One day. This is the gap between Apple's announcement of its newest flagship tablet and Google's unveiling of its co-created high-end device with HTC. Nexus 9's head maker, Alberto Villareal, already cleared that it is not made to kill iPad series, but with a very close release date to iPad Air 2's launch, tech geeks confrontation is inevitable.
Villareal further explained that Google and HTC wanted Nexus 9 to be a 'shining example' for Android device makers. The two tech giants wanted to convey the Android gadgets that can be as premium as Apple's. So more likely, a comparison of the two tablets is really unavoidable. So to give you the tale of the tape, here is a brief comparison of Apple iPad Air 2 and Google Nexus 9.
Apple's iPad Air 2 is relatively bigger with 240 x 170 x 640 mm dimension as compared to 228 x 154 x 8 mm. measurement of Google Nexus 9. Nexus is clearly a smaller tablet but Air 2 is indeed the sleeker device between the two, which is why it is called 'Air' in the first place. In terms of weight, the 425-gram Nexus is lighter compared to the 437-gram iPad Air.
With the aim of achieving an iPad-esque built, HTC used plastic and metal in making Nexus 9 while iPad Air still has the Apple's trademark aluminum body. With silver, space gray and gold choices, Air 2 is still more sophisticated looking compared with Nexus 9's sand, black, and white variants.
iPad Air 2 is still superior in terms of display size versus Nexus 9 at 9.7-inch versus 8.9-inch. Despite bigger screen, Air 2 has the same IPS LCD with 2048 x 1536 resolution which makes Nexus 6 a bit sharper with 288 ppi compared to Air 2's 264 pixel density. In terms of unique features, Apple has anti-reflective display and finger print sensor while Google and Nexus' tablet has tap-on display capability.
In terms of performance, iPad Air 2 is reportedly superior with its A8X 64-bit tri-core processor clocked at 1.5 GHz compared to Google Nexus 9's Tegra K1 64-bit dual-core clocked at 2.3GHz. Meanwhile, both tablets have 2 GB RAM capacities. In terms of memory, Apple is again the winner with its 16GB, 64GB and 128GB variant while Nexus 6 has 16GB and 32GB choices. Both devices have no micro SD slot.
Camera wise, it is a close call as both tablets sport 8MP main camera. Nexus 9 is a bit superior with its 1.6MP front cam while Air 2's selfie camera is just 1.2MP. Google's tablet also has dual LED flash that Apple lacks. On the other hand, both high end gadgets have the latest operating systems of both Apple and Google, iOS 8 and Android Lollipop 5.0.
Phone Arena meanwhile reported that in a battery test, it appears that Google Nexus 9 can last up to 2 days of usage while Apple iPad Air 2 has 7 hours and 27 minutes record. The latest Android tablet is also the fastest charging tablet with 254 minutes charge time from zero to full battery.
If price is one of your determining factors, Google Nexus 9 is $100 cheaper at $400 compared to Apple iPad Air 2 that costs $500.
