LG G Pad 8.3 vs Google Nexus 9 Specs Comparison

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As a manufacturer that focuses mostly on smartphone market, i think it’s amazing to see how LG manages to come up with a tablet that in my opinion, is just great in the whole aspect.

Yes, of course, the tablet i’m talking about is no other than LG G Pad 8.3, the only impressive tablet made by LG.

(LG G Pad 8.3 vs Google Nexus 9 - Specs Comparison)

Well, actually, LG used to also have one other tablet called LG G-Slate – which was a T-Mobile’s exclusive device -, but this device didn’t have much to say in 2011 especially given that iPad still monopolized this market entirely back then.


However, that soon changed when this company introduced LG G Pad 8.3 to the world.

Not only is this tablet amazing in terms of spec sheet, but interestingly, it also has the premium feel all over its body, thanks to LG’s decision to use aluminum material instead of plastic polycarbonate with matte finish just like most of its counterparts.

The other thing that makes this tablet look awesome is definitely its design, which somehow kind of reminds me with the mini iPad, especially with its 4:3 aspect ratio.

But the story of LG with its G Pad tablet is probably not the same with Google through its Nexus-line tablets.

Ever since this search engine giant debuted its first-ever-gen Nexus 7 tablet in 2012, public and especially tech world really appreciated what Google brought to the market.

It might not have the same viral-explosive fame just like Apple with its iPad, but i think the warm reception of tech people was a good sign that Google really nailed it with that tablet.

Fast-forward to the present, this year, Google now has the next-gen Nexus 9 tablet, a 9-inch Android tablet (actually, an 8.9-inch tablet).

However, unlike the rest of other Nexus tablets that are mainly intended as media-consumption devices, this Google Nexus 9 interestingly is more on the productivity side.

And that can be seen clearly on its keyboard case that is officially released by Google for this tablet on Play Store.

But even so, Google Nexus 9 is still great as a media-consumption device and even gaming tablet. As a matter of fact, thanks to its Tegra K1 processor – which is MADE for gaming -, this Google Nexus 9 is one of the best gaming tablets out there on the market.

Anyway guys, today i want to keep the momentum going by giving you more of my comparison review. This time – as seen above -, yes, i’m going to compare LG G Pad 8.3 and Google Nexus 9, especially given that they both sport around 8 to 9-inch screen size.

Besides, i think it would be interesting to see how these tablets fare against each other especially in terms of gaming performance and of course, in the whole aspect of the device.

Well, if you want to know more about the comparison between these 2 tablets, including my take on their gaming performance as well as their whole aspect - from design, display, specs and some other more, then here you go, the comparison review between LG G Pad 8.3 vs Google Nexus 9.


LG has never been so great when it comes to making tablet. And that’s shown by the mediocre reception it gained over the LG G-Slate in the past.

It didn’t sell well and this was probably the reason why LG didn’t continue its journey around the tablet market for quite so long, especially compared to Samsung that has always been laser-focusing intensively on both markets – smartphone and tablet markets.

However, the decision of LG to finally come back to this market apparently proved to be the great idea because LG G Pad is definitely a huge departure from LG’s previous-gen tablet in 2011.

The thing that actually impresses me a lot with this device is its design.

As a matter of fact, i think the overall design and the build quality of LG G Pad 8.3 are so amazing it even deserves to be positioned alongside iPads – especially iPad mini Retina.

It’s made out of aluminum material that impressively feels really sturdy and premium compared to other Android tablets out there, even Samsung’s flagship tablets.

This really contradicts with Google Nexus 9, however.

If LG G Pad is more prominent with its solid build quality and premium aluminum material all over the place, this Google Nexus 9 – which is made by HTC – uses the material that is easily prone to catch finger prints or grease.

And this is such a shame because everyone, especially around the tech world, really had high hopes when hearing the rumors about HTC making the next-gen Nexus tablet.

The great thing is, there are still many things from this tablet that could still help overshadowing its mediocre material. And one of them is on the performance sector.

Google Nexus 9 is powered by NVIDIA’s latest and greatest Tegra K1 processor, which according to console/PC game developers, it’s capable to deliver the same graphical performance as today’s desktops/PCs.

In fact, this Tegra K1 processor manages to beat Apple’s chipset with 3 times graphical performance than A7 chipset.

And if compared to LG G Pad with its Snapdragon 600 processor, it’s no-brainer that Google Nexus 9 is far more superior than LG’s tablet in terms of gaming performance.

But the questions remain, with all of the strengths found on each of these 2 devices, between Google Nexus 9 and LG G Pad 8.3, which one that is a much better tablet in the whole aspect?

Which one that has what it takes to be the best gaming tablet in this review?

Is any of these 2 tablets worth buying, especially as a productivity device?

You'll find out more about the answers of these questions at the end of this review. So be sure to stick around guys!


In terms of design, both LG G Pad and Google Nexus 9 are actually well prepared for that matter.

LG G Pad is more prominent with its premium aluminum material all over its body, while Google Nexus 9 looks really elegant with its modern design – which is hugely inspired by HTC one’s dual front speaker grilles and iPad mini’s 4:3 aspect ratio.

So as a result, both tablets look really great and premium even for high-end market.

Design has always been the thing that HTC always puts priority on. And it’s no different with Google Nexus 9.





It may not use the same aluminum material of LG G Pad or iPads, however, thanks to HTC’s years of craftsmanship in making premium devices, this tablet looks really elegant and premium all over the place. However, there’s one downside on the design of Google Nexus 9.

And that is its rear-cover. According to many reviews (including theVerge and Phonearena), the back cover of this device is really prone to catch finger prints and human grease.

And trust me, it doesn’t look good if there are many finger prints all over its rear cover.

On the other hand, i think LG G Pad really nailed it with its design because not only does its aluminum material make it look premium, but also its entire design that actually looks pretty unique compared to other tablets out there.

So it has this rounded rectangular design around its bezels that - in my opinion - looks really attractive and it’s not trying to blatantly copy iPad mini or Samsung GALAXY tablets, which weirdly is the thing that LG has been trying to do with its smartphone lineup.

Meanwhile, Google Nexus 9 – as mentioned above – can be said as the combination between HTC One smartphone and iPad mini.

So on the front side, there are the dual-speaker grilles on the left and right areas (in landscape mode), which is the same one found on HTC One.

This tablet also adopts the same 4:3 aspect ratio just like the iPads. In fact, Google Nexus 9 also “blatantly copies” the screen resolution of iPads – which is 1536x2048 pixels -, although it has different ppi, thanks to its smaller 8.9-inch display – as opposed to the 7.9-inch and 9.7-inch displays of iPad mini and iPad Air respectively.

So between Google Nexus 9 and LG G Pad, i think both tablets have great designs.

But the most importantly, they have their own characteristic especially compared to other tablets out there, especially the iPads.

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LG G Pad 8.3

Google Nexus 9 (HTC)

No SIM Released October 2013 8.3 inch IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen, 1200 x 1920 pixels (~273 ppi pixel density) 16M colors Quad-core 1.7 GHz Krait 300 Qualcomm 2 GB RAM APQ8064 Pro Snapdragon 600 Chipset Adreno 320 GPU Android OS 4.2.2 Jelly Bean, planned upgrade to 5.0 Lollipop microSD card slot for up to 64 GB 16 GB Internal storage 5 MP rear-facing camera 1.3 MP front-facing camerea (720p video recording) Wi-Fi 802.11 Bluetooth GPS Infrared No Radio microUSB v2.0 (SlimPort) Accelerometer, gyro, compass Sensors Java MIDP emulator Non-removable Li-Po 4600 mAh battery

4G Network LTE Released November 2014 8.9 inch IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen, 1536 x 2048 pixels (~281 ppi pixel density) 16M colors Dual-core 2.3 GHz Denver Nvidia Tegra K1 Chipset Kepler DX1 GPU 2 GB RAM Android OS, v5.0 (Lollipop) No Memory Card slot 16/32 GB Internal storage HSDPA, HSUPA, LTE Bluetooth v4.1 8 MP rear-facing camera LED flash 1.6 MP front-facing camera, 720p video recordingNFC GPRS Wi-Fi 802.11 GPS No Radio Java MIDP emulator Non-removable Li-Po 6700 mAh battery Stand-by: for up to 720 hours (3G) for Talk time (multimedia) : for up to 9 hours

As 2 high-end tablets, there’s no doubt that both Google Nexus 9 and LG G Pad are equipped with some of the best hardware specs on the market today.

As a matter of fact, Google’s tablet has the best specs on today’s tablet market, thanks to Google or HTC’s decision to use NVIDIA Tegra K1 dual-core Denver processor made with 64-bit architecture – which is capable to deliver the same graphical performance of today’s desktops/PCs.

Not only that, there are also many parts of its specs that make it stand out compared to other rivals out there.

It has a super-high 1536x2048 pixel display, huge 2GB of RAM, a staggering 192-core GPU, an 8MP rear-facing camera with LED flash (that’s able to take decent quality photos), a pretty huge 6700mAh battery and a bunch of other standard features.

However, as a Nexus tablet, there’s of course no microSD card slot on this device.

Meanwhile, LG G Pad must be willing to be the second best on the sector of specs.

It comes with a full HD 1920x1200 pixel resolution on its 8.3-inch display, a quad-core Snapdragon 600 processor, 2GB of RAM, Adreno 320 GPU, 5MP rear-facing camera, 1.3MP front-facing camera, 4600mAh battery and some other standard features.

But there’s the killer feature on this device compared to Google Nexus 9. And that is its microSD card slot.


I think it’s quite weird to see how Google Nexus 9 shares the same exact screen resolution of iPads, even with the same 4:3 aspect ratio.

However, that’s not weird anymore if you already see Archos Titanium HD that blatantly copies the entire screen specs of iPads – like the same 9.7-inch display, the same 1536x2048 pixels and even the same ppi.

Anyway, when it comes to sharpness, i think it’s quite obvious that between Google Nexus 9 and LG G Pad, it’s definitely Google’s tablet that deserves to get the crown here, especially because – on paper -, it has a lot more pixels compared to the screen of LG G Pad.

However, that’s not the case here because quality of display has nothing with pixel number.

In fact, according to theVerge, despite having the same resolution of iPads, the screen of Google Nexus 9 apparently is not nearly as nice looking as the Retina Display of iPads.

The colors often look washed out, there’s visible gap between the glass and LCD, and the backlight is easily visible on the side of the screen.

This really contradicts with the full HD screen of LG G Pad. Actually, the display of this tablet is the one that LG always shows off in its commercial.

So it looks insanely sharp, the colors look popping out from the screen and everything looks really crisp. Long story short, the screen of LG G Pad is really gorgeous.


If there’s one part that sets these 2 tablets apart, then it’s definitely their UIs. Google Nexus 9 still inherits the tradition of all Nexus devices.

And that is the stock vanilla Android UI out of the box. This tablet, however, comes with Google’s latest and greatest Android 5.0 Lollipop pre-installed, which is not surprising given that it is Google’s official device (sorry, HTC must be willing to back off and keep its Sense UI in its pocket!).

But that’s actually a good thing for this device because by using this stock Android UI, not only does this perform really fast and smooth with no lag whatsoever, but it’s also more efficient with the use of battery.

So as a result, this tablet runs really smooth and it has solid battery life, plus the RAM/memory will provide much bigger free space for users in default.

This is very different with LG G Pad. Similar just like any other LG G devices, this tablet also comes with LG’s homemade customized UI, which has a lot of added features and more advanced visual presentations here and there on the software.

But the good news is, LG G Pad is powered by a great Snapdragon 600 processor and Adreno 320 GPU, so even with that heavy customized UI, this tablet still performs consistently fast and smooth.

And thanks to its huge 2GB of RAM, multitasking many apps on this device still delivers a pleasingly smooth experience to users.

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Google Nexus 9 and LG G Pad actually fall in entirely different categories. Google Nexus 9 is more on a productivity side (with its keyboard case), while LG G Pad is mainly focused as a pure media-consumption device.

However, that’s not stopping both tablets from being great gaming machines. Google Nexus 9 with its Tegra K1 processor is no doubt insanely powerful for gaming.

Not only is this device capable to handle heavy games like Asphalt 8: Airborne, GTA San Andreas or Modern Combat 5 in full highest graphics, but it’s amazingly also able to execute some console-quality games like Trine 2 or Half Life 2 (which are ported from PS3 and PC specifically for Tegra K1 tablets).

Meanwhile, even though LG G Pad is not as powerful as Google Nexus 9 in terms of gaming performance, this tablet with its Snapdragon 600 processor and Adreno 320 GPU is still more than happier to execute some latest graphically demanding games like Asphalt 8: Airborne, Modern Combat 4 or NOVA 3 in full highest graphics.

However, for much heavier games like GTA San Andreas, i have doubts that this device has the power to run this game smoothly in full highest graphics.

Well, that’s because as i’ve already seen on Google Nexus 7 (2013 edition) – which has the same Adreno 320 GPU but different Snapdragon S4 Pro – this Google’s tablet runs really laggy when handling GTA San Andreas in full highest graphics - i mean, like really really laggy.

So you probably can expect the same on LG’s device, given the same GPU.

So between Google Nexus 9 and LG G Pad, i think i have to go with Google Nexus 9 because it’s just too powerful compared to LG’s device.

Not only that, it’s also more superior on the sector of sound quality (thanks to its dual-front-speaker grilles), Tegra K1 well-optimized games and huge support from game developers – and even console game makers – to release some console-quality games for Tegra K1 tablets like Google Nexus 9 in the near future.

So this really adds a lot of huge points for Google Nexus 9 especially in terms of gaming experience as a whole.


HTC has been doing such a marvelous job on the camera department in the past few years – especially on its flagship devices. And that’s the thing that HTC still wants to continue on this Google Nexus 9.

This Google-branded tablet is equipped with an 8MP rear-facing camera with LED flash, plus 1.6MP on the front.

According to theVerge, the camera of Google Nexus 9 takes great pictures, although not as good as the iPads. But i think, that’s already enough to convince people to buy this device, especially the ones that love photography.

The same also applies to LG G Pad. This tablet only comes with 5MP rear-facing camera and 1.3MP camera on the front.

However, given LG’s expertise on this department on its G series device, i believe the photo/video quality taken by this tablet still looks good and sharp for most of users.


On paper, Google Nexus 9 looks more powerful than LG G Pad on the sector of battery. It comes with a much larger 6700mAh battery, as opposed to the 4600mAh battery inside the LG’s tablet.

However, Google Nexus 9 comes with a much larger 8.9-inch display compared to the much smaller 8.3-inch screen on LG G Pad.

Plus, Google-branded tablet is sporting a much higher screen resolution (1536x2048 pixels), as opposed to the full HD (1200x1920 pixels) screen on LG G Pad.

Not to mention, Google Nexus 9 is powered by an insanely powerful Tegra K1 processor, which could be really power hungry especially when used for doing some heavy intense tasks.

So as a result, i think both tablets are pretty equal when it comes to battery life. They both could survive in one solid day – on a full charge – in moderate use, but its battery life could drain much faster to even 4 – 6 hours when deployed with some heavy stuff without resting the screen at all.

But the good news is (actually, this good news is only for Google Nexus 9), this Google’s tablet comes with Android 5.0 Lollipop out of the box. And we all know already that, this software build brings a lot of improvements on the battery life.

So i believe this could be really helpful in making Google Nexus 9 more efficient with the use of battery life.


So in conclusion, i think both tablets are equally great, especially in their own category. Google Nexus 9 can be really great as a productivity device, while LG G Pad can be a decent media-consumption device.

Both devices look and work great equally – although LG G Pad is much better looking device with its premium material.

However, if pitted side-by-side against each other, it’s very obvious that Google Nexus 9 is by miles more superior and much better tablet than LG G Pad.

I mean, it has more powerful processor and performance (plus graphics power, thanks to its 192-core GPU), it has much sharper screen, it has much better gaming experience overall, it has better sound quality (thanks to dual-front-speaker grilles), it has much sharper camera and last but not least, it’s far more powerful for gaming.

Unfortunately, there are some parts of Google Nexus 9 that could prevent it from being the best tablet than LG G Pad.

And they are: its lack of microSD card slot (which LG G Pad has it), its mediocre rear-cover (which is prone to catch fingerprints) and its slightly bad quality display (but still looks good overall though).

And this is very different with LG G Pad that has microSD card slot, solid build quality material and sharp vibrant looking display (especially when knowing that LG also develops its own display with OLED technology).

So this is the reason why i think both tablets are equally great. They have their own strengths and weaknesses as well.

But the bottom line is, both Google Nexus 9 and LG G Pad are no doubt great quality tablets and you’ll make no mistake if you decide to buy any of these devices.

Have any question? Leave your comment here!