Google Nexus 10 vs iPad 4

Google Nexus 10 vs iPad 4
The Nexus 10 means Google now has Nexuses for every pocket - and budget

It's all very confusing in tablet land: one minute Apple's making ten-inch tablets while Google settles for sevens, and the next Apple's making iPad minis and Google's unveiling the Nexus 10.

With a display so good you'll be able to see ghosts, the Nexus is a serious bit of kit for a seriously good price - but is it good enough to beat the latest, greatest iPad, the iPad 4?

Google Nexus 10 vs iPad 4: UK price

The UK price for the Nexus 10 is £319 for the 16GB version and £389 for the 32GB version. The Wi-Fi-only iPad 4 starts at £399 for 16GB, £479 for 32GB and £559 for 64GB. The Wi-Fi + Cellular models are £499, £579 and £659 for 16GB, 32GB and 64GB respectively. Google doesn't currently offer 3G or 4G-enabled Nexus 10s.

Google Nexus 10 vs iPad 4: release date

iPad 4s will start arriving on the 2nd of November, while the Nexus 10 will be "available for purchase" on the 13th of November.

Google Nexus 10 vs iPad 4: content

The Nexus is integrated with Google Play and the iPad with the App Store, and while both services have stacks of apps - 700,000 for Apple and Google alike - Apple's offering has more dedicated tablet apps.

From November 13, the same day the Nexus 10 goes on sale, UK Nexus users will be able to access the Play Music service, which has previously been US-only.

Google Play

Google's Play Music goes live for UK users on the same day the Nexus 10 goes on sale

Google Nexus 10 vs iPad 4: display

The Nexus 10's screen is the main selling point here: its 10-inch panel runs at 2560 x 1600, achieving a screen resolution of 300ppi. That's far in excess of Apple's resolution, which delivers 2048 x 1536 and 264ppi. The Nexus 10 is a 16:9 display while the iPad is 4:3.

iPad 4

The iPad's retina display is no longer the King of Pixels: the Nexus 10 has a higher ppi

Google Nexus 10 vs iPad 4: processor

The Nexus 10 sports a dual-core Samsung Exynos processor with a quad-core ARM T604 graphics processor. The iPad has Apple's own A6X processor, a dual-core design with quad-core graphics.

Google Nexus 10 vs Apple iPad 4: memory

The Nexus 10 has 2GB of RAM. Apple doesn't publish specifications, but the iPad 4 is believed to have 1GB.

Google Nexus 10 vs Apple iPad 4: operating system

The Nexus 10 runs Android 4.2, aka Jelly Bean. The iPad 4 runs Apple's iOS 6.

Android Jelly Bean

As you'd expect from Google kit, the Nexus 10 runs the very latest version of Android

Google Nexus 10 vs iPad 4: storage

The Nexus 10 is available with storage capacities of 16GB or 32GB, while the iPad comes in 16GB, 32GB and 64GB versions. Both devices need some of that capacity for the operating system, and neither device has a card slot for additional storage.

Google Nexus 10 vs iPad 4: cameras, sensors and speakers

The Nexus 10 has a 1.9MP camera on the front and a 5MP camera on the rear, while the iPad 4 has 1.2MP on the front and 5MP on the back. iPad cameras are flash-free, whereas the Nexus 10 has an LED flash. The Nexus 10 has stereo speakers and the iPad 4 a single speaker.

The Nexus 10 has an accelerometer, a compass, an ambient light sensor and a gyroscope, as does the iPad, but only the Nexus has a barometer. It isn't there to predict the weather: it's to identify your altitude for better GPS performance.

Both tablets have twin cameras: one for photography and video, and one for video calls

Google Nexus 10 vs iPad 4: battery life

The Nexus 10 has a 9000mAh battery, promising 9 hours of video or 7 hours of web browsing. Apple reckons you'll get 10 hours of web, video or music, and nine hours of browsing using mobile phone networks.

Google Nexus 10 vs iPad 4: network

The Nexus 10 has dual-band 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi with MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output), but there's no 3G or 4G version as yet; Apple's Wi-Fi + Cellular iPad supports both 3G and 4G LTE mobile data.

All iPad 4s also support dual-band 802.11n Wi-Fi on the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands, with support for channel bonding to achieve download speeds of up to 150Mbps. Both devices have Bluetooth 4.0, and the Nexus 10 also has NFC for Android Beam.

The Nexus 10 has built-in GPS, while the Wi-Fi iPad does without. The Wi-Fi + Cellular iPad 4 has GPS and GLONASS, the Russian alternative to GPS.

Google Nexus 10 vs iPad 4: dimensions and weight

The Nexus 10 is 263.9 x 166.6 x 8.9mm and weighs 603g. The iPad 4 is 241.2 x 185.7 x 9.4mm and 652g (662g for the Wi-Fi + Cellular model).

Nexus 10

The Nexus 10 may not be as pretty as an iPad 4, but it's a good bit cheaper
Carrie Marshall
Contributor

Writer, broadcaster, musician and kitchen gadget obsessive Carrie Marshall (Twitter) has been writing about tech since 1998, contributing sage advice and odd opinions to all kinds of magazines and websites as well as writing more than a dozen books. Her memoir, Carrie Kills A Man, is on sale now. She is the singer in Glaswegian rock band HAVR.