Nexus 9 review: great Lollipop tablet, powerful CPU, display and speakers could be better
Google Nexus 9 review: The first taste of Lollipop is a sweet one — It's been nearly five years since Google released its very first Nexus device, and by now we all basically get what the Nexus name stands for.
Context & Ripple Effects
The Nexus 9 lands at the center of Google's fall 2014 refresh: after the Nexus 10 and Nexus 7 (2013) defined the budget-to-premium tablet spread in prior years, the Nexus 6's October debut introduced the 6-inch Quad HD flagship phone that anchors this generation. The Nexus 9 is the tablet half of that pairing and, more importantly, the first device to ship with Lollipop — making it the public's first hands-on verdict on Google's new OS.
First-order effects
- Early buyers get the first shipping Lollipop experience, with reviewers confirming the powerful CPU delivers on the OS promise while flagging the display and speakers as the visible compromises in the hardware.
- Google's Nexus program now has its 2014 flagship tier set across both form factors, giving developers a fixed reference device for building and testing against Lollipop.
Second-order effects
- The mixed-but-positive verdict pressures rival Android tablet makers to match the CPU-per-dollar proposition while differentiating on the exact axes reviewers dinged — display quality and audio — where the Nexus left room.
- The companion Nexus 6 review a week later shows the same pattern of top-tier silicon paired with ergonomic or component trade-offs, signaling that Google is prioritizing raw performance over polish in this generation.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds, the Nexus line's role shifts from pure spec benchmark to software-launch vehicle — a trajectory the following year's Nexus 5X reinforces when a two-year gap yields no meaningful speed improvement, suggesting diminishing returns in mobile silicon were already setting in by mid-decade.
The trend: This review is an early data point in the shift of reference devices from hardware showcases to software-delivery platforms, as Android's value migrates from spec sheets to OS-level experience.