Google Nexus 9 review

" In Android's early days, the Nexus line served most notably as a comfortable, reliable tentpole. Really, the word "Nexus" was just about the only calm oasis during the operating system's Wild West period of varied hardware. New smartphones and tablets under Google's official banner usually came with the next big Android OS update, and they offered the kinds of stable hardware qualities (resolution, RAM, etc.) that developers could more easily target.

SPECS AT A GLANCE: HTC NEXUS 9
SCREEN 2048×1536 8.9" (281 PPI) IPS LCD
OS Android 5.0 Lollipop
CPU Tegra K1 dual-core 2.3GHz Denver
RAM 2GB
GPU Nvidia Kepler DX1
STORAGE 16GB or 32GB (non-upgradeable)
NETWORKING 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, DLNA, Bluetooth 4.1, A2DP, NFC, optional LTE
PORTS Micro-USB, headphone
CAMERA 8MP rear camera, 1.2MP front camera
SIZE 8.98" × 6.05" × 0.31" (228 x 154 x 7.9 mm)
WEIGHT 15 oz. (425 g)
BATTERY 6700 mAh (non-removable)
STARTING PRICE $399

That's not the case in 2014. Across the phone-and-tablet spectrum, the hardware has become more homogenized, and even low-end hardware is good enough for typical mobile tasks. And while Android's next major update, Lollipop, offers some substantial visual changes and user requested features (look for the Ars Lollipop review coming separately), the OS is also about to roll out to other capable flagship devices, as if to say that eager upgraders don't need the newest model to dive in. What does the Nexus branding mean for a new device in 2014, then?

In the case of the brand's tablet half, the name seems to mostly signify power. Up until now, Nexus tablets—most notably, the Nexus 7's two iterations—have made waves with a combination of high quality parts and ridiculously low prices, undercutting a slew of other cheap, ho-hum tablets without skimping on performance. This year's Nexus 9, conversely, set its price point just a hair beneath Apple's similar iPad Air 2 while promoting its own industry-topping specs. This is not a tablet meant to blow the competition away with crazy new features or gimmicks; instead, it's a solid, familiar-looking Nexus device that just happens to have a ton of juice.

But just as we asked with the iPad Air 2, what does power really do for users when it's strapped to a mobile-first operating system? Are 8.9 inches of Android any better equipped to scream with 2GB of RAM, a 2.3GHz dual-core processor, and a 192-core Kepler GPU? And does the rest of the package—design, screen, camera—do much to either cement the love of the Android faithful or turn the heads of the iOS weary?"