Google Nexus 6P vs Samsung Galaxy Note5 vs Apple iPhone 6s Plus: specs comparison

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After months of leaks and speculation, Google just made its two new Nexus devices official, the Nexus 6P made by Huawei and the Nexus 5X made by LG. Actually, it's the first time Google treats us to not one, but two new phones that run stock Android at the same time. The larger one, in particular, is pretty interesting since it's Huawei's first crack at being involved in making a smartphone for Google. 

Judging from its specs and despite that it's lacking some features that previous Nexus device have had, the Nexus 6P undoubtedly sits atop Google's smartphone portfolio at the moment. Although not the absolute creme de la creme, the Huawei-made it's packing some pretty good specs, namely Qualcomm's controversial Snapdragon 810 chipset, 3GB of RAM, a 5.7-inch Quad HD display, and a 12MP rear camera with large, 1.55 μm pixels. 

But how does the Nexus 6P stack against two of the best phones on the market right now, the Galaxy Note5 and the iPhone 6s Plus? As we were curious to see the three against one another in an improvised specs battle, we decided to come up with a three-way specs comparison. Check it out below.

Google Nexus 6P Samsung Galaxy Note5 Apple iPhone 6s Plus

Design

Dimensions
6.27 x 3.06 x 0.29 inches
159.3 x 77.8 x 7.3 mm
6.03 x 3.00 x 0.30 inches
153.2 x 76.1 x 7.6 mm
6.23 x 3.07 x 0.29 inches
158.2 x 77.9 x 7.3 mm
Weight
6.28 oz (178.0 g) 6.03 oz (171.0 g) 6.77 oz (192.0 g)
Materials
Back: Aluminum Back: Glass
Frame: Metal
Back: Aluminum
Biometrics
Fingerprint (touch) Fingerprint (touch) Fingerprint (touch)
Features
Notification light Stylus, Touch sensitive control keys Notification light
Keys
Right: Volume control, Lock/Unlock key Left: Volume control; Right: Lock/Unlock key Left: Volume control; Right: Lock/Unlock key
Colors
Black, Gold, Silver, White Black sapphire, Gold platinum, Silver titan, White pearl Gold, Silver, Rose gold, Space gray

Display

Size
5.7-inch, 71.60% screen-to-body 5.7-inch, 76.62% screen-to-body 5.5-inch, 67.91% screen-to-body
Type
AMOLED Super AMOLED IPS LCD, 500 nits
Resolution
2560x1440px, 518 PPI 2560x1440px, 518 PPI 1920x1080px, 401 PPI
Protection
Corning Gorilla Glass 4 Corning Gorilla Glass 4
Features
Oleophobic coating Pressure-sensitive, Oleophobic coating, Scratch-resistant glass, Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor

Hardware

System chip
Snapdragon 810 MSM8994 Samsung Exynos 7 Octa 7420 (14 nm) Apple A9 APL1022
Processor
Octa-core
2000 MHz
ARM Cortex-A57 and ARM Cortex-A53
Octa-core
2100 MHz
ARM Cortex-A57 and ARM Cortex-A53
Dual-core
1840 MHz
Twiste
GPU
Adreno 430 Mali-T760 MP8 PowerVR GT7600
Memory
3GB (LPDDR4)/128GB
3GB/32GB
3GB/64GB
4GB (LPDDR4)/64GB
4GB/32GB
2GB (LPDDR4)/128GB
2GB/16GB
2GB/32GB
2GB/64GB
Storage expansion
not expandable not expandable
OS
Android (8.1 Oreo, 8.0 Oreo, 7.1 Nougat, 7.0 Nougat, 6.0 Marshmallow) Android (7.0 Nougat, 6.0 Marshmallow, 5.1 Lollipop) iOS (15.x, 14.x, 13.x, 12.x, 11.x, 10.x, 9.x)

Battery

Type
3450 mAh 3000 mAh, Li - Ion 2750 mAh, Li - Ion
Charging
Qi and Powermat wireless charging

Camera

Rear
Single camera Single camera Single camera
Main camera
12.3 MP (Laser autofocus)
Aperture size: F2.0
Sensor size: 1/2.3"
Pixel size: 1.55 μm
16 MP (OIS, PDAF, CMOS image sensor, BSI sensor)
Aperture size: F1.9
Focal length: 28 mm
Sensor size: 1/2.6"
Pixel size: 1.12 μm
12 MP (Sapphire crystal lens cover, OIS, PDAF, BSI sensor)
Aperture size: F2.2
Focal length: 29 mm
Sensor size: 1/3"
Pixel size: 1.22 μm
Flash
Dual LED LED Dual LED
Video recording
4K UHD (30 fps), 1080p, 720p (240 fps)
Video calling
4K UHD (30 fps), QHD, 1080p (60 fps), 720p, VGA
OIS, Continuous autofocus, Object tracking, EIS, Video calling
4K UHD (30 fps), 1080p (120 fps), 720p (240 fps)
OIS, Time-lapse video, Continuous autofocus, Video calling, Video sharing
Front
8 MP 5 MP 5 MP (HDR)

Connectivity & Features

Bluetooth
4.2 4.2 4.2
WLAN
a,b,g,n,ac,dual-band
MIMO, Hotspot
802.11 a, b, g, n, ac
a,b,g,n,ac,dual-band
MIMO, Wi-Fi Direct, Hotspot
802.11 a, b, g, n, ac
a,b,g,n,ac,dual-band
MIMO, Hotspot
802.11 a, b, g, n, ac
USB
Type-C microUSB, USB 2.0 Lightning
Sensors
Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Pedometer, Compass, Hall (for flip covers), Barometer, Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass, Hall (for flip covers), Gesture, Barometer, Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass, Barometer, Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor
Hearing aid compatible
M3/T4
Location
GPS, A-GPS, Glonass GPS, A-GPS, Glonass, BeiDou GPS, A-GPS, Glonass, Galileo, Cell ID, Wi-Fi positioning
Other
NFC, Tethering, Computer sync, OTA sync NFC, ANT+, Tethering, Computer sync, OTA sync NFC, UMA (Wi-Fi Calling), Tethering, Computer sync, OTA sync, AirDrop

Multimedia

Headphones
3.5mm jack 3.5mm jack 3.5mm jack
Speakers
Earpiece, Multiple speakers Earpiece, Loudspeaker Earpiece, Loudspeaker
Features
Album art cover, Background playback Album art cover, Background playback Album art cover, Background playback
Screen mirroring
Wireless screen share
Additional microphone(s)
Noise cancellation Noise cancellation, Video recording

Cellular

4G (FDD) Bands
2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 12, 13, 17, 25, 29, 30 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 17, 18, 19, 26, 28 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 29
4G (TDD) Bands
41 40 38, 39, 40, 41
3G Bands
6, 5, 8, 4, 2, 1 5, 8, 2, 1 1, 2, 4, 5, 8
Data Speed
LTE-A Cat 6 (300/50 Mbit/s), HSPA, UMTS LTE-A Cat 9 (450/50 Mbit/s), HSPA, HSUPA, UMTS LTE-A Cat 6 (300/50 Mbit/s), HSPA, HSUPA
SIM type
Nano SIM Nano SIM Nano SIM
HD Voice
Yes
VoLTE
Yes

Regulatory Approval

FCC approval
Date approved: Sep 28, 2015
FCC ID value: QISH1511
Date approved: Jul 15, 2015
FCC ID value: A3LSMN920A
Date approved: Sep 09, 2015
FCC ID value: BCG-E2944A
Measured SAR
Head: 1.49 W/kg
Body: 0.81 W/kg
Simultaneous Transmission: 1.56 W/kg
Wireless Router: 1.44 W/kg
Head: 0.22 W/kg
Body: 0.76 W/kg
Simultaneous Transmission: 1.27 W/kg
Wireless Router: 0.98 W/kg
Head: 0.91 W/kg
Body: 1.14 W/kg
Simultaneous Transmission: 1.56 W/kg
Wireless Router: 1.14 W/kg

Availability

Officially announced
Sep 29, 2015 Aug 13, 2015 Sep 09, 2015
Prices (MSRP)
$649 $949


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