The second generation Nexus 7 is a mini tablet computer co-developed by Google and Asus that
runs the Android operating system. It is the third tablet in the Google Nexus series, a
family of Android consumer devices marketed by Google and built by an original equipment
manufacturer partner. Following the success of the original Nexus 7, a second generation
of the device was released on July 26, 2013, four days earlier than the originally scheduled
date due to early releases from various retailers. The tablet was the first device to ship with
version 4.3 of Android. The second iteration of the 7 in tablet,
code named "Razor", has various upgrades from the previous generation, including a 1.5 GHz
quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro processor, 2 GB of memory, a 1920×1200 pixel display, dual
cameras, stereo speakers, built-in inductive Qi wireless charging, and a SlimPort capable
of full high-definition video output to an external display.
Features Software
All Nexus devices, including the Nexus 7, run a version of Android free of manufacturer
or wireless carrier modifications commonly included on other Android devices. Nexus products
also feature an unlockable bootloader, which enables replacement of the device's firmware—which
in turn enables "rooting" the device, thereby enabling user access to privileged control
over the Android environment and further development or modification of the operating system. An
update to Android 4.4 was released in November 2013, followed by another update to Android
4.4.2 one month later and eventually an update to Android 4.4.3 in June 2014 and 4.4.4 in
July. Hardware and design
The Nexus 7 is both thinner and lighter than its predecessor. It is manufactured by Asus,
and comes with a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro APQ8064–1AA SoC,. The new Nexus 7's SoC
is believed to be a variation of Qualcomm's Snapdragon 600 processor underclocked to 1.5 GHz.
It has 2 GB of RAM and is available with either 16 GB or 32 GB of internal flash memory storage.
Like all other current-generation Google Nexus devices, there is no option for additional
storage via micro SD expansion card. The Nexus 7 2013 natively supports OTG cable micro USB
to USB flash drives, and USB SD card readers via the Nexus Media Importer for read/write.
The battery is reported to last up to 9 hours of HD video playback and 10 hours of web browsing
or e-reading. The battery's capacity has been lowered from 4,325 mAh in the 2012 Nexus
7, to 3,950 mAh in the 2013 version. Despite this reduction, battery life typically exceeds
that of the original due to hardware and software optimisations.
The Nexus 7 screen now has a 1920×1200 pixel resolution compared to previous model's 1280×800.
Additionally, the panel's contrast ratio and color gamut are reportedly superior to the
previous model. The Nexus 7 was initially only available in
black, but in December 2013 a white option was added.
Model variants Reception
The reviews of the second-generation Nexus 7 have been highly favorable with many reviewers
claiming it to be the best 7-inch tablet in the market. Reviewers praised the device for
its size, design, display, price, inclusion of a rear-facing camera, contemporary user
interface and the growing number of tablet-optimized Android applications. It has been praised
for being a notable improvement over its predecessor. The device competes with iPad Mini, Kindle
Fire HDX and Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 7.0. Android 4.4, which arrived shortly after the
release of the Nexus 7, has a bug where it does not play HD video at 60 FPS.
See also
Nexus 7 Comparison of Android devices
Comparison of tablet computers References
Footnotes
External links Nexus 7 – official Google site
Nexus 7 – official Asus site Asus Nexus 7, 2013 Press Release - official
site Detailed comparison: Google Nexus 7 vs. Google
Nexus 7 Detailed comparison: Google Nexus 7 LTE vs.
Google Nexus 7 3G Nexus 7 WiFi System Information and benchmark
results