The Nexus 7 (2013) Review
by Anand Lal Shimpi on August 22, 2013 6:00 PM ESTFinal Words
I really like the Nexus 7. It’s easily the best small Android tablet I’ve ever used. The build quality is great, the display is amazing and the hardware is fast. The new Nexus 7 also happens to be the most color accurate Android device we've ever tested - easily competitive with the iPad's Retina Display, and delivers the longest battery life we've ever seen from an Android tablet. You also get the benefits of owning a Nexus device: timely updates and unadulterated Android. My only real complaint about the Nexus 7 is that its screen feels cramped. If you’ve got a large smartphone, the jump between it and the 7-inch display may not be big enough. On the flip side, the 7-inch form factor does make the Nexus 7 quite portable. If you’re ok with the tradeoff, then I have no qualms recommending the Nexus 7 over other 8-inch tablets.
I typically find myself at odds with what a manufacturer wants to charge for a product, but in the case of the Nexus 7 that’s not true at all. At $229 the base 16GB model is extremely well priced. The adder for the 32GB model is a somewhat reasonable $40. If your Nexus 7 is going to be more of a mobile workhorse, you’ll eventually be able to get a LTE model for $349.
The original Nexus 7 gave us a decent Android experience at a very low cost. This year ASUS and Google raised the bar for sure. The new Nexus 7 is no longer just a decent tablet at a good price, it's an incredible tablet. With this Nexus, it's clear that Google no longer wants to rely on value alone. The 2013 Nexus 7 redefines what you should expect to pay for a truly great tablet. If you're in the market for an ultra portable tablet, and definitely if you're shopping for an Android tablet in particular, the new Nexus 7 should be at the top of your list. It's so good that I'm giving it our Silver Award.
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JDG1980 - Thursday, August 22, 2013 - link
This is Anandtech, not the Wall Street Journal. Why are the business strategies of these companies relevant to who provides the best device at the best price? Why should consumers care who is subsidizing what?BMNify - Thursday, August 22, 2013 - link
Copy pasting from my above comment as you didn't go through it: If subsidised hardware kill off the hardware manufacturer's then you will be left with a monopoly that is Google who can charge you more later and make money on Ad's too like they do now. This is the reason why selling at-cost or dumping is not desirable.smartypnt4 - Thursday, August 22, 2013 - link
Interesting perspective. I hadn't heard a well-reasoned argument against selling at or near cost before now. Also, do you have a source to back up the claim that ASUS is making a significantly smaller margin on the N7 than they are on their other devices? Their MemoPad HD 7 is a 2012 N7 clone that's $150, so if the 2013 N7 is at cost, that has to be as well. And that's not being subsidized by Google, so if it were really at cost without some hypothetical Google subsidy, why would ASUS bother designing and selling it?psyside1 - Friday, August 23, 2013 - link
Thanks alot Anand, for listening us, and put the 16 vs 32GB version in your review, now i know i want the 32GB version! fanstastic review.ASEdouardD - Friday, August 23, 2013 - link
I know it's a great thing to add in the review, but I would frankly would have preferred not to know! As I bought the 16 GB model, hehe. Doubt it has a big impact on real world use though.akdj - Sunday, August 25, 2013 - link
Google most likely pays ASUS to make the tablet....they pay the price of the BOM & labor directly to ASUS. That's how they are making their money. Google is essentially giving the tablet away for you, and everything that IS you. Your friends. Your contacts. Your email. Your documents and music and movies....and, what they call the 'data mine'. They sell that info to third party companies and probably double their original $200 investment to ASUSsmartypnt4 - Sunday, August 25, 2013 - link
According to what evidence? It's widely known that Apple takes a very large margin on their products, which the Mini being the lowest margin (~40% if I remember correctly). There has been no indication of what the Nexus 7 actually costs to build. My point is that ASUS is selling their own tablets without Google at prices that make me think that the Nexus 7 isn't actually being sold at or under cost. I'm thinking it's probably relatively low-margin compared to the iOS devices, but everything in technology is low margin compared to iOS stuff (except Intel processors, that is).And yes, Google uses your information to target ads at you. That's not really news to anyone, and anyone buying into Android better know and be OK with that, or just not care.
amdwilliam1985 - Monday, August 26, 2013 - link
Thanks for the insight info about Google spying on us. Let's run the other way, Apple/M$ are so great and never touch our private sensitive data. Our data sitting in icloud/skydrive are so magical that nothing comes and tint it. Oh just how I love facebook is doing everything they can to make us feeling safer/happier about posting everything onto it. man oh man, the 21st century is all about Google mining your/our data and every other companies protecting you/us ;) /sSarcastic off, man grow up, crying about Google spying on you, lol. The way I see it is that if they're going to data mine us one way or the other, why not benefit from it? Why pay for your device twice? Once in privacy and once in physical dollar. I'm going with the one that I think is the least evil of them all, Google. Yes, I've used apple products before, didn't like how restricted iphone/ipad are. Didn't like how macbook air can't install the programs that are only running in windows, sigh...
Mivo - Friday, August 23, 2013 - link
You should probably post some sources for your claims. That aside, what is and is not desireable is a matter of perspective. I'd wager that most end customers are fine with ads or a walled garden, if that substantially lowers the price of a device. Just look at Amazon and their customers. (Or look at Apple and their customers who happily pay premium prices in spite of the walled garden.)Ananke - Friday, August 23, 2013 - link
Example: Asus buys from Foxconn at $220, and sells for $229. If it costs Foxconn 29.99 to manufacture and sell to Asus, is it considered "sold almost at cost" to end users by your logic?