The demand for Nexus devices has always been crazy, but this year Google took it a step
further in every department and has created somewhat of a super-smartphone.
Hey what's up everyone, this is Dom and today I'm pleased to present you with my full review
of the Motorola-made Google Nexus 6.
It's big.
It's fast.
And it may be the best Android device that I've ever used.
So let's go ahead and get right into it!
Most of what makes the Nexus 6 so great stems from its pure Android perspective.
Essentially, you're experiencing a mobile OS exactly as it was crafted and straight
from the source.
Because of Android's openness, many smartphone makers dilute Android with their own custom
skins.
This is mostly great for consumers as skins adds features that help create the core concepts
of devices such as Samsung's Galaxy line, but there's almost always a tradeoff.
Your'e sacrificing overall speed and fluidity thanks to the resources being consumed.
The Nexus 6 is running Google's latest mobile OS Android 5.0 Lollipop and I think it's the
best software Google has ever released.
It's that good.
Lollipop has completely transformed Android into something that puts it ahead of the competition
in more ways than one.
The user interface has been overhauled and Google's Material Design language is a work
of art.
Lollipop has been optimized to run flawlessly and it's definitely the change that Android
needed.
Even on older devices like the Nexus 5, Lollipop performs like boss, but to keep up with the
times, Google's Nexus 6 is packing some heat internally as well.
As far as specifications, the Nexus 6 features a quad-core Snapdragon 805 processor clocked
at 2.7GHz, an Adreno 420 GPU, 3GB of RAM, and a 3,220 mAh battery.
The internal components are surrounded by a beautifully curved metal frame, plastic
back, and a 5.96-inch AMOLED display with a resolution of 2,560 x 1,440.
With the Nexus 6, Google has created a benchmark for future devices going forward and it gets
me excited about what may be coming over the next year.
There's no doubt about it, the Nexus 6 is a fast device.
As I mentioned, the Nexus 6 has an all-metal frame that holds it together.
This design was borrowed from Motorola's 2014 Moto X, scaled up a bit, and refined to fit
Google's needs.
The build quality here is stellar.
It may be a recycled design, but somehow it feels like a new one.
The front side of the Nexus 6 features dual front-facing stereo speakers that sound fantastic.
It's not going to replace a high-end Bluetooth speaker, but I applaud Google and Motorola
for their efforts.
These speakers are loud and clear making the Nexus 6 a perfect device for media consumption.
The speakers also protrude a little to help keep the QHD display from touching any surfaces
when you set it down.
The back side features a hard plastic finish with the Nexus branding and Motorola's logo
which resides in a small Moto X-like dimple.
The curved back and flat edges of the Nexus 6 make it very comfortable in the hand and
the overall design makes it feel smaller than it actually is.
Don't get me wrong, this is a huge smartphone, but even with a 5.96-inch display, it's nearly
the same size as Apple's 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus.
Aside from its sleek deign and industry leading specifications, there's one main factor that
makes the Nexus 6 a winner.
I think I've already said it one too many times in this review, but what the hell, Lollipop.
This is the best release from Google yet.
Because there are so many changes in Lollipop, I think it's best to go over my favorite features
and how they apply to my Nexus 6 experience.
Google has also updated all of its apps with a Material Design look and I'm a fan of it
so far.
First up, we have Tap & Go.
This is the best and easiest way to transfer your data to a new Android device.
During setup of the Nexus 6 (or any other Android 5.0 device) you'll just need to enable
NFC on the old smartphone and touch it to the back of a new one.
Google does the rest.
This wil transfer all of your data and apps to the new smartphone just like that.
It's super simple.
Next, we have the redesigned notification area and features that make notifications
a bit more interactive.
Pulling down the notification shade with one finger will display any items you may have
and with another swipe, or a two finger swipe you can reveal the quick toggle area.
This section has a new look and feel with additional options like the brightness slider,
flash light toggle, and even a Cast screen button to be used with Chromecast or Google's
Nexus Player.
Along with that, most elements within the notification shade are tappable shortcuts
to various system settings.
With a long-press on a notification, you can see which app is pushing it as well as manage
app-specific settings for notifications.
If you' d like to keep notifications quiet for a while, there's also an Interruptions
section which can be accessed in the Settings app or with the volume rocker.
Think of this as Android's ultimate "do not disturb" toggle.
Notifications have also been given some space on the lock screen.
You can interact with the notifications here, just as you would within the drop down shade
and overall, I'm really digging all of the notification improvements in Lollipop.
While it's not completely a software feature, I'm also a big fan of ambient display.
This will show notifications on the screen as they arrive or when picking up the device,
but using a grayscale instead of color.
Most of the display will remain black, but also conserves battery life.
Lollipop also brings guest profiles and additional user accounts to smartphones.
It may not be the most desired feature in the world, but it's one that will help keep
your data protected.
Within the notification shade, you can access the "User" section of Lollipop.
If needed, you can quickly enable a Guest profile which will give your friends a free
temporary environment that's completely separate from your apps and data.
Along with that, you can also create new users that can be accessed with individual passwords
and have their own associated Google accounts and certain restrictions and features can
be enabled within the Settings app.
It may not be a life changing feature, but I still think it's pretty helpful.
The last feature I'm going to discuss is Lollipop's new battery saver mode.
This can be accessed when needed through the Battery section in the Settings app and will
add an extra 60 to 90 minutes to your battery life.
When enabled battery saver mode will turn your notification and navigation bar red so
you won't forget that it's running.
It does restrict most background data and reduces the performance a bit, but it's definitely
worth it and may be necessary depending on your use, but I'll get into that a little
later.
When it comes to camera performance, I thought the 13-megapixel camera on the Nexus 6 did
a great job under acceptable lighting.
I compared the camera to the Nexus 5 and iPhone 6 Plus in separate videos and if you'd like
to see those I'll leave links below.
The camera on the Nexus 6 is good, but there are certain times where it can be hit or miss
as well.
Under the right conditions, you can capture some great photos from this device, but everything
tends to break up in low-lighting.
As for UHD video recording, it's not spectacular, but it'll get the job done.
The optical image stabilization helps out for photos and videos and it's definitely
a welcomed addition over pure digital stabilization.
Overall the Nexus 6 provides a good camera experience all around.
I'm a heavy smartphone user and the Nexus 6 has been my main phone for a couple of weeks
now so I feel like I have a good understanding of the software and battery performance.
Most of the time I saw screen-on usage of around 4.5 to 5 hours.
On extreme use days, this number would drop to the 4 hour range.
Keep in mind these numbers will drastically vary based on the user, but this was my experience.
The included Motorola Turbo charger also helps out with battery life in a way.
It charges up the battery much faster than a standard charger and will provide you with
about an hour more of usage after just 15 minutes of charging.
In the end though, battery life on the Nexus 6 pretty good.
So what's the verdict here?
While the software features may be a bit lacking when compared to third-party Android skins,
the Nexus 6 provides the smoothest experience you can find at this point.
I'm a big fan of the build quality, dimensions, and technology inside of this smartphone.
If you're looking for the cleanest Android experience out there, the Nexus 6 is an insta-buy.
It's packing the latest specifications and will remain relevant from a software perspective
much longer than its competition.
That being said, it's also priced as a flagship device and will set you back $649 for the
base storage configuration.
At this point, the Nexus 5 is looking like a sweet deal, but if you need technology's
latest and greatest with Google's intended software experience, there's no other device
out there that will offer exactly the same.
Personally, I have no intentions to leave behind the Nexus 6.
I think it's one of the best, if not the best, Android device you can buy this year.
So I hope you enjoyed my review of Google's Nexus 6.
Be sure to let me know what you think about it in the comments section below.
Also if you're not already, subscribe for more reviews like this in the future and leave
this video a thumbs up as it does help out the channel a lot.
Thanks very much for watching everyone.
This is Dom and have a great day!