The Google Nexus 9 Review
by Joshua Ho & Ryan Smith on February 4, 2015 8:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Tablets
- HTC
- Project Denver
- Android
- Mobile
- NVIDIA
- Nexus 9
- Lollipop
- Android 5.0
WiFi Performance
On most tablets, WiFi performance is perhaps one of the most crucial parts of the experience as WiFi is often the primary method of connectivity. Without working WiFi, a tablet is basically useless as the only alternative is either cellular (which is quite rare on most tablets) or Ethernet over USB-OTG, which destroys most of the value of a mobile device.
In the case of the Nexus 9, we see that HTC has fitted this device with a BCM4354 WiFi module to enable two spatial stream 802.11ac. Interestingly, there is some evidence to suggest that HTC has also adopted Cypress Semiconductor’s CapSense controller to enable antenna tuning for the WiFi antennas. However, it’s probable that this solution is only for HTC devices without a Qualcomm Gobi modem as we’ve seen the use of the QFE15xx antenna tuner in previous HTC products. In order to test how the Nexus 9’s WiFi solution performs, we turn to iperf on Android to test throughput across the network, and utilize Asus’ RT-AC68U router to ensure that the device under test will be able to reach maximum performance.
The Nexus 9's WiFi solution performs about as well as one might expect from a BCM4354 solution. For the most part I haven't noticed any reception issues, even when touching/detuning the WiFi antennas.
GNSS
While most of the GNSS solutions that we’ve looked at this year use Qualcomm’s GPSOne/IZat due to the presence of a Qualcomm Gobi Modem, the same isn’t true for the Nexus 9. Instead, Broadcom’s BCM4752 is used here. While this shouldn’t have a massive impact on the speed with which first lock is acquired, in practice Qualcomm’s solution is noticeably faster here as the modem can often provide data to make for a hot fix. At any rate, the Nexus 9 does perform acceptably in this regard. I don’t see any major issues with location performance, although it does seem that the GPS tends to report lower accuracy levels than the Qualcomm solutions that I'm used to. Other than this, the GNSS solution is quite usable.
Misc
While we don't have a proper audio quality test yet, it's clear that the audio codec used is the same Realtek RT5677 codec that we saw in the SHIELD Tablet. Outside of the code, we also see an RT5506 2.55V amp on the 3.5mm jack, along with two NXP TFA9895 amps on the speakers, which are quite good due to their front-facing placement. In practice I don't really see much issue with loudness or quality here, as the speakers can get even louder than the M8 in some situations. We also see a Broadcom BCM2079x NFC chip, which means HCE is fully supported out of the box. Interestingly, the VCM controller is exposed to the OS and is said to be a Texas Instruments DRV201 chip.
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ABR - Thursday, February 5, 2015 - link
I don't know if it would change this conclusion, but load-every-15-seconds is still only testing "screenager" behavior. For example while I'm reading this comments page it's a lot longer than 15 seconds. More like 30 seconds, scroll, 30 seconds, scroll, 5-10 minutes load another. Reading e-books is another low-intensity usage. Not saying that gaming and other continuous usage patterns aren't out there, but a lot of what people say they use tablets for is lower intensity.lucam - Thursday, February 5, 2015 - link
Upspin, send your resume to Anand and write next time your article. Looking fwd to reading your pearl of wisdom...Affectionate-Bed-980 - Wednesday, February 4, 2015 - link
You guys really need to stop using that gray/black surface for the background to show off your black devices. It really makes it hard to see the details.gijames1225 - Wednesday, February 4, 2015 - link
It's a shame that NVidia couldn't get Denver out on a smaller process at launch. They're giving the A8 a run for it's money, but the 28nm process is killer at this point.WereCatf - Wednesday, February 4, 2015 - link
"it seems to be clear that an all-metal unibody design would’ve greatly improved the design of the Nexus 9 and justified its positioning better."I don't quite agree. This article mentions several times the author's wish for full-body aluminum design, but as someone who already has a tablet with a nearly full aluminum body I do have to point out that it tends to be quite slippery in one's hands; you need a much tighter grip just to hold it without it slipping and this makes it tiring to hold in the long run. A tablet with a sort of rubbery, non-slip back won't look as pretty, but it will certainly be much more comfortable and I definitely would choose practicality over looks.
danbob999 - Wednesday, February 4, 2015 - link
Also metal blocks wireless signal. Asus Transformer Prime has abysmal wifi and GPS reception because of that.There is no rational advantage to metal cases. Only looks, which is debatable.
WereCatf - Wednesday, February 4, 2015 - link
Aye, my tablet had that issue. Luckily it's easy to open up and replace the antenna with a stronger one, something that helps, but not all tablets are that easy to open or have a replaceable antenna.Impulses - Wednesday, February 4, 2015 - link
Metal would also make it heavier... Plastic doesn't have to mean back flex, it's just a design/QC issue they didn't address. My OG TF had a textured plastic back that was pretty solid, several years ago. It still creaked a little but it was mostly because of the mating of the back to the metal frame, no flex tho.olivaw - Wednesday, February 4, 2015 - link
I wonder if nVidia is "crazy enough" to develop a runtime that would JIT from android bytecode directly to denver. As it is, there are two layers of compilation going on, if ART could by swapped by an nVidia runtime things could get really interesting!joe0185 - Wednesday, February 4, 2015 - link
The browser tests are pretty worthless as it is but they are made even more worthless by the omission of version information. If AnandTech is going to include Javascript benchmarks they should at least include the browser version. What version of Chrome are you running on each device? There have been pretty dramatic improvements in Chrome on Android over the past year.