Yes i saw it later but still apple ecosystem makes more sense. Google cannot expect to price something that is not their focus that high. I was thinking I am paying less and getting less support even though I am on cyanogenmod right now. ;-)
This is a good news. However, Nexus 6 and Nexus 9 remain to be poorly rated based on consumer satisfaction ( see http://www.topreport.org/tablets/ for example...)
That's what I've got. Can't stand the thing (same SoC runs Windows RT flawlessly, but Android is sloooooooooow).
I really want to be done with Android/iOS tablets, BUT I'm still tempted by Nexus 9 only because Marvel's Unlimited service isn't available for Windows *sigh*
9" seems way too small, but then it's super high resolution, so maybe that makes up for it... Only other real choice is a 12" Samsung, but it ships with goopy butchered Android that'll never get updated, so I'd be spending $550 for a tablet that can ONLY be used as an ereader...
The SoC is not the problem in the 2012 N7... the flash memory is just horrible. I installed a F2FS ROM on mine and the thing is like 80% faster, but there are times where it still stalls horribly. My custom kernel allows overclocking and I played with that a bit and it made no difference whatsoever - the processor is almost always waiting for the flash memory to catch up.
Weird. I got a Samsung tablet, never bothered to update the android on it (4.1.2) and still can use it for absolutely everything offered in the app-store, not just as an e-reader. What exactly do you suspect to not run on it?
My only real problem with it is weight, its 340g for the 8" model, and that can get uncomfortable after an hour or two. Sadly, nobody seems interested in developing a real light-weight tablet.
Your use case should determine your tablet need. The value of Nexus lies in having a Device that you can completely manage as opposed to one that is controlled / managed by a service provider or content provider. Does your ISP manage your home PC for you :). OS Upgrades / Rollbacks are trivial on a Nexus Device much simpler to manage than on a OEM Tablet vendor offering. You can manage your nexus phone and tablet with a single app.
The current shortcomings of the Nexus 9 in my humble opinion are: 1) Lack of a Flash Memory Card port. (Probably Intentional to not compete too closely with the Android Tablet Makers Product Offerings) 2) Lack of an HDMI video out port. 3) USB Port is 2.0 (NBD Really)
4) Lack of wireless charging. Its surprisingly handy on my nexus 7 LTE. 5) Land of storage. 32G should be a minimum NOT a maximum for a high end tablet 6) Price increment between 16G, 32G and LTE. Think someone's margins get much better with LTE (and 32G)
Also new iPhones are 16:9. The iPad still has a legacy 4:3 for historic reasons. If the first iPad was released today, it would be widescreen. It's a shame that Google copied the old iPad aspect ratio.
Which is fantastic for a digital device which only displays PRINTED material... For doing "work" the constraints of printed formats aren't a concern for many professions.
No, 4:3 works better for long-form reading in portrait mode. You could file that under 'legacy', I suppose, because the 8.5x11 paper format is based on dead trees; but it's still better to have more width when working in portrait view.
On smartphones, there are more list things. Those work fine with a thinner ratio. I wouldn't be all that surprised if we eventually moved to phones with 64:27 screens and saw more cinematic movie ratios used.
Nonsense. We have been working with landscape displays on portrait virtual papers for years without any issue. Ever heard of MS Word? And applications adapt to form factors. Tablet applications would fit widescreen displays better if there were never been any 4:3 tablet.
Uhm no. Take webpages, most designers TARGET 4:3 ratios for their webpages, for "desktop" sizes. By your logic we should start using 16:9 printed paper. 4:3 simply translates better to a variety of formats.
No, phones and tablets really have different use cases. 16x9 works better for a phone not just for movies, but for one handed operation. That's why the iPhone 5 didn't get wider than the 4s, but did get longer. For a tablet, 16:9 is useless for portrait operations. Also, tests show that it's not even great for landscape web browsing due to the browser chrome, etc. 4:3 is best for tablets. Apple was right, Google copied. 16:9 is right for phones. Android was right, Apple copied.
Yeah, that's what they say. 3:2 was also the best smartphone ratio until Apple switched to 16:9. Seriously, why would 4:3 be better for tablets will it suck for everything else, including phones, laptops, desktops, TVs, projectors?
It's a much better aspect ratio for portrait mode, just use a 16:9 device compared to a 4:3 or 3:2 and the difference is apparent, you want more horizontal or you just get long stretched out forms/content.
In landscape mode, the trade-off is very minor, you get a top/bottom letterboxed image but aspect and pixel mapping is maintained. Anyone who has owned a 1920x1200 monitor is very familiar with this with all the native 1080p content out there.
Because you don't use a laptop/desktop/TV/Projector in Portrait. A rare few people do use a portrait aspect on their desktop, and yes 4:3 is better than 16:10 there too.
Also, a 4:3 tablet would most likely lose half the screen for absolutely everything, and not just movies. (Display manufacturers have a bad track record with taking 4:3 resolutions and just chopping a bunch off to make a 16:9 ratio.)
When people use 16:9 or 16:10 on desktops, they typically don't have one large MS Office window open. They have multiple windows open and often compare documents side by side. That makes sense on the desktop, but each window isn't 16:10. Mobile devices typically use one window at at time, so the shape of the device is critical.
16:9 isn't great for large tablets but I don't think 4:3 is ideal either. A ~9" 3:2(like the Surface Pro 3) would have been perfect though I'm not sure that is currently available from display manufacturers.
Dunno why everyone keeps saying 16:9, vast majority of Android tablets were/are 16:10 and it does make a big difference. I noticed the narrower aspect ratio the second I picked up a 16:9 Windows RT tablet...
That being said, I do think 4:3 or 3:2 works better for 9"+ devices... Specially for people with smaller hands. That aspect ratio would be terrible for a 7" tablet tho, so I dunno how anyone can claim Apple OR Google was right...
Less rectangular might work better for hybrids and mid sized devices, once you get too desktop class devices (17"+) it depends entirely on desk space and number of screens, and at under 7" 16:10 & 16:9 still handle and travel better.
No one got it entirely right, but more choices are always a good thing®.
They don't really make very many 3:2 desktop monitors. But I'd wager money that if they did, creators would buy them. 16:9 is great for YouTube, but people who make stuff on their computer or multitask heavily often go to 16:10, and I suspect that if 3:2 was more of an option you'd see that too.
Ehh, it really depends on what your end goal or usage case is, there's way too many people here making broad generalizations. I love my 24" 16:10 Dell displays and I chose them largely because of it, but gaming is a big part of the reason I have a desktop so I'd never trade them for 3:2 displays either.
16:10 just works great for me even in Eyefinity (and makes for a pretty versatile PPP or LLL landscape). If anything I'd opt for 3:2 side displays but that would kill PPP use...
Even if you're talking strictly content creation you're still generalizing unless you specify the content. No one editing video is gonna opt for a more square display, and even those working with photos often want a wider display for tools, palettes, and layer controls around the photo.
That's hardly the end of content creation tho, people working in print, web content or programming might very well have no use for a wider display, unless of course it's wide enough and large enough to display two side by side pages.
So really, desktop is just about the worst place for broad generalizations.
The iPhone 6 Plus is USD$750. And it's a $100 upgrade over the iPhone 6, which is the same price as the Nexus 6, but I'm not sure that's relevant.
Either way, a Nexus will be cheaper than any manufacture-sold phones with the same components. I'm pretty sure Google is selling them at or near cost. The fact that this one is so high-end and so (relatively) expensive says something about its abilities.
This nexus is not sold in line with cost. The slightly faster SoC + higher res screen + 16GB more storage + misc __IS NOT__ $300 more than the Nexus 5.
If this phone costs over 125USD to make over the Nexus 5 I would be shocked.
Enough with the FUD already. Even the GNex with TI internals got the 4.3 update 20+ months after it was released. The 2 year old Nexus 4 is getting Lollipop. If you want Android and really care about updates, the Nexus line is still really your only choice (we'll see if Moto continues its excellent update streak going under Lenovo).
If Apple wants anymore of my money they need to patch the stuttering and crashes in iOS 8. I own two iPhone 5 and they are both dogs now. I wouldn't have patched but I wanted SwiftKey, something that my Android devices have had for a while. I don't care about specs one of the reasons for buying Apple products has been it's smooth responsive UI even on low end hardware. Having to wait over a second for a webpage to rerender after zooming or scrolling sucks.
Apple needs to pull something out of its hat soon or the two iPhone 5 I own are getting sold for a $200 bill credit in favour of a note 4, or OPO.
I had forgotten that. Thanks for pointing that out, the launch of both devices caught me a bit off guard because I wasn't expecting it based on Google's Nexus 7 and Nexus phone timing.
The dimensions of the phone should be comparable to a Note phone, so I'm not sweating that. I'm just not feeling the price.
Also, 4:3 has been a spectacular aspect ratio on iPads and other tablets, so I'm happy to see it here. The only better overall tablet aspect ratio is 3:2 (i.e. Surface Pro 3).
i agree on the aspect ratio i cant stand 4:3 tablets i dumped my ipad because of it and got a surface to replace it and its been amazing since no way could i ever use that awkward form factor ever again
4:3 aspect ratio is very disappointing. Also it's weird to see a nexus for $650, I think we all grown accustom to the great prices of the nexus 4 and 5..
Nice to see 4:3 screen. Most Android tablets use the crappy "tallscreen" (when held vertically) format which is way too narrow, plus offers less real estate when flipped.
I was going to say the Nexus 6 is a lot thicker but 10.1mm is the max thickness and the device is heavily curved on the back so it's not like it's 10.1mm across the whole thing.
Still, it's larger and heavier, how much more expensive is a Note 4? I'd never be in the market for a phablet but I really dunno what I'd choose between those two... Faster updates vs probably a better camera, battery life testing will be interesting.
It's been a while since a Nexus phone has been so close to other flagship devices in SoC AND battery capacity, would love to see AT test the Z3 too so see what makes it so much more efficient than other phones.
Frankly, they are all monstrously large to me. I get the feeling that if I get this type of device, I'd just be carrying it around with me everywhere. When I sit down, I would have to take it out of my pocket, if it is manageably comfortable in my pocket, and place it on top of my desk.
The only time I can have it in my pocket is while walking. Can't go on a run or a long walk with these things.
The size is so disappointing. I just don't want a phablet, let alone a phablet that crushes the other already existing phablets.
Even worse, this phone corrects so many of the things that are missing in the Moto X. OIS, stereo speakers, bigger battery, covers all the relevant LTE bands, 64 GB option. It's a huge improvement over the 2nd Gen Moto X. But who cares unless you're one of the smaller audience of people who want a phablet.
Just totally stupid not to release two devices, like with the iPhone 6.
lol, so the phone has a higher res than the tablet?
Really disappointed that Google decided to go with such an unreasonably large form factor for their new Nexus phone. That's squarely a purse phablet. They're just further reinforcing the "biggar is bettar" paradigm in the current Android hardware market. It's good to see that it actually has a decent sized battery, though it also makes me question the new Moto X even more (what were they thinking?). Hopefully it also has better color accuracy then the new Moto X. And that price...
The Nexus 9 on the other hand looks really interesting, hopefully everything adds up to a great product. I can't wait to see benchmarks, this thing is going to be a beast.
Google is clearly moving the prices up for the Nexus line. Suspect they are trying to protect android partners like Samsung, LG, Sony etc from corroding prices of the android devices. But for us, the prices are simply too high to buy these products especially when they don't have expandable storage. I liked Nexus 7 gen 2 but it was too small and sold it. Was waiting for Nexus 9.....guess will have to look at something else, may be ipad mini esp it it gets storage bump to 64GB
A denver shield tablet with 64 gb of storage and the sd card would be amazing. or....what if, they made a 5 inch nvidia tablet with denver in it, and they made a controller. kinda like the original shield, but the screen would be removable. instant purchase.
Ehh, I don't know if the motivation is to protect partners (let's face it, most phones are still sold on contract or financed) as it is a curious case of timing and the OEM they're working with this year.
A metal build and K1 pushed the tablet price up. Matching flagship phablet specs in every regard and Moto's smaller manufacturing capacity might've pushed the phone price up, at the same time they're keeping the perfectly capable N5 around.
The N5 aged well and at it's year old price it still fills a price point between something like the Moto G or any current flagship. You could view it as Google adding more stratification to the Nexus line.
You can now buy a cheap Nexus as well as an expensive one, whether we're talking tablets or phones, and larger means more expensive. The last bit doesn't necessarily make sense in a purely technical sense but the entire industry has been pricing larger phones and tablets higher for years so...
You have some kind of inside information on K1 pricing? These chips are all within $10 of each other. Even the CAR K1 solution is only $40-50 and that's due to software being so heavily used with it that is packages with the chip as a solution. I don't believe K1 goes for more than $30 and we know MS/Google got T4 for $22-25. Heck, even a small place like xiaomi got theirs for $27 IIRC in their BOM. I'm sure google didn't pay more than $35 here. Another gig of ram and an option for 64GB storage should have been mandatory here. You can blame the metal, but not the K1. Die size here is supposedly ~120, at least if Rys is on the up an up with his measurements.
T4 was 80mm^2. Going by die size, I'd find it hard to believe it was much more than $35, and the auto solution estimates (based on units sold, and revenue from those units) show $40-50. Again that's with a massive software solution included.
I stand corrected, blame the metal/HTC then... I do think the tablet could've been priced more aggressively, wasn't trying to make excuses for the prices. I think $350 might've been easier for many to swallow personally, specially if they're gonna price gouge on the keyboard, and they probably are.
indeed, $350 seems reasonable (with 32GB of storage) given that would put it $75 over the MiPad with a more premium materials build, better speakers, half the storage, and a lot of trade-offs that are about equal.
That being said, the K1 chip in it makes it tempting as is... Just to have a custom ARMv8 architecture (that isn't on a locked down platform). I also imagine the screen is high quality, and, well, why can't more companies make speakers that fire towards the user :D
Yes, and the Mipad was ~$275 (given currency exchange from Yuan to USD has not changed much since it was announced) with 64GB of storage, a 6700mAh battery, 2GB of RAM, a 8MP rear camera, a 2048x1536 display resolution, a 5MP FFC, an SD card slot (up to 128GB).
The only thing lower speced I can find on the mipad would be the body, the bluetooth version (4.0 v. 4.1) and I'm not sure if it supported wifi AC
I was really anticipating Nexus 6 and was trying not to believe that a Google device made primarily for the developers would have an armv7 SoC. Guess the leakers have a trusted source. And that price... Looks like the evo 3d will have to do for a couple more years.
Eww, get a Nexus 5, that brick needs to die. I had one btw, between the thickness and the quiet speaker I couldn't open my wallet fast enough for the EVO LTE... That probably felt like my biggest upgrade so far (vs EVO OG to 3D or EVO LTE vs Nexus 5). Which reminds me, I need to sell my EVO LTE, been procrastinating so much...
I don't know but I feel, completely my own personal view, nexus 6 and nexus 9 will be a big fail for Google.
First of all regarding Nexus 6 - it is too big, much more than any other android devices and also than any rivals' products. Specwise it could have 4 GB ram, though not needed now, but atleast a 64-bit processor like Snapdragon 810. Okay forget spec, fine. Can you please explain why the price is that much high without any huge leap in spec or production costs? Nexus 5 cost maximum 350 USD, and this new 6 starts at $650 !!! Just to compete against rivals like Apple or whatever, Google is planning to kill its android fan bases. It is in a whole - a big controversial release from Google, maybe you don't want to sell lots of devices, but your people wants them, so please listen to them.
Regarding Nexus 9 - it misses USB Host, OTG, only 2 GB RAM instead of 3 GB LPDDR3, come one Google, it has a better SOC than what Nexus 6 has, and you put only 2 GB standard ram, storage is damn too low 32 GB maximum and no SD card slot??? I cannot enjoy many games due to shortage on space on my Nexus 7 32 GB, and Nexus 9 with pre-loaded Android 5.0 will get ART enabled by default which requires lots of space.
Google, listen to your people, not to some limited set of rich people for Nexus 6, and do the right justice to Nexus 9 by providing its minimal specs requirement.
You realize they still offer the Nexus 5 right? Phone, phablet, tablet. Nexus 5 is $350 for a *16GB* version. Comparison is really between a $400 32GB Nexus 5 vs. $650 32GB Nexus 6. If you don't want to pay the phablet price, just buy the phone.
You know USB OTG doesn't work on a device that you can't even pre-order yet?
Incorrect title. Should be "Google Announces the Nexus 6 and Nexus 9 WITH Android Lollipop" or "Google Announces the Android Lollipop Running Nexus 6 and Nexus 9"
urgh 4:3 is silly i mostly use my tablet to watch videos and youtube and for me 16:9 is a must 16:9 also works great in portrait mode for viewing webpages 4:3 it seem you are wasting space no matter what you do
no thanks ill keep my surface which i dumped an ipad for because of the silly aspect ratio
Nexus 6 is meh. Too big, and loses the appeal of Nexus pricing. I guess if people want a smaller Nexus though, it's pretty much the Moto X, and the software features Motorola adds are actually decent and not bloatware.
Android L I'm excited for, I've been using ART full time for weeks and it really is better, on my Moto G it's noticable faster, scrolling is better and more connected feeling, battery life is even slightly up.
Nexus 9, my biggest excitement is finding out about the Nvidia Denver cores, finally someone other than Apple going for two big high IPC cores rather than four smaller ones.
I guess I'm in agreement with everyone else. The Nexus 6 is going to be competing with the Note 4 and iPhone 6 Plus. I'm thinking I'd rather have the Note 4 or iPhone unless this thing has a killer camera or amazing battery life. I'm guessing the battery life will be same(ish) as the other two, and the camera probably worse. At $500 maybe, but I think it'll end up too expensive.
Outlandish price on the Nexus 6, especially when the 5 and 4 were so much less. That better be the best phone camera on the market, bar none, or else I don't see the value in upgrading from the N5 for almost twice the price.
In short: Nexus 6: too expensive, too big, not 64-bit, no microSD slot. Nexus 9: not enough RAM, not enough internal storage/no microSD slot.
Not going to buy either of these =( I was really hoping for a 64-bit, 5,2-inch phone with an agreeable price and a super-cool tablet to replace my HP TouchPad. These things will not sell in great quantities. I'll just wait for someone else to make a better tablet with those delicious Denver cores.
It was known the phone would be 32-bit, because the only available 64-bit ARM SoC (Denver K1) has too high a power draw. I agree with your other points.
Really disappointed by these devices. I am interested in how Denver performs from a technical standpoint, but have no desire to own the tablet it is inside at the price they want for it.
I suppose this is what happens when you use high-cost producers in the phone and tablet spaces, and is also why Motorola (as a US-based manufacturer) and HTC are doomed.
you can always limit the max clock... in theory... I would guess most SD800s don't operate over 1.5Ghz for extended usage. Theoretically a ~1.5Ghz K1 (with GPU at 400-500Mhz (still faster than (almost?) every other mobile GPU)) should fit into a phone...
But, Nvidia burned the bridges to getting Tegra into phones a while back =[
I'm so sick of these giant devices, 5" MAX!!!! Please! PLEASE!!!!! HTC, Motorola, LG, Google STOP making phone larger than 5"!!!! PLEASE!!!!!!!
AT the very least offer the exact same thing except in a 5" frame with 1080p screen. I don't need and don't want more resolution and absolutely DETEST a chassis any larger. Frankly 5" is already pushing it.
maybe you should talk about Chassis not screen size... I believe that Samsung S4 had a ~5" screen in the same size at HTC One M7 4.7" screen.
But, regardless, yes, I agree. I primarily use 4.5" screen devices, I think slightly larger would be good personally (4.7-4.8 or so) but, you could do that in most phones without increasing the physical size if you cut bezel =]
I would have loved Google for just coming with a Nexus 5s with better battery life, a better camera and a better speaker. For $349 and dropping the old Nexus 5 to $249.
I think Android L is great but the Nexus 6 (and what it costs) isn't what I was looking for. The Nexus 9 looks nice.
Let's be honest here... For most people, Android is generally not a productivity platform. A lot of people use it for media consumption, mostly videos. Most videos people consume are 16:9 or wider. Unless I'm unaware of a special liking towards black bars, 4:3 (and 16:10, but it's tolerable on <10") is a no-no.
I did say "most" not "all". I'm aware there are people who use Android/iOS tablets for browsing and staring at documents/spreadsheets 90% of the time. In those scenarios, 4:3 would be good. 16:10 would still be ideal as it is the closest to being the jack of all trade on <10" screens, in my humble opinion.
Looking at the price and specs of the Nexus 9 makes me very glad I went ahead and got the Shield Tablet instead. For the same price as the 16gb entry level Nexus 9 (Anandtech, you really need to get on the case of these device manufacturers and shame them into starting at 32gb and offering higher capacity models) you can get the 32gb Shield Tablet with LTE. The microsd card slot and pen are a bonus, not sure why anyone would buy the Nexus 9 when nvidia has a better product (IMHO) at a better price.
I assumed I'd sell my wife's iPad 3 for a Nexus 9, but now what I really want is a Shield tablet revision with Denver cores. I hope they release one before Christmas.
I'll maybe bite at 20nm version of Nv's chip (K1 or M1 doesn't really matter, I want the shrink). That should allow amped up power, battery or a combo of better by some margin on both sides. This close to a shrink I'm out, no matter how good something looks. Screw xmas, I can wait this out for a MUCH better device at 20nm.
I hope they do a larger tablet (NV I mean). Why not compete with more sizes? I'd like to see a 20nm 13in ;) I've never really been impressed with my dads 10in nexus. Too small to watch my training vids, and browsing isn't much better. I want a 13in with NV inside. I could be sold on a R2 shield handheld at 20nm also, but we'll see :) I may just wait until June/July for 20nm M1 (earlier maybe?). Maxwell drops the power so much over Kepler it's hard to not just sit on my hands for a while...LOL A die shrink+what we already see maxwell doing on 28nm desktops would surely be impressive for an android gamer's future ;)
The nexus 6 looks really awesome. I was going to get the galaxy note 4 as I currently have a galaxy note 2 and the note 4 has LTE band 12 support which is needed for t-mobiles new 700mhz spectrum. If the nexus 6 supports LTE band 12 I think I will switch to it instead. 32GB note 4 is 750 and this nexus 6 32GB is 650 the 64GB should be 729 so with the nexus 6 I can get double the space and cheaper price but where can I find the frequencies it supports?
Someone explain to me why the phone has more mem/storage than the tablet? I'm not saying I don't like the phone's specs, but the tablet? I expect at least the same and from a device this late in 2014 I expect 3GB or more now at this range, PERIOD. You block the SD slot from your devices too, so at minimum I expect a 64GB storage option on ANY google device, PERIOD. Sorry google, you lost me at HELLO. LOL.
phones are generally speaking more used than tablets as they are a "required" device and also have higher ASP at the high end.
If the Tablet was $650 I have no doubit would have more RAM and storage than the phone... Screen rez, I don't know, as, if they want to keep 4:3 ratio hard to get more resolution.
I think it's $300 cheaper if you sign with ATT for shield tablet LTE (they had some deal for $100 off that NV was advertising on their blogs). So perhaps even worse than you're saying. Without specs being much higher, I don't get it (meaning more ram, more storage etc, great soc, but then the specs fell off a cliff).
Like I said I hope NV releases a few more sizes and 20nm versions in them soon. I would be buying it with gaming as a major concern (on top of my PC gaming, just more games on another platform and possibly some fun out of the house), so google seems to have blown that part of my purchase. NV gets that part right and will likely always stream from the PC on NV devices also.
Hey, maybe it's just me but..Lollipop? Come on...same names just shouldn't be used. I understand what they are trying to do, something that sounds both quirky and funny but this is not the case...this just sounds dumb. Kitkat was much better and also lime pie...but they changed it...bad idea..
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mmrezaie - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
I wouldn't pay that price when they ditch upgrading the software in 18 months. It shocks me to say that but apple seems cheaper now.algarblandom - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
Nexus 4 will get Lollipop, that means at least 24 months of software upgrades.mmrezaie - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
Yes i saw it later but still apple ecosystem makes more sense. Google cannot expect to price something that is not their focus that high. I was thinking I am paying less and getting less support even though I am on cyanogenmod right now. ;-)cuex - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
Unless you count that installing OS8 to iPhone 4s KILLS the device, where installing Android 5 DOES upgrade Nexus 4 bettersonelone - Thursday, October 16, 2014 - link
The iPhone 4S is a year older than the Nexus 4... Not a fair comparison.Morawka - Thursday, October 16, 2014 - link
even worse. just plain 4 can't run it any better than the 4S. lolcraighamilton - Saturday, December 6, 2014 - link
This is a good news. However, Nexus 6 and Nexus 9 remain to be poorly rated based on consumer satisfaction ( see http://www.topreport.org/tablets/ for example...)Speedfriend - Thursday, October 16, 2014 - link
The iPhone 4S was still on sale by Apple a few months ago, the Nexus 4 hasn't been for a year.kron123456789 - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
I wonder if Nexus 7(2012) will get Lollipop, too.Wolfpup - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
That's what I've got. Can't stand the thing (same SoC runs Windows RT flawlessly, but Android is sloooooooooow).I really want to be done with Android/iOS tablets, BUT I'm still tempted by Nexus 9 only because Marvel's Unlimited service isn't available for Windows *sigh*
9" seems way too small, but then it's super high resolution, so maybe that makes up for it... Only other real choice is a 12" Samsung, but it ships with goopy butchered Android that'll never get updated, so I'd be spending $550 for a tablet that can ONLY be used as an ereader...
evilspoons - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
The SoC is not the problem in the 2012 N7... the flash memory is just horrible. I installed a F2FS ROM on mine and the thing is like 80% faster, but there are times where it still stalls horribly. My custom kernel allows overclocking and I played with that a bit and it made no difference whatsoever - the processor is almost always waiting for the flash memory to catch up.ShieTar - Thursday, October 16, 2014 - link
Weird. I got a Samsung tablet, never bothered to update the android on it (4.1.2) and still can use it for absolutely everything offered in the app-store, not just as an e-reader. What exactly do you suspect to not run on it?My only real problem with it is weight, its 340g for the 8" model, and that can get uncomfortable after an hour or two. Sadly, nobody seems interested in developing a real light-weight tablet.
RDS - Wednesday, October 22, 2014 - link
Your use case should determine your tablet need.The value of Nexus lies in having a Device that you can completely manage as opposed to one that is controlled / managed by a service provider or content provider. Does your ISP manage your home PC for you :).
OS Upgrades / Rollbacks are trivial on a Nexus Device much simpler to manage than on a OEM Tablet vendor offering.
You can manage your nexus phone and tablet with a single app.
The current shortcomings of the Nexus 9 in my humble opinion are:
1) Lack of a Flash Memory Card port. (Probably Intentional to not compete too closely with the Android Tablet Makers Product Offerings)
2) Lack of an HDMI video out port.
3) USB Port is 2.0 (NBD Really)
edtoml - Saturday, November 1, 2014 - link
4) Lack of wireless charging. Its surprisingly handy on my nexus 7 LTE.5) Land of storage. 32G should be a minimum NOT a maximum for a high end tablet
6) Price increment between 16G, 32G and LTE. Think someone's margins get much better with LTE (and 32G)
tuxRoller - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
Yes, it will, apparently.http://www.androidcentral.com/yes-even-2012-nexus-...
Calabros - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
That 4:3 ratio is an official admission that Apple was dead right :-)Smultie - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
Yeah, just as Apple's 5.5 inch phone is an admission that Android was dead right. ;-)danbob999 - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
Also new iPhones are 16:9. The iPad still has a legacy 4:3 for historic reasons. If the first iPad was released today, it would be widescreen. It's a shame that Google copied the old iPad aspect ratio.Wolfpup - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
Seems like 4:3 fits printed content better...Wolfpup - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
EDIT: Also, it makes both orientations work better IMO.tuxRoller - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
Which is fantastic for a digital device which only displays PRINTED material...For doing "work" the constraints of printed formats aren't a concern for many professions.
mkozakewich - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
No, 4:3 works better for long-form reading in portrait mode. You could file that under 'legacy', I suppose, because the 8.5x11 paper format is based on dead trees; but it's still better to have more width when working in portrait view.On smartphones, there are more list things. Those work fine with a thinner ratio. I wouldn't be all that surprised if we eventually moved to phones with 64:27 screens and saw more cinematic movie ratios used.
danbob999 - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
Nonsense. We have been working with landscape displays on portrait virtual papers for years without any issue. Ever heard of MS Word?And applications adapt to form factors. Tablet applications would fit widescreen displays better if there were never been any 4:3 tablet.
EnzoFX - Thursday, October 16, 2014 - link
Uhm no. Take webpages, most designers TARGET 4:3 ratios for their webpages, for "desktop" sizes. By your logic we should start using 16:9 printed paper. 4:3 simply translates better to a variety of formats.danbob999 - Thursday, October 16, 2014 - link
Well they are targeting wrong since desktop are no longer 4:3 since the end of CRTs.techconc - Thursday, October 23, 2014 - link
No, phones and tablets really have different use cases. 16x9 works better for a phone not just for movies, but for one handed operation. That's why the iPhone 5 didn't get wider than the 4s, but did get longer.For a tablet, 16:9 is useless for portrait operations. Also, tests show that it's not even great for landscape web browsing due to the browser chrome, etc. 4:3 is best for tablets. Apple was right, Google copied. 16:9 is right for phones. Android was right, Apple copied.
retrospooty - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
Or they could just both be options that people can choose from.danbob999 - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
But that suck for application developers. It's the only reason why the iPad is still 4:3.Ortanon - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
4:3 is better than 16:10 for a tablet. So, that's why the iPad is still 4:3.danbob999 - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
Yeah, that's what they say. 3:2 was also the best smartphone ratio until Apple switched to 16:9.Seriously, why would 4:3 be better for tablets will it suck for everything else, including phones, laptops, desktops, TVs, projectors?
chizow - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
It's a much better aspect ratio for portrait mode, just use a 16:9 device compared to a 4:3 or 3:2 and the difference is apparent, you want more horizontal or you just get long stretched out forms/content.In landscape mode, the trade-off is very minor, you get a top/bottom letterboxed image but aspect and pixel mapping is maintained. Anyone who has owned a 1920x1200 monitor is very familiar with this with all the native 1080p content out there.
danbob999 - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
Still, we use 16:9 phones in portrait mode just fine.Ortanon - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
It's a phone. Who cares. Totally different form factor.danbob999 - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
Well you will have to find a better argument than 16:9 is unusable in portrait mode.f0d - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
i have used both and i just cant stand 4:3for my 16:9 is much better to use and less screen space gets wasted
Ortanon - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
Because you don't use a laptop/desktop/TV/Projector in Portrait. A rare few people do use a portrait aspect on their desktop, and yes 4:3 is better than 16:10 there too.Tams80 - Thursday, October 16, 2014 - link
16:10 is good for having two documents side by side, while still being good for widescreen content.Laxaa - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
Agreed. 4:3 is really great for browsing, reading and editing documents.danbob999 - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
then we should use it on laptops/desktops too isn't it?Ortanon - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
I'd love a 3:2 laptop. It would work fine for desktop too. Yeah.danbob999 - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
3:2 would have been OK for a tablet but 4:3 is just too bad for movies. You loose about half the screen with black bars.Ortanon - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
4:3 isn't as good for movies as 16:10. Good job pointing out the one thing. I guess you just bought your tablet to watch movies on.mkozakewich - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
Also, a 4:3 tablet would most likely lose half the screen for absolutely everything, and not just movies.(Display manufacturers have a bad track record with taking 4:3 resolutions and just chopping a bunch off to make a 16:9 ratio.)
techconc - Thursday, October 23, 2014 - link
When people use 16:9 or 16:10 on desktops, they typically don't have one large MS Office window open. They have multiple windows open and often compare documents side by side. That makes sense on the desktop, but each window isn't 16:10. Mobile devices typically use one window at at time, so the shape of the device is critical.dalingrin - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
16:9 isn't great for large tablets but I don't think 4:3 is ideal either. A ~9" 3:2(like the Surface Pro 3) would have been perfect though I'm not sure that is currently available from display manufacturers.Ortanon - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
For tablets, 3:2 is The One Ratio To Rule Them All.kron123456789 - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
Yep, "One Ratio To Bring Them All And In The Darkness Bind Them." :)Ortanon - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
lmaoSilenus - Thursday, October 16, 2014 - link
^ This ^ I'll slowly come to the conclusion that 3:2 might be the best compromise of ratio for a tablet.Impulses - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
Dunno why everyone keeps saying 16:9, vast majority of Android tablets were/are 16:10 and it does make a big difference. I noticed the narrower aspect ratio the second I picked up a 16:9 Windows RT tablet...That being said, I do think 4:3 or 3:2 works better for 9"+ devices... Specially for people with smaller hands. That aspect ratio would be terrible for a 7" tablet tho, so I dunno how anyone can claim Apple OR Google was right...
Less rectangular might work better for hybrids and mid sized devices, once you get too desktop class devices (17"+) it depends entirely on desk space and number of screens, and at under 7" 16:10 & 16:9 still handle and travel better.
No one got it entirely right, but more choices are always a good thing®.
Ortanon - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
They don't really make very many 3:2 desktop monitors. But I'd wager money that if they did, creators would buy them. 16:9 is great for YouTube, but people who make stuff on their computer or multitask heavily often go to 16:10, and I suspect that if 3:2 was more of an option you'd see that too.Impulses - Thursday, October 16, 2014 - link
Ehh, it really depends on what your end goal or usage case is, there's way too many people here making broad generalizations. I love my 24" 16:10 Dell displays and I chose them largely because of it, but gaming is a big part of the reason I have a desktop so I'd never trade them for 3:2 displays either.16:10 just works great for me even in Eyefinity (and makes for a pretty versatile PPP or LLL landscape). If anything I'd opt for 3:2 side displays but that would kill PPP use...
Even if you're talking strictly content creation you're still generalizing unless you specify the content. No one editing video is gonna opt for a more square display, and even those working with photos often want a wider display for tools, palettes, and layer controls around the photo.
That's hardly the end of content creation tho, people working in print, web content or programming might very well have no use for a wider display, unless of course it's wide enough and large enough to display two side by side pages.
So really, desktop is just about the worst place for broad generalizations.
SirKnobsworth - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
Everyone copies everyone else in the mobile sector these days. I think it's time we stopped worrying about who is guilty of what :PJimmaDaRustla - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
Perhaps I'm misinterpreting your comment, but an iPhone 6 Plus is $859 for a 16GB, Nexus 6 is $210 cheaper for 32GB?mkozakewich - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
The iPhone 6 Plus is USD$750. And it's a $100 upgrade over the iPhone 6, which is the same price as the Nexus 6, but I'm not sure that's relevant.Either way, a Nexus will be cheaper than any manufacture-sold phones with the same components. I'm pretty sure Google is selling them at or near cost. The fact that this one is so high-end and so (relatively) expensive says something about its abilities.
testbug00 - Thursday, October 16, 2014 - link
This nexus is not sold in line with cost. The slightly faster SoC + higher res screen + 16GB more storage + misc __IS NOT__ $300 more than the Nexus 5.If this phone costs over 125USD to make over the Nexus 5 I would be shocked.
Bob Todd - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
Enough with the FUD already. Even the GNex with TI internals got the 4.3 update 20+ months after it was released. The 2 year old Nexus 4 is getting Lollipop. If you want Android and really care about updates, the Nexus line is still really your only choice (we'll see if Moto continues its excellent update streak going under Lenovo).hpglow - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
If Apple wants anymore of my money they need to patch the stuttering and crashes in iOS 8. I own two iPhone 5 and they are both dogs now. I wouldn't have patched but I wanted SwiftKey, something that my Android devices have had for a while. I don't care about specs one of the reasons for buying Apple products has been it's smooth responsive UI even on low end hardware. Having to wait over a second for a webpage to rerender after zooming or scrolling sucks.Apple needs to pull something out of its hat soon or the two iPhone 5 I own are getting sold for a $200 bill credit in favour of a note 4, or OPO.
sweetca - Thursday, October 16, 2014 - link
Yeah, I don't know if this will push me to Apple. However, this completely changes the dynamic of the Nexus Performance/Value proposition.Ortanon - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
$650 is pretty hard to swallow, considering the history of Nexus pricing structures.danbob999 - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
Nexus 5 remains a great device for the price. Nexus 6 is not worth the premium.And that would still be true even if both released on the same day.
Bob Todd - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
Your use cases and priorities != the rest of the planet. For some, even a significant camera upgrade alone would be worth an extra $250.testbug00 - Thursday, October 16, 2014 - link
with the 1020 going for $340? I'm not to sure about that 0.oIf you care that much about the camera, and only want one device, any Nexus really isn't for you anyhow. Exceptions noted.
Ortanon - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
This video [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wk-PY2dBKaA] from Google's Nexus channel says it's AMOLED, not IPS LCD.Brandon Chester - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
Thank you for that. The Nexus 9 is LCD but the Nexus 6 is AMOLED. Chart is fixed.Friendly0Fire - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
Oooohh.. Does that mean we might see or be able to port Moto's Active Display to the Nexus 6? That'd be an interesting addition for sure.testbug00 - Thursday, October 16, 2014 - link
yes please! Steal the base concept of Sleeping Screen/Glance from Nokia and modify and hopefully improve ^__^ :Djospoortvliet - Sunday, October 19, 2014 - link
That was a great feature on the N9, amazing how long it took for the rest of the world to catch up... Now the rest of the Meego features pls...Gich - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
"this is the first time we've seen Google introduce a new smartphone and tablet at the same time"N4 and N10 two years ago... no?
Brandon Chester - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
I had forgotten that. Thanks for pointing that out, the launch of both devices caught me a bit off guard because I wasn't expecting it based on Google's Nexus 7 and Nexus phone timing.munim - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
LTE battery life is interestingly estimated (from their product page) as being better than Wifi.danbob999 - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
Disapointed.Too expensive, too big Nexus 6.
4:3 aspect ratio on Nexus 9, WTF?
Ortanon - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
The dimensions of the phone should be comparable to a Note phone, so I'm not sweating that. I'm just not feeling the price.Also, 4:3 has been a spectacular aspect ratio on iPads and other tablets, so I'm happy to see it here. The only better overall tablet aspect ratio is 3:2 (i.e. Surface Pro 3).
f0d - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
i agree on the aspect ratioi cant stand 4:3 tablets i dumped my ipad because of it and got a surface to replace it and its been amazing since
no way could i ever use that awkward form factor ever again
DIYEyal - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
4:3 aspect ratio is very disappointing. Also it's weird to see a nexus for $650, I think we all grown accustom to the great prices of the nexus 4 and 5..Arnulf - Thursday, October 16, 2014 - link
Nice to see 4:3 screen. Most Android tablets use the crappy "tallscreen" (when held vertically) format which is way too narrow, plus offers less real estate when flipped.meacupla - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
is google commited to increasing the screen size for each new generation or what?mkozakewich - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
I don't think there's a Nexus 3, yet, but I expect a Nexus 8 in the next year or two.invinciblegod - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
A 64GB available on the 6 but not on the 9? You'd think a tablet would need more space.dragonsqrrl - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
From the looks of things the Nexus 9 is probably going to be cheaper.danbob999 - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
And more RAM. And a higher resolution. And more CPU cores.kron123456789 - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
With this chip, you don't need more than 2 cores)testbug00 - Thursday, October 16, 2014 - link
I haven't seen a mobile chip with A15 cores (or Qualcomm's Krait cores for that mater) that truly needed more than 2 cores.That being said, the chip is a neat piece of engineering, The Nexus 9 temps me for only that reason
Shftup - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
From GSMarena - here are the dimensions off these recent 6" phones:Nexus 6:
Dimensions 159.3 x 83 x 10.1 mm (6.27 x 3.27 x 0.40 in)
Weight 184 g (6.49 oz)
IPhone 6+
Dimensions 158.1 x 77.8 x 7.1 mm (6.22 x 3.06 x 0.28 in)
Weight 172 g (6.07 oz)
Note 4
Dimensions 153.5 x 78.6 x 8.5 mm (6.04 x 3.09 x 0.33 in)
Weight 176 g (6.21 oz)
Brandon Chester - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
I was going to say the Nexus 6 is a lot thicker but 10.1mm is the max thickness and the device is heavily curved on the back so it's not like it's 10.1mm across the whole thing.Impulses - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
Still, it's larger and heavier, how much more expensive is a Note 4? I'd never be in the market for a phablet but I really dunno what I'd choose between those two... Faster updates vs probably a better camera, battery life testing will be interesting.It's been a while since a Nexus phone has been so close to other flagship devices in SoC AND battery capacity, would love to see AT test the Z3 too so see what makes it so much more efficient than other phones.
Aenean144 - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
Frankly, they are all monstrously large to me. I get the feeling that if I get this type of device, I'd just be carrying it around with me everywhere. When I sit down, I would have to take it out of my pocket, if it is manageably comfortable in my pocket, and place it on top of my desk.The only time I can have it in my pocket is while walking. Can't go on a run or a long walk with these things.
gg555 - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
The size is so disappointing. I just don't want a phablet, let alone a phablet that crushes the other already existing phablets.Even worse, this phone corrects so many of the things that are missing in the Moto X. OIS, stereo speakers, bigger battery, covers all the relevant LTE bands, 64 GB option. It's a huge improvement over the 2nd Gen Moto X. But who cares unless you're one of the smaller audience of people who want a phablet.
Just totally stupid not to release two devices, like with the iPhone 6.
dragonsqrrl - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
lol, so the phone has a higher res than the tablet?Really disappointed that Google decided to go with such an unreasonably large form factor for their new Nexus phone. That's squarely a purse phablet. They're just further reinforcing the "biggar is bettar" paradigm in the current Android hardware market. It's good to see that it actually has a decent sized battery, though it also makes me question the new Moto X even more (what were they thinking?). Hopefully it also has better color accuracy then the new Moto X. And that price...
The Nexus 9 on the other hand looks really interesting, hopefully everything adds up to a great product. I can't wait to see benchmarks, this thing is going to be a beast.
kron123456789 - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
Two years old Nexus 4 and 10 are going to get Android 5.0. I wonder if the Nexus 7 (2012) will get it , too.agoyal - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
Google is clearly moving the prices up for the Nexus line. Suspect they are trying to protect android partners like Samsung, LG, Sony etc from corroding prices of the android devices. But for us, the prices are simply too high to buy these products especially when they don't have expandable storage. I liked Nexus 7 gen 2 but it was too small and sold it. Was waiting for Nexus 9.....guess will have to look at something else, may be ipad mini esp it it gets storage bump to 64GBvarad - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
Take a look at the Nvidia Shield Tab. It's 8 inches and comes with a microSD slot that you can use for additional storage.jimjamjamie - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
I'm hoping for a Denver version.TheinsanegamerN - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
A denver shield tablet with 64 gb of storage and the sd card would be amazing. or....what if, they made a 5 inch nvidia tablet with denver in it, and they made a controller. kinda like the original shield, but the screen would be removable. instant purchase.Impulses - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
Ehh, I don't know if the motivation is to protect partners (let's face it, most phones are still sold on contract or financed) as it is a curious case of timing and the OEM they're working with this year.A metal build and K1 pushed the tablet price up. Matching flagship phablet specs in every regard and Moto's smaller manufacturing capacity might've pushed the phone price up, at the same time they're keeping the perfectly capable N5 around.
The N5 aged well and at it's year old price it still fills a price point between something like the Moto G or any current flagship. You could view it as Google adding more stratification to the Nexus line.
You can now buy a cheap Nexus as well as an expensive one, whether we're talking tablets or phones, and larger means more expensive. The last bit doesn't necessarily make sense in a purely technical sense but the entire industry has been pricing larger phones and tablets higher for years so...
TheJian - Thursday, October 16, 2014 - link
You have some kind of inside information on K1 pricing? These chips are all within $10 of each other. Even the CAR K1 solution is only $40-50 and that's due to software being so heavily used with it that is packages with the chip as a solution. I don't believe K1 goes for more than $30 and we know MS/Google got T4 for $22-25. Heck, even a small place like xiaomi got theirs for $27 IIRC in their BOM. I'm sure google didn't pay more than $35 here. Another gig of ram and an option for 64GB storage should have been mandatory here. You can blame the metal, but not the K1. Die size here is supposedly ~120, at least if Rys is on the up an up with his measurements.http://forum.beyond3d.com/showthread.php?s=ede183d...
T4 was 80mm^2. Going by die size, I'd find it hard to believe it was much more than $35, and the auto solution estimates (based on units sold, and revenue from those units) show $40-50. Again that's with a massive software solution included.
testbug00 - Thursday, October 16, 2014 - link
Ailuros agrees with Rys I would favor his word very strongly.Impulses - Thursday, October 16, 2014 - link
I stand corrected, blame the metal/HTC then... I do think the tablet could've been priced more aggressively, wasn't trying to make excuses for the prices. I think $350 might've been easier for many to swallow personally, specially if they're gonna price gouge on the keyboard, and they probably are.testbug00 - Friday, October 17, 2014 - link
indeed, $350 seems reasonable (with 32GB of storage) given that would put it $75 over the MiPad with a more premium materials build, better speakers, half the storage, and a lot of trade-offs that are about equal.That being said, the K1 chip in it makes it tempting as is... Just to have a custom ARMv8 architecture (that isn't on a locked down platform). I also imagine the screen is high quality, and, well, why can't more companies make speakers that fire towards the user :D
testbug00 - Thursday, October 16, 2014 - link
Yes, and the Mipad was ~$275 (given currency exchange from Yuan to USD has not changed much since it was announced) with 64GB of storage, a 6700mAh battery, 2GB of RAM, a 8MP rear camera, a 2048x1536 display resolution, a 5MP FFC, an SD card slot (up to 128GB).The only thing lower speced I can find on the mipad would be the body, the bluetooth version (4.0 v. 4.1) and I'm not sure if it supported wifi AC
Socaltyger - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
Was looking to upgrade from the Nexus 5 to the Nexus 6... but that non-nexus price point! I'll pass.dabotsonline - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
FYI, Brandon, the Nexus 6 does not have an LCD screen:"Display
5.96” AMOLED, 1440x2560, 16:9 aspect ratio, 493 ppi, Corning Gorilla Glass 3"
http://www.motorola.com/us/Nexus-6/nexus-6-motorol...
nevertell - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
I was really anticipating Nexus 6 and was trying not to believe that a Google device made primarily for the developers would have an armv7 SoC. Guess the leakers have a trusted source. And that price...Looks like the evo 3d will have to do for a couple more years.
Impulses - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
Eww, get a Nexus 5, that brick needs to die. I had one btw, between the thickness and the quiet speaker I couldn't open my wallet fast enough for the EVO LTE... That probably felt like my biggest upgrade so far (vs EVO OG to 3D or EVO LTE vs Nexus 5). Which reminds me, I need to sell my EVO LTE, been procrastinating so much...chizow - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
Looking forward to some Nexus 9/Tegra Denver K1 benchmarks!Laxaa - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
It's a tad disappointing that this is a 6" device. It's just too big, even if it packs an impressive spec sheet.manjurul.islam - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
I don't know but I feel, completely my own personal view, nexus 6 and nexus 9 will be a big fail for Google.First of all regarding Nexus 6 - it is too big, much more than any other android devices and also than any rivals' products. Specwise it could have 4 GB ram, though not needed now, but atleast a 64-bit processor like Snapdragon 810. Okay forget spec, fine. Can you please explain why the price is that much high without any huge leap in spec or production costs? Nexus 5 cost maximum 350 USD, and this new 6 starts at $650 !!! Just to compete against rivals like Apple or whatever, Google is planning to kill its android fan bases. It is in a whole - a big controversial release from Google, maybe you don't want to sell lots of devices, but your people wants them, so please listen to them.
Regarding Nexus 9 - it misses USB Host, OTG, only 2 GB RAM instead of 3 GB LPDDR3, come one Google, it has a better SOC than what Nexus 6 has, and you put only 2 GB standard ram, storage is damn too low 32 GB maximum and no SD card slot??? I cannot enjoy many games due to shortage on space on my Nexus 7 32 GB, and Nexus 9 with pre-loaded Android 5.0 will get ART enabled by default which requires lots of space.
Google, listen to your people, not to some limited set of rich people for Nexus 6, and do the right justice to Nexus 9 by providing its minimal specs requirement.
Impulses - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
How do you know the Nexus 9 doesn't support OTG? Every recent Nexus or HTC device has... (minus the 4 due to a power issue)Bob Todd - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
You realize they still offer the Nexus 5 right? Phone, phablet, tablet. Nexus 5 is $350 for a *16GB* version. Comparison is really between a $400 32GB Nexus 5 vs. $650 32GB Nexus 6. If you don't want to pay the phablet price, just buy the phone.You know USB OTG doesn't work on a device that you can't even pre-order yet?
testbug00 - Friday, October 17, 2014 - link
looking at specs and extra costs, the Nexus 6 should likely be around $100 more (and that is being generous with the difference in parts components)Cut the price of the Nexus 6 by $100 and it is almost in line with Nexus phones of the past while still being relatively high margin.
adityarjun - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
Incorrect title. Should be "Google Announces the Nexus 6 and Nexus 9 WITH Android Lollipop" or "Google Announces the Android Lollipop Running Nexus 6 and Nexus 9"pjcamp - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
Jeez! That's more expensive than a Sony! Has Google lost their minds?kron123456789 - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
No, it's just Motorola.f0d - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
urgh 4:3 is sillyi mostly use my tablet to watch videos and youtube and for me 16:9 is a must
16:9 also works great in portrait mode for viewing webpages
4:3 it seem you are wasting space no matter what you do
no thanks ill keep my surface which i dumped an ipad for because of the silly aspect ratio
tipoo - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
Nexus 6 is meh. Too big, and loses the appeal of Nexus pricing. I guess if people want a smaller Nexus though, it's pretty much the Moto X, and the software features Motorola adds are actually decent and not bloatware.Android L I'm excited for, I've been using ART full time for weeks and it really is better, on my Moto G it's noticable faster, scrolling is better and more connected feeling, battery life is even slightly up.
Nexus 9, my biggest excitement is finding out about the Nvidia Denver cores, finally someone other than Apple going for two big high IPC cores rather than four smaller ones.
andrewaggb - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
I guess I'm in agreement with everyone else. The Nexus 6 is going to be competing with the Note 4 and iPhone 6 Plus. I'm thinking I'd rather have the Note 4 or iPhone unless this thing has a killer camera or amazing battery life. I'm guessing the battery life will be same(ish) as the other two, and the camera probably worse. At $500 maybe, but I think it'll end up too expensive.jiffylube1024 - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
Outlandish price on the Nexus 6, especially when the 5 and 4 were so much less. That better be the best phone camera on the market, bar none, or else I don't see the value in upgrading from the N5 for almost twice the price.Kepe - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
In short:Nexus 6: too expensive, too big, not 64-bit, no microSD slot.
Nexus 9: not enough RAM, not enough internal storage/no microSD slot.
Not going to buy either of these =(
I was really hoping for a 64-bit, 5,2-inch phone with an agreeable price and a super-cool tablet to replace my HP TouchPad. These things will not sell in great quantities.
I'll just wait for someone else to make a better tablet with those delicious Denver cores.
Klug4Pres - Thursday, October 16, 2014 - link
It was known the phone would be 32-bit, because the only available 64-bit ARM SoC (Denver K1) has too high a power draw. I agree with your other points.Really disappointed by these devices. I am interested in how Denver performs from a technical standpoint, but have no desire to own the tablet it is inside at the price they want for it.
I suppose this is what happens when you use high-cost producers in the phone and tablet spaces, and is also why Motorola (as a US-based manufacturer) and HTC are doomed.
testbug00 - Friday, October 17, 2014 - link
you can always limit the max clock... in theory... I would guess most SD800s don't operate over 1.5Ghz for extended usage. Theoretically a ~1.5Ghz K1 (with GPU at 400-500Mhz (still faster than (almost?) every other mobile GPU)) should fit into a phone...But, Nvidia burned the bridges to getting Tegra into phones a while back =[
TheinsanegamerN - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
FINALLY a nexus with more than 32GB of storage. sadly, ive already got a nexus 5.TheinsanegamerN - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
Edit: Dat price. what happened to the nexus being affordable?coburn_c - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
Google is clearly entering the bloated tick phase of monopoly. Time to buy a Windows device.Peanutsrevenge - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
The larger device has less memory, less storage and lower res?Google really are trying to be just like M$... stupid!
eiriklf - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
Is there a source for the nexus 9 price? I find it on every single tech blog by now, but it isn't in the google blog post.Hrel - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
I'm so sick of these giant devices, 5" MAX!!!! Please! PLEASE!!!!! HTC, Motorola, LG, Google STOP making phone larger than 5"!!!! PLEASE!!!!!!!AT the very least offer the exact same thing except in a 5" frame with 1080p screen. I don't need and don't want more resolution and absolutely DETEST a chassis any larger. Frankly 5" is already pushing it.
Impulses - Thursday, October 16, 2014 - link
If you're on a GSM carrier you should support Sony and get a Z3 Compact.testbug00 - Friday, October 17, 2014 - link
maybe you should talk about Chassis not screen size... I believe that Samsung S4 had a ~5" screen in the same size at HTC One M7 4.7" screen.But, regardless, yes, I agree. I primarily use 4.5" screen devices, I think slightly larger would be good personally (4.7-4.8 or so) but, you could do that in most phones without increasing the physical size if you cut bezel =]
uhuznaa - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
I would have loved Google for just coming with a Nexus 5s with better battery life, a better camera and a better speaker. For $349 and dropping the old Nexus 5 to $249.I think Android L is great but the Nexus 6 (and what it costs) isn't what I was looking for. The Nexus 9 looks nice.
testbug00 - Friday, October 17, 2014 - link
0.o If you wanted that better Nexus at $400 and the old one at $300, might be reasonable. $250 would have to low margin, I think.Spectrophobic - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
Let's be honest here... For most people, Android is generally not a productivity platform. A lot of people use it for media consumption, mostly videos. Most videos people consume are 16:9 or wider. Unless I'm unaware of a special liking towards black bars, 4:3 (and 16:10, but it's tolerable on <10") is a no-no.madwolfa - Thursday, October 16, 2014 - link
I only watch videos on my tablet maybe 10-20% of the time.Spectrophobic - Thursday, October 16, 2014 - link
I did say "most" not "all". I'm aware there are people who use Android/iOS tablets for browsing and staring at documents/spreadsheets 90% of the time. In those scenarios, 4:3 would be good. 16:10 would still be ideal as it is the closest to being the jack of all trade on <10" screens, in my humble opinion.gamer1000k - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
Looking at the price and specs of the Nexus 9 makes me very glad I went ahead and got the Shield Tablet instead. For the same price as the 16gb entry level Nexus 9 (Anandtech, you really need to get on the case of these device manufacturers and shame them into starting at 32gb and offering higher capacity models) you can get the 32gb Shield Tablet with LTE. The microsd card slot and pen are a bonus, not sure why anyone would buy the Nexus 9 when nvidia has a better product (IMHO) at a better price.Bob Todd - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
I assumed I'd sell my wife's iPad 3 for a Nexus 9, but now what I really want is a Shield tablet revision with Denver cores. I hope they release one before Christmas.TheJian - Thursday, October 16, 2014 - link
I'll maybe bite at 20nm version of Nv's chip (K1 or M1 doesn't really matter, I want the shrink). That should allow amped up power, battery or a combo of better by some margin on both sides. This close to a shrink I'm out, no matter how good something looks. Screw xmas, I can wait this out for a MUCH better device at 20nm.I hope they do a larger tablet (NV I mean). Why not compete with more sizes? I'd like to see a 20nm 13in ;) I've never really been impressed with my dads 10in nexus. Too small to watch my training vids, and browsing isn't much better. I want a 13in with NV inside. I could be sold on a R2 shield handheld at 20nm also, but we'll see :) I may just wait until June/July for 20nm M1 (earlier maybe?). Maxwell drops the power so much over Kepler it's hard to not just sit on my hands for a while...LOL A die shrink+what we already see maxwell doing on 28nm desktops would surely be impressive for an android gamer's future ;)
TheJian - Thursday, October 16, 2014 - link
Agreed...Shame on google for these specs for their tablet at this price range.Laststop311 - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
The nexus 6 looks really awesome. I was going to get the galaxy note 4 as I currently have a galaxy note 2 and the note 4 has LTE band 12 support which is needed for t-mobiles new 700mhz spectrum. If the nexus 6 supports LTE band 12 I think I will switch to it instead. 32GB note 4 is 750 and this nexus 6 32GB is 650 the 64GB should be 729 so with the nexus 6 I can get double the space and cheaper price but where can I find the frequencies it supports?Laststop311 - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
awesome I found it LTE band 12 IS supported on the nexus 6. Looks like nexus 6 will be my next device. Shame on the price but you pay for quality.TheJian - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
Someone explain to me why the phone has more mem/storage than the tablet? I'm not saying I don't like the phone's specs, but the tablet? I expect at least the same and from a device this late in 2014 I expect 3GB or more now at this range, PERIOD. You block the SD slot from your devices too, so at minimum I expect a 64GB storage option on ANY google device, PERIOD. Sorry google, you lost me at HELLO. LOL.testbug00 - Friday, October 17, 2014 - link
phones are generally speaking more used than tablets as they are a "required" device and also have higher ASP at the high end.If the Tablet was $650 I have no doubit would have more RAM and storage than the phone... Screen rez, I don't know, as, if they want to keep 4:3 ratio hard to get more resolution.
Pepsi90919 - Thursday, October 16, 2014 - link
It's Motorola, not motorola. It's AnandTech, not Anandtech. It's EDT, not EST. Please improve the lazy copy editing.Mikemk - Thursday, October 16, 2014 - link
Did anyone else notice that the Nexus 9 has worse specs than the 2 year old Nexus 10?kron123456789 - Thursday, October 16, 2014 - link
Well, SoC is definetely much better.docbones - Thursday, October 16, 2014 - link
Why is the 9 so much more then the Shield? Seems like the Shield at over $200 cheaper is the better deal for the LTE version.TheJian - Thursday, October 16, 2014 - link
I think it's $300 cheaper if you sign with ATT for shield tablet LTE (they had some deal for $100 off that NV was advertising on their blogs). So perhaps even worse than you're saying. Without specs being much higher, I don't get it (meaning more ram, more storage etc, great soc, but then the specs fell off a cliff).Like I said I hope NV releases a few more sizes and 20nm versions in them soon. I would be buying it with gaming as a major concern (on top of my PC gaming, just more games on another platform and possibly some fun out of the house), so google seems to have blown that part of my purchase. NV gets that part right and will likely always stream from the PC on NV devices also.
AlucardX - Wednesday, October 22, 2014 - link
a 6" cell phone..? :(Where can we go for a new high performing ~4.7" screen?
falc0ne - Thursday, October 23, 2014 - link
Hey, maybe it's just me but..Lollipop? Come on...same names just shouldn't be used. I understand what they are trying to do, something that sounds both quirky and funny but this is not the case...this just sounds dumb. Kitkat was much better and also lime pie...but they changed it...bad idea..