If
anyone of you thought that the battle for the best phablet of the year was
limited to iPhone 6 plus and Samsung’s Note 4, think again…
Google’s
Nexus 6 is finally here to take this battle to the next level. We might have assumed
that the next Nexus phone from Google would have been slightly bigger in size
from its predecessor, the Nexus 5 with some improved specifications. Google,
however, had different plans. Instead of a logical upgrade to its Nexus line of
phones, it simply invaded a new segment altogether, the PHABLET segment.
For
all those who are thinking what exactly is a phablet, let me put the meaning in
just one sentence. A phablet is a smartphone which sits between a smartphone
and a tablet. There is no specific screen size to define a phablet. However,
most of them usually come in sizes between 5.5 inches to 6.5 inches.
SPECS – Top of the line..!!
Nexus
6 is manufactured by Motorola and looks like the big brother of the new MOTO X
(2014). One thing is for sure, Nexus 6 was not made with “ONE SIZE FITS ALL”
philosophy kept in mind. Google has specifically targeted the fastest growing
segment, the Phablet segment.
Nexus 6 has a diagonal screen size of 6 inches, which makes it bigger in screen size in comparison to the iPhone 6 plus and Samsung’s Note 4. The screen is protected by Gorilla Glass 3. The front side of the phone is dominated by AMOLED screen of 1,440 x 2,560 (Quad HD) resolution, which translates into 493 pixels per inch of resolution. At this resolution its hard to spot the individual pixels with the naked human eye. The only other premium device in this segment to flaunt a QHD resolution screen is Samsung’s Note 4.
Powering the Nexus 6 is the latest quad core
processor from Qualcomm, the Snapdragon 805, clocked at 2.7 Ghz, with 3GB of
RAM. A 13 megapixel camera with optical image stabilization does a good job. However,
Selfie lovers will be left disappointed. A front facing 2 Megapixel camera is
just about average. Video can be recorded at 4K resolution with the primary camera, which is a plus
point.
Nexus 6 will be available in 2 colour options,
Midnight Blue and Cloud White with 32 GB and 64 GB options. Even though the
Nexus 6 does not come with expandable storage options, 32 GB and 64 GB should
be more than enough for most of your needs.
BATTERY
For
a device with a 6 inch QHD screen with a beefy Quad core 2.7 Ghz processor with
camera capable of 4K video recording, a non-removable Li-Po 3220 mAh battery does not look sufficient on paper at
least. However, the Nexus 6 supports Motorola’s
Turbo charger. All it takes is 15 minutes of charging with the turbo
charger to get 6 additional hours of battery life. This compensates for a
smaller 3220 mAh battery, which comes with the phablet.
ANDROID 5.0 (LOLLIPOP)
Nexus
6 is the first device to get the latest Android OS 5.0 (Lollipop). The latest
android version is buttery smooth and supports ‘always on’ voice commands.
Power management is another area where improvements have been made, in order to
extract the maximum performance from the phone’s battery.
Price..
Google
has announced the pricing of Nexus 6. The 32 GB variant will be available for
Rs. 44,000 or $649.00 and the 64 GB variant for Rs 49,000 or $699.00. At this price it is definitely
not cheap and will not appeal to those, who were looking for the next Nexus
device at a budget price point. However, Google has cleverly positioned itself
below Apple’s iPhone 6 plus and Samsung’s Note 4, both of them are priced
upwards of Rs 58,000. Do keep in mind iPhone 6 plus starts with a 16 GB variant
and the next variant is 64 GB. 32 GB variant is absent for reasons known only
to Apple. Note 4 on the other hand starts with a 32 GB variant. Keep these figures
in mind before buying one of these.
So how does it compare to note 4 ??
On
specifications the Nexus 6 matches the Note 4 very closely. In fact currently
it is the only device available with the latest Android 5.0 (Lollipop), which
has a lot going for it. However, the Note 4, is still the big daddy of all the
phabltes in the market for obvious reasons. Note 4 is equipped with a stylus
which makes it more of a productivity device, whereas Nexus 6 is more of a
media consumption device. No doubt Nexus 6 has the same quad core processor from Qualcomm, the Snapdragon 805,
clocked at 2.7 Ghz, with 3GB of RAM as Note 4, but Note 4 comes bundled with
useful extras which are missing on the Nexus 6. For instance, Note 4 has a
fingerprint scanner, heart rate monitor, Samsung’s own health apps and an
infrared port which can act as a remote control for your various home
appliances like TV, Audio systems, DVDs etc. All these features are missing
from Nexus 6.
Finally…!!
Nexus 6 is a great attempt by Google to capture a
very important phablet segment of the market. Its not perfect though and could
have been priced better. However it is still a lot cheaper than the big guns of
this segment, Note 4 and iPhone 6 plus. Deciding on which phablet to buy is
still a tricky business. But at least with the launch of Nexus 6, the premium
phablet consumer is now spoilt for choices..