Google Nexus 7 Review (2013)

Introduction:

When it was introduced last year, the Google Nexus 7 came out of nowhere and shook up the market in more ways than one, to reign supreme in the (budget) Android market. Before its arrival, cheap Android tablets typically came from no-name companies and were attached with funky model names. Seriously, everyone jumped on the bandwagon when it came to dirt cheap Android tablets, but where many failed to deliver something profound, the Nexus 7 seemingly redefined what we expect from the segment.

Not only were people impressed by the uber low price point on the Nexus 7, but it was also packing some admirable hardware under the hood to give every dollar attached to it some much-needed justification. One year later, we’re seeing its successor in the 2013 model of the Google Nexus 7 – something that continues the line’s affordable price point, while naturally receiving all of the improvements we’d expect to find. Even better, it’s coming straight out of the gate with the latest version of Android, 4.3 Jelly Bean, which hopefully deepens its worth. As much as we’d like to admit it’s shaping out become a hit, we’ll have to see if this Google Nexus 7 can continue to keep the standards high in this particular space.

The package contains:

• microUSB cable
• Wall Charger
• Quick Start Guide
• Product Safety and Warranty Guide

Design:

Commissioned yet again for the task at hand, Taiwan based company Asus has done yet another marvelous job designing the 2013 version of the Google Nexus 7. Simply, it has all the qualities we want to find in a successive device, as it’s both thinner (0.34”) in frame and lighter (10.55 oz) in weight to make it even easier to grasp with a single hand. We’ll admit, the design isn’t the most captivating over other shakers in the space, since it follows the same modest design structure as before, which is most notable for its subtle tapered edges, cleaner looking soft touch rear casing, and skinnier left/right bezels. It’s a minimalist design at its core, a defining characteristic for sure, but it doesn’t compromise with its construction either. Sure, it’s not flaunting a premium design like the iPad mini, but it really doesn’t need to, mainly because the updated design has an endearing effect on its own.


With the minimalist design and all, the tablet’s façade is pretty clean looking, since the usual set of Android capacitive buttons are incorporated into the interface. However, there’s a single LED light that pulsates in white for notifications – while a front-facing 1.2-megapixel camera, enabled for 720 video recording, is perched in an offset position toward the upper right corner above the display.

Just as before, the right edge of the tablet is home to its physical power button and volume control – with each offering better feel and responsiveness than last year’s model. Furthermore, the microphone is also found on the same side as well. Up top, the only item we find is the 3.5mm headset jack – while the microUSB port is the single item that’s seen on the bottom side. Interestingly, the new Nexus 7 features two speakers that are placed in close proximity to the top and bottom edges of the tablet when it’s held in portrait.

Adding more depth, the Nexus 7 is now armed with a rear camera – a 5-megapixel auto-focus one to be exact, that’s capable of recording video in 1080p. Although it’s not something we’d particularly use all the time, especially when we’re talking about a tablet here, it’s nonetheless a pleasing addition to use when the tablet is the only thing within reach to snap something on the fly.


Display:

The Nexus 10 blew everything away with its high-resolution screen, for those in the 10-incher tablet segment, but the new Nexus 7 is doing the same thing in the 7-incher category. Frankly, it’s one darling of a display! Featuring a 7-inch 1920 x 1200 IPS LCD display, it simply delivers the goods in the details department, as its 323 ppi pixel density is undoubtedly breathtaking for its screen size. Everything just has a defined and sharp look, so much that fine text in the web browser pop with an effective amount of clarity from a normal viewing distance. At the same time, its strong brightness output, balanced color reproduction, and modest viewing angles help to sprinkle yet more lusciousness to its polarizing aura. Heck, we’re also able to view the display under the gaze of the sun with minimal impact to visibility!

Interface and Functionality:

Ah yes, it’s the NEW Nexus device we’ve been waiting for, so it’s obviously treated to a new experience. To be specific, it’s running a vanilla Android 4.3 Jelly Bean experience, which doesn’t depart much in the visual department over the last major version of Android, but there are some noteworthy new additions that help to deepen the platform’s functionality by just a smidgen more. As expected, the platform lays claim to an exorbitant amount of personalization, but there’s nothing new in the visuals aside from a few preloaded static wallpapers we haven’t seen before.


After checking out some of the platform’s new features, some are naturally more practical than others, seeing that many of them are mostly relegated to behind-the-scenes. Here’s what’s new with Android 4.3 Jelly Bean:

Restricted Profiles – Last time around, we were ecstatic to find multi-user support with Android tablets, but with version 4.3, it now provides us with Restricted Profiles. Now, this is something wonderful to find if your tablet is widely used in the home, where kids, parents, and spouses all rely on the same tablet. Essentially, the admin can specify what apps are accessed by each user. Therefore, when those users log in, they will only be allowed access to apps that have been set to on by the admin.

Bluetooth Smart Ready – Primarily targeting those who have low-energy Bluetooth smart accessories, like some chest strapped heart rate monitors, devices running Android 4.3 Jelly Bean are optimized to work efficiently with these low power devices. It’s not something that’ll benefit everyone, but if you happen to fall into the category, you’ll surely come to appreciate it.

Wireless Display – If streaming video is your forte, like ones from YouTube, the Wireless Display feature of Android 4.3 brings your favorite content to the big screen in your living room – that’s as long as your television set supports Miracast.

Location awareness with Always-on Wi-Fi scanning – Again, another feature that’s more of a background process, this one allows devices running Android 4.3 to continue getting location information passively when Wi-Fi is turned off by the user. Seeing that always-on Wi-Fi scanning is present, it’ll continue to provide relevant data to apps without draining battery.

Accelerated 3D Graphics – Gamers will undeniably relish this one, since Android 4.3 brings forth support to Open GL ES 3.0. Basically, graphically intensive games will now sport more accelerated 3D graphics, which in turn, will give games even more photorealism than ever before.

Virtual Surround Sound – Armed with two speakers now, which means stereo support is in tow, the Nexus 7 with its Android 4.3 experience will give users that surround sound feel.

Generally speaking, this isn’t that huge refresh, but rather, it’s a miniscule update that mostly finds its usefulness with items in the experience that we’re not constantly in touch with on a direct level. However, it’s nevertheless nice to find that the platform is still seeing some optimizations that no doubt extends its totality.

Messaging:

Being stock and all, we’re presented with the tried and true on-screen Google keyboard – one that’s sporting the same layout as before. Due to the comfy spacing of its 7-inch screen, our thumbs have no issue whatsoever encompassing the entire layout. Better yet, the responsiveness of the keyboard keeps our fingers clicking away at a constant rate – all without much pause or accident. We can’t say the same about the landscape option, since it’s a bit more cramped getting our fingers into that natural typing position.


Would you look at that? It’s stock Android, so we’re given the usual Gmail and standard email apps for all of our emailing needs. Being a tablet and all, they make good use out of the extra real estate, as they employ that timeless layered approach with their presentations. However, their functionality remains largely unchanged.



Organizer:

Quickly glazing at the core organizer apps on the Nexus 7, there’s nothing different with their functionality and presentation from before – so they’re all very much the same as last time. Of course, Google Now’s exceptional behavior in tracking our habits continues to astound us, as it’s able to deliver pertinent data that centers around our daily lives.



Processor and Memory:

Some were quick to point out the Nexus 7’s not-so-cutting-edge quad-core 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro processor, which has been eclipsed by more recent entrants, but it’s nonetheless still able to give the tablet that sense of speed and snappiness with its performance. Also armed with 2GB of RAM and the Adreno 320 GPU, its performance gallops at a pace that undoubtedly shows us that it’s still one powerful thing to contend with. Sure, the benchmark scores might not reflect it, but heck, its real-world performance is enough to justify to us that it’s able to handle all tasks – both elementary and complex.

Indeed, we would’ve loved to see expandable storage with this, but alas, we’re comforted to find that its base internal storage capacity has been doubled from last year’s model. Whereas it was 8GB, this year’s model starts off at 16GB. With our 32GB review unit, it actually turns out to be 26.11GB out of the box, which is still an ample tally to accept.



Internet and Connectivity:

Combining its high-resolution display and quick performance, it doesn’t surprise us in the very least that it’s a winner in the web surfing department. With Google Chrome in for the ride, it’s able to provide us swift page loads via Wi-Fi, instant rendering on the fly, and smooth navigational controls, to make every single aspect of the experience simply phenomenal!

At launch, the Google Nexus 7 is available in Wi-Fi only form, but another version stuffed with 4G LTE for all four major domestic wireless carriers will be made available in the near future – no word on an exact date though. Not surprisingly, it’s armed to the teeth with all the usual connectivity features we’d expect to find – like aGPs, Bluetooth 4.0, 5GHz 802.11 a/b/g/n Wi-Fi, and NFC.

Camera:

Sadly, there’s nothing new seen with the Android 4.3 Jelly Bean camera interface. Yeah, it’s still sporting a very clean UI where only three icons occupy its layout, but the functionality and features set remain the same too. Compared to other things, it’s not as comprehensive with its shooting modes, but at least it offers the cool feature of Photospheres.


Shocking to say the least, especially when we’re talking about a tablet here, but the Google Nexus 7 actually takes some decent snapshots with its 5-megapixel rear auto-focus camera. The hardware might not be the most extensive on a device, but the results more than makes up for it. Obviously, the best results are taken outdoors where there’s plenty of lighting, as details are mostly average looking, but still enough to make them candidates for 6” x 4” printouts. In the color reproduction department, we’ll say that its casts vibrant tones that accentuate its looks, but when it comes to lowering lighting conditions, it becomes washed out – while noise and grainier details soften its quality.



Producing the same characteristic elements with its 1080p video recording quality, we can’t be too upset by the passable results put out by the tablet. In fact, we have only two complaints about the quality – the artifacting that’s present when panning quickly, and its jittery exposure adjustment. Aside from that, we’re able to tolerate everything else it’s able to put on the table to make it a go-to device for shooting videos when nothing else is present.

Google Nexus 7 Sample Video:



Multimedia:

Checking out the Gallery app, Android 4.3 Jelly Bean doesn’t sprinkle any enhancements to it – therefore, it looks and offers the same features as before.


Likewise, the same can be said about its music player, which is none other than the usual Google Play Music app that we’re all familiar with by now. Visually, it’s okay, but its worth is found if you’re subscribed to Google’s “All Access” subscription, which allows users to stream content from Google’s expansive catalog.


Donning two speakers for stereo support, we wouldn’t say that there’s huge improvement with its overall volume output, as it remains mostly average with its pleasant tones. Thankfully, there are equalizer settings to fine tune its quality based on the song’s genre.

Out of the box, the Nexus 7 lacks support for videos encoded in DivX and Xvid. Regardless of that, it manages to play H.264 and MPEG-4 videos with no fluff at all. With its sharp and vibrant screen, our eyes are able to stay affixed to it, but when it comes to its functionality, it lacks the scope that we find on other tablets.

Battery:

It might come to be a surprise to some, but this new Nexus 7 is actually sporting a lower capacity 3950 mAh battery inside of its body, which is down from the 4325 mAh one used by its predecessor. Fear not, though, seeing that enhancements with this latest version of Android combined with the tablet’s battery optimized hardware, help to provide us with 2.5 days of normal usage with its brightness set to automatic. We’re not complaining at all, seeing that it’s more than adequate!




Conclusion:

When you’re at the top of the division, you really want to make it difficult for your competitors to keep up. Well folks, that’s exactly what the 2013 edition of the Google Nexus 7 is doing, as it’s just one awesome tablet that continues to keep its rivals at bay and playing catch up. Indeed, some people might be just a little turned off by the higher starting cost of the tablet, which is set for $230 for the 16GB packing version, a tally that’s $30 higher than its predecessor, but seriously though, it’s still at a bargain price point that’s ample enough to give its competitors a good run for their money. For goodness sakes, the forthcoming 4G LTE variant (coming with 32GB), which will brandish a price point of $350 when it’s released, is also a pretty fine offering on its own.

Android 4.3 Jelly Bean came and went, and based on what we see here on the Nexus 7, it’s not particularly its main star attraction, but it merely helps to complement the tablet’s overall incremental improvements – both in hardware and software aspects. When all is said and done, the Google Nexus 7 continues to be the king of the hill when it comes to the 7-inch Android segment. Simply, it’s at the head of its class!

Software version of the review unit:
Android Version: 4.3
Build Number: JSS15J
Kernel Version: 3.4.0-g365a6e0

Google Nexus 7 (2013) Video Review: