Nexus 9 vs iPad Mini 3 Comparison: Review of Specs, Features - No Clear Winner

The Nexus 9 is designed to appeal to those who want a slightly larger tablet than the iPad Mini 3 but do not want the iPad Air 2. But when it comes to a showdown between the iPad Mini 3 and the Nexus 9, there is no clear winner.

Starting with design, the Nexus 9 is very much like its predecessors. It has large bezels, speakers in front, a metallic rim and a rubberized back panel. Compared to this, the iPad Mini 3 features design elements that are typically associated with Apple including a metallic body and Touch ID button.

Comparing their sizes, the Nexus 9 is slightly larger in height as it measures 8.98 inches compared to the 7.87 inches of the iPad Mini 3. When it comes to weight and thinness, the iPad Mini 3 easily beats the Nexus 9.

In terms of display, the Nexus 9 has a larger 8.9-inch IPS LCD screen with a resolution of 2,048 x 1,536 and a pixel density of 281 pixels per inch. The iPad Mini 3 has a smaller 7.9-inch Retina LCD screen with a resolution of 2,048 x 1,536 pixels and a pixel density of 324 pixels per inch. This means that both tablets have screens that do not fare well when compared to smartphones and phablets.

As for specs, the Nexus 9 has on board the Nvidia Tegra K1 chip, a dual-core Denver CPU clocked at 2.3 GHz and a Kepler DX1 GPU. Compared to this, the iPad Mini 3 has the Apple A7 chip along with a dual-core Cyclone CPU clocked at1.3 GHz and a PowerVR G6430 GPU. The Nexus 9 has 2 GB of RAM while the iPad Mini 3 has 1 GB.

Finally in terms of price, both the starting versions of the Nexus 9 and the iPad Mini 3 are priced at $400.