Google, Huawei and LG has released the new Nexus 6P and Nexus 5X, two new worth calling flagship smartphones, featuring powerful specs and great performance today at a special event.

However, as it always happens, a lot of fuss has been created around the devices and countless true and false rumours have followed along. Of course the smartphones are shrouded in mystery for the time being but things will clear out as long as you keep reading.

Now, it’s time to meet the new Nexus Smartphones and go deep into what is heard about the upcoming LG Nexus 5X or Bullhead, as it is reportedly codenamed and the Nexus 6P, an over the edge smartphone.

The new Nexus 5X, which gives you great performance in a compact and light package, comes with a beautiful 5.2” screen, 12.3 MP camera, and Type-C port. LG Nexus 5X starts at $379 for 16GB and $429 for 32GB.

Whereas the new Huawei Nexus 6P features a 5.7” display and is crafted from aeronautical-grade aluminum, with a USB Type-C port for fast charging, a powerful 64-bit processor, and a 12.3 MP camera sensor with massive 1.55µm pixels for better photos. The Nexus 6P starts at $499 for 32GB, $549 for 64GB, and $649 for 128 GB variant.

https://youtu.be/QLqHZLdt_jE

Display 

Having learned from the fault of the previous Nexus 6 phone, which was way too big for the average consumer’s hands and pockets, this one has a 5.2inch IPS LCD display with a powerful resolution of 1080×1920 pixels and 424 ppi density. We have to admit, it is a very satisfying resolution for the average user, but LG will have to do more than adding a high resolution, if the company wishes to meet our expectations, comparing to the previous Nexus 5 which had excellent color calibration with great looking colors.

The Huawei Nexus 6P is slightly larger, with a 5.7inch AMOLED display which is as big as the Samsung Galaxy Note 4, with a resolution of 1440 x 2560 pixels and roughly 515 ppi pixel density and a Corning Gorilla Glass 4 screen glass. Pixels should be packed in a little tighter than in the Nexus 6, due to the slight size difference, but it’s likely not a very noticeable upgrade.

Specs

LG Nexus 5P features Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 with a Quad-core 1.44 GHz Cortex-A53 & dual-core 1.82 GHz Cortex-A57 processor and 2GB of RAM. As for the internal memory, the Nexus 5X will come in two versions, one with 16GB and another with 32GB.

But what makes it even more peculiar, is that Huawei from its side decided to go with the Snapdragon 810 v2.1 which is a faster, updated version of the 810. And before you get confused, let’s break this down as Anandtech has done pretty accurately: V1 of the 810 was for engineering while v2 was the original version used in the first 810-powered phones. Ultimately, the 2.1 version is the one that will appear in newer phones from now on and hopefully will not present any thermal issues. Other than that, there will be a Quad-core 1.56 GHz Cortex-A53 & Quad-core 1.82 GHz Cortex-A57 processor with 3GB of RAM and 32GB / 64GB / 128GB of internal memory, according to the version.

As for microSD, while Android M has gotten a bit friendlier to external storage, chances of Google’s adding microSD slots to any of the two Nexus smartphones are limited to zero.

Software & OS

Both smartphones run with the same operating system which obviously couldn’t be anything other than the latest Android 6.0 Marshmallow. This particular version started out as Android M and is now codenamed as Android Marshmallow. Google has to explain at some point what’s with all those sweets taking over its Android versions, but let’s not get off track for now. What’s important is that thanks to good timing, Google’s new Nexus phones will also be one of the few selected first smartphones to run with the new Android Marshmallow.

Moreover, you’ll be excited to know that Google has spoken of using multiple fingerprints which can be from other users as well. This means that other users will be able to unlock your phone using their fingerprints but it has been made clear yet, whether they will gain full or limited access.

And of course, since the two smartphones will be powered by the Android M, it only makes sense that will embody the operating system’s new features and improvements, such as better power efficiency with the Doze mode and improved app permissions, even though apps need to be re-written to take advantage of that.

Camera

LG Nexus 5P features a 12MP shooter with dual LED flash and larger sensor. The camera also features optical image stabilization, helping the user maintain faster shutter speeds in low light. Furthermore, there is a 5MP front camera but no special features have been reported so your selfies will be judged only upon their resolution.

Almost the same goes for the Nexus 6P, sports the same main shooter as of Nexus 5X which also add a strong optical image stabilization feature and dual LED along with a surprisingly accurate face detection, photo sphere, and panorama modes. But the surprise is not limited in the modes, as video recording at 2160p@30fps is a walk in the park for this one. The secondary 8MP camera is also better than Nexus 5X’s front shooter.

Battery

Moving on to the inside we see a non-removable Li-Po 2700mAh battery. Given the phone’s processor and resolution, the battery does not feel enough to support the phone’s full capabilities, so the users will not be able to brag about this one. But on the bright side there will be a wireless charging (Qi enables) option which could make the whole process of charging your phone effortless.

This is not the case though with the Huawei Nexus 6P, as this one packs a 3,450 mAh battery, which is by far more efficient than the one found inside Nexus 5X.

Price and availability

Price is something that the Nexus series always had an advantage on. Except from the Nexus 6, which strayed from the rest of the family, both Nexus 4 and 5 costed almost half the price of other companies’ flagships while they went chest to chest with them in terms of specs, features and performance.

The LG Nexus 5X is available at $379 for 16GB and $429 for 32GB for fully unlocked models. At the same time, the company has added the device to its Project Fi mobile network – that currently only supports the Nexus 6 – with the following prices:

$20 base price for unlimited domestic talk and text, unlimited international texts, low-cost international calls, and Wi-Fi tethering, as well as coverage in 120+ countries. Plus $10 per 1GB of extra data. If you want to add 5GB of data, just add $50 to the base price.

No fees for unused data which means that if you bought 4GB of data and used just 3.2GB, you would pay $32 instead of $40.

At the same time, pricing-wise some think the Huawei Nexus will be more upscale, due to the top specs and metal constructions but will steal follow Google’s guidelines concerning the price policy.

In total, this is a great way for Google to end the year, as two stand out smartphones are available on Google Store to order online.