If you
considered the remainder between the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 5S was big, then
Google has a surprise for you. The alterations made between last year’s Nexus 5
and the new Nexus 6 are vast. In fact, there has even been a change of device
category: from smartphone to phablet.
Furthermore,
there’s a new manufacturer, entirely new hardware inside and out, a change of
design and even a change in approach to pricing. And then let’s dive straight
in.
Display:
Nexus 6 – 5.96-inch 2560 x 1440 Vs Nexus 5 – 4.95-inch 1920 x 1080
Irrespective
of everything else I write in this station, everything is starting to come back
to the show.
Nexus 6
Quite frankly the screen in the Nexus 6 is monstrous. More than an inch has been added to the diagonal length since the Nexus 5 and the resolution has increased from Full HD to a mouthwatering 2560 x 1440 pixels (‘QHD’ or 2k). This is the same resolution as the 5.5-inch LG G3 and 5.7-inch Galaxy Note 4 and substantially higher than the Full HD resolution in the iPhone 6 Plus.
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There is also a change in screen type. The Nexus 5 uses an IPS+ capacitive touchscreen, while the Nexus 6 copies the AMOLED used in its inspiration, the Moto X (my favourite smartphone of the year). AMOLED can divide users as it is extremely bright and colours risk being garish, but the Moto X has a phenomenal AMOLED display and there is no reason to think the step up in size and resolution shouldn’t bring even better results.
As for construction, like the Nexus 5 (and virtually all premium smartphones), the Nexus 6 uses Corning Gorilla Glass 3 (sapphire suddenly seems a long way off) making its screen no tougher or weaker than the handsets you already use.
Motorola Nexus 6
Design – Nexus 6: 159.2 x 82.3 x 10mm, 184g Vs Nexus 5 137.9 x 69.2 x 8.6mm, 130g
Of course the downside in fitting such a big (and potentially brilliant) display, is the Nexus 6 is big… like massive.
Compared to the Nexus 5, the Nexus 6 has a form factor which is nearly 40% larger and 30% heavier. In fact, it is even larger and heavier than its most significant phablet rivals:
iPhone 6 Plus: 6.22 x 3.06 x 0.28 inches (158.1 x 77.8 x 7.1mm), 6.07 ounces (172g)
Samsung Galaxy Note 4: 6.04 x 3.09 x 0.33-inches (153.5 x 78.6 x 8.5 mm) and 6.21oz (176g)
The flip side is, from an engineering perspective, Motorola has pulled off miracles. Proportional to its screen size, the Nexus 6 is lighter and more compact (in footprint, if not depth) than anything else on the market and it has some incredibly thin bezels.
Nexus 5 – front and back
The problem is, marvel or not, the Nexus 6 remains a huge device. Much like Apple asked significant questions of its loyal iPhone users in ditching the 4-inch form factor, Google arguably pushes its fans even further. The fact the Nexus 6 has a textured back and sides should mean it isn’t slippy in the hand, but that won’t be enough for many.
For those determined to stay within smartphone sizes, it is unknown how long Google will continue to sell the Nexus 5, but interestingly this means its more natural heir is the 5.2-inch Moto X which runs near stock Android and Motorola promises Android updates within 30 days.
Read more: Motorola Moto X (2014) Review: The Year’s Best Smartphone
Performance – Nexus 6: Snapdragon 805, 3GB RAM Vs Nexus 5: Snapdragon 800, 2GB RAM
Every generational change brings greater performance and the Nexus 6 does this emphatically. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 at its heart is two generations on from the 800 chip in the Nexus 5 and it brings not only greater horsepower, but vastly better battery efficiency.
On the horsepower side, the 805’s big benefits are in memory where it has double the throughput of the 800 and has 70% more than the 801 chip used in the Galaxy S5, HTC One M8, LG G3 and Sony Xperia Z3. Furthermore the Nexus 6 has 50% more RAM and a quad core 2.7GHz Krait 450 CPU versus the quad core 2.3GHz Krait 400 in the Nexus 5. Moving to graphics’ the 805’s Adreno 420 GPU is 40% faster than the Adreno 330 in the Nexus 5 yet also 20% more power efficient while it decodes video using 75% less power. (test results source: Tom’s Hardware)
On the downside the 805 can get hot so it is generally tipped for larger phablet form factors which have better thermal properties than smartphones (barring one big exception).
Yes, the Nexus 6 is a huge phablet but it is also – along with the identically specified Samsung Galaxy Note 4 – one of the most powerful you will find.
amera – Nexus 6: 13 Megapixels, f2.0, OIS Vs Nexus 5: 8 Megapixels, f2.4, OIS
The Nexus 5’s relatively unspectacular f2.4 lens got away with a lot thanks to smart firmware updates and optical image stabilisation (OIS). The latter reduces camera shake therefore minimising blur and allowing much longer exposure times, particularly at night. As such it still produces great shots even compared to the latest phones.
But the Nexus 6 is looking to take another step up. It adds the OIS disappointingly absent from the Moto X and combines it with a 13 megapixel f2.0 lens that also supports 4k video recording. Whether this is enough to topple the Galaxy S5 and iPhone 6 Plus at the top of the camera charts remains to be seen, but the Nexus 6 should be a contender.
There is also a small upgrade on the Nexus 5’s front camera with the Nexus 6 moving from 1.3 to 2 megapixels. Don’t expect miracles here, but it will be good for 720p HD video.
Storage – Nexus 6: 32GB and 64GB Vs Nexus 5 16GB and 32GB
A deal breaker for some is the refusal of Google to allow expandable memory in its Nexus range and that trend continues with the Nexus 6.
On the upside Motorola has doubled the size of the storage options, though there is no 128GB option to compete with the most capacious iPhone 6 Plus or the microSD of the Galaxy Note 4.
Battery Capacity – Nexus 6: 3220mAh Vs Nexus 5: 2300mAh
Perhaps the greatest universal benefit of the phablet form factor is the increase it brings in battery life and here is perhaps the Nexus 6’s largest victory over the Nexus 5.
While the Nexus 5 remains an exceptional handset at an exceptional price (more later), its biggest weakness is battery life and it requires gentle use to see you through an average working day.
The Nexus 6 is a different animal completely. It still has a non-removable battery but the capacity is 920mAh larger (the same as the Note 4) and, in combination with the Snapdragon 805 chipset, it claims tablet-like staying power:
- 10 hours of 4G Surfing
- 9.5 hours of WiFi Surfing
- 24 hours talk time
- 330 hours of standby
It isn’t all doom and gloom for the Nexus 5 though because the release of Android 5.0 ‘Lollipop’ will bring with it ‘Project Volta‘ – Google’s battery saving initiative. It works by slashing cellular drain and Arstechnica found a beta build of Android 5.0 running on a Nexus 5 increased battery by over 30%. If this holds up with the final release it could be enough for Nexus 5 to stay put.
Read more: Nexus 5 features and specification
External Speakers – Nexus 6: Dual Stereo, Front Facing Vs Nexus 5: Mono, Side Facing
An often overlooked feature is how often we use the external speakers on our phones and in this regard a lackluster aspect to both the Nexus 5 and Nexus 4 finally gets an overhaul with the Nexus 6.
Consequently the bottom edge firing mono speaker on the Nexus 5 has been replaced with dual front facing stereo speakers on the Nexus 6. Whether they can match the famed dual front facing, stereo speakers on the HTC One range is unknown, but the Moto X has just a single front facing speaker and wasn’t far behind.
Android 5.0 ‘Lollipop’ All Round
I won’t dwell on this (I’ve already covered the main points in the dedicated Nexus 6 guide), but it is important to stress that Android 5.0 will not only launch with the Nexus 6, it will also be coming to the Nexus 5 and even the Nexus 4. Material Design (video above) will be at its forefront along with Project Volta, new notifications, developer tools and faster overall performance thanks to the launch of Android RunTime.
So if you’re thinking about upgrading to the Nexus 6 from Nexus 5 for Android 5.0 cross off that reason. Similarly you can expect all recent premium Android handsets to get the bump. Motorola is leading the way by promising 30 day upgrade timeframes from the Moto X and Moto G while Samsung claims upgrades for the Note 4 and Galaxy S5 will happen within 90 days.
Price And Availability – A Gulf
The Nexus range is famed for its stunning value for money, but it will lose a little of that shine with the launch of the Nexus 6.
Google is pricing the new phablet from $649 contract free for the 32GB version (UK/Euro pricing currently unknown). This still makes it inexpensive for the specifications on offer, but it is not the incredible bargain that made it an impulse buy. How the Nexus 6 will be priced by carriers remains to be seen. Contract free pre-orders through Google Play begin “in late October”.
By contrast the Nexus 5 continues to be sold for a jaw droppingly cheap $349 (16GB) and $399 (32GB). Hopefully Google will continue to sell the Nexus 5 for the life of the Nexus 6 (certainly Android 5.0 should give it a new lease of life), but no official statement has yet been made.
Nexus 6 Vs Nexus 5
Early Verdict
There is no denying that the Nexus 6 is a step up from the Nexus 5 in almost every way. Better screen, hardware, camera, battery life, storage and more. But, as I mentioned earlier, it all comes back to size.
When Google announced the Nexus 5 some complained about the step up in size from the 4.7-inch Nexus 4 and, while a move to 5.5-inches would’ve been understandable, many will be shocked that the Nexus 6 has turned out to be a 6-inch device. This makes it not only a phablet, but one of the largest phablets around.
In fairness to Google the Nexus 6 is extremely compact for its screen size (being little larger than the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus), but whether the raw dimensions are enough to put off potential buyers on their own only time will tell.
Demand for the iPhone 6 Plus has been stronger than expected, so Google may be in for a pleasant surprise. Furthermore the size will bring headlines to the Nexus brand which has typically been more of a reference point for manufacturers than a major Google commercial arm.
The annual release of a Nexus device has long triggered Android fans to automatically upgrade. The Nexus 6 has the feature set to make that happen, but this time not without some serious thought. Switching phones is easy, switching from a phone to a phablet is a different matter entirely.
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