Phablet showdown: Google Nexus 6 vs Samsung Galaxy Note 4

Google has just launched a shiny new addition to its signature Nexus range, the Nexus 6. At a whopping 5.96-inch, this is a beast of a phone that is bang on the phablet trend sweeping the global smartphone market. But how does it square up to the other large-screened powerhouses scrapping for your attention?

We pit its specs against those of the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 to see who (on paper) comes out on top.

Display

On the surface of things, the Google Nexus 6 and Samsung Galaxy Note 4 have virtually identical screen sizes. Measuring 5.96-inches and 5.7-inches respectively, there's very little difference between them.

This similarity carries through into the handsets' resolutions. Both boast 2,560 x 1,440 pixels, but the Nexus 6 has an ever so slightly lower pixel per inch density (ppi) of 493 compared to the Note 4's 513 ppi. At a glance with the naked eye you won't really see much of a difference though -- if anything, the raised ppi is just compensating for the slightly larger screen size on Samsung's flagship.

Camera

When we turn our attentions to the cameras, however, the differences become clear. The Samsung Galaxy Note 4 packs a 16-megapixel camera compared to the Nexus 6's 13-megapixels.

Its front-facing camera is also more powerful, capturing 3.7-megapixels rather than the Nexus 6's 2.1- megapixels. In this round, the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 comes out on top.

Under the hood

Pop open the hood, however, and the playing field levels again. Both phablets sport a powerful Snapdragon 805 processor with a Krait 450 CPU and Adreno graphics. They're very evenly matched, with the Nexus 6 only just nudging ahead with its slightly faster clock speed of 2.7 GHz.

It really is down to the wire though, and since both have 3,220 mAh batteries and both pack 3 GB of RAM, there's very little to separate these two phablets in this part of the specs sheet alone.

Verdict

Overall, these two heavyweights are pretty evenly matched. In the bare bones of their specs, including battery size, there is very little between them -- except perhaps the Samsung Galaxy Note 4's increased power and camera.

Still, it's important to consider pricing. The Note 4 is expensive, costing between $750 and $850 unlocked. The Nexus 6, meanwhile, packs decent specs at a much lower price ($650, for the 32 GB version).

It all comes down to whether you want to fork out the extra for those extra little improvements. For us? We'd stick with the Nexus 6.

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