Motorola Nexus 6 vs. LG Nexus 5: What's New in Next-Gen Google Smartphone

Google in collaboration with Motorola, on Wednesday (15 October) took the wraps-off the much awaited 5.96-inch Nexus 6, thus foraying into the phablet segment.

The new Google Nexus 6 comes with major upgrades over its predecessor, Nexus 5 in terms of design language and internal hardware specifications.

Many Nexus 5 and other smartphone owners who are due to end their contract with their network carriers would be curious to know what new features are included in the Motorola Nexus 6.

To get a clear perspective between the two Nexus smartphone siblings, we have done a quick specification rundown of Motorola Nexus 6 and its predecessor, LG Nexus 5.

Motorola Nexus 6 vs. LG Nexus 5 - Display and Design:

LG's 2013 flagship smartphone - Nexus 5 won praises for incorporating tough polycarbonate material on the back cover as seen on the Nexus 7 (2013 edition), to have a better grip over the device, which was missed in its predecessor. Nexus 4's body is covered by a shiny glass based coat making it a bit slippery for users to handle the phone.

Nexus 5 flaunts 4.95 inch full HD IPS display with 445 ppi and features Corning Gorilla Glass 3 screen guard.

This year, Motorola has gone one notch up with Nexus 6 incorporating critically acclaimed ergonomic design seen on Moto X (Gen 2.). Its sloping edge near the corners and the bump in the middle gives a comfortable grip on the phone, despites its mammoth size. It also boasts of water-resistant certification.

Nexus 6 sports a 5.96-inch QHD (2560x1440p) screen with energy efficient AMOLED technology and is protected by Gorilla Glass 3 shield. It has a pixel density of 493 ppi.

Motorola Nexus 6 vs. LG Nexus 5 - Processor, RAM & Storage:

In terms of internal hardware, Motorola's Nexus 6 comes with an incremental upgrade over its predecessor. It boasts of faster 2.7GHz Snapdragon 805 series quad-core CPU backed by Adreno 420 graphics engine and 3GB RAM.

On the other hand, Nexus 5 ships with 2.3GHz Snapdragon 800 series quad-core CPU with Adreno 330 and 2GB RAM. It comes with two storage models- 16GB and 32GB.

One key aspect, which many Android fans aspired in the new Nexus phone was the incorporation of microSD card slot; Google's new OEM partner Motorola has decided to go against the inclusion of extra storage space option, instead it has dropped 16GB and went for larger 32GB and 64GB inbuilt memory options.

Motorola Nexus 6 vs. LG Nexus 5 - Camera Specifications:

Last year, Nexus 5 came shipped with 8.0-megapixel main camera with OIS (Optical Image Stabilization) and HDR+, Full HD video recording, photo sphere with 360-degree view and a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera.

Despite housing photography experience enhancing features, Nexus 5 got panned by critics.

This time Motorola has upgraded the camera specifications to 13.0-megapixel main camera (with Dual-LED ring flash, f2.0 aperture, 4K video recording) and a 2.0-megapixel snapper on the front, similar to what we have seen in Moto X (Gen 2.).

Motorola Nexus 6 vs. LG Nexus 5 - Mobile Operating System:

In this department, there are no complaints, as both the devices come with the stock Android OS.

The only difference is that Nexus 6 comes with the new Android 5.0 Lollipop out-of-the-box, while Nexus runs on the Android 4.4.4 KitKat.

However, by the time Nexus 6 hits the stores next month, Nexus 5 users will already be enjoying the new candy flavoured Android OS.

Google has confirmed to roll-out Android Lollipop to Nexus 4, 5, Nexus 7 (both 2012 and 2013 editions), Nexus 10 and other Google Play edition devices.

The Google's new Android Lollipop OS comes with overhauled design language material design, bringing inter-active user-interface, replacement of Dalvik with ART as its default runtime and many more enhancements.

[Also read: Android 5.0 Lollipop: Top Key Features of New Google Mobile OS]

Motorola Nexus 6 vs. LG Nexus 5 - Price Details:

The new Google Nexus 6 smartphone (unlocked)- 32GB and 64 GB models will be first put up for pre-order on 29 October for $649 (around € 510/ ₹40,000) and $699 (around € 550/ ₹43,000), respectively,

For many, it may look too expensive compared to the previous generation Nexus phones, but it has to be noted that the Nexus 6's price-tag is still very low compared to other higher-end models like Apple iPhone 6 plus (prices start for ₹62,500: $1,010/ €729 ) and Samsung Galaxy Note 4 (MRP: ₹61,500: $994/€780).

Google Nexus 5 (unlocked) - 16GB and 32GB models came with ₹28,999 (around $470/€367) and ₹32,999 (around $533/€418).

Key Specifications of Motorola Nexus 6 and LG Nexus 5: