Google Nexus 6P
Matt Swider takes the Google phablet for a run and consider if there’s a better Android device in the world?
The Nexus 6P is Google’s flagship Android phablet for 2015/16, but with a 5.7-inch display and cheaper price it won’t stretch your hand or your wallet quite as far as the 2014 Nexus 6. The ‘P’ in the Nexus 6P’s name stands for ‘Premium’, thanks to its all-metal unibody design that’s meant to rival the aluminum iPhone 6S Plus and glass-and-metal infused Samsung Galaxy Note 5. It’s the bigger and more sophisticated-looking version of the Nexus 5X.
Huawei built the Nexus 6P to be different to any other Googlecommissioned phone. Although relatively flat around the back with barely tapered edges, it feels comfortable in one hand, yet it still takes two hands to operate it properly. Clearly, it was hard to fit everything in as the 12.3MP camera creates an unsightly rear bulge with a black strip, but this eyesore is a fair trade-off given the better low light photos.
The Nexus 6P challenges the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 with a 5.7-inch display and quad HD resolution, keeping pace with its fellow Android juggernauts. The screen has a 2,560x1,440 resolution with a dense 518 pixels per inch, and, all around it looks brighter and more colourful than the 2014 Nexus 6.
Google’s Nexus Imprint Sensor is introduced in the Nexus 6P and Nexus 5X, and it works a lot like other biometric fingerprint sensors with a key difference: registering a new fingerprint takes no longer than eight seconds, whereas Apple and Samsung’s methods require too many long presses and pauses.
The Nexus 6P makes the jump to charging and transferring data via USBC. The advantage is clear: USB-C offers faster charging times, and the connector is reversible. Google at least made the transition easier; the Nexus 6P comes with a USB-C-to-USB cable.
It harnesses the power of the Snapdragon 810 v2.1, which doesn’t run as slow or hot under pressure as the Snapdragon 810 when it debuted in the LG G Flex 2. The Qualcomm’s 64-bit, octa-core processor also combines a faster 2.0GHz quad-core chip and a slower, but more energy efficient, 1.55GHz quad-core one. The results finally strike the right balance.
Saving even more power, the Nexus 6P includes what Google calls the Android Sensor Hub, a dedicated motion chip that drives all sensors on the phone. This leaves the core processing unit more bandwidth (and thus power) to run the OS.
Faster, better model
There’s an Adreno 430 GPU embedded into this System on a Chip, or SoC, too and, more importantly, 3GB of RAM. The hardware is fit for multitasking through a whole bunch of apps without much slowdown.
Running Geekbench 3 sees a score of 4,073, which is much faster than the HTC One M9 (3,595) and LG G4 (3,499), but trails the iPhone 6S Plus (4,418), Samsung Galaxy S6 (4,975) and Note 5 (4,849). It’s exactly what we hoped for, given the souped-up specs, but bargain price compared to top-tier phones from Apple and Samsung.
The camera, along with the Nexus 5X, is the best of any Nexus phone. What’s different here is that the 12.3MP Nexus 6P rear camera captures 1.55-micron pixels, which is larger than the normal 1.4 microns. Translation? Bigger pixels and more light captured.
At 3,450mAh, the battery is bigger than most other phones we’ve reviewed. Google’s phablet lasts slightly longer than one day with heavy use. What helps, if you’re not constantly turning on the display, are Google’s new software tricks: Doze mode and App Standby. They essentially put the phone into a semi-sleep mode.
The Nexus 6P is a luxury phone without the premium to match. Behind its aluminium finish are powerful phone specs that nearly keep up with Apple and Samsung’s flagship phablets. It’s not as fast as the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 Edge+, but this is the best phablet for the price, hands down, and returns the Nexus brand to its more affordable and usable roots. Features Performance Ease of use Value