Google Nexus 7 (2013) vs LG G Pad 8.3 Specs Comparison

Written by B Johnson April 11, 2016
Google Nexus 7 (2013) vs LG G Pad 8.3 Specs Comparison
Despite being 2 hot tablets in mid-end category, the second-gen Google Nexus 7 and LG G Pad 8.3 actually never got the chance to be compared side-by-side in my review.

But I think that’s still acceptable especially given that both devices are not on the same page especially terms of design, build quality and of course price.

(Google Nexus 7 (2013) vs LG G Pad 8.3 Specs Comparison)

So this is why I thought it would be nice for me to finally make the comparison review between these 2 devices especially to see how they go in gaming performance.

Besides their gaming performances, there are also some great things to explore between the 2, like their designs, displays, software, battery lives, hardware specs and many other more.

Google Nexus 7 (2013) vs LG G Pad 8.3 benchmarks and gaming performance

So if you’re interested as I am to find out which one between these 2 tablets that is better especially in gaming performance, here check this one out, my comparison review between Google Nexus 7 (2013) and LG G Pad 8.3.

Hope you like it!

Introduction

When Google Nexus 7 (2013) made its first debut in 2013, this tablet was actually what everyone has expected from the sequel model of the first-gen Google Nexus 7 that was released back in 2012.

So it should come with a sharper display, bigger RAM, faster performance, longer battery life, smoother experience and of course, better design.

And that's what exactly happens here on the second-gen Google Nexus 7 (2013) because this tablet brings all of these improvements on the table.

It’s now got a full HD display with 1920x1200 pixels resolution, faster more powerful Snapdragon S4 Pro quad-core processor, bigger 2GB of RAM, newer build of Android OS, longer battery life (despite using smaller battery capacity) and new improved design with soft-touch finish.

Not to mention, the users of this tablet also get a new surprise which actually has been lacking on the first-gen model. And that is of course, the rear-facing camera.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the ring, LG G Pad 8.3, definitely has almost everything that people want from an all-around entertainment tablet: fast performance, a sharp display, sleek premium design, attractive UI, great cameras, solid battery life and on top of that, it’s great for enjoying media contents.

Between Google Nexus 7 (2013) and LG G Pad 8.3, I think the most noticeable difference here is definitely their designs and build qualities.

I mean, it’s really obvious that Google’s tablet with its soft-touch matte finish is not on the same level with the premium design made out of aluminum materials found on LG G Pad 8.3.

However, with all of the great hardware specs found on both tablets and also, more premium design found on LG G Pad 8.3, the questions are:

Which one between these 2 tablets that has what it takes to be a better more powerful gaming tablet in this review?

Which one between Google Nexus 7 (2013) and LG G Pad 8.3 that is better overall, I mean in the whole aspect?

Is it worth it to buy any of these devices, especially to play some of the latest and heaviest Android games today?

Well, soon you’re about to find out more about the answers of these questions right at the end of this review. So be sure to stick around!

Design

The 2013 edition of Google Nexus 7 still looks pretty similar with the previous-gen model, you know, the one with Tegra 3 processor in it.

So there’s not much difference found on both models in their overall designs.

However, on the second-gen Google Nexus 7, Asus uses a soft-touch matte finish all over its rear cover, which totally gives it a good grip and it's also much thinner than the predecessor, making this tablet more comfortable to hold in one hand.

And this is totally different with the previous-gen Google Nexus 7 that is slightly heavier and uses some kind of unique rubberized matte finish on its rear cover.

But the design of the second-gen Google Nexus 7 is still nothing compared to LG G Pad 8.3.

The design of LG G Pad 8.3 really stands out here even compared to other regular Android tablets out there that mostly use polycarbonate materials with matte finish.

And that’s mostly because this LG’s slate is made out of aluminum materials all over the place, which makes it look and feel really sturdy and premium in the hands.

LG G Pad 8.3 is also really unique with its fully rounded rectangular design all around the side, as opposed to the flat sharp design of Google Nexus 7.

So I think it's not that hard for me to give the crown here to LG G Pad 8.3 as the one with the best design and build quality in this review.

But even so, Google Nexus 7 with its soft-touch matte finish also looks great with its design and even unique compared to other counterparts out there on Android camp. However, when compared to LG G Pad 8.3, of course this Google's tablet is no competition here against LG's premium tablet.

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Google Nexus 7 (2013)LG G Pad 8.3
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 cellular connectivity
Released 2013, October
338 g Weight
No SIM
8.3 inch IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen, 1200 x 1920 pixels (~273 ppi pixel density) 16M colors
Platform OS Android OS, v4.2.2 (Jelly Bean), upgradable to v4.4.2 (KitKat), planned upgrade to v5.0 (Lollipop)
Quad-core 1.7 GHz Krait 300 Qualcomm APQ8064 Pro Snapdragon 600 Chipset
Adreno 320 GPU
microSD card slot for up to 64 GB
16 GB Internal storage
2 GB RAM
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

Under the hood, Google Nexus 7 and LG G Pad 8.3 actually have some similarities in spec sheet.

So they both come with fully HD 1080p resolution on their displays, they are powered by Adreno 320 GPUs, they have 2GB of RAMs and their rear-facing cameras also use 5MP sensor.

So basically, both of these devices are definitely equal when it comes to hardware specs.

However, there are some significant differences here found on each of these tablets. Okay, let me start with LG G Pad 8.3.

So LG G Pad 8.3 comes with a larger 8.3-inch display, premium looking design, a quad-core Snapdragon 600 processor, 1.3MP front-facing shooter, larger 4600mAh battery, heavily-customized UI and it also has the support for expandable storage via microSD card slot for up to 64GB.

On the other hand, Google Nexus 7 features a smaller 7-inch screen, an older-gen Snapdragon S4 Pro quad-core processor, 1.2MP front camera, smaller 3950mAH battery, pure stock Android UI but it has NO support for microSD card slot.

On paper, of course LG G Pad looks shinier with its spec sheet against Google Nexus 7. But the good thing is, this Google's tablet is equipped with 4G LTE connectivity, which is something that you cannot enjoy on LG G Pad 8.3.

Screen

When it came out in 2012, the first-gen Google Nexus 7 with its 720p display was already considered as good and sharp by many tech reviewers on YouTube. But the 2013 edition of this tablet is now much even better and sharper with its 1080p display.

The 2013 edition of Google Nexus 7 is now sporting 1920x1200 pixels resolution on its 7-inch display, which is a huge upgrade from the 720p screen on the predecessor.

So now watching movies, browsing the web, reading books and even playing games is definitely way more pleasing and enjoying to do on this device than on the previous-gen model.

It actually goes the same with what happens on LG G Pad 8.3.

Similar just like Google's tablet, the display of LG G Pad 8.3 is also packing a 1080p resolution display (1920x1200 pixels).

However, on this LG's device, all the pixels in that 1080p resolution are crammed into a bigger 8.3-inch display, resulting in lower pixel density than Google Nexus 7 with its smaller 7-inch display.

So as far as the screen sharpness is concerned, of course Google Nexus 7 is the clear winner here against LG G Pad 8.3 as its pixel density is way higher than the display of LG G Pad 8.3 (-323 ppi VS -273 ppi).

But even so, I thik the screens of both tablets look sharp equally. And I don't think you can spot the difference of sharpness between these 2 tablets especially in normal distance.

User Interface

In my opinion, I think Google has never been a big fan of heavily-customized Android UI just like what most tablet manufacturers do with the UIs of their Android devices. And that's probably because Google wants to make Android OS more friendly and efficient with the use memory (RAM) and battery.

It exactly happens here on the second-gen Google Nexus 7 (2013).

So similar just like the other members in Nexus family, this Google Nexus 7 still keeps the tradition going with pure stock Android UI with no customization at all from manufacturer, in this case, Asus (the one that manufactures this Google Nexus 7).

So if you're a huge fan of pure stock Android UI, then you will feel conveniently at home when using this device. Many standard features like standard homescreen, standard app drawer, drop-down notification window, etc, all can be found here.

This really contradicts with LG G Pad 8.3 that comes pre-installed with heavily-customized UI from LG.

So the visual interface is obviously more attractive and intuitive, there are some new added features (like 3-finger gesture to open recent apps) and the visual interfaces of all pre-loaded apps on this tablet are getting revamped.

But of course, there are some consequences here with the use of this fully-customized UI on LG G Pad 8.3.

And one of them is its battery life that doesn't last very long in one day, especially compared to Google Nexus 7. But we'll get more on that later.

Back to Top

If you’re on the street looking for a gaming tablet, then either Google Nexus 7 or LG G Pad 8.3 can be a great choice for you.

Both devices are equally powerful especially in terms of gaming performance.

So basically, you can play almost any games and even the most graphically-demanding titles on the market right now.

Google Nexus 7, with its Snapdragon S4 Pro quad-core processor, coupled with Adreno 320 GPU as well as 2GB of RAM, has all the power to play games like Modern Combat 5, Asphalt 8: Airborne, NOVA 3, Need for Speed Most Wanted, GTA Vice City or Dead Trigger 2.

And all of these games run perfectly on this device with smooth lag-free performance and good fps, even when set in full highest graphics. So you can expect some older games like Modern Combat 4 or Dead Trigger I to also run smoothly on this second-gen Google Nexus 7.

The same thing also happens to LG G Pad 8.3.

Thanks to Snapdragon 600 quad-core processor found inside this tablet, as well as Adreno 320 GPU and 2GB of RAM, there are many games that work seamlessly without any lag on LG G Pad 8.3.

To name a few, there are: NOVA 3, Killer is Dead, Lost Planet 3 and I believe it’s also capable to play games like Asphalt 8: Airborne or Need for Speed Most Wanted, even in full graphics.

However, as I’ve seen on some video reviews on YouTube, there is one game that doesn’t work great on any of these devices. And that is GTA San Andreas.

So when set in full highest graphics (with maximum resolution, special effects, draw distance, dynamic shadows, etc), this GTA San Andreas runs extremely laggy on both Google Nexus 7 and LG G Pad 8.3.

I believe it has something to do with their Adreno 320 GPUs that are not sufficient enough to handle this game in full HD 1080p resolution.

In Antutu benchmark, Google Nexus 7 (2013) managed to score decent 19.572 points. Meanwhile, when used to run one benchmark game based on Unreal Engine called “Epic Citadel”, this game runs smoothly in 58.6 fps (frame rate per second), which is pretty impressive.

Meanwhile, as for LG G Pad 8.3, this tablet managed to score around 21.654 points in Antutu benchmark v4, while in Quadrant, it reached over 11.945 points. And last but not lest, 629 points are grabbed by LG G Pad 8.3 in Geekbench v3 benchmark test.

Between these 2 tablets, I think both devices are equally great for playing games. However, if I have to choose, I probably will go with LG G Pad 8.3 as this LG’s tablet comes with the support of expandable storage via microSD card slot for up to 64GB.

With this tablet, you can definitely install as many games as you want without worrying about running out of storage space.

And this is the opposite with Google Nexus 7 that has no support for expandable storage.

I know that Google Nexus 7 is more powerful in gaming performance than LG G Pad 8.3 especially because it runs on stock Android UI, which is more efficient and faster than the heavily-customized UI found on LG's slate. And we all know that UI/software has a huge impact to gaming performance.

So if you still want to stick with Google Nexus 7, I totally recommend you to pick up the 32GB variant as this model will give you much bigger space to install many of your favorite games.

Cameras

The most noticeable difference here between the first-gen Google Nexus 7 and the second-gen model is the existence of a rear-facing camera.

So in the 2013 edition of Google Nexus 7, there’s a 5MP rear-facing camera, as opposed to the predecessor that has no rear-facing camera in it.

However, according to some video reviews on YouTube (PhoneArena, theVerge and MKBHD), there’s nothing special about the rear camera of Google Nexus 7, especially in terms of sharpness and overall quality.

So it’s definitely not going to be as great as the cameras of other flagship devices like iPad mini or Samsung GALAXY Tab S/Tab Pro 8.4.

On the other hand, the 5MP rear-facing camera found on LG G Pad 8.3 is probably more reliable for taking decent quality shots especially because LG is one of the manufacturers that has been really great in delivering great quality cameras on its devices, especially the flagship ones.

And LG G Pad 8.3 is definitely a flagship high-end tablet from this manufacturer. So if you’re really into photography, you might want to pick up LG G Pad 8.3 instead of Google Nexus 7.

Unfortunately, I haven’t seen any photo or video taken with the rear camera of LG G Pad 8.3. So to be perfectly honest, I have nothing to share here in this regard.

Anyway, it's worth mentioning that any of these devices has no LED flash. So if you love taking photos at night when the lighting conditions are not ideal, then you probably will be left disappointed by their cameras.

The photos will lack sharpness, noise everywhere and they're probably not worth sharing to your Instagram followers.

Battery Life

One of the strongest points found on Google Nexus 7 is definitely its long lasting battery life.

And what makes it even more amazing is, this second-gen model is powered by a smaller 3950mAh battery, as opposed to the larger 4325mAh battery found inside the predecessor (the one with Tegra 3 processor).

And that’s shown by the benchmark test held by some tech sites around the net, with Google Nexus 7 lasting around 8 hours and 40 minutes in moderate use.

Meanwhile, LG G Pad 8.3 looks less superior than Google Nexus 7 as it only lasts around 5 hours and 3 minutes in moderate use.

I believe its heavily-customized UI is the culprit of this problem or maybe its Snapdragon 600 processor is not as efficient as the Snapdragon S4 Pro found inside Google Nexus 7.

The good news is, LG G Pad 8.3 is upgradable to Android 5.0 Lollipop. And this newer build of Android OS comes with some major improvements especially in battery life (like Project Volta, etc).

So I think the battery life of LG G Pad 8.3 can be improved much further in the future with this new updated software.

My Personal Opinions

So in conclusion, between the 2013 edition of Google Nexus 7 and LG G Pad 8.3, I’ve got to say that both devices impress me a lot in many ways, especially in hardware specs.

Google Nexus 7 looks superior with a full HD display, 2GB of RAM, powerful gaming performance and solid battery life, while LG G Pad 8.3 also looks great with its specs and performance, as well as battery life.

They also are great for playing games, although Google Nexus 7 here is more powerful than LG G Pad 8.3 thanks to its light-weight stock Android UI, unlike LG G Pad 8.3 that has a lot going on, on its heavily-customized UI.

However, despite being a slightly less-powerful gaming tablet, LG G Pad 8.3 still has something that makes it on the same level here with Google Nexus 7.

And that ‘something’ is the support of expandable storage via microSD card slot for up to 64GB.

So on LG G Pad 8.3, you can literally install as many games as you want without worrying about running out of storage space.

On the other hand, Google Nexus 7 has NO support for expandable storage via microSD card slot.

So you might want to pick up the 32GB model to get much bigger storage to keep many of your favorite media contents and especially games on this device.

So between the 2, I’ve got to say that LG G Pad 8.3 is a better option here than Google Nexus 7, especially as a media-consumption device.

Well, that’s because this tablet has more premium design and top notch build quality, which is something that cannot be found on Google Nexus 7.

Google Nexus 7 is actually a decent quality tablet, either as a media-consumption device or even a gaming tablet. It performs much faster and smoother, and it also has longer battery life than LG G Pad 8.3.

However, if I have to choose between the 2, I will definitely go with LG G Pad 8.3 mostly for its premium design and expandable storage support.

Anyway, to end this comparison review, let me answer the questions I’ve previously asked above.

With all of the great goodies of specs found on Google Nexus 7 (2013) and LG G Pad 8.3, which one between these 2 tablets that has what it takes to be a better more powerful gaming tablet in this review?

I’ve got to say Google Nexus 7 (2013) and LG G Pad 8.3 are both equally great for playing games. Google Nexus 7 has Adreno 320 GPU, which is a powerful GPU, while LG G Pad 8.3 has it as well.

But I think Google Nexus 7 is definitely more powerful here as a gaming tablet because it comes with more efficient stock Android UI, as opposed to the heavily-customized UI of LG G Pad 8.3.

Which one between Google Nexus 7 (2013) and LG G Pad 8.3 that is better overall, I mean in the whole aspect?

Both Google Nexus 7 (2013) and LG G Pad 8.3 share some in common in terms of specs. Google Nexus 7 has a full HD 1080p display, so does LG G Pad 8.3. It goes the same with their 2GB of RAMs and 5MP rear-facing cameras.

However, LG G Pad 8.3 has a more elegant design with sleek design and premium build quality, something that Google Nexus 7 is incapable to compete here.

And besides, LG G Pad 8.3 has the newer more powerful Snapdragon 600 processor, compared to Google Nexus 7 that is still stuck with the older-gen Snapdragon S4 Pro quad-core processor.

Not to mention, LG G Pad 8.3 has expandable storage via microSD card slot for up to 64GB, while Google Nexus 7 has no microSD card slot on it.

So that’s why I think LG G Pad 8.3 has all the way to take the crown here from Google Nexus 7 as the best tablet in the whole aspect.

Is it worth it to buy any of these devices, especially to play some of the latest and heaviest Android games today?

I’ve got to say YES. They both are equally powerful gaming devices. So yes, it is worth it to get any of these tablets especially for playing games.

However, Google Nexus 7 (2013) and LG G Pad 8.3 are not the best gaming tablets on the market right now. There are just some other options out there that are just way better in gaming performance.

To name a few, there are Nvidia Shield Tablet, Xiaomi MiPad 7.9, HP Slate8 Pro, HP Slate7 Extreme or Amazon Kindle Fire HDX 7.

Pros and Cons

Google Nexus 7 (2013)

Pros:
  • a gorgeous and sharp 1080p display
  • fast performance
  • huge 2GB of RAM
  • It now has a 5 rear-facing camera, which its predecessor don’t
  • solid battery life, despite using a smaller battery than predecessor
  • smooth UI experience with pure stock Android
  • an ideal tablet to watch movies, check out photos, browse the web, listen to music and play games
  • comfortable to hold in the hands
  • quick software updates in the future from Google
Cons:
  • NO microSD card slot
  • its rear-facing camera is not that great, according to many reviews
  • gaming performance is not the best

LG G Pad 8.3

Pros:
  • there’s expandable storage via microSD card slot for up to 64GB
  • premium build quality with sleek design
  • software has tons of features
  • attractive visual interface
  • huge 2G of RAM
  • decent cameras
  • a gorgeous looking and sharp 1080 display
  • pretty good for playing heavy games
  • upgradeable to Android Lollipop
  • not that expensive in its first launch ($300)
Cons:
  • gaming performance is not the best
  • old-gen hardware, no second-gen model
  • performance sometimes is a bit buggy, thanks to heavily-customized UI

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