Nexus 6 - Opened my eyes to big phones

[MrSquished]

coming from an s4 then an n5 then a HTC One M8 I just had nowhere else to go as camera quality is very important and the Nexus6 camera is very good. After the M9 was shown to have an over 20 MP camera I was like that's it, no M9 for me which I thought would be my next phone. What was left was the Moto X and the Nexus 6 or wait for the LG G4 but I just ran out of patience. I figured I'd try the nexus 6 for the return period at the least.

I never thought I'd get used to a phone that big. I'm only 5'10" but have big hands. I gotta say, this phone is the tits. So fast, love the screen for reading and for GPS, and just for anything really. Selling my Nexus 7 as it is superfluous now with this nexus 6 and the nexus 9 is now perfect for larger tablet stuff. really not sure why there has been so little love for the n6. only issue for me is i wish the carriers had the 64 gb version but 32 gb should be enough with my 10GB data plan with rollover data on AT&T.

this phone FLIES. getting used to lollipop, and at the end of the day i just love nekkies android. the motox batterylife was too mediocre. i find this n6 has good battery life if you make everything a dark theme taking advantage of the amoled screen.

it seems nobody has this gem of a phone. go big, you'll get used to it.

 

[gsaldivar]

Tempted to make the upgrade from my current Nexus 5. I use my phone extensively and unfortunately I'm feeling the 2GB RAM limitation lately.

 

[holden j caufield]

I'm an extensive phone user also but I mostly use it with one hand and my thumb to touch type. My hand is only about 7.5 inches so I'm wondering if these new phones are too big. My LG G2 is already near the limit of my where my thumb can reach the top/bottom/sides of the phone. Looking at the note 3, note 4, g3, n6.

 

[mikeymikec]

OP, you seem to be going through a phone a year, is this correct?

 

[ControlD]

If I could upgrade to any phone I wanted, it would be the N6 for sure. I have no desire to go back to skinned and bloated OEM+carrier images anymore. I also don't want to be at the mercy of OTA updates. There have been rumors that Verizon will get the N6 at some point which might get me to upgrade from my Note 2, but I'm not holding my breath.

 

[dlock13]

If I could upgrade to any phone I wanted, it would be the N6 for sure. I have no desire to go back to skinned and bloated OEM+carrier images anymore. I also don't want to be at the mercy of OTA updates. There have been rumors that Verizon will get the N6 at some point which might get me to upgrade from my Note 2, but I'm not holding my breath.

You can already pop a VZW SIM into a Nexus 6 and use it. They just haven't officially released/supported it because they're waiting for Google to update the Android version to incorporate VoLTE and other things..... I can only assume.

 

[ControlD]

You can already pop a VZW SIM into a Nexus 6 and use it. They just haven't officially released/supported it because they're waiting for Google to update the Android version to incorporate VoLTE and other things..... I can only assume.

Yeah, I considered just buying one outright anyhow. The paranoid side of me can see Verizon somehow getting the phone blocked about a week after I drop a huge wad of cash on it though.

Honestly, my Note 2 running CM12 is still a pretty good experience though so I'll probably just keep using that until I really need to upgrade. That N6 sure does look nice though ...

 

[paperwastage]

You can already pop a VZW SIM into a Nexus 6 and use it. They just haven't officially released/supported it because they're waiting for Google to update the Android version to incorporate VoLTE and other things..... I can only assume.

didn't stop Verizon from launching Droid Turbo/Z3v and updating later to support VoLTE

(of course, Verizon has a lot less control over Nexus 6 updates, can't "guarantee" a VoLTE update unlike the Turbo/Z3V)

 

[dawheat]

it seems nobody has this gem of a phone. go big, you'll get used to it.

Yeah I've actually been a bit surprised that I haven't seen anyone using one in the wild. I do see the occasional Nexus 5 and a couple co-workers have one as well. Otherwise it's straight iPhones, Samsungs, and the occasional HTC.

I'm guessing Google doesn't release sales figures, but does anyone know how the Nexus 6 is selling? I think it's safe to say it's selling less than the Nexus 5 at the same time last year - the price pretty much dictates that. But are they still moving at a decent clip?

Late fall I was considering it, but the only advantage it had over the Note 4 was updates. Pretty much everything else - display, camera, battery, features - were better on the Note 4, along with the requisite mSD. For what was $50 difference on T-mobile at the time, it didn't seem worth it. Throw in the promotions that Samsung ran that knocked another $200 off, it made the Note 4 substantially cheaper.

But if you're a big big screen fan and updates are important to you, I'm not sure what else a user would get other than the N6?

 

[Dulanic]

I was torn between the Nexus 6 and the Note 4 and decided on the Note 4. I just couldn't see any value add of the Nexus over the Note 4 and the Note 4 actually worked out a tad cheaper.

 

[holden j caufield]

do the note 3, note 4, g3, n6 all have unlocked bootloaders, I'd like free reign on putting whatever kernel I want and customization.

 

[ControlD]

do the note 3, note 4, g3, n6 all have unlocked bootloaders, I'd like free reign on putting whatever kernel I want and customization.

The G3 is the only one I know of that has been unlocked by the manufacturer. The Note 4 for sure is locked and I'm not sure that is going to change. Honestly that is the reason I will most likely never get another Note phone.

 

[dawheat]

do the note 3, note 4, g3, n6 all have unlocked bootloaders, I'd like free reign on putting whatever kernel I want and customization.

Note 4 T-mobile for sure and I believe the Sprint version has an unlocked bootloader. I'm doing what a lot of att customers did - buy the tmo version, sim unlock it, and use it on att while running custom ROMs.

 

[poofyhairguy]

do the note 3, note 4, g3, n6 all have unlocked bootloaders, I'd like free reign on putting whatever kernel I want and customization.

Depends. The T-Mobile Notes are unlockable I think, but Verizon/AT&T ones are not and might never be, I am pretty sure a G3 or a N6 can always be unlocked.

 

[Red Storm]

When making calls was the biggest and most important function, small phones made sense. They do so much more now that a larger screen is better for everything else you'd do with it. They really are hand-held computers now, but we still call them phones because that's what we've always called them.

 

[magomago]

The G3 is the only one I know of that has been unlocked by the manufacturer. The Note 4 for sure is locked and I'm not sure that is going to change. Honestly that is the reason I will most likely never get another Note phone.

Is this the same 'unlocking' as unlocking a phone? Are you suggesting the note 4 can't be unlocked, and that custom roms can't be installed?

 

[ControlD]

Is this the same 'unlocking' as unlocking a phone? Are you suggesting the note 4 can't be unlocked, and that custom roms can't be installed?

I should have clarified that I was only speaking in Verizon terms (which are the only phones I pay much attention to and thus I tend to over generalize). The Note 4 (Verizon) cannot be boot loader unlocked. If you want to run custom ROMs you can go with the developer edition I believe, but with the normal Note 4 you would go into the store and purchase you are pretty much stuck with stock. From what was said above, it sounds like the AT&T version is the same.

 

[dawheat]

I should have clarified that I was only speaking in Verizon terms (which are the only phones I pay much attention to and thus I tend to over generalize). The Note 4 (Verizon) cannot be boot loader unlocked. If you want to run custom ROMs you can go with the developer edition I believe, but with the normal Note 4 you would go into the store and purchase you are pretty much stuck with stock. From what was said above, it sounds like the AT&T version is the same.

Only if you buy on contract. The dev edition is unlocked.

http://www.samsung.com/us/mobile/cell-phones/SM-N910VMKEVZW

 

[ControlD]

Only if you buy on contract. The dev edition is unlocked.

http://www.samsung.com/us/mobile/cell-phones/SM-N910VMKEVZW

Yep .. I mentioned that!

Did the Note 3 (Verizon) ever get an unlocked bootloader? Seems like it never did either.

 

[sze5003]

Got my 64gb n6 from Motorola using it now on Verizon. Running a custom ROM and custom kernel, the thing flies and I get good battery life..lasts me all day with pretty heavy use. I could not stand having a locked down phone like Verizon did to the m7 for a while. Love the ability to load whatever I want on the nexus and Dev support for it is amazing.

 

[paperwastage]

Is this the same 'unlocking' as unlocking a phone? Are you suggesting the note 4 can't be unlocked, and that custom roms can't be installed?

bootloader unlocks are different from sim unlocks

bootloader unlock = ability to install and use a custom ROM (eg from cyanogenmod, omnirom). Without unlock, it's very hard to do it(sometimes, people find exploits that bypass the bootloader lock, like Loki and sunshine)

sim unlocks = getting the phone to accept ANY sim card. Verizon LTE phones are always sim unlocked now due to FCC regulations (that only apply to verizon's usage of LTE Band 17). Even with sim unlock, you need to verify that the phone is compatible with your other carrier's network

 

[magomago]

bootloader unlocks are different from sim unlocks

bootloader unlock = ability to install and use a custom ROM (eg from cyanogenmod, omnirom). Without unlock, it's very hard to do it(sometimes, people find exploits that bypass the bootloader lock, like Loki and sunshine)

sim unlocks = getting the phone to accept ANY sim card. Verizon LTE phones are always sim unlocked now due to FCC regulations (that only apply to verizon's usage of LTE Band 17). Even with sim unlock, you need to verify that the phone is compatible with your other carrier's network

Yes I understand both.

I suppose the confusion is on my end as I only have had/used Nexus Android Phones - the brand come with the bootloaders locked by default, but its quite simple to unlock it. With the right toolkits its literally a button press.

I didn't realize that some phones literally have unlockable bootloaders.

 

[sze5003]

Yes I understand both.

I suppose the confusion is on my end as I only have had/used Nexus Android Phones - the brand come with the bootloaders locked by default, but its quite simple to unlock it. With the right toolkits its literally a button press.

I didn't realize that some phones literally have unlockable bootloaders.

Yea with nexus its just set up adb and then do fastboot oem unlock in terminal. Others require a lot of injections or even hardware to unlock.

 

[poofyhairguy]

I didn't realize that some phones literally have unlockable bootloaders.

For the most part in this field "locked bootloader" doesn't mean it wasn't locked- they are all locked by default for certain DRM to work. It means you have the ability to unlock it, like your Nexus.

Not very precise terminology, but hey that is what happens when tech goes mainstream.

 

[KeithP]

How does the screen look outside? One of the reasons I ultimately decided against the N6 was that the screen didn't seem very bright and I read multiple reports that it was very hard to use in direct sunlight.

-KeithP