iPhone 6 Plus vs Nexus 6 Specs Comparison

iPhone 6 Plus vs Nexus 6 Specs Comparison

The Nexus 6 is finally available for purchase through several US carriers, so we though we should compare it with one of its main rivals, the iPhone 6 Plus. Both are no doubt two of the most powerful smartphones currently on the market, so we are expecting the iPhone 6 Plus vs Nexus 6 specs battle to be hard-fought.

While the iPhone 6 Plus is the first Apple phablet ever made, the Nexus 6 is the first Nexus device to come with a display larger than 5 inches. As you may know already, the latter one is co-developed by Google and Motorola.

If you were with us for our previous Versus posts you probably are aware that the iPhone 6 Plus versus Nexus 6 specs battle will be divided into ten rounds where we will be judging the performance of the two devices based on Dimensions, Display, Processor, Memory, Connectivity, Operating System, Camera, Design, Battery Life, and Price. Each round is worth one point and the smartphone that manages to score most points is declared winner.

Dimensions

We are dealing with two phablets here, so forget about being able to use either of them with only one hand. Let’s have a look at their dimensions.

The iPhone 6 Plus measures 158.1 x 77.8 x 7.1 mm and has a weigh of 172 grams. Despite having to accommodate a significantly larger display, the Nexus 6 is similar in size to Apple’s smartphone. It’s 159.3 mm tall, 83 mm wide, and 10.1 mm thin, while weighing in at 184 grams.

The iPhone 6 Plus is more compact, lighter, and considerably thinner than the Nexus 6, that’s why it wins the Dimensions round. The iOS-powered device wins the first round of the battle.

Display

Even though few have thought that Apple would launch a 5.5-inch smartphone, the Cupertino-based company is finally having a phablet in its portfolio. Because the display is the main selling point of a phablet, let’s have a look at the displays our competitors.

The iPhone 6 Plus sports a 5.5-inch LED-backlit IPS LCD display with Full HD resolution, 401 ppi pixel density, shatter proof glass, and oleophobic coating. This is Apple’s first Full HD smartphone.

Nexus 6 boasts about a massive 5.96-inch AMOLED display with Quad HD (1440 x 2560) resolution, and Gorilla Glass 3 protection. Despite being considerably larger, Nexus 6’s screen brings higher pixel density: 493 ppi.

The AMOLED screen of the Nexus 6 brings higher resolution and higher pixel density than iPhone 6 Plus’ 5.5-inch unit. Nexus 6 wins this round.

Processor

The processor is the brain of the phone, so you would probably want to have a powerful unit hidden inside your phone’s case. Let’s have a look at the processing solutions of iPhone 6 Plus and Nexus 6.

iPhone 6 Plus is powered by a 64-bit Apple A8 chipset with dual-core 1.4 GHz Cyclone (ARM v8-based) CPU and PowerVR GX6450 GPU. On the other hand, Nexus 6 is underpinned by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 SoC based on four Krait 450 cores clocked at 2.7 GHz and an Adreno 420 GPU.

Even though iPhone 6 Plus’ processor is 64-bit enabled, the benchmarks have shown that Nexus 6’s unit is slightly more powerful. The point allocated to the Processor round goes to Google’s flagship.

Memory

Your photos, your music collection, your favorite TV shoes, the videos you record with your smartphone, and lots of apps. All these require quite a large amount of storage.

iPhone 6 Plus is available in three storage options: 16, 64, and 128 GB. Nexus 6 comes with either 32 or 64 GB of native storage. Neither one has support for microSD expansion.

In terms of RAM, the iPhone 6 Plus brings 1 GB RAM, while Nexus 6 has 3 GB RAM. Even though the latter one has considerably more RAM, the iPhone 6 Plus will do just fine to handle iOS’ multitasking, while both will be able do deliver a decent multitasking experience.

Because the iPhone 6 Plus is available with up to 128 GB of storage, it wins the Memory round. Another point for Apple’s phablet.

Connectivity

Over the past couple of years, most smartphone makers have aligned to the same standard when it comes to connectivity features. Let’s look how our competitors perform.

The iPhone 6 Plus arrives with HSPA 42.2/5.76 Mbps, LTE Cat4 150/50 Mbps, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi hotspot, Bluetooth 4.0 Low Energy, NFC, and USB 2.0 (Lightning port). Nexus 6 brings HSPA 42.2/5.76 Mbps, LTE Cat6 300/50 Mbps, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA, Wi-Fi hotspot, Bluetooth 4.1 Low Energy, NFC, and microUSB 2.0.

Compared to the iPhone 6 Plus, Nexus 6 brings LTE Cat6 (LTE Cat4 for iPhone) and Bluetooth 4.1 (Bluetooth 4.0 for iPhone). Because LTE Cat6 is not so widespread and because there’s not a significant difference between BT 4.1 and 4.0, the Connectivity round ends as tie.

Operating System

When it comes to mobile operating systems it’s always Apple vs Android. Each platform has its fans and its critics, but in the end it’s only a matter of choice.

Nexus 6 comes pre-loaded with Android 5.0 Lollipop, which is the biggest update Google’s mobile operating system has received since birth. The first thing you will probably notice about Lollipop is the new Material Design interface which relays on vivid colors, more animations, and realistic 3D effects and shadows. The Android 5.0 list of changes is very long, but just to name a few: lockscreen notifications with the ability to personalize notifications behavior, multi-user support for phones, revamped notifications bar and quick settings, battery saver, Priority Mode (some sort of iOS Do Not Disturb), Screen Pinning, revamped recents menu with document-centric multitasking, smart lock, and more.

iPhone 6 Plus is the first device in the world to run iOS 8. As you may know already, iOS 8 is the latest iteration of Apple’s mobile platform and it continues the design philosophy of iOS 7. Because we’re talking about an update we’re also talking about new features. iOS 8 brings an improved notifications bar that now features some kind of widgets, improved Siri personal assistant, better TouchID integration, siwpe gestures in the mailing app, better and new sources for Spotlight search, smarter keyboard, improved Camera and Gallery apps, and the new Health fitness tracking app. White I really like about iOS 8 is the double-tap Home button for one-hand usage feature. Even though this feature is also present on Samsung or LG phones, Apple’s implementation is the best yet. Cool, but not cool enough.

In our opinion, Nexus 6 wins the Operating System round. Android is smoother than ever, it brings tons of useful new features, and it’s finally looking better than it’s main rival, iOS. Another point goes to the Moto-made Nexus.

Camera

I’m not a great photographer myself, but I know how to appreciate a good camera or photo. In the same time, I believe that the best camera is the camera you’re always carrying with you and that’s why I like my phones to pack above-average primary shooters.

iPhone 6 Plus features an 8 MP rear-facing camera with optical image stabilization, phase detection autofocus, dual-LED (dual-tone) flash, F2.2 aperture, geo-tagging, simultaneous HD video and image recording, touch focus, face/smile detection, HDR (photo/panorama), and Full HD video recording and slow-motion video capture. It also has a 1.2 MP user-facing camera.

Nexus 6 sports a 13 MP main shooter with autofocus, optical image stabilization, dual-LED (ring) flash, F2.0 aperture, Dual recording, geo-tagging, touch focus, face detection, photo sphere, panorama, HDR, and 4K video recording support. The front-facing camera has a 2 MP sensor.

Even though Nexus 6 has a higher-resolution sensor, early tests have shown that Apple’s iPhone 6 Plus is actually superior when it comes to snapping photos. The Camera round is won by iPhone 6 Plus.

Design

We all like good-looking smartphones and premium quality. Apple is known for building such smartphones and we are glad to see that other phone makers are hot on their tracks.

iPhone 6 Plus departs from the design language introduced by the iPhone 4 and continued until last year by the iPhone 5S. The new Apple flagship has more rounded corners and a new color scheme for the back panel. It also brings a new shape for the volume buttons, while the power button has been relocated on one side for better reach. What I don’t like about the iPhone 6 Plus is the wide bezels and the wasted space at the top and bottom of the front panel. You probably heard about the Bendgate scandal, with users reporting that the device has bent in their pockets. Unfortunately, that’s not what we were expecting from apple.

On the other side, the Nexus 6 looks like a Moto X 2014 on steroids, and, fortunately, it brings the same built quality. Even though it’s not all-aluminium like the iPhone 6 Plus, Nexus 6’s feels premium when held in hand and the soft touch back and metallic frame surely help delivering that feeling. Nexus 6 has a great screen-to-body ratio while the front panel accommodates the dual stereo speakers. It has rounded corners and a curved back which offers great grip. Furthermore, Nexus 6 is splash resistant, so one less reason to worry about.

In my opinion, the Nexus 6 is the better-looking smartphone here. The Design point goes to the Android-powered device.

Battery Life

Battery life is probably one of the biggest issue of modern smartphones. Anyway, over the past year or so, the smartphone manufacturers worked hard to address this annoyance.

iPhone 6 Plus features a non-removable Li-Po 2,915 mAh battery which, according to apple, can deliver up to 24 hours of talk time and 384 hours of standby time. In our tests, the iPhone 6 Plus managed stay awake around the clock on a single charge.

Nexus 6 is kept alive by a non-removable Li-Po 3,220 mAh battery which should offer about 24 hours of talk time and up to 330 hours of stand-by time. In our tests, the battery was capable of getting through about a day of moderate-usage on a single charge. It’s also worth noting that Nexus 6 is compatible with Motorola’s Turbo charger which promises up to 8 hours of autonomy after only 15 minutes of charging.

Even though Nexus 6 has a slightly bigger battery cell, the two devices are similar in terms of autonomy. The Battery Life ends as tie.

Price

I will try to keep it simple in the Price round. The cheapest smartphone wins.

In the US, Nexus 6 is currently available at both Sprint and AT&T. While Sprint is selling the 32 GB model at $249 with a two-year contract, AT&T asks $299 on-contract. You also have the option to buy the unlocked Nexus 6 from Play Store. The 32 GB variant costs $649, while the 64 GB model is $699.

Both AT&T and Sprint are selling the 16 GB iPhone 6 Plus at a price of $299 with a two-year agreement. If you want an unlocked iPhone 6 Plus you can order one from Apple’s website with a price tag of $749 for the 16 GB model. The 64 GB variant costs $849, while the 128 GB variant is $100 more.

It’s obvious that Nexus 6 is the cheaper smartphone here. Another point for Google’s flagship.

Conclusions

Here we are at the end of the iPhone 6 Plus vs Nexus 6 specs battle. It’s time to do a recap and see which smartphone managed to score most points.

We’ve had two rounds that ended as tie. The two devices where similar in terms Connectivity and Battery Life.

Apple’s iPhone 6 Plus managed to score three points after it outmatched its rival in Dimensions, Memory, and Camera rounds. The biggest iPhone yet is more compact, has more internal storage, and a better camera than Nexus 6.

The smartphone co-developed by Google and Motorola, Nexus 6, has won five rounds, therefore scoring five points. It proved to be better then the iPhone 6 Plus when it came to Display, Processor, Operating System, Design, and Price, because it has a higher-resolution screen, more powerful CPU, is running Android Lollipop, it has better build quality and is splash-proof, and because it’s cheaper.