The sensor in the iPad Air 2 is also new, and performs better in low light conditions as well as improving the overall image quality of your snaps.
The Nexus 9's camera has also seen improvements compared to its predecessor, the Nexus 7. It comes with an 8MP rear camera and a 1.6MP front-facing snapper.
Once again the Nexus 9 appears to come out on top when comparing specs on paper, yet Apple's behind the scenes tweaking keeps the iPad Air 2 competitive.
Battery
Apple hasn't officially released details of the iPad Air 2's battery but its battery life of 10 hours web browsing matches that of the original iPad Air. Considering that the iPad Air 2 has a thinner body than its predecessor (which could necessitate a smaller battery), the fact that there's no impact on battery life is commendable.
In our review of the iPad Air 2 we found that running a full HD 90-minute video at full screen brightness dropped the iPad Air 2's battery by 21%.
In standby, the battery dropped just 2% over a few hours, showing that Apple has worked hard to make sure apps don't drain the tablet's battery when not in use.
While we don't know the exact capacity of the iPad Air 2 at the moment, the original iPad Air's battery had a capacity of 8,826 mAh, and we're guessing the iPad Air 2 will have something around that ballpark.
We haven't had a chance to run our battery benchmarks on the Nexus 9, but luckily HTC has been more forthcoming about the details of the battery found in its latest tablet.
It comes with a 6,700 mAh battery, a drastic increase over the 3,950 mAh found in the Nexus 7, though quite a bit lower than the original iPad Air's battery capacity. According to Google this will provide the Nexus 9 with 9.5 hours of battery life.
CPU/RAM
With the iPad Air 2, Apple has returned to creating customised versions of the processors found in its latest iPhones. The iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus come with the A8 processor, and the iPad Air 2 comes with a custom A8X processor.
Apple says it delivers up to 40% better CPU performance, and up to 2.5 times the GPU performance of the A7 processor found in the original iPad Air.
Apple has been typically quiet on the specifics of the A8X processor, though we do know that it is 64-bit. Recent benchmarks have given us a few more details about Apple's processor including the fact that it appears to have three cores that run at 1.5GHz.
Apple never discloses how much RAM its devices are using, though we do know that the iPad Air (along with the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus) all come with 1GB, which is rather small for modern tablets.
We were expecting the iPad Air 2 to come with a similar amount, so it was a nice surprise when the same benchmarks revealed that it actually comes with 2GB of RAM.
The CPU in the Nexus 9 is the very powerful Nvidia K1. This 64-bit chipset is particularly good at graphical performance and it makes Android 5.0 Lollipop run fast and smooth. The Nvidia K1 is dual core, which is one less core than the iPad Air 2, but clocked at a faster 2.3GHz. Like the iPad Air 2, the Nexus 9 comes with 2GB of RAM.
Price
The iPad Air 2 is a flagship product with a flagship price to match. The cheapest model you can get is for the 16GB Wi-Fi version for £399 ($499, AU$598), rising by £80 ($100, AU$100) for 64GB and the same again for 128GB. If you want the cellular model that starts at £499 ($629, AU$749), once again the increments are an extra £80 ($100, AU$100) to 64GB and then again to 128GB.
The Nexus 9 will cost £319 ($399, around AU$449) for the 16GB Wi-Fi version with the 32GB Wi-Fi version setting you back £399 ($479, around AU$539). A cellular 32GB version is also planned for £459 ($599, around AU$673).
Unlike some Android tablets you won't be able to expand the internal memory of the Nexus 9 with a microSD card, so if you want more storage space, then you're going to have to go for the more expensive version. A very Apple-like decision.
Early verdict
The Nexus 9 is an Android tablet with its clear goal as a flagship tablet to rival the iPad Air 2 - and if not, be the tablet that inspires the next line of iPad 'killers' from the Android army.
The Nexus 9 is due to launch at the beginning of November, and you can head to our review to see our in-depth findings. However on paper its specs compare very well with Apple's tablet, and in some cases surpass it.
But specs aren't everything, and Apple has worked hard to give the iPad Air 2 some seriously impressive features. Apple's expertise in both hardware and software makes the iPad Air 2 a formidable opponent.
The Nexus 9 might not quite be able to topple the iPad Air 2 from its position as the best tablet money can buy, but it's an excellent Android alternative to Apple's flagship device.
- What do we think about the iPad Air 2 and the Google Nexus 9 in more detail?
