Review: New Google Nexus 7 (2013)

Google's new Nexus 7 is faster, brighter and slicker, but is it really anything special?

Google's original Nexus 7 broke the mould for what was expected of a sub-£200 7-inch tablet when it was released in mid-2012.

While its miraculous price point was only achievable as a result of a generous subsidy from Google, the Asus-made device was still a sometime miracle of engineering versus price point, and had Apple quickly running to the hills to crank out its own small tablet, the iPad Mini.

In response to the 7-inch tablet revolution it arguably kicked off, Google - working with Asus again - has returned fire with a new Nexus 7. Selling at exactly the same price points as before, £199 buys a 16GB Wi-Fi model, and £239 nets a 32GB Wi-Fi model. "Coming soon," claims Google, is a 32GB model with both LTE 4G networking and Wi-Fi.

It's hard to argue with something slicker and more powerful for exactly the same price as before, but what's so special about the new Nexus 7, and why should you splash out on one? Also, if you already own the old one, should you upgrade?

First impressions

First and foremost, the Nexus 7 is unarguably a better looking device. If you "got what you paid for" with the quirky, over-bezelled and plastic original, the new Nexus 7 most certainly feels more expensive than it actually is.

A smooth, slightly rubberised black back complements a leaner front with much less border to spoil the viewing experience. If you also own Google's LG-made stablemate smartphone, the Nexus 4, the two jet black devices make quite a pair.

While the new Nexus 7 is about a centimetre longer, it's also a little narrower, and the new Nexus 7 is so light - at only 290g in the form of the Wi-Fi model - that you genuinely forget you're balancing it on just one palm.

Aesthetically, then, Google's onto a real winner with the new Nexus 7. But it's what's going on inside that lovely black casing that should turn a few heads.

The main issue to address is the screen. If there was one feature in the first Nexus 7 that reflected the device's budget price tag, it was the muted, slightly smudgy visuals. Displaying at 800x1280 and at 216 pixels per inch (ppi), the Nexus 7's screen was more than a contender for clarity in its day, but its flat, greyish reds, greens and blues were always a disappointment.

In comparison, the new Nexus 7's colours just pop, and are backed up by a phenomenal 323-ppi screen running at a resolution of 1200x1920. This is a higher PPI than the iPad 4 (which has only 264), grinds the iPad Mini's mere 162-ppi into the dust, and is almost more than the Nexus 7's 7-inch screen really needs. It's showboating on Google's part for sure, but who are we to argue for the price?

Review: New Google Nexus 7 (2013)

Google's new Nexus 7 is faster, brighter and slicker, but is it really anything special?

Under the hood

Performance-wise, the new Nexus 7 is rocking a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro - and it feels like it.

We clocked an AnTuTu Benchmark score of 20,656 for the new Nexus 7 compared with 13,764 for the old one. That puts Google's new baby just slightly behind premium devices such as the Sony Xperia Z, the Samsung Galaxy Note 2, and only a stone's throw from the real power players, such as the Samsung Galaxy S4 and HTC One.

To compare, the original Nexus 7 has - according to AnTuTu - barely more grunt than the Samsung Galaxy S2. Nvdia's Tegra 3 was fine this time last year, but the sheer power the Snapdragon doles out here should keep the new Nexus 7 in the running for quite some time.

We benchmarked the new Nexus 7 a little more informally on some of our favourite games and found it dealt with the relative intensity of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City's fully 3D interpretation of Miami excellently, letting us set draw distance and screen resolution well into the high 70 per cents before the slightest hint of slowdown occurred.

Battery-wise, Asus seems to have performed an amount of alchemy, making the new Nexus 7's 3950mAh compete with the previous model's bigger 4325mAh power source, yet slightly outclass it. Getting around 7 hours use out of our original Nexus 7, the new Nexus 7 weighed in at closer to 8. There's certainly no fear of the new Nexus 7 running out of juice during an average working day.

Inside out

In terms of external hardware features, the new Nexus 7 is still incredibly minimalist, though its single micro USB slot and front-facing 1.2 megapixel (MP) camera is now joined by a rear-facing 5MP camera. It never made much sense not to include one on the old Nexus 7 - video conferencing can just as easily involve transmitting the area around you, after all - and while this one's hardly winning any prizes, it's a welcome addition.

The new Nexus 7 also has NFC on-board (in case that becomes useful one day) but also, for our money, has slightly crisper - and louder - sound coming out of its rear-mounted speaker. This could be simply because the speaker grille is now positioned - sensibly - at the top rather than the bottom, meaning audio doesn't disappear into a leg or a table.

Smaller, faster, lighter and brighter, but still the cost of just 20 cocktails (40 in Wetherspoons), there's absolutely no reason not to recommend the new Google Nexus 7 as the cream of the budget tablets.

If you don't own a seven-incher, and are in the market for one, it comes strongly recommended. At several hundred pounds cheaper than most of its rivals (yet still first in line when Android 5.0 "KitKat" appears), the new Nexus 7 is even more of a no-brainer purchase for the asking price than the original.

If you already own the old Nexus 7, you'll notice an improved multi-tasking capability and - if you like to play the odd game to pass the time - vastly improved graphics performance. It could also prove advantageous if dialling into company virtual private network setups from afar.

But on a basic day-to-day web browsing level, you won't find a massive difference between the two devices. Add to this the threat of - perhaps - an annual Apple-style refresh from Google, and you might be content to sit out this particular iteration if you're happy with what you've got.

For the rest, though, the new Nexus 7 should be snapped up now, or at least added to the Christmas list - but bought in good time in case it sells out. It's a phenomenal small tablet that really brings power to the masses.

5/5