Today we have the new Google Nexus 7 (2013) against Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 3 311. The new Nexus 7 was launched in July and is yet to be available in India while the Galaxy Tab 3 was launched in July and has been available since then in India.
The Nexus 7 comes with an upgraded processor, much better display and a rear camera which was absent in its predecessor while the Galaxy Tab 3 has Samsung’s Exynos SoC.
Lets check out how the devices perform.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyzDOZOTjQ0
Design, Build Quality
The Google Nexus 7 follows a different design formula with thin side bezels, but big top and bottom bezels. The material used is also different with the rubbery matte finish on the back offering a solid grip. The Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 follows the design language of the latest series of Galaxy phones with a full plastic build and a plastic rim running across the device.
In terms of dimensions, the Nexus 7 is less wide and shorter than the Galaxy Tab 3, but is thicker than it. In terms of weight, the Nexus 7 weighs 290g while the Galaxy Tab 3 weighs 314g.
On the front of the tablets, we have the display above which we have the front camera and the ambient light sensor above it on the Nexus 7 while we have an earpiece with front camera on the right side of it and the ambient and proximity sensors on the left side of it on the Galaxy Tab 3.
Below the display, we have nothing but a thick solid bezel on the Nexus 7 while there is a physical home button flanked by capacitive touch keys on either side on the Galaxy Tab 3.
The positioning of keys is similar. On the right side, we have the power lock key below which we have the volume rocker and microphone on the Nexus 7 while on the Galaxy Tab, we have the volume rocker, the power lock and the IR Blaster. On the bottom of Nexus 7, we have just the microUSB port, while on the Galaxy Tab 3, we have the microUSB port and microphone along with dual speakers.
The Nexus 7 has a completely bare left side while we have the covered microSIM and microSD card slot on the Tab 3. At the top, we have just the 3.5mm audio jack on both the phones. The volume rocker and power button on the Nexus 7 is along the curved edge and is very slim and hence accessing it is quite tough and the feedback isn’t great while the Tab 3 has good plastic keys on the side which offer good feedback.
Moving to the back side, we find a very gripping rubbery matte material on the Nexus 7 in contrast to the glossy plastic on the Galaxy Tab. The matte back of Nexus 7 is quite safe against fingerprints and scratches which can be a problem on the glossy back of the Tab 3. The camera is located at the top left corner on both the devices and there is no flash in both the devices. We have the branding and certification information at the bottom. The back cover is not removable in both the devices.
The thick bezels on top and bottom seem more than a little weird when held in portrait mode and the horizontal branding make us believe that the Nexus 7 tablet is meant to be used in landscape mode.
Overall, the smaller Nexus 7 feels pretty comfortable in the hand thanks to the curved edges and matte back, but it looks odd because of the big top and bottom bezels. The Galaxy Tab 3, on the other hand, has a little worn out Samsung design, but its ergonomics make it fit well in the hand.
Display
The Google Nexus 7 has a 7inch Full HD display of 1920×1200 resolution having a pixel density of 323ppi while the Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 has 8inch display of 1280×800 pixels (189ppi).
The display on the Nexus 7 is one its key selling points and 300ppi+ display on a 7inch tablet is truly amazing. In terms of sharpness, brightness, saturation and viewing angles, the Nexus 7 is far ahead of the Galaxy Tab 3.
Overall, we liked the display on the Nexus 7.
Hardware and Performance
The Google Nexus 7 is powered by a 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 Pro SoC with 2GB RAM and Adreno 320 GPU. The Galaxy Tab 3 is powered by a 1.5GHz dual-core Exynos 4212 SoC along with 1.5GB RAM and Mali400 MP GPU.
Nexus 7 comes in 16/32GB variants while the Galaxy Tab 3 has 16/32GB variants(we have the 16GB variants). Out of the 16GB, the Nexus 7 has 12.2GB usable while the Galaxy Tab has just around 10.8GB usable storage. The Galaxy Tab 3, however has a microSD card slot which is absent in the Nexus 7.
In terms of performance, the quad-core processor and the extra RAM gives the Nexus 7 a clear advantage as it quite fast in opening and switching between apps. For day to day performance, the Nexus 7 is quite fast and snappy.
In benchmarks, the Nexus 7 easily beat the Tab 3 in almost all the benchmarks.
Camera
Both the tablets have a 5MP camera at the back and the Nexus 7 has a 1.2MP camera on front while the Galaxy Tab 3 has a 1.3MP camera. Nexus 7 can record 1080p videos from the rear camera and 720p videos from the front camera while the Galaxy Tab3 can record just 720p videos from the rear camera and 480p videos from the front camera.
The camera UI is very different on both the devices. Nexus 7 has the stock camera UI with nothing but the basic icons like a shutter icon, mode toggle icon and the settings toggle icon. Settings can also be reached by pressing and holding anywhere on the viewfinder. The camera app of Galaxy Tab 3 has a lot of options that lets you shoot in various modes like Beauty face, Night mode, panorama, sound shot and sport mode.
In terms of image quality, the Galaxy Tab 3 is slightly ahead with less noise and more details.
Software features
Nexus 7 is Google’s product and it comes with the latest version of Android – 4.3 Jellybean. The Galaxy Tab 3 runs on Android 4.2.2 Jellybean with Samsung’s TouchWiz UI on top of it. Nexus 7 has the most basic stock UI while thhe Galaxy Tab has a lot of software goodies like Multi-Window, Pop-out video player, etc which are absent in the Nexus 7. Because of Samsung’s huge customization, the UI feels sluggish at times while the Nexus 7 is blazing fast.
Overall, the Galaxy Tab 3 is good in terms of software features, but it slows down the UI while the Nexus 7 is quite fast without any features.
Gaming
Gaming is great on the Nexus 7 because of its excellent display and powerful processor. All the games run pretty smoothly on the Nexus 7 with high graphics which is not the case with Galaxy Tab 3. Games run well on the Tab 3, but graphics are a bit toned down with less details and textures.
Battery and Connectivity
The Nexus 7 comes with a non-replaceabe 3950mAh Li-ion battery while the Galaxy Tab 3 has a non-replacabe 4450mAh Li-Ion battery. In terms of battery life, the Tab 3 offers a better life because of the higher capacity and the low resolution display.
In terms of connectivity, both the devices are equipped with features like 3G,WiFi, Bluetooth WiFi Direct and microUSB(MHL) connectivity while NFC is exclusive to Nexus 7.
Conclusion
Google Nexus 7 (2013) is not yet available in India, but the pricing is expected not to be more than the Galaxy Tab retails for Rs24,500 (WiFi+3G version)
Advantages of Nexus 7 (2013) over Galaxy Tab 3
- Better display
- Better performance
- Better gaming performance
- Cheaper Price point
- Better build quality
Advantages of Galaxy Tab 3 over Nexus 7 (2013)
- Bigger display
- Better Camera
- Better battery
- Better software features