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MRU

macrumors Penryn
Aug 23, 2005
25,370
8,952
a better place
Worth getting if you didn't have a Note 4, Note Pro 8 & Note Pro 12.2 you mean? ;)

Likely not - but that's never stopped any of us before ;)

Though I imagine the Note 8 must be due for an update / refresh soon (maybe new year).
 

The Game 161

macrumors Nehalem
Original poster
Dec 15, 2010
30,991
20,174
UK
Worth getting if you didn't have a Note 4, Note Pro 8 & Note Pro 12.2 you mean? ;)

Likely not - but that's never stopped any of us before ;)

Though I imagine the Note 8 must be due for an update / refresh soon (maybe new year).
Hey we all don't need anything..want is a different matter

Dunno just fancy trying another company I guess.

I blame you
 

MRU

macrumors Penryn
Aug 23, 2005
25,370
8,952
a better place
Hey we all don't need anything..want is a different matter

Dunno just fancy trying another company I guess.

I blame you


Well they do say a change is as good as a rest :)

If you do get one, post your impressions I'd be genuinely interested to hear them. :) especially in regards to build & feel compared to your other devices.
 

The Game 161

macrumors Nehalem
Original poster
Dec 15, 2010
30,991
20,174
UK
Well they do say a change is as good as a rest :)

If you do get one, post your impressions I'd be genuinely interested to hear them. :) especially in regards to build & feel compared to your other devices.
I bought my girlfriend the nexus 7 2013 for Christmas which got me interested in the new model. From reviews it seems like some are disappointed by the build quailty
 

MRU

macrumors Penryn
Aug 23, 2005
25,370
8,952
a better place
I bought my girlfriend the nexus 7 2013 for Christmas which got me interested in the new model. From reviews it seems like some are disappointed by the build quailty


Yeah I had read same and the black back looks like a desperate finger oil magnet, reviewers recommending the white model because of it.
 

The Game 161

macrumors Nehalem
Original poster
Dec 15, 2010
30,991
20,174
UK
Yeah I had read same and the black back looks like a desperate finger oil magnet, reviewers recommending the white model because of it.
Yeah and mkg wasn't impressed by where the buttons are and the type that's on it
 

Sensamic

macrumors 68040
Mar 26, 2010
3,072
689
I tried one last week at the store and was impressed for like the first 5 minutes. After that it started to felt heavy and I remembered why I don't like big tablets anymore. It gets heavy real fast.

Screen was nice, speakers ok, built quality just ok, fast as any Nexus (not better than my 7 2013), etc.

For the price I'd rather buy the 7 2013 still. It's just an amazing little and light tablet. I much prefer it over the new 9.
 

Dontazemebro

macrumors 68020
Jul 23, 2010
2,173
0
I dunno, somewhere in West Texas
Well, count me in the Nexus 9 camp. Although my experiences aren't really worth sharing yet since it's only for the better part of the day.BUT ... and this is a huge but, so far i'm somewhat impressed and this is mainly from a software standpoint to be honest.

First impressions, this thing is zippy and boy is it fast. Updated to Android 5.0.1 lollipop out the box. The animations are breathtaking and there is no lag whatsoever when maneuvering around the OS. This is really pure Google at it's best showing.

Now on to the build quality and this is not to stay it isn't sturdy enough or built well. Yes it has the metal band trim and soft touch back is nice to hold and DOES ALLOW FOR ONE HANDED HOLDING not usage. It does feel good to hold but it doesn't have that premium feel to it. Even the LG G pad has a better premium feel. Where my gripe is has been pointed out by many reviewers, and that's the buttons being horribly recessed. Both are equally bad, power and volume. I'm hoping a case similar to what Seido makes with the rubber bumper inlets will solve that but we'll see.

On to the screen. It is gorgeous and viewing angles are awesome but light bleed is very evident on a black background, to the same extent as my cheap LG G pad. As for the dreaded fingerprint issue. I haven't noticed anything worth noting yet. I've been handling it rather frequently and there are no smudges or glaring fingerprints on the back or even the front of the screen. Maybe it has to do with the fact that my hands are clean and dry but so far no issue.

Battery life is still an enigma. After unboxing it was charged to 55%. Immediately synced an update with my G pad and restored 80 + apps. Battery went to 33% or somewhere around there.

I included a few early screenshots and some Geekbench/Antutu benchmarks with other devices for comparison.

1. Nexus 9 (Android 5.0.1)
2. iPhone 5s (iOS 8.1.1)
3. LG G Pad 8.3 (Android 4.2.2)

Screenshot_2014-12-13-20-04-24.png


Screenshot_2014-12-13-20-04-47.png


Nexus 9

Screenshot_2014-12-13-20-12-50.png
Screenshot_2014-12-13-20-18-02.png


iPhone 5s

IMG_0308.PNG
IMG_0309.PNG



LG G Pad 8.3 -

Screenshot_2014-12-13-20-20-54.png
Screenshot_2014-12-13-20-26-39.png




The nexus 9 is a beast, the iPhone 5s is still zippy for it's age and the G pad was so low it fell off the screen so I don't know what the rating was lol.

As for now I'll be keeping it at home until I get a case and screen protector, so I doubt I'll be able to get any tangible real world usage results but I'll try my best to see how it fares throughout the week.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

MRU

macrumors Penryn
Aug 23, 2005
25,370
8,952
a better place
Well, count me in the Nexus 9 camp. Although my experiences aren't really worth sharing yet since it's only for the better part of the day.BUT ... and this is a huge but, so far i'm somewhat impressed and this is mainly from a software standpoint to be honest.

First impressions, this thing is zippy and boy is it fast. Updated to Android 5.0.1 lollipop out the box. The animations are breathtaking and there is no lag whatsoever when maneuvering around the OS. This is really pure Google at it's best showing.

Now on to the build quality and this is not to stay it isn't sturdy enough or built well. Yes it has the metal band trim and soft touch back is nice to hold and DOES ALLOW FOR ONE HANDED HOLDING not usage. It does feel good to hold but it doesn't have that premium feel to it. Even the LG G pad has a better premium feel. Where my gripe is has been pointed out by many reviewers, and that's the buttons being horribly recessed. Both are equally bad, power and volume. I'm hoping a case similar to what Seido makes with the rubber bumper inlets will solve that but we'll see.

On to the screen. It is gorgeous and viewing angles are awesome but light bleed is very evident on a black background, to the same extent as my cheap LG G pad. As for the dreaded fingerprint issue. I haven't noticed anything worth noting yet. I've been handling it rather frequently and there are no smudges or glaring fingerprints on the back or even the front of the screen. Maybe it has to do with the fact that my hands are clean and dry but so far no issue.

Battery life is still an enigma. After unboxing it was charged to 55%. Immediately synced an update with my G pad and restored 80 + apps. Battery went to 33% or somewhere around there.

I included a few early screenshots and some Geekbench/Antutu benchmarks with other devices for comparison.

1. Nexus 9 (Android 5.0.1)
2. iPhone 5s (iOS 8.1.1)
3. LG G Pad 8.3 (Android 4.2.2)

Image

Image

Nexus 9

Image Image

iPhone 5s

Image Image


LG G Pad 8.3 -

Image Image



The nexus 9 is a beast, the iPhone 5s is still zippy for it's age and the G pad was so low it fell off the screen so I don't know what the rating was lol.

As for now I'll be keeping it at home until I get a case and screen protector, so I doubt I'll be able to get any tangible real world usage results but I'll try my best to see how it fares throughout the week.


Great read thanks for sharing :)
 

MRU

macrumors Penryn
Aug 23, 2005
25,370
8,952
a better place
Nexus 9 tablet

The A8X chip is no joke. The best mobile chip on the market. Also I hope you were referring to the iPad Air 2 because the Nexus 9 beats the iPad Air.


Maybe he meant single core score? Just guessing...

But then that's only half a picture regardless.
 

MRU

macrumors Penryn
Aug 23, 2005
25,370
8,952
a better place
Nexus 9 tablet

Yeah not sure what's that about so...

Interesting score regarding Nvidia Shield though regarding single core. Big big difference in single core score but near identical multicore - but I thought it had same Kelpa Nvidia K1 architecture as Nexus 9 so I wonder why Nexus 9 scores nearly double the single core score?
 

Dontazemebro

macrumors 68020
Jul 23, 2010
2,173
0
I dunno, somewhere in West Texas
Yeah not sure what's that about so...

Interesting score regarding Nvidia Shield though regarding single core. Big big difference in single core score but near identical multicore - but I thought it had same Kelpa Nvidia K1 architecture as Nexus 9 so I wonder why Nexus 9 scores nearly double the single core score?

My guess is the benefit of lollipop optimization but i could be wrong. Don't some say a new update is usually a hindrance as opposed to a benefit at first?
 

MRU

macrumors Penryn
Aug 23, 2005
25,370
8,952
a better place
My guess is the benefit of lollipop optimization but i could be wrong. Don't some say a new update is usually a hindrance as opposed to a benefit at first?


Possibly though lollipop is available for the shield, and you would assume optimisations would affect multicore score - not just single... It's a mystery!!
 

diamond.g

macrumors G4
Mar 20, 2007
11,445
2,674
OBX
Yeah not sure what's that about so...

Interesting score regarding Nvidia Shield though regarding single core. Big big difference in single core score but near identical multicore - but I thought it had same Kelpa Nvidia K1 architecture as Nexus 9 so I wonder why Nexus 9 scores nearly double the single core score?

The Sheild still uses ARMv7. The N9 is ARMv8. Nvidia used the same CPU code (K1) for both architectures.
 

TimelessOne

macrumors regular
Oct 29, 2014
236
2
Strange that it scores LOWER than a 1 year old device (iPad air) with lower specs. Rather disappointing.

The problem with benchmark scores here is you are crossing devices and oses. It is possible to "cheat" your scores. Several manufacturers including Apple over the years have been caught cheating to improve their scores.
By cheating the intentional optimize things to improve their score. Optimization that often have no benefit than increasing their scores.
 

bnmcj1

macrumors 6502
Apr 13, 2014
398
180
Worth getting? It is by far the worst tablet I have seen yet. So much backlight bleeding. Such a bad screen size.
 
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