Introduction
Do we have a good one for you today – the Huawei Nexus 6P goes up against the Motorola Droid Turbo 2. This is a great match-up of two devices released a month apart and offering up great specs on both ends. The Droid Turbo 2 is very customizable with Moto Maker – in fact, if you get the 64GB model, Verizon will let you re-customize it for a whole new look within a two year period. The all-metal Nexus 6P may have a leg up on premium looks, both models display a solid build and feel to them. Let’s take a quick look at what these two devices have in common before we take a judicious look at each one.
The Nexus 6P and Droid Turbo 2 are about the same physical size with the Nexus 6P just slightly taller, but slightly narrower and thinner…and about 8 grams heavier. Both devices use an AMOLED display with a QHD resolution. Some may not realize that both devices use the same 64-bit Snapdragon 810 octa-core processor and Adreno 430 GPU for graphics. The Nexus 6P and Droid Turbo 2 both come with 3GB of RAM and a choice of 32GB or 64GB of internal storage. Both have decent camera areas, with the Nexus 6P slightly better overall and a larger front-facing camera (FFC) of 8MP versus 5MP in the Droid Turbo 2. For sound, both devices have dual front-facing speakers and they both have a large non-removable battery with rapid charge features. They both have the usual suspects – WiFi, Bluetooth (v4.2 in the Nexus 6P and v4.1 in the Turbo 2), GPS, NFC and a microUSB v2.0 port (Type-C on the Nexus 6P).
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 Nexus P6
The more upscale of the two Nexus devices offered this year the, Huawei Nexus 6P, is a well-built device with an all-metal unibody construction. It is available in four colors – Aluminum, Graphite, Frost, or Matte Gold and any one of them will give your Nexus 6P a premium look and certainly will give the Droid Turbo 2 a run for its money.
Samsung produces the Nexus 6P’s 5.7-inch display, so naturally it uses AMOLED technology. It is Quad HD (QHD) with a resolution of 2560 x 1440 pixels and 518 PPI. This compares to the 5.4-inch QHD AMOLED display on the Droid Turbo 2 with 540 PPI. Huawei decided to go with the 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 octa-core processor, version 2.1. It has four cores clocked at 1.55 GHz and four cores clocked at 2.0 GHz. For the Droid Turbo 2, Motorola chose the same 64-bit Snapdragon 810 octa-core processor. The Nexus 6P has 3GB of RAM and a choice of 32GB, 64GB or 128GB of internal memory and has no means for external expansion. The Turbo 2 has 3GB of RAM and either 32GB or 64GB of internal memory, but can be expanded up to 200GB via a microSD card slot.
The camera on the Nexus 6P received high marks with DxOMark and did well in our own testing. It has a 12.3MP sensor, laser autofocus, f/2.0 aperture and dual-tone LED flash…but no OIS. This goes up against another good camera on the Droid Turbo 2 with a 21MP sensor, phase detection autofocus and dual-tone LED flash. The Nexus 6P has a large 8MP FFC for selfies and video chatting, while the Droid Turbo 2 uses a 5MP FFC. The Nexus 6P has a large, 3450mAh non-removable battery that includes a rapid charge feature via its Type-C reversible plug. The Droid Turbo 2 has a larger 3760mAh non-removable battery with Motorola’s Turbo Charger.
The Nexus 6P has a great Samsung-built AMOLED QHD display and has dual front-facing stereo speakers. It also sports the fingerprint sensor for unlocking the device as well as authenticating you for mobile purchases. It is running pure Android 6.0 Marshmallow and will always get the fastest upgrades possible when new versions come out, although Motorola is never far behind. Pricing is at only $500 for the 32GB model and offers a great value. It is unlocked and can be used on all major US networks.
Motorola Droid Turbo 2
The Motorola Droid Turbo 2 is part of the exclusive set of devices only found on the Verizon network – the Turbo model made its first appearance last year. The revised model looks essentially the same although there were several improvements included. Moto added an all-new 21MP sensor for better pictures, made charging even faster and added the new ShatterShield display. The Droid Turbo 2 has a solid build and by using Moto Maker, you can customize the colors and the type of backing.
The Droid Turbo 2 comes with a 5.4-inch QHD AMOLED display with a resolution of 2560 x 1440 pixels and 540 PPI and Motorola’s exclusive shatterproof display that they are calling ShatterShield. This compares to the 5.7-inch QHD AMOLED display on the Nexus 6P with 518 PPI. The Droid Turbo 2 sports a 64-bit Snapdragon 810 octa-core processor with four cores clocked at 1.5 GHz and four cores clocked at 2.0 GHz and an Adreno 430 GPU. This is exactly the same setup found in the Nexus 6P. The Droid Turbo 2 has 3GB of RAM and 32GB or 64GB of internal memory – the Nexus 6P also uses 3GB of RAM and options of 32GB, 64GB or 128GB of internal storage. The Droid Turbo 2 offers memory expansion via a microSD card and the Nexus 6P has no means to expand.
Motorola really improved the 21MP camera in the Droid Turbo 2 by using a new sensor, added a larger f/2.0 aperture, phase detection autofocus and a dual-tone LED flash with a 5MP FFC for selfies and video chatting. This goes up against a stellar performer – a 12.3MP main camera and a larger 8MP FFC in the Nexus 6P. The Turbo 2 has a huge non-removable 3760mAh battery to offer up to two days of use, and if you should need to charge the device, it comes with a Turbo Charger for quick charges and offers wireless charging as well. The Nexus 6P has a large 3450mAh battery and offers a quick charge feature. Batteries in both devices are non-removable.
The Motorola Droid Turbo 2 has dual front-facing speakers and is running almost stock Android, although Motorola adds their Moto Voice, Moto Assist, Moto Display and Moto Actions. It includes NFC for mobile payments, but no fingerprint sensor for authorization like the Nexus 6P. It also has an IR Blaster and wireless charging as well as Turbo Charging for its larger battery. It also has the shatter proof display. The device measures 149.9 x 78 x 9.2 mm and weighs in at 169 grams and will cost approximately $625 with options to customize the device via Moto Maker.
…And The Winner Is…
Summary
This was a tough decision, as many specifications are the same or close to each other, but I went with the Huawei Nexus 6P as the winner of this specification comparison battle. The Nexus 6P is priced right at only $500 and incorporates features the Turbo 2 just does not offer – a fingerprint sensor for one, which can be used to not only conveniently unlock your phone, but can be used to authenticate mobile payments with Android 6.0. It has a slightly larger display made by Samsung, is a better in the camera department, has the newer Type-C reversible connector and costs $125 less. It will also receive the quickest Android software updates of any model…other than the Nexus 5X, of course.
No, the Nexus 6P does not have the shatterproof glass that the Droid Turbo 2 has, nor does it have expandable internal storage, a built-in IR Blaster or wireless charging. However, I think the Nexus 6P’s assets far outweigh its shortcomings, especially at $150 savings. Either one of these devices will satisfy their respective owners, but for me, I with go Nexus 6P.
[socialpoll id=”2333433″]