When it comes to tablets that are not too small and not too large, the iPad mini with Retina Display is Apple’s best product. Android has a similar sized tablet called that Nexus 7 that is arguably their best tablet at that size.
Although the iPad’s mini’s starting price is $400 and the Nexus 7’s starting price is $229, these tablets are actually in a similar range of tablets that consumers often consider purchasing.
**Note: we will refer to the iPad mini with Retina simply as iPad mini.
Design and Weight
Credits: G For Games
When it comes to the design aspect of these two tablets, the iPad mini wins with its aluminum body. The Nexus 7 on the other hand is made out of plastic but arguably it still looks good.
The iPad mini measures 7.9 x 5.30 x 0.29 inches whereas the Nexus 7 measures 7.9 x 4.48 x 0.34 inches. The narrower screen on the Nexus 7 significantly cuts up a lot of display size and gives the tablet itself an odd form.
The Nexus 7 weighs a bit less than the iPad mini though. Its Wi-Fi model comes in at 10.23oz and the cellular one comes in at 10.54oz. The mini Wi-Fi model weighs 11.67oz and the cellular one weighs 12.03oz.
Whether you’d like the Nexus 7 with a 16% narrower screen, or the iPad mini that is 14% heavier than the Nexus 7 is up to you. All that’s being traded here is screen size for weight.
Display
The iPad mini has a 7.9” display with a pixel density of 326ppi and a resolution of 2048 x 1536 while the Nexus 7 has a 7” screen with a pixel density of 323 ppi and a resolution of 1920 x 1200.
Although the Nexus 7 lacks in screen size and a high resolution, it has better color representation and is slightly brighter. With this in mind most consumers would still like the iPad mini’s screen over the Nexus’s.
Battery Life
Battery tests from Gizmag report that Nexus 7 lasts 5 hours and 33 minutes while streaming Netflix on Wi-Fi with 75% brightness, while the iPad mini lasts 10 hours and 50 minutes doing the same thing. Battery tests from Phonearena on the other hand indicate that the iPad mini lasts about 1 and a half days with moderate use, while the Nexus 7 lasts 2.5 days.
It’s unclear if either of these tablets have better battery lives than each other. The most likely case is that they are equal. This means that you should expect anywhere from six to eight hours with power intensive apps like video streaming or app usage.
Camera
iPad mini with Retina Display. Credits: Phone Arena
Nexus 7. Credits: Phone Arena
Both the Nexus 7 and the iPad mini have 5-megapixel rear cameras and 1.2-megapixel front cameras.
When it comes to the rear facing cameras, the Nexus 7 has the same quality but it lacks in color accuracy.
Processors and RAM
The iPad mini uses an Apple A7 64-bit dual core CPU running at 1.3GHz, while the Nexus 7 uses a Snapdragon S4 Pro 32-bit quad core CPU running at 1.5Gz.
Both tablets have enough processing power for anything you throw at them today but in the next two years the iPad mini will be less outdated than the Nexus 7.
Special Perks
There aren’t many special perks with either of these tablets either than that the Nexus 7 has NFC while the iPad mini does not.
Also worth mentioning is that if you rest your thumb on these tablet’s screens the iPad mini will know not to register it as a tap. The Nexus 7 however is not as smart. Hopefully future software omits taps from the area where your thumb rests when holding the Nexus 7 one-handed.
Price and Storage
The iPad mini Wi-Fi model costs $399 for 16GB, $499 for 32GB, $599 for 64GB and $699 for 128GB. If you want to get any of these sizes with Wi-Fi and cellular, then just add $130 to the regular price of the Wi-Fi models.
The Nexus 7 Wi-Fi model costs $229 for 16GB and $269 for 32GB. If you want to get it with cellular then your only option is 32GB for $349.
Conclusion
Although the screen size of the Nexus 7 isn’t too enticing, the tablet itself is affordable and provides everything the iPad mini does for 57% of the price.
For phone or tablet users that have already purchased a lot of iOS apps and ebooks then it wouldn’t make sense buying the cheaper Nexus 7. What’s the point of having an Android tablet when you still have a lot of content for iOS as well as an iPhone or full iPad to go along with it?
For the consumers that haven’t invested too much into the iOS ecosystem and don’t need blazing-new technology, the Nexus 7 doesn’t sound like a bad idea. Other than the odd-screen size and the different operating system there is nothing that makes it any less good than the iPad.
You could actually buy two Nexus 7 32GB tablets with cellular for $700, whereas with the iPad mini 32GB with cellular would cost $630 for just one tablet. It’s really up to you whether the price point or screen size is more important when it comes to your tablet needs.