Two of the hottest tablets of the year recently arrived in the form of the Apple iPad Air 2 and the Google Nexus 9 made by HTC. These are going to be hotly in demand especially as the holiday season is approaching. If you are considering purchasing either then you might appreciate our iPad Air 2 vs. Nexus 9 specs rundown.

One of the major differences with these two devices is that the new iPad runs Apple’s iOS while the Nexus tablet runs pure vanilla Android. If you have a strong preference of one of these platforms over the other, then your mind is probably already made up. However, for those who are open-minded to either we’re highlighting the key specs of each.

Processors
The iPad Air 2 has a 1.5GHz Apple A8 64-bit triple-core processor and PVR GXA6850. The Nexus 9 has a 2.3GHz Nvidia Tegra K1 dual-core processor and Kepler DX1 graphics.

Display
The new iPad Air has a 9.7-inch LED-backlit IPS LCD display with resolution of 2048 x 1536 and 264 ppi. The Nexus 9 has an 8.9-inch IPS LCD display with resolution of 2048 x 1536 resulting in 281 ppi.

RAM and Storage
Both tablets have 2GB of RAM. The iPad Air 2 has 16, 64 or 128GB of internal storage while the Nexus 9 comes in storage models of 16 or 32GB. Both devices have non-expandable storage.

Camera set-up
The iPad Air 2 has an 8-megapixel rear camera with autofocus and video capture of 1080p@30fps or 720p@120fps, as well as a 1.2-megapixel front-facing camera. The Nexus 9 has an 8-megapixel rear camera with autofocus, LED flash, and 1080p@30fps video capture, and also a 1.6-megapixel front-facing unit.

Battery
The iPad Air 2 packs a non-removable 7340 mAh battery while the Nexus 6 has a non-removable 6700 mAh battery.

Operating System
Both phones run the newest versions of their respective operating systems. The iPad Air 2 runs iOS 8.1 while the Nexus 9 runs Android 5.0 Lollipop.

Dimensions and Weight
The iPad Air 2 measures 240mm x 169.5mm x 6.1mm and weighs 437g for the WiFi model or 444g for the 3G/LTE model. The Nexus 9 measures 228.2mm x 153.7mm x 7.9mm and weighs 425g for the WiFi model or 436g for the 3G/LTE version.

Price
The starting price for the iPad Air 2 is $499 and the Nexus 9 starts from $399. However, with Black Friday just around the corner there may be price deals available.

Of course choosing between two devices isn’t all about the specs, but is also about various features available, designs, and user experience. For a fuller look you might like to check out a previous video comparison that we showed of these two devices, but the above specs breakdown will clarify specs so that you can see how they contrast on this score.

Bearing the above in mind are you more likely to opt for the iPad Air 2 or the Nexus 9? Drop us your comments in the box below.