Andrew Melder

When the Nexus 7 was released, I immediately picked one up and fell in love with the device. A cheaper, smaller, more portable yet full powered tablet without the pitfalls of other cheap tablets on the market. It initially became my travel tablet however as I got more comfortable with the smaller form factor, it quickly replaced my full sized iPad 2 as my primary consumption device.

So when Apple announced the iPad mini I was unsure if it was worth the extra cost as indeed I was already happy with my Nexus 7. However as I looked more and more at the device, I discovered that for my usage needs, the iPad mini suits my requirements better than the Nexus 7 for the following reasons.

1. Larger screen area

While the iPad mini is only slighter taller and wider than the Nexus 7, the usable screen area is noticeably larger than it’s competitor. This is particularly noticeable while web browsing, as shown in the above screenshot, where the extra screen size plus the use of on-screen navigation buttons on the Nexus 7 gives the iPad a big advantage (despite the lower resolution).

Apple spent a big part of their keynote demonstrating the extra space however it’s something you can’t really appreciate until you use the two devices side-by-side. Given I’ve now replaced my full size iPad for a smaller tablet, the extra screen space is particularly useful for lean back experiences, like browsing the web on the couch, where the extra screen size comes into play.

By the way, while the iPad’s bezel is very small compared to the Nexus 7, it has thumb rejection software built into iOS 6 that does a surprisingly good job at ignoring the thumb pressing on the side of the screen as you hold it.

2. Good quality rear facing camera

I’ll admit I still think being out in public and taking photos with any tablet, even smaller ones like the mini, is a stupid idea but my requirements for a rear camera do not include public use.

When I get home, I will often put my phone on charge or on my office desk and take the tablet for browsing around the house and on the couch. Often with the Nexus 7, I would find myself watching my son do something cool and wishing that I had a camera on me. By the time I would get up, go to my office to get my camera or phone and come back, the moment has passed most of the time. Having a rear camera on the iPad mini, for this purpose alone, is a huge bonus.

It helps that it’s also a genuinely great camera. It uses the same sensor setup as the full size iPad 3/4 devices, which was the same setup as the iPhone 4. While it doesn’t have a flash (I hate using the flash most cameras anyway), the resulting photos are of excellent quality amongst tablets and would still be comparable to many smartphones today.

3. Multitasking gestures

This is one of the areas where I think iOS really has an advantage over Android as a tablet OS. While Android has focused on removing hardware buttons for it’s tablets, it still relies on on-screen representations of those buttons to navigate throughout the OS. 

Apple devices still have the physical home button, however since iOS 5 they have also had the ability to almost completely remove the need for that home button through multitasking gestures.

There’s a nice little article here that goes through how to activate the gestures and the 3 main gestures available. The ones I find the most useful are the two I’ve shown above: using 4/5 fingers to pinch to the home screen from any app (left) and swiping left and right using 4/5 fingers to quickly switch between the most recently used apps (right).

Once you start to get used to the gestures, it does feel so much more natural to use on a touch device compared to pressing buttons. I often found myself trying to use the gestures on my Nexus 7 to no avail.

4. Apps

This often is the first category that people seem to list when they compare iPads to Android tablets, which is probably the reason why I’ve placed it last. While Android apps for tablets have taken great strides in being better suited for the larger screen format, there always seems to be a few little features on the iPad versions of equivalent apps that make the overall feel of it seem more complete.

Now I know there will be a few of the Android faithful that likely not agree with me on this and point out that functionality wise, Android apps are on par and sometimes exceed the equivalent iPad app. At this stage though, those apps are still few and far between. Lets take a look at two of the bigger apps available on both platforms: Facebook and Google’s own Google+ app.

Above we see two screenshots of the Facebook app on both devices. The first screenshot you will notice some connectivity issues for the Android app despite it being on the same Wi-Fi network as the iPad mini. Yes, while this is not a fault of the hardware or the OS but the app developer itself, this is a demonstration that app developers (in general) still tend to put their focus on the iOS app first before getting around to mending the Android app.

The second screenshot shows my timeline on both devices. Again, it’s just the little details that give the iOS version the advantage: the dual column view of the timeline to make use of the extra screen space, whereas the Android version stretches the posts across the width of the screen. Also notice that my cover photo is centred and cropped as it would appear on my timeline on a desktop machine, compared to the Android app seemingly showing the photo unedited. Some of you will probably say who cares but again, just a few little things that make all the difference.

Now for Google+. On the surface they don’t seem too different until you dig a little deeper. The iOS iPad version of Google+ has a scrolling ticker on the bottom of each post showing a snippet of the last 3 comments on that post. The iOS version will also show animated GIFS from the main stream (it will show you on Android, but only after you go into the post specifically). Then there’s the often over-looked but very useful pull-to-refresh feature available to iOS but not on Android’s Google+ offering.

Strangely what this all means, in my view anyway, is that the iOS version of Google’s software is better than the version it developed for it’s own OS.

Again, functionality wise it’s not that big a deal but, at this stage at least, iOS apps still have the fit and finish that makes them so enjoyable to use.

Honourable mention: iPad mini is noticeably thinner than the Nexus

I didn't want to list this as one of the reasons I switched because I never found the Nexus 7 to be either too heavy or too thick, but the pictures below speak for themselves.

Putting both devices on a flat surface, you can see the iPad mini is almost half the thickness of the Nexus 7. Even when combined with the Smart Cover, it’s still a noticeably thinner machine.

Hang on, if the iPad mini is so good, why SHOULD you buy a Nexus 7?

With all this talk about how the iPad mini suits me better than the Nexus 7, it doesn’t mean the Nexus isn’t a hell of a device.

Easier to hold and use with a single hand

The textured back combined with a narrower profile compared to the iPad mini means the Nexus 7 is way more comfortable to hold. I find myself constantly adjusting my grip with the iPad mini, never quite feeling comfortable holding it in one spot for a long period of time. No such issues with the Nexus, Google and ASUS really did create a magnificent feeling device.

Higher screen pixel density

On the left is a close up of the iPad mini screen compared to the Nexus 7 screen on the right. If you look closely you will see the text on the Nexus is smoother and less pixelated compared to the iPad mini. It’s simple really, a higher resolution screen on a smaller physical screen size equals higher pixel density. It must be noted that for contrast, colour saturation and overall picture quality, I still found the iPad mini’s display to be better.

Google Now

Anyone with a Jelly Bean powered Android device will already know just how cool Google Now can be. To me, this is the first step in the next evolution of technology so why not have it on your tablet.

Gaming

Purely from a hardware standpoint, the 16:9 aspect ratio plus the textured, easily handled back makes it a far better gaming machine than the iPad mini. Add to that the fact you can easily load your Android device with emulators and have a full retro gaming machine wherever you go.

Price

Let’s face it, while people are now noticing the benefits of the smaller form factor, the whole reason both these tablets exist is to cater for the people who aren’t willing to spend $500+ for a computing device. With the Nexus 7, you get 90-95% of the iPad mini’s functionality for 2/3rds of the price. That’s difficult for anyone but loyal Apple fans to ignore.