Damien McFerran defends the gigantic dimensions of Google's latest flagship Android phone
Google’s Nexus range of handsets has a pretty incredible history and a substantial fanbase of loyal users that Google has gradually cultivated over the years. For many, if you go Android there is only one way: Nexus. Why? Simple –– it’s the way Android is meant to be with zero bloatware just as Google intended.
The Nexus line started life in 2010 with the release of the HTC-built Nexus One. But it wasn’t until 2012 that things began to get tasty with the release of the now-seminal LG-built Nexus 4, a remarkable handset retailed at an even more remarkable price point. Google, once again using LG, followed suit a year later with the equally impressive Nexus 5, cementing the reputation of Nexus in the hearts and minds of A LOT of people –– including everybody at KYM.
But change had to come and in 2014 change happened with the release of the Motorola-built Nexus 6, a complete change of direction for Google’s Nexus line. When our very own Richard Goodwin reviewed the Nexus 6, he praised the handset's build quality, power and its new Android Lollipop OS, but took serious issue with the phablet's immense proportions. It's a fair point to make; Google was clearly taking a big risk with its latest flagship device - from corner to corner the display is an inch bigger than the one seen on its immediate forerunner, the Nexus 5.
That's quite a jump, and as Richard rightly pointed out, the phone is simply going to be too big for a lot of users. Yet unlike Apple, which offers two options in the form of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, Google hasn't provided an alternative; if you're a supporter of the Nexus range and want Vanilla Android, then it's the only game in town.
Sure you can get a Moto handset with essentially the same looking UX as a Nexus handset but somehow it’s just not the same. Those that have religiously used Nexus handsets since way back in the day, circa 2010/11, are a dedicated, loyal pocket of people and they don’t like bloatware, costly price tags and useless, gimmicky features. In this respect the Nexus is kind of like the TVR of the mobile space; stripped down, powerful and built for one thing only. And it is all of this which made the Nexus 6, once announced, such a contentious handset.
Google discussed the relative ups and downs of its smallest money resource, Google Play and the Google Store, in its recent Q1 earnings call. Google CFO Patrick Pichette noted revenue from “other revenues” –– Google Play and the Google Store –– was up 23% year over year to $1.8 billion, while total revenue was down 3% compared to the fourth quarter of 2014.
“Pichette went on to note that the year over year increase was driven by growth of the Play Store,”reports 9to5Google, “which was offset by a decline in Nexus. Pichette later in the call also stated that the decline of Nexus year-over-year is due partly to recent devices, mainly the Nexus 6, not performing as well as the Nexus 7 did in the previous year.”
Does this mean pricing the Nexus 6 like an iPhone didn’t work too well? It could do –– in the space of 12 months Google’s hardware lineup went from offering perhaps the best value for money on market to just... well, being similar to everything else. Price, as we all know, makes a HELL of a difference to punters when they buy hardware.
In a bid to undo the bad times Google experienced in 2014, the company
has opted to take a two-prong approach to this year’s Nexus handsets which are now available in the form of the Nexus 5X and the Nexus 6P, built by LG and Huawei respectively.
has opted to take a two-prong approach to this year’s Nexus handsets which are now available in the form of the Nexus 5X and the Nexus 6P, built by LG and Huawei respectively.
As the name suggests, the Nexus 5X is a riff on the much-loved Nexus 5 and is essentially a very similar handset, just with a few design tweaks and vastly superior hardware. The Nexus 6P, on the other hand, is the new BIG DOG, taking over the reigns from Motorola in 2015/16. Both are excellent phones and both are priced accordingly, with the Nexus 5X coming in quite a bit cheaper.
Doing two handsets allows Google to effectively complete on two very different terrains. On the one hand we’re likely to see an updated Nexus 5-style handset, something that appeals to the old guard, while the other – likely Huawei’s – will have more in common with the Nexus 6, meaning super high-end specs and a higher RRP.
I was one of the many seasoned Android fans who harboured serious reservations regarding the pocket-punishing dimensions of the Nexus 6. I'd hitherto ignored the "phablet" craze and been unimpressed by Samsung and Sony's big-screen behemoths. I like big screens on phones, but I also value compact design. I was almost positive that the Nexus 6 would be impossible to fall in love with –– until I spent a week with it.
Initial impressions were, as is to be expected, tense. The moment I pulled the Nexus 6 from its packaging I was staggered by the size. It makes the Nexus 5 seem tiny, and that's coming from someone who can vividly recall thinking that the Nexus 5's screen was just too big to be practical. However, just as I became used to LG's phone, I slowly but surely warmed to the benefits of the Nexus 6's formidable 5.95-inch AMOLED panel
| Key Nexus 6 Specifications | |
| Processor | Quad-core 2.7GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 |
| RAM | 3GB |
| Screen size | 5.96in |
| Screen resolution | 1,440 x 2,560 |
| Screen type | AMOLED |
| Front camera | 2MP |
| Rear camera | 13MP |
| Flash | Dual-LED ring |
| GPS | Yes |
| Compass | Yes |
| Storage | 32/64GB |
| Memory card slot (supplied) | No |
| Wi-Fi | 802.11ac |
| Bluetooth | 4.1 |
| NFC | Yes |
| Wireless data | 4G (Cat6 up to 300Mbits/sec download) |
| Size | 83 x 10.1 x 159mm (WDH) |
| Weight | 184g |
| Operating system | Android 5 (Lollipop) |
| Battery size | 3,220mAh |
The obvious benefit is that the screen makes practically every activity more enjoyable. Websites look amazing on that display, and you'll almost certainly toggle to the desktop mode whenever the browser defaults to mobile. In fact, the Nexus 6's screen has a higher resolution than the laptop on which I'm typing this right now. Watching movies and viewing images is also a joy on this screen, and games look a million times more impressive, too. Even when moving from the Nexus 5, which, as we've touched upon, was hardly a small-screen experience, the difference is remarkable.
I'm now well into my second week with the Nexus 6 and I find it almost laughable that I had any problems with the size at all. Granted, there are moments when I'm reminded of how huge this handset is –– usually when I make a call in public and someone comments on the epic proportions of the phone, or when I'm trying to take a photo and I have to carefully cradle the device in one hand –– but on the whole, the Nexus 6 now feels as natural in my hands and my pockets as the Nexus 5 did.
In fact, when briefly dropping back to the Nexus 5, I found that the smaller screen incredibly limiting and claustrophobic, while using my wife's iPhone, a 4-inch kind, it felt like trying to interact with a postage stamp. Place it alongside the iPhone 3G, and the difference in proportions is almost laughable.
Having said all of this, there has to be a limit here, and I hope that Google doesn't equip its next flagship with an even larger display. A 6-inch display is the most I can reasonably stretch to - although I said that about a 5-inch screen just over 12 months ago.
Thanks to Mobile Fun for supplying the unit feature in this piece.
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