TechCrunch
TechCrunch went hands-on with Google’s newest smartphone, the Nexus 6, and took some time to compare it to the iPhone 6 Plus. In the photo above, you’ll see that the two phones share near identical dimensions, though the Nexus still manages to pack a larger 6.22-inch display space into the same body.
The Nexus is actually a bit bigger than it looks in the photo, though the perspective makes it a little hard to tell. When compared spec-for-spec, the Nexus comes in at 6mm taller, 5mm wider, and 3mm thicker than the iPhone. It’s not a huge difference, but the Nexus display is still noticeably bigger than the iPhone 5.5-inch screen. How?
The big difference here lies in the space just below the display. On the Nexus there’s a thin bezel and nothing more thanks to Android’s software home, back, and menu buttons. This allows the screen to stretch all the way to the bottom of the case. The iPhone, however, has to house the home button below the display. This is Google’s advantage.
But there’s another side to this: notice is that the home screen dock on both phones ends up about the same distance from the bottom of the handset. Both hardware and software buttons take up similar amounts of room, but the hardware button can serve double duty by functioning as a fingerprint sensor. This is Apple’s advantage.
Both phones have a similar amount of space dedicated to the same function, but one cleverly incorporates an additional feature (Touch ID) into the hardware while the other uses the space to juice the display size specification. Whether consumers will prefer one over the other will be up to them, but I’m not convinced Google’s “bigger” display is really that much of an advantage at this point.
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“Nexus display is still noticeably bigger than the iPhone 5.5-inch screen. How?” – most pointless article ever.
Yep, this article is a waste of time.
9to5 is stooping low for clicks by playing the spec. comparison game.
Did you take any time to do some actual research for this article? The Nexus 6 has a 5.96″ display…not 6.22″. Also the Nexus 6 is just over 1mm taller…not 6mm taller.
If you’re not going to provide original content, at least get your facts straight.
The iPhone’s display is plenty big enough, but they really should have made the case narrower and shorter. I don’t think you’d see any complaints if it hadn’t been quite as thin but instead shaved a few mm from its width and height.
The side bezels are a specific size so your thumb palm skin doesn’t touch the display upon during hand gripping the device. I’m not joking; hold one and see for yourself. And the vertical height is also a specific size so the top of your thumb doesn’t touch the screen while using Touch ID. Design is about tradeoffs. The trick is making the right ones. Having a shorter chin but one that affects use of the Touch ID sensor would be inexcusable, and having the forehead not match the chin would make the device visually unbalanced and would have also forced an even smaller battery.
The displays are on the verge of being too big already, and that is if you don’t think they are too big already.
You want a larger display get a tablet…
Thanks for telling me what I should buy. I’ll send you a message before I go shopping this week to make sure I’m doing right by you, yes?
I don’t think it’s as much someone telling you to what to buy or not buy. That’s your own choice. What I worry about, and I have a feeling the commenter above will agree, is when the “standard” size becomes something unbearable. Personally, even the iPhone 6 is a little bigger then I would like it. 4.5 inch would’ve been a better “standard” size. If for any reason, it gets larger than 4.7″ I’ll be stopping my upgrades and I’m sure I won’t be the only one.
Xperia Z3 compact with réal NFC….Can Pay All arround the World with PayPal…..Just 0.1″ smaller ;-) but compact !
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBbDilg5M68
The Xperia Z3 compact looks double the bloody thickness and looks like hardware junk. ‘Almost premium’ ? Ha.
Wow for real? OK
Firstly the N6 does not have a 6.22″ display
Secondly there is no menu button in stock Android
Thirdly the nav bar disapers while viewing media and while playing games if the dev enables it thus utilizing the full display.
It was before the six plus was released. Now I don’t think it’s significant.
The screen size is actually 5.96.
Source:
http://www.google.ca/nexus/6/
A shit article. Why they dont compare the true specs? Nexus is too much to compare.
Whatever about that, would you like a photo quality and benchmark comparison showdown? Don’t say yes too quickly.
Some of the Nexus 6 display is used for buttons.
Result; the part of the display used for apps is about the same size as the iPhone 6+.
Not a lot gets past you BB
It’s important to note, however, that those buttons on the Nexus disappear when viewing media, playing games, etc.
Result; Nexus has a bigger display.
The Nexus display looks so much neater thanks to having the app drawer.
Yuck.
One could cram all the icons on the iPhone into a folder too though, which is really what Android’s “app drawer” is, just a big folder. Most people who use both platforms just prefer to have their favorite apps one touch away on the home screen rather than stare at a wallpaper.
Come on 9to5Mac, this is really bad. I see both mistakes and bias.
“Both phones have a similar amount of space dedicated to the same function, but one cleverly incorporates an additional feature (Touch ID) into the hardware while the other uses the space to juice the display size specification. Whether consumers will prefer one over the other will be up to them, but I’m not convinced Google’s “bigger” display is really that much of an advantage at this point.”
Really? It’s just to juice the display size spec? What about full screen activities, like watching a video/youtube, playing a game, and other apps where Android’s software buttons can be hidden? Then, yeah, it’s just a massive 6″ screen. (5.96″ to be exact, NOT 6.22″ like you mention in your article). Why not take a 6″ screen over a 5.5″, if the phone itself is just as big? We all want as much screen as possible, right?
Both are way to big for me, but I think it’s fair to criticise the 6 Plus for it’s huge bezels.
I know the software buttons are there more often then not, but your article is a bit… yeah, you know what I mean. For the record, I got the iPhone 6 myself a few weeks ago when it launched, so I’m not anti-apple or something.
“On the Nexus there’s a thin bezel and nothing more thanks to Android’s software home, back, and menu buttons”
Oh, it’s home, back and multitasking buttons. The menu button disappeared a long time ago ;)
The Android onscreen buttons fade away when viewing media, playing games, etc. So there is more screen real estate than the iPhone. The “journalism” on these sites is getting more and more insufferable everyday.
I guess you’ll have to stop hating around on an Apple focused website then.
Just wish they didn’t change the perfect Android buttons into Playstation controller buttons. Looks terrible, my only gripe with Lollipop.
I understand the bottom of the iPhone is bigger because of the home button, but why is the top so big? Seems like a lot of wasted space. Maybe it’s because they have some need to make the iPhone so thin. Oh, I do have a 6+ and still have a nexus 5.
To fit the camera. When you make a phone that is so thin, you can’t possibly fit the camera behind the screen. That’s why all the Android phones with smaller top bezels have the camera located towards the center of the phone in a bulge and are thicker than the iPhone. The fact that they had to put the lens cover ring on the outside of the iPhone, not flush, proves this.
Worth for me for screen size and vanilla Android L.
3 mm thicker isn’t a lot in a device that size? What???
And one of them can be that much more space used by a video or game when the home button isn’t needed, and the other is a fingerprint scanner while you’re watching a video or playing a game.
After having Touch ID, can’t go back to inputting codes. Just can’t. Until an Android phone provides this as well implemented as iPhone, I don’t see myself switching back to Android. The Samsung implementation is a joke unfortunately.
This has to be a joke, this article of full of inaccurate information. Blah we all know that people will choose OS based on preference. I love my Nexus, but it doesnt mean I dont give respect to Apple, cuz they have an awesome product. I just PREFER Android.. Stupid article.
The home button is only there for home screen functionality. Once you are playing a video you on the nexus 6 the home button disappears and you get a lot more viewing space than the iPhone 6. #GoogleFanBoy
the nexus 6 is better, bigger, more powerful and cheaper
Don’t make such statements, you don’t know it’s more powerful until you see actual benchmarks. Specs don’t mean anything because the systems use different architecture, can’t compare directly. I don’t know why the media still compares specs, it’s so stupid. For instance, the specs on the Note 4 looks far more “powerful” than the iPhone 6, yet the benchmarks prove otherwise:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/8613/the-samsung-galaxy-note-4-review/7
Lack of memory.
Benchmarks are not real life experience. iPad Air 2 with 2 GB in RAM will be a new reference. iOS 8.1 has lag in iPad Retina (mine), iPhone 5s, etc. inclusive some users have said that iPhone 6 has lag