Nexus 7 (2013) - Mini Review
by Brian Klug on July 27, 2013 12:54 AM EST- Posted in
- Tablets
- Snapdragon
- Qualcomm
- Android
- Mobile
- APQ8064
- Nexus 7
- Android 4.3
The lack of a rear camera on the original Nexus 7 was always a bit of a downer. It clearly had the space for a module inside, but including a camera didn’t align with the efforts to drive that device into the price point that made it successful. With the new Nexus 7 we finally get a camera, and a 5 MP one with autofocus at that. Inside the camera is an OV5693 sensor, which best I can tell is a 1/4" format sensor with 1.4 micron pixels. It might not be the world’s best camera, but it’s no slouch either.
I took a handful of photos and videos with the Nexus 7 (2013) to gauge camera quality, and even if this isn’t necessarily a device with focus on imaging it’s not bad at all. I came away pretty pleased for what kind of camera it is. Even though I still strongly believe that you shouldn’t be using a tablet to take photos you intend on using for anything more than sharing on social networks, in this brave new era of mobile devices it’s a feature every tablet and smartphone does need.
I’ll save you the discussion once again about how the Android 4.3 camera UI continues to present a 16:9 aspect ratio crop of the 4:3 image captured by the sensor, which results in a smeary looking, inaccurate preview.
Video on the Nexus 7 (2013) is 1080p30 at 12 Mbps, H.264 Baseline with 1 reference frame, and 96 kbps 48 KHz single channel AAC audio. I've uploaded a sample I took in SF to our servers as well as YouTube. Again I’m dismayed why more OEMs don’t use the full encode capabilities of APQ8064 (20 Mbps H.264 High Profile) but that’s what it is by default on the new Nexus 7.
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Sunburn74 - Saturday, July 27, 2013 - link
Actually wow I just learned there is a 30 dollar adapter that will convert the micro usb to a HDMI out! Amazing!Brian Klug - Saturday, July 27, 2013 - link
Yes, you can buy a USB SlimPort HDMI adapter and get HDMI output, same as the Nexus 4.-Brian
Impulses - Sunday, July 28, 2013 - link
Is there anything else out there that uses SlimPort? Not sure what advantage it has over MHL which was already on the way to being pretty common (and even convenient with the new style of cables split at the HDMI port, see Monoprice). I think you covered this in an old pipeline article (potential advantage/reason for Slimport) but I forget...Da W - Saturday, July 27, 2013 - link
Are you kidding?SOMEONE PLESE MAKE A 7" AMD KABINI WINDOWS TABLET!!!! I'M A BUYER!
Krysto - Saturday, July 27, 2013 - link
Doesn't Kabini have like an 18W TDP?TheinsanegamerN - Saturday, July 27, 2013 - link
yes, it does.Death666Angel - Saturday, July 27, 2013 - link
No, it doesn't. There are Kabini variants in the 9W/15W/25W TDP ranges. Too much for 7", but could be fitted in a 10.x" and definitely a 11.6" tablet/convertible.enealDC - Saturday, July 27, 2013 - link
As an owner of both a nexus 7 (gifted) and a transformer prime, i'm done with android tablets. beyond consuming content, i really don't have any use for them. Not to mention the fact that not a month goes by that I don't wish i waited when buying my Transformer Prime. Asus rewarded me as a customer by immediately (almost) planning a better version of the device they sold me. As such, i will reward them by not purchasing another Android Tablet again.Broo2 - Saturday, July 27, 2013 - link
you would prefer they not update their devices as technology improves? With that mentality, we would all still be running PalmOS phones with a 320x240 restive screen an EDGE network...It is likely Asus started planning the Prime in 2011 and the new Infinity screen fabrication and CPUs technology came along in mid 2012- while they were already starting to work on production of the Prime.
Never regret any decision you have made as you can never change what has already happened and it just causes stress and frustration. Instead of feeling a personal offense to Asus selling a new tablet, you could sell your Prime on eBay/Etsy and someone would likely be very happy to use it- and you can take the proceeds and put towards something else. :)
Broo2 - Saturday, July 27, 2013 - link
lol; edit -etsy = swappa