- Aug 22, 2011
- 2,087
- 6
- 0
I've had this thing for over a month now and want to give some bullets on the good and bad.
Summary - Love the phone minus a few hiccups.
The Good
1. The form factor - I actually love this size phone despite phones going bigger all the time. It's lightweight and feels good in the hand and feels good, not cheap.
2. The camera - Coming from some of the phones with the best cameras (iPhone 6s Plus, G4, S6) I was skeptical based on previous Nexus phones. This camera impresses me. I don't feel like I'm losing much coming from the 3 phones I mentioned. I'd rank it slightly below those 3 but not by much.
3. Stock Android - Of course this is a good feature. The phone is fast when it's fast. (I'll talk more about this below) The ability to uninstall even more Google apps than previous Nexii is also great.
4. Fingerprint scanner - This is better than the s6 and as good as the iPhone 6s plus. It all depends on where you like the button (front vs back). It felt weird at first but now I try to put my finger where the scanner is on all my devices (including iPhone).
5. Doze - Android (or stock Android) is finally starting to catch up to iOS when it comes to standby times. Still not quite there but it's a huge improvement over previous versions of Android.
The Bad
1. The phone slows down a bit at times. When it's fast, it flies and is buttery smooth. But for whatever reason after a month of use, it will start acting up. I click icons and it takes a few seconds to "catch up" or it just has lag. Restarting the phone seems to fix this but it has been happening more than I'm comfortable with lately.
2. Battery life - It has been average at best. It gets me through a day but barely. In the month I've owned it there has been a few days where I had to charge it around 3-4pm because I was under 10%. I'm a pretty heavy user but it still isn't great. I'd say it's better than the Nexus 5 but still nothing to write home about.
3. The screen - I'm not sure if Gorilla Glass 3 is that much worse than 4 but only a month in and my phone has micro scratches all over the front of the screen. They are the type that are only seen in bright light but it's still annoying. My iPhone 6s Plus gets the exact same treatment as this and has no scratches.
4. The Ice color - It is a very cool color but the novelty has worn off. Wish I had gotten black. My Ice is getting some slight discoloration around the edges.
5. My final gripe is about the camera and the double click the power button to launch the camera. The camera takes great shots as I mentioned above but it is extremely slow to Process HDR shots and it isn't nearly as fast as the iPhone or S6 when it comes to locking focus and getting the shot off. The double click to launch thing is also weird. Sometimes I'll press the button once and it launches and other times I'll press it twice and it won't launch then 3 seconds later it pops up when I'm trying to do something.
Overall, the phone isn't perfect, but no phone is. I haven't used a 6P yet but this phone is probably the best Android phone I've ever owned despite the negatives listed above. I'd still highly recommend the phone. Just know there are negatives to every phone. I'll probably give the 6P a try next and see how it compares. Definitely do not hesitate to own this phone if you are on the fence! Don't think I'm picking on the phone with the negatives, I just wanted to give an honest, unbiased review as possible. As someone who owns Android, iOS, and windows devices I think I can give an unbiased position.
Summary - Love the phone minus a few hiccups.
The Good
1. The form factor - I actually love this size phone despite phones going bigger all the time. It's lightweight and feels good in the hand and feels good, not cheap.
2. The camera - Coming from some of the phones with the best cameras (iPhone 6s Plus, G4, S6) I was skeptical based on previous Nexus phones. This camera impresses me. I don't feel like I'm losing much coming from the 3 phones I mentioned. I'd rank it slightly below those 3 but not by much.
3. Stock Android - Of course this is a good feature. The phone is fast when it's fast. (I'll talk more about this below) The ability to uninstall even more Google apps than previous Nexii is also great.
4. Fingerprint scanner - This is better than the s6 and as good as the iPhone 6s plus. It all depends on where you like the button (front vs back). It felt weird at first but now I try to put my finger where the scanner is on all my devices (including iPhone).
5. Doze - Android (or stock Android) is finally starting to catch up to iOS when it comes to standby times. Still not quite there but it's a huge improvement over previous versions of Android.
The Bad
1. The phone slows down a bit at times. When it's fast, it flies and is buttery smooth. But for whatever reason after a month of use, it will start acting up. I click icons and it takes a few seconds to "catch up" or it just has lag. Restarting the phone seems to fix this but it has been happening more than I'm comfortable with lately.
2. Battery life - It has been average at best. It gets me through a day but barely. In the month I've owned it there has been a few days where I had to charge it around 3-4pm because I was under 10%. I'm a pretty heavy user but it still isn't great. I'd say it's better than the Nexus 5 but still nothing to write home about.
3. The screen - I'm not sure if Gorilla Glass 3 is that much worse than 4 but only a month in and my phone has micro scratches all over the front of the screen. They are the type that are only seen in bright light but it's still annoying. My iPhone 6s Plus gets the exact same treatment as this and has no scratches.
4. The Ice color - It is a very cool color but the novelty has worn off. Wish I had gotten black. My Ice is getting some slight discoloration around the edges.
5. My final gripe is about the camera and the double click the power button to launch the camera. The camera takes great shots as I mentioned above but it is extremely slow to Process HDR shots and it isn't nearly as fast as the iPhone or S6 when it comes to locking focus and getting the shot off. The double click to launch thing is also weird. Sometimes I'll press the button once and it launches and other times I'll press it twice and it won't launch then 3 seconds later it pops up when I'm trying to do something.
Overall, the phone isn't perfect, but no phone is. I haven't used a 6P yet but this phone is probably the best Android phone I've ever owned despite the negatives listed above. I'd still highly recommend the phone. Just know there are negatives to every phone. I'll probably give the 6P a try next and see how it compares. Definitely do not hesitate to own this phone if you are on the fence! Don't think I'm picking on the phone with the negatives, I just wanted to give an honest, unbiased review as possible. As someone who owns Android, iOS, and windows devices I think I can give an unbiased position.
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I always put a case and a screen protector on my device, so phones feel about the same and look about the same (through the screen protectors) across the board so the only thing I notice about this phone is that it is a bit lighter in weight than my X2--which for me feels good.
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