Google Nexus 9 vs iPad Air vs Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4: specs comparison
The announcement of the HTC-made Nexus 9 tablet came as no surprise to anyone who had been following our news feed. Leaks and rumors did a good job at spoiling the surprise by throwing its specs on the table, along with a candid image.
Yet this doesn't make Google's Android 5.0-powered slate any less exciting. Quite the contrary – it is a slate we can't wait to get our hands on. But we'll have to wait for a few more weeks until that happens as the tablet is projected to ship in early November.
In the meantime, we suppose it seems right to stack up the Google Nexus 9 against some of its potential rivals, at least on paper. Here's how Google's new tab compares against the Apple iPad Air and the Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4 in terms of specs.
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|
|
| Google Nexus 9 | Apple iPad Air | Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4 |
Design
| Dimensions | ||
|---|---|---|
| 8.99 x 6.05 x 0.31 inches 228.25 x 153.68 x 7.95 mm |
9.45 x 6.67 x 0.30 inches 240 x 169.5 x 7.5 mm |
8.38 x 4.94 x 0.26 inches 212.8 x 125.6 x 6.6 mm |
| Weight | ||
| 15.38 oz / 436.0 g | 16.86 oz / 478.0 g | 10.51 oz / 298.0 g |
| Materials | ||
| Back: Plastic | Back: Aluminum | |
| Biometrics | ||
| Fingerprint (swipe) | ||
| Features | ||
| Notification light | Touch sensitive control keys | |
| Keys | ||
| Right: Volume control, Lock/Unlock key | Right: Volume control, Other | Right: Volume control, Lock/Unlock key |
| Colors | ||
| Black, Brown, White | Black, Gray, Silver, White | Black, White |
| Phone functionality | ||
| Yes | ||
Display
| Size | ||
|---|---|---|
| 8.9-inch, 69.90% screen-to-body | 9.7-inch, 71.65% screen-to-body | 8.4-inch, 76.61% screen-to-body |
| Type | ||
| IPS LCD | IPS LCD | Super AMOLED |
| Resolution | ||
| 2048x1536px, 288 PPI | 1536x2048px, 264 PPI | 2560x1600px, 359 PPI |
| Colors | ||
| 16 777 216 | 16 777 216 | 16 777 216 |
| Protection | ||
| Corning Gorilla Glass 3 | ||
| Features | ||
| Oleophobic coating, Ambient light sensor | ||
Hardware
| System chip | ||
|---|---|---|
| NVIDIA Tegra K1 (28 nm) | Apple A7 | Samsung Exynos 5 Octa 5420 |
| Processor | ||
| Dual-core 2300 MHz Denve |
Dual-core 1400 MHz Cyclone |
Octa-core 1900 MHz ARM Cortex-A15 and ARM Cortex-A7 |
| GPU | ||
| Kepler | PowerVR G6430 | Mali-T628 MP6 |
| Memory | ||
| 2GB (DDR3)/32GB | 1GB (LPDDR3)/128GB 1GB/16GB 1GB/32GB 1GB/64GB 1GB/128GB |
3GB (LPDDR3)/32GB 3GB/16GB |
| Storage expansion | ||
| microSDXC up to 128 GB | ||
| OS | ||
| Android (7.1 Nougat, 7.0 Nougat, 5.0 Lollipop) | iOS (12.x, 11.x, 10.x, 9.x, 8.x, 7.x) | Android (6.0 Marshmallow, 5.0 Lollipop, 4.4.2) |
Battery
| Type | ||
|---|---|---|
| 6700 mAh, Li - Polymer | 8820 mAh, Li - Polymer | 4900 mAh |
Camera
| Rear | ||
|---|---|---|
| Single camera | Single camera | Single camera |
| Main camera | ||
| 8 MP (Autofocus, BSI sensor) Aperture size: F2.4 Focal length: 29.2 mm Sensor size: 1/4" Pixel size: 1.12 μm |
5 MP (Autofocus, BSI sensor) Aperture size: F2.4 Focal length: 33 mm |
8 MP (Autofocus, CMOS image sensor) |
| Flash | ||
| LED | LED | |
| Video recording | ||
| 1080p (30 fps) | 1080p (30 fps) Time-lapse video, EIS, Video calling |
1080p (30 fps) |
| Front | ||
| 1.6 MP Video capture: 720p |
1.2 MP Video capture: 720p (30 fps) |
2.1 MP |
Connectivity & Features
| Bluetooth | ||
|---|---|---|
| 4.1 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| WLAN | ||
| b,g,n,ac,dual-band MIMO, Wi-Fi Direct, Hotspot 802.11 b, g, n, ac | a,b,g,n,dual-band Multiple antennas, MIMO, Hotspot 802.11 a, b, g, n | a,b,g,n,ac,dual-band MIMO, Hotspot, Wi-Fi Direct 802.11 a, b, g, n, ac |
| USB | ||
| microUSB, USB 2.0 | Lightning | microUSB, USB 2.0 |
| Sensors | ||
| Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass, Ambient light sensor | Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass, Ambient light sensor | Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass, Hall (for flip covers), Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor |
| HDMI | ||
| Yes | ||
| Location | ||
| GPS, A-GPS, Glonass, BeiDou | A-GPS, Glonass, Cell ID, Wi-Fi positioning | GPS, A-GPS, Glonass |
| Other | ||
| NFC, Tethering, Computer sync, OTA sync | Tethering, Computer sync, OTA sync, AirDrop | Tethering, Computer sync, OTA sync |
Multimedia
| Headphones | ||
|---|---|---|
| 3.5mm jack | 3.5mm jack | 3.5mm jack |
| Speakers | ||
| Multiple speakers | Multiple speakers | Multiple speakers |
| Features | ||
| Album art cover, Background playback | Album art cover, Background playback | Album art cover, Background playback |
| Screen mirroring | ||
| DLNA | TV-out | MHL |
| Additional microphone(s) | ||
| Yes | Yes | |
Cellular
| 4G (FDD) Bands | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 20 | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26 | 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 20 |
| 3G Bands | ||
| 5, 8, 4, 2, 1 | 5, 8, 2, 1 | 5, 8, 2, 1 |
| Data Speed | ||
| LTE Cat 3 (100/50 Mbit/s), HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s, HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s, UMTS | LTE, HSPA, UMTS | LTE, HSPA, UMTS |
| SIM type | ||
| Nano SIM | Nano SIM | Micro SIM |
Phone Features
| Notifications | ||
|---|---|---|
| Flight mode, Silent mode | Flight mode, Silent mode | Flight mode, Silent mode |
| Other features | ||
| Voice commands, Voice recording | Voice commands, Voice recording | Voice commands, Voice recording |
Regulatory Approval
| FCC approval | ||
|---|---|---|
| Date approved: Oct 22, 2013 FCC ID value: BCGA1475 | Date approved: May 16, 2014 FCC ID value: A3LSMT705 | |
| Measured SAR | ||
| Body: 1.19 W/kg Simultaneous Transmission: 1.33 W/kg |
Head: 0.19 W/kg Body: 1.01 W/kg Simultaneous Transmission: 1.56 W/kg |
|
Availability
| Officially announced | ||
|---|---|---|
| Oct 15, 2014 | Oct 22, 2013 | Jun 12, 2014 |
| Prices (MSRP) | ||
| $929 | ||
See the full
Google Nexus 9 vs Apple iPad Air vs Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4 specs comparison
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