Early Thoughts: The Nexus 6
It’s that time of year again. The hype machine has blown up, and out of the cannon launched the Nexus 6. Google’s storied yearly project is here. I was fortunate enough to mash F5 at the right time to successfully order one. The device was delivered to my door earlier this week. Here are my early thoughts about the Nexus 6.
Yes, the Nexus 6 is a large phone. It has a large 5.9” display. It would be classified as a large phablet or a small tablet if you were to look at screen size alone. But Motorola has crammed that 6 inch screen into a 6.27 x 3.27 x .41 inch package(159.3 x 83 x 10.1mm). That’s .25 inches taller and wider than the OnePlus One. But with a half inch larger screen. With the sloped back on the Nexus 6, it doesn’t feel like a radical departure from other phablets. It definitely does take some getting used to, though.
The Nexus 6’s screen is a QHD 2560x1440 AMOLED panel with a whopping 493ppi. Text is insanely crisp and photos are clear as day. The bright colors in Android 5.0 Lollipop are crisp and really pop.
The Nexus 6 runs Android 5.0 Lollipop out of the box. Lollipop is the most radical departure for Android to date. It’s refined, gorgeous, and fluid. It runs well on the Nexus 6 so far. I am aware of the encryption slowing down Lollipop devices, but I have yet to conclusively test it.
The device feels sturdy. I was a huge fan of the build quality of the Moto X. Seeing as this is a jumbotron version of the Moto X, the same build is found here. That’s a little more reassuring to me.
The camera is a 13 megapixel sensor. I don’t have much to say on it yet, but I’ve been impressed with what I’ve tested. The ring flash found on the Moto X is back. I was a huge fan of it solely because it was aesthetically unique.
I’m rocking the carrier free Nexus 6 straight from Google Play, so there’s no carrier badge. There was no way I was getting into the mess of the AT&T Variant of the Nexus 6. That also means that I paid the full, unsubsidized $649 for the 32GB Midnight Blue variant. I will be reviewing at that price tag.
The FCC Information is also on the bottom of the device on either side of the charging port, leaving the back completely free of that ugly text.
