Google Nexus 9 specs, price and release date - pre-order now

Google has announced the Nexus 9. The 8.9in tablet will be one of the first devices to run Android Lollipop, Google's latest mobile operating system. The Nexus 9 will come in black, white and 'sand' (light brown) and comes with 2GB of RAM and in 16GB and 32GB models. The Nexus 9 will launch on the 3rd of November with pre-orders opening on 16 October. Prices start at $399 (£248) although actual UK pricing is yet to be announced.

Leaked specs and other details about the Nexus 9 have proven to be correct, with HTC the company behind the latest Nexus tablet. The Nexus 9 has "brushed metal sides" rather than an entirely metal chassis. It is powered by a 64-bit Nvidia Tegra K1 processor and a Kepler GPU. On the back there's an 8MP (f/2.4) camera with auto-focus and LED flash while on the front there's a 1.6MP (f/2.4) camera.

iPad Air 2 vs Nexus 9 - specs comparison

The 8.9in screen has a 4:3 aspect ratio and a resolution of 2,048x1536. It is made of Gorilla Glass 3 and comes with 'double tap to wake' to turn the tablet on. It also has NFC and Bluetooth 4.1. The Nexus 9 weighs in at 425g and measures 153.68mm by 228.25mm by 7.95mm.

The 6,700 mAh battery has a claimed battery life of around nine hours while browsing the web over Wi-Fi. This drops to 8.5 hours for LTE browsing. Video playback battery life is given as 9.5 hours. On the outside there's a micro-USB port, 3.5mm audio, and dual front-facing speakers with HTC BoomSound. The Nexus 9 also has dual microphones.

A magnetically attached keyboard (sold separately) turns the Nexus 9 into a tablet/laptop hybrid with Google claiming it will help people "get stuff done" no matter where they are.

Google's Nexus 9 is going up against a revamped range of Apple iPad's, with Apple announcing the iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3 while also dropping the price of older models. The Nexus 9 sits between the high-spec iPad Air 2 and low-price iPad mini 2 (previously the iPad mini with Retina Display), so it is difficult to compare Google's latest tablets with any of the new iPad models.

Going purely on price the 16GB Wi-Fi only Nexus 9 is likely to cost £299 in the UK (it is $399/£248 in the US), which matches it up with the 16GB Wi-Fi only iPad mini 3 (£319). Apple's has dropped the price of old iPads so you can now pick up the iPad mini 2 16GB Wi-Fi only for £239 or £279 for the 32GB version. The original 16GB iPad mini costs £199. 

The Nexus 9 will be one of the first devices to run Android Lollipop, with Google's new operating system rolling out to other recently released Android devices over the coming weeks. The Nexus 9 will be available to pre-order from 17 October ahead of its launch on 3 November. The 'base price' of the Nexus 9 in the US will be $399 (£248).

For more information about the Nexus 9 and Nexus 6 visit the updated Google Nexus website. It isn't yet clear if the arrival of the Nexus 9 will see Google quietly kill off the Nexus 7. The smaller tablet currently isn't listed on the Nexus website but it has been speculated that Google will keep selling the Nexus 7 as a budget device.