If you're shopping for a plus-sized phone this holiday season, the Google/Huawei Nexus 6P and Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+ may be two of your best bets. But is Samsung's phablet worth the extra dough? Let's compare their features and specs.
Size
Dimensions
The two phones have identical screen sizes, but the Nexus 6P's bigger forehead and chin make it the (slightly) bigger phone. It measures 3 percent taller, 3 percent wider and 6 percent thicker than the Galaxy S6 edge+.
Weight
Weight
It's a good start for Samsung's phablet, as the Galaxy S6 edge+ is also 14 percent lighter.
Build
Build
The Nexus 6P has an aluminum unibody build, with that glass bar you see up by its rear camera. The Galaxy S6 edge+ has a glass back and aluminum edges.
Colors
Color options
You get three color options to choose from for the Nexus, and four for the Galaxy.
Display size
Display size
Both handsets have large 5.7-inch screens, but you do get a bit more usable real estate on the Galaxy S6 edge+, since the Nexus uses the bottom portion of its display for virtual navigation keys. The exception is in some apps (usually games, video and reading apps), where Android's Immersive Mode temporarily fades those keys out.
Display resolution
Display resolution
Resolutions are even as well – with razor-sharp 1440p.
We find it to be mostly a cosmetic perk (though a significant one), but the Galaxy S6 edge+ gets its name from the curves on the right and left edges of its display.
Fingerprint sensor
Fingerprint sensor
The Nexus 6P has a fingerprint sensor on its back, while the GS6 edge+'s sensor is (more conventionally) located on its home button.
Camera megapixels
Camera megapixels
Samsung's 2015 flagships, including the S6 edge+, have excellent cameras (well, for smartphones). We'll be testing the Nexus 6P's camera soon, so stay tuned.
Camera aperture (rear)
The Galaxy's camera has the slightly wider aperture.
Physical camera shortcut
Physical camera launch shortcut
Similar to Samsung's home button double-tap shortcut, the Nexus 6P lets you launch its camera by double-clicking its power button.
Laser autofocus
Laser autofocus
Similar to LG's recent flagships, the Nexus 6P has laser-based autofocus tech built-into its rear camera.
Battery
Battery
The Nexus has the higher-capacity battery, but this doesn't necessarily tell us much until we run a battery test on it.
Fast charging
Fast charging
Both phones have quick-charging tech built-in.
Wireless charging
Wireless charging
Only the Galaxy, though, supports wireless charging – and fast wireless charging, if you buy a special Samsung-made charging pad.
Processor
Processor
Both handsets have 64-bit, octa-core processors. We can't yet say anything about the Nexus' real-life performance, but the Galaxy is an incredibly zippy phone (though, in our experience, not quite as zippy as the latest iPhones).
RAM
RAM
Samsung's phone does have an extra GB of RAM over the Nexus.
Storage
Storage
Both start out with double the internal storage that Apple gives you in its first-tier iPhones, but the Nexus reaches one notch higher than the Galaxy.
MicroSD
MicroSD
Neither phablet, though, lets you expand that with a microSD card.
Software
Software
The Nexus runs a newer version of Android, 6.0 Marshmallow, and it will also receive future updates sooner. The Edge's Android Lollipop core has Samsung's TouchWiz UI layered on top.
Release
Release
Nexus 6P pre-orders are shipping as we speak, while the S6 edge+ has been out for a couple of months now.
Starting price (full retail)
Starting price (full retail)
If nothing we've said so far has convinced you to go with the Galaxy, then this category certainly isn't going to change that. At full retail, the Nexus 6P comes out to roughly US$275 cheaper. "Roughly," because US carriers vary a bit in their pricing on the Galaxy S6 edge+.
Will Shanklin is New Atlas' VR and Mobile Editor, and has been part of the team since 2012. He covers a broad range of consumer tech, including virtual reality hardware and software, smartphones, tablets, laptops and smartwatches.
