LTE version.
The new iPad Air 2 is even thinner – it is the thinnest iPad ever built with its 6.1 millimeters (0.24 inches). It is also lightweight, as it weights just 0.96 pounds (surprisingly similar to the Nexus 9). Its sturdy aluminium body still manages to keep it strong.
Both new models are available in three color options – as if the two companies would have discussed this previously. The iPad Air 2 comes in Space Grey, Silver and Gold, while the Nexus 9 will be available in Indigo Black, Lunar White and Sand (which, on screen, looks a lot like Gold…).
Display
First of all, the size: the Nexus 9 has an 8.9″ IPS LCD screen with a QXGA (2048 x 1536 pixels) resolution and a 287 ppi (pixels per inch) pixel density. This is one aspect where the iPad Air 2 falls a bit behind – it has a larger display (9.7 inches in diagonal) with the same resolution as the above, and a 264 ppi (pixel per inch) density. Although this would be hard to notice for the naked eye.
I, for one, prefer a smaller form factor – my current tablet computer is a 7″ piece – but I can fully understand the desire of some to have a larger screen at hand, especially when watching videos or browsing through the web using it.
Under the hood
Apple, as usual, has used proprietary hardware for its new flagship tablet. The thin aluminium body of the iPad Air 2 hides a 64-bit “desktop class” A8X processor, that packs a lot of processing power while not making compromises at battery life (more on that later). The new architecture inside the iPad Air 2 promises 12 times faster processing and 180 times better graphics performance than the original iPad. According to the specs, A8X is 40% faster than the previous major CPU release, A7, making the tablet much more responsive than any other one released before. The iPad Air 2 will be available in a 16GB, 64GB and 128GB version.
The thin metallic body of the Nexus 9 hides a similarly powerful device: the nVidia Tegra K1 Dual Denver, with just two cores that are noticeably more powerful than what Cortex and Krait currently have to offer. Even with just two cores, the performance of the processing unit is in line with its quad-core counterparts (you can find some benchmarks about it here). According to the specifications posted on Google’s Nexus 9 website, the 64 bit CPU runs at 2.3GHz. The tablet’s graphics performance is assured by a 192-core Kepler GPU. The tablet will have two gigabytes of RAM and 16 or 32 gigabytes of internal storage.
Software
If you think that Google wants to compete with Apple at the number of tablet computers sold, you are so wrong. Google’s goal with its flagship products is to provide guidance to various manufacturers on what devices to build and how to best use the capabilities of its Android operating system. So, I think, one of the most important thing they launched last week is not their new tablet or their phone for that matter, but the latest version of their operating system: Android 5.0 Lollipop. The Nexus 9 is the first tablet to run this new OS, but many others will follow in the near future.
The new iPad Air 2 is running Apple’s latest mobile operating system, iOS 8. The new OS has many “amazing new capabilities”, some of which might sound familiar to Android users, but its biggest innovation is, I think, the Metal API. This new interface will allow developers to “get closer to the metal”, meaning a more direct access to the hardware capabilities of the new line of iDevices, allowing them to develop more realistic and smooth games (among others).
The Nexus 9 is also a great device for playing games. The hardware under its hood allows for “console grade graphics” through ART, a new Android runtime that improves application performance and responsiveness. It allows the user interface of the devices to be much smoother and more complex.
Which one to choose?
If you take a good look on the latest flagship tablet computers released by the two tech giants you will see that they have almost exactly the same innovations crammed into two products that look and feel very similar. There is one major difference between the two: their prices. The base price for the Nexus 9 will be $399 (it can be pre-ordered starting today), while the cheapest iPad Air 2 will cost a full $100 more.
Both the Nexus 9 and the iPad Air 2 come with 64-bit architecture, promising a desktop-grade experience on the go. Both of them have made huge improvements to their graphics performance, both have lightning fast internet, superior multimedia capabilities, and all the latest innovations one could ask for. So, basically, I think there is only one thing that makes people choose one or another: personal preference. Those using an iPhone will almost certainly choose the new iPad Air, and Android users will most likely go for the Nexus 9. These two have similar capabilities, similar performance and similar features, so it’s very hard to put a finger on something that makes one better than the other.