It’s been 10 years since Google released the Nexus 6P, the last phone to bear the Nexus name before the Google Pixel followed it in 2016. Usually, a phone turning 10 is nothing more than an opportunity to wax nostalgic about a beloved device from the past. I think the Nexus 6P is different because a decade later, we’re still feeling the ripples of the splash this phone made, from its incredible camera to its timeless design.
The Nexus 6P isn’t any old Google phone. It’s the start of where Google’s devices are today, the Facehugger to the Pixel’s Xenomorph — a proto-Pixel.
Is the Nexus 6P one of the most iconic Android phones of all time? 15 votes Yes 73 % No 27 %
What is a Nexus, anyway?
For those of you who aren’t familiar, let me explain what a Nexus phone was. Before the Pixel, Google outsourced the manufacturing of its devices to other brands, such as LG, Samsung, and HTC. Initially, Nexus devices weren’t intended to sell millions of units; instead, they were reference devices for developers. Affordable phones and tablets that got Android updates day one, had access to all the developer builds, and allowed developers to get their apps working right. Enthusiasts loved them, too. Many non-developers purchased them to flash custom ROMs, experiment with, or to have a well-specced, blazing-fast phone that was affordable and lacked the bloated software that other phones struggled with at the time.
The Nexus 6 saw the focus on affordability start to slip, and the Nexus 5X and 6P, which launched together, marked Google’s first attempt to make its phones mainstream. Google marketed the 5X and 6P more heavily than any Nexus phone before. In the UK, I remember seeing posters, cinema adverts, and carrier store displays for these devices, something I hadn’t seen for their predecessors. The 6P in particular had substance to back up the marketing push.
A small step for computational photography, a giant leap for Google
Nexus phones historically had bad cameras. They were cheap — the Nexus 5 launched for $350 in 2013, while the competition from Samsung, the Galaxy S4, was $580. However, at $500, the Nexus 6P bucked that trend, using premium components while still undercutting Samsung’s Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge by $150-200. And one of the biggest upgrades was in the camera hardware and software.
Today, computational photography is normal. All our phones take multiple images, blend them, and work software magic to make them look good. In 2015, that was still a novel idea. 2013’s Nexus 5 introduced HDR+, which Google used to describe its computational featureset, but the 6P was the phone that had the hardware capable of better utilizing it. A 12.3MP, 1.5 micron sensor that lets in a lot of light, combined with a flagship Snapdragon 810 SoC, gave HDR Plus solid images to work with and enough horsepower to process those images effectively.
The photos above, taken from our Nexus 6P review, showcase why this phone was a big deal. Look at the vivid detail and the challenging dynamic range captured in the dusk-lit trail shot — these results were trading blows with the best of the competition for the first time. The 6P lacked optical image stabilization (OIS), though, so its video wasn’t as strong as the Galaxy S6 and iPhone 6S. While the S6 took sharper images in bright light, the differences were minor and equally balanced by the reliable low-light prowess the 6P had. These images may not seem special compared to today’s Pixel 10 Pro, but for 2015, they were among the best photos you could take on a smartphone.
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