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I think 2013 is one of the years when 7-inch media-consumptive tablets were coming out like crazy on the tablet market. Google Nexus 7 (2013) and Asus MemoPad 7 HD are 2 of them. I’ve actually already made the comparison review between the first-gen Google Nexus 7 and Asus MemoPad 7 HD before. And in that review, Google’s tablet came out in the first place as the best gaming tablet against Asus MemoPad 7 HD.
(Google Nexus 7 (2013) vs Asus MemoPad 7 HD Specs Comparison)
However, despite being a less powerful tablet, there is actually still plenty of great things to appreciate from this Asus’ slate, like its gorgeous colorful display and 2 of the things that cannot be found on Google Nexus 7 (2012); a rear-facing camera and microSD card slot.
That’s the reason why today, I would like to make another comparison review involving these 2 devicees.
But of course, the Google Nexus 7 that I’m about to pit side-by-side with Asus MemoPad 7 HD here is the second-gen model, the one with Snapdragon S4 Pro quad-core processor in it.
So if you want to find out how the comparison between these 2 tablets goes, as well as my take on their gaming performances, then here check this one out, my comparison review between Google Nexus 7 (2013) and Asus MemoPad 7 HD.
Hope you like it!
Introduction
When the first-generation of Google Nexus 7 got announced, everyone at Google I/O conference was really impressed a lot with this tablet.
It had a fast processor, sharp 720p display, smooth experience and it’s also great for playing heavy 3D games.
After having a huge success over that first-gen model, Google and Asus teamed up again to bring the new revamped version of that tablet, the second-gen Google Nexus 7 in 2013.
And as everyone has expected, yes, this sequel model brought a lot of upgrades here and there on the hardware and software.
Not to mention, it’s also now got a rear-facing camera, the one thing that was missing on the first-gen model.
Anyway, besides partnering with Google to make the second-gen Google Nexus 7, in the same July of 2013, Asus actually also came up with a tablet of its own under Asus MemoPad series.
And that was Asus MemoPad 7 HD.
And as the name of this tablet suggests, Asus MemoPad 7 HD indeed is a 7-inch tablet sporting the HD 720p display.
However, the screen is actually not the only one that stands out from this tablet. There’s more.
It has a pretty good camera, it’s got microSD card slot for up to 32GB and its UI also brings more attractive visual interface and useful features compared to the stock Android UI of Google Nexus 7.
Unfortunately, despite having a gorgeous display, a good rear-facing camera and expandable storage, Asus MemoPad 7 HD still leaves a lot to be desired when it comes to gaming performance, especially compared to Google Nexus 7.
So there are some questions remaining.
With all of the great things found on each of these tablets, which one between Google Nexus 7 (2013) and Asus MemoPad 7 HD that deserves to be the best gaming tablet in this review?
Which one is a better tablet in the whole aspect?
Is it worth it to buy any of these tablets, especially for playing today’s heavy 3D games?
Well, you’re about to find out the answers of these 3 little questions right at the end of this review.
So stay tuned!
As far as the design goes, Google Nexus 7 is definitely the one that comes out as the winner here against Asus MemoPad 7 HD.
And that’s because this Google’s tablet has a nicer looking design and its soft-touch matte finish is also really comfortable to hold in the hands, as told by many tech reviewers on YouTube.
On the other hand, according to what I’ve seen on CNET's video review on YouTube, the design of Asus MemoPad 7 HD looks a bit ugly, mostly 'thanks' to its cheap-looking glossy plastic finish. Its build quality is also not very good.
On the top and bottom sides, there are some weird sharp edges that feel really uncomfortable to hold in the hands, which totally ruins the experience of using this tablet.
However, the ugly design of Asus MemoPad 7 HD is still acceptable especially because it is a cheap tablet that cost $150 when it first came out in 2013.
So between the 2, of course, I will go with Google Nexus 7 because I think its design has its own characteristics than the design of Asus MemoPad 7 HD, which looks kind of generic similar just like any other regular counterparts out there on the market.
And it also feels great with a good grip, making it really comfortable to hold. So I believe that's more than enough to make Google Nexus 7 a better looking tablet than Asus MemoPad 7 HD.
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As the second-gen model of this series, the 2013 edition of Google Nexus 7 of course brings a lot of improvements here and there on the hardware and software.
The most noticeable difference here between this new model with its predecessor is definitely its screen, which now sports full HD 1080p resolution, as opposed to the predecessor that only comes with 720p HD resolution display.
On the sector of hardware, this new Google Nexus 7 is also more powerful than the previous-gen model.
It comes with a powerful but more efficient Snapdragon S4 Pro quad-core processor, bigger 2GB of RAM, better Adreno 320 GPU, newer build of Android OS, longer battery life and not to mention, it’s now equipped with a rear-facing 5MP camera, which is nowhere to be found on the first-gen model.
Meanwhile, as a budget tablet priced at just $150 in its first launch, Asus MemoPad 7 HD features a 7-inch screen sporting the HD 720p resolution, 1GB of RAM, Mediatek MTK8125 processor, PowerVR SGX544 GPU, 5MP rear-facing camera, 1.2MP front-facing camera and it also comes pre-installed with heavily-customized UI.
Not to mention, there's also expandable storage via microSD card slot for up to 32GB on this Asus' tablet, the one area where Google Nexus 7 cannot compete.
If there’s one thing that Google Nexus 7 is more superior at than Asus MemoPad 7 HD, then it’s definitely its screen.
Google Nexus 7 comes with a 7-inch display with 1080p resolution (1920x1200 pixels), as opposed to the lower-resolution 720p display found on Asus MemoPad 7 HD.
So when it comes to screen sharpness, of course, Google Nexus 7’s screen looks much sharper than Asus MemoPad 7 HD.
But impressively, despite using a lower-resolution 720p display, according to CNET’s video review, the 7-inch screen of Asus MemoPad 7 HD looks really gorgeous with great color saturation. So the colors look popping out and the sharpness is also pretty good on this device, if not the best.
On software side, we can totally see how Google Nexus 7 looks really different than Asus MemoPad 7 HD.
And that’s because this Google’s tablet comes pre-installed with pure stock Android UI, as opposed to Asus MemoPad 7 HD that uses heavily-customized UI that clearly looks more attractive and has more features like battery saving mode for example.
However, by using the stock Android UI, it actually gives a huge impact to the battery life of Google Nexus 7, which is why it lasts much longer than Asus MemoPad 7 HD.
And more amazingly, even with a smaller 3950mAh battery than the predecessor (4325mAh), Google Nexus 7 is still long lasting in moderate use.
I believe Google has done a great job in making the new build of Android OS more efficient with power consumption.
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When compared to Google Nexus 7 (2012) in my previous review (the one with Tegra 3), Asus MemoPad 7 HD was beaten up and even blown out of the water by this Google’s tablet in gaming performance.
I think there’s no chance for Asus MemoPad 7 HD to compete against this Google’s tablet especially on the sector that Google Nexus 7 is really good at - gaming.
And now we got the 2013 edition of Google Nexus 7 being compared with the same Asus MemoPad 7 HD tablet.
Of course, Asus MemoPad 7 HD, with the same old-gen hardware, stands no chance to go head-to-head against this Google Nexus 7 in gaming performance.
I’m not saying that Asus MemoPad 7 HD is really horrible for playing games (it actually is).
But compared to the new revamped Google Nexus 7, which surely has more horsepower for gaming than the predecessor, then it becomes much clearer for us to see that Asus MemoPad 7 HD is just not on the same level of performance with this Google’s tablet.
According to some benchmark tests held by some tech sites on the net, I found that Asus MemoPad 7 HD managed to score 3821 points in Quadrant, which was lower than the 5152 points grabbed by Google Nexus 7 (2013) in the same test.
Meanwhile, in 3D Mark Ice Storm benchmark, for the second time, Asus MemoPad 7 HD got beaten up again by Google Nexus 7 (2013) with 1570 points, compared to Google’s tablet that managed to claim significantly higher 7581 points.
And these benchmarks actually also represent themselves to the real world performances of both tablets, especially for gaming.
So based on what I’ve seen on some videos on YouTube, Asus MemoPad 7 HD really struggles a lot to perform well when used to play some heavy 3D games in full highest setting of graphics.
Some of the latest games were tested here, from GTA Vice City, GTA III, Dead Trigger and ShadowGun Deadzone.
And the results are, for playing GTA III, Dead Trigger and ShadowGun Deadzone, this Asus MemoPad 7 HD has no problem at all to execute these 3 games even in high graphics. Everything runs great and smooth with relatively good fps (frame rate per second).
And I’m not surprised about that because I know that the PowerVR SGX544 GPU found inside this Asus MemoPad 7 HD is still a pretty damn good GPU in its era. In fact, it is the same GPU found inside the iPhone 4 (if I’m not mistaken).
So no wonder if some heavy 3D games can be played well with this tablet.
Besides, Asus MemoPad 7 HD is powered by a Mediatek MTK8125 processor with the clock speed of 1.2GHz and it has 4 cores. So I can tell it's more than sufficient for gaming.
Unfortunately, when used to play the other much heavier games like GTA Vice City and NOVA 3, this Asus’ tablet starts showing its weakness in terms of performance.
These 2 games run really laggy and slow on Asus MemoPad 7 HD, and I also believe (from what I’ve seen) that they don’t even run in full highest graphics, only in medium graphics.
So I think it’s pretty obvious that this tablet will also suffer a lot to handle much higher-performing games like GTA San Andreas or Modern Combat 4 in full graphics, especially when knowing that these 2 games are really heavy in terms of graphics and special effects.
But the good thing is, GTA San Andreas provides the options to set the specific graphics and visual effects in this game to even the lowest level.
So I believe you can still play this game smoothly even on Asus MemoPad 7 HD, although in medium or low graphics setting.
The same applies to Modern Combat 4 that is also available in low-graphic version.
So even though there are some degradation of graphics and visual effects like fire or reflections, the most importantly is, you’re still able to play this game in full and the most importantly, in buttery smooth performance.
On the other hand, the 2013 edition of Google Nexus 7 is of course on the better position here compared to Asus MemoPad 7 HD.
And that’s mostly thanks to its internals that are more than adequate to handle even the latest and most graphically demanding games on the market today.
I’ve actually already seen on YouTube about how this Google Nexus 7 performs for playing games.
So games like Dead Trigger 2, GTA Vice City, Need for Speed Most Wanted, Asphalt 4: Airborne, NOVA 3 and Modern Combat 4 or 5 and Real Racing 3, all can be played perfectly and smoothly on this Google Nexus 7 without any problem at all.
But I’m not surprised about that because under the hood, the second-generation of Google Nexus 7 (2013) runs on a powerful but more efficient processor than the one found inside the predecessor.
And the superiority of its gaming performance can be seen perfectly when the second-gen Google Nexus 7 handle Asphalt 8: Airborne in full highest graphics.
This game runs really smooth without any lag whatsoever.
Meanwhile, the first-gen Nexus 7 tablet, the one with Tegra 3 processor, actually is also capable to run this game in full highest graphics. However, this Asphalt 8: Airborne doesn’t run that smooth.
It’s not laggy by any means, but there are some framedrops seen during the gameplay, although not very significant.
Unfortunately though, despite being a better performer for gaming, Google Nexus 7 is actually not as powerful as other flagship tablets out there in 2013, like Amazon Kindle Fire HDX 7, HP Slate7 Extreme, Nvidia Tegra Note or HP Slate8 Pro.
And that can be seen when this Google’s tablet is thrown with GTA San Andreas in full highest graphics and visual effects.
So the game runs extremely laggy and pretty much it’s not playable in highest graphics. And I’ve seen this in the video review from one YouTuber named “Odde” (Chris Nacca).
But even so, between these tablets, of course, Google’s tablet is the one that comes out as the winner here in gaming performance.
It’s just way more powerful than Asus MemoPad 7 HD.
And it’s worth mentioning that this Google Nexus 7 comes with a much higher resolution display (1920x1200 pixels) than Asus MemoPad 7 HD (1280x800 pixels).
So playing games on Google Nexus 7 is definitely more immersive because everything in the games looks much even sharper than on Asus’ tablet.
However, there’s still one thing that, in my opinion, holds back this Google Nexus 7 from being a great gaming tablet. And that is the absence of microSD card slot.
So if you pick up the 16GB model, which only provides you around 12GB of free available storage, then you have a very limited storage space to keep all of your favorite games on this tablet, especially the heavy ones.
The good thing is, you can still go with the 32GB model as this variant gives you a lot bigger space to install many games.
On the other hand, despite having less powerful gaming performance, you can actually get a much bigger storage space out of the Asus MemoPad 7 HD as this tablet comes with expandable storage slot via microSD card for up to 32GB, to accompany its already-big 16GB of internal storage.
However, Asus MemoPad 7 HD is not a great gaming tablet compared to Google Nexus 7 (2013).
So I don’t think this tablet is ideal for you especially if you are a heavy gamer and looking for a reliable gaming tablet.
Google Nexus 7 (2013), on the other hand, is great and better definitely than Asus MemoPad 7 HD in gaming performance. But it’s not the best gaming tablet on the market right now.
There are some other better options like Nvidia Shield Tablet, Xiaomi MiPad, HP Slate7 Extreme, HP Slate8 Pro or Amazon Kindle Fire HDX 7 in mid/low-end tablet market.
One of the most noticeable differences between the first-gen Google Nexus 7 and the second-gen model is the existence of rear-facing camera.
So the 2013 edition of this Nexus 7 tablet comes with a 5MP rear-facing camera, as well as the 1.2MP camera on the front.
This really shows how Google really listened to the customers of the first-gen Google Nexus 7 before making the second-gen model.
Unfortunately, the rear-facing camera of Google Nexus 7 has nothing to write home about here, either in sharpness or overall quality.
So if you happen to love photography, you’re probably not gonna be blown away by the photo/video quality taken by its rear camera.
And it also doesn't have LED flash, so taking photos at night is definitely not very ideal to do.
Meanwhile, Asus MemoPad 7 HD features a 5MP camera on the back and 1.2MP front-facing shooter, which is similar with Google Nexus 7 with its 5MP rear camera and 1.2MP front camera.
However, in the real world quality, it’s actually Asus MemoPad 7 HD that has a better rear-facing camera than Google’s tablet.
So according to some respected video reviews on YouTube (PhoneArena, CNET), the 5MP rear-facing camera of Asus MemoPad 7 HD surprisingly is capable to take some decent quality photos and videos.
And what makes this amazing is, this tablet only cost $150 when it first came out in 2013, but it’s better in quality than the 5MP shooter on the back of Google Nexus 7, which cost more expensive in its first launch, $229.
So if you like taking photos or recording videos, then Asus MemoPad 7 HD is definitely the one that you should pick up here instead of Google Nexus 7.
The weird thing about the second-gen Google Nexus 7 is, this tablet is powered by a smaller capacity 3950mAh battery, as opposed to the bigger 4325mAh battery found inside the first-gen Google Nexus 7.
But impressively, even with a smaller battery, the 2013 edition of Google Nexus 7 still survives really long just like the predecessor.
So I believe Google has made some great tweaks and improvements on the Android 4.3 Jelly Bean on this tablet that magically boosts its battery life.
The use of Snapdragon S4 Pro quad-core processor on this tablet is also a great decision by Google/Asus because this processor is more efficient than the Tegra 3 processor found inside the first-gen Google Nexus 7.
So it can still deliver an outstanding performance even with 1080p display, without squeezing a lot of juice from its battery.
Anyway, according to some battery benchmark tests held by some tech sites, Google Nexus 7 is capable to last around 8 hours and 40 minutes in moderate use.
So you can expect this tablet to get you through the day without recharging.
Meanwhile, Asus MemoPad 7 HD with its Non-removable Li-Po battery is able to survive only in 6 hours and 10 minutes in moderate use.
But of course, if you use any of these devices mainly to play some heavy games or watching HD movies without resting the screen at all, then their battery lives probably only hit around 4 to 5 hours, which is pretty acceptable.
To end this comparison review, I’m gonna give you my final conclusion about these 2 tablets. Let me start with Google Nexus 7.
Okay, who doesn’t know Google Nexus 7?
It’s an amazing tablet with a gorgeous super-sharp display, great performance, and it’s also very efficient with the use of battery.
So basically, you can do a lot of things with this tablet, from watching movies, reading books/magazines, browsing the web, listening to music, checking out photos and of course, playing games.
Google Nexus 7 is definitely a great powerful device to play games. No doubt about that.
However, compared to other budget offerings on the market right now, like Nvidia Shield Tablet ($199), HP Slate7 Extreme ($170), Xiaomi MiPad 7.9 ($250), HP Slate8 Pro ($220) or Amazon Kindle Fire HDX 7 ($170), this Google Nexus 7 is definitely NOT on the same level of performance.
So if you want to get a much much better and more powerful gaming tablet that literally can handle any games, then I strongly recommend you to pick up other options like: Nvidia Shield Tablet, HP Slate8 Pro, HP Slate7 Extreme, Amazon Kindle Fire HDX 7 or Xiaomi Mi Pad.
But Google Nexus 7 is actually still better than Asus MemoPad 7 HD.
Despite having a gorgeous and colorful HD display, plus good cameras, this Asus’ tablet is very disappointing when it comes to gaming performance.
So for games like Modern Combat 4, NOVA 3, GTA Vice City or GTA San Andreas, there’s no chance for this Asus tablet to play these games perfectly and smoothly when set in full highest graphics.
They will just run slow and laggy.
But there are still some great things to appreciate from Asus MemoPad 7 HD, like its gorgeous HD display, decent cameras, attractive and more intuitive UI and it’s still capable to handle some older games like Dead Trigger, GTA III or ShadowGun Deadzone, even in full graphics.
Anyway, to end this review, let me answer some of the questions I’ve previously asked above:
Which one between Google Nexus 7 (2013) and Asus MemoPad 7 HD that deserves to be the best gaming tablet in this review?
Of course, it’s Google Nexus 7 (2013) without any single doubt.
But if you’re looking for a more reliable and powerful gaming tablet than Google Nexus 7, there are some great choices out there like Nvidia Shield Tablet ($199), HP Slate8 Pro ($220), HP Slate7 Extreme ($179), Amazon Kindle Fire HDX 7 ($179) or Xiaomi MiPad 7.9 ($250).
Which one is a better tablet in the whole aspect?
Between the 2, of course, it’s Google Nexus 7 that is better than Asus MemoPad 7 HD in the whole aspect.
It’s got a much sharper 1080p display, more powerful gaming performance, bigger 2GB of RAM, better looking design, longer battery life, quick software updates from Google and overall, it’s just better than Asus MemoPad 7 HD.
However, there’s still something that makes Asus MemoPad 7 HD a better tablet than Google Nexus 7.
And that is the existence of microSD card slot for up to 32GB, as opposed to Google’s tablet that has NO microSD card slot.
Is it worth it to buy any of these tablets, especially for playing today’s heavy 3D games?
Yes, it’s worth it, but only if you pick up Google Nexus 7 (2013), not Asus MemoPad 7 HD.
But then again, as mentioned above, Google Nexus 7 (2013) is not the best on the market when it comes to gaming performance. You can switch to other powerful options like Nvidia Shield Tablet with Tegra K1, Xiaomi MiPad 7.9 (Tegra K1), HP Slate8 Pro, HP Slate7 Extreme or Amazon Kindle Fire HDX 7.
Google Nexus 7 (2013)
Pros:
Asus MemoPad 7 HD
Pros:
Design
As far as the design goes, Google Nexus 7 is definitely the one that comes out as the winner here against Asus MemoPad 7 HD.
And that’s because this Google’s tablet has a nicer looking design and its soft-touch matte finish is also really comfortable to hold in the hands, as told by many tech reviewers on YouTube.
On the other hand, according to what I’ve seen on CNET's video review on YouTube, the design of Asus MemoPad 7 HD looks a bit ugly, mostly 'thanks' to its cheap-looking glossy plastic finish. Its build quality is also not very good.
On the top and bottom sides, there are some weird sharp edges that feel really uncomfortable to hold in the hands, which totally ruins the experience of using this tablet.
However, the ugly design of Asus MemoPad 7 HD is still acceptable especially because it is a cheap tablet that cost $150 when it first came out in 2013.
So between the 2, of course, I will go with Google Nexus 7 because I think its design has its own characteristics than the design of Asus MemoPad 7 HD, which looks kind of generic similar just like any other regular counterparts out there on the market.
And it also feels great with a good grip, making it really comfortable to hold. So I believe that's more than enough to make Google Nexus 7 a better looking tablet than Asus MemoPad 7 HD.
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| Google Nexus 7 (2013) | Asus MemoPad 7 HD |
|---|---|
| 4G LTE Micro-SIM Released 2013, July Weight 290 g (Wi-Fi), 299 g (LTE) (10.55 oz) 7.0 inch LED-backlit IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen, 1200 x 1920 pixels, (~323 ppi pixel density), 16M colors Quad-core 1.5 GHz Krait Qualcomm Snapdragon S4Pro Chipset Adreno 320 GPU 2 GB RAM Android OS, v4.3 (Jelly Bean), upgradable to v5.0 (Lollipop) 5 MP rear-facing camera, 2592 ? 1944 pixels, autofocus 1.2 MP front-facing camera No Memory Card slot 16/32 GB Internal storage GPRS EDGE NFC GPS HSPA+, LTE Wi-Fi 802.11 Bluetooth v4.0 microUSB v2.0 (SlimPort) No Radio Accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass Sensors No Java Non-removable Li-Ion 3950 mAh battery Up to 9 h (multimedia) Talk time | No SIM Released July 2013 7.0 inch IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen, 800 x 1280 pixels (~216 ppi pixel density) Quad-core Mediatek MT8125 1.2 GHz Cortex-A7 CPU PowerVR SGX544 GPU 1 GB RAM Android OS, v4.2 (Jelly Bean), upgradable to v4.2.2 (Jelly Bean) microSD card slot for up to 32 GB Internal 16 GB 5 MP rear-facing camera with autofocus 1.2 MP front-facing camera No GPRS No EDGE Wi-Fi 802.11 No Radio GPS Java MIDP emulator Bluetooth USB Non-removable Li-Po battery |
As the second-gen model of this series, the 2013 edition of Google Nexus 7 of course brings a lot of improvements here and there on the hardware and software.
The most noticeable difference here between this new model with its predecessor is definitely its screen, which now sports full HD 1080p resolution, as opposed to the predecessor that only comes with 720p HD resolution display.
On the sector of hardware, this new Google Nexus 7 is also more powerful than the previous-gen model.
It comes with a powerful but more efficient Snapdragon S4 Pro quad-core processor, bigger 2GB of RAM, better Adreno 320 GPU, newer build of Android OS, longer battery life and not to mention, it’s now equipped with a rear-facing 5MP camera, which is nowhere to be found on the first-gen model.
Meanwhile, as a budget tablet priced at just $150 in its first launch, Asus MemoPad 7 HD features a 7-inch screen sporting the HD 720p resolution, 1GB of RAM, Mediatek MTK8125 processor, PowerVR SGX544 GPU, 5MP rear-facing camera, 1.2MP front-facing camera and it also comes pre-installed with heavily-customized UI.
Not to mention, there's also expandable storage via microSD card slot for up to 32GB on this Asus' tablet, the one area where Google Nexus 7 cannot compete.
Screen
If there’s one thing that Google Nexus 7 is more superior at than Asus MemoPad 7 HD, then it’s definitely its screen.
Google Nexus 7 comes with a 7-inch display with 1080p resolution (1920x1200 pixels), as opposed to the lower-resolution 720p display found on Asus MemoPad 7 HD.
So when it comes to screen sharpness, of course, Google Nexus 7’s screen looks much sharper than Asus MemoPad 7 HD.
But impressively, despite using a lower-resolution 720p display, according to CNET’s video review, the 7-inch screen of Asus MemoPad 7 HD looks really gorgeous with great color saturation. So the colors look popping out and the sharpness is also pretty good on this device, if not the best.
User Interface
On software side, we can totally see how Google Nexus 7 looks really different than Asus MemoPad 7 HD.
And that’s because this Google’s tablet comes pre-installed with pure stock Android UI, as opposed to Asus MemoPad 7 HD that uses heavily-customized UI that clearly looks more attractive and has more features like battery saving mode for example.
However, by using the stock Android UI, it actually gives a huge impact to the battery life of Google Nexus 7, which is why it lasts much longer than Asus MemoPad 7 HD.
And more amazingly, even with a smaller 3950mAh battery than the predecessor (4325mAh), Google Nexus 7 is still long lasting in moderate use.
I believe Google has done a great job in making the new build of Android OS more efficient with power consumption.
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When compared to Google Nexus 7 (2012) in my previous review (the one with Tegra 3), Asus MemoPad 7 HD was beaten up and even blown out of the water by this Google’s tablet in gaming performance.
I think there’s no chance for Asus MemoPad 7 HD to compete against this Google’s tablet especially on the sector that Google Nexus 7 is really good at - gaming.
And now we got the 2013 edition of Google Nexus 7 being compared with the same Asus MemoPad 7 HD tablet.
Of course, Asus MemoPad 7 HD, with the same old-gen hardware, stands no chance to go head-to-head against this Google Nexus 7 in gaming performance.
I’m not saying that Asus MemoPad 7 HD is really horrible for playing games (it actually is).
But compared to the new revamped Google Nexus 7, which surely has more horsepower for gaming than the predecessor, then it becomes much clearer for us to see that Asus MemoPad 7 HD is just not on the same level of performance with this Google’s tablet.
According to some benchmark tests held by some tech sites on the net, I found that Asus MemoPad 7 HD managed to score 3821 points in Quadrant, which was lower than the 5152 points grabbed by Google Nexus 7 (2013) in the same test.
Meanwhile, in 3D Mark Ice Storm benchmark, for the second time, Asus MemoPad 7 HD got beaten up again by Google Nexus 7 (2013) with 1570 points, compared to Google’s tablet that managed to claim significantly higher 7581 points.
And these benchmarks actually also represent themselves to the real world performances of both tablets, especially for gaming.
So based on what I’ve seen on some videos on YouTube, Asus MemoPad 7 HD really struggles a lot to perform well when used to play some heavy 3D games in full highest setting of graphics.
Some of the latest games were tested here, from GTA Vice City, GTA III, Dead Trigger and ShadowGun Deadzone.
And the results are, for playing GTA III, Dead Trigger and ShadowGun Deadzone, this Asus MemoPad 7 HD has no problem at all to execute these 3 games even in high graphics. Everything runs great and smooth with relatively good fps (frame rate per second).
And I’m not surprised about that because I know that the PowerVR SGX544 GPU found inside this Asus MemoPad 7 HD is still a pretty damn good GPU in its era. In fact, it is the same GPU found inside the iPhone 4 (if I’m not mistaken).
So no wonder if some heavy 3D games can be played well with this tablet.
Besides, Asus MemoPad 7 HD is powered by a Mediatek MTK8125 processor with the clock speed of 1.2GHz and it has 4 cores. So I can tell it's more than sufficient for gaming.
Unfortunately, when used to play the other much heavier games like GTA Vice City and NOVA 3, this Asus’ tablet starts showing its weakness in terms of performance.
These 2 games run really laggy and slow on Asus MemoPad 7 HD, and I also believe (from what I’ve seen) that they don’t even run in full highest graphics, only in medium graphics.
So I think it’s pretty obvious that this tablet will also suffer a lot to handle much higher-performing games like GTA San Andreas or Modern Combat 4 in full graphics, especially when knowing that these 2 games are really heavy in terms of graphics and special effects.
But the good thing is, GTA San Andreas provides the options to set the specific graphics and visual effects in this game to even the lowest level.
So I believe you can still play this game smoothly even on Asus MemoPad 7 HD, although in medium or low graphics setting.
The same applies to Modern Combat 4 that is also available in low-graphic version.
So even though there are some degradation of graphics and visual effects like fire or reflections, the most importantly is, you’re still able to play this game in full and the most importantly, in buttery smooth performance.
On the other hand, the 2013 edition of Google Nexus 7 is of course on the better position here compared to Asus MemoPad 7 HD.
And that’s mostly thanks to its internals that are more than adequate to handle even the latest and most graphically demanding games on the market today.
I’ve actually already seen on YouTube about how this Google Nexus 7 performs for playing games.
So games like Dead Trigger 2, GTA Vice City, Need for Speed Most Wanted, Asphalt 4: Airborne, NOVA 3 and Modern Combat 4 or 5 and Real Racing 3, all can be played perfectly and smoothly on this Google Nexus 7 without any problem at all.
But I’m not surprised about that because under the hood, the second-generation of Google Nexus 7 (2013) runs on a powerful but more efficient processor than the one found inside the predecessor.
And the superiority of its gaming performance can be seen perfectly when the second-gen Google Nexus 7 handle Asphalt 8: Airborne in full highest graphics.
This game runs really smooth without any lag whatsoever.
Meanwhile, the first-gen Nexus 7 tablet, the one with Tegra 3 processor, actually is also capable to run this game in full highest graphics. However, this Asphalt 8: Airborne doesn’t run that smooth.
It’s not laggy by any means, but there are some framedrops seen during the gameplay, although not very significant.
Unfortunately though, despite being a better performer for gaming, Google Nexus 7 is actually not as powerful as other flagship tablets out there in 2013, like Amazon Kindle Fire HDX 7, HP Slate7 Extreme, Nvidia Tegra Note or HP Slate8 Pro.
And that can be seen when this Google’s tablet is thrown with GTA San Andreas in full highest graphics and visual effects.
So the game runs extremely laggy and pretty much it’s not playable in highest graphics. And I’ve seen this in the video review from one YouTuber named “Odde” (Chris Nacca).
But even so, between these tablets, of course, Google’s tablet is the one that comes out as the winner here in gaming performance.
It’s just way more powerful than Asus MemoPad 7 HD.
And it’s worth mentioning that this Google Nexus 7 comes with a much higher resolution display (1920x1200 pixels) than Asus MemoPad 7 HD (1280x800 pixels).
So playing games on Google Nexus 7 is definitely more immersive because everything in the games looks much even sharper than on Asus’ tablet.
However, there’s still one thing that, in my opinion, holds back this Google Nexus 7 from being a great gaming tablet. And that is the absence of microSD card slot.
So if you pick up the 16GB model, which only provides you around 12GB of free available storage, then you have a very limited storage space to keep all of your favorite games on this tablet, especially the heavy ones.
The good thing is, you can still go with the 32GB model as this variant gives you a lot bigger space to install many games.
On the other hand, despite having less powerful gaming performance, you can actually get a much bigger storage space out of the Asus MemoPad 7 HD as this tablet comes with expandable storage slot via microSD card for up to 32GB, to accompany its already-big 16GB of internal storage.
However, Asus MemoPad 7 HD is not a great gaming tablet compared to Google Nexus 7 (2013).
So I don’t think this tablet is ideal for you especially if you are a heavy gamer and looking for a reliable gaming tablet.
Google Nexus 7 (2013), on the other hand, is great and better definitely than Asus MemoPad 7 HD in gaming performance. But it’s not the best gaming tablet on the market right now.
There are some other better options like Nvidia Shield Tablet, Xiaomi MiPad, HP Slate7 Extreme, HP Slate8 Pro or Amazon Kindle Fire HDX 7 in mid/low-end tablet market.
Cameras
One of the most noticeable differences between the first-gen Google Nexus 7 and the second-gen model is the existence of rear-facing camera.
So the 2013 edition of this Nexus 7 tablet comes with a 5MP rear-facing camera, as well as the 1.2MP camera on the front.
This really shows how Google really listened to the customers of the first-gen Google Nexus 7 before making the second-gen model.
Unfortunately, the rear-facing camera of Google Nexus 7 has nothing to write home about here, either in sharpness or overall quality.
So if you happen to love photography, you’re probably not gonna be blown away by the photo/video quality taken by its rear camera.
And it also doesn't have LED flash, so taking photos at night is definitely not very ideal to do.
Meanwhile, Asus MemoPad 7 HD features a 5MP camera on the back and 1.2MP front-facing shooter, which is similar with Google Nexus 7 with its 5MP rear camera and 1.2MP front camera.
However, in the real world quality, it’s actually Asus MemoPad 7 HD that has a better rear-facing camera than Google’s tablet.
So according to some respected video reviews on YouTube (PhoneArena, CNET), the 5MP rear-facing camera of Asus MemoPad 7 HD surprisingly is capable to take some decent quality photos and videos.
And what makes this amazing is, this tablet only cost $150 when it first came out in 2013, but it’s better in quality than the 5MP shooter on the back of Google Nexus 7, which cost more expensive in its first launch, $229.
So if you like taking photos or recording videos, then Asus MemoPad 7 HD is definitely the one that you should pick up here instead of Google Nexus 7.
Battery Life
The weird thing about the second-gen Google Nexus 7 is, this tablet is powered by a smaller capacity 3950mAh battery, as opposed to the bigger 4325mAh battery found inside the first-gen Google Nexus 7.
But impressively, even with a smaller battery, the 2013 edition of Google Nexus 7 still survives really long just like the predecessor.
So I believe Google has made some great tweaks and improvements on the Android 4.3 Jelly Bean on this tablet that magically boosts its battery life.
The use of Snapdragon S4 Pro quad-core processor on this tablet is also a great decision by Google/Asus because this processor is more efficient than the Tegra 3 processor found inside the first-gen Google Nexus 7.
So it can still deliver an outstanding performance even with 1080p display, without squeezing a lot of juice from its battery.
Anyway, according to some battery benchmark tests held by some tech sites, Google Nexus 7 is capable to last around 8 hours and 40 minutes in moderate use.
So you can expect this tablet to get you through the day without recharging.
Meanwhile, Asus MemoPad 7 HD with its Non-removable Li-Po battery is able to survive only in 6 hours and 10 minutes in moderate use.
But of course, if you use any of these devices mainly to play some heavy games or watching HD movies without resting the screen at all, then their battery lives probably only hit around 4 to 5 hours, which is pretty acceptable.
My Personal Opinions
To end this comparison review, I’m gonna give you my final conclusion about these 2 tablets. Let me start with Google Nexus 7.
Okay, who doesn’t know Google Nexus 7?
It’s an amazing tablet with a gorgeous super-sharp display, great performance, and it’s also very efficient with the use of battery.
So basically, you can do a lot of things with this tablet, from watching movies, reading books/magazines, browsing the web, listening to music, checking out photos and of course, playing games.
Google Nexus 7 is definitely a great powerful device to play games. No doubt about that.
However, compared to other budget offerings on the market right now, like Nvidia Shield Tablet ($199), HP Slate7 Extreme ($170), Xiaomi MiPad 7.9 ($250), HP Slate8 Pro ($220) or Amazon Kindle Fire HDX 7 ($170), this Google Nexus 7 is definitely NOT on the same level of performance.
So if you want to get a much much better and more powerful gaming tablet that literally can handle any games, then I strongly recommend you to pick up other options like: Nvidia Shield Tablet, HP Slate8 Pro, HP Slate7 Extreme, Amazon Kindle Fire HDX 7 or Xiaomi Mi Pad.
But Google Nexus 7 is actually still better than Asus MemoPad 7 HD.
Despite having a gorgeous and colorful HD display, plus good cameras, this Asus’ tablet is very disappointing when it comes to gaming performance.
So for games like Modern Combat 4, NOVA 3, GTA Vice City or GTA San Andreas, there’s no chance for this Asus tablet to play these games perfectly and smoothly when set in full highest graphics.
They will just run slow and laggy.
But there are still some great things to appreciate from Asus MemoPad 7 HD, like its gorgeous HD display, decent cameras, attractive and more intuitive UI and it’s still capable to handle some older games like Dead Trigger, GTA III or ShadowGun Deadzone, even in full graphics.
Anyway, to end this review, let me answer some of the questions I’ve previously asked above:
Which one between Google Nexus 7 (2013) and Asus MemoPad 7 HD that deserves to be the best gaming tablet in this review?
Of course, it’s Google Nexus 7 (2013) without any single doubt.
But if you’re looking for a more reliable and powerful gaming tablet than Google Nexus 7, there are some great choices out there like Nvidia Shield Tablet ($199), HP Slate8 Pro ($220), HP Slate7 Extreme ($179), Amazon Kindle Fire HDX 7 ($179) or Xiaomi MiPad 7.9 ($250).
Which one is a better tablet in the whole aspect?
Between the 2, of course, it’s Google Nexus 7 that is better than Asus MemoPad 7 HD in the whole aspect.
It’s got a much sharper 1080p display, more powerful gaming performance, bigger 2GB of RAM, better looking design, longer battery life, quick software updates from Google and overall, it’s just better than Asus MemoPad 7 HD.
However, there’s still something that makes Asus MemoPad 7 HD a better tablet than Google Nexus 7.
And that is the existence of microSD card slot for up to 32GB, as opposed to Google’s tablet that has NO microSD card slot.
Is it worth it to buy any of these tablets, especially for playing today’s heavy 3D games?
Yes, it’s worth it, but only if you pick up Google Nexus 7 (2013), not Asus MemoPad 7 HD.
But then again, as mentioned above, Google Nexus 7 (2013) is not the best on the market when it comes to gaming performance. You can switch to other powerful options like Nvidia Shield Tablet with Tegra K1, Xiaomi MiPad 7.9 (Tegra K1), HP Slate8 Pro, HP Slate7 Extreme or Amazon Kindle Fire HDX 7.
Pros and Cons
Google Nexus 7 (2013)
Pros:
- a full HD 1080p display that looks insanely sharp and gorgeous
- fast performance
- powerful for playing games
- It now has a rear-facing camera
- solid battery life
- smooth experience thanks to stock Android UI
- more ergonomic design
- It has NO microSD card slot
- The basic 16GB model only provides around 12GB of free available storage
- gaming performance is not the best on the market
- it suffers a lot when playing GTA San Andreas in full graphics
- the 5MP rear-facing camera is not that good
- There’s no LED flash
Asus MemoPad 7 HD
Pros:
- Gorgeous HD 720p display
- Good quality rear-facing camera
- Attractive and more intuitive Android UI
- Great for watching movies, reading books, browsing the web or checking out photos
- it has microSD card slot for up to 32GB, while Google Nexus 7 don’t
- really cheap only $150 when it first came out (but cheaper right now)
- battery saving features
- It’s not great for playing heavy 3D games
- ”only” HD 720p display
- there’s no LED flash
- Low build quality and ugly design
- Not that comfortable to hold in the hands
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