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Was a long-time Android user with several various phones, then switched to an iPhone 5 for a short while, came back to Android with the Note 3 for a while (which I loved), but then switched to the iPhone 5s. After using that for a while I'm thinking about coming back to Android for good. I'm contemplating getting a Note 3 since I knew it so well - even had rooting & ROM flashing down with it. Though about the Note 4 but can't root it. Then thought about the Galaxy s5 or Galaxy s5 Active, but not sure if I want to go back to something I've had experience with it try something new.
I know, I'm kind of all over the place here. I just like trying new tech toys, but iOS 8 sucks and I think I'm done with it.
Would like to hear some s5 users' thoughts/ suggestions. Thanks.
Sent from my iPhone 5s using Tapatalk
dustrho said:
Was a long-time Android user with several various phones, then switched to an iPhone 5 for a short while, came back to Android with the Note 3 for a while (which I loved), but then switched to the iPhone 5s. After using that for a while I'm thinking about coming back to Android for good. I'm contemplating getting a Note 3 since I knew it so well - even had rooting & ROM flashing down with it. Though about the Note 4 but can't root it. Then thought about the Galaxy s5 or Galaxy s5 Active, but not sure if I want to go back to something I've had experience with it try something new.
I know, I'm kind of all over the place here. I just like trying new tech toys, but iOS 8 sucks and I think I'm done with it.
Would like to hear some s5 users' thoughts/ suggestions. Thanks.
Sent from my iPhone 5s using Tapatalk
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Click to collapse
I love my S5 it's a fantastic device with great battery life a fantastic camera and with root I've debloated the apps I don't use. This of course is just my opinion as I'm sure you'll get others that don't like the S5. Yes bootloader is locked so no AOSP Roms but for me I prefer the stability of T/W.
"And on that bombshell it's time to end the show!" Sent from my VisionX powered G900A Rockin XKRomeBlue
Wait and buy a Nexus 6 when it is released.
S5 is a good phone but not worth using an upgrade. My opinion.
Got mine free from Samsung so it's a good free phone. [emoji622]
we own all of the above
My wife and I owned every apple and every s phone between us, her with the iphones me with the s phones.
First off lets talk batteries.
Her Iphone 5S lasts about 8hrs off the charger per day in 1 place without WiFi.
MY S5 is hitting 18hrs on powersave mode streaming Iheart radio in a moving semi truck 514 miles deep off istate 14hrs to 16hrs a day without WiFi UNPLUGGED. All I did else is turn off AT&T apps.
Memory.
I just ordered a 64gig 90mbps sd card.
her new Iphone 6 plus is still only 16gigs.
Freedom of files.
Her Iphones universally BLOCK us from transferring ANY file via USB. You MUST upload your personal information to Itunes then download it all back allowing ALL of it to not only use data but be stored someplace.
S5 has a fire wire USB and transferred over 20 gigs in less than 5 mins (without anyone else seeing my nudy pics.)
ROOTING!
We don't even want to try rooting hers cause she sold her sole to the company store.
I am rooted without triping KNOX and have adaway, root explorer, super user, WiFi tether, Titanium Backup, my choice of any recovery I want to add.
buttons.
Iphones don't have a back key. It's extremely frustrating!
Bluetooth.
All of our S phones have superior compatibility and sound quality over Bluetooth.
OTA
Up until last month Apple never gave her a bad update. Now she has to backup all her files to big brother apple again on iTunes and then reset her phone to fix it to 8.1.
If I get a bad OTA I just flash over a different one from XDA that's better.
These are some of the things I noticed. Hope it helps.
Hello,
I've order the 64Gb S6 deal from T-Mobile. I've been a lifetime Nexus user from the Nexus One. I've always stuck to pure Android and the phone I currently have is the Nexus 5. I've purchase every generation of Nexus phone except for the Nexus 6 because I didn't like the size. The S6 seems like a winner and I'm already use to a non-removable battery and no SD card. I'm not sure how I'll deal with TW(heard it's been toned down) vs stock Android. That really is my biggest worry and I've been researching a way to uninstall all the bloatware(T-Mobile) without rooting(Though I might do that with PingPong and deal with manual updates). I really wish they would have released a Google Play Edition. I am pretty excited about the class leading hardware, especially the camera. Others who have switched from stock Android to the S6, how do you feel? Loving it? Ready to switch back to a Nexus device? Let me know! Thanks!
Also I'm a avid Google Now, Ok Google user.
My last couple phones were stock android (one plus one, nexus, moto x) and I'll tell you, I don't miss them. The s6 is that good. Battery could be better, but I'm hoping rooting helps (I'm on day one of a custom ROM so we'll see). I also use the "OK google" phrase a lot, so you'll be disappointed to know it doesn't work on the s6 for some reason unless you're using google now or google launcher.
I was in the same boat as you. I went from a 32gb Nexus 5 on AT&T to 64gb Galaxy S6 T-Mo. I'm not a big save my entire music collection on my phone guy, I prefer streaming services. 32gb Nexus was fine for me and battery life sucked. I love the GS6, super fast, I find the battery life more than acceptable, I'm rooted via Ping Pong and actually don't mind Touchwiz this time around. Hated it on my GS2 Skyrocket and GS4. I just rooted and plan to update with Flashfire to keep Knox intact
I was worried about keeping KNOX intact too. I used to install custom ROMs back in the day but as Android has gotten better I haven't done it on recent phones. I just wanted to be able to uninstall bloatware so that's why I'm thinking about rooting. I love the fact that the T-Mobile version has no carrier branding and now I can't wait till this thing gets here. Other than software do you know how different the T-Mo version is from the international version?
N6 64GB to S6 64GB. No remorse whatsoever. Especially with a Tab S also, having things like SideSync is great.
wicked11 said:
I was worried about keeping KNOX intact too. I used to install custom ROMs back in the day but as Android has gotten better I haven't done it on recent phones. I just wanted to be able to uninstall bloatware so that's why I'm thinking about rooting. I love the fact that the T-Mobile version has no carrier branding and now I can't wait till this thing gets here. Other than software do you know how different the T-Mo version is from the international version?
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Not any major differences. If anything T-Mo variant has a few extra features like voLTE and WiFi Calling enabled by default. I went with the JUMP option when I switched to T-Mo so I only have to pay off half the device to upgrade. I see no reason to get international version over T-Mo variant. If it were AT&T or International I'd go international all day. My girlfriend has the AT&T variant as she is still on a family plan with big corporate discount. With Flashfire the locked AT&T bootloader isn't crippling but more of an inconvenience
I went from the Nexus 5 to OnePlus One (CM12) and now to the S6. I love the S6. I use the Google Now launcher instead of TW and it doesn't feel all the much different to me. I like the added gestures TW brings (such as palm swipe for a screenshot).
For the bloatware, I simply disable it in the applications menu. When you disable them, the app also disappears from the app drawer.
I was Team Nexus for a while and had a GNex, Nexus 4, 5, and 6. I switched to the S6 because the N6 was too big for my taste and the S6 hardware was just so damn nice (body, camera).
Do I miss stock Android? Hell yes. There's very little (if anything) that TW does better. However, after a few hours of research and tweaking, I've got my S6 looking and feeling as close to a Nexus as possible. I recommend Nova Launcher, Moonshine icon pack, and Hifont to help with that. Also I rooted (before PingPong was available, unfortunately) and used TiBu to freeze all the bloatware I don't need. I'm pretty happy, but I'd be even happier if someone could get this Material Design theme ported to the T-Mobile variant!
http://forum.xda-developers.com/verizon-galaxy-s6/themes-apps/wip-material-design-theme-s6e-t3108155
For what it's worth, my S6 (with no mods other than frozen bloatware) is as snappy as my Nexus 6 running stock 5.1 with Faux kernel.
ping pong root. You basically root the stock rom, knox is NOT tripped. So its good as long as yuou only want to make small changes to your rom (like getting rid of bloat completely and not just disabling it).
Thats what i did and it worked AMAZINGLY well.
frettfreak said:
ping pong root. You basically root the stock rom, knox is NOT tripped. So its good as long as yuou only want to make small changes to your rom (like getting rid of bloat completely and not just disabling it).
Thats what i did and it worked AMAZINGLY well.
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Yeah, I think that's my plan. From all the review of current TW I don't think I'll mind so much. I just want to be rid of all the bloat I won't use. The phone feels amazing and I'm waiting for a glass screen protect now before I start using it. How do you guys feel about the recent new of possibly 2 new nexus phones coming out?
wicked11 said:
Yeah, I think that's my plan. From all the review of current TW I don't think I'll mind so much. I just want to be rid of all the bloat I won't use. The phone feels amazing and I'm waiting for a glass screen protect now before I start using it. How do you guys feel about the recent new of possibly 2 new nexus phones coming out?
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Really TW isnt that bad on the s6 now. I can deal with it. and honestly until this phone i have been a "gotta get a glass screen protector before i buy the phone" kinda guy. i have had this one without one and i havent scratch the screen once (have had it in my pocket with screws and nail on accident too a few times). I may end up ordering one, but i HATE the fact that the screen is curved on the sides and the protector doesnt go to the edge. IMO, just looks janky.
the 2 nexus phones is super interesting. I am REALLY hoping that the smaller LG made nexus is real cause i MIGHT be all over that. I had the g3 before this and really liked it. I did what they did with the g4, and as long as the new nexus takes the camera from the g4, that might be my next jump upgrade when it comes out. lol Not interested in a phone bigger than 5.5" anymore. After having the g3 for 6 months, and now going back to the smaller s6, i think this screen size is my sweet spot for sure.
id10terrordfw said:
N6 64GB to S6 64GB. No remorse whatsoever. Especially with a Tab S also, having things like SideSync is great.
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Same experience for moving from a Nexus 6 to a S6.
Your making the right move op. I am not missing the stock experience at all as we already have Root / twrp / (tw for now, 920 T/F) ROM's / kernels / themes here. I've been busy flashing and finding largely positive results; devs are cool / smart peeps here. Much more stable options here imo.
Even just rooting and casually dialing back touchwiz to your liking is easy with titanium.
Moreover, the S6 hardware is largely unmatched to date. Backing up a 4.3gb .zip in twrp took 192/secs; octa 64bit rocks even on little stuff like that. Its not perfect, but its arguably THE superior android flagship right now.
I have a Samsung Galaxy S6 that I got at launch. I came from a Samsung Galaxy Note 3, and I was eager to try out a smaller phone after being on the Samsung Galaxy Note series since they came out. After being on the Galaxy S6, I can tell you that I miss a few things. First thing I miss is the larger screen size of the Note. I don't miss the stylus though as I never used it. I really do like wireless charging of the S6, but I am tiring very much of the lack of root on the Samsung devices.
All these things said, I have been looking at the Nexus 6 for a while now. It just seems like a great fit to me, and I have a buddy upgrade available on one of my family lines. I am concerned with the horsepower on the Nexus 6 though. It isn't that old in comparison to the S6, but maybe it isn't an issue after all. Anyone here move from a Samsung device over to the Nexus 6? I am on Verizon if it matters.
cbdudek said:
I have a Samsung Galaxy S6 that I got at launch. I came from a Samsung Galaxy Note 3, and I was eager to try out a smaller phone after being on the Samsung Galaxy Note series since they came out. After being on the Galaxy S6, I can tell you that I miss a few things. First thing I miss is the larger screen size of the Note. I don't miss the stylus though as I never used it. I really do like wireless charging of the S6, but I am tiring very much of the lack of root on the Samsung devices.
All these things said, I have been looking at the Nexus 6 for a while now. It just seems like a great fit to me, and I have a buddy upgrade available on one of my family lines. I am concerned with the horsepower on the Nexus 6 though. It isn't that old in comparison to the S6, but maybe it isn't an issue after all. Anyone here move from a Samsung device over to the Nexus 6? I am on Verizon if it matters.
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Click to collapse
I moved from a S6 to a Nexus 6. Loved the camera on the S6 and the screen was very crisp as well. Honestly i hated not being on a stock android. There was lag everywhere. switching apps would take a while and if you installed a theme from the theme store it would be unusable at times. I got a good deal on the Nexus 6 also picked up a 64 gb version. Theres no lag while playing games either. It does heat up a little while doing some intense gaming , but thats nowhere close to how hot the S6 got from time to time. It will be the first to get the Android M update in a few months time. If you are comfortable with a big screen i thing you will love this device. Only thing i miss is the camera on the S6. Rest the nexus 6 on 5.1.1 is as good as it gets. Im sure people on Verizon would have had similar experience.
cbdudek said:
I have a Samsung Galaxy S6 that I got at launch. I came from a Samsung Galaxy Note 3, and I was eager to try out a smaller phone after being on the Samsung Galaxy Note series since they came out. After being on the Galaxy S6, I can tell you that I miss a few things. First thing I miss is the larger screen size of the Note. I don't miss the stylus though as I never used it. I really do like wireless charging of the S6, but I am tiring very much of the lack of root on the Samsung devices.
All these things said, I have been looking at the Nexus 6 for a while now. It just seems like a great fit to me, and I have a buddy upgrade available on one of my family lines. I am concerned with the horsepower on the Nexus 6 though. It isn't that old in comparison to the S6, but maybe it isn't an issue after all. Anyone here move from a Samsung device over to the Nexus 6? I am on Verizon if it matters.
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Besides the camera and the IR blaster you will not miss annything trust me I had the S6 for 4 days and sold it to use my N6 again. The lag, Touchwizz, bloatware and KNOX we`re too much for me and i will never again buy a Samsung device. I love the Nexus`s and especialy the N6 (size, stereo speakers).
Don`t think you will be sorry, but it takes a few days too get used to the the size but once you do you can`t go back to a small screen.
Thanks for your comments.
I made a short list of things that I missed about the Note series when I was on it and what I did and didn't miss. One of those things is the screen size. After being on large phablet phones for a while, I thought a downgrade on size would be worth trying out. That was a mistake. The stock android experience is something I am starting to miss as well. I have a Google Nexus 7 and I love this tablet. So easy to use and the stock android is pretty darn nice. Lastly, rooting would be nice to go back to but it isn't a huge deal. I have Foxfi which handles most of my rooting issues, but it would be nice to install adblock and other rooted apps. I don't know if I would use a different kernel. Samsung's stance on rooting is really pissing me off to no end.
Now that I saw the Google Nexus 6 lounge, I regret not putting this there. Thanks for your input. I appreciate it.
gee2012 said:
Besides the camera and the IR blaster you will not miss annything trust me I had the S6 for 4 days and sold it to use my N6 again. The lag, Touchwizz, bloatware and KNOX we`re too much for me and i will never again buy a Samsung device. I love the Nexus`s and especialy the N6 (size, stereo speakers).
Don`t think you will be sorry, but it takes a few days too get used to the the size but once you do you can`t go back to a small screen.
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Thanks for your input. The size isn't a big deal to me. I miss the larger size of my Note 3 right now. I took the chance that maybe I would like a smaller phone with this S6 upgrade, and I didn't mind the size at first but now I am missing my larger phone. I really also don't want to go after a Samsung Note 5 either. I would wait 2 months for the Note 5 and I am not sold on the stylus nor the design of the device. Plus, the locking down of the Samsung device really does piss me off even more so now.
Oh, and I don't even use the IR blaster.
I really want to move to a phablet that isn't Samsung based for a change and the Nexus 6 appears to be my final destination.
There are a few things the S6 does better the the Nexus 6, I just switched back to the N6 after having the S6 since launch:
1 - It is snappier when doing data write intensive tasks. Unfortunately I like to have my devices encrypted so I pay the price on snappiness when downloading or installing apps with the Nexus 6
2 - The screen is a lot better. It is crisper (size/ppi) but it is also higher quality. Better accuracy, brightness... I could go on for days. The Nexus 6 is comparable to the Note 3 screen in accuracy and brightness (I had a Note 3 and 4 in the past)
3 - The camera is a ton better, no real comparison. The Nexus 6 has a good camera, possibly bordering on great its just not the outstanding that the S6/G4 are.
Otherwise when it comes to software and such it is amazing. I am running the M preview and am happy as a lark.
altimax98 said:
There are a few things the S6 does better the the Nexus 6, I just switched back to the N6 after having the S6 since launch:
1 - It is snappier when doing data write intensive tasks. Unfortunately I like to have my devices encrypted so I pay the price on snappiness when downloading or installing apps with the Nexus 6
2 - The screen is a lot better. It is crisper (size/ppi) but it is also higher quality. Better accuracy, brightness... I could go on for days. The Nexus 6 is comparable to the Note 3 screen in accuracy and brightness (I had a Note 3 and 4 in the past)
3 - The camera is a ton better, no real comparison. The Nexus 6 has a good camera, possibly bordering on great its just not the outstanding that the S6/G4 are.
Otherwise when it comes to software and such it is amazing. I am running the M preview and am happy as a lark.
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These are good things to know. A couple questions though.
Do you encrypt in case your phone is stolen?
Did you move back to the Nexus 6 because of the larger screen and/or was it the stock android OS?
cbdudek said:
These are good things to know. A couple questions though.
Do you encrypt in case your phone is stolen?
Did you move back to the Nexus 6 because of the larger screen and/or was it the stock android OS?
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Click to collapse
I encrypt for a couple of reasons, Stolen is one of them.
Yeah stock Android is the main reason. I also really missed my big phone. I went from a Note 3 to Nexus 5 to M8 to Nexus 6 to Note 4 to S6 and while the S6 is the best phone I have ever owned and the Note 4 the best large phone, the software just didnt do it for me.
Android 5.0+ is just too beautiful to be hidden all the time by crappy skins or broken animations. I enjoyed some of Samsungs changes, like the allowing of a single non-play store app at a time without having to set Unknown Sources to always on, multi-window, app bubble things and a few others.
My wife has the S6, which is why I went with the N6. Love it. I love the lack of bloatware. S6 has the camera going for it, but that's all.
A lot of Samsung's extra features I really didn't take advantage of. The app bubbles were pretty nice, but I didn't like multi-window. It just wasn't that useful to me.
I placed an order for my Nexus 6 about 10 minutes ago. Back to stock android I go. I am going to update the phone and then root this sucker for sure. From what I have been reading, it isn't hard to do.
Looking at getting one of these phones but not sure which route to go. They are about the same price, in the right range for me, I will be using t mobile. What are any drawbacks you have found with the note 4? I feel like the OPT has a community behind it, so will be seeing a wider variety of roms etc. For the upcoming MM update. I really want the OPT but, a few problems keep me eyeballing the note 4 like no fast charging, USB c(super minor) and just the fact I feel more comfortable with Samsung or devs here making good impovements to the note 4 for some time. Now on to the note 4, mostly I'm just weary after MM, support for this device will be less and less even here and it will be and old paperweight before I turn around. Please any input and opinions to help my decision thank you P.S. please add your experience with different custom roms and the pros/cons as I would like to know this as well.
Hey guys,
I just sent my note 7 back and I need a "new" phone. :crying: I am using the G5 atm but I am not a fan of it and will return it.
So now I am on the fence between these two phones. I just need a good, reliable one to tide me over till the s8 comes out.
Which one should I get? I could get either one new for like 300.
I am leaning towards the Nexus 6 since the Note 4 isn't being updated anymore.
The only thing that bothers me is the lack of an Sd slot but I can live without that.
What do you think? Nexus 6 or Note 4?
Thank you for your help
If you're familiar with the Note 7, going with the Note 4 might be best, since you're likely used to using the S-Pen. However, as you note there isn't any more support for it, even though I'm sure custom ROMs can take up some of the slack.
Is the S-Pen more important than the Nexus 6 receiving an update to Android 7.1 in the near future?
There are two versions of the Note 4, the Exynos one and the Snapdragon one. There are no custom roms for the Exynos.
Sent from my Nexus 6 running Nougat using Tapatalk
@istperson: True about Exynos, and I admit forgetting that. However he should answer, at least for himself, the question I asked above. If the S-Pen is more important than updates, he'll want a Note 4. Otherwise he'll want a Nexus 6.
I have to say the N6 is a great phone in my opinion. It's fast and the stock ROM is pure android. You get nougat too if that's important to you. Plenty of ROMS to play around with. I'm running pure nexus 6.0.1. from August and it's damn near perfect. The screen is large and the dual front speakers sound good. Quickcharge is great if you use it alot. Wireless charging is pretty much crap. Lack of SD card sucks. It's heavy and huge. For gaming it's great and battery life is good (not great). It can be had on Swappa for around $175 if you want to save some money. I've long been a gadget geek and part of that is me swapping phones often. I've had many different ones, but I can't seem to find something that justifies giving up the N6. I really want to buy a new phone but the N6 is so good, I can't seem to find something that is worth spending more money on.
N6 hands down....come get ya some Nougat!
Nexus 6 hand down, the repair shop I help manage have been getting the n6 for less than 200. I got our sales guy to get one, and now he and I have convinced over 10 people to buy them this month nexus 6s to people in the last month. We are getting 4 more in to sell as well lol People see my phone and they love it!
Thanks for all your replies, guys! I seriously appreciate all the input. I am going to get the Nexus 6 used first, and my colleague will let me borrow his old Note 4. I will update back later on which device I decided for permanently
So I just got the Nexus 6 and the Note 4. I was immediately more impressed by the N6. It's so huge and looks so amazing. I also just downloaded Nougat. I feel like the Nexus charges faster than the Note. I am gonna pop a sim card in and use both phones for the next week.
rivethead23 said:
I have to say the N6 is a great phone in my opinion. It's fast and the stock ROM is pure android. You get nougat too if that's important to you. Plenty of ROMS to play around with. I'm running pure nexus 6.0.1. from August and it's damn near perfect. The screen is large and the dual front speakers sound good. Quickcharge is great if you use it alot. Wireless charging is pretty much crap. Lack of SD card sucks. It's heavy and huge. For gaming it's great and battery life is good (not great). It can be had on Swappa for around $175 if you want to save some money. I've long been a gadget geek and part of that is me swapping phones often. I've had many different ones, but I can't seem to find something that justifies giving up the N6. I really want to buy a new phone but the N6 is so good, I can't seem to find something that is worth spending more money on.
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I use a 3 coil wireless charger and have had no issues. Yes it charges slower, it also keeps the USB port from getting banged up that much faster.
So I am ending my project prematurely. The Note 4 is hella laggy and just pure **** software wise. I bet it would run flawlessly if Samsung supported it but I don't have the nerve to deal with this overheating, laggy mess.
The Nexus 6 is really nice, the only thing that bothers me is the awful front camera, the kinda average battery life and the below average rear camera.
I really like Nougat and I think the Nexus 6 runs flawlessly. I wish Google would extend the OS updates. It's marvelous. I love the huge screen. I regret not getting this phone earlier lol. It feels so good having the latest Android.
I had both, Nexus 6 HANDS DOWN!
I just switched from the Note 4 (snapdragon) to Nexus 6.
First off, 2 years ago i was deciding between these two devices and I chose the note 4 because I didn't want to give up the s pen or and the LED notification light. However as android evolved from kitkat to marshmallow, I ran into major problems with rooting. Note 4 ran best on kitkat. Once I went lolipop I had to disable SecurityLogAgent via systemapp remover in order to salvage my root otherwise knox would bootloop. I also found that once I went MM, I ran into some pretty big problems such as mmc read fail errors, boot loops, screen not waking up, the list goes on. I bought a few new batteries as well to rule out that possibility. Now some of these could have been hardware related as I did wipe out on my bike quite a few times with the phone in my pocket (otterbox commuter case), but from what I've been reading, I wasn't the only note 4 user with these issues. I honestly believe the knox bootloader and knox software deliberately screws up your device if you root. It got to the point where I smashed my note 4. My note 4 wouldn't even wake up and activate my alarm clock, to wake me up! unreliable! No matter what I tried, even running it on bone stock, the same problems kept happening. I did not bother downgrading back to loli, or kitkat because I wanted to keep the latest security updates.
Performance & First Impressions
I got the Nexus 6 as a temporary phone since I was considering going Asus Zenfone 3 Ultra. Yet once I held the Nexus 6, and analyzed how it is bone stock, I instantly fell in love with the device. I like the slight bulk at the back of the phone which adds a good feel in my hand. I don't like thin phones. They are very slippery. A plus to Motorola for this ergonomic design. Good weight and a great feel.
Not only are the direct OTA updates from google so CLEAN, but you get the latest of the latest! Android 7 Nougat is bloody amazing!!! holy %#$#$^%! You can't get any cleaner stock rom than the google OTA releases. Literally half a page of apps installed in your app drawer.
The true beauty of this device is how easy it is to root/modify/customize. Once you unlock the bootloader, you're good to go. No knox or any 3rd party app screwing with your stuff.
Both are snapdragon 805 but the Nexus is clocked way higher. The Nexus also has a better screen. Larger, higher PPI and I think it's brighter too. Front facing stereo speakers are quite nice. The little speaker on the back of the note 4 is no comparison. Games run better on the Nexus 6 due to a higher clocked CPU.
With root, you can activate the hidden LED notification light behind the top speaker. You cant get it to blink though, but I'm okay with a solid light.
So what does the Note 4 have over the Nexus 6?
Note 4 battery life is definitely better. Note 4 camera is also better. Nexus 6 has zero image stabilization. The Note 4 also has external storage (micro SD slot) where the Nexus 6 relies on 32gb (or 64gb model) internal storage only plus whatever space you have on your google drive. Note 4 has removable back, easier to replace the battery although it isn't too hard to do on the Nexus 6.
Repairing
I've taken my Note 4 apart at least 3 times and boy what an annoying task it is. You see, samsung designs their phones in ways where if the user attempts to open them, you risk severely damaging your samsung phone. The older samsung models didn't have this problem. For the note 4, you risk tearing a a few ribbons and your antenna if you don't pry the screen from the bezel properly and very carefully. You have to know where these ribbons are prior to opening the Note 4. Note 4 screen replacement is also very annoying and you need new adhesive to re-seat the screen properly after disassembly. So basically, You really don't want to take your Note 4 apart unless you really have to.
The Nexus 6 however, is super easy. The back is just a sticker held by adhesive. Once that comes off it's just like the older phone designs. After few screws you have easy access to the battery, and very easy screen replacement. The only ribbon you have to worry about when prying off the back sticker is the one connected to the battery. You have to be in pretty deep to hit it though in my opinion.
Conclusion
When I was choosing between these two devices two years ago, I should have gone with the Nexus 6 instead, period. I plan to use a custom kernel with CPU governor in attempts to de-clock the CPU for certain profiles in order to gain more battery life. Nexus 6 battery life is quite bad within heavy usage. Other than that, the Nexus 6 is the best power-user phablet you could possibly own as of this day.
@d4ndr0id: A few screws? Try 22 of them.
Strephon Alkhalikoi said:
@d4ndr01d: A few screws? Try 22 of them.
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I laughed when I read that, especially that 4 screws got stripped when I was taking them out. Luckily a t4 bit was able to get them out easily. I haven't really had any problems with Samsung screws getting stripped when I repair them at work.
I have both phones, both with root access/unlocked bootloaders. I switch between the two frequently mainly because the Note 4 has better cameras and wifi calling (Verizon) and the Nexus has no wifi calling (for Verizon). I live in an area with very low signal and drop calls often.
But with that said, I use the N6 most mainly because it "feels" faster to me. The Note 4 is a fantastic phone though and I would be perfectly fine using it, especially now that it has an unlocked bootloader.