Google Announces the Nexus 6 and Nexus 9 Running Android Lollipop
by Brandon Chester on October 15, 2014 12:33 PM EST
Today Google has officially announced the newest devices in the Nexus line, just one day before Apple's October event. Both devices have been rumored for some time now, and this is the first time in a while that we've seen Google introduce a new smartphone and tablet at the same time. The first device in the announcement is the Nexus 6, made by Motorola. The second is the Nexus 9 tablet made by HTC. To give an overview of how both devices look on paper, I've put together their specifications in a chart below.
| Nexus 6 | Nexus 9 | |
| SoC | 2.7GHz Snapdragon 805 (APQ8084) with 4 x Krait 450 + Adreno 420 at 600MHz | 2.3GHz 64-bit dual core Tegra K1 Denver SoC |
| RAM/NAND | 3GB LPDDR3 + 32/64GB NAND | 2GB LPDDR3 + 16/32GB NAND |
| Display | 5.96" 2560x1440 AMOLED | 8.9" 2048x1536 IPS LCD |
| Network | 2G / 3G / 4G LTE | WiFi only or 2G / 3G / 4G LTE SKU |
| Dimensions | 82.98 x 159.26 x 10.06mm, 184g | 153.68 x 228.25 x 7.95mm, 425g WiFi, 436g LTE |
| Camera | 13MP Rear Facing with F/2.0 aperture and OIS, 2MP FFC 4K video recording |
8MP Rear Facing with F/2.4 aperture, 1.6MP FFC |
| Battery | 3220 mAh (12.236 Whr) | 6700 mAh (25.46 Whr) |
| OS | Android 5.0 Lollipop | Android 5.0 Lollipop |
| Connectivity | 802.11a/b/g/n/ac + BT 4.1, USB2.0, GPS/GNSS, NFC | 802.11a/b/g/n/ac + BT 4.1, USB2.0, GPS/GNSS, NFC |
| SIM Size | NanoSIM | NanoSIM on LTE SKU |
The Nexus 6 features a similar appearance to Motorola's other devices like the Moto X and Moto G. The plastic back is surrounded by a contoured aluminum frame that curves downward at the top where the 3.5mm headphone jack is located. On the back is Google's traditional Nexus logo, accompanied by an indented motorola logo and a centered rear-facing camera. The front is dominated by a large 5.96" display with a pixel density of 493ppi, and stereo speakers on the top and bottom bezels.
In terms of its specifications, the Nexus 6 is competitive with all the current Android flagship devices. It packs Qualcomm's latest silicon, a hefty battery, and a high resolution display. However, those premium specs are accompanied by a premium price of $649 outright which is significantly more than the $349 that the Nexus 5 is priced at. The Nexus 5 has been given a new web page along with the other Nexus devices which suggests it isn't going disappear with the launch of this newer, more expensive smartphone.
The next announcement was the Nexus 9 made by HTC. This is the first tablet from HTC since the days of Android Gingerbread and Honeycomb where HTC announced they were exiting the tablet market. With its soft touch back, the Nexus 9 is similar in its design to the Nexus 5. Unlike the Nexus 5 which was an entirely plastic construction, the sides of the Nexus 9 are made of brushed metal.
The front of the device is similar to the Nexus 7 with its asymmetrical bezels. The shape of the device is a departure from any tablet Google has produced before, with a 2048x1536 4:3 display like Apple's iPad. Both the 8.9" display size and 4:3 aspect ratio make the Nexus 9 a significantly larger device than the Nexus 7.
The SoC is the biggest point of interest with the Nexus 9. It will be the first device to ship with Nvidia's Project Denver architecture. This is a custom 64-bit ARMv8 architecture designed by Nvidia, a significant departure from the standard ARM cores used in previous Tegra chips. We covered the details about Tegra K1 Denver previously and you can read that over to get a more in-depth look at NVIDIA's new chip.
Along with the new device announcements comes the official name for the next version of Android. Android L is now Android 5.0 Lollipop, and it will ship on the new Nexus 6 and Nexus 9. Lollipop comes with Google's new Material Design and Google's new ART runtime, and will be rolling out to existing compatible Nexus and Google Play Edition devices in the coming weeks.
The Nexus 9 will be available for pre-order on October 17th starting at $399 for 16GB, while the Nexus 6 will be available sometime in late October at $649 for 32GB.
Source: Google Blog
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Socaltyger - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
Was looking to upgrade from the Nexus 5 to the Nexus 6... but that non-nexus price point! I'll pass.dabotsonline - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
FYI, Brandon, the Nexus 6 does not have an LCD screen:"Display
5.96” AMOLED, 1440x2560, 16:9 aspect ratio, 493 ppi, Corning Gorilla Glass 3"
http://www.motorola.com/us/Nexus-6/nexus-6-motorol...
nevertell - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
I was really anticipating Nexus 6 and was trying not to believe that a Google device made primarily for the developers would have an armv7 SoC. Guess the leakers have a trusted source. And that price...Looks like the evo 3d will have to do for a couple more years.
Impulses - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
Eww, get a Nexus 5, that brick needs to die. I had one btw, between the thickness and the quiet speaker I couldn't open my wallet fast enough for the EVO LTE... That probably felt like my biggest upgrade so far (vs EVO OG to 3D or EVO LTE vs Nexus 5). Which reminds me, I need to sell my EVO LTE, been procrastinating so much...chizow - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
Looking forward to some Nexus 9/Tegra Denver K1 benchmarks!Laxaa - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
It's a tad disappointing that this is a 6" device. It's just too big, even if it packs an impressive spec sheet.manjurul.islam - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
I don't know but I feel, completely my own personal view, nexus 6 and nexus 9 will be a big fail for Google.First of all regarding Nexus 6 - it is too big, much more than any other android devices and also than any rivals' products. Specwise it could have 4 GB ram, though not needed now, but atleast a 64-bit processor like Snapdragon 810. Okay forget spec, fine. Can you please explain why the price is that much high without any huge leap in spec or production costs? Nexus 5 cost maximum 350 USD, and this new 6 starts at $650 !!! Just to compete against rivals like Apple or whatever, Google is planning to kill its android fan bases. It is in a whole - a big controversial release from Google, maybe you don't want to sell lots of devices, but your people wants them, so please listen to them.
Regarding Nexus 9 - it misses USB Host, OTG, only 2 GB RAM instead of 3 GB LPDDR3, come one Google, it has a better SOC than what Nexus 6 has, and you put only 2 GB standard ram, storage is damn too low 32 GB maximum and no SD card slot??? I cannot enjoy many games due to shortage on space on my Nexus 7 32 GB, and Nexus 9 with pre-loaded Android 5.0 will get ART enabled by default which requires lots of space.
Google, listen to your people, not to some limited set of rich people for Nexus 6, and do the right justice to Nexus 9 by providing its minimal specs requirement.
Impulses - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
How do you know the Nexus 9 doesn't support OTG? Every recent Nexus or HTC device has... (minus the 4 due to a power issue)Bob Todd - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
You realize they still offer the Nexus 5 right? Phone, phablet, tablet. Nexus 5 is $350 for a *16GB* version. Comparison is really between a $400 32GB Nexus 5 vs. $650 32GB Nexus 6. If you don't want to pay the phablet price, just buy the phone.You know USB OTG doesn't work on a device that you can't even pre-order yet?
testbug00 - Friday, October 17, 2014 - link
looking at specs and extra costs, the Nexus 6 should likely be around $100 more (and that is being generous with the difference in parts components)Cut the price of the Nexus 6 by $100 and it is almost in line with Nexus phones of the past while still being relatively high margin.