The Nexus 9, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4, and the Dell Venue 8 7000 are among the top choices for Android tablets, all worth a closer look.
All three of these tablets come with powerful specs and features and are able to deliver a great performance, but each of them has its own strengths and weaknesses. To get a better idea of what's on the table with these three slates, here's a quick comparison of specs.
Display
The HTC-made Google Nexus 9 features an 8.9-inch IPS LCD display with a resolution of 1536 x 2048 pixels, a pixel density of 288 ppi, multi-touch input, and Gorilla Glass 3 protection for extra scratch resistance.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4, meanwhile, boasts an 8.4-inch Super AMOLED display that delivers richer colors and more vivid visuals compared to LCD, according to Samsung. It has a resolution of 1600 x 2560 pixels, a pixel density of 359 ppi, multi-touch input, and proximity sensor.
The Dell Venue 8 7000, meanwhile, has a display of the same size, resolution, and pixel density as the Galaxy Tab S 8.4, but with OLED technology.
When it comes to screen-to-body ratio, the Nexus 9 clocks in at 66.90 percent, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4 at 76.61 percent, and the Dell Venue 8 7000 at 76.14 percent.
Under the Hood
Hardware specifications under the hood are very important for a tablet's overall performance, so here's what our three candidates have to offer in terms of processor, graphics, RAM, storage, and battery.
The Nexus 9 packs a 64-bit dual-core NVIDIA Tegra K1 processor paired with Kepler DX1 graphics and 2GB of RAM. Built-in storage capacity rests at 32GB, with no microSD support for external memory. The tablet has a large 6,700 mAh battery that should deliver a good performance on a single charge.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4 has an octa-core 64-bit Samsung Exynos 5420 processor, ARM Mali-T628 MP6 graphics, and 3GB of RAM. The slate further packs 32GB of internal storage, expandable via microSD, and a 4,900 mAh battery.
The Dell Venue 8 7000 has a quad-core 64-bit Intel Atom Z3580 processor, PowerVR G6430 graphics, and 2GB of RAM. The tablet comes with only 16GB of internal storage capacity, but it has microSD support. A 5,900 mAh battery keeps things up and running.
Cameras
The Nexus 9 has an 8-megapixel rear camera with LED flash, BSI sensor, autofocus, touch-to-focus, and other features, and a 1.6-megapixel front camera.
The Galaxy Tab S 8.4 features an 8-megapixel rear camera with LED, CMOS image sensor, HDR, and other neat features, and a 2.1-megapixel front shooter.
The Dell Venue 8 7000 has an 8-megapixel rear camera with autofocus and several features, a 2-megapixel front shooter.
Size
The HTC Nexus 9 measures 8.99 x 6.05 x 0.31 inches and weighs 15.38 oz. The Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4 measures 8.38 x 4.94 x 0.26 inches and tips the scales at 10.51 oz. The Dell Venue 8 measures 8.50 x 4.90 x 0.24 inches and weighs in at 10.76 oz. At 0.24 inches, the Dell Venue 8 7000 is the world's thinnest tablet.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Each of these three tablets has good specifications and features, but in certain areas they stand out more compared with the others.
The HTC-made Google Nexus 9 has the largest battery of the bunch, boasts stereo front speakers, and delivers the much-touted Nexus experience that offers the pure Android software and timely upgrades. On the other hand, the Nexus 9 features lower-quality hardware compared to other tablets, has the lowest pixel density and is also the largest and heaviest of the three, and doesn't have microSD support for additional storage.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.4 boasts a top-quality Super AMOLED display, powerful multitasking software, a good build quality, and a sleek design. However, the tablet has the smallest battery of the three and doesn't have stereo speakers.
Lastly, the Dell Venue 8 7000 boasts impressively thin bezels, a 16:10 aspect ratio that makes it great for watching videos, and an ultra-thin profile that makes it the most portable for the bunch. On the downside, the tablet doesn't feature the latest Android software, has fewer camera features, its stereo speakers are designed as one big speaker located at the bottom, and it has only 16GB of internal storage compared the 32GB the other two tablets have to offer.
Conclusion
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4, the HTC-made Nexus 9, and the Dell Venue 8 7000 all launched in 2014, all compete in the same category, and all come with good specs and features all around. These three devices are among the top choices when looking for a premium Android tablet, and each of them can deliver a high-quality experience without hiccups. It all comes down to consumer choice in the end, as well as personal tastes and preferences.
