Best Tablets: Holiday 2014
by Brandon Chester on November 28, 2014 8:00 AM ESTAndroid Tablets
The Android tablet space is more diverse than the selection of tablets running iOS due to the sheer number of manufacturers that make Android tablets. However, it seems like many of them in the low range make compromises that severely reduce their appeal, and other high end tablets like the Galaxy Tab S are let down by SoCs that struggle against A7, A8, Snapdragon 805, and Tegra K1. That being said, we've seen the launch of two new tablets this year from manufacturers that one might be surprised to see in the tablet market. There's also an old favorite that remains almost as compelling now as it did when it launched quite some time ago.
Our recommendation at the most affordable price point is the Nexus 7 (2013). The recommendation of a budget tablet from over one year ago may sound strange, but the Nexus 7 remains a very high quality and capable device for its price of $229. This returns to the point about other inexpensive Android tablets not being very compelling due to sacrifices in areas like the display or the build quality. It may be that other manufacturers have found it difficult to compete with Google who doesn't necessarily need to make profit off of the device itself if they believe they will get revenue from advertising and purchases on Google Play.
Whatever the case may be, the Nexus 7 still seems to be the best Android tablet available at this price point. Its 1920x1200 display is still best in class for 7" tablets, with accurate factory calibration and a maximum brightness that stands high above every other tablet. The build quality and battery life are also exceptional for its price, and although the APQ8064-1AA SoC has aged since it released, it's still a capable device that receives updates directly from Google. The biggest issue about the Nexus 7 is finding it, as Google has recently discontinued it and removed it from sale on Google Play. That being said, if you can find it at another online retailer or a nearby store, it's definitely worth considering.
Our next recommendation is the NVIDIA SHIELD Tablet which starts at $299 with an optional $59 controller. This recommendation is aimed at anyone who wants to use the Android OS and wants to be able to play games on their tablet. Although some may laugh at the idea of a tablet as a gaming device, when paired with its controller the SHIELD Tablet is actually a viable gaming device. NVIDIA has put a lot of effort into taking classic games like Half Life 2 and Portal that were once limited to gaming consoles and PCs and making them available on the SHIELD Tablet. Their new GRID game streaming service has also just begun its expansion, which will allow people to play various games streamed over a network connection.
For users who don't intend to play many games, the SHIELD Tablet is still worth considering. The Cortex-A15 based Tegra K1 is very competitive with the CPU performance of other Android tablets, and the GPU performance is rivaled only by Apple's A8X in the iPad Air 2. The battery life is also good at 10.83 hours, although it doesn't really stand out from other tablets. The display may also be an issue for some buyers, with similar panel characteristics as the iPad Mini. This puts it significantly behind the cheaper Nexus 7 for both display accuracy and brightness.
From a software support perspective, one might expect the SHIELD Tablet to be a worse option than the Nexus 7. However, NVIDIA has proven to be very quick in shipping updates, and the SHIELD Tablet has already been updated to the recently released Android Lollipop; that should put to rest any concerns about updates. Ultimately, for gamers who want Android, the SHIELD Tablet is the best choice. For those less interested in gaming, one will have to consider the $70 increase in price over the Nexus 7, and decide whether to prioritize performance or display quality.
Last, but not least, we have the newly released Nexus 9 that is made by HTC and starts at $399. This is the first Nexus device that Google has had HTC build since the Nexus One, and it's HTC's first tablet since they exited the market in 2012. In a way, the Nexus 9 can be called a successor to the Nexus 7, as its release coincided with the Nexus 7 being discontinued. That being said, the Nexus 9 is definitely not the budget tablet that the Nexus 7 was. At $399, it's well within the price territory of the iPad, and it's almost double the cost of the Nexus 7. Although there are other high end Android tablets at this price point, the Nexus 9 feels like the only Android tablet that actually justifies a premium price by competing with the silicon inside of Apple's iPad.
Inside the Nexus 9 is NVIDIA's Tegra K1 Denver, making it one of the first 64-bit Android devices. The display maintains the standards that Google set with the Nexus 7, with accurate color calibration and a high brightness, although its larger size prevents it from reaching the brightness of the Nexus 7. The tablet is primarily plastic, with a metal band around the edge. At $399 users may be hoping for a bit more in terms of materials, and reports of significant flex in the back cover don't help with giving it a premium feel.
Despite some concerns about the build, at $399 the Nexus 9 is really the obvious choice for anyone looking for a high end tablet running Android. We haven't seen any other Android tablets launch this year that compete with both its display and its speed. However, it may be a hard sell for anyone without any platform loyalty who is choosing between iOS and Android. The build quality and materials just aren't up to the standard of the iPad, and the 4:3 aspect ratio can cause scaled up applications to look worse than normal.
In the end this will again be up to the preference of the user. The iPad Air has more premium materials and a better feel, and perhaps a better selection of tablet software. However, it falls behind in its CPU and GPU performance, and the 1GB of RAM on a 64-bit iOS can be problematic. Despite some disappointments with the build, the Nexus 9 is still a very capable tablet, and it's the only Android tablet that manages to give high end hardware across the board.
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PC Perv - Sunday, November 30, 2014 - link
Your bias is blinding you. How about checking out your own review?http://www.anandtech.com/show/7886/samsung-galaxy-...
The Nexus 7 has literally zero advantage except for getting quicker Android updates. That's per YOUR OWN review. And what is wrong with RGBW panel, as long as it displays correct images and gives awesome crispness thanks to its high PPI? Would you say CYMK in your printer (and just about every printer) is also a problem?
From what I can tell you are one of those typical AT reviewers, hell bent on "Apple is the standard" and judging everything from that angle. I admit not every AT reviewers are like that - especially those in Europe seem to be more even-headed. I am looking forward to the day when you "leave" to work as Joni Eve's personal driver.
PC Perv - Sunday, November 30, 2014 - link
lol, Joni Eve. Sorry I meant "Johnny Ive" XDBrandon Chester - Sunday, November 30, 2014 - link
My mistake, I had forgotten how it's strangely the larger tablet with the worse display. Calling me ignorant for a mistake is interesting since you incorrectly identified the SoC in the Nexus 7 two times in a row, despite the exact model being put in the article. I never called you ignorant for your mistake.RGBW is actually a real issue, you get huge reductions in chroma resolution. Again, the display isn't so much the issue as the hardware driving it. I have used it myself and there's obvious jank, S800 was not designed to drive such a high resolution. That's all I have to say about that.
I don't know why you brought up Apple, it seems like you've just fallen into throwing out ad hominems because of what appears to be buyer's justification because you own the TabPro. If you disagree with me that's fine, but accusing others of bias and making personal attacks is not at all a valid way to argue a point.
PC Perv - Sunday, November 30, 2014 - link
Wrong again. I had the Nexus 7 (2013 model, which I sold because of performance degradation due to its cheap components), not the Tab Pro. I would have not spent $400 on the Tab Pro anyway.I know exactly what the Nexus 7's SoC is. I just wasn't sure how to call it. That was not a mistake. Your "mistake," on the other hand, is a different kind. "It's RGBW, so it's out of running" Just like Brian Klug's "It's AMOLED, so it's worthless." type of mistake.
I can't wait for the day when Apple adopt AMOLED and you declare "AMOLED DONE RIGHT."
stlc8tr - Sunday, November 30, 2014 - link
Just to be clear, AFAIK, the Tab Pro 8.4 isn't RGBW. It's a full RGB stripe display. Only the 10.1 and 12.2 tablets are RGBW.Also, given the the Tab Pro 8.4 was recommended at $400, I don't understand why it isn't being recommend at $200, which is *CHEAPER* than the N7.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/7886/samsung-galaxy-...
"Android alternatives include the Nexus 7, which delivers slightly less performance in most cases than the Pro 8.4 and it “only” has a WUXGA display, but it has one big selling point: it costs $170 less than the Pro 8.4, and you could even pick up two for the price of a single Pro 10.1 – or you could grab the 32GB model and still only pay $269. The Pro 8.4 looks and feels nicer in my opinion, but it’s really difficult to argue with that sort of price competition. If you want two more options, the Kindle Fire HDX 7” ($200) and Kindle Fire HDX 8.9” ($379) pack similar performance with their Snapdragon 800 SoCs and have a lot to offer, but the lack of Google Play Services is a pretty massive drawback in my book. I really can’t find any other direct competition in the Android market for the Samsung Pro 8.4 right now, so it's an easy recommendation."
PC Perv - Monday, December 1, 2014 - link
Another ridiculousness is how he thinks the value of $100 when we talk about $200-ish tablets. He says,[Q]Also it's an RGBW panel, and it's normally $300 so I still don't see the appeal at all.[/Q]
Either he is totally brainwashed, or really bad at math. I mean, if the Nexus 7 was $120 ($220 - $100), would he say the same? Or, would he say the same about the iPad Air 2 if it's on sale for $100 less? No appeal at all?
I somehow doubt it. Says a lot about his bias, arrogance, and his total disregards of actual consumers.
I wish this guy had a humility to look himself in the mirror, but I frankly do not expect it from the attitude he has shown here so far.
The0ne - Monday, December 15, 2014 - link
It's not math. It is the unconscious decision to ignore everything else regardless of what was said or in some cases the facts. Religion is great at doing this btw. As you stated previously what does it matter if it's RGBW or anything as long as the image is clear and clean. And at these screen sizes who is really going to see the difference?Brandon, he threw out Apple reference because Anand's reviews share the same common reasoning, using Apple as the standard. Remember the screen size, the display? No different that what you're really doing here, albeit not as excessive as the full fledged Apple-loved reviews by Anand. I pray you don't ask us to cite them because that would be embarrassing to Anandtech.
steve1616 - Thursday, December 18, 2014 - link
I have noticed so many people bag on this site for being pro apple. It seems like if anyone says anything good about an apple product, than obviously it is wrong. I didn't read a review made by an apple fanboy, but I have read mean comments made by obvious android fanboys.This is a neutral site, but even a pure android site (android police) recommended the ipad air 2 over all the android tablets. Maybe its just better. I started on android tablets. I bought hisense sero 7 pro tablets for my kids since their school required them and this tablet was recommended by the IT guy at their school. It was a good performing tablet, but so far 2 of the tablets I bought died within 6 months. The other 2 tablets have had problems that I have fixed and I am still limping them by. I replaced the 2 dead tablets with ipad minis reluctantly because they have a great track record for reliability and they were on sale for $170. These old tech original ipad mini tablets were better performers on games. They never stuttered on games that the hisense stuttered slightly on. My sister also bought some hisense tablets on my initial recommendation. Her tablets died within a few months and hisense will drag on a warranty for years it is looking like. We're yet to receive anything and it has been over 6 months since we returned the units with RMA's. She bought 2 ipad minis and 1 Samsung tab 4, 8" tablet. We almost bought this same Samsung, but it was quite a bit more money than the ipad mini. I have gotten the chance to play with both tablets and the Samsung tablet is not as good a perfomer as the hisense tablet. It stutters badly in games compared to the ipad mini. In subway surfer the samsung always has this little stutter that can really mess you up. The ipad mini is just smooth. I was guilty of not giving apple a fair chance before this experience, and it was misguided. They seem to have the best tablet at the best prices if you wait for big sales
tuxRoller - Sunday, December 14, 2014 - link
It's actually a krait 300 (15%ipc compared to krait 200).It's basically an underclocked s600.
gailthesnail - Sunday, November 30, 2014 - link
Yeah I'm pretty sure you're wrong about that. I have a tab pro and it runs games great. It may not have the absolute newest chip but the s800 is still plenty powerful enough and definitely way more powerful than the s4 pro in the nexus 7. I would even pick it over the shield as nvidia has overpromised and under delivered on all of its chips in the past. The k1 looks like the most overrated chip in recent memory. It overheats, isn't battery efficient, and doesn't actually perform any better than competitors.