Originally, I was looking at the Moto X Pure (or Moto X Style, depending on your country), Motorola’s latest flagship device. The problem? No Canadian mobile carrier or retailer carried it. If I wanted a pure-Android device, I’d have to settle for the Moto X Play, a device on the same level as my old Nexus 5.
At this point, however, negotiations with my mobile carrier gave me an additional subsidy, opening up $700+ (CAD) flagship devices as options that were previously out of my price range. I had been drooling over the Nexus 6P since it launched eight months ago, and now that I’ve experienced it, I don’t think I could ever go back.
What is it?
The Nexus 6P (2015) is Google’s current flagship smartphone and the eighth device produced under the Nexus brand. Designed and built by Chinese telecommunications company Huawei, it was first unveiled on September 29, 2015 along with its younger brother, the Nexus 5X. It succeeds the Nexus 6 (2014) from Motorola and was the first device to feature the new Android 6.0 Marshmallow operating system.
The Nexus 6P is the first device in the Nexus lineup featuring an all-aluminum body, reversible USB Type C connectivity, and the Nexus Imprint fingerprint reader.
It`s features include a 2.0GHz Octa-Core Snapdragon 810 processor, 5.7" 1440x2560 pixel (518ppi) WQHD AMOLED display, Adreno 430 GPU, 3GB of RAM, a 3450 mAh non-removable battery, a 12.3 MP rear camera with f/2.0 lens and IR laser-assisted autofocus, a 8 MP front camera with f/2.4 lens and dual front-facing stereo speakers.
The 6P comes in 32, 64 and 128GB varieties, with NFC, Bluetooth 4.2, 802.11ac WiFi (2.4 & 5GHz) and LTE connectivity. At $699 CAD ($499 USD), the Nexus 6P is a device which makes very few compromises and stands out as one of the cheapest flagship devices on the market.
Design
As mentioned above, the Nexus 6P continues a recent trend in the high-end smartphone market by having an all-aluminium body. This change in materials from previous Nexus devices allows for a slight reduction in weight (179g vs 184g for the Nexus 6) and gives it a premium feeling.
Available color option include aluminium (silver), graphite (black), frost (white), and gold.
When looking at the back of the device, the eye is immediately drawn to the camera “bump”, which spans the width of the phone, housing the rear-facing camera, LED flash, laser auto focus, NFC coil, GPS, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and cellular antennas. Moving down, next is the Nexus Imprint fingerprint reader, which sits in the center and is represented by a circular indentation. Also on the back is the familiar vertical Nexus logo and manufacturer branding.
Moving along the sides, we find the 3.5mm headphone jack at the top, Nano-SIM tray on the left-hand side, power, and volume rocker on the right-hand side, and reversible USB C port at the bottom.
The front panel is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 4 and features dual front-facing speakers, the forward facing camera and proximity sensor.
Using It
Wow, this is a thing of beauty. Using the 6P as my daily driver for the last few weeks, I’ve already gotten accustomed to features that I had never used before. Most notably, the fingerprint sensor. I used to consider this more of a novelty, a “look what I can do” ploy to lure people into buying it. That was before I knew the joy of never having to type in my passcode and having the phone unlocked and ready to do while I’m still taking it out of my pocket. It works 99% of the time, with most issues stemming from placement of my finger, rather than the capabilities of the sensor.
Watching video takes up a large portion of my phone usage on a daily basis, and the 6P delivers on every level. The screen is absolutely gorgeous with the Quad HD AMOLED display providing an excellent viewing experience for everything from Netflix to YouTube and everything in between. The biggest takeaway so far has to be battery life. In the past, I could rarely get through the day on a full charge. Now, I can go an entire day without dropping below 50%. That includes multiple hours of streaming video and audio, on top of browsing social media and checking email.
Turning to audio, Google finally added a much desired feature: front-facing speakers. Since the HTC M8 was released almost two years ago and popularized the concept, consumers have been crying out for other device makers to do the same. The dual speakers on the Nexus 6P sound amazing and output at an impressive volume. Recently, using just the device speakers, I played music in my vehicle while driving on the highway and was quite surprised at how well they were able to fill the vehicle with sound.
Smartphone cameras and their specifications have never been a deciding factor for me when choosing a device. I don’t take photos or shoot video very often, but when I do (usually to capture a spontaneous moment), all I want is for it to work. So far, the 6P’s rear and front facing cameras have performed well. I’m looking forward to situations where shooting 4K video or in slow motion would make sense, but so far, I haven’t used many of the new features.
As always, the Vanilla Android experience, the way Google intended Android to be experienced, continues to be my preferred choice when it comes to smartphone operating systems. The 6P continues the tradition of no bloatware or tacky skins often found on devices made by Samsung, LG and HTC. Although many manufacturers have toned down their modifications in recent years, Nexus still does it best in the software department.
Like
- Nexus Imprint - Not just a gimmick
- Operating System - Pure, Vanilla Android
- Display - Outstanding quality and robustness
- USB C - The new standard for charging
- Sound - Front facing speakers FTW
- Battery Life - Finally, a device I can carry all day
- Design - The beauty of an all-aluminum chassis
- Internals - High quality without the cost
No Like
- Grip - Aluminium may look good, but it sure is slippery (Fixed easily enough by a case or skin)
Should You Buy It?
Yes. I regard the Nexus 6P as the 2015 Smartphone of the Year, hands down. With device manufacturers rolling out their new lineups over the coming months, you may even be able to find one on sale. But don’t delay too long. Once the 6P’s successor is announced, it won’t be long until it’s pulled from the Play Store.
Overall Rating: 5/5
Website: https://store.google.com/product/nexus_6p
Buy it on Amazon:
Canada: https://www.amazon.ca/Huawei-Nexus-6P-Graphite-smartphone/dp/B015YCRZ06/
United States: http://www.amazon.com/Huawei-Nexus-6P-Graphite-smartphone/dp/B015YCRZ06
