HTC Nexus 9 review: Game on

Contacts

The contacts manager has received a thorough refresh in Android 5.0 Lollipop. The app features tabbed interface, which displays all contacts and the favorites.

The contacts app

You can sync with multiple accounts including Google and Exchange. A button to add a new contact is constantly present in the bottom right corner - you can choose which account to sync the new addition with.

Sync options • adding a contact

Viewing a contact is a straightforward affair. Missing profile pictures are replaced by solid color.

Viewing a single contact

Overall, the new contact manager boasts the usual high functionality.

Messaging and text input

Gmail for Android has been thoroughly refreshed with the released of 5.0 Lollipop. The latest version of the app is now the only email client you will need on your Android device - it can handle any account you throw at it, including non-Google ones.

Gmail for Android has become more talented

Overall functionality of the app has remained similar to the one it replaces. Swiping from the left reveals the inbox and the various email folders. You can also switch email accounts from the top left corner.

A look at the inbox and the folders

A button to start a new message sits at the top right bottom of the app. The composition screen holds no surprises.

Composing a message

Google has found a cool way to tell you about the new Gmail functionality. There's still an icon for the generic email client. However, once pressed, it prompts you to go to Gmail.

A clever way to tell you about Gmail's new functionality

As expected, the default Android keyboard has been refreshed too. It offers two sleek-looking, brand new skins - Material Dark and Material Light. The duo matches the new look of Android 5.0 Lollipop.

The stock Android keyboard

Users who don't like change can choose the old Holo theme. Overall, the stock Android keyboard is one of the best in the business and a great option to have out of the box.

Loudspeaker

The Nexus 9 tablet has stereo speakers on its front - that's the HTC special sauce - and they provide good quality sound. They are not too loud though, which hampers their usability for notification a bit, but the tablet still compares favorably against its competition.

Speakerphone test	Voice, dB	Pink noise/ Music, dB	Ringing phone, dB	Overall score
Sony Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact	66.2	66.3	65.3	Below Average
Google Nexus 10	68.3	66.1	67.8	Average
HTC Nexus 9	66.2	64.6	75.7	Average
Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4	68.7	66.5	75.8	Good
Apple iPad Air 2	75.3	70.9	78	Very Good
Samsung Galaxy Note 4	74.7	73.5	81.6	Excellent

You can find out more about our loudspeaker test here.