Nexus 7 (2013) - Mini Review
by Brian Klug on July 27, 2013 12:54 AM EST- Posted in
- Tablets
- Snapdragon
- Qualcomm
- Android
- Mobile
- APQ8064
- Nexus 7
- Android 4.3
I hesitate to do quick turnaround reviews of products, that’s why this is a short review and Anand is hopefully going to take a longer look at the Nexus 7 (2013). From the time that I’ve spent with the new Nexus 7 however, I think it’s safe at this point to deem it more than a worthy successor to the tablet that not only dominated its form factor for its entire run, but proved that 7-inches was probably the right size for Android tablets. The display is excellent, and at present the best in its 7–8 inch class, beating even the iPad mini in terms of GMB Delta-E 2000 and resolution. Performance is great, build quality is great, and the whole affair runs stock, unadulterated Android 4.3.
The new Nexus 7 is everything a generational refresh should be – performance goes up dramatically, issues were fixed (storage), features were added (5 GHz WiFi, rear facing camera, Qi charging, high DPI display), and it’s all in a thinner and lighter form factor. Everything about the OG Nexus 7 is better in the 2013 model, all while keeping basically the same price point, and we haven’t even looked at the 4G LTE enabled version yet which adds the right kind of operator-agnostic LTE bands for two regions that I’ve been begging for. It’s undeniable that Google is doing something right with the Nexus program, and along with it, hardware partner ASUS.
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hughlle - Wednesday, July 31, 2013 - link
Agreed, what is the issue. I do not know whether my N10 has dual line in line out for the very reason that I have absolutely no reason to have tested it, the built in microphone is more than sufficient in terms of quality for video calls and such.Hrel - Tuesday, July 30, 2013 - link
Seriously with the no 802.11ac? It's 2013, no wireless devices should be shipped without 802.11ac; that's stupid.Arbie - Tuesday, July 30, 2013 - link
-No micro-SD = no sale. As the author notes, tablets are widely used for watching videos. With SD you can swap media sets in and out infinitely faster than any other way. Like... 16GB in 5 sec. Google and Amazon can continue to pretend that it doesn't matter, but that's obviously idiotic. I'll buy something else, that's designed for ME. The price difference is worth it for a such major feature.
fteoath64 - Tuesday, August 6, 2013 - link
Yeah. No SD no sale for many out there. Look at HTC, almost going OUT OF BUSINESS for omitting such a simple thing. In fact, none is so bold as to provide TWO microSD slots!!!. People looking to MicroSD slots flocking to GS4 by the millions and millions!, Like over 10 million!.darwinosx - Tuesday, August 6, 2013 - link
Good for the few how care. Very few devices have them now and soon none will. Get used to it.netmann - Tuesday, July 30, 2013 - link
Can someone please review Nokia Lumia 1020 since 920 review was skipped!darwinosx - Tuesday, August 6, 2013 - link
Yeah! There's like 3 people who care!!Travis Jackson - Wednesday, July 31, 2013 - link
Very tempting... However, I think I'll wait a few months to see if a "Bay Trail" equivalent turns up - Preferably something with the same resolution (1920x1200), but an 8-inch screen.I would gladly pay extra for Intel inside.
fteoath64 - Tuesday, August 6, 2013 - link
Forget Intel's BS of a chip for any tablets. Their gpus are so slow, you might only be watching videos and not playing cool games you wanted. Sorry, that chip has been left behind unless you are after a Windows RT tablet ?!.! Why would you want that ?.KDOG - Saturday, August 3, 2013 - link
No HDMI?? Why? It seems backwards that the Nexus 10 - with its already easier to view bigger screen has a HDMI out port but the smaller one - that you'd be more likely to want to send out to a bigger screen - doesn't have one. Its not like the hardware wouldn't support it.