Apple brings in the iPad Air, which is a smaller iteration of the Retina display and Google brings in the Nexus 7, which is a low priced Android tablet from ASUS.
The differences between the two tablets are quite radical, though they both offer some of the same basic features. Both the devices offer features for web browsing and downloading application, with Netflix and Skype being downloadable on both. They also offer cameras for taking pictures and for video chatting. The Nexus 7 comes at a price of around $299 for the 16GB version, compared to the higher priced iPad Air at around $499 for the 16 GB versions.
Size and Dimensions
The Nexus 7 released in 2013 comes with a screen resolution of 1920 x 1200 pixels on a 7.02 inches screen offering a sharp image. On the other hand, the iPad Air comes with a bigger 9.7 inches display and a higher resolution of 2048 x 1536 pixels offering good sharpness of images. The Nexus 7 comes with a pixel density of 323 ppi, compared to the lower 264 ppi of the iPad Air. The ASUS Nexus 7 has an optimized look and is an inexpensive package, whereas Apple offers the wow factor aesthetics in the iPad Air. The Nexus 7 has dimensions of 200 x 114 x 8.65 mm, whereas the iPad comes in dimensions of 240 x 165.5 x 7.5 mm.
Both the screens use the same IPS LCD technology and are multi touch touchscreens. Apple’s iPad Air comes with an Oleophobic coating whereas the Nexus 7 offers a scratch resistant glass.
Hardware Specs and Performance Compared
The iPad Air works on the A7 chip processor whereas the Nexus 7 runs on the Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro. The processor of the iPad Air is a dual core, 1400 MHz, Cyclone one, whereas the Nexus 7 comes with the Quad core 1500 MHz Krait processor. The iPad Air comes with a graphics processor of PowerVR G6430, compared to the Adreno 320 in the Nexus 7.
The processor on the Nexus 7 is fine and works with the NVIDIA Tegra 3 processor, with NVIDIA pushing the games with the Tegra 3 optimizations, with the chipmaker supporting optimized games for the device. The iPad Air, on the other hand, works with the App Store from Apple, and has more than 475,000 applications that are iPad specific. The display is the same as the predecessor, so the entire collection of apps that are tablet optimized are available for the device from the box. The system memory of the iPad Air is 1024 MB of RAM, whereas that of the Nexus 7 is 2048 MB of RAM. The built in storage of the iPad Air is higher at 128 GB compared to the 32 GB of the Nexus 7.
Camera Comparison
Both the tablets come with a front camera of 5 MP with the same aperture size of F2.4. The Apple iPad Air and the Nexus 7 also come with a video recorder of 1920 x 1080 with 1080 pixels in HD and have a front camera of 1.2 MP.
Verdict
If it is price that is a deciding factor, the obvious choice will be Google’s nexus 7, as it offers the cheaper pricing solution. However, though the Nexus 7 is cheaper, it is by no means any less than the iPad Air and offers a very good experience for the price. In addition, the Nexus 7 also has the additional benefit of getting software support from Google on a direct basis. The iPad Air is an awesome piece of craftsmanship and comes in complete aluminum and glass build. It is cut from an entirely different cloth and offers the best aesthetics. It also offers the ever-increasing supply of free, good quality applications out of the box, so it is the best bet.
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