Nexus 6P Upgrade

[Travis Bakker]

It is only a month in, and it's already looking to be a stellar year for flagships. I'm wondering what devices fellow 6P owners are looking at as a replacement in 2017?
What features from the 6P will you miss, and what features would like to see in your next device?

 

[Graymonkey]

iPhone 8

 

[DJ Sandman]

I have the 6p (since November 2015) and I just bought the Moto Z Play. The 6p still holds its own but the battery life is deteriorating and that's why I bought the MZP. The MZP is smooth and it has double the battery life of the 6p... SOT of 8 hours 56 minutes vs. 4:23 on the 6p!

 

[armyav8tor]

iPhone 8

Agreed, let's hope the camera will be as good as the 6P under low light conditions.

 

[armyav8tor]

I have the 6p (since November 2015) and I just bought the Moto Z Play. The 6p still holds its own but the battery life is deteriorating and that's why I bought the MZP. The MZP is smooth and it has double the battery life of the 6p... SOT of 8 hours 56 minutes vs. 4:23 on the 6p!

Lenovo is a horrible company for support. If you don't care about software updates then it's OK but otherwise, you are in for a rude awakening. Moto usually have inferior cameras. Despite that, I used to love Moto when it was run by Google and still have an OG Moto X and Droid Maxx laying around. Both are bootloader unlocked, which is another problem with Moto's on Verizon, they are locked tight.

 

[Travis Bakker]

Lenovo is a horrible company for support. If you don't care about software updates then it's OK but otherwise, you are in for a rude awakening. Moto usually have inferior cameras. Despite that, I used to love Moto when it was run by Google and still have an OG Moto X and Droid Maxx laying around. Both are bootloader unlocked, which is another problem with Moto's on Verizon, they are locked tight.

That was one of my concerns as well with upgrading my phone, I want to maintain the timely SW updates. There are plenty of alternatives out there, it's just trying to figure out which ones will be updated and how quickly.

 

[DJ Sandman]

I agree on the lackluster Moto cameras. I can't speak on Lenovo or Google support (6p) as luckily, I haven't had to deal with them.

On software updates, I believe less is more. I thought having fast updates on the 6p would be a good thing. Unfortunately, the battery life has taken hits after each update. What used to be 6 hours SOT is now around 4.

 

[Travis Bakker]

That's a good point regarding updates, quick updates are only good if they don't negatively affect the device you're installing them on. I guess it comes down to timely security updates as well. Since those seem to be more important. Hopefully more manufacturers get on board with this and provide monthly updates.

 

[anon(631531)]

Lenovo is a horrible company for support. If you don't care about software updates then it's OK but otherwise, you are in for a rude awakening. Moto usually have inferior cameras. Despite that, I used to love Moto when it was run by Google and still have an OG Moto X and Droid Maxx laying around. Both are bootloader unlocked, which is another problem with Moto's on Verizon, they are locked tight.

From what i understand, you can't get a phone with an unlocked bootloader from any carrier anymore.

 

[Dubss]

Have you tried clearing cache or factory reset I've had the 6p sense pre order and my battery is awesome but I have done a factory reset

 

[DJ Sandman]

Have you tried clearing cache or factory reset I've had the 6p sense pre order and my battery is awesome but I have done a factory reset

Yes on the cache clearing and no on the factory reset. The 6p is still a fine phone and has served me well since November 2015. It's just that the battery life and Doze feature aren't what they used to be.

 

[Matty]

It is only a month in, and it's already looking to be a stellar year for flagships. I'm wondering what devices fellow 6P owners are looking at as a replacement in 2017?
What features from the 6P will you miss, and what features would like to see in your next device?

iPhone 7s is definitely a possibility. Apple is doing some really great work with their cameras and looks like they are focusing on low light performance which is great to hear. Anything with a F1.8 - F1.7 and below is great.

Another alternative would naturally be the Google Pixel XL. I feel this is a small upgrade to the Nexus 6P in the camera department. Obviously really big upgrade in the performance section. Nice build quality and i feel a nice overall upgrade.

I would have liked to see some water resistance on the Pixel but it wasn't on the 6P so its not like i will be losing anything

 

[armyav8tor]

iPhone 7s is definitely a possibility. Apple is doing some really great work with their cameras and looks like they are focusing on low light performance which is great to hear. Anything with a F1.8 - F1.7 and below is great.

Another alternative would naturally be the Google Pixel XL. I feel this is a small upgrade to the Nexus 6P in the camera department. Obviously really big upgrade in the performance section. Nice build quality and i feel a nice overall upgrade.

I would have liked to see some water resistance on the Pixel but it wasn't on the 6P so its not like i will be losing anything

I think the Pixel XL would be a lateral upgrade, as you've said, don't really gain anything. I like the look and feel of the 6P more with the front facing speakers. The Pixel is trying too hard to be an iPhone and I prefer to go for the real thing if that's the case. If the next iPhone has a camera as good as the 6P, it'll be tough to stay away. I'm so tied into the Google ecosystem though, especially with Google Music. Would not be an issue if I didn't use Android Auto/ Apple Carplay but I do use it and it is locked down to their respective ecosystem. I gave my iPhone 6S to my wife when I got the 6P, and other than the camera, the iPhone is so much better. Updates come often and the device will be supported for longer than the life of the phone which can't be said for any Android devices to include Nexus. I'm basically done with Android, it has many advantages over iOS but I'm at the age where I just want the damn thing to work and not have to constantly tinker with it. With that said, I'm running stock Nougat with Franco kernel and it is just about perfect. Great SOT, everything works to include Android Pay. I've found that all the tweaks I've done actually had the reverse affects on battery life. Root, Greenify, etc.... There's too many moving parts and when you try to block wakelocks, the apps will drain more trying to push that wakelock through. The best way is to go into the apps and disable notifications, etc... Anyway, the bottom line is that with Android, you are a beta tester using software that will never make it out of beta and one day, your phone becomes unusable. If that's your thing, as it was for me for many years, that's great. But I'm tapping out and see an iPhone 8 in my future.

 

[neo905]

iPhone 8

I can only imagine what they will charge for this device given that they are finally going to beef up the internals ie. Quad display and it is a 10th anniversary edition. No thanks.

 

[neo905]

I think the Pixel XL would be a lateral upgrade, as you've said, don't really gain anything. I like the look and feel of the 6P more with the front facing speakers. The Pixel is trying too hard to be an iPhone and I prefer to go for the real thing if that's the case. If the next iPhone has a camera as good as the 6P, it'll be tough to stay away. I'm so tied into the Google ecosystem though, especially with Google Music. Would not be an issue if I didn't use Android Auto/ Apple Carplay but I do use it and it is locked down to their respective ecosystem. I gave my iPhone 6S to my wife when I got the 6P, and other than the camera, the iPhone is so much better. Updates come often and the device will be supported for longer than the life of the phone which can't be said for any Android devices to include Nexus. I'm basically done with Android, it has many advantages over iOS but I'm at the age where I just want the damn thing to work and not have to constantly tinker with it. With that said, I'm running stock Nougat with Franco kernel and it is just about perfect. Great SOT, everything works to include Android Pay. I've found that all the tweaks I've done actually had the reverse affects on battery life. Root, Greenify, etc.... There's too many moving parts and when you try to block wakelocks, the apps will drain more trying to push that wakelock through. The best way is to go into the apps and disable notifications, etc... Anyway, the bottom line is that with Android, you are a beta tester using software that will never make it out of beta and one day, your phone becomes unusable. If that's your thing, as it was for me for many years, that's great. But I'm tapping out and see an iPhone 8 in my future.

The interesting thing I have learned since going from IOS to Android is because you have the ability to tinker you end up over tinkering to the point that you do end up with too many moving parts and end up degrading your user experience and battery life. I find that if I just stay stock with no rooting and try to personalize the device without over customizing it things are fine. There is about 25% personalization in Android over IOS that I like that I can't give up. Sometimes less is more.

 

[PookiePrancer]

It is only a month in, and it's already looking to be a stellar year for flagships. I'm wondering what devices fellow 6P owners are looking at as a replacement in 2017?
What features from the 6P will you miss, and what features would like to see in your next device?

Galaxy S8

 

[mogelijk]

I have switched to an iPhone 7 Plus. My 6P, after about December, started to take 5 seconds or longer to bring up any app from a notification from that app, it was hugely frustrating to me. Worse, a factory reset hasn't really fixed the issue. My plan has been to pass the 6P on to my wife (who needs a larger screen and currently has a Nexus 5) but she hasn't wanted to be bothered to make the switch.

I'm surprised with how well I've adjusted to the iPhone, it is a nice phone -- and it is nice to have a phone that is easy to find accessories for. There are a few things I miss from the Nexus -- like using a password manager to automatically insert my password into apps. I also miss Google Now/On Tap, Siri just isn't currently on the same level, at least in my use. And, of course, I wish I could have an app drawer and widgets. Overall, though, I'm shocked at how content I am with the iPhone.

 

[gquiring]

Been using mine also since Nov 2015. Battery life goes easily 2 days for me between charges. I don't play any games on my phone though, just calls, texting, email and Facebook.