HTC Nexus 9 vs. Apple iPad Mini 2 – Specifications, Features, Release Date And Price Comparison

The well-received Nexus 8 has a successor in the recently unveiled HTC's Nexus 9 tablet. The new tablet will be released on November 3 and the pre-order window opens on Oct. 19. On the other hand, the ever-green Apple iPad Mini 2 tablet was released in November 2013. Notably, Apple is expected to unveil its successor Mini 3 shortly. Readers who are interested in purchasing one of the killer tablets the Nexus 9 or the iPad Mini 2 (with Retina Display) should check out this comparison.

Display, Design And Size

HTC Nexus 9 features a humongous 8.9-inch IPS LCD display with a solid 1,536 x 2,048 pixels screen resolution. Meanwhile, the Apple iPad Mini 2 comes with a relatively smaller 7.9-inch LED-backlit IPS LCD display but the screen resolution is same as the Nexus device. Therefore, the pixel densities of the Nexus 9 and the iPad Mini 2 stand at 281 ppi and 324 ppi, respectively.

When it comes to exterior design, the Nexus 9 tablet comes with a soft-grip rear and slight curves. The device fits comfortably in the hand and can be used for both work and play. Plus, the tablet has thin bezels complemented by brushed metal sides, according to PC Advisor. The Apple iPad Mini 2, on the other hand, features the much-loved Retina high-resolution display adorned firmly on an aluminium chassis. Thus, providing the much-loved premium look to the tablet, says Tech Radar.

Speaking of size, the HTC device comes with a thickness and weight of 0.31-inch and 425 g (Wi-Fi) / 436 g (LTE) respectively. The iPad Mini 2 comes with a thickness of 0.30-inch and weighs 331 g (Wi-Fi) / 341 g (LTE). Hence the iPad Mini 2 is relatively lighter and much thinner than the Nexus 9.

Hardware, Software And Memory

Under the hood, the HTC tablet trumps the Apple device fair and square. The Nexus 9 is powered by a superior quad-core (NVIDIA Tegra K1) Denver processor, clocked at 2.3 GHz along with Kepler DX1 GPU. The iPad, on the other hand, is powered by a comparatively inferior dual-core Cyclone (Apple A7) ARM v8-based processor, clocked at 1.3 GHz. While the Nexus 9 is backed by a good 2 GB of RAM, the Apple iPad settles for 1 GB.

Moreover, the Nexus 9 runs on the latest Android v5.0 Lollipop OS, whereas the iPad Mini 2 runs on iOS 7, which is upgradable to iOS 8.0.2. As far as the memory goes, the HTC device comes with 16 GB and 32 GB of internal storage options, while the Mini 2 comes with 16 GB, 32 GB, 64 GB and 128 GB of storage. Expectedly, both the tablets do not offer expandable memory option.

Camera And Battery

The iPad Mini 2 sports a 5 MP rear-facing camera unit with no LED flash and a 1.2 MP front-facing snapper. The Nexus 9 comes with a surprisingly good 8 MP primary camera with LED flash, in addition to a 1.6 MP shooter for selfies. Furthermore, the Nexus 9 comes equipped with a powerful Li-Po 6,700 mAh battery, whereas the Apple iPad Mini 2 houses a Li-Po 6,470 mAh battery unit.

Additional Features

1. Both the devices support the standard connectivity options like Wi-Fi, LTE, Bluetooth v4.0 and microUSB v2.0. In addition, both the tablets offer LTE and non-LTE (Wi-Fi only) variants.

2. While the Apple tablet comes with Oleophobic coating, the HTC device comes with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection. Moving on to colour, the HTC device will be offered in Indigo Black and Lunar White Sand hues, whereas the Apple tablet comes in Space Gray/Black and Silver/White shades.

3. Potential buyers can purchase an optional keyboard that attaches to the Nexus 9 tablet with the help of magnets. With the external keyboard affixed, the Nexus device can give tough completion to Microsoft Surface Pro 3 and Apple's bigger iPad Air. It is worth noting that, the Nexus 9's 4G LTE variant is in the offing; however, the release date is pegged for 2015, says PC Advisor.

Price And Release Date

The Nexus 9 16 GB, Wi-Fi only variant is priced at (translates to AU), whereas the 32 GB model will set the buyers back by (translates to AU) and the LTE-enabled 32 GB variant can be purchased for (translates to AU). As mentioned earlier, the release date and the pre-order start date of the Nexus 9 tablet are November 3 and October 19, respectively. Meanwhile, the Apple iPad Mini 2 16 GB, Wi-Fi only model is priced at AU, while the 16 GB, 4G LTE variant is available for AU.

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