Reviews of Google’s latest batch of Nexus phones are in. The verdict? Pretty good.
The Nexus 5X—made by South Korean electronics giant LG—is a little cheaper, smaller and made of plastic. The Nexus 6P—made by the Chinese telecom giant Huawei—is slightly larger, more expensive, and encased in aluminum. Everyone seems to agree that the latter is the preferred choice of the pair, but that superior quality comes with a cost: the base price is $120 more.
Early reviewers have praised a few particular features on the new phones. Namely, greatly improved cameras (never Nexus’ strong suit), convenient fingerprint sensor placement (on the backside of the devices, rather than the front), and, above all, bargain prices (starting at $379 for the 5X and $499 for the 6P).
Both run Android 6.0 Marshmallow, Google’s (GOOG) latest mobile operating system, and come with Google Now on Tap, a contextual search tool that acts like Apple’s (AAPL) Siri.
Both devices go on sale at the end of October, and they’re available now to pre-order. Here’s a rundown of what the early reviewers are saying.
Nexus 5X (LG-made)
“For those who yearned for the days of budget- and pocket-friendly Nexus handsets, the 5X is for you.” (Engadget)
“…it looks like Google (and LG) have finally narrowed the camera gap with Apple’s iPhones. The Nexus 5X’s cameras, while not significantly better than the iPhone 6S’s, are very capable shooters. That alone is a huge win for the Android camp.” (Mashable)
“Hardcore fans may be difficult to please and even fickle at times, but if you give them what they want, they can be your biggest supporters. With the Nexus 5X, Google is giving those die-hard Nexus 5 fans all that and then some.” (Verge)
“The more time I held it in my hand, the cheaper it felt. I’ve tried out a boatload of devices and being light is a good thing…but feeling like cheap plastic totally turns me off. Google and LG calls it ‘premium injection molded polycarbonate,’ but that’s not changing my mind.” (TechCrunch)
“Price alone is a huge driving factor in making the 5X so compelling, but it needs so much more to captivate a wider audience, especially when we’ve been spoiled by so many great-performing, low-cost premium phones.” (PhoneArena)
Nexus 6P (Huawei-made)
“Spoiler: it’s good.” (Wired)
“I wouldn’t call it a particularly attractive phone compared to the iPhone 6s Plus or the newest Galaxy Edge phones from Samsung, but it’s not ugly either. It comes in aluminum, graphite (black) and frost (white).” (Forbes)
“It’s a sleeker, smaller, more powerful take on the phablet formula Google and Motorola tried to crack with the Nexus 6, and it seems to hit all the right notes. Hell, with a price tag that starts at $499, it’s even cheaper than its predecessor.” (Engadget)
“When Google imagined hardware and software working in perfect harmony one day, the 6P was the device they unknowingly fantasized about.” (TechCrunch)
“For a first stab at a Nexus phone, Huawei hit the ball out of the park.” (Mashable)
Both
“[T]he 5X is very obviously the lesser one. Compared to the larger (and pricier) 6P, it has compromises in both performance and design. And though it fights really well in its mid-tier price bracket, if you bump it up to the next weight class, it doesn’t quite hold up to the true flagships from companies such as Apple or Samsung.” (Verge)
“The Nexus 5X and 6P are two of the best Nexus devices ever produced. It’s a common line that people say every year, but these are the first Nexus devices that don’t have a huge deal breaker attached to them. Google and its partners have finally nailed two of the things Nexus devices have traditionally been poor at. The camera is actually good—great, even—and can hold its own against the best mobile shooters out there. And the battery life is just as good as any other flagship as well.” (Ars Technica)
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For more on Google’s recent product announcements, watch this video.
