Nexus 10 vs iPad 4: Battle Of The Heavyweight Tablets

By Johnny Wills | Nov 06, 2012 09:54 AM EST

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Google and Apple are facing off this time with their newly-released 10-inch tablets. Google partnered with Samsung to manufacture the Nexus 10, and Apple has come up with its fourth-generation iPad - iPad 4.

Which of these tablets - Nexus 10 and iPad 4 - is better? Let's check it out.

Processor, Memory, and Storage

Apple's iPad features the latest dual-core A6X processor clocket at 1.4 GHz. On the other hand, Nexus 10 comes with the latest-generation dual-core 1.7GHz Exynos 5 processor. Both the tablets sport one of the best dual-core processors, but Nexus 10 gets a head start with higher clock speed. Nexus 10 also has double amount of RAM (2GB) than the iPad 4 (1GB).

Apple's tablet comes in three storage models with 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB of storage. Nexus 10 is available in 16GB and 32GB storage options. Both tablets lack microSD card slot for expandable memory options. The latest iPad also comes in 4G LTE models, while Nexus 10 lacks cellular connectivity.

Design and Display

Kicking off with Apple's iPad, it measures 9.50 x 7.31 x 0.37 inches and weighs 1.46 pounds. Design-wise, iPad 4 is essentially the same tablet as the new iPad, and chas 2,048 X 1,536 pixels resolution.

The dimensions of Nexus 10 are 10.39 x 7.00 x 0.35 inches, and it weighs 1.33 pounds. The design of tablet is inspired from the Nexus 7. Nexus 10 ends iPad's Retina display tale with even better 2,560 X 1,600 pixels display.

Nexus 10 technically has a larger display than iPad 4 - 10.1-inches as compared to 9.7-inches display on iPad, and yet it is thinner and lighter than the later.

Software

Nexus 10 and iPad 4 are based on completely different ecosystems. Nexus 10 runs Android 4.2 Jelly Bean and iPad runs iOS 6. According to a previous report, there are roughly 700,000 apps available on both the platforms. However, the number of tablet-centric apps is significantly low. According to Apple, there are 275,000 iPad apps in the iTunes App Store. One the other hand, Google is silent about the number of tablet-optimized apps on the Play Store.

Camera

The iPad 4 has a 5-megapixel rear-facing camera and a front-facing 1.2-megapixel camera. In the case of Nexus 10, the rear-facing camera is 5-megapixel and the front-facing camera is 1.3 megapixels. In both the cases, rear camera can shoot 1080p videos at 30fps. Thanks to LED flash, Google's tablet can capture images in the night. Neverthless, users are unlikely to capture photos with any tablet as quality is just avergae in both the cases.

Pricing

The iPad 4 starts at $499 for Wi-Fi-only model with 16GB of storage, $599 for 32GB, and $699 for 64GB. The LTE variants are priced at $629 for 16GB, $729 for 32GB, and $829 for 64GB model.

Nexus 10 is relatively inexpensive, costing $399 for 16GB and $499 for 32GB storage models.

Verdict

Nexus 10 with superb display and great hardware is the best performance deal, and it also wins on price. Android 4.2 is more secure and stable than any previous model. However, high-resolution apps are still missing from the Play Store. Apple, on the other side, has over 200,000 Retina-optimized apps in its portfolio. Given the large number of apps and accessories available for iPad 4, the extra $100 price for the entry-level model of the latest iPad is totally acceptable.