Resolved iPad Mini vs Nexus 7 Photo(!)

[FrankB1191]

I saw videos, read about the specs, and endured the lengthy debate about how wonderful the new Nexus 7 is. I finally made it to Best Buy tonight, and decided to compare my iPad Mini with the new Nexus. The Nexus was frozen, and after my futile efforts, one of the salesman came over to get it working again. It took about five minutes, and I videotaped it with my Mini (still debating whether or not to upload that to YouTube).

In short, my wife and I weren't impressed. The text seemed a bit smoother, but the screen is small, and not any different than the other 7" Android tablets we've owned and abandoned. I went to MSN.com on both devices, just to see if the Nexus loads pages any faster, and they were tied. If we hadn't wasted time trying to get the Nexus' unfrozen, I would have gone to The Verge, etc. Here's the pic I took with my $20 Samsung cell phone:

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a80/PHEAA/minivsnexus72_zps9e7a5741.jpg

The Nexus had smaller text, a blue tint to the screen, and lacked the Sign In options, etc seen on the Mini. The Nexus had thinner text, although I don't know why. We scrolled through the Android extravaganza, and had that same old feeling that led us to iOS about 6 months ago.

I decided to compare the Mini with the iPad 2, and the iPad 2's screen was a disappointment. The text was heavily staircased compared to the Mini, and we zoomed in on the Mini's text to make a fair comparison. The iPad 2 was not zoomed, and the Mini is on the bottom:

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a80/PHEAA/MinivsIpad2_zps76904d6e.jpg

The iPad 2's screen also had a blue tint, and all three devices were at maximum brightness. I didn't cherry pick photo's, and these were the only two taken. I was expecting more "WOW!" even with the Nexus 7's smaller screen, but.... If a Retina Mini comes along, I'll have to take a look before deciding whether or not to return the second Mini I bought last week (we have 60 days at Best Buy ).

***I'm not looking to knock the Nexus 7, debate Android vs iOS, or tell someone they were conned into buying the Nexus. I did this because I've seen a lot of talk, but very little in the way of side by side video or picture comparison.
P.S. I included the URL's to each photo underneath the pic, so you can view it in a separate window.

 

[l0gikb0mb]

I liked the iPad Mini better as well.

Got the Nexus 7 2nd Gen last week and returned it after a day. Android is still android, albeit a bit better and smoother. The screen was great quality, but a bit too small (I really don't have to zoom in at all to read the text though which was great).

Software front, iPad just simply wins. I snagged a new Mini 16gb for $290 after tax ($259), and the Nexus 7 2 over here is $282 after tax, so for $8 more it was definitely worth it.

I don't think the new gen will be coming next month, maybe a bit after. I'm only interested in the Retina screen, but I'm not sure it's ready yet. I definitely think it will hot like the iPad 3/4 and have battery problems if released at this stage. My guess, anyway.

 

[blackhand1001]

The latest version of chrome hides the tab and address bar automatically. You didn't take that picture either. I have seen it posted in another thread. The simple fact of the manner is that the mini is outdated compared to the new nexus. The screen is no where close to as good, the cpu/gpu is a complete joke compared to the one in the nexus as is the 512mb of ram which makes tabs have to reload all the time.

The nexus 7 also makes more sense in the portrait orientation. Its very easy to wrap your hand around it in portrait. Even people with small hands would be no problem palming it. Its actually much more comfortable to use it this way than either device in landscape.

 

[FrankB1191]

Portrait mode simply reduces the size of text even more in both tablets. Benchmarks are one thing, but using the tablet is the ultimate test. I came to Apple products recently, and belonged to a few Android forums prior to that. It could be that a computer enthusiast/tinkerer would enjoy playing around with Android more than iOS, and I can appreciate that. The Nexus 7 failed to impress me when I gave it a brief run this evening. It was the same Android experience as before, and a screen that is too small for my needs. I have an iPod 5G for the small screen experience, along with other 7" Android tablets. I'm simply reporting this in response to all of the "Nexus 7 Destroys iPad" nonsense. There wasn't a single person near the Nexus 7 at Best Buy, but the Apple products from last year had a crowd around them. Maybe they and I are stupid, but I don't think so. Try them before you buy them, and buy the one that does it for you.....

 

[Anti-Lucifer]

I need to chime in here:

I did post up a thread regarding how I bought a brand new nexus 7 2013 model and loved it. The word to note is loved-

The nexus 7 is a great tablet for the price. It does have all the hardware specs you'd agree on that is well worth the price tag of $229. Android 4.3 is not laggy at all on the tablet and some games such as riptide runs just as great on the nexus 7 (due to it being optimized for this particular android platform).

The highlights for me:

* Screen resolution and screen viewing angles: angles retain all color and the screen is just spectacular.

* Wifi is extremely fast - It's even faster than any ipad including my ipad 4 and past ipad mini

* The multitasking with one button access is similar to apple but apple needs button press x2 or 4 finger swipe up gesture

* The customizations of the home screen/widgets

* The virtually lag free UI (see cons for this part 2)

* The battery life is particularly great for this sized device

* The aspect ratio for youtube videos and movies

* The weight of the device is so light

* The option of OTG USB access, file access with file managers, the multiple ways to login (using password, pin, face detection, swipe gestures, etc) and the new multi-profiles

* Integration with google everything

* Just about any type of network connection you wish to stream with works almost as good as the iPads

* ALWAYS ON VPN - this was my major deal winner! and openVPN support plus any other type of vpn support you wish to have!

* Background multitasking for google voice apps - VOIP apps that actually work in the background without limitations

* double sided drop down notification/settings panel (for tablets, it's slide down from top-left for noticiations, top-right side for settings access).

* LED notification light in the front of the panel

* Easily send any type of document/attachments to any app


Here are the cons and deal breakers:

* APPS - lack of tablet apps - very pathetic vs. apple ecosystem. It's quite terrible. DEAL BREAKER for me. Almost all the ipad apps are just beautifully designed and works so well on the ipad. Look at redfin on the ipad vs any android tablet. Look at the ipad ebay app vs android's: pathetic.

* Aspect ratio is CRAP for web browsing - way too skinny and the 7" is just not hitting the spot vs. an ipad mini

* Build quality is very questionable because I've dropped mine and it did hold up but have seen youtube videos of it stop working upon a drop

* Encryption is just broken - even with a complete format, even down to the TWRS recovery mode you will have to enter in decryption password - this gotta be some bug! A full format doesn't even remove the encryption

* Upon a reformat with the encryption still on, the wifi doesn't work anymore! It's just strange issues with the hardware/software.

* Google paranoia - always tracking. This is the major deal breaker for me as well. I don't like my emails scanned, etc

* Widgets are just lacking - it's great for a few moments then you just forget about using them because you still have to swipe screens to access certain widgets. App drawer is alphabetized and pretty good

* The performance of chrome on the new nexus 7 is quite interesting - it does preloading of websites for you which is great for speed but when you really compare it to say an ipad 4, the safari browser is just plain faster. What's worse is that chrome on an jailbroken ipad 4 using NITROUS and google's chrome preloading feature is indeed faster but the entire browser itself is just excellently smoother than on a nexus. An example is when you pull down the screen on the nexus 7 in the browser, it stutters a bit - on the ipad, there is zero stuttering.

* PDF viewing on the nexus 7 is acceptable but seriously not even close compared to an ipad 4 since ipad 4 is extremely fast nearly instant for rendering large PDF pages. On the nexus 7 there is significant lag when you zoom in and out. It's useable but definitely noticeable with the lag. Quad core can't even help this one.

There are a few more gripes about the nexus 7 but it's just a little personal niggle about it. Here is my summary of the nexus 7 2013 model:

If you are not afraid to learn new technology and really try to get deeper into the OS, android is perfect for you. It still lacks the polish such as UI smoothness in apps compared to apple's devices but it's 99% just as good on the nexus 7 2013 model. It's definitely not laggy but you can tell if you are coming from using an apple device for years, even on the nexus 7, it's just a bit behind in overall smoothness.

If you want to customize, android is for you. The nexus 7 is very very fast and it just handles everything very well. But that just gets old quick because I mainly use my tablet for web browsing, emailing, etc. All these widgets enable quick viewing of what's happening but then you still have to click on it and it opens the app anyway. For example is the email widget - sure you see new mail that comes in but you still have to click on it and the app opens up. I'd rather just see a notification and then click on it - basicallysame thing. The widget is just extra real estate space and android definitely uses it 10x more effectively than apple does - on the apple ipads, it's a total waste of space with the stupid icon layout.

Overall, the nexus 7 is superior to that of the ipad mini on the hardware front BUT because it's so complex and is a full computing platform, it differs in a way that is a deal breaker for most people like myself: I don't want all that power on a tablet and most importantly to me are the apps - There just is not enough good apps - apple has GREAT apps; tablet apps! Most of these apps on the android world are just not great nor good - it's just standard run of the mill app that resembles windows mobile days even.

The biggest reason for me to return it was the fact the software and hardware was just questionable - i had wifi problems after reformatting and it never worked again - encryption never was disabled, and overall I don't like not having facetime, iMessage, and there is no other alternatives. I will not ask my friends and family to install skype or create a google+ account just to chat. the google voice is useful but then again, the entire google experience is not as polished as apple. This is true if you come from apple products BEFORE you ever use android products.

If the first device you've used is an android device, you won't have an issue going with a nexus 7. The biggest thing for me was the web browser speed and smoothness - whatever apple is doing, they are doing absolutely right because it's so fast on safari and using nitrous on ipad 4 jailbroken makes any browser just as fast. The pinch to zoom on nexus 7 doesn't lag but you can totally tell if you are comparing side by side the apple device is smoother.

I think apple really does not need to worry about the nexus 7 killing the ipad mini - BUT that's a big IF if apple doesn't put in a retina screen. The screen is just so much better on the nexus 7 2013.

Last but not least, it is the price that dictated me to pick one up. I actually didn't even know the specs until I got home and looked it up - what got to me was the fact the UI was lag free and the screen was just astonishingly good like an ipad retina. But after spending 2 weeks with it, I feel it is just not good enough for me - i am waiting on what apple has to offer.

I need to add something else: WIth y'all that likes to show benchmarks of how fast this nexus 7 is, honestly, it means absolutely jack D to anyone who is mainly using this tablet to do what a tablet is meant to do: that is web browse, email, and enjoy pictures and videos. The benchmark numbers mean nothing at all. You can just show those numbers to other nerds who are spec jocks. real world users don't care!

And even though nexus 7 2013 is very fast, I have not tried all the games because I can't! There is no inifinity blade, no real racing, no good games for me to test that I've already bought on the ipads. I was just very upset the fact my two favorite apps: ebay and redfin really looked like crap.

 

[Faux Carnival]

A person that chooses iPad Mini over Nexus 7 is plain a fanboy. (Or over 60)

 

[tbayrgs]

A person that chooses iPad Mini over Nexus 7 is plain a fanboy. (Or over 60)

And the person making this type of statement is simply ignorant.

I'm am neither and kept my Mini vs. replacing it with a Nexus 7, primarily because of what you see in the first photo by the OP. Specs don't necessarily equal the best user experience.

 

[FrankB1191]

Anti-Licifer,
Lots to consider in your post. It's nice to see something as thoughtful as that posted here, rather than "X Destroys Y". Specs don't tell much with any tablet, unless they're horrific. I was able to get a hands-on yesterday, and the only thing I object to is the screen size. I have 7" Android tablets, and they just don't do it for web browsing. Forgot to check if the music player on the Nexus still goes all the way back to the first album/artist in alphabetical order. That drove me crazy on my other Android tablets.

 

[daveathall]

I'm am neither and kept my Mini vs. replacing it with a Nexus 7, primarily because of what you see in the first photo by the OP. Specs don't necessarily equal the best user experience.

I certainly agree, I too will not be replacing my iPad mini with a Nexus 7.2 when it is finally released in the UK.

 

[jsw]

A person that chooses iPad Mini over Nexus 7 is plain a fanboy. (Or over 60)

Or someone who prefers iOS, or someone who likes the aspect ratio better, or someone who prefers the app selection and quality for tablets, or someone who wants to be able to use iMessage, or someone who prefers a metal back.

I have the original N7 and an N7.2. I love them both. I like the iPad mini but want higher resolution and something I can control with one hand. It's a personal preference. For me, the 7" size is perfect, all the apps I want are there, and the rubberized plastic feels better than the aluminum.

But that doesn't mean only fools choose iPad minis.

 

[BigHonkingDeal]

I certainly agree, I too will not be replacing my iPad mini with a Nexus 7.2 when it is finally released in the UK.

I have both and like them both. Specs aside, I still prefer using the Mini.....
The Mini is a better device, period.

 

[tbayrgs]

I have both and like them both. Specs aside, I still prefer using the Mini.....
The Mini is a better device, period.

I won't make any claim that one device is better than the other, because it's really specific to each individual. I really did like the new Nexus 7, up to a point. Unfortunately, for me that point was the size and ratio of the display and again, for me, it was enough of an issue to push me back to the Mini.

The new Nexus 7 is a great device, far better than last year's iteration (IMO)--has a great feel in hand, beautifully crisp and bright display, and the UI was very smooth and quick. I only noticed very slight, occasional lag but no more than I experience with my Mini. I just prefer the larger display area on the Mini, in spite of the lower ppi.

 

[l0gikb0mb]

And the person making this type of statement is simply ignorant.

I'm am neither and kept my Mini vs. replacing it with a Nexus 7, primarily because of what you see in the first photo by the OP. Specs don't necessarily equal the best user experience.

It really is funny. A lot use the fanboy card and then act completely ignorant when thinking specs equate to everything.

I'd hope by now people would've realized that's just not the case. I've got every android phone at release and never quite understood how it never performed up to the equivalent iPhone and yet had such a huge fanbase calling apple products overpriced and slow.

 

[daveathall]

I have both and like them both. Specs aside, I still prefer using the Mini.....
The Mini is a better device, period.

That maybe. With my old eyes, I prefer and need the screen size of the mini, so for my use the Nexus 7 is not the better device. Period.

 

[cdmoore74]

Android/Nexus 7 is just too much for the iPad. Just a taste of what a custom rom will do. Notice no nav buttons for more screen space. Full control over any App screen DPI setting (force high res setting for more content). Tablet is fast but I just like to overclock for the heck of it; why not. This is a true enthusiast tablet.

 

[Anti-Lucifer]

Android/Nexus 7 is just too much for the iPad. Just a taste of what a custom rom will do. Notice no nav buttons for more screen space. Full control over any App screen DPI setting (force high res setting for more content). Tablet is fast but I just like to overclock for the heck of it; why not. This is a true enthusiast tablet.

I understand your enthusiasm towards the android platform - but seriously, control the dpi for what reasons? the screen is a mere 7". It's already a bit too small for proper web browsing and it's the same for every "enthusiast" - that is to make things like this for the sake of being able to do so.

What I'm looking for is the fit/finish of the device, the overall smoothness of using the device, and most importantly, features that actually work 100% of the time - look up the GPS issues every single nexus 7 2013 is having right now and tell me you are OK with that. I'm expecting my iPad GPS to be flawless and it is.

Everything else is just tinkering around and seriously, android is a COMPUTING platform - but a majority of people just want a tablet for convenience and ease of use. I will never recommend any android device to anyone who is less than a computer person; a person who has some computing skills at the system level.

 

[cdmoore74]

no real racing,[/B] no good games for me to test that I've already bought on the ipads. I was just very upset the fact my two favorite apps: ebay and redfin really looked like crap.

You do know that real racing is on Android.

 

[Anti-Lucifer]

You do know that real racing is on Android.

If it is, hell, the google play store is so badly laid out, I can't find it! Honestly, I wasn't able to find tablet apps - the entire app store user experience is just subpar vs the apple app store. There's just a ton of stuff missing so it seems to me but the surprising thing is there are rooted apps in the store (apps that require rooting your device).

 

[cdmoore74]

I understand your enthusiasm towards the android platform - but seriously, control the dpi for what reasons? the screen is a mere 7". It's already a bit too small for proper web browsing and it's the same for every "enthusiast" - that is to make things like this for the sake of being able to do so.

What I'm looking for is the fit/finish of the device, the overall smoothness of using the device, and most importantly, features that actually work 100% of the time - look up the GPS issues every single nexus 7 2013 is having right now and tell me you are OK with that. I'm expecting my iPad GPS to be flawless and it is.

Everything else is just tinkering around and seriously, android is a COMPUTING platform - but a majority of people just want a tablet for convenience and ease of use. I will never recommend any android device to anyone who is less than a computer person; a person who has some computing skills at the system level.

Base iPad's don't have GPS but every Nexus 7 does. You have to pony up $459 for the right to say that you have GPS. And no GPS issues for me. 15 out of 23 sats locked and loaded.

 

[cdmoore74]

If it is, hell, the google play store is so badly laid out, I can't find it! Honestly, I wasn't able to find tablet apps - the entire app store user experience is just subpar vs the apple app store. There's just a ton of stuff missing so it seems to me but the surprising thing is there are rooted apps in the store (apps that require rooting your device).

Not to be funny but just type in "real racing" in the search field. To be honest I have a harder time finding Apps in the Apple store because there's just so many of them. When I do my searches in google play I feel that I get better results back. The key is using "key" words when searching. Like racing or shooter.

 

[cdmoore74]

Example of DPI changing. Modified 180 vs stock 320. The screen is so sharp you can still "easily" make out the words. Last years model would have been more difficult.

 

[MRU]

I need to chime in here:

I did post up a thread regarding how I bought a brand new nexus 7 2013 model and loved it. The word to note is loved-

........

We go from a well written, informed and highly interesting unbiased post to

A person that chooses iPad Mini over Nexus 7 is plain a fanboy. (Or over 60)

A giant spamball.

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You do know that real racing is on Android.

Yep and on the nexus 7 I hate the fact the menu buttons still take up that 8-10% of the overall screen estate whilst your playing it.

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Android/Nexus 7 is just too much for the iPad. Just a taste of what a custom rom will do. Notice no nav buttons for more screen space. Full control over any App screen DPI setting (force high res setting for more content). Tablet is fast but I just like to overclock for the heck of it; why not. This is a true enthusiast tablet.

Interesting. What custom rom is that and is the new nexus 7 easy to flash and more importantly easy at east get back to stock in case you have to return for repair so to protect your warranty.

 

[cdmoore74]

We go from a well written, informed and highly interesting unbiased post to



A giant spamball.

----------



Yep and on the nexus 7 I hate the fact the menu buttons still take up that 8-10% of the overall screen estate whilst your playing it.

----------



Interesting. What custom rom is that and is the new nexus 7 easy to flash and more importantly easy at east get back to stock in case you have to return for repair so to protect your warranty.

The rom is paranoid android. And you can disable the Nav buttons by holding down power and select full screen (pie control). Pie control is a customizable gesture control that brings up nav controls with a swipe from any edge you define. And there is a one click restore on xda-developers.com if you soft brick the device. Or just backup the stock rom using 1 of 3 custom recoveries. It is virtually impossible to brick a Nexus device.

 

[JackieInCo]

I still have a 2012 Nexus 7 that I bought in February and an iPad Mini that I bought in June.

If I had bought the iPad Mini first, I likely would never have bought the Nexus 7.
I bought the Nexus 7 thinking the tablet could be an iPad replacement meaning all the same apps that I liked from using iPhones, would be available in tablet versions on the Nexus 7. I was wrong. I then started wishing I would have bought an iPad instead and as soon as I could, I bought a Mini. I have not regretted my decision since.

I posted a thread in this forum last week with side by side screen caps from three of the apps I use everyday.

On Monday, I decided to reserve a new 2013 Nexus 7 at MicroCenter. I decided to go down there and try it out before buying it and I did. I didn't feel that the Nexus 7 was a good enough upgrade to replace the 20102 model. Sure the display was better and things seemed a bit faster but I would still be faced with the lack of actual tablet apps .

So far to this day, the iOS quality of the apps is tops and there is no other store that can compete, IOS is #1 with apps.

So I had till Wednesday at 9PM to go and buy the Nexus 7 and I decided to not make the purchase.

I may reconsider once the cellular capable version is released. It will be able to run on CDMA carriers as well as GSM with the same model unlike the iPad. This means that I could run it on Verizon as well as AT&T.

 

[T5BRICK]

the 512mb of ram which makes tabs have to reload all the time.

My Mini is great, but this is a huge shortcoming, I also had similar issues with my iPhone 4s. I get constant reloading with only two tabs open.

I often have 5-7 tabs open on my Nexus 7 or HTC One and NEVER get this issue.