Interested in the 6P

[TripleOne]

Hey AC!

I am currently rocking an iPhone 6s Plus. And I have had the Note 3 and Note 5 awhile ago which I did not enjoy due to TouchWiz being TouchWiz.

I have always wanted to try stock Android, and I have a question in mind. Is it still worth getting a Nexus 6P at this point in time? I heard that there's an overheating issue with the 810 and that the camera can slow down in performance. Also, what's video recording like without OIS?

Really looking forward to trying stock Android

It will be my secondary phone along my iPhone.

Thank you in advance!

 

[B. Diddy]

The screen can get a little warm with heavy usage, but I've never had actual overheating problems. The camera generally works great--I've only noticed it hiccup a couple of times, usually because some other process was working in the background (like an app that was updating).

Videos aren't particularly shaky, but I'm usually pretty still when I'm recording, rather than walking around. The 240 fps slow-mo recording is pretty sweet.

Overall, I think the phone is still well worth it, especially at the lower prices you can find these days.

 

[bjrosen]

Occasionally it gets hot but it's not been a problem. I read that Google is sold out of the 6P which sounds like the new phones are getting very close. You might want to wait until they are released then you can read the reviews and decide if the new phone is worth the extra money over a heavily discounted 6P.

 

[pankaj981]

I just moved on from a Lumia 950XL to a 6P couple of weeks ago and while waiting for the newer Nexus models would be advisable, I chose the 64GB 6P instead. For less than 400, one cannot go wrong. It doesn't heat much during daily tasks and battery life is decent.

 

[pappy35]

I just ditched a Note 5 for the 6P.

I've had the 6P for 2 weeks now and have been using it very heavily. I'm on my way back from a business trip through Singapore and Taipei and so I can report on how it works overseas too.

In short, the phone works great. Battery life is is much better than the Note (for me - this is of course hugely subjective). I had a 6P for a week or so in late July and when I installed the final Nougat preview the battery life was OUTSTANDING.

Camera generally works very well and outshoots my wife's 6S+ in low light by a mile. There's no comparison. I might try to post some pics sometime to show this off.

A couple of concerns here though: heat and color reproduction. Using the camera with HDR on KILLS the battery. We were touring the Singapore night "safari" and I burned something like 30% per hour and it felt like I had a hand warmer in my pocket.I even had a few crashes that rebooted the phone.

I took a few photos around the Raffles hotel in Singapore (which is a bone white Colonial-style estate building) at night and all the photos had a pale green hue. The 6S+ photos were perfect and taken side by side. This doesn't happen always but it is an issue. Finally, the auto focus can get wonky. I didn't really get to test DP5 camera software much but hopefully it'll be improved.

The phone, remember this is a phone not a DSLR review, worked great in SIngapore and Taiwan making calls, using data services likes Maps and Google Now (which was awesome with currency conversions and "Universal Translator" duties).

Overall, for $450, the value and performance you get in this phone is awesome. I fondled a few Notes 7's over there and sure, it's a great bit of kit but for almost twice the money loaded with gizmos and gimmicks I never used on my Note 5, why spend all the extra money.

 

[torbach1]

I originally had a Nexus 6P, and switched to a Samsung S7 Edge for the camera primarily. However it eventually got bogged down with lag. Even after a hard reset, three days later I was seeing very serious intermittent lag. I uninstalled a lot of recent apps, etc.

Anyway, I just got a 2nd had 128GB Nexus 6P for $450. It's in perfect condition. After I installed Nougat Preview 5, I've been extremely impressed. It is quicker than both the S7 Edge and Note7.

It's battery life with Nougat is fantastic, especially in standby mode (finally standby/doze is comparable to the iPhone's standby). It's camera is also significantly improved with Nougat because the HDR processing, which used to be slow and synchronous, is still slow, but is queued up so you can continue taking photos very rapidly.

Videos are very shaky compared to pretty much any phone with OIS, but photos are very good.

Personally I think it's still one of the best phones on the market, now with Nougat. Will the next Nexus be better? I assume it will, but it won't have front facing stereo speakers, which is one of my favorite features, and it will launch at close to double the price.

Hope that helps.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[sp44]

I recently bought a Note 5 and 6P to compare. The 6P was $20 more but double the storage at 64GB. I'm using DP5 on the 6P. As far as battery life they seem to be the same. I thought that was kinda surprising with the smaller battery in the Note. The screen seems to be the same on both. Yes the Note whites are more white and the 6P more of a yellow tint but the sharpness of color and text seem to be better on the 6P. I thought that was interesting. Plus when taking pictures the Note 5 seems to lighten the picture up and it seems to be more unnatural. This was indoors only. I took a picture outside and the again the colors seem more natural on the 6P. Note 5 still kills the 6P in speed even with DP5. This is a really hard decision on what to keep. I like USB-C since it's like the lightning connector but I will miss wireless charging. I also like the button placement better on the Note 5. Having the power button on the same side with the volume is dumb. Call quality with the few calls seemed to favor the 6P. My one concern with the Note 5 is the phone slowing down like torbach1 mentioned with the S7E. Still trying to get used to the fingerprint sensor on the back too. I think it works great but when on a desk at work that just sucks. So as you can see I'm torn between the two. Both great phones.

Forgot to mention I do like the getting the latest updates on the 6P and using a beta too. Plus ROM'ing it if I want. The Note 5 will get Nougat when? Next March maybe?

 

[torbach1]

I recently bought a Note 5 and 6P to compare. The 6P was $20 more but double the storage at 64GB. I'm using DP5 on the 6P. As far as battery life they seem to be the same. I thought that was kinda surprising with the smaller battery in the Note. The screen seems to be the same on both. Yes the Note whites are more white and the 6P more of a yellow tint but the sharpness of color and text seem to be better on the 6P. I thought that was interesting. Plus when taking pictures the Note 5 seems to lighten the picture up and it seems to be more unnatural. This was indoors only. I took a picture outside and the again the colors seem more natural on the 6P. Note 5 still kills the 6P in speed even with DP5. This is a really hard decision on what to keep. I like USB-C since it's like the lightning connector but I will miss wireless charging. I also like the button placement better on the Note 5. Having the power button on the same side with the volume is dumb. Call quality with the few calls seemed to favor the 6P. My one concern with the Note 5 is the phone slowing down like torbach1 mentioned with the S7E. Still trying to get used to the fingerprint sensor on the back too. I think it works great but when on a desk at work that just sucks. So as you can see I'm torn between the two. Both great phones.

Forgot to mention I do like the getting the latest updates on the 6P and using a beta too. Plus ROM'ing it if I want. The Note 5 will get Nougat when? Next March maybe?

Interesting, that you found the Note 5 quicker and with better battery life. I found that prior to upgrading to DP5, but after that, I find that the 6P is faster than both the S7 Edge, and the Note7 both in terms of load speed of apps (I'm not a gamer, so this was a bunch of other apps including YouTube, HBO Go, Nine Email, etc.), and better battery life.

I'm selling my S7 Edge, since I prefer the Note7, but am still on the fence about if I keep one of the two, the Note7 and Nexus 6P, which one...
I'd recommend waiting until tomorrow when the Nougat release build comes out and try again to compare.

As for photos, that is pretty subjective. My experience has been that in normal lighting conditions, the 6P is excellent, but slow (although HDR processing is now a background tasks with DP5, so things are a lot better), while the Samsung in auto mode is pretty much the same, but in low light is far better than the 6P. Where the bigger difference lies is in speed of focus and video, both of which the Samsung kills them Nexus on.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[sp44]

Doze worked great on both overnight. Bout time standby is as good as an iPhone. For the price I don't see the Note 7 being worth it unless you need to have the latest and greatest. How much is a 128GB Note 7?

 

[torbach1]

Doze worked great on both overnight. Bout time standby is as good as an iPhone. For the price I don't see the Note 7 being worth it unless you need to have the latest and greatest. How much is a 128GB Note 7?

The Note7 only comes with one configuration, which is 64GB, but with a microSD slot that can increase that by up to 256GB. I have it with a 128GB high speed micro SD card that cost me $80. Total space is 192GB.

I wouldn't pay outright for a Note7. I'm paying it off interest free through T-Mobile. Is it worth it? Really depends on what you're looking for. I'd say that if you take a lot of video of moving subjects like your kids doing their sports, or you want a much smaller device with the same screen size, or you like some of the other Note features like the S-Pen, it's worth considering. If not, definitely not worth it. The Nexus 6P with Nougat is phenomenal.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[carlos12001]

I'm with you dude, I came from a note 5, and the 6p is smoother and faster to me, no question. I'm sure it's a better experience than the note 7 too. Every Samsung phone, i ever had was good for a week, then the lag creeped up.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[sp44]

I'm always leery about microSD cards. I don't trust them all that well. Especially if I'm putting photos and videos on it. I've had one fail in the past.

I'm done with programs through carriers. It's really nice! I do agree, if you're using your phone for lots of video of action or kids pick the Samsung camera. A no brainer.

 

[MDMcAtee]

I think it worth it since I just ordered a brand new 64 gig from Amazon yesterday.

I'm not a fan of TW even in it's latest version or of the curved screens in any version and wanted to have a phone outside of the carriers control that gets updates fast. I have owned the s7edge and still have the note 5 along with the LG V10 BTW.

If you have to have the latest version of the phone then wait until they come out, but if you want a good phone at a reasonable price then get one while the price is lower.

Since this isn't going to be your primary phone, it's a real good phone to experiment with too. Not only can you try the previews of the os when they become available, but sample any of the custom roms that are made if you desire to. There is so much that you can try on this phone as compared to all others it's mind boggling, but all of it is pretty simple to do.

It certainly doesn't have the latest hardware, take the best video, or have many of the features some of the competition have, but it offers more than any of the others oem's when it comes to software and customizable.

After having the supposedly better phones, here's what I have come to the conclusion of... If you want the best videos and pictures use a dedicated camera. As great as the phones do, there is no substitute for a dedicated camera and no excuse not to take one along with you to use. Yes it may be a inconvenience, but if you are really wanting to capture video or still pictures to preserve those forever moments then you need to use the best, not a cell phone.. Everyday use from what I have seen posted with the 6p is just fine.



Posted via the Android Central App

 

[sp44]

One thing I forgot to mention is the screen outdoors on the 6P is just not good compared to a Samsung. Definitely not the same Samsung panel used on both.

 

[sp44]

After having the supposedly better phones, here's what I have come to the conclusion of... If you want the best videos and pictures use a dedicated camera. As great as the phones do, there is no substitute for a dedicated camera and no excuse not to take one along with you to use. Yes it may be a inconvenience, but if you are really wanting to capture video or still pictures to preserve those forever moments then you need to use the best, not a cell phone.. Everyday use from what I have seen posted with the 6p is just fine.



Posted via the Android Central App

Totally agree.

 

[torbach1]

One thing I forgot to mention is the screen outdoors on the 6P is just not good compared to a Samsung. Definitely not the same Samsung panel used on both.

Completely agree with you on that one, and the Note7 is even better than previous Samsungs with a screen that goes up to 1000 Nits in sunlight.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[carlos12001]

I'm always leery about microSD cards. I don't trust them all that well. Especially if I'm putting photos and videos on it. I've had one fail in the past.

I'm done with programs through carriers. It's really nice! I do agree, if you're using your phone for lots of video of action or kids pick the Samsung camera. A no brainer.

You and me both buddy, couldn't agree more, for SD cards and carriers.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[Ev0d3vil]

Samsung phone has good hardware, but crap TouchWiz imo.

 

[sp44]

Samsung phone has good hardware, but crap TouchWiz imo.

Wouldn't the 6P be the opposite?

 

[Lepa79]

Only thing 6p has over note 5 is software. Note 5 excells in everything else to be honest. I ditched my 6p for note 5. Phone runs fast and smooth. Pure android becomes boring after a while.

Hardware, spen, camera, and display are just top of the line and beats every phone out there. Makes the phone a pleasure to hold and use. Love the camera, it's very important to me.