950XL vs Nexus 6P - anyone interested in comparison?

[coolbreeze78]

https://i.imgur.com/IhxIFEs.jpg

I have both. Anyone interested in comparing the two? I fully realize they are two very different devices/OSs, but given the fact that they both represent the top end of each ecosystem, I figured some may be on the fence between the two.

Let me know if you all have questions or if you care, lol.

 

[Adam Frix]

There's only one comparison I'm interested in: 950XL has SD card slot, Nexus does not.

The story stops right there.

 

[coolbreeze78]

There's only one comparison I'm interested in: 950XL has SD card slot, Nexus does not.

The story stops right there.

That's cool. My 6P is 128gigs, so not an issue. I enjoy both platforms, so hopefully there isn't some weird visceral reaction to this post. Just trying to offer comparisons (hardware, mainly)...

 

[Weanur]

I would realy like an comparison as im wondering what I should get. Today i have Samsung S4 and I like android, but its alway some crashes, battery draining too fast and slow updates. So now i want a more clean experience. Hence Nexus or the Lumia 950 XL.
- Quality between camera. Both in dark and light conditions.
- Battery life?
- Screen?
- Stability?
- What do you like best and why? Pro/Con each of them.

 

[coolbreeze78]

I would realy like an comparison as im wondering what I should get. Today i have Samsung S4 and I like android, but its alway some crashes, battery draining too fast and slow updates. So now i want a more clean experience. Hence Nexus or the Lumia 950 XL.
- Quality between camera. Both in dark and light conditions.
- Battery life?
- Screen?
- Stability?
- What do you like best and why? Pro/Con each of them.

• Quality between camera. Both in dark and light conditions.

Rich Capture/HDR+ ON
http://imgur.com/a/jbAH3

Rich Capture/HDR+ OFF
http://imgur.com/a/PeGEl

The 6P uses a very good, modern Sony sensor. It takes fantastic photos. So far, I'm finding that the 6P absolutely takes better low light photos. It just does, sorry folks. I also know the sensor in the 950/XL is very capable, so the over-sharpening and grainy imaging in low light should be addressable via software tweaks. I just snapped these. First is XL, second is 6P. Both had rich capture/HDR+ on. The 6P pulls out much more light in this scenario (bright natural light coming through the window).

• Battery life?

The 6P is lasting longer on a charge, but both can make it through a day with normal use. Kind of hard to tell though since the XL is new and on it's first charge cycles. Doze is a great feature though and helps idle battery life substantially.

• Screen?

Kind of a draw, but I think the XL has the edge here. Just looks better to my eyes, but both are fantastic panels. Splitting hairs here.

• Stability?

6P has the edge here, although it does become a bit sluggish after several days, requiring a reboot. Marshmallow is brand new, as is Win 10 Mobile, so let's chalk it up to rev.1 of an overhauled consumer release of a new OS. Neither have rebooted randomly or frozen at all. Both work fine. I'd say in terms of mass market readiness, the XL isn't ready for prime-time. Win10 has lots of rough edges and still feels like a dev preview to me.

• What do you like best and why? Pro/Con each of them.

Pandora's box opened. I'll try to be brief and objective. I've used Android since the G1 and love it, but have also used WP since the Palm Treo days and the Samsung FOCUS was my first "modern" WP. Used many since then including the 1020, 1520 and so on. Platform aside (internet is full of opinions) I do prefer the hardware of the 6P on it's own, but the XL's Qi and modular nature is appealing. Speakers on the 6P are leagues better (dual front facing). The Nexus imprint fingerprint scanner on the 6P is instant and accurate, as is IRIS Hello. Gun to head, I would still pick the 6P (SO SORRY HERE IT COMES) primarily because I feel the hardware is better and I'm knee deep in the Google ecosystem. Love the XL though, but a 640 will accomplish many of the same things at $29. Cheap Android phones are just terrible, so you need to spend on a Nexus for a comparable pure OS comparison to Win10 Mobile.

 

[ordivergens]

Thanks for the comparison coolbreeze78. I am still waiting for my 950 XL, but I had a 6P before. I agree with you though, the camera on the 6P is fantastic. I might miss that...

 

[Adam Frix]

That's cool. My 6P is 128gigs, so not an issue. I enjoy both platforms, so hopefully there isn't some weird visceral reaction to this post. Just trying to offer comparisons (hardware, mainly)...

Well, even that 128GB hard-coded into the Nexus can run out.

I just don't like it when phone vendors like Apple, Google, and now Samsung play the games of "no card slot". Nowadays they use it as a way to raise revenues; sure you could buy that 16GB loss leader, but the next step up is a MUCH more reasonable 64GB unit; wouldn't you much rather have that?

I like the strategy of giving 32GB to the hardware itself and then adding a card slot so I can make it however large I want. I also like the Windows strategy of storing apps (and maps!) on that card. That Google took until Android 6 to recognize that at all, tells you where Google's head is at. Google and Apple want to rent you cloud content. They don't want you to own anything and store it away so you can use it over and over without their consent and knowledge and revenue stream to them.

 

[coolbreeze78]

Well, even that 128GB hard-coded into the Nexus can run out.

I just don't like it when phone vendors like Apple, Google, and now Samsung play the games of "no card slot". Nowadays they use it as a way to raise revenues; sure you could buy that 16GB loss leader, but the next step up is a MUCH more reasonable 64GB unit; wouldn't you much rather have that?

I like the strategy of giving 32GB to the hardware itself and then adding a card slot so I can make it however large I want. I also like the Windows strategy of storing apps (and maps!) on that card. That Google took until Android 6 to recognize that at all, tells you where Google's head is at. Google and Apple want to rent you cloud content. They don't want you to own anything and store it away so you can use it over and over without their consent and knowledge and revenue stream to them.

I understand the aggravation, but the "no SD card" primarily applies to the Google Nexus line. There are many, many Android phones that have SD slots, as you well know. Google even coded Marshmallow to "marry" the SD card to the OS, just like Windows Phone.

So, in theory, once Marshmallow becomes widespread, you can buy a cheap Moto with 8gig of internal memory, insert a 200gb SD card, and Marshmallow will report a cohesive, single 208gp storage pool for the entire OS.

 

[Laura Knotek]

This thread has been moved to the Phone Wars forum.
Welcome to the Phone Wars @ WindowsCentral.

We realized the community needs a place to openly discuss and debate key topics and doing so in forum/device specific areas isn't always a good time and place, often disrupting the threads original intent.

Like the rest of the forums we expect everyone to follow our Community Rules & Guidelines. We understand due to the nature of open debates & discussion it can get heated from time to time. The Moderation team will practice SOME leniency but it's NOT a green light to disregard the rules and have poor etiquette.

Give each member the respect they deserve and this can be a wonderful place to hash out and debate the latest devices, hardware, software, UI's and how they match up against each other.

New threads can only be created by our Moderators or Ambassadors in the Phone Wars forum. If you have a suggestion for a new phone wars thread, please contact myself directly via PM or any one of the Moderators on staff. This policy has been enacted to keep the Phone Wars forum a place where members may discuss different devices, hardware, software and platforms while maintaining a friendly and polite manner.

Words of advice: If there is a post that you feel needs Moderator attention please REPORT the post, ignore it and continue onward with the thread topic at hand. Responding to a post in question is never a good idea! Let the Mod team handle it

Thank you,

The WindowsCentral Moderation Team.

 

[Weanur]

Thanks a lot for the comparison. Why are you two leaving the Nexus 6P for the 950XL?
Even though i wanted you to say the Lumia 950 XL is the best as im ready to try another plattform, but it doesnt look like I will gain anything just loose some nice features. I have 16 GB on my S4 today and im thinking of buying the 128 GB nexus 6P if thats what im going for. I have no idea how i can use more than 128 GB on my phone. Even Microsofts business apps are better and released first to android... Power BI and Delve as an example.
Can you please give me a few reasons why I still should buy Lumix 950 XL over Nexus 6P ? And the other way around?

 

[coolbreeze78]

Well, now that this is moved to "phone wars" I guess I'll throw a grenade now. I'd go with the 6P. It's just flat out a better device and the platform is clearly better. Pure Android is stupid fast and fluid - you will be blown away coming from an old Samsung.

I guess it boils down to this: do you love Windows Phone? If so, get the XL. If you are on the fence, get the 128 gig 6P and a cheap 640. I think that's what I'm going to settle on. I'm not sure the XL is worth $700 at this point.

 

[Laura Knotek]

Well, even that 128GB hard-coded into the Nexus can run out.

I just don't like it when phone vendors like Apple, Google, and now Samsung play the games of "no card slot". Nowadays they use it as a way to raise revenues; sure you could buy that 16GB loss leader, but the next step up is a MUCH more reasonable 64GB unit; wouldn't you much rather have that?

I like the strategy of giving 32GB to the hardware itself and then adding a card slot so I can make it however large I want. I also like the Windows strategy of storing apps (and maps!) on that card. That Google took until Android 6 to recognize that at all, tells you where Google's head is at. Google and Apple want to rent you cloud content. They don't want you to own anything and store it away so you can use it over and over without their consent and knowledge and revenue stream to them.

I had the Lumia 900 and Lumia 920. Both were considered flagship devices at the time, and neither had microSD card slots. The first flagship Windows Phone to offer a microSD card slot was the Lumia 1520. Prior to that, only the low end Windows Phones has microSD card slots.

 

[tgp]

I understand the aggravation, but the "no SD card" primarily applies to the Google Nexus line. There are many, many Android phones that have SD slots, as you well know. Google even coded Marshmallow to "marry" the SD card to the OS, just like Windows Phone.

So, in theory, once Marshmallow becomes widespread, you can buy a cheap Moto with 8gig of internal memory, insert a 200gb SD card, and Marshmallow will report a cohesive, single 208gp storage pool for the entire OS.

I think that some of the reason Android OEMs don't use SD cards is because they must pay royalties to Microsoft because of their patent on the FAT file system, which SD cards are by default.

Older versions of Android had the capability of moving apps to SD card, but in the last couple versions it was mostly taken out. Now with Marshmallow it is returning.

Personally, I think I'd rather pay extra for a device with larger storage and skip the SD card. They are trouble prone, especially when apps are stored on them. My only Android Marshmallow devices are Nexus, so I haven't experienced it with SD card. But I had it on older versions of Android, and it could be quite flaky. And my only WP device is a Lumie 920, so I've not experienced WP with SD card either. But from what I read here it is not without its issues either.

 

[Laura Knotek]

I have a microSD card slot on my Moto X Pure Edition. However, I am not going to use it as adoptable storage when I get Marshmallow.

Please see this article.
Inside Marshmallow: Adoptable storage http://www.androidcentral.com/inside-marshmallow-adoptable-storage

"Once a storage device is adopted, it becomes part of the system and is no longer removable. Sure you can physically remove it, but you'll be prompted to put it back while apps and services crash on your phone or tablet. It's*adopted*? taken in and loved by the system, and made part of the whole.

This means Adoptable storage is really only useful for two things:

*An SD card placed in a phone or tablet and never to be removed
*A USB storage device attached to your Android TV box, and never to be removed."

 

[bells0]

Prefer the XL pictures tbh - the Nexus has blown out the highlights in the window. The XL shots would be a lot easier to edit with upping shadow detail.

 

[Weanur]

Is it possible by some more photo comparison? Macro and outside?

 

[coolbreeze78]

Is it possible by some more photo comparison? Macro and outside?

I'll see what I can do today

 

[kokola]

Thanks @coolbreeze78 for your honest comparison.

 

[coolbreeze78]

Sorry guys. Returned it. Not worth $700. Nexus 6P wins easily.

 

[VermaEklavya]

Thanks a lot for the comparison. Why are you two leaving the Nexus 6P for the 950XL?
Even though i wanted you to say the Lumia 950 XL is the best as im ready to try another plattform, but it doesnt look like I will gain anything just loose some nice features. I have 16 GB on my S4 today and im thinking of buying the 128 GB nexus 6P if thats what im going for. I have no idea how i can use more than 128 GB on my phone. Even Microsofts business apps are better and released first to android... Power BI and Delve as an example.
Can you please give me a few reasons why I still should buy Lumix 950 XL over Nexus 6P ? And the other way around?

Hi there, I had a Note 3 prior to my Nexus, with a 64GB SD card in it. I realized I did not really need the SD card (based on my usage), and pulled the trigger on a 64GB Nexus 6P. Now I find since I do not have all the extra 'bloat' on my phone from Samsung, I'm hard pressed to even fill 20GBs worth of that storage.

As you rightly said, Microsoft's ecosystem is a breeze to use on the Nexus. Here is a comparison you may like:

950 XL:
1. Removable battery - While the Nexus charges pretty fast, nothing beats a swappable battery.
2. Continuum - If you find any use for it, this feature IS the future.
3. Camera quality - Is definitely better on the 950XL
4. SD card slot - While I find my storage more than adequate, if I don't mention it, people here will start hounding on me lol.... Hey, it's at least there for anyone who needs it, and that's a good thing!

Nexus 6P:
1. App availability - And I'm going to be very blunt here, it is not only about Snapchat or Clash of Clans. Why my bank, or my supermarket, or even my loyalty card providers do not have a WP/Win10 app I don't know, but they do have Android apps.
2. Stable OS and experience - Only someone who has used a Nexus 6P will know how smooth, reliable and fast it is to maneuver.
3. Doze - brilliant implementation on the Nexus, though other Android phones will be getting it with the Marshmallow update.
4. Nexus imprint - Extremely quick and accurate, and does not require you to face the phone, or even press the power button for it to work!
5. Android Pay - If you want to, its there.

Similarities:
1. Snapdragon 810: some people complain the 950XL becomes warm, well so does my Nexus. But never uncomfortable.
2. Biometric security implementation: Neither of these phones have enough third party support for their biometric security features as yet.

So here you have it. Hope this helps

Posted via the Windows Central App for Android