The Nexus 6 Review: Hardware
Part One: Hardware
Towards the end of October, a funny thing always happens. The Android faithful’s ears slam into the ground below them. Awaiting Google’s yearly iteration of the storied Nexus line. Google has done a fantastic job of driving the hype train for their fantastic line of devices in the past. One could even argue that they have generated as much hype as Apple has.
The Nexus 6 is here(sort of), and it’s large and in charge. Google, as usual, was incapable of keeping up with demand for the Nexus 6. I was lucky enough to refresh at the right time. I’ve spent time with the Nexus 6 throughout November. There are questions that remain, is the Nexus 6 worthy of the $650 price tag? Is the Nexus 6 the mainstream device set to dethrone Samsung and LG and take back the Android kingdom?
Specs
Those are flagship specs alright. Gaming was silky smooth on the Nexus 6(I don’t know if it was 60fps Master Race smooth). But most games have yet to be optimized for the 2560x1440 resolution found on the Nexus 6.
Here is how the Nexus 6 stacks up in benchmarks, if that’s your gig.
Surprisingly, the OnePlus One scores higher in benchmarks than the Nexus 6. In real world performance, both are incredibly smooth and buttery to use. I do believe the lower score is from slower I/O speeds due to Lollipop having encryption. I did not notice a difference in load times and speeds on the Nexus 6. If there is any slow down due to encryption, it’s minor.
Look and Feel
Let’s just say this right now. The Nexus 6 is large. The Nexus 6 is a whale of a phone. The Nexus 6 is gigantor/unwieldy/ridiculous/whatever other size-based adjective you want to throw at it. The Nexus 6 is a massive phone. It’s a Moto X that you left in water overnight, discovering it has grown exponentially through the night. It’s very clearly in small tablet territory. But, if you’re currently reading this on a Samsung Galaxy Note 3 or 4, OnePlus One, LG G3, or iPhone 6 Plus. The Nexus 6 is not a radical departure from those ample sized devices. Yes, it’s larger than them due to it’s 5.96inch screen. But it doesn’t feel that much larger. Within two days of trading out my OnePlus One for a Nexus 6, I felt right at home. That being said, using a larger screen device requires a certain level of finger gymnastics skill to operate in one hand. With my large hands, I can operate the Nexus 6 is one hand. I wouldn’t say that it’s comfortable to do so, but it’s doable.
The device isn’t svelte like an iPhone 6 or LG G3. Google and Motorola has opted for an ergonomic approach to the design of the Nexus 6. The device has a curve from the sides into the center, just like in the Moto X(which the device is designed after). This means two things for the Nexus 6: 1, it feels fantastic to use in the hand. 2, the extra space allows Motorola to cram a larger battery into the already large footprint. The decision to choose ergonomics and battery size over svelte profiles is more than welcome in my books.
The Nexus 6 weighs in a 184g(6.49oz). This may seem like a hefty device to some. But given the size, it’s doesn’t feel heavy, but rather quite balanced.
The curved back does come with a tradeoff, though. Setting the device down on a table and using it is absolutely impossible. Because so little of the device is actually in contact with the table, it wobbles and spins around any time you tap or swipe. A small gripe, but something that I have found to be annoying in normal usage.
The back of the device is a soft plastic-like texture. It’s smooth and feels great in the hand. But it is quite the fingerprint magnet. I wouldn’t call that a major flaw, but it’s definitely noticeable.
The back of the device also houses the camera with a ring flash surrounding it. The ring flash is a visual departure from other phones. Giving it a little personality. Below the camera flash is a the “M” Motorola logo dimple. It has gone back to the design of the 2013 Moto X being an actual dimple rather than the metal ring/moveable plastic dimple of the 2014 Moto X. The dimple, however, is not placed with my hand grip in mind. I might have a weird crab-like grip, but I could not comfortably rest any finger on the dimple while using the Nexus 6. Below the dimple lies the landscape oriented Nexus emblazoning. It has a slight metallic shimmer to it.
The rim of the device is made of metal, exactly the same as the Hobbit sized Moto X(2014). It adds an immense amount of structural rigidity to the Nexus 6. The Nexus 6 feels incredibly sturdy, with little to no give with force. Along the top of the device is the headphone jack. It lies in the center of the top edge, right where the device curves to the middle. To the right of the headphone jack is the Nano-SIM tray. Along the bottom of the device is the MicroUSB charging port and the FCC and regulatory information. The fact that the ugly tramp stamps that have long plagued the aesthetics of phones is a travesty to all of technology. Luckily, a law was just passed deeming the FCC info ruining the back of our devices unnecessary. Until that law is put into effect, Motorola has chosen to put the ugly information on the bottom of the device. It’s one of my favorite subtleties of the Nexus 6.
The left side of the device holds a whole lot of nothing. The right side, however, houses both the power button and the volume rocker. The power button is textured just like the Moto X was. But the buttons on the Nexus 6 are significantly more tactile than the Moto X’s. The buttons have long travel and a satisfying clickiness to them. The buttons on the Nexus 6 are positioned just past halfway down the device(or up, if you’re an optimist). This is the norm of larger phones, and is a great addition here. It makes using those buttons while using the device in one hand much easier.
The front of the device holds the massive 5.96inch screen, the dual front facing speakers, and the front facing camera. There’s basically nothing but screen on the front of the device, which is a really good thing. The Nexus 6 also has standard thin bezels. They aren’t as thin as the LG G3, but they’re still thin. The forehead and chin of the device are quite small. Since Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, Google has made the design standard for on-screen navigation buttons. This allows for the shrinking of the tops and bottoms of devices. The screen also ever so slightly curves off the edge of the device until it meets the metal trim. It’s almost like a ship was meant to sail off of it in an older world. But this is 2014, and it feels great to use. It’s not as fluid and sleek as the iPhone 6 or 6 Plus. But it’s still a nice touch
Screen
Speaking of the screen, The Nexus 6 has a 5.96inch 2560x1440 AMOLED screen. This clocks in at a whopping 493ppi. Now, my last three smartphones have been 1080p panels, my monitor is 1080p, and my TV is 1080p. Most of my content is consumed at the resolution of 1080p. I’ve heard the reports of a 2560x1440 screen being needless(much like they stated 1080p panels would be). In my experience, the extra pixels are nice to have. But they aren’t anything to throw money at yet. 1080p is still the king of content.
Nearly all content I consumed on my Nexus 6 was 1080p. So I completely agree with the sentiment that a 2560x1440 display is needless in this day and age. That being said, being able to look at my photos I take on this gorgeous resolution was quite a treat. But definitely not a treat worth $650 off contract by itself. So if you’re wanting the Nexus 6 solely for the pixels, you might be disappointed at the lack of available content.
The screen itself is quite solid through and through. The Nexus 6 does have an AMOLED display. Which means blacks are true black because the backlight won’t illuminate the black pixels. Colors are vibrant with the minor AMOLED saturation that’s the norm. It’s not a drastic saturation by any means, but it is there.
Viewing angles are also great on the Nexus 6. Seeing as the Nexus 6 does house a larger than most display, sharing a clip on it might be something you do. Knowing that everyone around you can see that great cat video without any distortion is fantastic.
Speakers
The Nexus 6 has dual front facing stereo speakers. This is so great, just so great. I’m not one for playing music through my speakers on my phone very often. But the Nexus 6 is a great choice if you do. The speakers get quite loud, probably because there are two of them. Luckily, even at the highest volumes, I did not notice any real tinniness like you normally do with phone speakers. I did find that the bass didn’t pack a large punch. But these are phone speakers, not reference monitors. When consuming content like a movie or a TV show, it was immensely more immersive than a bottom or rear firing speaker.
This is probably because the sound is firing right at your face, though. This is the second device I’ve used that has front facing speakers. The other being the Nexus 9 from HTC, but more on that soon.
Battery
The battery life on the Nexus 6, and any phone for that matter, was my biggest fear. I have been consistently using the OnePlus One for six months. Which has phenomenal battery life. I gave up on the Moto X due to it’s average battery performance. I was concerned that due to the extra pixels found in the Nexus 6’s 2560x1440 display, battery would suffer.
I was wrong.
Battery life has been absolutely better than I expected. The Snapdragon 805 SoC is a power sipper, coupled with Android 5.0 Lollipop, I was delighted to see my Nexus 6 lasting 18 hours or more on a charge. This was also with heavy use of 3.5–4 hours of screen on time(This was all before Battery Saver mode clicked on at 15%, too).
A little story about just how great it was:
Over Thanksgiving break, I was in New Hampshire visiting relatives. A large snowstorm came crashing in, leaving 20 inches of snow and taking out the power for the entire day. During that time, my entire iPhone using family had their phones give way. When the power whirred back to life, my Nexus 6 sat at 34%.
I was ready to tear the Nexus 6 apart for the lackluster battery life that I had heard murmurings of. I was completely shocked and elated to find fantastic battery for what the hardware offers.
The Nexus 6 charges from dead to full in roughly 4 hours through standard charging. The Nexus 6 also possesses microUSB v2.0, which allows for much faster charging. Included with the phone is Motorola’s Turbo Charger(which normally goes for $35). In just thirty minutes of charging, my Nexus 6 gained 40% of battery. That is quite the turbo charge.
Call Quality
Call quality is a weird thing to talk about on a smartphone. Though the Nexus 6 is a smartphone, and there is phone right in the name. Using these devices for phone calls is a rarity for me today. In the calls I did take and receive, I found myself having to turn the volume down due to it being too loud. I find this to be a great thing. As I’d much rather have to adjust my volume down than not being able to hear them at all.
Overall Hardware Experience
The Nexus 6 is one of the best built phones I've used. It has much more rigidity than it’s predecessor, the Nexus 5. It is aware of it’s large size, and uses conscious design choices such as small bezels and a curved back to make it as comfortable as possible to use.
This leaves the screen to do all the talking for the Nexus 6. The AMOLED Screen is quite fantastic, with vibrant colors and deep blacks. The awesome stereo speakers complete a fantastic package with hardware. But the Nexus 6 would not be any good without solid and consistent battery performance. Luckily, it has all of these things.
