Beebskadoo’s Nexus 6 Review (WIP)

[beebskadoo]

Beebskadoo’s Nexus 6 Review (WIP)
 
The Nexus line of devices has been a focal point for Google since January of 2010 with a Nexus branded smartphone released every year since then. With 5 smartphones under its belt, Google has just released a 6^th, dubbed appropriately the Nexus 6.

The Operating system
5 years of refinement has lead up to this release, with a new version of Android debuted with each Nexus release it’s only natural for a new version to air on the Nexus 6 and that’s Lollipop. Google has completely overhauled the interface with Lollipop in hopes to change the interaction between the user and the device, whether it’s a smartphone, a tablet, a web browser a streaming device even your trusty wrist watch. The design language is focused on uniformity and logic with each design element having form and purpose which Google calls Material Design. This is definitely the biggest change in android since Ice-cream Sandwich and so far it’s been well received.

The Nexus 6, “Call me Ishmael”
The Nexus 6 has been causing some waves in the smartphone space, considering its codename is “Shamu”, waves are to be expected. Google has seen the trend gravitating towards larger and larger devices which is why they packed in a 6 inch screen which makes it the largest Nexus device and one of the largest android smartphones you can buy right now. Ever since Samsung announced the Note line of phones, smartphone screen sizes have been getting bigger and bigger so much so that even Apple has released 2 new versions of the iPhone (one big and one BIGGER) to better compete in the fast changing and ever growing smartphone marketplace.
 
6 inches of fun!!
The phone….is MASSIVE! That’s the first thing you notice about it, though you would be blind if you didn’t. With a big, beautiful 6 inch 2.5k AMOLED display it’s sure to turn some heads, and let me tell you firsthand that it does. “What phone is that?” is a common reaction, but equally common is “Is that the iPhone 6+?” which makes the Android elitist in me scream in pain. People love the ludicrous size of the phone and how beautiful the design is. Bearing the resemblance of a scaled up Moto X is not a coincidence, it’s a Motorola phone through and through. The metal chassis, soft plastic back and the front facing speakers are all scaled up to fit the large size of the Nexus 6. The build quality is superb, no issues in that department whatsoever making this a rival to the iPhone 6+ and the Note 4 but bigger than both of them.
 
 But how does it feel in the hand? In my experience great but not perfect. The aforementioned plastic back coupled with the rounded edges make this for one slippery fishy (more sailor humor), making me contemplate throwing a Dbrand skin on the back of the phone to help with the grip. The contoured back feels great and helps out a lot with the overall palm feel of the phone. Motorola has made some great design choices to aid with one handed operation, the power and volume buttons are easy to reach on the right side of the phone making one handed use easier. The buttons feel solid and are textured differently to distinguish power from volume. The power button is rough and the volume buttons are smooth, both are tactile and give a satisfying click. There are no large screen usability optimizations built into stock Lollipop on the Nexus 6 unlike the Note 4 and the iPhone 6+ so that’s a bit of a bummer for some users. But all of this is less relevant to me because I tend to use a phone 2 handed regardless of screen size so it doesn’t bother me as much that it’s slippery or lacks certain OS features to aid in one handed use.
 
That's part of the review guys, there is more to come when I get some time. I have only had the device for 3 days so I haven't had time to really test out the camera or battery life so this isn't an in depth review just yet. Leave me some suggestions on what you guys want to know about the phone or if you have any tips or things you want to see in this review.

 

 

 

 

YAAAAAAY update time!

So I have used the device extensively for a few weeks now and I must  say that it is hands down the best android experience I have ever had and the best phone that I have ever used regardless of platforms. I have gotten used to the size for the most part and really appreciate the great speakers and fantastic display (great for watching movies). Now YouTube for android has a 1440p option and I must say that it is purdy.  Also my wonderful boyfriend got me a case for an early Christmas present and it's one of the coolest cases ever! 

It's a Spigen Ultra Hybrid case and here you can see it when it's dark and my flashlight is on. It lights  up the  whole case! pretty cool if you ask me

 

A select few Nexus 6 users were encountering a screen glitch where an app would slow down and then the screen would part in 2 leaving the  image jumbled, it's annoying but it's easily  solved by sleep/waking the device. This seemed to happen to me in the YouTube app but only once or twice a day.  Another annoying but minor issue that I ran into is that when it came time for the 5.0.1 OTA bugfix update for my  phone I got the notification to do the update, I clicked install  and then it said try again when your battery is charged. After placing it on the TurboCharger  (more about that later) I came back in about 10 minutes to retry the update and the damn notification was gone. . Even after checking for updates for 2  days  and wiping cache and doing a whole slew of tricks I still didn't get the update. I'm not sure if this was because I missed the narrow timeline for the update (it was a slow rollout) or if there was a software bug  that needed squished, either way it was annoying but not deal breaking. I did however unlock bootloader and flash the OTA update manually after fiddling around with ADB drivers and getting the Android SDK updated and setup. 

The image above shows my HTC One M8 Google Play Edition receiving the 5.0.1 update 2 days before my Nexus 6 lel 

 

 

So yeah...Turbo Charger...freaking game changing! Gone are the days of slow charge times, this thing is really fast! It takes less than an hour to fully charge, but the impressive part is how fast it gets to 30%, it only takes a few minutes and that  equates to an entire day of light use. Which brings me to battery life, it's great. Project Volta is a new edition to lollipop and needs perfected but so far I'm impressed. I normally have an entire day of heavy use with about 30-50% remaining battery left. A combination of YouTube, Messaging, Google+, Twitter, with a few phone calls here and there but all on T-Mobile 4G LTE (been having Wifi issues at my house, thanks to my ISP)

This phone can stretch 2 days of moderate use in my use case, so that's pretty much a win for me. 

  

I still need to take more pictures with my phone, the few that I have taken impressed me but I won't call it yet so expect that in the next update <3

[qwertywarrior]

how dare you post this in tech news!

*reports Beebskadoo*

*wipes tear*

[Sidiox]

Shouldn't this be in http://linustechtips.com/main/forum/25-member-reviews/ ?

 

Aside from that good review so far.

What I really want to know about this phone is how you put it in your pants, srsly. I have a oneplus one which is already trouble some enough to put in my pants, I can't imagine how annoying an even larger phone would be.

[JAKEBAB]

6 inches of fun... I bet you know all about fun with 6 inches

Jk

Seriously tho great review looking forward to reading the rest when u have had the device longer.

[The Crazed Child]

Not enough pictures of lollipops 0/10

[StingBull]

The size is stupid large. I have a Note 3 and I like it but even I sometimes wish for a slightly smaller, easier to handle phone.

Years ago I have mocked Sony for Xperia Z Ultra and my thoughts have not changed since. When a phone goes bigger than a Galaxy Note, it's just going into the ridiculous category.

[loganryan99]

I thought the gays used iPhones?

 

*don't hurt me*

[beebskadoo]

I thought the gays used iPhones?

*don't hurt me*

No 16 year olds use iPhones, gays use cool phones brah.

[Whiskers]

The size is stupid large. I have a Note 3 and I like it but even I sometimes wish for a slightly smaller, easier to handle phone.

Years ago I have mocked Sony for Xperia Z Ultra and my thoughts have not changed since. When a phone goes bigger than a Galaxy Note, it's just going into the ridiculous category.

 

There is no "One Size Fits All" solution, though. Whilst such phones may be too large for yourself, they

may be the perfect fit for others. I don't think either small or large phones can be "silly", really...

 

Nice review by the way.

[Tech_Dreamer]

Cool review.. B)

 

Could you post a picture of the phone in light please

[beebskadoo]

Cool review.. B)

Could you post a picture of the phone in light please

Will do :-)

[beebskadoo]

There is no "One Size Fits All" solution, though. Whilst such phones may be too large for yourself, they

may be the perfect fit for others. I don't think either small or large phones can be "silly", really...

Nice review by the way.

Thanks :-)

I love the phone and can't wait for google to further improve the software.

[spwath]

Should I get this?

My gen 1 moto x is getting small and old.

I really like the moto featurs, which nexus had some.

I think I would like the size.

[beebskadoo]

Should I get this?

My gen 1 moto x is getting small and old.

I really like the moto featurs, which nexus had some.

I think I would like the size.

Go try it out. They are available in some carrier stores :-)

[Interfectorem]

Proud owner of one here as well. I own the Cloud White 32GB variant, bought directly off the Motorola website, with no carrier BS. But anyways, it just so happens that I'm getting that exact case you mentioned. Is it any good? I honestly thought it would be too large, since I have smaller than average hands, but I've just simply gotten used to it. Nice review BTW!