Three Months In: Nexus 9
The Nexus 9 is the one of the more interesting Android tablets to date. It was the first tablet to ship with Android 5.0 Lollipop, it is powered by the Nvidia K1 64 bit SoC, and it was built by HTC. This is a tablet that, on paper, had everything going for it. Sadly, the underwhelming build quality, atrocious power/volume buttons, and some Lollipop bugs have left it firmly in “meh” land. Three months later, how has the Nexus 9 held up? Have I been endlessly trying to find the nearly recessed power button? Or have I chosen to look past physical shortcomings and focus on what is on the inside?
For my initial review of the Nexus 9, that can be found here:
Hardware
The outer hardware of the Nexus 9 is still the glaring weak point of the tablet. The power and volume buttons are atrocious and impossible to find without some finger fluttering or focusing on finding them with your eyes. The tablet still feels flimsy. But it has held up my normal wear and tear travel routine.
I’ve since added the Nexus 9 Stand. The stand itself feels incredibly nice at first glance. In actual usage, everything has gone sour. I cannot reliably prop up the tablet in either viewing mode or typing mode without the tablet shifting or falling. I have tried countertops, tabletops, desks, beds, everything. The Nexus 9 cover is simply mediocre. Because the cover itself does not connect on the sides of the device; it has no real traction like the iPad Smart Cover does. When the Nexus 9 is attached to the cover with typing in mind, it remains feeling flimsy. The cover for the Nexus 9 is nearly identically indicative of the Nexus 9 build itself, meh.
The build quality of the Nexus 9 leaves so much to be desired. HTC is known for their fantastic build quality and thoughtful design. The design of the HTC Nexus 9 is pretty lackluster in comparison to their fantastic One line of phones. As time has passed while I have been using the Nexus 9, it has become incredibly clear. The build quality of the Nexus 9 is not worth the price point. It is a shame, too. Because every other part of the tablet is truly wonderful.
The Nvidia K1 that powers the tablet is blazing fast. Though in real world use you will not see much difference between 32-bit and 64-bit computing. But the bleeding edge future proof 64-bit CPU was a great choice for the Nexus 9. I am not one to update my tablet yearly, so the 64-bit K1 will elongate the life of the tablet by a year or two.
The 8.9 inch 2048x1536 screen at the 4:3 aspect ratio is still pretty great, too. While video will have black bars, most other content feels right at home. My primary use for my tablet is reading and web browsing. The Nexus 9 is fantastic to use in these regards.
Battery life was never a problem for the Nexus 9. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t extraordinary either. The update from 5.0 to 5.0.1 has improved the battery life, which is promising.
Software
Regarding 5.0 Lollipop, it is absolutely fantastic. Lollipop is the most refined, polished, and powerful mobile OS to date. For more on that, be sure to check out my Android 5.0 Lollipop Review right here:
Since the bump from 5.0 to 5.0.1, I have noticed quite a few bugs have been disappearing. I have no longer had the hiccups and freezes that I had in the past. I have stopped experiencing unresponsive software buttons and responsiveness has increased. Lollipop is such a refined and gorgeous experience on any medium. The only major setback is the lack of tablet apps, or well scaled apps for tablets on Android. It has long been an issue with Android, and it doesn’t seem to be changing any time soon.
Camera
You shouldn’t take photos on tablets. You should not take photos on tablets. You should not take photos on tablets. No photography on tablets. Tablet photography isn’t a thing. Stop trying to make tablet photography happen.
Realistically though, the camera is still pretty terrible. Nexus 4 caliber in my usage(read: very very bad). Noise is everywhere, even in well lit photos.
Conclusion
The Nexus 9 is probably the best large Android tablet for the money right now. That is not a good thing. The build quality on the Nexus 9 spoil quite a great tablet. The Nexus 9 still remains a good tablet, but is not worth the current price point.
That being said, if you want a tablet that runs Lollipop and runs it well, the Nexus 9 is hard to beat. The allure of the Nexus program is and has always been the current version of Android before anyone else.
