 For years, Google has been chasing the iPad. It went low-cost and small with the Nexus 7, then big and high-resolution with the Nexus 10. With its new $399 Nexus 9 available today, Google has taken its closest shot to the iPad yet. The Nexus 9's hardware should look familiar. It's quite literally last year's Nexus 5 smartphone stretched to a tablet size. But this time, HTC is building the device instead of LG. Some of HTC's influence can be found on the metal trim around the 9 and front-facing speakers, so this is definitely a Google design through and through. The 9 is available in three different colors, but our review unit here is a basic soft-touch black. The sides of the tablet are metal, but the back is soft-touch plastic, and it's really prone to catching all kinds of fingerprints and just human grease. It feels okay, but it doesn't feel nearly as nice as Apple's iPad Airs or iPad Minis. Little details like the power button and the volume rocker feel cheap and low-rent. It weighs just under a pound, which is in spitting distance of the Air 2's weight, and it's a bit heavier than an iPad Mini. It's just under 8mm thick, not as thin as an Air 2, but definitely thin enough to not make much of a difference. But though the Nexus 9 is a smaller display than the Air 2, it feels much closer to Apple's larger tablet than its mini versions. It's comfortable enough to hold for longer reading sessions, but it can be unwieldy to use in one hand. The 8.9-inch display is the same resolution and aspect ratio as the Air 2, but it's just not nearly as nice looking. The colors often look washed, there's a visible air gap between the glass and the LCD itself, and the backlight is easily visible on the sides of the screen. It's not a bad display for a low-cost tablet, but when the Nexus 9 is playing in the same price bracket or higher as an iPad, it's just not up to par. The front-facing speakers are a nice touch, it's something I wish Apple would implement on the iPads. They're loud and clear, and even though my hands cover them when I hold the tablet in landscape, they don't really get muffled as a result. There's also an obligatory 8 megapixel camera and flash on the back of the 9, and a 1.6 megapixel camera up front for video calls. Neither camera is hugely impressive, but they get the job done for what they're expected to do. Even Google's offering a keyboard case for the Nexus 9, it pairs over NFC and Bluetooth, and it sells for about $129. Unfortunately the case isn't available for purchase yet, and Google wasn't able to provide one to us in time for this review. But regardless of its hardware, the Nexus 9 is mostly a showcase for Android 5.0 Lollipop. Lollipop is the biggest revamp to Android in years, and the Nexus 9 is the first device shipping with the new platform. There are new animations, new design ideas, and better performance all over the place. It's the best Android has ever looked and felt, and it really lays the foundation for a modern mobile platform. The animations are pretty and informative, and the new multitasking menu is nicer to look at and nicer to use. The whole platform itself is just downright pretty. Google has updated many of its core apps to integrate with Lollipop's new design and features including an all new Gmail app that works with virtually any email account, and a new calendar app that displays contextual images and pictures based on your appointments. It's a great platform, but there aren't many places outside of Google's own apps where it takes advantage of the larger display on the Nexus 9. It really feels just the same as a phone OS stretched to a larger screen. There are some neat software tricks Google specifically built for the Nexus 9. You can double tap to wake the screen, and the OK Google voice command works even when the display is off, just like Motorola's Moto X. The 9 is the first Nexus device to come with a 64-bit processor. It's powered by Nvidia's Tegra K1, it's got a ridiculous number of cores, and 2GB of RAM. But even with all of that processing power, the 9 lags in places where it shouldn't, and apps take an awful long time to load. The 9 can handle gaming fine, and HD videos aren't a problem, but it gets really warm in a short time with just moderate activity, and it gets downright hot when it's doing something intensive, like playing Goat Simulator. The Nexus 9 is Google's best attempt at matching the iPad, but despite the new processor, better build quality, and improved display, the Nexus 9 still feels two steps behind where Apple is. At nearly $400 for a 16GB model, the Nexus 9 is playing in the big leagues with a minor league team, making it tough to recommend to anyone other than Android diehards.