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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metayoshi - Wednesday, November 12, 2014 - link
I wonder if that degradation in color accuracy is due to the phone being closely related to the Moto X (2014). It looks like the Moto X was even worse than what the Nexus 6 is doing right now. Maybe it was a mistake for Google to pick Motorola for this phone, as Samsung's, LG's, and HTC's latest flagships are all decent across the board. I was going to stick with my Nexus 5 either way, but it's kind of sad seeing Google go this route with the Nexus 6.waldoh - Wednesday, November 12, 2014 - link
I REALLY REALLY wanted to like this device and finally move away from Apple crap but in the android world benchmarks and specs are key. This device falls short in almost every category.Donkey2008 - Friday, November 14, 2014 - link
Funny, I really really wanted to move away from Apple, but after using a LG G3 for 2 weeks I saw how completely clunky, amateurish and unpolished Android is and went back to Apple. Enjoy your half-baked phone you clown.Impulses - Wednesday, November 12, 2014 - link
They need to let Sony build a Nexus, I'm sure they'd jump at the chance given their limited market penetration stateside... And they've been consistently good lately with battery life, camera, and build quality.pjcamp - Wednesday, November 12, 2014 - link
Wait a minnit -- you skipped one. Where is the Z3 review?Cinnabuns - Wednesday, November 12, 2014 - link
Agreed. At the moment it looks like the Z3 is the best Android phone out there in terms of battery life and camera but I'd love to see a rigorous review from the likes of AnandTech before getting one. I'm coming from a Nexus 4 and my main beef with it is the abysmal battery life. Reading this review, it's clear that I will not get a Nexus 6 as a replacement, seeing as it's not even a bargain and it's worse than its flagship competition.Unfortunately, it seems AT never reviews Sony stuff.
Andrei Frumusanu - Wednesday, November 12, 2014 - link
Unfortunately we still don't have a proper channel with Sony to be able to acquire review units. I hope to change this in the future and tried to reach out to them but sadly thing haven't advanced in that regard.skinygeek - Thursday, November 13, 2014 - link
Why do you need a review unit for Reviewing a Phone. You can just buy it. Is this the excuse for not reviewing lot of other phones ?vshah - Thursday, November 13, 2014 - link
can't you just buy one?SantaAna12 - Wednesday, November 12, 2014 - link
Wow, what a letdown.I was going to say my usual: "No SD Card NO Deal!"
But there is really no need. Still selling the cloud on crap hardware. Disappointing!