The Nexus 6 Review
by Brandon Chester on November 12, 2014 1:00 PM ESTVideo Performance
By moving from the 4:3 8MP sensor in the Nexus 5 to a 4:3 13MP sensor, Google has been able to enable UHD (3840x2160) video recording on the Nexus 6. Google can also benefit from improvements in Snapdragon 805 allowing for higher quality video encoding. With Snapdragon 805 only capable of HEVC decode, we're still looking at H.264 encoding on videos for the current generation of devices. Unfortunately, Google does not include a 1080p60 recording mode on the Nexus 6, so both 1080p and UHD recording modes are at 30fps.
For 1080p content the Nexus 6 encodes with an average bitrate of 17Mbps and uses the Baseline H.264 profile. I don't know why Google isn't using the Main or High profile for their video recording, as Baseline is typically used in applications like video chat where quality isn't a big concern. I have no complaints about the quality of the video itself, although the OIS doesn't do as much to reduce the shake in the video as I imagined it would.
UHD video is encoded with an average bitrate of 42Mbps, and is again Baseline H.264. Compared to the 1080p video there's a significant increase in overall detail, particularly with the branches of the trees and smaller objects like leaves on the ground which tend to show up as large blurry areas in the 1080p footage. Something I noticed when testing the UHD recording on the Nexus 6 is that it has a tendency to drop frames, which is demonstrated in the video below.
As you can see, there are a few areas where the video framerate dips below 30fps during a fast movement, and several moments where the video will stop and then skip forward. I haven't been able to determine a cause for this, but Samsung and other OEMs have been able to do UHD recording at 30fps on their devices that use essentially the same hardware as the Nexus 6 which leads me to believe it's an issue that is rooted in software.
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Craigwhite3 - Wednesday, November 12, 2014 - link
OnePlus is the way to go. Battery life and performance are outstanding.I get more than double the life of my Nexus 5, 30% more than my Galaxy S5 and still comparing to my iPhone 6.
smorebuds - Wednesday, November 12, 2014 - link
FYI there's another preorder session for the OPO in a few days.http://preorder.oneplus.net/
echoe - Wednesday, November 12, 2014 - link
you may want to try an lg g2, i bought one from ebay [$230!] and it's pretty good. :)MonkeyPaw - Wednesday, November 12, 2014 - link
If you can deal with an ecosystem change, the Lumia 1520 is awesome (and should be cheap by now). To give you an idea, today I streamed several hours of Pandora, browsed for a few hours, listed to 3 podcasts, made a few calls, read this entire article, and I sit at 53%.Midwayman - Wednesday, November 12, 2014 - link
What a piece of crap. I can't imagine buying one, let alone at a premium price after this review.dragonsqrrl - Wednesday, November 12, 2014 - link
Android: Biggar is Bettar!!ASEdouardD - Wednesday, November 12, 2014 - link
Very informative review as usual for Anandtech. Really the most definitive you can get.Although just a little advice: you should work on your writing skills. It feels a little schoolworkish sometimes.
danbob999 - Wednesday, November 12, 2014 - link
Worst Nexus release since the Nexus S. Or maybe ever.I still recommend the Nexus 5. The Nexus 6 isn't worth the price premium.
smartthanyou - Wednesday, November 12, 2014 - link
Oh well. I was really interested in the Nexus 6 but the display calibration issue and shorter battery life killed it for me. Maybe if it was $100-150 cheaper I would be tempted but not at its current price.edsib1 - Wednesday, November 12, 2014 - link
I'd still take the G3 over the Nexus 6. Much better to hold in the hand, plus a microSD slot, and a £100 cheaper here in the UK (£400 rather than £500 sim only).