Damien McFerran defends the gigantic dimensions of Google's latest flagship Android phone
When our very own Richard Goodwin reviewed the Nexus 6, he praised the handset's build quality, power and its new Android Lollipop OS, but took serious issue with the phablet's immense proportions. It's a fair point to make; Google was clearly taking a big risk with its latest flagship device - from corner to corner the display is an inch bigger than the one seen on its immediate forerunner, the Nexus 5.
That's quite a jump, and as Richard rightly pointed out, the phone is simply going to be too big for a lot of users. Yet unlike Apple, which offers two options in the form of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, Google hasn't provided an alternative; if you're a supporter of the Nexus range and want Vanilla Android, then it's the only game in town.
I was one of the many seasoned Android fans who harboured serious reservations regarding the pocket-punishing dimensions of the Nexus 6. I'd hitherto ignored the "phablet" craze and been unimpressed by Samsung and Sony's big-screen behemoths. I like big screens on phones, but I also value compact design. I was almost positive that the Nexus 6 would be impossible to fall in love with –– until I spent a week with it.
Initial impressions were, as is to be expected, tense. The moment I pulled the Nexus 6 from its packaging I was staggered by the size. It makes the Nexus 5 seem tiny, and that's coming from someone who can vividly recall thinking that the Nexus 5's screen was just too big to be practical. However, just as I became used to LG's phone, I slowly but surely warmed to the benefits of the Nexus 6's formidable 5.95-inch AMOLED panel
The obvious benefit is that the screen makes practically every activity more enjoyable. Websites look amazing on that display, and you'll almost certainly toggle to the desktop mode whenever the browser defaults to mobile. In fact, the Nexus 6's screen has a higher resolution than the laptop on which I'm typing this right now. Watching movies and viewing images is also a joy on this screen, and games look a million times more impressive, too. Even when moving from the Nexus 5, which, as we've touched upon, was hardly a small-screen experience, the difference is remarkable.
I'm now well into my second week with the Nexus 6 and I find it almost laughable that I had any problems with the size at all. Granted, there are moments when I'm reminded of how huge this handset is –– usually when I make a call in public and someone comments on the epic proportions of the phone, or when I'm trying to take a photo and I have to carefully cradle the device in one hand –– but on the whole, the Nexus 6 now feels as natural in my hands and my pockets as the Nexus 5 did.
In fact, when briefly dropping back to the Nexus 5, I found that the smaller screen incredibly limiting and claustrophobic, while using my wife's iPhone, a 4-inch kind, it felt like trying to interact with a postage stamp. Place it alongside the iPhone 3G, and the difference in proportions is almost laughable.
Having said all of this, there has to be a limit here, and I hope that Google doesn't equip its next flagship with an even larger display. A 6-inch display is the most I can reasonably stretch to - although I said that about a 5-inch screen just over 12 months ago.
