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ipad mini users views on Nexus 7 (2013)
- Thread starter hbksabhi
- Start date
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I have used both minimally and am currently trying to decide between them. Here's my pro/con perspective as somebody who relies a lot on google services.
Build quality: mini is great, 7 is good
Form factor: 7's bezels are silly and awkward. 7's narrower frame is a bit easier to hold and is ideal for video and ebook reading, mini's wider format is better for browsing the web.
Gmail: ios gmail app is currently not lacking compared to the android version as far as I can tell.
Google voice: Works fine on both but I've had a bit more reliability with it on android
Google calendar: Doesn't sync contact's shared calendars on ios, otherwise comparable.
Google Contacts: better on android. Google currently allows contact syncing to ios but it's not a native implementation and has an uncertain future?
Google Maps/nav: works well on both but on android you can navigate to google contacts' addresses which I like.
Google Now: better integrated on android for sure.
music: itunes music syncing works way better than anything available on android. google music works well and I like it, but I really wish it had the option to "sync all music to local device" instead of having to do that on a per-song basis and always worrying about whether you and using you data plan to listen to music.
little things: ios devices almost always do the little things better. auto-screen brightness, fewer software bugs, bluetooth connection drops etc, all seem to work better on ios in my experience. I see this as a byproduct of having a unified software/hardware platform.
price: 7 wins obviously, but may lose in the long run if you take resale value into account.
screen: 7 wins vs the current mini, but I wouldn't be surprised at all if that flips when the new mini comes out (which is the main reason I'm waiting until that announcement before I make up my mind one way or the other.)
performance: look at specs all you want but they both work fine for any app you want to run.
Bottom line for me is that if nexus devices were as well-built as apple devices I'd probably go for a nexus, but as it stands apple still rules in terms of hardware and the google software integration on ios is just good enough to keep me coming back to apple. In reality they are both fine and we're lucky enough that we can't really go wrong even after all the hand-wringing.
Build quality: mini is great, 7 is good
Form factor: 7's bezels are silly and awkward. 7's narrower frame is a bit easier to hold and is ideal for video and ebook reading, mini's wider format is better for browsing the web.
Gmail: ios gmail app is currently not lacking compared to the android version as far as I can tell.
Google voice: Works fine on both but I've had a bit more reliability with it on android
Google calendar: Doesn't sync contact's shared calendars on ios, otherwise comparable.
Google Contacts: better on android. Google currently allows contact syncing to ios but it's not a native implementation and has an uncertain future?
Google Maps/nav: works well on both but on android you can navigate to google contacts' addresses which I like.
Google Now: better integrated on android for sure.
music: itunes music syncing works way better than anything available on android. google music works well and I like it, but I really wish it had the option to "sync all music to local device" instead of having to do that on a per-song basis and always worrying about whether you and using you data plan to listen to music.
little things: ios devices almost always do the little things better. auto-screen brightness, fewer software bugs, bluetooth connection drops etc, all seem to work better on ios in my experience. I see this as a byproduct of having a unified software/hardware platform.
price: 7 wins obviously, but may lose in the long run if you take resale value into account.
screen: 7 wins vs the current mini, but I wouldn't be surprised at all if that flips when the new mini comes out (which is the main reason I'm waiting until that announcement before I make up my mind one way or the other.)
performance: look at specs all you want but they both work fine for any app you want to run.
Bottom line for me is that if nexus devices were as well-built as apple devices I'd probably go for a nexus, but as it stands apple still rules in terms of hardware and the google software integration on ios is just good enough to keep me coming back to apple. In reality they are both fine and we're lucky enough that we can't really go wrong even after all the hand-wringing.
I'm not going to bash the nexus 7 2. In a lot of ways it's a great tablet. I was very tempted to buy one; however after trying one out for a lengthy period of time at my local best buy, I just can't.
16:9 displays for tablets are just the wrong aspect IMHO. 90% of the things myself and family members seem to do on them are way better at 4:3. Surfing the internet seems way to narrow in portrait, and in landscape the height is horrible as well. I don't know, maybe to some these 16:9 displays are better but to me a 4:3 (on my tablet anyways) is a must.
Finally, build quality is improved on version 2 but I agree with some others..What he heck are they thinking with those huge upper and lower bezels??
I know of no 7" tablet with 4:3 aspect ratio to even try it out on that form factor.
I have the Mini and new N7. I enjoy going back and forth between the two and their respective OS.
I did not jailbreak the Mini, customizing is basically non existent therefore and that is where I get icing on the cake with the N7.
I really like my iPad mini with the one exception being the grainy low res display. It's no surprise because I saw it in the store before buying it. But greatly preferring Apple products I decided to gamble.
My cousin bought the 2013 Nexus 7.2. I must be honest and say its fantastic. Little did I realize just how good Android is. Had I seen one before buying my mini, I would have bought it and been completely satisfied.
My cousin bought the 2013 Nexus 7.2. I must be honest and say its fantastic. Little did I realize just how good Android is. Had I seen one before buying my mini, I would have bought it and been completely satisfied.
Despite the Mini being a little wider, I consider both the Nexus and Mini to be the same "smaller tablet" size category so I think it's fair to compare the two directly.
Bought a mini a few months, returned it about a week...I'm just too spoiled by the crisp retina display. I also own an iPad 3.
Went to purchase the new Nexus 7 since it was priced very reasonably....love the resolution. I prefer the 4:3 ratio of the mini versus the 16:9 of the Nexus but the resolution of the mini
Hopefully Apple will bring out the retina mini 2 in Q4 2013.
Went to purchase the new Nexus 7 since it was priced very reasonably....love the resolution. I prefer the 4:3 ratio of the mini versus the 16:9 of the Nexus but the resolution of the mini
Hopefully Apple will bring out the retina mini 2 in Q4 2013.
I have used my Nexus 7 for a month... ( version 1)... then came home and bought the ipad mini. I cannot be bothered to wait for the retina mini version as the Nexus 7 is so fundamentally flawed. 7" at the 'wide screen' ratio is wrong. Even with black bars, your ipad mini movie will display larger, and for everything else the extra screen space makes it a proper tablet joy, and not a continual pan and zoom hassle.
Even after rooting and getting rid of the ridiculous soft sreen control buttons the nexus uses... it is still too small to be enjoyed for web browsing etc.
Getting data/ movies etc on to the Nexus is way easier, and there are some far superior Excel alternatives ( supporting excel locked cells and even drip,down lists/ data validation) on Android, but even so i'll happily work around those issues with a seagate wireless plus.
My Nexus would also spontaneously go into a continual reboot sequence... which is incredibly irritating, and this fault remained after upgrading to latest Android version. Holding it 'upside down' and waiting for face verification to stop by ensuring camera didn't see my face, then entering my unlock numbers seemed to be able to stop the reboot , most of the time.... unti lit starts again, of course.
Even after rooting and getting rid of the ridiculous soft sreen control buttons the nexus uses... it is still too small to be enjoyed for web browsing etc.
Getting data/ movies etc on to the Nexus is way easier, and there are some far superior Excel alternatives ( supporting excel locked cells and even drip,down lists/ data validation) on Android, but even so i'll happily work around those issues with a seagate wireless plus.
My Nexus would also spontaneously go into a continual reboot sequence... which is incredibly irritating, and this fault remained after upgrading to latest Android version. Holding it 'upside down' and waiting for face verification to stop by ensuring camera didn't see my face, then entering my unlock numbers seemed to be able to stop the reboot , most of the time.... unti lit starts again, of course.
i know Nexus is popular and it sells a lot but probably because of its price.
I think a 4:3 is better for tablet, its the same size on the screen when you watch video anyway just black part on top and bottom. Wider is better, even if Ipad mini screen is ugly still i would prefer more than Nexus. Went to try to old Nexus and i couldn't even find the camera app or setting. I hate Android for its plain os being too difficult to use. U need to download local keyboard, and many other apps unless u buy a Samsung and believe me u dont want to hold Samsung plastic body tablet. Its different grade compare to Nexus and its more expensive.
I think a 4:3 is better for tablet, its the same size on the screen when you watch video anyway just black part on top and bottom. Wider is better, even if Ipad mini screen is ugly still i would prefer more than Nexus. Went to try to old Nexus and i couldn't even find the camera app or setting. I hate Android for its plain os being too difficult to use. U need to download local keyboard, and many other apps unless u buy a Samsung and believe me u dont want to hold Samsung plastic body tablet. Its different grade compare to Nexus and its more expensive.
Have both new nexus 7 and ipad mini and like both. Like the weight and size of the 7 over the mini. Love HD screens so it also wins over the current mini although it will probably lose out with a retina mini I think. I use both of these for my classes and presentations on tablets. I am not a big fan of the android system compared to apple os. I have found that when holding the 7, I need it to be in a case with a hand strap especially when watching a movie. Watching a movie on the 7 is great and the speakers are better on it compared to ipad. One of the disadvantages of the 7 is the memory. Although it does have 32GB, unlike other android tablets it does not have the micro sd card slot, but then the android system does not allow you to move movies and other things onto the card so if you want to load more than a couple of movies you are screwed with storage. Having said that I realize I can use a wireless drive with it like I do with the ipads so maybe that is not a fair comparison to make however the android tablets do not have a higher memory above 32GB with a couple of exceptions. I tend to think I need a large memory to hold my stuff!
All in all I like both devices for what I use them for but if I really have to pick one a retina ipad mini would really rock my world!!
All in all I like both devices for what I use them for but if I really have to pick one a retina ipad mini would really rock my world!!
I've swapped back and forth a few times, but have recently gone back to the mini.
The N7 is a fine device and will perform well enough for a lot of people, and Android as an OS has a lot going for it.
For me though, I went back to the iPad Mini for 2 reasons:
1) Quantity, choice and quality of apps in Apple's App Store when compared to Google's Play Store. There are lots of apps that I want that are just not available on the Google store (GTA Chinatown Wars, Peggle, Olo, Limbo, Bastian, Ridiculous Fishing etc etc), and the ones that are available, are often inferior versions heavily laden with advertisements (Bejewelled, Photobucket, scrabble etc etc)
2) The N7's performance seems to slow down noticeably over time, and becomes laggy.
If budget is not a concern, the iPad Mini is a better machine, when apps are taken into account (in my opinion).
The N7 is a fine device and will perform well enough for a lot of people, and Android as an OS has a lot going for it.
For me though, I went back to the iPad Mini for 2 reasons:
1) Quantity, choice and quality of apps in Apple's App Store when compared to Google's Play Store. There are lots of apps that I want that are just not available on the Google store (GTA Chinatown Wars, Peggle, Olo, Limbo, Bastian, Ridiculous Fishing etc etc), and the ones that are available, are often inferior versions heavily laden with advertisements (Bejewelled, Photobucket, scrabble etc etc)
2) The N7's performance seems to slow down noticeably over time, and becomes laggy.
If budget is not a concern, the iPad Mini is a better machine, when apps are taken into account (in my opinion).
I only have the first Nexus 7 that I bought six months ago. I did reserve the new Nexus 7 when it came out and went to look at it at MicroCenter before buying it. I figured since I already owned the first that buying the new one wasn't worth it.
I did buy a Mini in June and after using the Mini and seeing the quality of the same exact app running on the Nexus 7 and my Mini, I was regretting buying the Nexus 7. The app quality for the iPad is still tops and too many apps in the play store and just scaled up phone apps and not actual tablet versions.
If the app quality changes, I could possibly see using only a Nexus 7, but till then, my iPad goes with me everywhere. Specs don't mean a thing if the app quality isn't there. Apps are the reason I own my tablets.
I did buy a Mini in June and after using the Mini and seeing the quality of the same exact app running on the Nexus 7 and my Mini, I was regretting buying the Nexus 7. The app quality for the iPad is still tops and too many apps in the play store and just scaled up phone apps and not actual tablet versions.
If the app quality changes, I could possibly see using only a Nexus 7, but till then, my iPad goes with me everywhere. Specs don't mean a thing if the app quality isn't there. Apps are the reason I own my tablets.
I don't actually have the 2nd gen, but I bought the 1st gen N7 a little over a year ago, and the iPad Mini wins hands down because of the app quality. Android tablets suck because of their crappy phone apps. Once I saw my little brother's iPad Mini and all of the high quality apps I was missing, I about **** my pants. No, but I regretted spending nearly 300 bucks on a crappy ass android tablet + accessories... not to mention the lag... but let's not get into that. It's basically an oversized phone because it mostly runs phone apps. I'd take the iPad Mini and it's terrible screen over the N7 any day of the week. I'm currently waiting for the full sized iPad 5 and will never buy another Android tablet for as long as I live.
I'll echo the sentiment expressed by many here--the new Nexus 7 is a huge improvement over last years model with great materials, beautiful high res display, very quick performance. However, all of that is ruined by a display/form factor that is just too small. While the difference between 7" and 7.9" doesn't initially sound like it would significant, because of the 16:10 display ratio (vs. 4:3 on the Mini), it's approximately 35% smaller and coupled with the onscreen buttons, screen real estate is really limited. Landscape use for anything except watching movies is really hampered by the dimensions.
I probably could have dealt with the 16:10 ratio on an 8" display (LG G Pad 8.3 looks promising) and it's a shame because otherwise, the Nexus 7 is a great tablet and a terrific price. Ultimately, after using it for a week and returned my and went back to my Mini.
I probably could have dealt with the 16:10 ratio on an 8" display (LG G Pad 8.3 looks promising) and it's a shame because otherwise, the Nexus 7 is a great tablet and a terrific price. Ultimately, after using it for a week and returned my and went back to my Mini.
Nope, that doesn't help. It doesn't matter which version it's on. It's still laggy or stuttery.
I purchased a Nexus 7 today so that I could try it out and compare it to my iPad Mini. Right off the bat you notice the beautiful screen on the Nexus and how sharp it is. The device itself feels good in my hand and in my opinion it's easier to type on because it's not as wide as the mini. The cameras were nothing special but personally I don't have use for them.
To my surprise, I found phone apps to look and run very well on the Nexus. Instagram & Vine look a lot better on the Nexus than on the iPad Mini @2x for example. I actually found the Plex app to be nicer than on the iPad which was quiet a surprise. I was thrilled that with the Nexus I was able to download a third party app and stream my European Television subscription through the Nexus (something the iPad can't do because they use wmv/mms)
The audio performance appears to be on par with the Mini but I liked how Android allows you to control notification sounds separate from the other audio. I also have a chromecast that I picked up a week ago and I was able to cast my music and youtube videos quickly and easily to my tv. Plex and other apps will be adding support over the next few months so I can't wait.
Overall, I'm very pleased and I'm pretty certain I'll be keeping the Nexus and selling my mini. I bought this because I've had more of an interest in Android since iOS 7 was announced and I felt that I should give Android a shot. I must say that I do use a lot of google services and that my main use for my tablet is media, web, and chat. You need to just go for what platform works best for you and your needs.
To my surprise, I found phone apps to look and run very well on the Nexus. Instagram & Vine look a lot better on the Nexus than on the iPad Mini @2x for example. I actually found the Plex app to be nicer than on the iPad which was quiet a surprise. I was thrilled that with the Nexus I was able to download a third party app and stream my European Television subscription through the Nexus (something the iPad can't do because they use wmv/mms
) The audio performance appears to be on par with the Mini but I liked how Android allows you to control notification sounds separate from the other audio. I also have a chromecast that I picked up a week ago and I was able to cast my music and youtube videos quickly and easily to my tv. Plex and other apps will be adding support over the next few months so I can't wait.
Overall, I'm very pleased and I'm pretty certain I'll be keeping the Nexus and selling my mini. I bought this because I've had more of an interest in Android since iOS 7 was announced and I felt that I should give Android a shot. I must say that I do use a lot of google services and that my main use for my tablet is media, web, and chat. You need to just go for what platform works best for you and your needs.
It's just going to end up slowing down again. There's no point in deleting the data on it; I don't use it much anyway.
Google has added TRIM into 4.3 which is the reason the first generation Nexus' slowed down. There was no garbage cleanup on the flash memory. I have only seen people speaking of improvements since the update.
I've owned my iPad mini since shortly after launch, but I've only spent a very small amount of time using the Nexus 7 (V1 or V2). I can say that my main complaint about it is the aspect ratio of the screen. I very much prefer 4:3 over 16:9 on a tablet.
In the long run I'll probably end up with both, I can't really beat the $229 price on the N7.
In the long run I'll probably end up with both, I can't really beat the $229 price on the N7.