The Shield Tablet, later relaunched as the Shield Tablet K1, is a gaming tablet, developed by Nvidia and released on July 29, 2014. This was Nvidia's second portable gaming device that uses Android. Compared to the Shield Portable, the controller is not permanently connected to the screen, rather it can be purchased separately. Up to four controllers can be wirelessly connected at the same time. While the Shield tablet features an 8-inch 1920×1200 pixel display, it can output 4K resolution signal to a television via HDMI. In November 2015, the tablet was refreshed and renamed as the Shield Tablet K1 and the price was reduced to $200. In August 2016, Nvidia announced it had cancelled plans to release a hardware upgrade to its Shield Tablet products - a speculated reason for the cancellation was product conflict with the Nintendo Switch, which uses similar technology. In mid-2017 the tablet was no longer for retail on Nvidia's website or any of the other websites in which the tablet was being sold. Nvidia officially announced in mid-2018 that the tablet has been discontinued on the Shield website.
Features
The Shield Tablet is powered by an Nvidia Tegra K1SoC and has stereo front facing speakers. There's a 16 GB WiFi-only model and a 32 GB LTE model. It has front and back facing 5 megapixel HDR cameras. It weighs 390 grams and is 221 x 126 x 9.2 mm in size. The 2015 Shield K1 refresh weighs 356 grams while preserving the other dimensions of the tablet.
Software updates
Shield Tablet
Nvidia released Shield Tablet OTA 2.0 update with Android 5.0 Lollipop on November 18, 2014. The Shield Tablet OTA 2.1 update with Android 5.0.1 Lollipop & OpenGL 4.5 support was released on December 23, 2014. Shield Tablet OTA 3.1 update with Android 5.1.1 was released on July 30, 2015. Shield Tablet OTA 4.0 update with Android 6.0 Marshmallow was released on February 1, 2016. Shield Tablet OTA 4.1 update with Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow was released on May 12, 2016., OTA 4.2 update on July 12, 2016, OTA 4.3 update on October 10, 2016 & OTA 4.4 update on November 3, 2016. Nvidia released Shield Tablet OTA 5.0 update with Android 7.0 Nougat on February 9, 2017.
Shield Tablet K1
Nvidia released Shield Tablet K1 OTA 1.0 update with Android 6.0 Marshmallow on December 21, 2015 and the Shield Tablet K1 OTA 1.1 on February 1, 2016. Nvidia released Shield Tablet K1 OTA 1.2 update with Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow & Vulkan support on April 13, 2016., OTA 1.3 update on June 15, 2016, OTA 1.4 update on September 13, 2016 & OTA 1.5 update on November 3, 2016. Nvidia released Shield Tablet K1 OTA 5.0 update with Android 7.0 Nougat on February 9, 2017.
SIM card slot in the 32GB LTE model with LTE, HSPA+, 3G, 2G, GSM and EDGE connection.
Issues
On July 31, 2015, Nvidia issued a recall to replace Shield Tablet devices, sold between July 2014 and July 2015, since the battery had overheating issues that posed a fire hazard. The Shield Tablet K1 supports DirectStylus 2. However, this requires the user to upgrade to system update 1.2. This update provides integration of its unique software features into Android.
Reception
Android Central's Andrew Martonik likes the Shield Tablet, praising its speakers and the Twitch streaming ability. The downsides are that the tablet is heavier than its competitor and it may be too expensive for some. The Shield Tablet K1 released in late 2015 comes without a charger or stylus.
