I started using Nexus 7 (2013) LTE three weeks ago to enjoy the pure experience of Android after 2 years of not having any Android device. I was hoping that this tablet will get Lollipop upgrade within few days after all the other Nexus models. Apparently I was so wrong. Most other Nexus devices already get Lollipop, including WiFi version of Nexus 7 (2013), but the LTE version that I have still does not have Lollipop, or even a date to wait. I still remember when I upgraded the OS of my original iPad 1 on the same day as the OS upgrade for all other iOS devices 2 years newer. I guess Android is still far from such a dream, even for a Nexus device.
(see here for my first impression review on this tablet)
Without Lollipop, I do my experiments with Kit Kat 4.4.4 installed in my Nexus 7 (2013), and I try as far as I can to use it as my primary tablet.
First, the display. I can’t help but comparing the display of Nexus 7 (2013) with my iPad mini’s because display is one thing that we see the most when using a tablet. Both Nexus 7 (2013) and iPad mini has very sharp display and we can no longer tell individual pixels on our screens. Both screens are also reflective to some extend, but not to a point where it disturbs normal usage. What I do notice, is that the colors of Nexus 7 (2013) is more… let’s say eye-candy. It’s so colorful that in many cases I notice it exaggerates real world colors in photos and pictures. This color character is alluring at the first few minutes of usage, but soon becomes rather tiring for my eyes. iPad mini’s color character is not as “vibrant” as Nexus 7 (2013), but I find them more “natural” and closer to real world colors when displaying photos and pictures. Plus, I can use iPad mini screen more comfortably for longer duration.
Next, stability. I did have real bad experience with Samsung Galaxy Tab tablet with Honeycomb over 2 years ago. So bad that I almost smashed my tablet twice out of frustration and so angry that I removed all my previous reviews on Android devices from this blog (this is an act I regretted later, but sadly I couldn’t restore those reviews as I didn’t have any backup at that time).
So how is the stability of Nexus 7 (2013) running Kit Kat 4.4.4? Well, over a month of usage, I only got 5 experiences of total crash (crash that require me to reboot the device). 2 crashes happened when I was simply browsing the launcher (front screen) with app icons. 1 crash occurred when I tried to use the multitasking button to quickly switch to another app. 1 crash took place when I was using Google Play Store app. The fifth crash happened when I was using Settings app.
Outside these 5 crashes, I encountered countless crashes related to third party launchers. Since these crashes involve third party software, I try to be fair and not include them in my crash count. However, it still annoys me because these third party launchers are not the ones I downloaded as apk files from random sources, these are launchers I got from the official Play Store. So they could have some sort of basic testing to prevent terrible user experience. One launcher keeps randomly appear even when I specifically choose the default launcher in Settings app. How is that even “not prevented” by the OS?
Some other third party apps are also crashing occasionally. Not to a point that makes me feeling irritated, but it does happen from time to time. To be fair, sometimes I could have third party apps crashing in iPad too, but the frequency seems to be much lower in iPad.
In the good side, even though I still have heck a lot of crashes, I have to admit that it IS better than what I had 2 years ago. Plus during all those crashes, I never experienced any of my data files got corrupted like in my past experiences with Galaxy Tab. So the improvements are there, and hopefully will continue to get better in the future.
Notification LED is another feature that I initially was excited about. It’s something I don’t have in my iPad mini and iPhone. However, this “feature” quickly turns to be another nuisance. Especially when I forgot to take my tablet out of my bedroom before sleep. Luckily I can simply turn it off from Settings app.
I love the notification center in my Nexus. This is one thing that Android gets it right. Somehow I find it more intuitive and more useful than the notification center I find in my iPad. However, the menu to turn off notifications for individual app is not my favorite. I can only choose whether to show notifications or not from Settings app. I can’t even set my instant messaging apps to simply show me how many unread messages I have without displaying them in notification center. I never really appreciated the red badge notification in my iPad until I no longer have it in my new tablet.
The experience in reading books and comics is nice. Now that I don’t need to deal with annoying external memory cards, I got smooth experience from Android book reading apps. Glad that Nexus have decent internal storage without memory card slot. They do this one right.
Nice little extra from book reading experience is the fact that I can grip both sides of the tablet using one hand now, thanks to the slim-but-tall size ratio. This is something I couldn’t have in iPad mini. However, this 16:10 screen ratio is probably only good for comic reading and movie playback. It gets awkward in displaying many other third party apps. Some people won’t even feel bothered, perhaps, but I do.
Overall, I am not happy with Nexus 7 (2013). I still have a little hope that things will get better once this tablet actually gets Lollipop upgrade. At lease I still have my hope that it Lollipop would increase the OS stability and much better user interface. However, I’m not sure how much longer I can wait. Three weeks difference on update availability between the same model (Nexus 7 2013 with and without LTE) is beyond ridiculous. I will probably get rid of this tablet in the near future.
I still haven’t given up on Android. It does show progress from my experience 2 years ago. Some of my friends seem to recommend Nexus 5 as smartphone is a better device to get Android experience, according to them.
So be it, I will get a Nexus 5 and post my review, hopefully soon.
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