X

LG's G Pad 8.3 offers Google Play Edition with Android 4.4

The special edition tablet is available through Google starting today.

Roger Cheng Former Executive Editor / Head of News
Roger Cheng (he/him/his) was the executive editor in charge of CNET News, managing everything from daily breaking news to in-depth investigative packages. Prior to this, he was on the telecommunications beat and wrote for Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal for nearly a decade and got his start writing and laying out pages at a local paper in Southern California. He's a devoted Trojan alum and thinks sleep is the perfect -- if unattainable -- hobby for a parent.
Expertise Mobile, 5G, Big Tech, Social Media Credentials
  • SABEW Best in Business 2011 Award for Breaking News Coverage, Eddie Award in 2020 for 5G coverage, runner-up National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Award for culture analysis.
See full bio
Roger Cheng
LG

Google is giving you a reason to take a second look at the LG G Pad 8.3. Google and LG on Tuesday unveiled a Google Play Edition of the G Pad 8.3, complete with Android 4.4, or KitKat.

It's the first tablet to be given the designation of Google Play Edition. (Last year's Samsung Nexus 10 was a Nexus device.) Earlier this year, Google released a Google Play Edition of the Samsung Galaxy S4 and HTC One.

Like the two phones, the G Pad will come with a pure Android experience.

The G Pad 8.3 Google Play Edition is just the latest device sold directly by Google through the Google Play store. Where it once had a single product -- the Nexus One -- Google now offers an intriguing range of tablets, phones, Chromebooks, and media dongles, moving beyond its roots as a search-and-display, ad-driven company.

The Google Play Edition of the G Pad 8.3 will retail in the US for $349 and is available in glossy "indigo black." The companies haven't announced its availability outside of the US.

As with the previous G Pad 8.3, the latest tablet comes with a 1,900x1,200 full, HD IPS display; a 1.7 quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 processor; a 4,600mAh battery; 2GB of RAM; a rear 5MP camera and a front-facing 1.3MP camera; and 16GB of storage.

Mobile Guides

Phones
Foldable Phones
Headphones
Mobile Accessories
Smartwatches
Wireless Plans
Mobile coupons