Close on the heels of the launch of Google's Nexus 9 tablet, Apple has finally taken the wraps off its successor to the iPad Air - the iPad Air 2.
With the holiday season round the corner, the battle of the tablets is heating up as the new offerings from Apple and Google gear up to throw the gauntlet to existing tablets like Samsung's Galaxy Tab S, which launched earlier in June this year.
Consumers are spoilt for choice and it all boils down to cherry picking from the best available tablet in the market. With consumers in a conundrum over which tablet to pick, we compare the iPad Air 2, Galaxy Tab S and the Nexus 9 to help you decide which of these devices is right for you.
Dimensions
Even as OEMs tend to lean toward the bigger is better philosophy, they are keeping in mind design aesthetics and consumer preference for sleek devices irrespective of their size.
Out of the three tablets - the iPad Air 2 (9.4 x 6.6 x 0.24 inches), Galaxy Tabs S (9.74 x 6.98 x 0.26) and Nexus 9 (8.9 x 6.05 x 0.31inches) - the Apple offering is the slimmest of the three, followed by Samsung and Google.
There is not much separating the tablets when it comes to width and length-wise, the Samsung tablet is the biggest, followed by Apple and Google.
Another factor which consumers consider is the weight of the device. In these stakes, at 425 gms, the Nexus 9 fares the best, but it is only marginally lighter than the iPad Air (437 gms) and Galaxy Tab S (465 gms).
Display
Samsung, Apple and Google all offer top-notch tablets. Galaxy Tabs S comes in two sizes 8.4 inches and 10.5 inches. The 10.5-inch Galaxy Tab S boasts a Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen and has a pixel resolution of 2560 x 1600 pixels. By comparison, both the 9.7-inch iPad Air 2 and 8.9-inch Nexus 9 have IPS LCD displays and a resolution of 2048 x 1536 pixels.
The Galaxy Tab S and Nexus 9 both boast a pixel density of 288ppi. However, the Nexus 9 betters both the iPad Air 2 (264 ppi) and Galaxy Tab S owing to its smaller screen size yet higher pixel density.
Arguably, the differences are minimal and barely discernible by the naked eye. However, for some users the bigger screen size may be the deciding factor which tilts the scales slightly in favor of the Galaxy Tab S and the iPad Air 2.
Processor
The Galaxy Tab S packs in an Exynos 5 Octa 5420 SoC with 1.9 GHz quad-core Cortex-A15. The tablet also has a quad-core 1.3GHz Cortex-A7 processor which kicks into action when less processing power is required.
The iPad Air 2 houses the new A8X processor with 64-bit architecture, which allegedly increases the CPU performance by 40 percent. The Nexus 9, on the other hand, is fueled by a Tegra K1 with a 2.3GHz dual-core Denver processor.
All three tablets are capable of powering power-hungry devices and are swift. Which processor fares the best can only be revealed once the benchmark tests are run on all three. However, even if the Apple offering is possibly faster by a hair's breadth, the other two are not lagging far behind.
Memory
The iPad Air 2 will come in 16GB, 64GB and 128GB on-board storage options. This time round, Apple has done away with the 32GB option. The Galaxy Tab S and the Nexus 9, on the other hand, are available in the 16GB and 32GB options.
However, what gives the Galaxy Tab S an edge over the Google and Apple offerings is that the Samsung tablet has expandable memory option of up to 128GB via a microSD card - a feature the iPad Air 2 and Nexus 9 lack. Basically, this means that your Galaxy Tab S is capable of either 144GB or 160GB of storage, depending on the variant you opt for.
Memory capacity-wise, the Galaxy Tab S has 3GB of RAM vis-à-vis Nexus 9's 2GB. The capacity of the iPad Air 2 is not known.
Camera
With selfies becoming a rage, consumers are opting for cameras that offer great features on-the-go. When it comes to camera performance, all three tablets are neck-to-neck as the primary camera on all three devices is 8 megapixels and capable of recording 1080p HD video.
The iPad Air 2, however, offers some nifty features like a slow-motion video capture and the Timelapse mode. The secondary camera, on the other hand, has a clear winner in the Galaxy Tab S' 2.1-megapixel snapper. The Nexus 9 and iPad Air 2 sport a 1.2-megapixel and 1.6-megapixel front-facing camera by comparison. So for those who like to video chat/Skype or take plenty of selfies, the Samsung tablet is the go-to option.
Battery
All three devices have a non-removable battery. The iPad Air 2's battery offers support for 10 hours of usage (Wi-Fi version). The Galaxy Tab S houses a 7,900mAh battery which offers up to 9 hours of usage. The Nexus 9 has a 6,700mAh battery which offers 9 hours of usage on a single charge.
Operating System and additional features
The Nexus 9 packs in Google's latest Android 5.0 Lollipop, giving it a slight edge over Galaxy Tab S which runs on Android 4.4.2 KitKat. However, Samsung devices usually receive Android updates quickly and the Galaxy Tab S will be no different.
iPad Air 2, on the other hand, runs on a completely different ecosystem - iOS 8. The latest OS has been plagued by issues with users complaining of Bluetooth connectivity problems, Wi-Fi crashing, iCloud files getting deleted etc. However, Apple has already pushed out iOS 8.0.2 in a bid to fix the bugs.
The Galaxy Tab S and iPad Air 2 also offer a fingerprint scanner, a feature that is notably missing in the Nexus 9.
Pricing and colors
Pricing wise, at $499 (16GB Wi-Fi version) the iPad Air 2 and the Galaxy Tab S (16GB Wi-Fi version) are priced similarly. The Nexus 9 is $100 cheaper as the 16GB Wi-Fi variant costs $399.
The iPad Air 2 is available in three hues: Silver, Space Grey and Gold. The Galaxy Tab S comes in Dazzling White and Titanium Bronze, whereas the Nexus 9 has three color options - Indigo Black, Lunar White and Sand.
On paper, there's little separating the three tablets and it boils down to the individual's budget and priorities.
