Review: Google Nexus 6P

Text and photos by Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

Out of the box, the Nexus 6P looks and feels like the most luxurious Nexus handset ever made. It is surprisingly thin, swathed in smooth aluminum and glass, and the fit and finish is top notch.

While Google has released not one but two Nexus smartphones for 2015, there’s no mistaking which one is their true flagship showcase for the year. The Nexus 6P is a rebound device designed to win back Pure Android fans, early adopters, and anyone who might have been put off by the Nexus 6’s large size and high price. 

Huawei’s big entrance

The Nexus 6P is also the first global flagship device from Chinese manufacturer Huawei which is a giant leap for a brand that’s long been associated with disposable prepaid and entry level handsets, at least in North America but which is actually the third largest phone maker in the world. 

I was thankful for this opportunity from Huawei, to take their new flagship for a spin, and learn more about the latest Android Marshmallow OS (which still hasn’t been made available to my Nexus 7 and Nexus 9 devices, go figure). 

Out of the box, the Nexus 6P looks and feels like the most luxurious Nexus handset ever made. It is surprisingly thin, swathed in smooth aluminum and glass, and the fit and finish is top notch. After using the device for over a week, I was amazed that it exhibited none of the niggling fit and finish roughness of Nexus devices from three or four years ago. 

Gapless, precision-built

Nexus 6P is a completely gapless and precision-built handset and one that looks and feels like how much it costs.

Nexus 6P reminds me of an HTC product, which is a good thing, at least when HTC led the charge in making truly original (not derivative) and innovative smartphone designs and used the best materials around.

That said, there are some that might find the Nexus 6P a bit generic-looking. I’m not a big fan of the flat back with the protruding camera bar at the back, and wished the Nexus 6P were more curvaceous and ergonomic. 

I understand, however, that Nexus devices strive for plain looks and utilitarian features, but even the lowly Nexus 5X seems to have a bit more personality.

For me, the Nexus 6P’s design isn’t as playful or quirky looking as the Nexus 5X, there are no bright colours to spice things up a bit. It is a stark aluminum and glass sandwich with a purposeful yet rather dull design. It’s perfect for enterprise and BYOD. 

The Nexus 6P does feel good in the hand, has the right width for one-handed use, and I really like how well the Nexus Imprint fingerprint scanner works. What is remarkable is that the Nexus 6P is just slightly smaller than the Nexus 6, but it is lighter and easier to handle.

Nexus Imprint makes sense

 

Nexus Imprint, which is Google’s fingerprint access control feature is very easy to set-up and pretty accurate to use. The placement of a fingerprint scanner dead center in the back of the phone makes total sense and allows me to pick the phone up from my coat pocket and have it unlocked in one swift move. Brilliant!

That we can only use Nexus Imprint to unlock our devices seems to be a wasted effort. I hope that Android Pay makes its way to Canada soon as Nexus Imprint will be the killer security feature for touchless payments and verification.

The 5.7" WQHD AMOLED display with 518 pixels per inch is quite stunning and is up there with the best displays on any smartphone in terms of quality and readability. Not all Quad HD displays are created, equal and while the 6P isn’t as ultra-vibrant as some of Samsung’s phones, it has accurate colour reproduction and good detail. You really can’t ask for anything more.

As the second ever Nexus phablet, the 6P has some impressive battery life. I credit this to a mix of hardware as well as software. For example, the 3450 mAh is certainly nothing to sneeze at, but I think the reason for the Nexus 6P’s impressive battery life (close to two days on a single charge), are the new Doze and App Standby features in Android Marshmallow.

Battery life is much improved

Doze puts the phone in a sleep state when not in use and while still ‘working’ it seems to draw less battery power unless needed. App Standby smartly decides when to cut off unused apps from sucking battery power, which extends battery life as well. So those vampiric apps that are bleeding your battery dry are effectively staked through their hearts until you bring them back.

It isn’t clear if these features will benefit non Nexus devices effectively, but I can tell you from my first hand experience that they make the Nexus 6P a serious contender for long-lasting smartphone option.

Finally, a Nexus camera worth shooting with

The 6P’s camera, which uses an identical 12-megapixel sensor to what is available on the cheaper, smaller, plastickier 5X, has the added benefit of Optical Image Stabilization. Now, cameras that shipped with Nexus devices (I’ve owned all of them, except the Nexus 5), never got me excited. The Nexus 6P, however, well this one has a superb camera.

My tests involved trying to capture various trees and leaves in the peak of Fall, with shadows and light dancing around on a windy day, I didn’t expect much. Despite shooting in conditions that usually put smartphone cameras through the wringer, I managed to capture some very impressive and very accurate photos.

This 12.3 MP; 1.55μm; f/2.0 camera on the new Nexus handsets is very good, and seems to be competent enough to take good to great photos under good lighting conditions. Video is similarly tight and with OIS engaged, smooth enough.

The Nexus 6P can also shoot 4K video which seems to be the maxim of a great smartphone camera these days. Serious photographers and anyone looking to shoot HD or 4K video might want to consider splurging on the 64GB or even 128GB versions of the Nexus 6P.

USB Type-C, for better or for worse

USB Type-C, a derivative of USB 3.0, has replaced microUSB as standard for charging. This is going to cause a lot of  inital problems because aside from the scarcity of USB Type-C cables (Huawei is kind enough to offer a charger and two cables in the box), there’s also a lot of confusion about which ones support quick charging.

With the Nexus 5X and 6P, plugging in the USB Type-C cable is super easy and you also get on screen information on whether it is charging slowly or quickly and how much longer before you have a full charge. We’ve had indicator before, for sure. But I like precision and having this information spelled out for me makes me happy.

Having to scour Amazon.ca for various USB Type-C cables and chargers for home, work and for the car isn't something I relish, the prices that Google is charging for their cables are high but if you want to make sure to get something that works well with your Nexus device, you need to pay whatever Google asks for its certified accessories. Hmnn.....sounds familiar. 

As for Marshmallow, there are some visible differences from Lollipop. The new Google logo and fonts as well as a revamped app drawer. The Now on Tap feature, which appears when you hold press the Nexus 6P’s home button, scans whatever screen you’re looking at and pushes more info on people, movies, song names, restaurant ratings. This feature may have potential but seems a little undercooked right now, I have no doubt we’ll all be using it in a matter of months.

Security under Marshmallow has been hardened. Users can decide and control the level of permissions granted to an app. I have to spend more time drilling down Marshmallow’s features and will do so as soon as my Nexus 5X arrives, since that is the only device in the market right now that I will own and will have the latest OS for me to play with.

While on the larger side, the thinness and lightness of the Nexus 6P is a good compromise. It eclipses the Nexus 6 in many ways, while still managing to offer the larger format display and long battery life that are the hallmarks of the phablet class of devices. 

Call quality was great on TELUS's network and I consistently got a strong LTE data signal. The loudness of the speakers is surprising for such a thin device and Nexus 6P works well for handsfree calls. The one issue I did have was that the Nexus 6P is slippery and there were numerous times when I almost dropped it. I would definitely consider getting a case for this device.

Conclusion

After last year, I wondered if Google’s Nexus program even needed to continue. Not only was the Nexus 6 a sensational and expensive flop, it was being outflanked by a variety of attractive mid-range smartphones that had little to no bloatware and offered very good Android experiences.

With dual Nexus devices for 2015, Google is re-establishing itself and the Nexus category. A smaller, more affordable Nexus 5X, and a true flagship in the Nexus 6P should satisfy a wider range of users and steal back the thunder from the OnePlus, Motorola, ZTE, ASUS, LG and HTC devices out there that have crept into consumer’s consciousness.

Huawei has acquitted itself magnificently with the Nexus 6P. While the look of this smartphone isn’t breathtaking, it feels great and offers superb features and build in equal measure. Sure, they could have added wireless charging, options for dual-SIMs, and microSD expansion costs nothing but is valuable addition.

These omissions were likely an edict from Google and do little to diminish my enthusiasm for the Nexus 6P, which has the power, feature set and purity of a next generation Nexus device that anyone desiring a larger smartphone should consider alongisde the Moto X Play and the BlackBerry Priv, which are both excellent devices which should hopefully see Android 6.0 updates.

If this is what Huawei can deliver in 10 months and following Google's stringent Nexus feature checklist, I can't wait to see what other devices they are capable of creating on their own. 

Rating: 4 out of 5