Huawei Nexus 6P review: Great software that finally gets the hardware it deserves

SINGAPORE — Despite their cult following, the Google-branded Nexus phones traditionally come with somewhat mediocre mid-tier hardware, while showcasing top-notch, clean software. Well, that was until the long-awaited Huawei Nexus 6P arrived.

One of two Google phones released last year, the Nexus 6P stands as both a superior cousin to LG’s Nexus 5X, and a worthy Android contender that performs in the same league as flagship phones from seasoned players such as Samsung, Sony and HTC. It succeeds on both counts, offering plenty to like and very little to hate.

Dressed to impress with an aluminium build, the Nexus 6P feels premium, without the weight and bulk typical of well-constructed phones. At 178g and 7.3mm thick, it is featherlight and thin, sharing almost identical dimensions with the iPhone 6S Plus. These elements, coupled with rounded corners, ensure the Nexus 6S fits snugly in one’s hand.

Fronting the Nexus 6P is a 5.7-inch, 2560x1440 AMOLED display that is crisp and more than adequately bright under sunlight. Like most AMOLED screens, colour reproduction tends to veer towards being oversaturated and vivid, though this is not exactly a flaw but rather a preference of some users. While the screen is not the best in terms of hardware, it still does an excellent job.

On the back, there is a slight contusion at the top that houses the camera hardware (plus, presumably, other technologies), but it is almost unnoticeable and does not detract from the phone’s sleek form factor.

NEXUS IMPRINT AND CAMERA

Unlike other phones where the home button doubles as a fingerprint sensor, the sensor, known here as the Nexus Imprint, has been relegated to the back. Disguised as a circular recess, it is inconspicuous and thoughtfully positioned so that scanning your index finger feels intuitive.

Setting up the phone to recognise your prints (you can register more than one) is simple and takes seconds. The sensor is accurate and speedy. Still, I would recommend setting up a secondary password or PIN lock as backup.

The Nexus Imprint on the back is not the only thing worth boasting about: The Nexus 6P’s smartphone camera is stellar and one of the best in the market. Google has said that Nexus 6P’s 12.3-megapixel sensor’s capability to capture larger-than-average 1.55 micron pixels makes the inclusion of optical image stabilisation redundant, and for the most part it is true, helped by the fact that it is also extremely speedy. Photos and videos captured under varying conditions — low light, indoors, bright outdoors, action shots — turned out well-focused, sharp, rich in colour and accurate in colour reproduction. For instance:

UNDER THE HOOD

Running under the hood is Android’s latest 6.0.1 Marshmallow as it is intended to be used, without being bogged down by unnecessary bells and whistles. Another big draw for the Google-backed Nexus 6P is that it gets the latest Android updates immediately, unlike other Android devices. A much-hyped software addition on 6.0 is Doze, an aptly named power-saving feature that kicks in when your device is sitting absolutely still, unplugged and with the screen turned off. With this, keeping the phone switched on overnight only resulted in a minute drop in battery percentage.

The Nexus 6P’s 3450mAh non-removable battery allowed for about 12 hours of regular usage on maximum brightness, including surfing the web, photo-taking, and constant Facebook, Twitter and email updates, as well as messaging.

Specs-wise, the phone’s Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 v2.1 processor, backed by 3GB of RAM, ensured that everything ran smoothly. The phone gets warm on heavy usage, but never alarmingly hot as some other phones do.

SOME INCONVENIENCES

Still, the Nexus 6P is not perfect. For one, there is no extra microSD card storage option; secondly, it draws power from the new, but rather obscure, reversible USB Type-C charging cable — an inconvenience because you cannot charge it with regular micro USB cables.

On the plus side, charging is swift, and you can get a full charge in less than two hours. Huawei has included a USB-to-USB-C cable that allows you to hook up the phone to a computer or battery pack with the regular USB head.

If you are in the market for an Android phone, the Nexus 6P is one of the best around and stands toe-to-toe with competitors such as the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+ or the Galaxy Note 5. It has made great strides from its previous Nexus incarnations, by giving its great software the hardware it deserves.

The Huawei Nexus 6P, available in aluminium and graphite, is sold exclusively on Lazada Singapore at S$949 (64GB) and S$1,049 (128GB).