GOOGLE have gone super-sized with their latest Nexus 6 smartphone and not everyone's going to like it.
REVIEW: We've been putting Google's Nexus 6 to the test [DAVE SNELLING]
And to match their monstrous size they’ve just launched one of the biggest smartphones money can buy.
The word BIG is going to feature a lot in this review because that’s the only way to describe this hand-busting phone.
The Nexus 6 has just hit stores and takes the place of last year’s, now teeny-weeny, Nexus 5 model.
With a 5.96-inch screen the Nexus 6 is a whopper and makes most of its rivals look like they’ve been shrunk in a very hot wash.
But the question is, have Google made a mistake by going so BIG with its new smartphone?
There was only one way to find out, force it inside our pockets and take it for a spin.
Here’s our full review:
The Nexus 6 has an all-new look and feel [DAVE SNELLING]
Although the Nexus 6 is a Google device, it’s actually made by Motorola.
With almost identical looks to the Moto X it’s certainly not hard to see where the inspiration for the Nexus 6 came from.
It’s no bad thing that it looks so similar as the Moto X is a decent looking phone.
The Nexus 6 comes in two colours, Cloud White and Midnight Blue, and has the Nexus branding embossed on the rear cover in silver.
It’s curved case makes it comfortable to hold and all the controls are situated in easy to reach parts of the phone.
The nice thing about the Nexus 6 is how robust it feels.
Unlike some of the competition, you can throw it around without fear of it losing its box-fresh looks.
It may not have the same premium metal feel as the iPhone 6 or HTC One M8, but it’s solid, well built and almost indestructible.
With a 5.96-inch screen the Nexus 6 is one of the biggest phones on the market [DAVE SNELLING]
If you’re willing to burst your skinny jeans in return for the Nexus 6’s 5.96-inch display it had better be good.
Luckily, it is.
The device has a Quad HD screen and the results are very impressive.
Colours are bright, content looks vivid and it’s a delight to use.
The only thing that bothered us was, at certain angles, the screen appeared to have a blue tint which is slightly annoying.
It’s also a shame that Google haven’t utilised the giant screen a bit more.
We’d have liked to have seen the option to use the device with a split screen for different content.
Apart from these minor niggles, the display is excellent and certainly worth busting your pockets for.
The older Nexus 5 is dwarfed by its new bigger brother [DAVE SNELLING]
One of the biggest problems with Google’s previous smartphone, the Nexus 5, was its dire battery life.
You were lucky if you squeezed a day out of it without facing the flashing red battery symbol of doom.
This issue has been addressed on the Nexus 6 and the battery is much improved.
With normal usage you’ll easily get two days without needing to go near a plug and even with heavy usage the phone copes well.
We put it through our gruelling Star Wars trilogy test and after the six hour movie marathon we still had over 40% in the tank.
The Nexus 6 also has a neat trick up its sleeve with the Turbo Charger.
This allows you to give the phone six hours of energy with just 15 minutes of charge time.
The streets of London snapped on the Nexus 6 [DAVE SNELLING]
Another downfall of the older Nexus 5 was its very average camera.
Again Google have learned from previous mistakes and included a very decent 13-megapixel rear snapper on the Nexus 6.
Our test shots all looked good and the phone coped well in different levels of light.
There’s no slow motion modes or augmented reality, which is a shame, but you can produce clever Photo Spheres and Panorama shots with the phone.
On the front of the new Nexus is a 2-megapixel camera, which is fine for the odd shot of your face.
Video can be captured in 4K quaility and again our test results were impressive.
Photography is much improved on the new Nexus but we do have one complaint.
The phone is slow to take pictures and it's frustrating when attempting to take multiple snaps at once.
The Nexus 6 has a much-improved 13-megaoixel camera [DAVE SNELLING]
If you’re after a gadget-packed James Bond-style smartphone the Nexus isn’t for you.
There’s no heart rate monitor, it’s not waterproof and it can’t be unlocked by your finger tips.
However, somehow we don’t mind its simplicity, most extras are generally gimmicks that people rarely use.
It’s a shame that there’s no fingerprint technology although the phone does automatically come to life when you pick it up and its voice search works well.
There's also some decent dual stereo speakers on the front of the phone which are perfect for annoying people on your local train.
If you fancy a Nexus 6 it'll set you back £499 for the 32GB model and £549 for the 64GB version.
Contract prices start from £33 per month which places this device firlmly at the premium end of the market.
Google have made a another decent smartphone in the Nexus 6.
It looks good, is built like a British tank, has good cameras and a very tasty display.
It’s not packed with gimmicks but it’ll do everything you need and want a smartphone to do.
Android Lollipop also helps to bring a slick experience to the user and as you’d expect from Google’s operating system, it runs beautifully on its Google phone.
But the BIG question is, have Google made a huge mistake with this phone's size?
The simple answer is yes.
If you like BIG phones then you’ll love this device, the problem is, what if you don’t?
Unlike Apple, Sony and Samsung, Google haven't launched a Nexus 6 and Nexus 6 mini meaning you can only go large.
And we can’t help thinking it would have been better to design the Nexus 6 with a slightly smaller form factor.
That said, if you buy one you honestly won’t have any issues using it as this is one fine smartphone.
Just make sure your jeans have very BIG pockets.
