Google Nexus 9 vs iPad Air vs Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4: specs comparison
posted by Nick T.
/ Oct 15, 2014, 12:59 PM
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.
Google Nexus 9 vs Apple iPad Air vs Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4
Display
Display size
Resolution
Pixel density
Technology
IPS LCD
IPS LCD
Super AMOLED
Screen-to-body ratio
69.90 %
71.65 %
76.61 %
Colors
16 777 216
16 777 216
16 777 216
Camera
Rear
Yes
Yes
Yes
Main camera
Hardware Features
Autofocus, Back-illuminated sensor (BSI)
Autofocus, Back-illuminated sensor (BSI)
Autofocus, CMOS image sensor
Specifications
Aperture size: F2.4; Focal length: 29.2 mm; Sensor size: 1/4"; Pixel size: 1.12 μm
Aperture size: F2.4; Focal length: 33 mm
Flash
LED
LED
Software Features
Touch to focus, Panorama
Digital image stabilization, HDR, Face detection, Exposure compensation, Touch to focus, Self-timer, Digital zoom, Geo tagging
Digital image stabilization, Self-timer, Digital zoom, Geo tagging, Exposure compensation, ISO control, White balance presets, Burst mode, HDR, Scenes, Effects
Video recording
1920x1080 (Full HD) (30 fps)
1920x1080 (Full HD) (30 fps)
1920x1080 (Full HD) (30 fps)
Recording format
H.264, 3GP
H.264, MOV
MPEG4, H.263, H.264, WMV
Features
Time-lapse video, Digital image stabilization, Video calling
Front
1.6 megapixels
1.2 megapixels
2.1 megapixels
Video capture
1280x720 (HD)
1280x720 (HD) (30 fps)
Design
Dimensions
Weight
the average is 21.1 oz (602 g)
the average is 21.1 oz (602 g)
the average is 21.1 oz (602 g)
Materials
Back: Plastic
Back: Aluminum
Biometrics
Fingerprint (swipe)
Features
Touch sensitive control keys
Phone functionality
Yes
Hardware & Performance
System chip
NVIDIA Tegra K1
Apple A7
Samsung Exynos 5 Octa 5420
Processor
GPU
Kepler
PowerVR G6430
Mali-T628 MP6
RAM
Storage expansion
Slot Type
microSDXC, microSDHC, microSD
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), Samsung TouchWiz UI
Battery
Capacity
6700 mAh
8820 mAh
4900 mAh
Stand-by time
the average is 23 days (559 h)
Talk time (3G)
the average is 51 h (3060 min)
Music playback
80.00 hours
Video playback
9.50 hours
12.00 hours
Cellular
LTE (FDD)
Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 20
Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26
Bands 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 20
UMTS
850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHz
850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz
850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz
GSM
850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz
850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz
850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz
CDMA
800, 1900 MHz
Data
Multimedia
Screen mirroring
DLNA
TV-out
MHL
Shopping information
MSRP price
$ 929
Google Nexus 9
Related phones
23 Comments
1. JunitoNH
Posts: 1946; Member since: Feb 15, 2012
Apple iPad vs Google's gPad....and the winner is....
posted on Oct 15, 2014, 1:03 PM 0
9. Awalker
Posts: 1962; Member since: Aug 15, 2013
The person who gets what they're looking for.
posted on Oct 15, 2014, 1:34 PM 12
17. Deaconclgi
Posts: 405; Member since: Nov 03, 2012
Truer words have never been spoken.
posted on Oct 15, 2014, 4:33 PM 0
2. 0xFFFF
Posts: 3806; Member since: Apr 16, 2014
Great to have a new Nexus tablet, especially 64-bit. But with 2GB RAM? And a chunky and heavy design? The price is not even very good. All in all, it's somewhat of a letdown.
posted on Oct 15, 2014, 1:04 PM 2
5. jove39
Posts: 2140; Member since: Oct 18, 2011
Metal construction has it's overhead...increased weight! 2GB RAM is good enough for Android L. For premium device you have to pay premium price...Nexus 9 is best android tablet so far.
posted on Oct 15, 2014, 1:19 PM 6
3. Tritinum
Posts: 471; Member since: May 06, 2014
Google is doing stuff like Apple ... dual core with a hardcore gpu!
posted on Oct 15, 2014, 1:08 PM 2
4. Iodine
Posts: 1471; Member since: Jun 19, 2014
The difference is that Apple SoC is a lot mor efficient, at least on the GPU front.
posted on Oct 15, 2014, 1:11 PM 3
8. vincelongman
Posts: 5625; Member since: Feb 10, 2013
Source?
Though you are probably right since A8's GPU has about half the performance of the K1's GPU
posted on Oct 15, 2014, 1:26 PM 2
6. jove39
Posts: 2140; Member since: Oct 18, 2011
Because it is right thing to do...2 high performance cores are better than 4-8 low performance cores.
posted on Oct 15, 2014, 1:22 PM 1
15. 0xFFFF
Posts: 3806; Member since: Apr 16, 2014
Likely simpler power management.
Witness ARM's designs with 4 low power cores and 4 high power cores and requiring the OS to juggle things between them.
With two high performance cores, the processor itself can more easily handle power management directly without juggling threads between two sets of cores.
There is also the argument that single threaded apps/routines benefit from a high performance core. But the latest ARM cores are pretty good, so I don't see this being a huge factor, at least not in the longer term.
posted on Oct 15, 2014, 2:38 PM 0
11. scarface21173
Posts: 637; Member since: Aug 17, 2014
Samsung tab s looks great, just hate the bloatware
posted on Oct 15, 2014, 1:41 PM 2
16. TruPatriot
Posts: 110; Member since: May 27, 2013
I think you have the battery size wrong on the Tab S. Shouldn't it be 7900mah?
posted on Oct 15, 2014, 3:07 PM 0
19. Kaiser2007
Posts: 173; Member since: Nov 16, 2013
I was expecting 16:10 or 16:9 on nexus 9. Disappointing 4:3. I want nVidia SHIELD Tablet Google Play Edition with LTE for the whole World.
posted on Oct 15, 2014, 9:13 PM 1
21. Elfmonster unregistered
Re: Specs.
I feel like Google lost a bet or a lawsuit so they cheaped down. But who knows, maybe using it in the hand for a few months will prove some wisdom which does not seem present on paper.
