Anyone here using a Nexus 9?

[ControlD]

I am in the market for an Android tablet and my choices seem to be between the Nexus 9 and the Galaxy Tab S 8.4. The professional reviews of the N9 seem to be pretty favorable but when reading the user reviews things are mixed at best. I see a lot of complaints about battery life and screen bleed. I was hoping to get some opinions from people here that are using the tablet.

Otherwise I will just pick up a refurbished S 8.4 from Samsung as it appears to have an unlocked bootloader anyhow.

 

[jacktesterson]

I owned both for a very lengthy amount of time and as you can see in my Sig, only the Tab S remains.

I loved the Nexus 9 for the Aspect Ratio more than anything. I returned my first Nexus 9 as the light bleed was awful, the 2nd one I got was much much better but still had a little bit.

I found the Nexus 9 to have some weird pauses and stutters at times too which seemed more like a driver or software issue. This was with 5.0.x though, I never had it long enough for 5.1.x.

I LOVED the AMOLED screen and the feel of the Tab S, but it also had some performance issues (KitKat Rom) that annoyed me much more than the Nexus did. I was super close to keeping the N9 and ditching the Tab S at one point.

Once my Tab S got Lollipop, things have been much better. The Lollipop Rom on the Samsung is much better than the KitKat rom was as far as performance and stability IMO. Samsung is starting to get the bloat point and are taming down the "bloatness" with each O/S update it seems.

The screen is #1 importance in a tablet for me as its a consumption device, and the Tab S has the best screen.


The new Dell Venue 8 Android Tab has a OLED Screen too, but I haven't actually seen one in person yet, but it seems to be getting excellent reviews especially around performance.

 

[Red Storm]

I just got a Nexus 9 a few days ago. Been looking for a tablet to get for a while now and ultimately it was stock Android, the form factor, and front facing speakers that pushed me towards the Nexus 9.

 

[ControlD]

I owned both for a very lengthy amount of time and as you can see in my Sig, only the Tab S remains.

<snipped>

That is excellent information. Thanks a bunch!

I just got a Nexus 9 a few days ago. Been looking for a tablet to get for a while now and ultimately it was stock Android, the form factor, and front facing speakers that pushed me towards the Nexus 9.

I would be curious to hear you opinion of the tablet once you get a good feel for it. The user reviews are all over the place for the Nexus. Stock Android is really, really appealing to me.

 

[Ravynmagi]

I had a Nexus 9 when it first came out. For me the build quality really did it in for me and was hard to ignore. I had two of them. Both had really bad light bleeding and I'm usually not bothered by normal light bleed, but this was very severe. Also I hated how unresponsive feeling and mushy the buttons were. The back of the tablet had a lot of flex with a big hollow spot. And lastly it just seemed a tad too heavy.

I never tried the Tab S 8.4. I was too concerned about the underpowered GPU paired with the really high resolution creating graphical lag issues I read a lot about.

I'm still using my LG G Pad 8.4. It's a decent tablet that came out a couple years ago. It's been updated to Android 5.0.1. If I was buying an Android tablet now, I'd probably give the Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4 a strong look. It's only $200 at Best Buy and has a slightly better Snapdragon 800 SoC inside. Though I'd only buy it if it has been upgraded to Android 5.x or has been unlocked and a custom ROM easily loaded onto it.

 

[annomander]

I have a Nexus 9, the machine itself is okay, except for 2 issues, 1 big.

1. It has wierd shutdowns every now and again

2. The tablet is 2/3 months old and the battery life is pitiful.
I can fully charge it and if I use it, say play a game, it lasts 3 hours only.

I've just bought a 5 metre usb cable due to this.

 

[MrSquished]

I have a nexus 9 as well and haven't noticed battery issues. I used it here and there until I got my nexus 6, and I have barely touched it since. I like the tablet a lot but just don't use it with a phablet phone in my possession so I am putting it for sale. It's like brand new condition - OP pm me if interested.