Nexus 8 vs. Nexus 7 – Early Specifications, Features, Release Date and Price Showdown

Speculations and rumors pertaining to the upcoming devices the Nexus 8 (also known as Nexus 9) and Nexus 6 from Google are ruling the internet space. If the reports are true, HTC could be making Google's Nexus 8 (Nexus 9) device. The product name Nexus 8 has been spotted in the Chromium Code Review by German developers. Thus, confirming the search giant's upcoming Nexus device. Also, Google Nexus 8 boasts killer specs and stunning features. Here is a specification, and feature comparison between the upcoming Nexus 8 and the Nexus 7 (2013).

Display, Exterior and Size

The upcoming Nexus 8 features 8.9 inches display with a whopping 2,048 x 1,440 pixel screen resolution. The Nexus 7, on the other hand, comes with a relatively smaller 7 inches IPS LCD display with 1,200 x 1,920 pixels screen resolution. Also, the pixel strength of Nexus 8 stands at 241 ppi, while the Nexus 7 comes with a good 323 ppi of pixel density.

With impressive screen resolution and pixel strength combination, both the tablets present sharper and vivid images and videos. Unlike the Nexus 7 2013, the upcoming Nexus 8 will come with aluminum zero-gap construction. It is worth reminding that, the front panel of the Nexus 7 (2013) tablet features a black strip of glass covering the display and it blends with the rear panel made of rubberized plastic material. Also, the images, videos and texts look crisp and sharp in Nexus 7; therefore the Nexus 8 can be expected to provide a stunning display quality which is synonymous to Google products.

The Nexus 8, codenamed Volantis/Flounder, is expected to come with a thickness and weight of 0.31 inches and 418 g respectively. Whereas the Nexus 7 is 0.34 inches thick and it weighs 290 g.

Hardware and Software

The Nexus 8 will reportedly be powered by a superior NVIDIA Logan 64-bit processor (Tegra K1), and a solid 2 GB of RAM. The Nexus 7, on the other hand, is powered by a quad-core (Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro) processor, clocked at 1.5 GHz and it comes with the same 2 GB of RAM. Also, the Nexus 8 is expected to run on the upcoming Android 5.0 OS, while the Nexus 7 runs on Android OS v4.3 (Jelly Bean), which is upgradable to v4.4.3 (KitKat).

Memory, Battery and Camera

Both the Nexus tablets come with 16 GB and 32 GB of internal storage capacity. While the Nexus 7 does not support microSD card, the Nexus 8 is expected to come with microSD slot for further expansion.

The 2013 model of Nexus 7 comes with an impressive non-removable Li-Po 3950 mAh battery unit, however the battery details of the upcoming Nexus 8 tablet is not available currently. Nevertheless, Google is expected to provide a solid battery unit for its upcoming device. While the battery detail pertaining to the Nexus 8 is not known currently, the Nexus 7 can provide up to 9 hours of multimedia viewing time.

The Nexus 7 houses a 5 MP rear-facing camera without flash and a 1.2 MP front-facing camera unit. Whereas the Nexus 8 will sport a much-better 8 MP rear-facing camera and a 3 MP front-facing camera unit.

Misc

1. Both the tablets come in LTE and non-LTE (or Wi-Fi only) variants.

2. Also, both the Nexus tablets support NFC.

Price and Release Date

The Nexus 7 (32 GB, LTE variant) is priced at AU$398. Moreover, the Nexus 8 Wi-Fi 16 GB variant is priced at US$399 (roughly translates to AU$421), while the 32 GB model is priced at US$499 (roughly translates to AU$527) and the LTE variant is expected to cost in the range of US$600+. The Nexus 8 release date is slated for summer 2014.