Google Nexus 6

“The Nexus 6 is a phablet that fits well into the Nexus-series: Sturdy, nice design and fast with small points of criticism. Similar to the other Nexus devices, the manufacturer uses well-known components and does not want to be the best device at any cost. This is apparent when you look at the camera equipment in particular: They take very decent pictures, but other high-end smartphones are much better in this section by now. The battery runtimes of the Google Nexus 6 don’t break any records, either. The high-resolution screen could have more accurate colors, but otherwise, we like the AMOLED qualities like the deep black and the great viewing angles. Good front speakers, low temperature development and the sophisticated case – even though it attracts fingerprints – are other advantages, just like the very fast SoC. The Google Nexus 6 is great for gaming and there are currently no apps that could really stress the processor. There is hardly any room for improvement for the communication modules and both the handling as well as the software work very well. Still, Google and Motorola are playing it too safe with some features, so it is not enough for a very good rating. If there is, however, an update to improve the Ambient Display feature, the Nexus 6 would be an almost perfect Android phablet.”

“There's no escaping the visceral reaction to the Nexus 6's size. It's shockingly large, even for big-screen apologists. But shocking and desirable are by no means mutually exclusive. The Nexus 6 checks all the requisite smartphone boxes: insanely sharp display, incredible camera, long battery life, and unyieldingly fast performance in a well-built package. That earns it an Editors' Choice award in our book. More than anything, though, the Nexus 6 requires a leap of faith. Can you use a tablet-sized device as your primary smartphone? Many will understandably answer no. I like browsing full-desktop websites, catching up on my Netflix queue, and mastering pocket puzzlers and other diversions. Most importantly, I like doing all of those things without ever feeling the need to reach for another device. Do you need a 6-inch phone to enjoy all of that? Absolutely not. But picking a phone isn't about what you need, it's about what you want. I want a roomy digital canvas and I want to do more with fewer.”

“In terms of build quality, Motorola has built a fine device that meets Google's premium claim and doesn't make the $650 price feel like a ripoff. The Nexus 6 is very big, and while the size of a device is a pretty personal thing, we think we could deal with it. Today, a lot of people will be put off by the huge size, but don't be surprised if, in a year or two, every flagship Android phone is six inches.The battery is OK, but we still feel like Motorola could have packed more than a 3220mAh battery into a 6-inch device. Sony's 5.2-inch Z3 has a 3100mAh battery, and 6.1-inch phones from Huawei usually clock in around 4000mAh. A massive battery like that would make the 6-inch screen a lot easier to stomach.The thing that really bugs us about the Nexus 6 is, why is this device six inches? Lollipop doesn't really do anything to take advantage of the bigger screen. If Google introduced something like split screen app support, we would feel a lot better about lugging something like this around. Right now, nothing justifies the size of the Nexus 6. The battery isn't huge, and you're mostly getting the same Android you'd get on a 5-inch device, just bigger.The real downside is that the device just feels slow, and while maybe Google has some optimization work to do on Lollipop, a big part of it is the slow storage the Nexus 6 was saddled with. It's not as fast as the Nexus 5, and it loads bigger games about as quickly as the Nexus 4, a phone from 2012.”

“The Nexus 6 is a great quality device, the first phablet that we've seen wearing a Nexus badge. It offers plenty of power, good all-round performance and has a solid build and attractive design. It's the launch platform for Android 5.0 Lollipop, which is much more polished than previous versions, leading to a great overall experience. In that, it's the most accomplished Nexus yet.Given its phablet size, however, it faces challenges that might be too difficult to surmount. Android Lollipop doesn't natively offer anything that takes advantage of the big display: watching movies and playing games might be fantastic, but we really want to be checking Twitter while looking at Google Maps. We want to be extra productive, we want a clever advantage that comes with size, not just the extra inches.And the Nexus 6 isn't just big, it's bordering on too big. This isn't the 5.5-inches of the iPhone 6 Plus or the slimmer 5.7-inches of the Galaxy Note 4, it's bigger than both, to the point that it's less friendly in your pocket and awkward to use adroitly with one hand.There's no doubting you get a lot for your money, but if you're after the best big screen experience then we don't think the Nexus 6 takes that crown.”