I thought I had finished with my last post about the Nexus 9, but I decided to sign up for the Google Beta testing of the new Android N on the N9.
So, I duly signed up and downloaded the update, with the occasional warning about it being unstable and not a finished product. Hey, I felt the N9 was running so poorly anyway that it couldn’t get any worse.
I was wrong!
I was very wrong and it can and has gotten worse. N downloaded and installed an optimised. All the standard stuff we have now become familiar with when upgrading or installing Android.
I read all the extras that were available via N and thought they would be good to try out. However my N9, (Thanks HTC for getting it so wrong with this product), had its own ideas in mind.
I had previously mentioned the various problems I was having with the N9 in my previous reviews and had suggested you give it a wide berth. My opinion is still the same.
So what has got worse?
Well, where do I start? Seriously, all looked well and the minor changes to layout were there and all seemed Ok.
Now, after using it for a few slow, very slow weeks, some apps are unstable and not happy at all and crash with an on-screen message asking if I want to close or wait.
The screen changes orientation at will and then logs out of the desktop and you have to log in again. This is so annoying when you are not even touching it and watching a video and when you log in again it has closed it down.
Battery life seems to be very poor and remember it was not good before this improvement.
I am a fan
You wouldn’t think I was a fan of Nexus devices with these posts, but I am and would have a nexus device tomorrow again. Not a N9 however and am looking at a Pixel C.
I think Google could do so much better here and have lost the plot on the N9 and the Pixel C is too heavily priced at present taking away from the ethos that was there when I bought my N7 way back. Low price and highest spec on the market. Come on Google get the focus back to the users and the loyal fan base and get Nexus range back on track and support the people who are supporting you.
So, as far as going up the alphabet, I am sure that Android N will be great when launched and I am only experiencing the bugs that will be ironed out before it does. I do operate very mobile in my business and private usage just now and feel slightly out on a limb on which device to purchase next. One that has raw Android and is cost effective.
The tech talk now is that Google are going to ditch the Nexus range, and produce their own hardware. This is (apparently) part of a bid to crack the high end smartphone market.
I’ve seriously thought about the Pixel C myself, and from what reviews I’ve read the hardware is spot on. What lets it down apparently is the OS – Android Marshmallow. This has primarily been designed for phones – not tablets – and it shows. I noticed something along these lines when my Nexus 10 upgraded to Lollipop (you can’t get Marshmallow for a Nexus 10). A lot of the standard apps could not or would not take advantage of the bigger screen, where this had not been a problem on KitKat. So I’ll have to wait a bit, which suits my bank balance just fine 🙂
Hi Jim, Thanks for the comments mate. Yes indeed I had heard that the Pixel is great hardware and the Os lets it down. However, I think they are , or hope they are rectifying this in the N version of Android. With regard to the rumours that keep surfacing of the Nexus range being scrapped, I think I read an article recently that stated they were going to continue it.
I certainly hope so as I have turned into a Nexus Raw Android fan and hate when companies skin it with their own interpretations.
Same as you though, can’t justify a new tablet at this time so hope that the N9 settles and when N goes on it, that all will be well for a while.