I bought a 11" tablet BECAUSE it is much bigger than a phone, so I can comfortably watch videos and read technical documents. I might have considered as small as 8", but 10" was really the minimum in my mind.
Given that most android phones are 6-6.5" already, why would anyone buy a 7" tablet in addition to their phone? Maybe as a throwaway gift to a child? Would the market be large enough to be worth it?
But in general I find Android tablets to be pretty lacking in the software support department, even though hypothetically it should be a great platform.
I want something I can comfortably hold in one hand to read books on, a 10 inch iPad or Samsung is just too big (and heavy) to do that, and a phone just feels too squashed at the same time
I'm probably in a hell of a niche but it truly was just the perfect 'sweet spot' size for me
I also have a 7" tablet. Small enough to fit into any backpack, pocket, my wife's purse, etc. Still large enough it's usable with a kickstand and Bluetooth keyboard.
If I want to do real work, I'll just use a PC. The small tablet is a great middle ground away from home.
I use the Note To Self channel in Signal for that. Cross platform, desktop, tablet & mobile. Before i used KDE Connect.
First, the 3g one died, on sudden black screen of death. Then, year or two later, the wifi one, on the flash deterioration.
The flash issue wasn't problem only for Nexus. The Asus Transformer line had exactly the same problem (Nexus 7 was made by Asus).
The 3g one was replaced by Sony Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact. That thing still lives, albeit it is on Android 6 and the battery life is short. Too bad Sony doesn't make tablets any more.
I loved my 2012 Nexus 7, and was a Day 1 upgrader to the 2013 model (my Mom enjoyed the 2012 for many years for eBooks and Facebook)
My Nexus 5 I was also a day 1 purchase, upgrading from a slowly deteriorating Galaxy S2. Unfortunately I had to replace it much earlier after I slipped and fell on uneven concrete and shattered the screen
If Google could just take the SoC of the Pixel 6/7/8/whatever and stuff it in the housing of the Nexus 7 2013, give it a modern battery and a nice OLED screen it would truly be the best tablet on the market. But instead they want "bigger" and are chasing after the iPad with the new pixel tablet