14 DAY TRIAL // When Google launched the highly anticipated Nexus 9, everybody seemed to agree the tablet will go on to compete head to head with the iPad Air 2 (and other iPad products) which coincidentally (or not) got unveiled a day afterwards.
But it appears Google didn’t intend to build an iPad killer after all. Its purposes were a little different or so claims head of Nexus 9 industrial design Alberto Villarreal who talked to Engadget. According to him, Google actually wanted to inspire its partners to create the perfect iPad “copycat?”
Google wants to show others how it’s done, tablet-wise
Villarreal sugar codes everything, but the message is pretty clear. He says Google wanted to accelerate the market of premium Android tablets, showing device makers what can be done in terms of high-end slates, so they can replicate and hopefully innovate.
With the Nexus 9, the search giant is taking another approach. So far, the Nexus tablet lineup has been known for offering good specs at affordable prices, but that all changed with the advent of the new slate.
This time Google is taking its tablet endeavors down the premium road, so it has turned to HTC – a company that has experience with creating devices that look good and feel good.
HTC and Google worked in close proximity to design the tablet, but the end results doesn’t look like anything the Taiwanese device maker has ever produced.
Actually, the Nexus 9 tablet looks like a larger version of the Nexus 5, which Villarreal helped design as well. But the Nexus 9 looks a lot better, due to the infusion of aluminum.
Google experimented a lot with the Nexus 9
The idea of building an all-metal tablet was thrown around at some point, but didn’t really stick around as the design team opted for a layered approach, where the aluminum frame would provide stability and rigidity while the polycarbonate would ensure the tablet is easy to grip. It also opened the door for more color options.
Early in the design stages, Google and HTC toyed around with various form factors.
At some point we weren't sure if the tech giant was working on the Nexus 8 or the Nexus 9, but the team decided to make it an 8.9-inch device in the end, so as to place it between larger tabs as the iPad Air / Nexus 10 and smaller ones like the iPad mini / Nexus 7.
The Nexus 9 has been constructed to be both a productive tool (it packs the NVIDIA Tegra K1 64-bit processor and is offered with additional accessories like a keyboard cover) and an entertainment device (it has a great screen with 2048 x 1536 pixel resolution).
Villarreal mentioned the tablet was built with Android 5.0 Lollipop in mind, so his team worked in close proximity with the software team, which proved to be a ripe collaboration.
Google might not view the Nexus 9 as an iPad-killer, but one can’t be blamed for stating the obvious. With a $399 / €313 starting price, the tablet goes on to compete with the iPad mini 3 and the older version of the iPad Air.
Certainly, the Nexus 9 brings a lot of perks to the tablet and a cheaper price than the iPad Air 2 might be just the cherry on top.