While we were waiting for HTC and Google to announce an 8.9-inch Nexus tablet, we’ve been served with more than one leak about the much awaited Nexus 9, also known by its aliases; Volantis and Flounder. The latest information comes from hardware-assessing app CPU-Z, which confirms that the SoC in charge of the Nexus 9 is none other than the latest dual-core 64-bit Nvidia Tegra K1.
The Tegra K1 inside the Nexus 9 will have a top clock speed of 2.5GHz which is higher than the 2.2GHz non-64-bit Tegra K1. Nvidia claims that Tegra K1 chip is 1.5 times more efficient than its competition as it has a lasting battery life despite the immense power. The Tegra K1 has a 192-core GPU based on the desktop-grade Kepler architecture and Nvidia’s Cuda cores.
HTC Nexus 9 (Flounder/Volantis) Unconfirmed Specifications
- 8.9-inch display, 2048x1440, pixel, 281 PPI
- Android 5.0 L operating system
- 2.5GHz dual-core Nvidia Tegra K1, 64-bit support, Nvidia Kepler GPU
- 2GB RAM, 16/32GB of internal storage
- 8MP main camera with OIS, 3MP front-facing camera
- Aluminum zero-gap construction, stereo front-facing speakers
- 22.63 x 15.19 x 7.9 mm
- 418g (or 427g with LTE) (that's 14.74/15.1 ounces)
Looks like Nvidia has finally gained momentum in the mobile SoC market, just when they delated that they are shifting their focus away towards in-car infotainment systems and other categories. Going by the recent reviews, the non 64-bit version of Tegra K1 which has been used in the Xiaomi MiPad and it turned out to be a great SoC in terms of performance as well as battery life. If Nvidia's claims about the 64-bit Tegra K1 (Denver) are true, it will give a tough fight to Qualcomm's Snapdragon 810 and MediaTek's MT6795, both of which utilise 64-bit CPU cores and newer generation GPU cores.
