Google Nexus 6 Review- Specs, Design and Android Lollipop
With all the hype surrounding the release of the iPhone 6, Samsung Galaxy Note 4 and Sony Xperia Z3, it’s safe to say we’re getting slightly spoilt on the smartphone front this year. But there’s another handset which you can ill-afford to forget about, and that’s the Google Nexus 6.
Compared to its competition on the market, the Nexus smartphone is the only range to offer a pure Android experience. Not sure what this means, or why you want it? Read on…
Great Google Design
It might come as a slight surprise to learn that Google doesn’t actually manufacture any of the Nexus phones in-house. In fact, the building is often given to other smartphone manufacturers, which over the past few years has been LG. But now LG has confirmed that it won’t be involved with the Nexus 6, with Google opting for Motorola to build the handset instead.
Compared to the Nexus 5, which was manufactured by LG, the Nexus 6 features a slightly rounder design, more like the Samsung Galaxy S5 than the Nexus 5. It boasts a larger than life 6-inch screen, firmly placing it int he ‘phablet’ category of smartphones. Sandwiching the Nexus 6’s display sits not one but two front facing speakers, similar to the HTC One M8, which is great news for all music fans.
On the rear of the handset the new Nexus sports a curved casing made of polycarbonate. Thanks to its round design which gets slimmer at the edges, the Nexus 6 looks unsurprisingly similar to the Motorola Moto G.
Nexus 6 Specs
Power is always an important part of any smartphone, and the Nexus 6 already has a lot to live up to if its predecessor was anything to go by.
On top of its 6-inch QHD display, the new Nexus phone will be giving users one of the best displays on the market thanks to its 493 pixel per inch ratio. This is supported by a quad-core 2.7GHz processor and Snapdragon 805 chipset, giving the handset some brains to match its beauty.
Also set to make the Nexus 6 a cracking smartphone is its 3GB RAM count and an Adreno 420 GPU, making great news for Google fans. Not only does this mean that the Nexus 6 completely outshines its older brother, but it also competes alongside the likes of the iPhone 6 and other flagship devices as well.
Google Features: Android Lollipop
Being one of the few smartphones on the market to feature stock Android without additional user interfaces being layered on top, with Nexus 6 offers a shed load of Google features. The likes of Google Maps, Gmail, Google Now, Google Drive and Google Chrome are just a few of these brilliant apps which come pre-installed on the handset.
The main new feature on the Nexus 6 is Android Lollipop, Google’s latest version of the Android operating system. Featuring a totally new design, a new battery saver mode and an interruptions function that sorts through the notifications that you receive, the Nexus 6 is the only phone (at the time of writing) that offers all of this on a Google-made smartphone.
Nexus 6 Release Date/Price
The Nexus 6 was announced in October, and we can expect to see it hit shelves around in November.
In terms of the damage to your bank account, you can expect the Nexus 6 to set you back slightly more than what the Nexus 5 did last year. So, for the smallest storage option, around £460 should cover the cost if you go for a SIM-free version of the handset. Of course if you prefer a monthly plan, you should be paying approximately £30/month on a regular tariff, which is a great price tag for a phone of this standard.
Nexus 6: the Verdict
It’s an exciting time to be a smartphone junkie, with handsets coming at us left, right and centre, and the Nexus 6 is a nice addition to the list. Its design is likely to be similar to that of the Nexus 5, but the specs are seeing a noticeable jump, making it one of the most anticipated phones of the year.
Hopefully we get a bit more information about this next Nexus installment soon, but even if we don’t it’s looking like it will be a hit when it finally graces our shelves.