Ten years ago today, Google released the 2nd-generation Nexus 7, just days after a surprise announcement. Back then, Android tablets still felt fresh and exciting. It seemed like anything was possible, and things could only improve from there. Well, we know what happened next. But the depressing state of the tablet market to come was in no way the fault of the Nexus 7. In fact, this is still one of the best Android tablets ever made, and it’s worth looking back and showing it the honor and respect it deserves.
I loved my Nexus 7. The rubbery silicone back of the tablet made it the most comfortable device I have ever held. Meanwhile my laptop and phone made of glass and metal making them cold and slippery
Nexus One was the highest build quality Android I ever owned. I miss HTC.
The touch screen got wonky from time to time and the power button ribbon tended to wear out.
N5 was the sweet spot for me.
True, I forgot about the power button dying and needing to hack in trackball wake.
Never had screen issues.
The Nexus 7’s data storage became extremely slow after a while. The device became completely unusable.
A short while after the Nexus 7, many mobile phones screen got bigger, so the 7-inch screen size became sort of obsolete.
I still have it and still use it occasionally. But yes, performance is often bad. Always suspected it was the storage but couldn’t understand why or how it could become slower over time. Because I don’t remember it being this slow when it was new. I also thought it was the new android updates that came out over time.
I had the same issue. The Nexus program was cool for making subsidized, hackable devices available to the masses running pure Android. But the manufacturers seem to have taken a lot of shortcuts with components. Both my Nexus 7 and Nexus 6P (two of them!) eventually failed, and I got a pretty big class action payout for the 6P failing
How much did you get for the class action lawsuit? I took the free upgrade to a Pixel XL like a chump.
I don’t actually remember, it might have been $300-400 for mine since I filed a claim years after the first one overheated and failed, and after already receiving a warranty replacement (which later also failed). Getting a Pixel XL sounds like a good deal!
My Nexus 7 still lives and it’s running Android 12. I use it for mostly YouTube these days.
Have you had to do anything to the hardware to get it to keep up? I was using mine as my bedside device up until about a year ago when it got too slow
Nope, just installed Lineage OS. To be clear its the 2nd gen, my 1st gen is worthless, Asus cheeped out on the flash and it degraded rapidly.
Lineage is not perfect, there are little bugs and I have to reboot youtube every now and then, but for just watching video’s its good enough.
The nexus 7 was siesmic in the android tablet market at the time.
Previously, your choices were iPad, equally expensive (but often lacking) android tablets (galaxy tab, moto xoom), or really rather crap cheap offerings (I had a 7" resistive archos that cost me £70…I wish I hadn’t spent the money).
When Google released the N7, it was a big change. It was a small tablet, with enough grunt, a good IPS screen, cohesive software, and was £150.
The fire-sale of the HP touchpad, imho, kicked google off on this. It made google realise that there was a market for a decent android tablet at a lower price point.
I still have my Nexus 5 somewhere in a drawer, and it’s still my favorite phone ever. Time from time I pick it up, and I get reminded of how good it felt to hold it in the hand. It’s so light. The buttons are at the right place.
I wish they made phones with the same form factor again.
The first phone with Material Design UI, surely felt diffrerent. Although every “premium tier” phone back then would be cheap and plastic by today’s standard.
Oh I meant literally the physical shell of the phone. I actually prefer the slightly grippy, rubbery plastic feel of the Nexus 5 and Nexus 7.
