The iPad Air 2, Nexus 9 and Galaxy Tab S are the highlights of tablets when it comes to this year’s releases. People tend to use tablets mostly as media consumption devices, and sometimes for work and office purposes, depending on the job and the needs. Mostly, the iPad Air 2, Nexus 9 and Galaxy Tab S have had good reviews and launched to positive crowds. At the same time, these three were the most anticipated slates of the year, aside from the Nvidia Shield Tablet and Lenovo Yoga Tablet 2.
The iPad Air 2 and Nexus 9 can probably be called two of the most hyped tablets of this Fall, with many rumors and leaks circulating around the web prior to their fall release. The Galaxy Tab S wasn’t as popular, since Samsung has a large portfolio of tablets and phones people tend to get lost in. Nonetheless, upon its Summer launch, the Galaxy Tab S became one of the best tablets on the market, according to most user reviews. An iPad Air 2 review and a Nexus 9 review usually point out the fact that both these tablets come with brand new mobile operating systems, iOS 8 and Android 5.0 Lollipop respectively, which is the area they receive most praise in, aside from their great specs. The same can’t be said about the Galaxy Tab S, which runs on Android 4.4 KitKat with TouchWiz on top – not the favorite UI out there.
The iPad Air 2 release date came a bit later than the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus one, so that it can become its own headline, since the phones exploded in the media and managed to sell in record numbers. While the iPad Air 2 was well received, many say that Apple could have done better with it, the slate being not very different from its predecessor, the iPad Air. Still, Apple made considerable improvements to the tablet, which cannot be overlooked. The most emphasized iPad Air 2 features were its extra thin and light chassis and integrated TouchID for the first time on an Apple tablet. Oh and the iPad Air 2 Gold option is also pretty popular among users, since it’t the first time Apple added the particular color scheme to its tablet line.
The Google Nexus 9 was probably the most anticipated device out of our three contenders, since it is the successor of the acclaimed Nexus 7 and Google’s and HTC collaboration on a stock Android tablet. The Nexus 9 release date coincided with that of the Nexus 6 and Android 5.0 Lollipop, so were greeted with a pretty comprehensive media package from Google, HTC and Motorola upon their launch. If you are like me, you like to buy the whole package, so seeing the Nexus 6, Nexus 9 and Android 5.0 Lollipop come out all at once made me giggle with enthusiasm.
The iPad Air 2 is the middle man in this comparison when it comes to size. It measures a 9.7 inch Retina display with a 2048*1536 resolution with a 264 ppi pixel density. While that is an odd resolution, the iPad Air 2 display looks excellent and has great viewing angles. It’s also great for outdoor use, since it has good visibility and brightness. The slate’s size has been reduced compared to its predecessor, being thinner and lighter. That means that Apple chose the smaller form factor in the detriment of a bigger battery, which iPad Air 2 reviews criticized a bit.
The iPad Air 2 specs include 16 GB, 64 GB and 128 GB internal storage variants, each with its own price. The 16 GB iPad Air 2 price is set at $500, the 64 GB version costs $600 and the 128 GB version will set you back $700, all of which are pretty hefty prices compared to the competition. As you’ve been used to with Apple products, the iPad Air 2 doesn’t have a microSD card slot, so you should think buying one through thoroughly and determine how much physical memory you’re going to need, otherwise you will have to use cloud storage – iCloud, which doesn’t seem like a good idea to many Apple users out there.
Other specs for Apple’s brand new slate make it stand out from the crowd, as usual with Apple products. The iPad Air 2 comes with Apple’s own, revamped A8X CPU with a 64 bit architecture and M8 motion coprocessor, backed by 2 GB RAM and supported by iOS 8, subsequently iOS 8.1 since the bug-fixing update has already been released. Even though many leaks prior to the iPad Air 2 release said that the slate would come with Apple Pay, most of us were fairly surely that wasn’t going to happen since using a tablet at a cashier might be awkward, to say the least. Our suspicions came true once Apple launched its new slate – without Apple Pay and without NFC. Still, you’ve got TouchID, which is working marvelously on the iPad Air 2.
When it comes to camera, iPad Air users were definitely expecting an upgrade before the launch and they were right in doing so. Apple did upgrade the iPad Air 2 camera to an 8 MP iSight sensor, capable of 1080 HD video and put the same 1.2 MP camera on the front. While the camera setup doesn’t seem to be anything to write home about, those interested in purchasing the iPad Air 2 should rest assured because the 8 MP iSight camera is as good as many other 13 or even 16 MP smartphone cameras you would find on the market. That being said, we can safely say that the iPad Air 2 takes above average quality photos and footage which won’t disappoint the average tablet-photographer. Nonetheless, if we’re honest, tablets aren’t usually used as media capturing devices.
Even though we said that Apple chose design over battery when creating the new tablet, the iPad Air 2 battery isn’t below average. According to Tim Cook and co., the battery life of the slate should be good for 10 hours of mixed and moderate use, but in real life tests, the iPad Air 2 battery managed to score 8 hours tops with moderate use, with a cellular connection active. That’s not a bad battery life for an almost 10 inch tablet, but if Apple had seen that users would have liked more battery life and less thinness and lightness, we could have been holding a slate with a similar battery life to the Lenovo Yoga Tablet, which racks up 18 hours of mixed use.
While the iPad Air 2 price might be too much for those of you used to the cheap Android tablets you might find in any store, the metal chassis and high quality materials used in the manufacturing of the slate are worth the price. We’ve seen how iPads don’t deteriorate as much and as fast as Android tablets, and we think the iPad Air 2 will run the same course. That means that the user would be able to hold on to the tablet for a year or two, and be able to re-sell it in good condition after, which adds up to: profit and benefit. Even though that was not Apple’s intention, people have been appreciating the long shelf-life of its slates for a long time.
Moving on to the HTC Nexus 9, one of the most anticipated devices of the year, we are venturing into Google and Android territory. Stock Android territory, to be specific. Compared to iOS 8, Android 5.0 Lollipop (and most other versions of Google’s mobile OS) is much more permissive, customizable and feature-filled. I know Apple fans might disagree with me on this, but I shall hold my position firmly and say that Android 5.0 Lollipop looks and feels better. That doesn’t mean it works better. Performance-wise, Android 5.0 Lollipop and iOS 8 (let’s consider the still buggy one, since Android 5.0 Lollipop is still awaiting some updates to fix quite a few issues) are pretty much at the same level: they’ll run anything you throw at them without the bat of an eye, and that’s a good thing. It means that Android and iOS users can choose purely based on preference, without getting into flamewars about which OS is better. Theoretically, at least. In the practical world, I’m sure iOS vs Android wars will never stop, at least not in the near future.
The Nexus 9 is considerably smaller than the iPad Air 2, both in screen and in size. The Nexus 9 display measures 8.9 inches, with a 2048.1536 resolution, taking advantage of 281 ppi pixel density and the same type of resolution as Apple’s slate. Its ppi count is higher though, so you might be able to get more details out of the display. Outdoor visibility and viewing angles are also as good as on the iPad Air 2, but the Nexus 9 display’s smaller real estate might be a minus for some users. We’re talking about users who like big tablets here. Otherwise, in my opinion, the Nexus 9 display is ideal. It’s not as big as 10 inch tablet which sometimes is unwieldy, but it’s a lot larger than a 7 inch display which sometimes feels too little to display all that we need it to.
Unlike the iPad Air 2, you’ve only got two storage options available for the Nexus 9: 16 GB and 32 GB, yet again without a microSD card slot, which is a bummer. The 16 GB Nexus 9 price on Amazon is $400, while the larger storage capacity variant costs $450. Those are considerably lower price tags than those of the iPad Air 2 variants, so when it comes to price, we might have the winner here. But don’t be quick to judge, you need to read about the rest of the Nexus 9 specs to be convinced and educated. Taking an educated guess at what to buy is always better than just randomly guessing based on price. That being said, lets move on!
Besides Android 5.0 Lollipop, fans were enthusiastic about the Nexus 9 because of its high-end specs, which turned out to be just like that. The Nexus 9 runs on a 64 bit Nvidia Tegra K1 CPU (which surprisingly, was leaked by Nvidia themselves ahead of the Nexus 9 release date), backed by 2 GB RAM. We’ve heard and seen the Tegra K1 chip do a lot of things, and we’re sure the Nexus 9 setup is as future-proof as they get, to be honest. Consequently, the slate should run anything you throw at it now or next year, maybe even the year after, but that’s unlikely with the fast pace of advances in technology.
The Nexus 9 camera is as good as the iPad Air 2 camera setup, sporting an 8 MP sensor on the rear capable of 1080p video and a slightly larger 1.6 MP front camera capable of 720p HD video. As we’ve said in the case of Apple’s contender, that’s not a bad setup for a tablet. The Nexus 9 takes great photos and videos, but it doesn’t handle low light conditions as well as the iPad Air 2 does. Since my opinion is that tablets aren’t generally used for intensive, high quality media coverage, I don’t feel like cameras are a determining factor when comparing the two tablets. Keep in mind, that is my personal opinion based on my personal experience and reviews gathered from various corners of the world. Cameras on tablets are important for a big slice of the user pie out there, so I’m not saying a tablet’s setup is negligible. It’s just negligible to me, since I’d rather use my trusty 20 MP compact camera with optical image stabilization if I want some great photos (which I can rarely position or set up correctly). That being said, I think it’s understandable why I’m not into camera setups on tablets. (Lack of talent).
But let’s not talk about me, let’s talk about the attractive Nexus 9 with its great design. The Nexus 9 has a massive 6700 mAH battery, which coupled with the 64 bit chip and the power efficient Android 5.0 Lollipop should make for at least 10 hours of mixed use. While that’s still not the mind-bending battery life the Lenovo Yoga Tablet offers, it’s a big step ahead and should be an important pro when weighing pros and cons of the iPad Air 2, Nexus 9 and Galaxy Tab S. While the Nexus 9 doesn’t have the iPad Air 2’s TouchID, it does have NFC, which is a great addition and feature to have for those of you who use tags and IFTTT a lot. And lets not forget about HTC’s wonderful BoomSound speakers that have been ported from the HTC One M8 and One E8 to the Nexus 9. That means sound quality is more than you would see on any other 9 inch tablet on the market, which is a big pro for the Nexus 9.
Out final contender in this comparison is the Samsung Galaxy Tab S, which is Samsung’s iteration of a flagship tablet, with great specs and features. First off, the Galaxy Tab S comes with the largest screen out of the two, measuring 10.5 inches with a resolution of 2560*1600 and 288 ppi pixel density. As you can probably conclude by now, the Galaxy Tab S display is the biggest and baddest out of the three, with the highest resolution and ppi pixel density. While the outdoor visibility of the tablet isn’t as great as that of the iPad Air 2 or Nexus 9, the display in itself is visibly more stunning, if the three are put side by side.
Even though the Galaxy Tab S has the largest display, when it comes to size, it’s actually not that much bigger. It’s bigger, but the difference is barely noticeable when taking into account the large display. At the same time, it’s also the heaviest of the three tablets we’ve talked about, but it feels sturdy and nice in the hand, although Samsung could have done better with the design. One of the features that sets the Galaxy Tab S apart from the Nexus 9 and iPad Air 2 is the fact that it’s the only one with a microSD card slot that supports up to 128 GB, which is a definite plus for the tablet.
As I’ve mentioned earlier, the Galaxy Tab S is running on Android 4.4.2 KitKat, “enhanced” with Samsung’s own TouchWiz UI, which isn’t appealing to most users because of its bloat and excessively cartoonish design. The system runs on an Exynos 5 Octa 5420 backed by 3GB RAM and available with either 16 GB or 32 GB internal storage. The Galaxy Tab S price for the 16 GB version is around $230. while the 32 GB version will set you back $320. If you want LTE in the package, you’ll have to pay more. The Exynos CPU is not bad, but many users have reported that it tends to lag around sometimes, which might be cause by the heavily skinned TouchWiz UI from Samsung. Performance-wise, the Galaxy Tab S can still handle anything you throw at it, but not as smoothly as the Nexus 9 or iPad Air 2.
When it comes to camera. the Galaxy Tab S is on par with its current competitors, sporting an 8 MP shooter on the rear capable of 1080p video and a slightly larger 2.1 MP front camera. Even though it has the same MP count, the Galaxy Tab S camera tends to be a little inferior compared to the iPad Air 2 camera, but the difference is actually negligible. We can already say that all three tablets we’ve been talking about are pretty on par and similar when it comes to camera setup, so no matter which you chose, you will get roughly the same quality photos out of them.
Last, but not least, the Galaxy Tab S battery is the largest of the three, which puts it ahead in the power section of our comparison. It’s got a massive 7900 mAH battery, which should be good enough to power that high resolution display for at least 10 hours of mixed use. AMOLED screens do tend to consumer a bit more power, so that’s why the battery life is roughly the same as it is with the Nexus 9. That being said, the battery award might go to the Galaxy Tab S, especially once it gets Android 5.0 Lollipop (which it will, at some point). While our ultimate conclusion regarding battery life would be that the Galaxy Tab S handles itself best, we still think that the Nexus 9, with its smaller setup can match up to it.
Brief recap in case you got lost between the lines
Finally, we’ve examined the most important features and specs of the iPad Air 2, Nexus 9 and Galaxy Tab S. Throughout this comparison, I hope you feel as if I were as objective as possible, at least I feel like I was. In any case, at the end of this long debate, I still can’t quite make up my mind about which slate would be better. The iPad Air 2 has that sleek, metal design and excellent performance, but iOS 8 and the lack of an SD card puts me off. The Nexus 9 has a pretty good design, absolutely great performance and comes with Android 5.0 Lollipop, which I believe will end up being the best mobile OS so far once the bugs are fixed. And finally, there’s the Galaxy Tab S, with its beautiful screen and big battery, With the Nexus 9, I’m put off by the lack of a microSD card, while the Galaxy Tab S’s TouchWiz bothers me a great deal. Ultimately, I think my choice would be the Nexus 9, because stock Android is the way to go for me. What would be your favorite?