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Comment by IntelMiner | Hacker News Reader

I have to admit, I'm on the opposite end of the spectrum there, having had both devices

I loved my 2012 Nexus 7, and was a Day 1 upgrader to the 2013 model (my Mom enjoyed the 2012 for many years for eBooks and Facebook)

My Nexus 5 I was also a day 1 purchase, upgrading from a slowly deteriorating Galaxy S2. Unfortunately I had to replace it much earlier after I slipped and fell on uneven concrete and shattered the screen

If Google could just take the SoC of the Pixel 6/7/8/whatever and stuff it in the housing of the Nexus 7 2013, give it a modern battery and a nice OLED screen it would truly be the best tablet on the market. But instead they want "bigger" and are chasing after the iPad with the new pixel tablet

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> But instead they want "bigger" and are chasing after the iPad with the new pixel tablet

I bought a 11" tablet BECAUSE it is much bigger than a phone, so I can comfortably watch videos and read technical documents. I might have considered as small as 8", but 10" was really the minimum in my mind.

Given that most android phones are 6-6.5" already, why would anyone buy a 7" tablet in addition to their phone? Maybe as a throwaway gift to a child? Would the market be large enough to be worth it?

I have an iPad mini that I really like. A nexus 7 with a slightly smaller bezel and updated internals would be a really nice device. It's a nice size for casual games, video watching, and a great size for reading manga or books. The only option for a small tablet on Android really is the Fire tablets from Amazon, but they're really lacking in performance, which limits what you can do with it.

But in general I find Android tablets to be pretty lacking in the software support department, even though hypothetically it should be a great platform.

If they could just make the Nexus 7 with better bezel-to-screen (maybe something similar to the Pixel's?) it would be perfect

I want something I can comfortably hold in one hand to read books on, a 10 inch iPad or Samsung is just too big (and heavy) to do that, and a phone just feels too squashed at the same time

I'm probably in a hell of a niche but it truly was just the perfect 'sweet spot' size for me

Such tablets are now sold as "foldable phone". I love it for reading everything and fits in my pocket, but it's expensive for who just want a Nexus 7 2023.

I like small phones. I have an iPhone 13 Mini, and have never had the desire for anything larger. They drive me nuts. I'm usually carrying two, and the bulk adds up.

I also have a 7" tablet. Small enough to fit into any backpack, pocket, my wife's purse, etc. Still large enough it's usable with a kickstand and Bluetooth keyboard.

If I want to do real work, I'll just use a PC. The small tablet is a great middle ground away from home.

My 2013 Nexus 7 refused to die- I used it until late 2022, when I finally replaced it with a Samsung Galaxy Tab A, which is almost as good though I miss the "pure Android" minimal experience; I don't care for Samsung's additions to the base Android platform.

Funnily enough I followed the Nexus 7 with a Samsung Tab A 10.1 and that also became an almost unable laggy mess in short order. The iPad mini bought around the same time as the Nexus for my wife if still going fine, as well as my grandmother's iPad. As much as I don't want to this point I think if I ever need a tablet again (I do like them for PDFs and schematics, but I have never found a good way to send and organise files for quick access that makes it worth it), I might just forgo Android tablets and go to the dark side.

> I have never found a good way to send and organise files

I use the Note To Self channel in Signal for that. Cross platform, desktop, tablet & mobile. Before i used KDE Connect.

We had two 2013 Nexuses: one with 3g radio and one wifi-only.

First, the 3g one died, on sudden black screen of death. Then, year or two later, the wifi one, on the flash deterioration.

The flash issue wasn't problem only for Nexus. The Asus Transformer line had exactly the same problem (Nexus 7 was made by Asus).

The 3g one was replaced by Sony Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact. That thing still lives, albeit it is on Android 6 and the battery life is short. Too bad Sony doesn't make tablets any more.

True. My MIL is still using that Nexus tablet thought it is completely battered but she only needs Candy Crush.

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