Google Nexus 6 vs Apple iPhone 6

Introduction

Apple brought us two new smartphones this year, both of which are similarly spec’d, but there’s no denying the obvious about the company’s intentions. The trends, so far, have placed a lot of emphasis on these so-called phablets, so it doesn’t shock us to see Google following the trend with the Nexus 6. Undoubtedly, it’s one beastly of a phone from head-to-toe, but it’s going to take some considerable push to combat the iPhone 6’s popularity – one that’s highly regarded as one of the best all-around phones out there.

Design

The compact size and premium look of the iPhone 6 keeps it in good light over the gargantuan size and plastic construction of the Nexus 6.

The Nexus 6 sports a sturdier construction than its predecessor, something we all appreciate no doubt, but it still doesn’t contend with the meticulous, premium design of the iPhone 6. Essentially, it’s that modern day mash-up between metal versus plastic – where the iPhone 6 exudes that elegant look with its aluminum chassis, while the Nexus 6’s plastic body seems more likely to endure minor bumps and bruises with little repercussions. The biggest disparity with their designs, however, fall into the excessive size of the Nexus 6. It’s a handful in itself, which makes the iPhone 6 considerably easier and more comfortable to hold.

Due to the premium finish of the iPhone 6, its power button and volume controls feel more solid – whereas the Nexus 6’s set are thin and less distinct. Over on the Nexus 6, we really appreciate that it features dual front-firing speakers, which are more ideal because they disperse audio towards us. Meanwhile, the iPhone 6 differentiates itself by incorporating a Touch ID finger print sensor into its home button. Honestly, it’s a special amenity that has its usefulness in securing the device and making payments via Apple Pay.

Display

Sure, the Nexus 6’s display is amazing for its size and impressive QuadHD resolution, but the iPhone 6’s 4.7” screen is brighter and more color accurate.

Seriously, we still can’t get over the impeccable detail of the Nexus 6’s obnoxiously large 5.96-inch 1440 x 2460 AMOLED display – a considerably details advantage over the iPhone 6’s 4.7-inch 750 x 1334 IPS LCD panel. In all fairness, though, the two are effective enough to make out from a normal viewing distance, but upon closer inspection, there’s no denying the significant amount of detail and sharpness that the Nexus 6’s display delivers.

Outclassed in that one particular area, the iPhone 6 boasts its own set of impressive qualities. For example, its IPS LCD display is far more potent with its excellent 606 nit brightness, which blows away the 270 nits put out by the Nexus 6. All told, we’re able to view the iPhone 6’s screen under direct sunlight – whereas with the Nexus 6, its screen washes out tremendously, making it tough to see. In addition, the iPhone 6 is also better at reproducing colors, where its tones are more natural looking, in comparison to the over-saturated look of the Nexus 6.

Interface and Functionality

There’s no comparison whatsoever, Android 5.0 Lollipop is remarkable in every facet.

Apple no doubt brought its game to the table with the release of iOS 8, giving it some notable features that bring the experience to the same level as Android past. However, now that Android 5.0 Lollipop is here in the flesh, where it's being featured on the Nexus 6, the separation between the two platforms is once again apparent. It all boils down to the undeniable reality that Google is one step ahead of its rival.

The gap is plainly evident when it comes to the design language and software features of the respective platforms. Indeed, the two share the common element of employing a flat, layered design, but Google makes better use of transition effects and other miniscule animations to give Android 5.0 Lollipop a more dynamic feel. And best of all, it still continues to outduel iOS 8 when it comes to personalization.


Another area of great divide is seen in their set of software features. We won't deny that iOS 8 brought on new tools and tricks that diversified its experience to roughly the same level of Android, such as the case with its support of third party widgets and keyboard, but Lollipop elevates the experience to a totally new level – one that can't be achieved by iOS 8 in its current incarnation.


For example, the option to pin/lock the Nexus 6 to run a certain app, as well as its support for multiple users, are software features that can't be found on iOS 8 experience of the iPhone 6 Plus. One thing we'll give Apple credit for, seeing that Lollipop doesn't have it, is the ability to shrink the interface at any time by lightly double pressing on the home button. Even with Lollipop's rich experience, iOS still presents itself with better looking and more functional third party apps.

Processor and Memory

Snappy responses are abundant everywhere, but the iPhone 6 delivers a stronger gaming performance.

We can agree that baseline tasks, such as navigating across the UI and opening apps, are all handled in the same effortless manner between the two phones. That’s a certainty we all expect from these two phones, as the Nexus 6 is accompanied with a quad-core 2.7GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 SoC coupled with 3GB of RAM – while the iPhone 6 is packing a dual-core 1.4GHz Apple A8 64-bit based chip with 1GB of RAM. However, when it comes to gaming performance, we achieve smoother and snappier results with the iPhone 6.

Unfortunately, neither smartphone offers expandable storage to supplement their internal capacities. Specifically, the Nexus 6 is offered in 32GB and 64GB configurations, but the iPhone 6 has more of a stretch, seeing that it’s available in 16GB, 64GB, and 128GB options.

Internet and Connectivity

Needless to say, the iPhone 6 works exceptionally well when it comes to surfing the web, but the Nexus 6 is more practical to use for the occasion – thanks in part to its larger and more detailed display. And that folks is the biggest differentiator, as the two phones offer the same speedy 4G LTE connection, lightning fast page rendering, and all the buttery smooth navigational controls we crave.

The iPhone 6 is notable for being a true world phone, one that supports more LTE bands than any other smartphone – leaving fewer variations of the phone needed to work with the assortment of networks littered around the world. That realization is made especially known looking at the Nexus 6, which has one model to support the US networks, and another for the international market.

Beyond that, they’re adorned with the same set of connectivity features we’d expect to find in any high-end phone. Specifically, they feature aGPS, Bluetooth, dual-band 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi, and NFC.

Camera

Seriously, it’s pretty remarkable that the iPhone 6’s 8-megapixel camera outclasses the Nexus 6’s 13-megapixel camera in a variety of areas.

Running their respective camera apps, it’s notably evident that the two companies prefer a cleaner interface – one that’s light on shooting modes and manual controls. Quite simply, it all boils down to interfaces that focus on quickly snapping photos, without distractions. However, we will note that the Nexus 6 offers UHD 4K video recording – while the iPhone 6 has a neat 240 FPS slow motion video capture feature.



People have this habit of believing that the higher the megapixels go with a camera, the better the results. In this comparison alone, that thought process is dismantled, as the iPhone 6 just can’t be beat when it comes to its camera performance. Well, to the credit of the Nexus 6, it’s able to snag just a smidgen more detail, but in the greater scheme, the iPhone 6’s shots are sharper and properly exposed. Adding more to that, the iPhone 6 is simply untouchable with its low light performance – to the point that its shots are noticeably brighter, less noisy, and sharper toned.



Proving that it’s accompanied with the modern amenities we want to find in a premium phone, the Nexus 6’s UHD 3840 x 2160 video recording mode is a special treat that captures some incredible detail. Still, if we’re to compare apples to apples, 1080p video recording in this scenario, the iPhone 6 yet again impresses us for its more favorable looking qualities.

Multimedia

Having a massive quad-HD display paired with dual front-firing speakers, the Nexus 6 is the ultimate multimedia consuming device.

Visually, Google’s Material Design is in full showcase with the update to the Google Play Music app – one that sports a bolder looking interface. In comparison, Apple’s music player is still visually pleasing, but it doesn’t have the same meticulous attention. Nevertheless, the functions between the two players are pretty much identical.


Mustering up a solid 75 dB of audio power through its dual front-firing speakers, we really feel that its setup is more ideal because audio is projected towards us – as opposed to away. Interestingly, though, the iPhone 6’s single speaker minutely edges it out with its tally of 75.2 dB. Naturally, the two are pretty powerful and loud, but the bass tones from the Nexus 6’s speakers are just a tad bit reserved in tone.

When it comes to watching videos, there’s no questioning that we prefer the Nexus 6 – simply for its larger size, higher resolution, and the iridescent glow from its AMOLED display. Yes, the iPhone 6 is a capable thing on its own, but its smaller size just doesn’t make it as practical to use.

Call Quality

They’re both average, so there’s not one we greatly prefer more than the other.

Neither phone proves to be exorbitantly better with their call quality performance, as they both pretty much fall in that “average” category. For the most part, we’re able to handle conversations with few qualms, but we have to mention the subtle static through the Nexus 6’s earpiece – and the distorted tone of the iPhone 6’s speakerphone.

Battery

It’s not even close! The Nexus 6 proves it’s just way more long-lasting.

Along with its juggernaut of a size, the Nexus 6 benefits by being stuffed with a pretty large battery – a 3220 mAh one. That’s a significant capacity, taking into account the iPhone 6’s smaller 1810 mAh battery. The results, naturally, aren’t all that surprising, as the Nexus 6 achieves a higher mark of 7 hours and 53 minutes in our battery benchmark test. Conversely, the iPhone 6 finishes with a tally of only 5 hours and 22 minutes.

Conclusion

Almost hard to believe, the Google Nexus 6 and Apple iPhone 6 bear the same outright price point of $649 – though, you get 16GB of storage with the iPhone 6, and 32GB with the Nexus 6. Determining a victor is rather tough, especially when there’s not a single phone that greatly proves to deliver the better performance over the other. With that in mind, we can certainly agree at the very least, that you won’t be disappointed picking up either of them.

Go with the iPhone 6 if you want a phone that’s compact in size, sports a premium finish, and takes some exceptional photos and videos. In contrast, go with the Nexus 6 for its huge QuadHD screen, great battery life, and robust Android 5.0 Lollipop experience.