Google Nexus 6P Review: A Magnificent Marshallow Powered Flagship
Camera and Battery Life
Most smartphone manufacturers now realized that camera performance is of the utmost importance for most buyers. It's the one feature that nearly every smartphone user taps into on a daily basis, and shoddy image quality is a surefire way to disappoint a new owner. Hence, the revamped 12.3MP rear camera on the Nexus 6P. It utilizes a 1.55 micron sensor to capture more light than prior cameras, and the f/2.0 aperture enables better shots in low-light situations. There's IR laser-assisted autofocus, 4K (30fps) video capture, a broad-spectrum CRI-90 dual flash, and slo-motion video capture at 120fps available as well.
The front camera is worth praising too. While the Nexus 5X is equipped with a 5MP shooter, the 6P gets an 8MP front camera with an f/2.4 aperture. It's capable of capturing 1080p video at 30fps, which is very uncommon on front-facing shooters.
Below you'll find a gallery of unedited shots captured by the Nexus 6P's rear camera. As you'll see, the camera goes a good job capturing sharp, vibrant images in a number of different lighting situations.
Click any to enlarge
As has become the norm, the battery within the Nexus 6P isn't user-serviceable or removable/swappable. It's a 3,450mAh battery that Google claims will last up to 23 hours (talk time). Wi-Fi and LTE usage is rated at 10 hours. Additionally, the bundled USB Type-C wall charger can inject seven hours of usage with just 10 minutes of charging. There's no option for wireless charging on the Nexus 6P.
When using AnTuTu tester, which places the phone under stress and depletes the battery in a worst-case-scenario type of workload, the Nexus 6P held its own. It mustered a slightly higher score than the Galaxy S6 Edge+, but fell short of the mark set by the Galaxy Note 5. Still, it significantly bested marks set by flagship phones from a year ago, signaling an impressive year-over-year improvement.
The front camera is worth praising too. While the Nexus 5X is equipped with a 5MP shooter, the 6P gets an 8MP front camera with an f/2.4 aperture. It's capable of capturing 1080p video at 30fps, which is very uncommon on front-facing shooters.
Below you'll find a gallery of unedited shots captured by the Nexus 6P's rear camera. As you'll see, the camera goes a good job capturing sharp, vibrant images in a number of different lighting situations.
Click any to enlarge
As has become the norm, the battery within the Nexus 6P isn't user-serviceable or removable/swappable. It's a 3,450mAh battery that Google claims will last up to 23 hours (talk time). Wi-Fi and LTE usage is rated at 10 hours. Additionally, the bundled USB Type-C wall charger can inject seven hours of usage with just 10 minutes of charging. There's no option for wireless charging on the Nexus 6P.
When using AnTuTu tester, which places the phone under stress and depletes the battery in a worst-case-scenario type of workload, the Nexus 6P held its own. It mustered a slightly higher score than the Galaxy S6 Edge+, but fell short of the mark set by the Galaxy Note 5. Still, it significantly bested marks set by flagship phones from a year ago, signaling an impressive year-over-year improvement.
In our browser-based rundown test, which loops a page every few minutes with screen brightness set to 50%, we saw the Nexus 6P peter out after 7.6 hours. That's a bit below the rated 10 hours, but considering that typical usage would probably allow screen brightness to vary (and in turn, not always be as high as 50%), the figures do line up.
In more anecdotal testing, we were able to get through a full working day without needing a recharge, so unless you're binging on entirely too much Netflix, you should be fine to leave your charger at home.
In more anecdotal testing, we were able to get through a full working day without needing a recharge, so unless you're binging on entirely too much Netflix, you should be fine to leave your charger at home.
