Nexus 7
Front view of computer tablet in portrait position. The screen is on, displaying a colorful background.
DeveloperGoogle, Asus
ManufacturerAsus
Product familyGoogle Nexus
TypeTablet computer
Release dateJuly 26, 2013 (United States)
August 13, 2013 (Canada)[1]
August 28, 2013 (United Kingdom)[2]
November 20, 2013 (India)
Introductory price16 GB: US$229
32 GB: US$269
32 GB (LTE model): US$349
DiscontinuedApril 25, 2015[3]
Operating systemOriginal: Android 4.3 "Jelly Bean"
Current: Android 6.0.1 "Marshmallow"
Unofficial: Android 11 via LineageOS 18.1
System on a chipQualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro (Snapdragon 600) APQ8064–1AA[4]
CPU1.51 GHz quad-core Krait 300
Memory2 GB DDR3L RAM
Storage16 or 32 GB
Display7.02 in (178 mm) 16:10 aspect ratio, 323 px/in (127 px/cm) pixel density 1920 × 1200 178° view angle backlit IPS LCD, scratch resistant Corning Fit glass 10 point capacitive touchscreen
Graphics400 MHz quad-core Adreno 320
SoundStereo speakers, 5.1 surround sound by Fraunhofer, MP3, WAV, eAAC+, WMA,
InputGPS/GLONASS, dual microphone, gyroscope, accelerometer, light sensor, magnetometer, Hall effect sensor, proximity sensor (with cellular model)[5]
Camera1.2 MP front-facing 720p video recording, 5.0 MP rear-facing f/2.4 AF, 1080p video recording
Connectivity3.5 mm headphone jack, Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi dual-band (802.11 a/b/g/n @ 2.4 GHz & 5 GHz), Miracast, NFC, micro USB 2.0, Slimport, 4G LTE (with cellular model)
PowerInternal rechargeable non-removable lithium-ion polymer 3,950 mAh 16 Wh battery, Qi Wireless Charging
Online servicesGoogle Play
Dimensions200 mm × 114 mm × 8.65 mm (7.87 in × 4.49 in × 0.34 in)
MassWi-Fi only: 290 g (10 oz)
Cellular model: 299 g (10.5 oz)
PredecessorNexus 7 (2012)
SuccessorNexus 9
WebsiteNexus 7 2013

The second-generation Nexus 7, also commonly referred to as the Nexus 7 (2013), is a mini tablet computer co-developed by Google and Asus that runs the Android operating system. It is the second of three tablets in the Google Nexus tablet series (Nexus 7 (2012), this Nexus 7 (2013), and the Nexus 9), the Nexus family including both phones and tablets running essentially stock Android which were originally marketed for developer testing but later marketed by Google to consumers as well, all of which were built by various original equipment manufacturer partners. Following the success of the original Nexus 7, this second generation of the device was released on July 26, 2013, four days earlier than the originally scheduled date due to early releases from various retailers.[6][7][8][9] The tablet was the first device to ship with Android 4.3.[10]

The second iteration of the 7.0 in (180 mm) tablet, code named "Razor",[11] has various upgrades from the previous generation, including a 1.5 GHz quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro processor, 2 GB of RAM, a 1920 × 1200 pixel display (323 pixels per inch; 127 px/cm), dual cameras (1.2 MP front, 5 MP rear), stereo speakers, built-in inductive Qi wireless charging, and a SlimPort (via micro USB connector) capable of full high-definition video output to an external display.

Features

Software

Nexus 7 was the first device to be shipped with Android 4.3 "Jelly Bean". All Nexus devices, including the Nexus 7, run a version of Android free of manufacturer or wireless carrier modifications (e.g., custom graphical user interfaces or 'skins' such as TouchWiz and HTC Sense) commonly included on other Android devices. Nexus products also feature an unlockable bootloader, which enabled "rooting" the device, thereby enabling user access to privileged control over the Android environment, which in turn enables further development or modification of the operating system or replacement of the device's firmware.[12][13][14] An update to Android 4.4 was released in November 2013, followed by another update to Android 4.4.2 one month later and eventually an update to Android 4.4.3 in June 2014 and 4.4.4 in July. The Wi-Fi only variant of the Nexus 7 was one of the two devices of which the Android L developer preview was officially available for, with the other being the Nexus 5.[15] Android 5.0 "Lollipop" was released in November 2014 for the Wi-Fi only version. In July 2015, Android 5.1.1 was rolled out to the Nexus 7, containing a fix for the Stagefright bug.

In November 2015, Nexus 7 started receiving Android 6.0 "Marshmallow" update across the world.[16] Following which Nexus 7 became one of the first devices to get an Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow update in December 2015.[16] The Nexus 7 (2013) will not receive an official Android 7.0 "Nougat" update,[17] meaning that Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow is the last officially supported Android version for the device.

In December 2020, LineageOS announced official builds of LineageOS 17.1 (a distribution of Android 10 "Q") for the Nexus 7.[18] These require repartitioning the internal eMMC due to the outdated and small partition sizes that the device comes with, and the increasing sizes of modern Android versions.[19] It is currently the only major supported operating system for the device, as Android 6.0.1 (the last version of Android that Google supplied the system with) has not received security patches since September 2018.

Hardware and design

The Nexus 7 (ASUS-1A005A) is both thinner and lighter than its predecessor. It is manufactured by Asus, and comes with a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro APQ8064–1AA SoC, (1.5 GHz quad-core Krait 300 and an Adreno 320 GPU, clocked at 400 MHz). The new Nexus 7's SoC is believed to be a variation of Qualcomm's Snapdragon 600 processor (branded as "S4 Pro") underclocked to 1.5 GHz.[20] It has 2 GB of RAM (doubling that of the previous generation) and is available with either 16 GB or 32 GB of internal flash memory storage. Like all other current-generation Google Nexus devices, there is no option for additional storage via micro SD expansion card. The Nexus 7 2013 natively supports OTG cable micro USB to USB flash drives, and USB SD card readers via the Nexus Media Importer for read/write (including NTFS formats).[21][22] The battery is reported to last up to 9 hours of HD video playback and 10 hours of web browsing or e-reading. The battery's capacity has been lowered from 4,325 mAh in the 2012 Nexus 7, to 3,950 mAh in the 2013 version. Despite this reduction, battery life typically exceeds that of the original due to hardware and software optimizations.[23]

The Nexus 7 screen has a resolution of 1920 × 1200, an increase from the previous generation's 1280 × 800 display. Additionally, the panel's contrast ratio and color gamut are reportedly superior to the previous model.[24]

The Nexus 7 was initially only available in black, but in December 2013 a white option was added.[25]

Model variants

Model ME571K/K008[26] ME571KL NA/K009[26][27] ME571KL EU/K009[26][28]
Storage 16/32 GB 32 GB 32 GB
Carriers None AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon Many
4G None LTE: 1/2/3/4/5/13/17

700/750/850/1700/1800/1900/2100 MHz

LTE: 1/2/3/4/5/7/20

800/850/1700/1800/1900/2100/2600 MHz

3G None HSPA+: 1/2/4/5/8

850/900/1700/1900/2100

HSPA+: 1/2/4/5/8

850/900/1700/1900/2100

2G None GSM: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz GSM: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz

Reception

The reviews of the second-generation Nexus 7 have been highly favorable with many reviewers claiming it to be the best 7-inch tablet in the market.[29] Reviewers praised the device for its size, design, display, price, inclusion of a rear-facing camera, contemporary user interface and the growing number of tablet-optimized Android applications.[29] It has been praised for being a notable improvement over its predecessor.[29] The device competes with iPad Mini, Kindle Fire HDX and Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 7.0.

Despite the age of the Nexus 7, in June 2018 it was still the fourth most popular tablet in use around the world.[30] Andrew Cunningham, writing in Ars Technica in 2023, called the 2013 Nexus 7 "Google's only great tablet" for its balance of affordability and capability, its design, its long software support period, and for providing a screen large enough to be meaningfully different to a phone without being too large; he says that the tablet may be the nearest any manufacturer has come to producing "the platonic idea of a small tablet", with all of Google's subsequent tablets falling short of the standard set by the Nexus 7, in part by being less distinct from other manufacturers'.[31]

See also

References

Footnotes
  1. ^ Nexus (August 13, 2013). "Starting today, Nexus 7 is available for purchase on Google Play in Canada". Retrieved August 13, 2013.
  2. ^ Dey, Aditya. "Google New Nexus 7 to Launch in the UK on August 28". techstake.org. Archived from the original on August 12, 2013. Retrieved August 11, 2013.
  3. ^ D'Orazio, Dante (April 25, 2015). "Google's Nexus 7 tablet has been discontinued". The Verge. Vox Media. Retrieved April 27, 2015.
  4. ^ "New Nexus 7 (Codename Razor) Fully Detailed And Benchmarked – 2GB Of RAM, Snapdragon S4 Pro, And 1920x1200 Screen". July 24, 2013.
  5. ^ "Tablets & Mobile - Nexus 7 (2013)". Asus.com. Archived from the original on December 8, 2013. Retrieved December 10, 2013.
  6. ^ "Twitter / GooglePlay: Surprise! The next generation". Twitter.com. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
  7. ^ "The New Nexus 7 Is Already Available Directly From Google Play". Androidpolice.com. July 26, 2013. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
  8. ^ "Leaked Best Buy Ad Shows New Nexus 7 With 1920x1200 Screen Launching Tuesday, July 30th For $229.99". July 21, 2013.
  9. ^ "Leak Suggests New Nexus 7 Will Have Android 4.3, Dual Cameras, SlimPort, And Wireless Charging – On Sale July 31st At Staples". July 19, 2013.
  10. ^ Dey, Aditya. "Google Finally Unveils New Nexus 7 Android 4.3 Tablet, Price and Specifications". techstake.org. Archived from the original on August 19, 2013. Retrieved August 11, 2013.
  11. ^ Whitman, Ryan (July 23, 2013). "New Nexus 7 (Codename Razor) Fully Detailed And Benchmarked – 2GB Of RAM, Snapdragon S4 Pro, And 1920x1200 Screen". Androidpolice.com. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
  12. ^ Nickinson, Phil (July 16, 2012). "Ask AC: What is 'unlocked'?". Android Central. Mobile Nation. Retrieved July 1, 2013.
  13. ^ "Building for devices". Archived from the original on January 7, 2012. Retrieved September 1, 2012.
  14. ^ Kralevich, Nick (December 20, 2010). "It's not "rooting", it's openness". Android Developers. Retrieved August 18, 2012.
  15. ^ Android L Developer Preview system images http://developer.android.com/preview/setup-sdk.html#setupHardware
  16. ^ a b Lestoc, Costea (November 9, 2015). "Nexus 5, 6, 7 and 9 With Android 6.0 Marshmallow Update Status". BLORGE. Retrieved November 9, 2015.
  17. ^ Ruddock, David (August 22, 2016). "RIP: The Nexus 5 isn't getting Android 7.0 Nougat, let's say our goodbyes". Android Police. Illogical Robot LLC. Retrieved August 24, 2016.
  18. ^ Wilde, Damien (December 22, 2020). "Official LineageOS 17.1 support comes to Nexus 7 (2013)". 9to5Google. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
  19. ^ "Info about flo". LineageOS Wiki.
  20. ^ Klug, Brian (July 27, 2013). "Nexus 7 (2013) - Mini Review". Anandtech. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
  21. ^ "[Q] Using OTG cable and Media Importer with Nexus 7 2 (2013)". August 8, 2013.
  22. ^ "Home". nexususb.blogspot.com.
  23. ^ Platform Power & Battery Life : The Nexus 7 (2013) Review - AnandTech.com
  24. ^ Shimpi, Anand Lal (August 22, 2013). "The Nexus 7 (2013) Review". Anandtech.
  25. ^ "Google launches LG G Pad 8.3 and Sony Z Ultra Play Editions, white Nexus 7 — Tech News and Analysis". Gigaom.com. December 10, 2013. Archived from the original on December 11, 2013. Retrieved December 10, 2013.
  26. ^ a b c "Confirmed Specifications of Asus K008(ME571K) and Asus K009(ME571KL), the next generation Google Nexus 7 Tablets". Technology Blogs Simplified.
  27. ^ "Google Nexus 7 FHD LTE NA 2013 ME571KL 32GB (Asus Razor) Detailed Specs". PhoneDB.
  28. ^ "Google Nexus 7 FHD LTE EU 2013 ME571KL 32GB (Asus Razor) Detailed Specs". PhoneDB.
  29. ^ a b c Cunningham, Andrew (July 31, 2013). "Cheaper than most, better than all: the 2013 Nexus 7 reviewed". Ars Technica. Condé Nast. Retrieved November 4, 2013.
  30. ^ Abid, Meedia. "The World's Top 10 Tablets - June". www.insightportal.io. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
  31. ^ Cunningham, Andrew (May 10, 2023). "The Nexus 7 was Google's only great tablet, and it has never tried to replace it". Ars Technica.

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