In-depth comparison: Samsung Galaxy S6 vs Motorola Nexus 6

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In order to understand how great one phone can be, we have to pit it against another phone from the same class. In our case, the competitors are Samsung Galaxy S6 and Google Nexus 6. But this is not simply a comparison of specs. We want to go deeper. We will examine the design, display, battery, processor, camera etc.

You can see the full Samsung Galaxy S6 review here.

You can see the full Motorola Nexus 6 review here.

Contents


Design and construction

In the picture below you can see how the two phones look side by side and how much bigger the Nexus 6 is next to Galaxy S6.

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Design is an odd thing, difficult to compare like other components. Different users have different tastes. While that may be true, it should be noted that Samsung has made a big step here. There is no trace of plastic in Galaxy S6 – just a glass back and metal borders. The body is just 6.8 mm thick, which makes the phone the thinnest Galaxy S device so far.

With Nexus 6, we go back to the plastic. The phone has a metal border like Galaxy S6, but the back is plastic. A thickness of 10.4 mm may seem too much on paper, but Nexus 6 has a curved back, so it looks thinner than it actually is. For example, the thinnest point (at the edges) is only 4.8mm.

Side photos

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Design and construction of Galaxy S6

Design and construction of Nexus 6

Display

Both phones come with AMOLED displays and a screen resolution of 2560 x 1440 pixels, but Galaxy S6 has a 5.1-inch display compared to 6 inches for the Nexus 6, which means that the Samsung phone has a higher pixel density. More specifically, 576ppi for Galaxy S6 and 493ppi for Nexus 6. However, there are even more important screen characteristics, so let’s take a look.

Color Gamut Coverage (CIE)

We measured average brightness of 349 cd/m2 on Galaxy S6’s screen, while the average brightness of Nexus 6 is 268 cd/m2. The two phones have nearly identical color gamut coverage – Galaxy S6 with 99% of the sRGB and 98% of the Adobe RGB, and Nexus 6 with 100% of the sRGB color gamut and 99% of the AdobeRGB one. Absolutely superb results.


E-CIE-Samsung-Galaxy-S6-940x704

E-CIE-Motorola-Google-Nexus-6

Color Reproduction

Both smartphones boast pretty accurate colors. The average DeltaE is 1.20 for Galaxy S6 and 1.29 for Nexus 6 – a slight difference. The images below illustrate the color reproduction. Keep in mind that results under 1.00 are visible to the naked eye.


DeltaE-Samsung-Galaxy-S6

DeltaE-Motorola-Google-Nexus-6


E-DisplayColor-Samsung-Galaxy-S6-940x514

E-DisplayColor-Motorola-Google-Nexus-6

Detailed test of Samsung Galaxy S6 display

Detailed test of Motorola Nexus 6 display

Specs sheet

Samsung Galaxy S6Motorola Nexus 6
Operating systemAndroid 5.0Android 5.0
CPUExynos 7420 (4x [email protected] + 4x [email protected])Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 APQ8084 (4-core, 2.70 GHz, Krait-450)
RAM3GB RAM (1600 MHz, LPDDR4, 25.6 GB/s)3GB RAM
Storage32/64/128GB flash memory32/64GB flash memory
GPUMali-T760 MP8 (772 MHz)Adreno 420
Display5.1-inch (12.95 cm) – Super AMOLED, 2560 х 1440 pixels (577 PPI), Gorilla Glass 45.96-inch (15.14 cm) – Super AMOLED, 2560 х 1440 pixels (493 PPI), Gorilla Glass 3
Connectivity4G LTE, Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.1 (A2DP, LE, apt-X), GPS (a-GPS + GLONASS), NFC, Infrared port, MicroUSB 2.0 (with On-The-Go support)4G LTE, Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.1 + A2DP, GPS (a-GPS + GLONASS), NFC, MicroUSB 2.0 (with On-The-Go support)
CamerasSony IMX240 Exmor RS – 16MP, f/1.9, autofocus, LED flash, OIS, 4K@30fps video recording (back); Samsung S5K4E6 – 5MP, f/1.9 (front)13MP f/2.0 with autofocus, dual LED flash, OIS, 4K@30fps video recording (back); 2.1 MP (front)
FeaturesAccelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer, hear rate sensor, Wireless charging (Qi/PMA)Accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer
Battery2550 mAh3220 mAh
Dimensions (W/H/D)143.4 x 70.5 x 6.8 mm – 8.8 mm159.3 mm x 83 mm x 4.8-10.4 mm
Weight138 g (4.87 oz)184 grams (6.49 oz)

Battery life

At first glance, Nexus 6 has a bigger battery than Galaxy S6 (3220mAh – 2550mAh), but this doesn’t mean that it comes with longer battery life. Nexus 6 has a bigger 6-inch screen which needs more energy. In the other corner of the screen drain ring is the Galaxy S6 which with its 5.1-inches. In addition, the new Samsung’s 14nm FinFET processor is famous for its low power consumption, so S6 would probably be the winner, but let’s see.
5-talk-time

6-web-surfing

7-3d-gaming

Performance

We’ve already shown you what the difference is between Exynos 7420 and Snapdragon 805. The new technology makes a difference – Galaxy S6 achieved better results than Nexus 6 in almost all of our CPU and GPU tests.

BenchmarksSamsung Galaxy S6Motorola Nexus 6
Geekbench 3 (Multi-Core)46043332
AnTuTu 56891353296
3D Mark Ice Storm Unlimited2200723594
GFXBench 3 T-Rex (offscreen)52.738.8
GFXBench 3 Manhattan (offscreen)24.618.6

Real games

Samsung Galaxy S6

Motorola (Google) Nexus 6

SoCSamsung Exynos 7420 (4x [email protected] + 4x [email protected])Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 APQ8084 (4-core, 2.70 GHz, Krait-450)
GPUMali-T760 MP8Adreno 420
RAM3GB RAM LPDDR43GB RAM LPDDR3

In our real gaming test, the results were almost the same, but more important is the fact that you will have no problem with any game available on Google Play.

Samsung Galaxy S6 and its Exynos 7420 got us 60 fps on Asphalt 8, while Nexus 6 is limited to 30 frames per second. Both phones achieved an average framerate of 31 fps in Despicable Me: Minion Rush.


asphalt-8

despicable_me_minion_rush_2

Overkill 3 has great graphics but presented no problem for the new Exynos 7420, which ran the game at 29 fps – a score identical to Nexus 6. Brothers in Arms turned out to be the most demanding game in our test – the average framerate was only 23 fps for Galaxy S6 and 24 fps for Nexus 6.


overkill-3

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Temperatures and comfort

One test, two different devices, with two different results. We shot a 4K video with both phones for 5 minutes after which we measured the temperatures in three different areas. In this test, the winner is Galaxy S6. It managed to stay relatively cool. Nexus 6 is also not so hot, but there is a difference, as you can see in the images below.
temp

Camera

Galaxy S6 has a 16MP main camera which comes with f/1.9 aperture, OIS and a LED flash, while the Nexus 6 camera features a 13MP back camera with f/2.0 aperture, OIS and two LED flashes. Both phones have great Sony sensors – IMX240 Exmor RS for Galaxy S6, and IMX214 Exmor R for Nexus 6. We took some photos, and we have to say that they are of high quality, with no chromatic aberrations and very little color noise.

Color reproduction

In the scheme below you can see how accurate the color reproduction is. Slight advantage for Nexus 6 in this component.

Samsung Galaxy 6

Bluevery good
Greengood
Redacceptable
Yellowexcellent
Magentavery good
Cyangood
Whitevery good
Grayvery good

Motorola Nexus 6

Blueexcellent
Greenexcellent
Redgood
Yellowvery good
Magentavery good
Cyangood
Whiteexcellent
Grayexcellent


E-CameraColor-Samsung-Galaxy-S6-940x771

E-CameraColorNEW-Motorola-Google-Nexus-61-940x771

Sample photos

We have to say that both phones can take quality low-light photos, but we have a winner, though. Galaxy S6 with f/1.9 aperture shoots great night photos, as you can see below.

Samsung Galaxy S6


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Motorola Nexus 6


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Detailed test of Samsung Galaxy S6 camera

Detailed test of Motorola Nexus 6 camera

Conclusion

Far be it for us to define either of those great devices as better than the other, but it should be noted that Galaxy S6 has a slight advantage in most of our tests. For example – it has a more powerful processor, longer battery life etc. Then again, Nexus 6 has a bigger screen, and you know that there are many people who like the phablet models, so in that case, Nexus 6 would be a great choice. Actually, Nexus 6 has no major weaknesses, but that is to be expected from such a high-class device.


Reasons for Galaxy S6 over Nexus 6:

 

  • Fingerprint scanner
  • Manual settings for the camera
  • Better quality front camera
  • Faster UFS 2.0 storage
  • LPDDR4 RAM
  • Longer battery life
  • More powerful SoC
  • Lower external temperatures during higher loads



Reasons for Nexus 6 over Galaxy S6:

 

  • More frequent updates
  • Stereo speakers



We’re certain that you could add to that list of pros and cons, so feel free to discuss them in the comments section. We’d highly appreciate it if you shared your opinions.

You can read the detailed Samsung Galaxy S6 review here.

You can read the detailed Motorola Nexus 6 review here.

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SKASSA
SKASSA
8 years ago

asphalt8 60fps at high settings or medium?

Simeon Nikolov
Admin
8 years ago
Reply to  SKASSA

It was tested at low settings – unfortunately, S6 didn’t allow us to set them any higher.

SKASSA
SKASSA
8 years ago
Reply to  Simeon Nikolov

strange…downloaded from playstore or Samsung apps store?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-j8qftESd6I