Android Tablet VS iPad 5: 2013 Release Date Imminent, So How Does The Best Compare?

“Android tablet vs iPad5” is probably what’s on the mind of many since the rumored iPad 5 release date of October 15 is coming up so soon in 2013.

As previously reported by The Inquisitr, the Steve Jobs time capsule showed the Apple visionary foresaw devices like the iPad 5 way back in 1983.

But having a crystal ball doesn’t necessarily mean Apple will win the Android tablet VS iPad 5 battle. One of the best Android tablets for 2013 is the Google Nexus 10, so we’ll compare it against the rumored iPad 5 features.

Pitting the Android tablet the Google Nexus 10 versus the iPad 5 is also probably the fairest matchup considering one prime factor in any tablet: the iPad 5 screen size. The Google Nexus 10 announces its screen size in its name, with the Google Nexus 7 having a seven inch screen. iPad 5 screen size rumors are so far assuming the 9.7 inch screen size from the iPad 4 will be retained for the next generation iPad.

Still, the iPad 5 screen size might switch to a 16:9 aspect ratio, which would differentiate the iPad 5 from most other Android tablets. It will probably also borrow the GF2 screen technology from the iPad Mini to reduce its weight and size, so it might catch up with the Google Nexus 10 in that regard.

The Google Nexus 10 comes packing with a 1.7GHz Exynos 5250, a dual-core processor based on the ARM Cortex-A15 architecture. Some of the newer Android tablets come with quad core CPUs, but if the iPhone 5S CPU is any indication it’s possible the iPad 5 CPU will stick to dual core as well. The iPad 5 A7X CPU is expected to double the performance of the iPad 4 and it also introduces the first implementation of the 64-bit ARMv8 instruction set in a tablet, which also was a first with the iPhone 5S and iOS7.

But 64 bit won’t help too much since there’s not many 64 bit iOS7 apps yet. If the iPad 5 memory size matches the 2GB of the Google Nexus 10 then 64 bit will also not be that big of a deal, since the major advantage of a 64 bit processor is the ability to use more than 4GB of memory.

Despite a 64 bit CPU not making much of a difference, if the iPad 5 CPU delivers double the performance then it should beat most Android tablets, including the Google Nexus 10. The iPad 4 GeekBench 2 score was 1769, while the Google Nexus 10 scored 2505. If iPad 5 CPU rumors are correct, that should put the iPad 5 score in the 3000’s. The iPad 4 GPU was already able to best the Google Nexus 10 in GLBenchmark, boasting 39 frames per second (FPS) versus the Nexus’ 27 FPS.

When Apple introduces a new product it’s usually priced to replace the previous generation. Considering this history, the likely iPad 5 price is $499 for the WiFi only 16GB iPad 5, $599 for the 32GB iPad 5, $699 for the 64GB iPad 5, and $799 for the Cadillac 128GB iPad 5. As a comparison, the Google Nexus 10 16GB starts at about $380 before shipping based upon Google shopping.

Who do you think wins the Android tablet vs iPad 5 rumor matchup; the Google Nexus 10 or Apple’s newest iPad?