Summary
- Google has released a number of tablets over the years, but none have quite lived up to the hype of the original Nexus 7.
- Google’s 2012 Nexus 7 was built by Asus — it ran on the Nvidia Tegra 3 processor, and it shipped with Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean.
- It’s time for Google to get back into the mini tablet market and release a modern-day Pixel Tablet Mini.
Over the years, Google has released a number of tablet-style devices under its Nexus and Pixel hardware brands. The tech giant is notorious for wavering in its tablet strategy, frequently switching between Android, ChromeOS, miniature screens, and expansive ones when conceiving of and adjusting the course of its product endeavors.
Most recently, Google has re-prioritized Android on tablets, releasing its own Pixel Tablet to market in 2023. While the device has achieved some level of success, and its unique charging speaker dock solution is a genuinely great idea, the company has failed to capture the spirit of excitement that characterized its original Nexus 7 tablet from back in 2012.
Nexus 7 (2012)
Google’s first attempt at crafting a mini-sized Android tablet, the 2012 Nexus 7 was built by Asus and featured a 7-inch display, an Nvidia Tegra 3 processor, and 1 GB of RAM.
- Storage
- 8, 16, 32 GB
- Operating System
- Android 4.1.2 (Jelly Bean)
- Display type
- 7-inch 800 x 1280 LCD
- SoC
- Nvidia Tegra 3
- RAM
- 1 GB
Nexus 7 (2013)
Google’s second attempt at crafting a mini-sized Android tablet, the 2013 Nexus 7 was built by Asus and featured a 7-inch display, a Snapdragon S4 Pro processor, and 2 GB of RAM.
- Storage
- 16, 32 GB
- Operating System
- Android 4.3 (Jelly Bean)
- Display type
- 7-inch 1200 x 1920 LCD
- SoC
- Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro
- RAM
- 2 GB
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Google caught lightning in a bottle with the original Nexus 7
The Nexus 7 was the right tablet at the right time
Simply put, the original 2012 Nexus 7 is an iconic piece of tech history. The tablet epitomizes the ‘mini’ 7-inch tablet craze of the early 2010s, at a time when both mobile hardware and software were rapidly evolving on a year-by-year basis.
Mini tablets were a compelling form factor at the time, as, on average, smartphone displays were rather small by today’s standards. A 7-inch slab made for a far greater multimedia and content consumption experience than a 3.5-inch or 4-inch handset. Google knowingly jumped into the product category with the intent of cracking into what was clearly a burgeoning market.
Simply put, the original 2012 Nexus 7 is an iconic piece of tech history.
Looking back at the Nexus 7 today, its hardware package is rather unassuming. With its 7-inch display, the tablet is both physically small at 7.81 x 4.72 x 0.41-inches (198.5 x 120 x 10.5 mm), and lightweight at 11.99 oz (340 g). The device’s rear panel is made of a soft-touch plastic with a supple dotted pattern for extra grip.
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Even though the chassis is entirely made of plastic, the product doesn’t feel cheap. There’s no creaking, the volume rocker and power button are clicky and tactile, and my own unit feels every bit as solid today as it did at launch over a decade ago.
Internally, the hardware is incredibly outdated by 2025 standards. The quad-core Nvidia Tegra 3 processor and single GB of RAM, the low-resolution 800 x 1280 pixel LCD panel, the lack of a rear camera, and the 8GB, 16GB, or 32GB of non-expandable internal storage all leave something to be desired.
The Nexus 7 was simply an excellent deal in 2012, providing more than enough computational grunt for streaming content.
However, when placed in the context of its original market release, and with an affordable base price of $200 (roughly $266 adjusted for inflation), it starts to make sense why the Nexus 7 is remembered so fondly all these years later.
The Nexus 7 was simply an excellent deal in 2012, providing more than enough computational grunt for streaming content, downloading apps from the Google Play Store, and playing then-current mobile games.
It’s clean and bloat-free ‘stock’ Android experience — complete with timely OS updates directly from Google — was the icing on top of an already delicious Jelly Bean-flavored cake.
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Mini tablets are the best tablets
‘Phablet’ handsets are a sorry excuse of a compromise
Pocket-lint / Google / Asus
In the years since the 7-inch tablet boom of the early 2010s, a lot has changed within the mobile industry. Spearheaded by Samsung’s Galaxy Note line and the introduction of ‘phablet’ (tablet-sized phone) devices, the demand for miniature tablets plummeted.
These days, modern handsets feature big and bright displays that are more than serviceable for your average YouTube and Netflix binge session. Larger-screened tablets in the 11-inch to 13-inch range, which today make up the entirety of the mainstream tablet market, offer significantly more display real estate, differentiating them from the sea of XL-sized smartphones.
…the small-screen tablet remains my favorite size class in the entire product category, and it’s not even close.
Nevertheless, the small-screen tablet remains my favorite size class in the entire product category, and it’s not even close. Putting aside my love for cute and compact tech packages, mini tablets are just more fun to operate than their larger kin. They offer displays that are an ideal size for content consumption, note-taking, reading, web browsing, and even mobile gaming.
It should also be said that I’m not the biggest fan of XL-sized smartphones, which undoubtedly influences my outlook. Sure, 6.8-inch phones offer an expansive visual experience, but they come at the cost of one-handed usability, pocketability, and overall comfort. I long for the days of more compact handsets, paired together with more compact tablets.
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The iPad mini is in serious need of competition
Mini-sized Android tablets have growth potential in 2025
Currently, there’s only one viable miniature tablet on the market, and it’s Apple’s ever-popular iPad mini. Despite Steve Jobs’ original apprehension, the company launched the mini to massive mainstream appeal in 2012.
There was a period of time in which competing 7-inch and 8-inch tablets were aplenty, running on either Android or Windows 8. This trend has all but died out, but the iPad mini is living proof that there remains a market for truly compact tablet devices.
…the time is right for the company to resurrect its most iconic tablet of all time.
That’s where Google and its iconic Nexus 7 comes in — the tech giant has spent years building up its consumer hardware efforts, and the time is right for the company to resurrect its most iconic tablet of all time. A Pixel Tablet Mini, complete with a charging speaker dock of its own, would be an instant purchase from my perspective.
If Google were to release a miniature Pixel tablet with reasonable internals (and at an aggressive price point), the one-two punch of Nexus 7 nostalgia and the promise of clean and up-to-date Android software would simply be impossible to pass up on.
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