Nexus 6P first impressions: Huawei may’ve made a knockout

It’s a 5.7-inch screen, not 6 inches, but that small decrease plus a lot of edge-thinning and corner-rounding makes the 6P so much easier to use.

LG’s latest smartphones have been excellent and the LG G4 remains one of the best smartphones available today. The company has a reputation building winners for Google that started with the Nexus 4. My first impression was that it was extremely light, the back plastic felt fantastic, and it was easy to slip in my front trousers pocket.

The Nexus 5X uses the new reversible USB Type-C port. But what’s with it only coming with a USB Type-C to USB Type-C cable? You can pick it up in 32, 64 or 128GB. Having said that, I did notice a few fatigue in my wrist after using the 6P for two days.

Who said only all-metal smartphones are good-looking? I believed that up until I started playing with the Nexus 6P. There are a pair of perfectly symmetrical grilles on the top and bottom of the display (top is the earpiece and the bottom is a single front-facing mono speaker). You can also lift, shift, or move the device in a few manner and see the time, date, and on-screen notifications (if you have this on in the settings). This will be an absolutely incredible feature once we get more phones with Type-C ports.

The fingerprint sensor is on the back of the phone, which works swimmingly with the natural movement of my hand. Still, I keep shutting off the screen by accident at least twice a day, and I don’t see that changing soon. The white model I have contains a silver ring around the fingerprint sensor. But therein is my issue with Nexus devices. The flash is also great, not washing out your photo subjects. I have a pretty steady hand, but still find OIS helps me capture clearer photos. It has the same 12.3 megapixel camera as the more expensive Nexus 6P, and so far we’ve been very impressed with it, but haven’t had enough time to test all the features to say more. It’s not as bright as the screen on the Galaxy Note 5, but the difference is basically negligible. However, since the majority of people use auto mode it is the results that matter more than the software. Designed by LG, the 5X is what everyone has been asking for: an updated version to the beloved Nexus 5.

Presently only Nexus 6 phones can use Google as a provider, so the 5X and 6P could bring the service more mainstream when they launch later this month.

The 5.2-inch Nexus 5X comes in a plastic casing and runs on a 2,700mAh battery that has a 20 percent larger capacity than the preceding handset. Unlike the iPhone 6S’s TouchID home button, the Nexus Imprint is not a button, just a fingerprint reader. That’s why the iPhone 6s shoots better photos and video with its 12-megapixel sensor than phones with 20-megapixel sensors, for example. I don’t know what to make of that, but, uh, there you go.

The 6P, after all, is meant to showcase Google’s Android 6.0 (Marshmallow) operating system, which is governed by Google’s attractive Material Design protocol, and it does so very well.

Another similarity is the shift to USB Type C connectors with both handsets. With this Huawei-made Nexus 6P, this largely-China-based device manufacturer gets its chance to really show the United States market what they’re capable of.

Marshmallow also includes standardized fingerprint reader support, which should help Android phones be more useful for mobile payments.

The front of the 5X is the neatest it’s ever been on a Nexus phone and shows an attention to the tiniest details that I’ve only seen on the iPhone. The new connectors have a number of technical advantages, but that’s just window dressing on the sheer joy of never putting a USB connector in the wrong way again. The ZTE Axon Pro, with 32GB, is priced at $449.98 and the OnePlus 2 16GB model is $329 as we see the battle for sub-$450 smartphones continue to heat up.

On September 29th Google answered that prayer for many Android users or budget shoppers with the Nexus 5X. However, the 5X is definitely easier to carry being 12mm shorter and 5.4 mm narrower than the 6P.

If you order your Nexus 5X soon you will also receive a $50 Google Play credit and 90 days of free Google Play Music ($9.99/month value).

Samsung Galaxy S6 Active is made available at a price of $199 with a two year contract.

New phones are exciting. Meaning T-Mobile, Verizon, AT&T, Sprint and smaller regional carriers.

Like the past couple of generations of Nexus device, this Nexus 6P works with the ability to run on multiple carriers. That is until now, as the current device with me is the OnePlus 2. Speaking of apps, Google built in a way for apps to automatically back themselves up to Google Drive so your saved data gets pulled down onto the phone if and when you reinstall it. It’s a Marshmallow-only feature, so I haven’t gotten to test it with other devices, but I’ll update this review if further testing reveals anything new. The packaging of the Nexus 5X is a departure from the rectangular, deep box we were given with the Nexus 6.