Google Debuts The HTC-Made Nexus 9 Android Tablet

Google has a new Nexus tablet, and it’s a 9-inch slate, built by HTC — a company that’s an unusual choice, given the ample field of OEMs available. The Taiwanese gadget-maker got out of the tablet game a few years ago, but now it’s back with a 9-inch Nexus special that looks kind of like an oversized Nexus 5, albeit with an brushed-metal aluminum rim in place of the Nexus 5’s entirely soft-touch exterior.

The Nexus 9 boasts an 8.9-inch display, with 2048 x 1440 resolution (not quite up to the iPad mini in terms of pixel density), 4:3 aspect ratio (as opposed to the Nexus 7’s widescreen dimensions) and is only 0.31-inches thick, which is just a hair thicker than the iPad mini. It’s powered by an Nvidia Tegra K1 chip (which should be good news based on our review of the Shield Tablet) and it has 2GB of RAM, plus both 16 and 32GB storage options. There’s an 8 megapixel camera on the back, and a 1.6 megapixel shooter on the front.

Google’s Nexus 9 goes up for pre-order on October 17th, and should hit the shelves on November 3rd. The 16GB model will go for $400, the 32GB model for $480, and a 32GB model with LTE built in will set you back $600.

The Nexus 9 comes powered by the latest edition of Android, which was previewed at I/O earlier this year as ‘Android L,’ but which will be called Lollipop for the official public launch.