Introduction
Do we have a good one for you today – the Huawei P8 goes up against the new LG Nexus 5X. The Huawei P8 is made from metal and the Nexus 5X is made from polycarbonate (fancy plastic), but both are well built…however, the P8 definitely looks the part of a premium device. The Nexus 5X comes with Android 6.0 Marshmallow, but the P8 is slated for upgrade to Marshmallow. Let’s take a look at what items are similar between these two great smartphone and then we will take a closer look at each individual device.
For starters, the Huawei P8 and the Nexus 5X are physically very close in size and weight and they have the exact same display size of 5.2-inches, as well has the same FHD resolution, 424 pixels-per-inch (PPI) and the IPS LCD technology. The main camera is also very close with a 13MP sensor in the P8 and 12.3MP in the 5X, although we will find out that a good shooter is more than the sum of its pixels. They both have the usual suspects – Wi-Fi, Bluetooth (v4.1 on the P8 and v4.2 on the 5X), GPS, NFC capabilities and they both have non-removable batteries (2,680mAh on the P8 and 2700mAh battery on the 5X). They also have a microUSB port for charging and data transfer – the Nexus 5X has the newer Type-C reversible plug.
Please take a deliberate look at the detailed Specifications Comparison chart below and here you will see just how these two great devices stack up against one another – click on the “View Full Comparison” link at the end of the chart to expand the details. After that, we will look at each individual device in greater detail and point out some of its pros and cons. From all of this information we will try to determine the winner based on specs and execution of design and functions.
Specifications
Huawei P8
Huawei is doing everything it can to make a name for itself in the US – the new Nexus 6P and the P8 will certainly help in that quest. Even with the 1080P display, the Huawei P8 is a premium device and pairs up great against the Nexus 5X. Designed with an all-aluminum body, it is available in a Titanium Grey or Mystic Champagne body for the 16GB model and Carbon Black and Prestige Gold for the 64GB model. With its solid build and materials, it is every bit a premium looking device.
The Huawei P8 sports a 5.2-inch IPS-NEO LCD Full HD (FHD) display with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels and a respectable 424 PPI that compares favorably with the display of the Nexus 5X and 424 PPI. For the P8, Huawei used their homegrown 64-bit HiSilicon Kirin octa-core processor with four cores clocked at 1.5 GHz and four cores clocked at 2.0 GHz and a Mali-T628 MP4 GPU. For the Nexus 5X, LG picked the Qualcomm 64-bit Snapdragon 808 hexa-core processor with an Adreno 418 GPU. The P8 packs 3GB of RAM offering either 16GB or 64GB of internal storage, which can be expanded via a microSD card for an additional 128GB of storage. The Nexus 5X has only 2GB of RAM and offers 16GB or 32GB of internal memory with no expandable storage.
The picture quality from the camera on the Huawei P8 depends on the lighting. Pictures can be very good when there is good lighting available, but then drop off to simply okay in poor lighting. It has a 13MP camera with autofocus, dual-tone LED flash and OIS with a huge 8MP FFC for great selfies or video chatting. The Nexus 5X uses a 12.3MP main sensor by Sony with a large 1.55µm pixel size and a nice sized 5MP FFC. Power for the entire device comes from a non-removable 2,680mAh battery that just might get you through an entire day of normal usage, as compared to the non-removable 2,700mAh battery in the Nexus 5X.
The Huawei P8 uses enough LTE bands that you should be safe on AT&T or the T-Mobile network (but always check first). This dual-SIM Huawei P8 has its speaker on the bottom, which is a little weak for speakerphone use. It is running the latest Lollipop 5.1 (upgraded) and it will cost you from $550 – $650 depending on your configuration and where you purchase.
LG Nexus 5X
LG is familiar with Nexus devices, having built two other models – the Nexus 4 in 2012 and the Nexus 5 in 2013. Motorola took a turn in 2014 for the Nexus 6 and made it big, high-end specs and a big price, but Google went back to LG and asked them to make the mid-range Nexus 5X this year. With a 5.2-inch display, it makes the Nexus 5X a popular size and priced at only $379. LG had to cut a few corners and in this case they used a polycarbonate build that is rugged, but not very premium feeling or looking.
The Nexus 5X sports a 5.2-inch FHD LCD display with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels and 424 PPI. This goes up against the same sized, 5.2-inch FHD LCD display on the Huawei P8 with 424 PPI. The Nexus 5X uses the 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 hexa-core processor with four cores clocked at 1.44 GHz and two cores clocked at 1.82 GHz. The P8 uses Huawei’s homegrown HiSilicon Kirin 930/935 octa-core processor. The Nexus 5X packs only 2GB of RAM with either 16GB or 32GB of internal memory with no expansion available. The Huawei P8 comes with 3GB of RAM with either a 16GB or 64GB of internal memory, but offers a microSD card slot to expand another 128GB.
The Nexus 5X uses a Sony IMX377 sensor – 12.3MP main camera with laser autofocus and a dual-tone LED flash, no OIS…but it uses large 1.55µm pixel size. It has a 5MP FFC for selfies and video chatting. This goes up against a 13MP sensor on the Huawei P8 and a larger 8MP FFC. The Nexus 5X has a slightly larger 2700mAh non-removable battery while the P8 uses a 2680mAh non-removable battery. Both devices should make it through a full day and the Nexus 5X offers a fast charge via its Type-C microUSB port.
The LG Nexus 5X has a fingerprint sensor and will be running Android 6.0 Marshmallow – the newest Android OS. With Marshmallow, you will be able to use the fingerprint sensor to authorize mobile payments using Android Pay, among other things. The Nexus 5X also uses the newer microUSB Type-C reversible connector and a single, front mounted speaker. The colors available are Carbon, Quartz and Ice. It costs $379 for the 16GB model and $429 for the 32GB variant.
…And The Winner Is…
Summary
Even though the Huawei P8 is a beautiful device and certainly more premium looking than the Nexus 5X, I am declaring the 5X as the winner of this comparison. The P8 is a great device, but the newer and cheaper Nexus is just a little more refined. It has a fingerprint sensor, a single front-facing speaker, a terrific camera, larger battery, Type-C connector and Android 6.0 now and it will be the first to get its upgrades in the future. It is sold unlocked and can be used on all major US networks.
The Huawei P8 does have a microSD card to expand the internal memory, an FM Radio, 1GB more RAM and a beautiful look, but the Nexus 6P that has the specs we all want, more features, and the quickest Android updates and a more competitive price make it the winner in this comparison.
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