Nexus 7 vs iPad Mini: Which Tablet Is the Best For Your Life and Budget?
Are you in the market for an ultra-portable tablet computer? Maybe you've considered purchasing a Nexus 7 2 or iPad Mini with Retina Display. Both devices are really neat and super productive. Choosing between the two really comes down to price and software.
First let's look at Google's offering. The Nexus 7 2 is Google's most popular tablet. The hot-selling 7" slate improves upon its predecessor, the Nexus 7, in every way. The Nexus 7 2 sports a 1920 by 1200 widescreen display. For non-techies that mean's it has more resolution than an HDTV albeit in a much slimmer, lighter, smaller package. The display is really sharp and it provides nice color saturation when compared to the first generation Nexus 7 and non-Retina iPad Mini.
Performance junkies will yearn to unleash the Nexus 7 2's 1.5GHz quad core CPU. With power to spare animations will run smoothly. A healthy 2GB of RAM ensures that the CPU and graphical power of the Nexus 7 2 won't be wasted. Three versions of the Nexus 7 2 exist: the base model with 16GB of storage, a larger 32GB model and a 32GB 4G LTE version.
In keeping true to the Nexus brand, the Nexus 7 2 gives users a pure-Android experience. Competing Android devices made by the likes of Samsung and HTC "skin" android. These skins can add great features like Touch-Wiz or Sense, but all also layered on top of Google's original code. Skins shouldn't negatively impact performance, but some may find the added features tacky. Skinned devices are also take longer to prepare for new Android OS updates. This means that while the Nexus 7 2 shipped with 4.3 Jelly Bean, it's already been updated to 4.4 KitKat. Samsung's iPad Air competitor the Note 10.1 is still stuck on 4.3. This "pure" or stock experience is similar to Apple's philosophy of seamless iOS updates.
The iPad Mini with Retina Display is a more then capable device in its own right. Unlike the Nexus 7 2, it does not feature a quad-core processor. Instead it has a dual core A7 chip with breakthrough 64 bit technology alongside a motion coprocessor. iOS 7, the iPad Mini with Retina Display's operating system, also offers more tablet-optimized apps than the Nexus 7 2. Mini users won't have to use blown-up phone apps. A blown-up app negates the high resolution offered by a tablet such as the Nexus 7 2. The lack of control presented by iOS 7 hampers the iPad's customization. The new Mini's build quality is also miles ahead of the Nexus 7 2. No plastic is to be found on the aluminum and glass enclosure. It's available in 16, 32, 64, and 128GB configurations with 4G LTE.
Still having trouble deciding which California-based company gets your cash? Well, the Nexus 7 2 is cheaper at $229 (and up), but on a component-to-component basis the iPad Mini with Retina Display features better tech despite its $399 (and up) price tag.
Do you like Android or iOS? Let us know in the comments section below.
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