Nexus 7 or Nexus 10

[QuinnBeaux]

I am torn between the two. Is the 10 worth the extra money? Esspecially since it has dual core compared to the quad core in the Nexus 7. What do you guys think?

 

[Shocky]

They both use completely different SoC's, so even though the Nexus 10 is dual core the CPU should still be allot faster for everyday usage, but that depends on how well Google do at optimizing for each device.

The Nexus 7 uses Tegra 3 which has been around for a while and uses Cortex A9's at 1.3GHz and Geforce ULP GPU.

The Nexus 10 uses the Exynos 5 Dual, which uses the newer Cortex A15 CPU clocked at 1.7GHz and the newer Mali T604 GPU.

 

[pastafarian]

Moved to device Comparisons.

Though I've yet to play with an N10, 7" and 10" tablets are very different devices IMO. Sort of the difference between a laptop and a desktop. 7" is the perfect size for e-reading and those who feel their phone is just a bit too small. 10" is much better for web browsing and general content creation. Want something you can pop in a bag or even pocket and go? N7. Want a tablet to use around the house for web browsing and video viewing? N10. Hardware wise, the much newer and costlier N10 is be superior to the N7, though the N7 is still no slouch.

 

[breadnatty08]

I have an N7 and love it! Also just picked up the new ARM based Chromebook which I believe has very similar internals as the N10. It's FAST! Faster than my Prime which is 10" and Tegra 3 based. However, comparing them is a bit silly as they're running two different OS's.
I will say, I think I'm done with 10" touch screen devices. 7" tablets are the perfect size (obviously in my opinion). Feel free to mess around with both and see what is right for you. I hear the N10 is quite light and that's super important for a tablet since you'll most likely be handling it all the time. The N7 is super light and great for holding in just one hand. Both should be on the latest Android OS for the foreseeable future.

 

[chanchan05]

performance wise, a dual core A15 (Nexus 10) is as powerful as a quad core A9 (Nexus 7). Then you have to take into account that while the Mali400 and Tegra 3 GPU's are about as powerful as each other (based on OneX vs SIII comparisons), the Mali604 on the Nexus 10 is about 2x more powerful than the Mali400. This makes the Nexus 10 chipset actually more powerful. However since its driving a very high resolution screen, you may not notice it on everyday usage. At worst, they would probably have the same performance.

So with that out of the way, as above said, the more pressing concern is the size. A 7incher is great for reading ebook (novels), comics, general browsing, gaming (due to its easier handling). A 10 incher is better for viewing movies and videos, more intensive web browsing, reading textbooks (those two column books with huge drawings).

 

[Ingenieur7]

performance wise, a dual core A15 (Nexus 10) is much more powerful than the slow Tegra 3 quad core A9 (Nexus 7).

Fixed.

Please refer to this thread for a comparison: http://androidforums.com/device-carrier-comparisons/640883-google-nexus-10-vs-nexus-7-thread.html

The Nexus 10 has a much sharper screen, much more powerful CPU, better battery, much better GPU and is very portable despite the bigger size.

I know which one I'd buy.

 

[chanchan05]

Fixed.

Please refer to this thread for a comparison: http://androidforums.com/device-carrier-comparisons/640883-google-nexus-10-vs-nexus-7-thread.html

The Nexus 10 has a much sharper screen, much more powerful CPU, better battery, much better GPU and is very portable despite the bigger size.

I know which one I'd buy.

And where exactly do you get your sources? The only actually comparable benchmarks we have for a dual core A15 vs a quad core A9 is the US SGSIII versions vs the international SGSIII versions. They are the best comparison because they run the same Android flavor plus the same hardware except for the chipsets. If I remember correctly, benchmarks are almost equal. Your link just says "winner Nexus 10" without any evidence to show.

Furthermore, as anybody who really wants to know can find out, the same chipset on different resolution screens will offer differing performances. The lower res screen on the same processor will have a better performance, so the high-res screen on the Nexus 10 will offset whatever performance gain using A15's have, decreasing the performance difference.

As previously mentioned, the chipsets aren't really the most important thing to look at when buying a tablet, it's what you plan on doing with them that is.

 

[Ingenieur7]

And where exactly do you get your sources? The only actually comparable benchmarks we have for a dual core A15 vs a quad core A9 is the US SGSIII versions vs the international SGSIII versions. They are the best comparison because they run the same Android flavor plus the same hardware except for the chipsets. If I remember correctly, benchmarks are almost equal. Your link just says "winner Nexus 10" without any evidence to show.

The International SGSIII uses the Exynos 4 Cortex-A9 processor which is much faster than the Tegra 3 Cortex-A9 processor even though they're based on similar A9 technology.

Going by logic:
Since dual core Exynos 5 is similar in terms of performance to Exynos 4 then the Exynos 5 should be much faster than the Tegra 3.

The biggest complaint I have of the Nexus 7 is how laggy and buggy it is. Other complaints include poor quality screen and low PPI.

 

[Hadron]

And yet very many N7 users seem very happy with theirs, and don't go around saying that they are laggy and buggy.

TBH I think this was answered in the first couple of replies. The size is the biggest and most important difference, so decide what size device suits your needs best and you have your answer.

 

[chanchan05]

The International SGSIII uses the Exynos 4 Cortex-A9 processor which is much faster than the Tegra 3 Cortex-A9 processor even though they're based on similar A9 technology.

Going by logic:
Since dual core Exynos 5 is similar in terms of performance to Exynos 4 then the Exynos 5 should be much faster than the Tegra 3.

The biggest complaint I have of the Nexus 7 is how laggy and buggy it is. Other complaints include poor quality screen and low PPI.

Exynos 4 is better than Tegra 3 on pure calculation tests. On graphics rendering if I am not mistaken, the Tegra 3 is better, although that may be attributed to more gaming developers opting Tegra 3.

 

[Pappy35]

"... laggy and buggy..." ? Not only is mine not like that, I've read dozens of reviews and don't recall any that mentioned that.

Size and intended use is the only real discriminator when comparing these two gizmos - the 7 vs. the 10. My 7 is perfect for reading books, light web surfing (like responding to this post). Perfect.

 

[Atma]

I am torn between the two. Is the 10 worth the extra money? Esspecially since it has dual core compared to the quad core in the Nexus 7. What do you guys think?

Welcome to the forums QuinnBeaux :hello:

I recommend reading the review by Android Police. Its a good review. Here is part of it.

But maybe you like the 10-inch form factor. Maybe 7-inches is just too small for you. Or maybe you want a tablet to use for work - documents, spreadsheet, or other text entry. For that, the Nexus 10 is pretty perfect. Ultimately, here's an ideal scenario: Nexus 7 for gaming, casual reading, and social networking. Nexus 10 for "serious" web browsing and getting work done. But there's a chance you're not going to want to spend $600+ on a pair of tablets that will do the same thing you can already use your computer for. Then you have to make a decision.

For me, the choice is clear: I'd buy the Nexus 7. If I need to work from my tablet, I can. It's not ideal, but it's not broken, either. In my opinion, the benefits of the Nexus 7 simply outweigh those of the Nexus 10. That's not to say the N7 is better at everything than the N10, because it's not. I'd rather watch movies on the Nexus 10. If I'm going to spend an ample amount of time editing documents, I'd rather do that on the Nexus 10, too.

I owned a Nexus 7 and I loved it until I started having problems with it and sent it back. But the choice is clear for me too. I will take the Nexus 10. Text, images etc. were sharp on the N7, but it was still small. I would still have to pinch and zoom on web pages. I'm getting older and so are my eyes. I need more real estate. The Nexus 10 image will be even sharper.

I don't plan on carry it anywhere but my home so size and portability is a non-issue to me. I can get a case and put it in landscape mode on my lap and don't even have to hold it.

If you are undecided, I suggest buying the Nexus 10 from Walmart. They are supposed to be on sale there the same time as Google starts selling them. If you don't like it, you have 14 days to return it for a refund.

 

[pastafarian]

While I have issue with my screen breaking, the N7 has been anything but laggy or buggy. Also, while a 216 ppi isn't the absolute best available, but it's far closer to to the best than it is to average. In my own side by side with a retina display ipad, the differences are slight and virtually indistinguishable in day to day use. I've read from several reviews that this is also true of the higher ppi N10 (300) vs the lowly (sic) ipad (264). The fact is, ppi is rapidly becoming a non factor.

 

[azoller1]

7 inch screen or 10 inch screen

 

[Shocky]

Exynos 4 is better than Tegra 3 on pure calculation tests. On graphics rendering if I am not mistaken, the Tegra 3 is better, although that may be attributed to more gaming developers opting Tegra 3.

The updated Mali 400 is faster than tegra 3, most benchmarks support this. Also from my own experience the galaxy s3 is always smoother in games than my Nexus 7.

 

[chanchan05]

The updated Mali 400 is faster than tegra 3, most benchmarks support this. Also from my own experience the galaxy s3 is always smoother in games than my Nexus 7.

Benchmarks as in pure calculation, not FPS. They output about the same AFAIK. Plus, no matter how good the chip is, if the software is not optimized for it, then it would still run as good, or even better, on the optimized chip, unless the opposing chip is THAT much powerful, when AFAIK the difference isn't that big between Tegra 3 and Mali-400. A game optimized for Tegra 3 is sure to be able to run all 60fps on it provided the CPU clockspeed can handle it. But it may not be able to do that on the Mali-400 due to being unoptimized. And lets face it, Nvidia is working close with many game devs that a lot of them are actually Tegra optimized.

The Mali-604 on the Note 10.1 and Nexus 10 is another story though. That GPU is more than twice as powerful as the Tegra 3 and Mali-400 on graphics rendering.

 

[Shocky]

A game optimized for Tegra 3 is sure to be able to run all 60fps on it provided the CPU clockspeed can handle it. But it may not be able to do that on the Mali-400 due to being unoptimized.

But that's not the case at all, a number of games released recently are barely playable on my Nexus 7 even with the GPU overclocked yet the same games are silky smooth on the Galaxy S3 and this includes games which started off as Tegra 3 only.

The idea is that Tegra games should run better on Tegra devices but they just don't, they even throw in some extra effects sometimes but the truth is Tegra 3 can barely handle them and it turns into a lag fest.

It was a simalar situation with the Galaxy S2, it was able to run many Tegra 2 games better than Tegra 2 devices when using Chainfire 3D.