Quick disclaimer: I’ve used this device for approximately 27 days of daily usage as my main device.
Before I picked up my first Nexus 7 back in 2012, I was distinctly sceptical and against the idea of owning a tablet. Everything a tablet does I can do, presumably, just as well on my Android phone so why even bother? Boy, was I wrong.
The size and clarity of the screen, albeit a bit washed out on the colour side, was enough to make me a believer. The portability, design and materials it was made out of further cemented that fact not only making standard tasks a lot easier at home and on the go, but reading books, comics, playing games and watching various videos and films became so much more compelling. The Nexus 7 even started to take more of my attention away from my laptop at the time.
However, we all know how that panned out. Poor hardware made the device sluggish, nigh on unusable for most after maybe 8-10 months, mine being no exception. The Tegra 3, while compelling at the time, couldn’t keep up and became more of a bottleneck than anything.
On the other hand, this made me all the more interested in seeing where Google would take its successor. While what they announced seemed compelling, I went in with a wary heart, standing on guard to not be as burned as before.
As most of you are probably already familiar with the specs and internals of this device, I will not go too much into those details and will focus more on my personal user experience. While it may not have the absolute latest internals on the market, I can say that at least so far, the pros definitely outweigh the cons.
The Design
The very first thing that struck me was its design. It was not only a simpler, darker slab than its predecessor, it was thinner, lighter and definitely way sexier. Gone is the dimpled, soft touch plastic with silver accent, replaced with what I would call a more refined soft touch 2.0 with an all black bezel around the screen. It brings for a more subdued and somewhat ordinary design, but is very aesthetically pleasing as well as very comfortable in the hands. The top and bottom bezels are also slightly longer than before, but the side 
bezels are thinner. At first I wasn’t quite fond of this, but as time went by it grew on me and now I’m a firm believer it was a change for the better.
Most of the button and input placement is unchanged, having the 3.5mm headphone jack on the right side of the top bezel, with the micro USB charging input on the bottom middle. Right side has the power/lock key and the volume rocker immediately below it.
The buttons are glossier than before, protrude more and are clickier, making them easier to find and use. They aren’t too loose, but not too tight either, so a little force is needed to press them. This does make them give nice feedback when pressed however.
On the back we have a rotated Nexus logo, changed from a portrait orientation to landscape. No more is it carved out text either, but it’s been changed to an embossed glossy logo. Upgraded are the speakers and a big addition of a rear facing camera, but more on those later.
The front is is mostly the same, it houses the 7” display and a front facing camera and its accompanying sensors on the top bezel. However the camera is now placed further right instead of the middle, which can be quite annoying. New this time around is a notification LED on the bottom bezel, which definitely comes in handy. Do note that it is only one colour, which is white, though, so no fancy per-app colours to differentiate notifications.
The Display
Here is where the biggest change in my opinion happens, and it’s arguably also the most important part of a tablet. The resolution was not only bumped up from 1280×800 (216ppi) to a staggeringly beautiful 1920×1200 (323ppi) factory calibrated display. And the difference is very, very noticeable.
From the very second I turned the Nexus 7 on for the first time I was smitten. Not only is the display bright and crisp, but it is vivid and colourful. Colours pop and are well contrasted, whites are bright and blacks are probably as deep as they can get on an LCD. Even without comparing it to the old Nexus 7 the difference was there, and the effort they had put into calibrating this is obvious. I could stare at it for hours on end.
Pretty much everything I loved to do on my old tablet became infinitely more enjoyable. Reading books and articles with text almost as crisp as real print makes my eyes strain less and easier to do for longer periods of time. Flipping through comic book pages, especially with Comixology having updated their apps to support HD comics, is greater than ever with the vividness of the colours and sharp artwork. Watching film, whether it be locally or on YouTube was crisper and clearer to the point where even SD videos were somewhat bearable.
All in all the display is absolute top quality. I can say no more than that I love it so much, I dread using my poorly calibrated PC monitor all the more. However, there is one thing that enhances some of the experiences, namely gaming and films, more, namely the speakers.
The Speakers
The reason this gets its own section is because this is a drastic upgrade from last year’s 
model. Last time around we got a tinny, bassless mono speaker on the backside of the tablet. This time however, we not only get a better placed speaker, but we get two of them, giving us a rich stereo sound.
When Google announced the Nexus 7 this summer they said they had teamed up with Fraunhofer to enhance the audio experience on the tablet. While I don’t know how much is PR speak and how much it actually benefits from this partnership, I can say though that the experience is great.
I have used the Nexus 7 to watch a whole bunch of videos on YouTube, films and other shows by myself and with others, and there was never a time where one had to do a double take. I even used it as a main music hub when I had a bunch of people over and the music was audible even through the chatter. The sound it produces is distinctly loud, even with the volume slider near the middle and has a decent balance of bass and treble.
The two speakers are also located on the top and bottom curves of the device, making them point upwards in portrait and sideways in landscape positions. When in portrait, there is practically no way of covering them up, however when watching videos in landscape there is a small chance, but it’s nothing one should be worried about.
Headphone audio is also loud and clear on this. It still retains the silly warning message about turning up the sound too loud when wearing headphones, but once that is out of the way the sound goes way up there, in contrast to the Nexus 4 which has a relatively quiet output all around.
There is however one kink about these speakers, and from looking around it seems widespread and software related. On lower volumes, there is a distinct hiss coming from both speakers when sound is played, whether it’s a notification or anything else. An annoyance at best, but something to keep in mind.
The Camera
Another big addition is the inclusion of a rear facing camera, absent to some people’s woes last year. Personally, I dislike it when people use a tablet to snap photos instead of their phones, which in most cases are probably more capable and takes better shots than the tablet. I do however realise there is a great convenience in having it, having had to use it on several occasions for scanning QR codes and take a really quick shot of somethingwhen having nothing else handy.
However, there is not much to write home about this lens, which isn’t too surprising. It’s a 5 megapixel shooter capable of filming in 1920×1080 in 30 frames per second. I’m going to be honest here, I’ve never taken a video with this tablet and the photos I’ve snapped are countable on one hand.
Below are three sample shots in different lighting scenarios, however all indoors, where I feel most photographing with a tablet should take place. As you can see, quality is not stellar, but it gets the job done for those quick Instagram or Facebook shares of what you’re eating.
The Battery
For me, I’m way more forgiving on battery life of tablets than my mobiles, most likely due to the fact that I don’t carry it around with me wherever I go. That said, if it had absolutely poor battery life I wouldn’t be as forgiving. Thankfully this is not the case with the Nexus 7, but it isn’t much to write home about though.
When I first got the device battery seemed great. I got more than a full day’s worth of use with some 6 hours of screen on time with almost 2 of those dedicated to gaming. It was everything I had hoped for from a tablet. However as time went by, apps were downloaded, accounts were added and usage started changing, its longevity also changed. I’m sure I could still pull the same stats now as before, but normal usage would probably leave me charging it every second day.
I use my tablet extensively. When I am home, my Nexus 4 is never picked up until I get a phone call, SMS or there is simply something I must do on it. All my time is spent on the Nexus 7, from reading news to social media to counting calories in MyFitnessPal. I expect this is how most people are with their tablets though, so I would believe most would experience the same sort of battery time I do.
The Software
Android has matured. A lot. Granted, I haven’t been part of Android land for a long time, but I remember the late days of Gingerbread and the dawn of Ice Cream Sandwich. It has come a long way since. As time went by and version revisions dropped, the tablet strategy started changing along with it. Android feels usable on a tablet, it works. Tiny things like separating the notification dropdown and quick settings toggles into the left and right sides respectively of the notification bar gives a sense of this. However, it’s just not quite there.
My thoughts on the tablet version of Android will be left for another day. However, as for how the Nexus 7 handles Android, I can say nothing more than that it flies. The officially named S4 Pro, aka the pseudo Snapdragon 600, just gobbles everything you throw at it up. It does it fast and fluidly and the 2GB of RAM help with quick multitasking and low amount of reloading apps. There are some hiccups at times and some micro stutter can be seen, but it’s too far and few in between that it doesn’t ruin the experience.
Every game I have tried has run flawlessly, from Rayman Jungle/Fiesta Run to Dead Trigger 2. It takes them like a champ and gives you a lovely and seamless experience. There was however one level in Rayman Fiesta Run where it started dropping frames, where there was a lot of things going on at the some time on screen. But up until that one point it was running with not a single stutter.
Another big thing about the software, which for many people turned out to also be connected to poor hardware, was that a lot of people have problems with is the touch sensitivity. There have been many reports of sporadic touch response and even ghost touches. Google promised to fix these in some of their 4.3 updates, but the problem seems to persist for many. Personally, I haven’t been subject to something as severe, but I do experience my touches getting stuck at times, mostly when typing. This can get in the way of a fluid experience and can ruin games where split second precision is key. I am still within my 30 day return period so I might take it back and replace it unless 4.4 releases before this and proves to solve these issues.
The Conclusion
So by the end of the day, I can say nothing more than that this tablet is absolute stellar. Every time I get something to do on it I get excited. If there’s a new notification to check or a new YouTube video to be watched I do it with joy on the Nexus 7. Reading long series of articles is way more enjoyable on the tablet than on anything else I own.
It’s zippy, lightweight, easy to hold and has a gorgeous display flanked by two great speakers that enhance any media experience from music to video to gaming. It is truly a great experience no matter what it is you want to do. And at it’s cheap entry price, it is definitely a recommendation for anyone looking to get a new tablet.
Whether one should get the 16 or 32GB models however is up to oneself. Personally I have the 32GB model, and while I never used more than 16 on my previous Nexus 7, I can see where the extra space comes in handy. If you watch a lot of videos and films on your tablet stored locally, then by all means, go for the more expensive one. But honestly, no matter which you go for you’re most likely going to get the best bang for your buck that you can at this point in time.
If you would like to see an unboxing and a quick comparison between the old Nexus 7, feel free to continue on to here.
PRISM 