Introduction

We have a good one for you today – the brand new Google Nexus 6 versus the new Huawei Ascend Mate 7…both big phablets and this is going to make for a worthy comparison.  Both devices are really nice looking, but in different ways – the big new Nexus 6 is much like a Motorola Moto X, only stretched out in all directions with a metal band on the outside edge that connects the glass display with the matte curved back, for a great comfortable look.  The Huawei Ascend Mate 7 has a metal back, but not a slippery back like the HTC One M8 – it allows you a comfortable and firm grip.

Despite the Nexus 6 built in the U.S and the Ascend Mate 7 from China, these two devices do have a few things in common.  They both are sporting a 6-inch display and they both offer a 32GB model, although the Ascend Mate 7’s 32GB is a special ‘gold’ color with 3GB of RAM rather than the normal 2GB.  Both devices have a 13MP main camera with auto-focus and LED Flash – dual on the Nexus 6.  The Nexus 6 and Ascend Mate 7 are almost identical in height, width and weight…the Nexus 6 is thicker because the measurement is correctly taken at the thickest part of the curve.  They both have the usual Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC and a microUSB 2.0 port for charging and data transfer.  The off-contract price is also very close – at $649 for the Nexus 6 and $699.99 is the lowest we could find for the Ascend Mate 7.

Please take a look over the detailed specifications below and spot the differences and after that, we will look at each individual device and point out their pros and cons in our quest to pick a winner in this comparison.

Specifications

Google Nexus 6

The new Nexus 6 was a real surprise when it actually arrived – oh, we read all of the rumors about its size and high-end specs, but they were, after all, rumors.  To our surprise, those rumors turned out to be true – it was big in every way and has the highest end specs of only three new devices on the market.  The new Nexus 6 philosophy upset many loyal Nexus followers and the direction that Google took was not in a direction that they wanted to go.  Motorola was tasked to make the new Nexus 6, following Google’s specs, and they used the Moto X as its basis for their design – only bigger in all directions with specs that match the Galaxy Note 4 and Droid Turbo.

The Nexus 6 shares the same 6-inch display size as the Ascend Mate 7, but there are two very big differences – the Nexus 6 uses a Quad HD AMOLED display with a resolution of 2560 x 1440 pixels with 493 Pixels-Per-Inch (PPI) versus the FHD IPS LCD technology found on the Ascend Mate 7.  For processing power, Motorola turned to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 quad-core processor clocked at 2.7GHz, while Huawei turned to their Hisilicon Kirin 925 octa-core…a great processor, but not up to the capabilities of the Qualcomm.  The Nexus 6 comes with 3GB of RAM with a 32GB and 64GB internal storage option with no room for expansion – Google does not believe in physical expansion…they believe in the ‘cloud.’  The Ascend Mate 7 normally comes with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage and room for 32GB of expansion.  There is also a “Gold” model with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage and 32GB of expansion.

The Nexus 6 raised the bar on their camera quality – a 13MP main camera with auto-focus and a dual-LED flash ring that encircles the camera lens AND Optical Image Stabilization (OIS).  While the Ascend Mate 7 HAS 13MP, it trades the dual-flash for a single LED and loses the OIS.  When it comes to the front-facing camera (FFC), the Nexus uses the normally found 2MP size for selfies and video chatting, but the Ascend Mate 7 jumps that up to 5MP.  The battery in the Nexus is a respectable 3220mAh and is sure to last a full day of heavy usage, but the Ascend Mate 7 has a humongous 4100mAh battery.

For additional features, we already mentioned it carries a few usual items like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.1, NFC and a microUSB 2.0 port.  But it also has dual front-facing stereo speakers, water resistant nano-coating, wireless charging, and the Motorola Turbo Charger that allows you to charge your Nexus 6 battery 60-percent in only 15-minutes.  Of course, let’s not forget that it comes with Android 5.0 Lollipop and all of the upgrades that come with it, as well as the Motorola and Google’s ‘always on’ features.  It is available on all major U.S. networks for only $199 for a two-year contract or $649 off-contract.

Huawei Ascend Mate 7

The Huawei Ascend Mate 7 is a beautiful device with small bezels and a metal backing that looks great and feels even better – no slippery feeling like many experienced with the HTC One M8.  The device is large and is definitely needs two hands for easy operation – just like the Nexus 6.  Unlike many Chinese smartphones that offer up high-end specs for mid-range pricing – the Ascend Mate 7 also commands a high-end price.

The Ascend Mate 7 comes with a 6-inch FHD display with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels and 368 PPI – a very nice display, but not up to the QHD display on the Nexus 6.  The Ascend Mate 7 also uses Huawei’s Hisilicon Kirin 925 octa-core processor clocked at 1.8GHz (4-cores) and 1.3GHz (4-cores).  This is a good processor, but the Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 in the Nexus 6 has many advanced features that just outclass the Kirin 925.  The normal Ascend Mate 7 uses 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal memory, although there is a ‘Gold’ model that sports the same 3GB of the Nexus 6 and 32GB of internal storage – both Ascend Mate 7 models have a microSD Card slot to add an additional 32GB of memory.

In the camera area we have a mixed bag – the main 13MP camera with auto-focus is the same as the Nexus 6, but it has a single LED-flash, not dual, and comes with no OIS.  The 5MP FFC though is a step up from the 2MP FFC on the Nexus 6 – used for selfies and video chats – and either camera is fine for those purposes.  In battery size, the clear winner is the Ascend Mate 7 with a 4100mAh monster of a battery -certainly larger than the 3220mAh batter found in the Nexus 6, although both batteries will make it through a hard days work, and then some.

As far as extra features, it has the usual Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 LE, NFC, microSD Card and has DLNA, which the Nexus 6 does not provide.  Other than that, it has fingerprint scanner and only a single speaker on the back.  The LTE bands work only on T-Mobile and it is only running Android 4.4 KitKat with Huawei’s EMUI 3.0 overlay.  The device lists for $900 and the cheapest price seems to be around $700 off-contract…more than the Nexus 6.

…And The Winner Is…

Summary

How could we not crown the Google Nexus 6 as the winner in this comparison?  It has a better display, and better processor, more RAM in the main model, the same size camera, but a dual-LED flash ring, a decent size battery, dual, front-facing stereo speakers, water resistant nano-coating, wireless charging, Turbo Charger, is available on all major U.S. networks, and Android 5.0 Lollipop, great software, and only $199 on a two-year contract.

The Ascend Mate 7 is a great device by Huawei, but it is just missing a few pieces of the Nexus 6 – not working on more networks with LTE is one of them.  Yes, it has a fingerprint scanner, a 5MP FFC, larger battery and 32GB of expandable storage, but nothing that comes close to beating out the Nexus 6. The Huawei Ascend Mate 7 is an expensive device – it lists for almost $900 – and it just does not warrant that type of money for the specs.

Please hit us up on our Google+ Page and let us know which device you would pick and WHY…as always, we would love to hear from you.