What’s the difference between Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P? Price
As we’ll see below, the Nexus 6P is a better-specified phone than the Nexus 5X, and therefore costs more. The Nexus 5X costs £339 (16GB, £379 32GB) from the Google Store, while the Nexus 6P is priced at £449 (32GB; £499 64GB; £579 128GB) at the Google Store. Both phones are available to pre-order now and will ship in October. For more info on the release date see Nexus 6P UK release date, price, new features and specs.
What’s the difference between Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P? Manufacturer
Both phones are part of Google’s Nexus line-up, but Google doesn’t actually make the hardware. We have LG to thank for the Nexus 5X, and Huawei for the Nexus 6P.
What’s the difference between Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P? Design
Given the above, it’s no surprise that the Nexus 5X and 6P are different in their design. The Nexus 5X is plastic, but with a matt finish that feels good in the hand. Meanwhile, the premium Nexus 6P has a metal anodised aluminium unibody chassis and a slightly different camera setup at the rear. Whereas the Nexus 5X’s camera is centred toward the top of the device and juts out a little, Huawei’s Nexus Camera sits in a slightly raised bar at the top of the phone. Both feature a Nexus logo and circular fingerprint scanner on the rear. The colours in which these phones are available also differ. The Nexus 5X comes in Carbon (black), Quartz (white) and Ice (blue), while the Nexus 6P is either Aluminium (silver), Graphite (black) or Frost (white).
What’s the difference between Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P? Size
The Nexus 5X is smaller and lighter than the Nexus 6P, and as we’ll get on to next it also has a smaller screen. The 5X measures 147×72.6×7.9mm and weighs 136g, while the slimmer but taller Nexus 6P measures 159.3×77.8×7.3mm and weighs 178g.
What’s the difference between Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P? Screen
The screen on the Nexus 5X is not only smaller than that of the Nexus 6P, at 5.2- against 5.7in, but also lower in resolution. LG has plumped for a full-HD panel with a 1920×1080-pixel resolution and 423ppi pixel density, while Huawei’s squeezed in a super-high-resolution Quad-HD AMOLED panel with 2560×1440 pixels and 518ppi density. Also see: Best smartphones 2015. Both phones feature a fingerprint-and smudge-proof oleophobic coating, but while the Nexus 5X is fitted with protective Gorilla Glass 3, the Nexus 6P goes one better with Gorilla Glass 4.
What’s the difference between Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P? Core hardware & performance
It’s impossible for us to say for sure without having had both devices in our lab, but with its more powerful hardware the Nexus 6P really should be the stronger performer, even despite its larger, higher-resolution screen. The Nexus 5X is fitted with the same hexa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 processor as seen in the LG G4, here clocked at 1.8GHz, while the Nexus 6P gets the second-generation Snapdragon 810 octa-core chip introduced by the OnePlus 2. It runs at a higher clock speed of 2GHz, too. What’s more, while the Nexus 5X gets 2GB of DDR3 RAM, the Nexus 6P gets 3GB of DDR4 RAM. And graphics are improved, too, with Adreno 418 in the 5X and Adreno 430 in the 6P. Also see: What’s the fastest phone 2015?
What’s the difference between Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P? Storage
Neither Nexus phone comes with support for microSD, which means you’ll have to carefully choose your storage option. If you require a lot of storage then the 6P will be the Nexus for you, available with 32-, 64- or 128GB of storage, while the Nexus 5X comes in only 16- and 32GB storage options.
What’s the difference between Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P? Battery
Given its larger size, more powerful hardware and higher-resolution screen, it’s no surprise that the Nexus 6P has a higher-capacity battery – 3450mAh versus 2700mAh. Both support fast charging, and in a 10-minute charge Google says you’ll get up to 3.8 hours use on the Nexus 5X, or 7 hours on the Nexus 6P. Once we get these phones into our lab we’ll be able to see exactly how the different capacities and hardware affect battery life.
What’s the difference between Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P? Selfie cameras
At the front of each new Nexus phone is a selfie camera. Both are very decent, but the Nexus 6P’s version can capture more megapixels – 8Mp rather than 5Mp in the Nexus 5X. It has a f/2.4 aperture (f/2.0 in the 5X) and can record HD video at 30fps; both feature 1.4um pixels.
What’s the difference between Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P? Audio
Both Nexus phones have front-facing speakers for audio, but whereas the Nexus 6P has a dual-speaker setup the Nexus 5X has just the one speaker. Each phone also features three mics, although they are found in different postions. On the Nexus 6P two are at the front and one is at the rear, while the Nexus 5X sees them situated front, top and bottom.
Nexus 5X vs Nexus 6P poll
So what’s the same on Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P?
Surprisingly, not that much. Both are Nexus phones, and thus they run a vanilla version of Android 6.0 Marshmallow and will always be among the first devices to receive new operating system updates. Also see: Nexus 6 vs Nexus 6P. The rear-facing Nexus Camera is the same on both phones, and each benefits from the faster Google Camera app. This is a 12.3Mp camera with 1.55um pixels, f/2.0 aperture, IR laser-assisted autofocus, support for 4K video recording at 30fps and a dual-LED flash. Connectivity is the same also. You’ll get Cat 6 4G LTE (with a single Nano-SIM slot), dual-band 802.11ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2, NFC, GPS and GLONASS, and a digital compass. As for ports, expect a 3.5mm headphone jack and USB-C whichever Nexus phone you buy. Both phones come with a 90-day free trial of Google Play Music and, as we’ve mentioned above, each has a rear-mounted circular fingerprint scanner, too. Read next: Best new phones coming in 2015/2016. Follow Marie Brewis on Twitter. Marie is Editor in Chief of Tech Advisor and Macworld. A Journalism graduate from the London College of Printing, she’s worked in tech media for more than 17 years, managing our English language, French and Spanish consumer editorial teams and leading on content strategy through Foundry’s transition from print, to digital, to online - and beyond.
