• After 15+ years, we've made a big change: Android Forums is now Early Bird Club. Learn more here.

Nexus 6 vs Note 4

O

Old Member

Android Expert
I pre-ordered the N6 from motorola.com. During the lull in information about when the device would actually be delivered and the wonder if it would really work and be updated by Verizon, I got antsy so I ordered the Note 4 with the Edge Up program.

The N6 actually ended up getting delivered a full day before the Note 4. These are only my impressions and realize that much of what I have to say is not what you may say. But I am REALLY trying to come at this with an open mind and select the device that I want to keep. One will go back, one will be mine.

When holding both phones, the Note just feels better in my hand. I'm 6'4". I have big hands, but the N6 is a bit too wide. The Note 4 seems to have the "sweet spot" feel to me. Not too wide, not too narrow.

However, the N6's BUILD and feeling of a "solidly" build phone is just amazing compared to the Note 4. I really don't know why Samsung still uses plastic backs. It feels so cheap after coming form the Droid Maxx and using the N6. The N6 is a bit slippery, but I think that's mostly due to the width of the phone. Also, I had to buy a second back for $40 to make the Note 4 wireless charging capable.

Looking at the screens side by side, the Note 4's white is WHITE and the N6's whites are pinkish. Even with both at 100% it is VERY noticeable. However, the N6's black is BLACK. The Note 4's is navy-black? Note 4's Yellow is Highlighter yellow and the N6's yellow is pale yellow. I could go on and one with colors. Just know that for the most part the Note 4 has much brighter colors than the N6. However, not side by side, I don't even notice any difference.

I love a few of the features of the Note 4, but honestly, about 80% of them I'll never/rarely use. For example, the S-Pen is a neat toy, but in my world, I can't see me using it day to day. I do LOVE the IR-Blaster and television remote. That is sweet. I really don't use the multi-screen feature, and I thought I would. The N6 has Lollipop. Enough said. It's clean. No add-ons and very nice. There are features that I'm still not used to using or sure that I'm using it to it's fullest but I like it.

I feel like the Note 4 is a iPhone wanna be with the home button. The fingerprint feature isn't as functional as the iPhone 5S and beyond. Scraping your thumb at a straight angle vs at an angle makes me turn it off.

All in all, if I have to make a call now (and I don't) I'm leaning towards the Note 4. This is based SOLELY on how it fits my hand. The N6 just has "drop me" written all over it. It's so wide that it's unmanageable for me. I'll let you know which one I decide to keep. I have December 4th to decide. If you have questions, let me know and I'll answer them.

I forgot, the speakers on the N6 BLOW the Note 4 out of the water. It's not even close. If speaker sound is important to you this may be a game changer. The N6 sounds AMAZING. The Note 4 is awful.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
lunatic59 said:
Have you tried them with headphones yet? Just curious is that equalizes the sound quality.
Click to expand...

I hadn't tried it until you asked. The Note 4 is MUCH louder when using headphones. However, the N6 seems richer through headphones. I used a standard pair of Apple headphones (the pair that came with my wife's iPhone 5S) to do the test.

The N6 is actually pretty quiet at the loudest setting compared to the N4.
 
I sort of find it unlikely that an LCD on the N6 is more black than an OLED on the Note? I mean an LCD would still have backlight. The OLED would have inactive pixels. This is also one of the reasons for color differences.

As for the headphone music, Samsung ships its devices with the equalizer inactive. You have to activate it in music settings. Beats me why. Not sure about the N6, but I suggest looking into that. But yeah, speakers on Samsung phones tend to be bad to mediocre. No idea why they don't put stereo on a thing that size.

I agree on the SPen though. I hardly use it on my Note 2, and at times I wish I bought a Note tablet instead and stuck with my old phone since I use a stylus a lot for annotating on my Tab.
 
The Nexus 6 uses an AMOLED screen as well, so there's no reason it can't be blacker when off (i.e. lower reflectivity when not emitting). Other colour differences I guess are a matter of calibration.
 
Oh, I didn't know it was AMOLED. If that's the case it may have to do with calibration. Don't know for the N6, but the Notes have a display calibration setting. The highlighter yellow appears usually under dynamic (normal view). Truer yellows appear at standard and photo settings. You can use the Adapt display setting to auto change modes depending on active app.
 
I've decided that the N6 isn't for me. I've had it since Wednesday. I've really tried to be in love with the phone. It hit me today. If the phone were just a Moto and not a Nexus, I wouldn't want it at all. I REALLY wanted a Nexus. I mean as a Verizon customer, it's all I could dream about. But I have to be honest with myself when spending $700 out of my pocket.

It's battery life is sub-par. By sub par I mean by 4:00 everyday, with the N6 coming off charge at around 7:30 a.m. it's at or below 40% of battery left. That's with it being on wifi all day. I can only imagine what it will be like once it's on 4G all day. The Note 4 is at 78% at the same time in the same locations and same use.

Also, it's just too wide for me. I can't emphasize that enough.

There are things I love, for example Lollipop, but that's coming "eventually" to the Note 4 as well. Yes HEAVILY skinned Lollipop. There is a trade off and I'm aware of it. We all have to decide whats most important to each of us. For some, it's an unlocked bootloader and vanilla Android. For me, it's battery life. I realize that with "tweaking" kernels and flashing ROM's the battery life should improve but I'm past that point of my life. Have fun N6'ers. I'm moving on.
 
Last night I bought a 64GB Midnight Blue N6. With more than a month with the Note 4 I can't take it anymore. I thought that I had made the right choice going with the Note over the N6 but I was wrong.

The Note 4's lag is killing me. When tapping a contact to call, my Note will pause 3-5 seconds at times between pushing the button and then calling. Many times I will press the call button 3-4 times waiting and then it tries to send 3-4 calls. It's not just the dialer that lags. Opening most apps is the same thing and when you press the recent apps button (which is on the wrong side of the phone) then it lags even more when trying to open it.

I will say that the battery life is great with the Note 4 but I have been reading that the most recent update to the N6 really helped with the battery life that I may have been experiencing when I had my last N6. I'm hoping so.

All I can say is that January 22nd can't get here soon enough. I'm selling my Note 4 on Ebay with case and inductive charging back (which was an additional $40. Hope it can make someone happy so that I can pay off my new N6!
 
Sorry you didn't like the Note 4, but I find it weird that my Note 2 doesn't lag as much as you say. You probably have bad lemon luck lately. Good luck on your next purchase.
 
Okay so I was dead set on the Note 4.. Absolute beast of a phone, but now a friend is trying to convince me to give the Nexus 6 a go?

Now I know its running vanilla android and has a marginally bigger screen, are they the only reasons I could consider one above a note 4? - I'm not bothered about the contract costs.. I have to admit I'm attracted by the replaceable battery and expandable storage of the Note 4 too.

My main use is going to be watching vids too, for now.
 
Hi @Ferrisore and welcome to AF :)

I went ahead and merged your post in with an existing discussion weighing the pros and cons of the Nexus vs Note. Hopefully you'll find some good info here. :thumbsupdroid:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom