Today is the day that Google will officially unveil their new Nexus smartphones. I’ve been looking forward to this day for quite awhile because I decided I that this would be the year that I would buy a Nexus phone. I’ve been wanting the stock Android experience and quick OS updates for a long time, but just haven’t been that thrilled about Nexus phones until this year. As info about the 5X and 6P Nexus devices started leaking, I became more excited about the new phones. That is until yesterday. The latest news is that the Nexus 6P will not have a micro SD card, wireless charging or optical image stabilization. When I first heard that there would be no micro SD card, I wasn’t happy, but I figured that I could always get the 64GB or 128GB version of the phone. Then later in the day when I heard that there would be no wireless charging, I became more annoyed because that is one of my favorite features from my past three phones. I have wireless chargers at home, at work and was even thinking about buying the TYLT car charger for my MINI Cooper. Then the last bit of news I heard last night was that the camera in the Nexus 6P would not have optical image stabilization. ARGH! Really? Come on, what is going on Google? It seems like you’re removing some of the best features from what is supposed to be your high end device. I know these are still rumors until the official unveiling later today, but if they turn out to be true, I’ll be skipping this generation of Nexus devices and will have to decide on another replacement for my current LG G3. Yes, I know this is a first world problem, but I’m still bummed. Does anyone else feel like I do?
Update after Google event
I just finished watching the Google event and am torn about ordering or not ordering a Nexus 6P. Although I’m not happy with the various dropped features, I do want to play with something new so I might splurge. I went into the event convinced that I wouldn’t place an order and now I’m waffling.
Update #2
I went ahead and placed an order for the 64GB Frost Nexus 6P. I can always change my mind since it doesn’t ship until November. 🙂
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They’re making me sad too. I love my Nexus 6 but they’ve stepped back on screen size so it would feel like a downgrade to buy a phone with a 5.7 inch screen. Also, I too have become quite attached to wireless charging.
At least with a Nexus device I’ll get updates that should keep my device feeling fresh long enough for someone to come out with a device that makes me feel like it’s an upgrade.
Yup, I’d love love love to be a nexus owner, but they are just so stripped down that I’d probably switch to the iPhone first, especially on Verizon where even the quick update advantage is delayed. I’ve been a Samsung owner for the last couple of Note phones, but will not be getting the Note 5 for the same reason. I hope next years crop of phones will have some good choices cause I’m keeping what I have for now (darn 1st world problems).
Shane, I liked the Note 5 (review coming soon) since it had wireless charging built in. No micro SD card though and it’s darn slippery. I dropped the loaner phone from Verizon and shattered the back cover!
Yes, the Note 5 is nice with a great camera and wireless charging. In order to go with something that doesn’t accept micro SD I’d have to start carrying a flash drive with me and poor spoiled me just doesn’t want to have to do that 🙂
Yeah, I had the Nexus 4 and 5. 5 was even a little too big, so I was already leaning away from going up to 5.2, but I was really hoping Google would give me a reason I had to. So far, sounds like there’s really nothing interesting here at all. Maybe I’ll look into importing an Xperia Z5.
As for the Note, I have a coworker who was looking at the 5, but ended up buying the 4 for the SD and removable battery.
I actually like the Note 4 a little better for those reasons and the fact that the back adds some much needed group.
“Group”? Grip? Shudder…grope?
😉 oops. grip.
It’s sounding better all the time to me. Smaller screen? Great, it might fit in my pockets. Crapper camera? Great – I’ve already got a camera so why do I need one on my phone? Maybe they could get rid of it completely and use the space for battery so the phone lasts more than 8 hours. No wireless charging? Fantastic – I’ve got 136 USB cables scattered around the house, the car, my travel bags and I can find one almost everywhere I go, so why the heck would I want wireless charging? Hopefully they’ve used the space saved for a bigger battery.
However I still won’t be buying one because it’s got Android on it and what I do with myself all the livelong day is my business, not the business of every single app on the phone.
I agree 100%. I will NEVER EVER buy a phone that does no have wireless charging.
I agree. I had planned to buy the Nexus two phones ago. But when I compared the resolution to the Samsung Galaxy, I bought the Galaxy. Google seems to be on an alien planet and out of touch with what consumers want. Disappointed.
I do think it’s worth noting that officially the Nexus phones are for developers, not general consumers. They just happen to be fairly good general purpose consumer phones as well.
I’m hoping they don’t drop wireless charging – the rest I don’t care about in the end. Nexus phones have never had SD slots, and their cameras have always been sub-par. So no real changes there.
I just finished watching the Google event and am torn about ordering or not ordering a Nexus 6P. Although I’m not happy with the various dropped features, I do want to play with something new so I might splurge. I went into the event convinced that I wouldn’t place an order and now I’m waffling.
Well, I went ahead and placed an order for the 64GB Frost Nexus 6P. I can always change my mind since it doesn’t ship until November. 🙂
I enjoy the stock experience (or close to) with my Droid Turbo, though the battery life ain’t what it should be for a phone with such a large battery. I haven’t used micro SD in 2 years, because of how poorly Android has supported it in the past, BUT wireless charging is a must for me. I like quick charging, but I use wireless charging on my bedside and at work. Until I had it, I never realized how much easier and simpler it made my life. Seemed trivial until I had it. Frankly, I don’t understand why people are still delivering phones without it.
As for the camera, I’ll see what the reviewers say. It does have laser assisted autofocus and reasonable MP and pixel size, but, frankly, it’s typically the software optimization that really makes the differences. So, who knows.
I’d like a fingerprint scanner that works well (emphasis on “well”), but not at the expense of wireless charging.
All in all, though, I find the phones underwhelming. I don’t think they are bad. I just don’t think there is anything really special that would make me jump.
I too like the near stock Droid Turbo. Can’t ever expect it to get 6.0 though. I am only considering going with a Nexus to try our Google Fi. $30 a month is a lot (A LOT!) less than I’m currently paying with Verizon.
I purchased a Nexus 5 right when it came out in 2013. I loved it. It was much better than the two Samsung phones I used previously. And I wanted to see how I enjoyed using a carrier unlocked phone. It was the best and I never regretted my purchase.
When the battery started losing its capacity this year, I began looking at the Nexus 6, since I loved the 5. However, when I finally held one, it felt like holding a brick (in size, not weight). Also, the prices seemed outrageous compared to the Nexus 5.
I ended up purchasing a Asus Zenfone 2 this summer. It is bigger than my Nexus 5, but not nearly the size of the Nexus 6. And for a reasonable price (IMHO), I got 4 GB Ram and 64 GB storage, plus the micro SD.
I had hoped that the new versions of the Nexus would return to something similar to the Nexus 5 that I loved, but it was not to be. Neither the 5X or the 6P have anything special for me to justify dropping my Zenfone 2. Besides the fact that I can get two Zens for the price of a 6P. I guess my expectations from Google were too high.
Julie – You mentioned that you were pre-ordering one of the new iPhones not too long ago as well. So you’re going to be using two new phones or am I mistaken?
I cancelled the iPhone 6s Plus order not long after I made it because I’m supposed to get a loaner from Verizon at some point and figured it would save me cash and hassle if I decided to return one that I bought for myself. I think I had a momentary lapse in judgement since I do prefer Android.
Ah, I missed that bit of information on your iPhone post. Well, I can’t wait to see how you like the Nexus 6P. I love my current Nexus 6 but I am curious about the new ones.
You mean if I don’t change my mind on it too? 😉 Sometimes I can be a very fickle gadgeteer. 🙂
Haha! Well, I hope you don’t change your mind, but if you do, then I hope you’ll get a Nexus 6P loaner from Verizon so you can do a review of it and I can still get your thoughts about how you like it (or didn’t)!
I really don’t think I’ll change my mind on the 6P. Although I’m disappointed with the lack of wireless charging, I am looking forward to a stock Android device.
Dropping wireless charging was a bummer. They have the Google explanation it here: http://www.androidpolice.com/2015/09/30/googles-hiroshi-lockheimer-explains-in-reddit-ama-why-the-new-nexus-phones-lack-wireless-charging/
Just makes me dislike more the obsession on thin phones. I would have a hard time giving up wireless charging.
Me too until I read that a 10 minute charge = 7 hrs of use. I can live with having a cable next to me on the couch and charge the phone while I’m watching TV at night. Then I can go up to bed and just place the phone on my nightstand. With the new power saving features like Doze, it should still have plenty of juice in the morning. I’m still bummed about it, but I can (probably) live with it. We’ll see.
But is there reason why we can’t have both quick charge and Qi charge?
There’s no reason you can’t have both, but most people are likely to either charge by wireless or cable. Given a choice between the two, I’d have to go with quick charging.
I think I read that their reasoning was that it would make the device thicker. Ugh…
I agree 100%. I’m never a fan of not having removable batteries and SD cards. But I will NEVER EVER buy a phone that does not have wireless charging.
That was my thought too, but I ordered one anyway. And now that I hear that a 10 minute charge will give you 7 hours of usage, I might not miss it so much. But we’ll see.
I love the turbo charge feature on my Droid Turbo and it sounds like they’ve improved it further still. I’d rather quick charging than wireless charging now that I’ve used both.