Thinking of getting a nexus 6, but have some questions

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RavenSword

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So, I'm deciding right now between a nexus 6 and moto x 2014. I originally was also considered a note 4, still may, but I really wanted something with stock android I think and that would get updates quickly.

My main concern with the nexus 6 is going to be its size and battery life. I still have not seen a demo unit in any carrier store to get a feel for how big it is. Is it roughly the size of the note 4? Or the iPhone 6 plus?

Also, I know the note 4 gets great battery life, but I've heard the nexus 6, despite having about the same size battery and same screen and SOC, gets worse battery. And it even has a lighter footprint in stock android. So what's up? Is the battery bad? Is it better than the moto x atleast? And finally, since I would be getting this phone from the carrier, is that going to really effect the time I get updates? Has anyone's phone bought from the carrier received fast updates?

How have you found the phone after some extensive use? Would you purchase the phone again if given the chance?
 
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Jeremy8000

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So, I'm deciding right now between a nexus 6 and moto x 2014. I originally was also considered a note 4, still may, but I really wanted something with stock android I think and that would get updates quickly.

My main concern with the nexus 6 is going to be its size and battery life. I still have not seen a demo unit in any carrier store to get a feel for how big it is. Is it roughly the size of the note 4? Or the iPhone 6 plus?

Also, I know the note 4 gets great battery life, but I've heard the nexus 6, despite having about the same size battery and same screen and SOC, gets worse battery. And it even has a lighter footprint in stock android. So what's up? Is the battery bad? Is it better than the moto x atleast?

How have you found the phone after some extensive use? Would you purchase the phone again if given the chance?

It's very, very close to the size of the iPhone 6+, but a little wider. If you can get physical hold of one of those and it's not uncomfortable to hold, it won't be an issue (and it's actually more comfortable to hold in my experience due to the rounded back).

As to battery life, it's the same size battery but it's driving a larger display, which uses more battery. What phone are you coming from? Usually it's better to gauge a phone's battery life against your needs rather than other phones, as it's the former that will matter when you own it.

I've had mine about a month now, and will now continue for the remainder of this post to detail all the regrets I have about it, and why I would not purchase it again knowing what I know now:
 

planoman

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I had the moto x but returned it before I got the Nexus 6.

Camera, speaker, 32GB storage and battery life were all factors in my returning it.

Each of these is better in the Nexus 6. The size is an issue not so much the height but the width. I have an iPhone 6+ and One Plus One so I am used to big phones but the width gets some getting used to. Playing with the display models with the security cable attached is not really the same.

If you can get used to the size, the Nexus 6 is a more capable device on the features I wanted. If the moto x offered a 64GB option it would have been a harder choice to return it, but so far I like the Nexus 6 better.

Posted via my Nexus 6!
 
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RavenSword

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It's very, very close to the size of the iPhone 6+, but a little wider. If you can get physical hold of one of those and it's not uncomfortable to hold, it won't be an issue (and it's actually more comfortable to hold in my experience due to the rounded back).

As to battery life, it's the same size battery but it's driving a larger display, which uses more battery. What phone are you coming from? Usually it's better to gauge a phone's battery life against your needs rather than other phones, as it's the former that will matter when you own it.

I've had mine about a month now, and will now continue for the remainder of this post to detail all the regrets I have about it, and why I would not purchase it again knowing what I know now:

So I take it no regrets then, ha ha.

Anyway, it worries me that att seems to have low stock of this phone. Even google play is out of stock right now. And they don't even sell the phone in store. Only online. So can't even play with it first.

I do wonder if the carrier version will receive updates around the same time. I would assume Google worked some kind of deal so the carriers don't slow or mess with the phone too much.
 

Lee_Bo

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I came from the Note 3, which is just slightly smaller than the N6, and the N6 is just slightly smaller than the 6+.

As for battery, I'm getting about the same as I did with the Note 3, which is around 40% by 6pm (uaually), depending on the days use (work and personal email, phone calls, Ingress, Boom Beach, and the Nexus Player remote app).

Updates, unfortunately, are going to be based on the carrier. My Nexus 5 is on Verizon and is still the last to get updates. My N6 on T-Mobile got the last 2 updates quick.

Overall I'm still very impressed with this phone and have no plans on getting rid of it.
 

ray sital

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So, I'm deciding right now between a nexus 6 and moto x 2014. I originally was also considered a note 4, still may, but I really wanted something with stock android I think and that would get updates quickly.

My main concern with the nexus 6 is going to be its size and battery life. I still have not seen a demo unit in any carrier store to get a feel for how big it is. Is it roughly the size of the note 4? Or the iPhone 6 plus?

Also, I know the note 4 gets great battery life, but I've heard the nexus 6, despite having about the same size battery and same screen and SOC, gets worse battery. And it even has a lighter footprint in stock android. So what's up? Is the battery bad? Is it better than the moto x atleast? And finally, since I would be getting this phone from the carrier, is that going to really effect the time I get updates? Has anyone's phone bought from the carrier received fast updates?

How have you found the phone after some extensive use? Would you purchase the phone again if given the chance?

You're right. Battery life isn't good. I expected a lot more from from this phone out of the box. You'll read other posts that will tell you it'll all be worked out with updates but I advise you to look at the threads for other nexus phones as well as the Moto X 2014 to help you make your decision.

In my opinion don't get it. It's an expensive mediocre shell for android lollipop.


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Jeremy8000

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I came from the Note 3, which is just slightly smaller than the N6, and the N6 is just slightly smaller than the 6+.

Actually the N6 is just slightly larger than the 6+

Nexus 6 6.27 x 3.27 x 0.4 inches
iPhone 6 + 6.22 x 3.06 x 0.28 inches

If you haven't seen it, that that 0.4" thickness is only at the spine - it tapers down to thinner edges on the sides.

You're right. Battery life isn't good. I expected a lot more from from this phone out of the box.
But your personal device by comparison against you chose to return your N6 is the iPhone 6+, iirc. It's well worth noting that the N6's battery is tasked with powering a larger, substantially higher resolution screen than the iPhone 6+ - or any other current phone, for that matter in at least one of those two screen characteristics.

The only pertinent question to battery life is if it will at a minimum maintain you through what is, for you, a heavy use day or between charges, tempered by the fact that the support for turbo charging means it doesn't take long at the station to fill back up.
 

planoman

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Actually the N6 is just slightly larger than the 6+

Nexus 6 6.27 x 3.27 x 0.4 inches
iPhone 6 + 6.22 x 3.06 x 0.28 inches

If you haven't seen it, that that 0.4" thickness is only at the spine - it tapers down to thinner edges on the sides.


But your personal device by comparison against you chose to return your N6 is the iPhone 6+, iirc. It's well worth noting that the N6's battery is tasked with powering a larger, substantially higher resolution screen than the iPhone 6+ - or any other current phone, for that matter in at least one of those two screen characteristics.

The only pertinent question to battery life is if it will at a minimum maintain you through what is, for you, a heavy use day or between charges, tempered by the fact that the support for turbo charging means it doesn't take long at the station to fill back up.

Agree with you. I have both the Nexus 6 and iPhone 6+ and the Nexus is bigger but really only noticeable in the width. I do not see a substantial advantage in the battery for the 6+ if at all. I keep my Nexus screen brightness at about 45%. Battery life is so subjective and individual. I consider myself a moderate user and the Nexus 6 battery is fine to get me through a 14 hour day.
 

ray sital

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But your personal device by comparison against you chose to return your N6 is the iPhone 6+, iirc. It's well worth noting that the N6's battery is tasked with powering a larger, substantially higher resolution screen than the iPhone 6+ - or any other current phone, for that matter in at least one of those two screen characteristics.

The only pertinent question to battery life is if it will at a minimum maintain you through what is, for you, a heavy use day or between charges, tempered by the fact that the support for turbo charging means it doesn't take long at the station to fill back up.

If there's a higher screen resolution than there should be a better battery or better optimization.

I'm not a heavy user and my battery life would not carry me through the day without needing to charge.

I don't care about turbo charging. I believe turbo charging is basically the manufacturer admitting the battery will not last through a full day of normal use.


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Jeremy8000

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If there's a higher screen resolution than there should be a better battery or better optimization.

I'm not a heavy user and my battery life would not carry me through the day without needing to charge.

I don't care about turbo charging. I believe turbo charging is basically the manufacturer admitting the battery will not last through a full day of normal use.


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Please provide your definition of heavy use. I keep my screen at about 50% (because any brighter is overkill for me), stream SiriusXM through the speakers for 2-3 hours at work, browse the web regularly, run Netflix for another 2-3 hours (all over LTE btw), and am still over 25% by the time I go to bed at night after 14-15 hours w/o charging. If I were to go to heavier use, it wouldn't be a particularly depressing thing to do to plug it in at work when I'm at my desk. Or in the car during my commute. Or at home. Personally, I wouldn't want to go to a smaller, lower resolution screen on a device with poorer audio performance so I can claim to have more hours of battery life that I don't need.

As to turbo charging, are you saying that's actually a bad thing? That you would prefer relatively inefficient charging?
 

ray sital

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Please provide your definition of heavy use. I keep my screen at about 50% (because any brighter is overkill for me), stream SiriusXM through the speakers for 2-3 hours at work, browse the web regularly, run Netflix for another 2-3 hours (all over LTE btw), and am still over 25% by the time I go to bed at night after 14-15 hours w/o charging. If I were to go to heavier use, it wouldn't be a particularly depressing thing to do to plug it in at work when I'm at my desk. Or in the car during my commute. Or at home. Personally, I wouldn't want to go to a smaller, lower resolution screen on a device with poorer audio performance so I can claim to have more hours of battery life that I don't need.

As to turbo charging, are you saying that's actually a bad thing? That you would prefer relatively inefficient charging?

You actually use your device more than I did during the day. My day was just texting, web browsing, and YouTube videos here and there. Screen resolution was about 60-70%.

I don't think my battery life issue was just my device as I've seen many people post about the same issue.

Another issue I ran into was headphone volume. I'm at the gym at least 4 times a week and the headphone volume wasnt loud enough. Not loud enough to drown out other people and the gyms music.

Fast charging isn't a bad thing. I just think the manufacturer is aware the battery isn't sufficient and therefore found an okay fix. Fast charging is great however my iPhone 6 plus charges fast and has a great battery life.

Ultimately I got rid of the nexus 6 because of battery life and the headphone volume. I've owned the nexus 4 and loved that phone but the battery life was horrible. I frequented nexus 5 threads and watch a lot of videos and it was the same issue, battery life.

So I'm not surprised it's the same problem with the nexus 6. I hope there is a software fix but I'm doubtful.


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gmermel

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So, I'm deciding right now between a nexus 6 and moto x 2014.

My main concern with the nexus 6 is going to be its size and battery life. Would you purchase the phone again if given the chance?
So as soon as Verizon gets the Nexus 6 I am still considering switching. I like the bigger phones. However I have the DROID Turbo now and love it!
Had both the turbo and Nexus for a week and was able to compare them side by side., Kept the nexus.

Battery has always been paramount to me. Though the battery life on the Nexus isn't close to the Turbo's, it is more than adequate, and got better with 5.01. The Nexus should significantly outlast the X. I'm getting a much as 18 hours of life with over 5 hours of screen time. And have made it over 24 hours with 3-4 on screen. The reason for all that use is exactly what I love about it. The screen is a critical step up from the Turbo. Using it in lieu of my Nexus 7 became second nature. A spare battery and the 6 is all I'll need on my next trip.

The Turbo worked well enough as a connected device, but in the limited manner you'd expect from a smartphone. I would never use it in the house where the tablet was around, and I would still have taken my tablet on plane rides.

Once I played with the 6 for a while I would have been very disappointed if the battery had forced me to keep the
Turbo.

As for the updates, I received 5.01 pretty much immediately upon its full release. Mind you, I got my phone from Motorola, but I expect that to be the case from here on out (probably the same for those that purchased from the Play Store).
 

Jeremy8000

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Using it in lieu of my Nexus 7 became second nature.
....
As for the updates, I received 5.01 pretty much immediately upon its full release. Mind you, I got my phone from Motorola, but I expect that to be the case from here on out (probably the same for those that purchased from the Play Store).
I had the Nexus 4 and Nexus 7 (2012), then the Nexus 5 and Nexus 7 (2013). I was initially dismayed by the heightened cost of the Nexus 6, till I came to the similar conclusion that it would be an all-in-one solution for me at similar investment to what I've paid for the pair in the past (plus there's no way I'd have gone to the Nexus 9 -- just not portable enough).

Wish I had your good fortune with the updates. Got mine from the Play store, and it took forever. Seems my tablets normally get updates first, then my phones about 2 weeks later.
 

gmermel

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Wish I had your good fortune with the updates. Got mine from the Play store, and it took forever. Seems my tablets normally get updates first, then my phones about 2 weeks later.
Don't feel too bad. I didn't get the update until about 10 days ago, but my understanding was that was in-line with the full roll out after that weird "it was there, but when I went to install it, it disappeared" experience many had several weeks ago. My tablet updated about a day or so after that which, ironically, seemed much later than everyone else. In that regard, we seem to be even ;)
 

Premium1

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So, I'm deciding right now between a nexus 6 and moto x 2014. I originally was also considered a note 4, still may, but I really wanted something with stock android I think and that would get updates quickly.

My main concern with the nexus 6 is going to be its size and battery life. I still have not seen a demo unit in any carrier store to get a feel for how big it is. Is it roughly the size of the note 4? Or the iPhone 6 plus?

Also, I know the note 4 gets great battery life, but I've heard the nexus 6, despite having about the same size battery and same screen and SOC, gets worse battery. And it even has a lighter footprint in stock android. So what's up? Is the battery bad? Is it better than the moto x atleast? And finally, since I would be getting this phone from the carrier, is that going to really effect the time I get updates? Has anyone's phone bought from the carrier received fast updates?

How have you found the phone after some extensive use? Would you purchase the phone again if given the chance?

It's better than the moto x but that isn't saying much lol. The note just has better optimization with battery and a screen that seems to be a little more power efficient.
 

cozzy123

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You actually use your device more than I did during the day. My day was just texting, web browsing, and YouTube videos here and there. Screen resolution was about 60-70%.

I don't think my battery life issue was just my device as I've seen many people post about the same issue.

Another issue I ran into was headphone volume. I'm at the gym at least 4 times a week and the headphone volume wasnt loud enough. Not loud enough to drown out other people and the gyms music.

Fast charging isn't a bad thing. I just think the manufacturer is aware the battery isn't sufficient and therefore found an okay fix. Fast charging is great however my iPhone 6 plus charges fast and has a great battery life.

Ultimately I got rid of the nexus 6 because of battery life and the headphone volume. I've owned the nexus 4 and loved that phone but the battery life was horrible. I frequented nexus 5 threads and watch a lot of videos and it was the same issue, battery life.

So I'm not surprised it's the same problem with the nexus 6. I hope there is a software fix but I'm doubtful.


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I get really good battery life from my nexus 6 on 5.0.1. On my nexus 4 I would be at 20 percent by 6pm on average, with this phone it is about 57 percent. I listen to music and watch podcasts, browse the web, text etc all day.

As for the headphone thing you should invest in headphones that have some form of noise canceling to kill background noise so you don't have to blast the phone volume. That can and will damage your hearing over time. I got an eighteen dollar pair from amazon called noise hush.

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Alex DeDuck

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Normal workday, with some music listening on the way to and from work and during lunch, and ambient display checking.... I unplugged it at 7 am and at11:45 pm I have 55% left, and that's with 4g enabled.
 

LeoRex

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Great phone.... My usage has remained pretty much the same through the last couple of phones and my Nexus 6 gets a good 3 hours of SOT more than my Nexus 5 and 1-1.5 hours more than my G3... I never have battery problems and never once concern myself with how much I have in the tank.

This is FAR from being a mediocre shell for Lollipop... its a stellar phone with great performance and capabilities.
 

ray sital

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I believe the nexus 4 and 5 has made it difficult for some of you to realize what good battery life is.


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NYRico#AC

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I have been using smartphones since the LG Voyager days ( I know, not really a smart phone ) and this is by and far the best phone I have owned yet. It has about every feature that I want in a smartphone and the only thing that had me worried was the size, I have average to small hands and was coming from a 2013 Moto X, a great device in a nice size. Well 3 weeks into it I cannot believe how used to the size I have gotten to the point where I hope there is another 6 inch Nexus " fill in the blank " . I realized just before my decision to buy it that I have not owned a phone that I could ever " one hand " 100% of the time, with my Moto X I could get away with 95% one handed use, but, every day there were one or two things that made me have to get 2 hands on it. The Nexus 6 has become the same, I mostly one hand it and, when necessary, use 2 hands.

I am by no means a power user, but, the battery life is as good as I expected. I take it off charge at 6 a.m. ambient display, google play music over car bluetooth. GPM via bluetooth at the gym, surf, Instagram, text, call, youtube, games ( I am addicted to 3's) , 4G, wifi , doownload apps, read Google Now articles, I basically do what I need/ want without fear of a dead battery and plug in to charge at 11 at around 40%. It gets me through my day with juice to spare. Am I the only one who only registers 2 hours tops of SOT? It surprises me, but, that is all the SOT my day demands.
 
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