iPad mini 2 vs Nexus 7 2013 benchmarks review
Two of the biggest tablet releases this year are the Apple iPad mini with Retina Display aka the iPad mini 2 and the Google Nexus 7 2013 aka Nexus 7 2. These two tablets are likely to be on plenty of Christmas wish lists, and today we want to show you an iPad mini 2 vs. Nexus 7 2013 video review that compares benchmarks.
The iPad mini 2 is an iOS device while the Nexus 7 2 is an Android tablet, so some people will have made a choice between them on that factor alone. We’ve written plenty of articles now on both devices including showing a specs comparison, but it’s always interesting to see how devices fare in benchmark testing as well.
The iPad mini 2 has a 1.3GHz Apple A7 dual-core processor with PowerVR G6430 GPU. On the other hand the Nexus 7 2 rocks a 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 Pro quad-core processor with Adreno 320 graphics.
The 3-minute YouTube video below this story shows these two tablets side-by-side and begins with Geekbench testing, which is predominantly a CPU benchmark. The iPad mini 2 wins on both the single-core and multi-core performance.
The next test concerns GPU with 3DMark and again sees the iPad mini 2 beat the Nexus 7 2. The final test is with GLBenchmark, but rather than giving away all the results we’ll let you check it out for yourselves by watching the video.
Obviously these benchmark results don’t reflect real-world performance but nevertheless it’s interesting to see how the iPad mini 2 and Nexus 7 2 compare in this respect. We’re interested to hear what you think of these results so feel free to send us your comments.
Are you surprised at any of the benchmark results shown on the video below for the iPad mini 2 vs. Nexus 7 2013? Would the results influence your decision about which tablet to buy or not?
Comments
21 thoughts on “iPad mini 2 vs Nexus 7 2013 benchmarks review”
The nexus 7 fits in my pocket 🙂
Are you really gonna walk around with a tablet in your pocket? Doesn’t Android after 500 different phones with screens big enough for you? (By the way the iPad Mini does fit in my pocket but it’s just a dumb place for it)
Why on earth would you know the mini fits in your pocket if it’s a dumb place to put it? Are you a circus clown?
We all make choices and I preferred the Nexus 7 over any other small tablet, sorry if that upsets you.
I think both are good choices depending on how invested you are in each Store.
Excellent point. Fortunately I didn’t have too much invested in iPad apps but it certainly is worth considering.
Just cause I tried something to see it doesn’t mean it’s a good idea. I’m not ignorant like you, I like to expand my knowledge.
The nexus 7 is also a 4G LTE, maybe u should think before u type. The nexus 7 has a more comfortable fit rather than a iPad mini either has to get forced into a pocket to fit. And this benchmark wasn’t even reading the correct processor, smh. So it could have been grabbing data from the first Nexus 7. Because the Nexus 7 is faster than the iPad mini 2 the only thing that improve was the resolution.
I’ll keep my $170, thanks.
Thanks for the video made me decide to go with apple
Great decision. I’ve owned several tablets including iPad and Android in the last few years and the new iPad Mini Retina simply decimates any of them. The polished physically and performance feel and high quality fit and finish. I was hesitant spending $400 but after owning a couple of cheaper Androids the $400 is worth it.
You just paid 400 bucks for an apple logo. I have a Nexus 7 2013, and I know that it is just the better tablet. Not only does it cost less, but it is actually faster (1.5 GHz Snapdragon 600 quad-core with 2 GB of RAM vs. 1.3 Ghz dual core A7 64-bit with 1 GB of RAM.) The Nexus 7 has faster multi-tasking as well as better performance. 64-bit is really just a joke, and while it is faster than 32-bit, its not by much, and it is not twice as fast. The Nexus 7 has a gorgeous, brighter display with better color reproduction, even if it is smaller than the Ipad Mini. However, if it makes you happy, then keep it.
Cry cry cry…
I paid $400 for a superior tablet experience.
iPad has a better selection of tablet apps. Better screen for browsing. WAY better battery life.
Also, the iPad mini retina IS faster than the Nexus 7. Period.
And I don’t have Google tracking everything I do on my tablet.
This is just a benchmark testing, where it applies to the consumer or buyer is in the real world testing. Let’s not forget you are comparing a less than $200 tablet to a roughly $400 one with really very little difference between the two? As a shopwise buyer, your savings is really in the Nexus 7.
The test didn’t even find the right processor on the nexus. How do we know it ran the correct tests.? It could have ran the tests based on the processor it thought it was dealing with. Is that possible?
That is possible thats y I don’t trust benchmarks n the light on the nexus 7 2013 wasn’t on full.
Exactly. Benchmarks do not always tell the truth, and d not reflect real world performance.
On the benchmark, it was the NVIDIA T30L quad core. The processor in the Nexus 7, first generation. But it also said 1.51GHz, which is impossible, cause the T30L in single core, (s-mode) ran at 1.3GHz, and with all four cores running it was 1.2GHz. There was 3 variations of the T30 series, all with different clock speeds and 2 different GPU speeds as well. So to summarize, the test was #@$&ed up.
iPad mini has 40% less color gamut, so that is why it turns out to be the real “budget tablet” because it bugets on colors. Honestly, I believe iPad air and iPhone are truly great, but in the mini category, iPad mini is disgrace to a great company. If the pricing of the two has been reversed, I’d still choose N7.
No, I’m actually not surprised by the results, as benchmarks lie, and do not always reflect the true performance of the device.
Agree
I just received my first tablet ever for xmas: a 2013 Nexus 7. This is my first time with an Android device (although I have decades of experience with Linux/UNIX and Nokia’s Debian-based phones, the N900 and N9). I’ve already rooted the Nexus and swapped KitKat 4.4.2 for CyanogenMod Nightly — and back. I think it’s an awesome device and I find myself “messing around” with it far too much, instead of doing more productive work.
That said, I am not surprised that the Ipad Mini 2 has a (signigficantly) faster CPU/GPU than my Nexus 7. For one, Apple is well-known for high quality devices that are based on a near-uncompromising mentality, in terms of available technology (even the limited color gamut of the iPad m2 seems to be attributable to a logistical error, rather than one borne of compromise). Secondly, the Snapdragon S4 Pro powering the Nexus 7 2013 is known to be an older design, which already trails newer members in its family from a performance perspective. Lastly, we are talking about two completely different price segments here. Even the cheapest Ipad Mini 2 is expensive enough that it begins to enter the realm of notebooks/desktops (which, for a moderate difference in price, still offer much greater performance). By comparison, the Nexus 7 is far more affordable and offers amazing performance for its cost. If someone wants to buy a tablet in the $200 range, the Ipad Mini 2 is simply not an option. I don’t subscribe to the notion that tablets will replace even notebooks any time soon. As such, I — personally — would not spend that kind of money on a tablet at this point (for comparison, my two year old Lenovo T420i still outclasses these tablets by a very wide margin).
However, the real problem that Apple is facing is, time is not on their side. If improvements in technology continue at current or comparable pace, there will evidently come a time when, similar to desktops, tablets and phones will have sufficient CPU performance, memory, bandwidth, etc. to meet 98% of all consumer needs. At that point, there will be increasingly diminished real life benefits to incremental performance improvements. And it will be during the transition toward that point that Apple will find it increasingly difficult to justify significant differences in price.
That said, I hope they (Apple) stay around for a long time to come; if nothing else than to provide significant competition and opposition to Google, Microsoft, et al. We as consumers can only benefit as a consequence.