The Start Of A New Era
Shifting gears from previous years with LG, the Nexus 6 is now manufactured by Motorola. With its curved backing, flowing aluminium trim, and dimpled Motorola branding on the rear, the device borrows heavily from the second-gen Moto X design book. It basically looks like a supersized Moto X.
At 6.27 inches tall, 3.27 inches wide, and 0.4 inches thick (159 by 83 by 10.1mm), it will also be the biggest Nexus phone to date. The handset now sports a 5.96-inch display with an ultra-sharp 1440p resolution and a density of 493 pixels per inch. It joins the ranks of the LG G3 and the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 with this “Quad HD” screen, meaning it has four times as many pixels as a 720p HD display.
During an Android Lollipop demo with Google, I was able to spend some brief time with the handset. The display is bright and vibrant, and the new size can be unwieldy for those with a small grip like mine. At the same time however, it’s surprisingly light and the build quality is elegant and solid. In addition, the curved back makes it comfortable to hold.
VP of engineering of Android Dave Burke told CNET that when it comes to the Nexus 6, the question is not, “What is the right size for a phone?” but rather, “What is the right size of a pocket Internet device?” Indeed, with the device’s bigger display, I got the impression that media consumption and productivity became more immersive and engrossing.
With the new update, Android 5.0 introduces a refreshed interface design called Material, which is more colourful, transparent and minimalistic. New animations have been added, notifications are now organized in order of priority and show up on the lock screen, and the Heads Up feature now launches a pop-up dialogue box for your most important notifications.
