Moto Turbo vs Google Nexus 6: Which one to Buy?

By Prateek

| Published: Monday, March 9, 2015, 18:15 [IST]

Earlier in the day, Motorola launched the Moto Droid in India for a price of Rs.41,999. The phone is billed as a flagship Moto phone, which will sit a notch above the Moto X (2nd generation) in Motorola's portfolio.

The interesting bit is that there is another phone that Motorola makes, which offers similar hardware to the new brand new Moto Turbo. It is the Google Nexus 6. The Nexus 6 has gigantic 6-inch display, which means it is a phablet. However, other than the screen size, both the phones have similar hardware.

So which one would you like to buy? To get a better view of this question do take a peek and decide who shall emerge victorious for you.

Display

The biggest difference between the two devices is the size of the display. The Moto Turbo has a rather mainstream 5.2-inch display while the Nexus 6 has a massive 5.96-inch display, which means it is larger than most smartphones in the market. Both phones have the same Quad-HD resolution and use the same AMOLED display technology. However, the difference in the screen size means that the Moto Turbo will have the sharper display. In fact, as of now, it probably has the sharpest display of any smartphone in India, but that will change once the Galaxy S6 launches in India.

Design

Design is another area, where the Moto Turbo and the Nexus 6 differ. The Nexus 6 has a design similar to that of the Moto X. It has a curved back and a metal frame lending it good ergonomics. The Turbo has a more standard design, which includes capacitive Android buttons, instead of virtual buttons found on the Nexus 6. It also has patterned back, which looks more like Motorola phones of yesteryear. Its back is made out of unique materials that include ballistic nylon and a DuPont Kevlar Fibre. Motorola claims that the phone is five times stronger than steel and is water resistant, something the Nexus 6 is not.

Size

Design and display apart, the Nexus 6 is also the larger device amongst the two. The Nexus 6 is 10.1mm thick and weighs 184 grams. The Turbo is thinner and lighter at 8.3mm and 169 grams. This means, the Turbo is going to be an easier phone to hold and carry.

Camera

Both phones have different imaging hardware on the back. The Moto Turbo has a 21-megapixel sensor on the back with a staggered dual flash arrangement. The Nexus 6, on the other hand, has a lower resolution 13-megapixel sensor, but adds optical image stabilisation into the mix, which could be a boon for low-light performance and videos. Apart from this, both phones have similar hardware on the front as both have 2-megapixel front cameras. Both phones can shoot 1080p video at 30 frames per second.

Performance

Currently, both the Nexus 6 and the Moto Turbo have the most potent processing package found on an Android phone. Both are powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 quad-core SoC and the Adreno 420 GPU. In addition, both phones also have 3GB RAM. The Nexus 6 is available in a 32GB and a 64GB model, the Moto Turbo is only available in a 64GB model. Neither of the devices support microSD card expansion.

Software

Both the phones run on Android 5.0 Lollipop. While the Nexus 6 directly gets updates from Google, Motorola's Turbo gets updates at a slightly slower pace from Motorola, which minutely customises the core Android Lollipop experience. The Moto Turbo adds useful additions like the Moto Migrate app and advanced touches control capabilities. It also offers a simplified camera apps. Besides these additions, both phones run similar software.

Battery

While the Moto Turbo has a smaller footprint, it is the phone with the larger battery. It has a massive 3,900mAh battery, which is huge by any metric. On the other hand, the Nexus 6 despite the larger display packs a smaller 3,220mAh battery. Motorola also touts other goodies like fast charging where the phone can attain 60 per cent charge in 30 minutes and Qi-Wireless charging capabilities. The Nexus 6 also adds wireless charging support , but overall it is likely the Moto Turbo will have the better battery life.

Connectivity

Both phones support 3G connectivity in India, however don't offer dual-SIM functionality. It is also worth noting that neither Motorola or Google mention 4G India support for both the devices, so if you are looking for something more future ready, the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 could come in to the picture.

Price

Moto Turbo - Rs.41,999

Google Nexus 6 - Rs.43,999 (32GB) and Rs.48,999 (64GB)

Verdict

On paper, as the Moto Turbo is cheaper and offers bigger battery, it appears to be the better value for money proposition. Moreover, it also is available in a generous 64GB version, which is cheaper than the 32GB Nexus 6. The Moto Turbo also adds things like water resistance, which can be crucial to a user, and runs a Nexus like build of Android Lollipop. That said, we'd wait for it, as they say, the proof of the pudding is in the tasting and we'd hold back till we properly test the product.