The Nexus 6 Review
by Brandon Chester on November 12, 2014 1:00 PM ESTWiFi
With the Nexus 6 we see a WiFi solution that hasn't been seen before in a mobile device, Broadcom's BCM4356. Announced at CES earlier this year, BCM4356 is a 2x2 802.11ac part with Bluetooth 4.1 support allowing for improved co-existence between Bluetooth and LTE. For reference, the Nexus 5 shipped with BCM4339 which is a 1x1 802.11ac part. To test WiFi performance on the Nexus 6 we used Iperf and Apple's AirPort Extreme router to try and achieve maximum performance.
The WiFi performance in the Nexus 6 falls into line for what we expect from a 2x2 802.11ac device. While it's slightly slower than Samsung's Galaxy Note 4, it's still much faster than many other devices that are on the market today, and over 3x faster than the WiFi performance of the Nexus 5.
GNSS
Most devices now use the GNSS solution built into Qualcomm's modem. I was someone who suffered the broken GNSS on the original Galaxy S, and I'm thankful that we've come to a point where every smartphone is now able to competently achieve a quick and accurate GNSS lock. In Airplane mode with no assistance information the Nexus 6 was able to achieve a lock in just under 35 seconds with an additional 5 seconds to bring the accuracy to within 10 feet, although both these times will vary greatly depending on the surrounding environment and weather conditions. With assistance info locks take only a matter of seconds.
Misc
To test NAND performance on the Nexus 6 we attempted to use Androbench and Andebench, but both gave results that could not have been accurate and so we are unfortunately unable to test this aspect of the Nexus 6 at this time. Like the new Moto X, the Nexus 6 has Cypress Semiconductor’s CapSense controller. Given that the Nexus 6 has no capacitive buttons, this is likely performing the same impedance-matching antenna tuning as on the Moto X which uses the same type of antenna design. It also has two TFA9890 speaker amplifiers which allows both speakers to be driven at the same time as stereo speakers.
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Muyoso - Wednesday, November 12, 2014 - link
Go ahead and tell me again why the $649 pricetag is justified because this is the "no compromises" Nexus we have been waiting for. . . . . . .Affectionate-Bed-980 - Wednesday, November 12, 2014 - link
In come the Nexus apologists that say this is a developer's phone!I say this as someone who's owned 4 Nexus phones and have been disappointed in battery and camera each time.
Muyoso - Wednesday, November 12, 2014 - link
The thing is, with prior Nexus phones, the battery and camera shortcomings could be justified because of the price. At $649, Google has to be high. Aluminum trim ain't that special.dishayu - Wednesday, November 12, 2014 - link
It's a fair price for the device. It's not cheap for US Americans because your retarded mobile carriers. For the rest of the world, where BYOD plans are without contract and dirt cheap, the phone is priced very competitively. It's cheaper than a Galaxy S5, HTC One M8 and LG G3 where I live.Frenetic Pony - Thursday, November 13, 2014 - link
Ouch, really? Just googled a G3, unlocked its $450 here. Ahh international markets, exchange rates and etc. Will you ever make things sensible?dishayu - Thursday, November 13, 2014 - link
The prices of the G3 have indeed dropped considerably but the nexus 6 is still priced at par with competition. Just checked Clove.co.uk and here are the prices :HTC One M8 : 499 GBP
Note 4 : 575 GBP
Xperia Z3 : 515 GBP
Nexus 6 32GB : 499 GBP (play store)
ws3 - Thursday, November 13, 2014 - link
That's all beside the point. Previous Nexus phones were priced considerably below the off-contract price of other phones with similar specs. This one isn't. That is the only claim being made.Acreo Aeneas - Sunday, November 23, 2014 - link
Maybe you should reread the article. Other than a few previous Nexus phones, the rest were about on pay pricing wise with the mainstream competition.Delfang - Thursday, November 13, 2014 - link
The fact that Z3 is available for 450 GBP on Amazon make your point invalid.garretelder - Thursday, December 4, 2014 - link
I'm personally not very impressed with the Nexus 6 (and neither is rankings like http://www.topreport.org/phones/ for example).