Google's Nexus 9 tablet is the successor to the Nexus 7 -- and it is being heralded as an iPad killer.
The Nexus 9 features powerful hardware that includes a 64-bit Nvidia Tegra K1 processor, 2GB of RAM, and a 192-core Kepler graphics card. The device was designed by Google in collaboration with HTC, resulting in a tablet with a 9-inch display and a $399 price tag.
Running on the newly released Android 5.0 Lollipop, the tablet was designed with the newest version of the operating system in mind, which means that the device will be showing off all the new capabilities of the new Android.
The Nexus 9 is looking to take a fair share of the tablet computer market especially as the holiday shopping season starts to loom around the corner. Reviews have started to trickle in regarding the device, indicating the Nexus 9's position as a challenger to Apple's iPad Air 2.
Wall Street Journal: "The styling is refreshingly minimal and utilitarian compared to the upscale flash of Apple's aluminum iPads, or Samsung's chrome-edged and pleather-backed Galaxy tablets ... The Nexus 9 is really designed to fade away into the background, so that what grabs your attention is Google's beautifully slick new version of Android ... Every aspect of Android has been totally redesigned for Lollipop, and many details demonstrate how Lollipop is easier to use than previous versions ... It's an outstanding piece of hardware, and the best all-around Android experience available on a tablet."
The Verge: "The Nexus 9's display might have the same resolution and aspect ratio as the iPad, but it's not nearly as nice a screen ... Despite HTC's manufacturing pedigree, there are many places where it feels like corners were cut on the Nexus 9 ... On a positive note, the Nexus 9's front-facing speakers are loud and sound great. I wish every smartphone and tablet had front-facing speakers ... Stutters and slowdowns are plentiful, apps take a long time to open and load, and some apps just crashed repeatedly ... Unfortunately, the Nexus 9 just isn't as good as it needs to be."
ArsTechnica: "This is the first major 64-bit Android device on the market ... The Nexus 9 performed well when focusing on a single task, not a surprise given its excellent single-core performance ... Google Play simply doesn't have games or professional apps that require the kind of processor, GPU, and RAM seen on the Nexus 9 ... However, I noticed a fair number of stutters when jumping from task to task ... The device's beefy specs didn't add up to the kind of jaw-dropping tablet experience you might expect from the latest Nexus offering ... Anybody working on commission will almost certainly turn to other devices if they plan to meet their holiday sales quota."
Engadget: "The Nexus 9 is the first tablet to run Google's Android 5.0 Lollipop, and it shines because of it. Its design might not be worth writing home about and the speakers up front leave a bit to be desired, but the combination of Lollipop and NVIDIA's powerful K1 chipset make it a serious contender (and a no-brainer if you're into fast and frequent software updates)."
Android Police: "I love the 4:3 form factor, and the display itself is very nice ... The Nexus 9 is, in most situations where linear performance is the primary concern, very quick ... The Nexus 9 is fast, but it's twitchy. Apps will randomly take longer to load than normal, longer than I would expect -- it doesn't feel fully optimized ... It does not feel like a $400 tablet should feel ... All things considered, I find $400 ($480 for 32GB) hard to stomach for a 16 GB tablet of this caliber."
Early reviews indicate that while the hardware of the Nexus 9 is top-notch, the supposed power does not translate well into the user's experience. Nevertheless, the Android 5.0 Lollipop shines.
Consumers who are willing to shell out $400 for the 16 GB Wi-Fi version of the Nexus 9 might find it not reaching expectations just yet. Early reviews on lackluster performance, however, could still change depending on succeeding operating system updates that will make improvements to the tablet.
