Ten years in the past at the moment, Google launched the 2nd-generation Nexus 7, simply days after a shock announcement. Again then, Android tablets nonetheless felt contemporary and thrilling. It appeared like something was potential, and issues might solely enhance from there. Properly, we all know what occurred subsequent. However the miserable state of the pill market to return was on no account the fault of the Nexus 7. In actual fact, that is nonetheless among the best Android tablets ever made, and it is value wanting again and displaying it the distinction and respect it deserves.
Supply: Google
In 2012, Google launched the unique Nexus 7, its first pill. Tablets usually have been nonetheless of their infancy, with Honeycomb and the Moto Xoom touchdown only a yr prior. However this entry actually appeared promising, with a Tegra 3 processor, 1GB of RAM, and a 7-inch show. It was an absolute cut price at $200 for the 8GB mannequin and $250 for the 16GB model. At first, the whole lot appeared tremendous, however there was a serious flaw — sluggish storage speeds. This dragged the pill right down to a snail’s tempo fairly shortly, and finally, it turned unusable.
Enter the 2013 Nexus 7, probably the most vital generational leaps we have ever seen, much like what Samsung pulled off when transitioning from the unique Galaxy Fold to the Z Fold 2. This Nexus 7 was thinner, lighter, and cooler. The show was sharper, the audio system louder, and the chipset had been swapped for a Snapdragon S4 Professional, augmented with double the RAM and double the storage, which was quick sufficient this time. It even added a rear digital camera. For all this, you’d count on a big worth bump, proper? Properly, the value did go up, however solely simply barely. We received two fashions for $230 and $270, however with double the storage over the previous one: 16GB or 32GB. This was a pill that genuinely captured our consideration when it was unveiled.
Supply: Google
My household and I all owned this pill — at these costs, why not? I truly had each a 2012 and a 2013 mannequin. My mum and grandparents cherished utilizing it as an e-reader, and my mum solely simply changed her Nexus 7 with a Kindle in March of this yr, when the pill lastly gave up the ghost after a decade in service.
By a contemporary lens, it might be arduous to grasp why this pill was so in style. To try this, it’s worthwhile to take into consideration the tech panorama as an entire. Right now, smartphones are huge, with my 6.8-inch S23 Extremely measuring perilously near this pill’s display screen dimension. However in 2013, even the monstrous Galaxy Notice 3 solely had a 5.7-inch display screen. Most telephones, just like the Galaxy S4, have been sitting petite at 5 inches.
Supply: Google
The Nexus 7 was the primary Android pill that was reasonably priced, performant, and sufficiently small to slot in a again or, in my case, even a jean pocket. This was additionally when cafés and eating places began putting in free Wi-Fi, so you might really apply it to the go. For the actual street warriors, Google launched a $350 LTE mannequin. Having this huge a display screen to devour content material on when outdoors was a correct novelty again then.
Supply: Google
The reasonably priced worth additionally made this a great machine for kids. At this time limit, smartphones weren’t actually one thing you’d purchase to your child — we nonetheless had sturdy, reasonably priced function telephones for that. Whereas some mother and father would set their children up with the iPod Contact to maintain them quiet on lengthy journeys, others understood the enchantment of the Nexus 7. The display screen was sharp and vivid sufficient to play video games within the automobile, even on sunny days.
One other key issue to the success of the Nexus 7 was software program. As a result of it was nonetheless comparatively compact, apps that used their telephone UI did not really feel vastly misplaced (like they’d on one thing just like the Nexus 10). It was nearly proof against the form-factor downside that finally led to the sorry state we discover Android tablets in now.
Ten years on, Google is attempting but once more with the Pixel pill. However I do not assume it is the suitable transfer. The speaker dock gimmick is okay, however the $500 worth level is simply too excessive, particularly for me right here within the UK, the place it prices the equal of $775. I believe a extra primary method is required: ditch the flowery gimmicks, and provides us a stable pill on the $300 degree. Maybe then, the magic of the Nexus 7 may very well be recaptured.
Sadly, I doubt that’ll ever occur, and with increasingly more Nexus 7s dying off like mine, the golden age of Android tablets will quickly be a forgotten reminiscence. I used to be genuinely upset after I realized mine would not swap on anymore. Not as a result of I will miss utilizing it — actually, it spent a lot of the final 5 years in a drawer. As an alternative, I used to be upset due to what it represented — a easy time when Android tablets felt just like the future, and never a disappointing tire hearth. So, goodnight, candy prince. Nothing has changed you within the decade since, and I do not assume something ever will.