Gone are the times of the affordable and relatively compact Nexus smartphones - the Google Nexus 6 arrived with a bang like a bolt out of the blue and marked Google's slightly belated foray into phablet territory. With its giant 5.96" AMOLED display, quad-core Snapdragon 805 humming at up to 2.65GHz, 3GB of RAM, 3,220mAh battery, and 13MP rear camera with OIS, the Google Nexus 6 has little to nothing to be ashamed of in the hardware segment. What's more, you'll hardly find any other device that can dwarf it specs-wise, the only other viable option being the greatest by Samsung, the Galaxy Note 4 phablet.
Being a member of one of the more popular line of devices, the Nexus 6 will clash with a number of smaller-sized smartphones and devices on the market, one of them being arguably the most popular Android device from the first half of 2014, the Samsung Galaxy S5. Well, you know where this is going - it's time to put the Nexus 6 toe-to-toe with the Galaxy S5 and take an in-depth look at how these fare specs-wise.
Design
Both are practical, unpretentious devices, but pocket-friendliness suffers a blow
We all know which device inspired the looks of the Nexus 6 (it's obvious!) - we are talking about the Motorola-made Moto X 2014, of course. Similar to the LG-made Nexus 5, which adopted a great portion of LG G2's exterior design, the Nexus 6 looks very much like a supersized version of the Moto X. Nothing can hide the fact that the Nexus 6 is a big device - with dimensions of 6.27 x 3.27, thickness that varies from 3.8mm to 10.06mm, and an overall weight of 6.49 oz (184 g), Google and Motorola have definitely raised a behemoth.
The Samsung Galaxy S5, on the other hand, is dwarfed in comparison with its stock Android contender. It won't be far fetched to say that the size difference between the two was similar to the size brawl that existed between pre-iPhone 6 Apple smartphones and their Android rivals. The Galaxy S5 is, simply said, compact when put next to the Nexus 6 - its dimensions of 5.59 x 2.85 x 0.32 inches (142 x 72.5 x 8.1 mm) and weight of 5.11 oz (145 g) ensure that Samsung's still-current flagship is way more pocket-friendly than Google's newest.
The Nexus 6, as we said, resembles a Moto X with a metal frame on the side, while the Galaxy S5 relies on the "glam" design and comes with a disticnt pimpled rear cover. While the Galaxy S5 comes with a single speaker, the Nexus 6 has two front-facing ones, which will surely appeal to the audiophiles among the numerous Android devotees. Both the Nexus 6 and the Galaxy S5 are not afraid of water, yet there is an important difference. The new stock Android warrior employs a water-resistive coating, which only allows it to endure water splashes - it won't survive long underwater like the Galaxy S5, which is IP67-certified.
Well, we know that Motorola has a thing for AMOLED displays, as it has used these across its more recent flagships. Measuring roughly 6 inches in size (5.96", if we have to be spot on correct), the Nexus 6 is the latest device from a major manufacturer to hop onto the Quad HD bandwagon. Its pixel-rich display has a resolution of 1440 x 2560 pixels, which works out a pixel density of 493ppi - the lowest among all Quad HD-equipped mobile devices on the market.
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The Galaxy S5 is endowed with a Super AMOLED display with a more compact size of 5.2 inches. No Quad HD resolution here - it could very well be the last flagship smartphone of Samsung to tote a 1080p screen at its front. The resolution of 1080 x 1920 pixels paves the way to a pixel density of 432ppi - noticeably less than the Nexus 6, yet still a very good result. We highly doubt that you could go wrong with either of these though.
Processor and memory
The upper hand the Nexus has can't be neglected
Sporting the same SoC that the Galaxy Note 4 has, the Nexus 6 joins the ranks of the latter as one of the most power-laden devices at the moment. One can find a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 chipset inside the Nexus 6, which is churning and ticking the gears of the pure Android machine at up to 2.65GHz. Samsung's offering, at the same time, relies on the older generation of Qualcomm's finest - a quad-core Snapdragon 801 MSM8974-AC SoC, which does its job at up to 2.5GHz. The multitasking prowess of Google's phablet is ensured by 3GB of RAM on board of the behemoth, whereas the Galaxy S5 puts its faith in slightly less - 2GB of RAM.
Speaking of memory, the Nexus jumps over one of the first hurdles and will ship directly with 32GB of on-board storage, while the most basic version of the Samsung Galaxy S5 comes with 16GB out of the box.
We expect the Nexus 6 to outscore the Galaxy S5 in pure processing power. The former, however, has to cope up with significantly more pixels (3,686,400) than the S5 ( 2,073,600). Of course, this doesn't mean that oth devices will be on par or rather close to one another - we are yet to measure the Nexus 6's raw processing power, but judging by the Galaxy Note 4's benchmark results, it will undoubtedly have the upper hand over the older Galaxy.
Interface and functionality
Both are powered by Android, yet can't be more different.
Let's start with checking the "About" tab in the Settings of each of the two devices. Galaxy S5? Android. Nexus 6? Android (doh!). However, this is where most of the similarities end. One of the signature features of Google's Nexus family is the pure vanilla Android they run, and the Nexus 6 is no different.
The standard-bearer of Android 5.0 Lollipop will undobtedly appeal to those that dig the unprecedented simplicity of Google's stock platform and the unrivaled level of user experience it totes.
The Samsung Galaxy S5, in the meantime, adopts a fundamentally different approach. The TouchWiz user interface it is adorned with is among the ones that are packed with the most features, many of which are somewhat gimmicky and only clutter the interface, leading to the occasional lag here or there. Don't get us wrong, we like added functionalities as much as the next guy, but the hodgepodge of features that the inconsistent TouchWiz UI is can only damage the otherwise excellent Samsung flagship.
Camera
13MP with OIS or 16MP sans OIS? Another fierce battle in tow
The Nexus 6 comes with a 13MP camera at its back, a notable improvement over the Nexus 5 (at least on paper, that is). With an F/2.0 aperture of the image sensor and optical image stabilization on board, the newest Nexus warrior has a strong argument or two to justify its arrival on the crowded smartphone market. The flash of the device is rather compelling as well - it's a dual-LED ring flash positioned around the camera sensor, which is a sight we don't see every single day.
The Galaxy S5 was a champion of our blind camera comparisons not once or twice. Its 16MP rear snapper can't boast an optical image stabilization like the Nexus 6, but it surely has Samsung's proven camera formula running freely in its mechanical veins. Nevertheless, until proper camera samples from the Nexus 6 come along, we can't say which of these two warriors perform better in the camera department.
Expectations
Well, some may argue that a comparison between the Nexus 6 and the Galaxy S5 is pointless because they belong to different segments, but we can't accept this argument. After all, the fact that both devices will inevitably clash on the market shelves once the Nexus phablet arrives mean that a lot of potential customer will ask a simple, yet important question: "Should I opt for an enormous, future-proof Nexus or go with an older, yet more affordable Galaxy S5?". A good question with a clear answer, we might add.
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Peter, an experienced tech enthusiast at PhoneArena, is captivated by all things mobile. His impartial reviews and proficiency in Android systems offer readers valuable insights. Off-duty, he delves into the latest cryptocurrency trends and enjoys sci-fi and video games.
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