Is The Nexus 6 A Viable Purchase In India?
Google and Motorola quietly unveiled the Nexus 6 smartphone last month with pre-orders going live in the American Play Store a couple of weeks ago. As most of you are aware, Motorola will also bring the smartphone to India in about a week from now. The Indian Play Store devices page is currently listing the 32GB and 64GB versions of the smartphone with a "coming soon" status. Online retailer Flipkart has the device listed as well, where it now reads "permanently discontinued" for some reason.
The Play Store page also provides pricing details for the Nexus 6, and it looks like the smartphone will not go light on your wallets. With a price tag of Rs 44,000 and Rs 49,000 for the 32GB and 64GB models respectively, the Nexus 6 is the most expensive handset to come out of Google's sheds. So is the pricing justified?
Let's rewind the clock a little. The Nexus 4 and the Nexus 5 were the game changers for Google mainly due to the pricing. Considering that Google is set to change that with the Motorola Nexus 6, it's natural to be concerned. However, we have never seen an all-round Nexus smartphone coming from Google until now. Devices like the Nexus 4 and Nexus 5, while pretty capable in their own right, weren't without sacrifices. The Nexus 5 came with a sub-par camera sensor which has been its biggest flaw as owners will tell you. The Nexus 4 had some pertaining issues related to the build quality. But since they were sold almost at cost, it wasn't much of a concern really.
Read Also: Nexus 6 Review
However, with the Nexus 6, Google and Motorola are aiming for the untapped high-end market segment. It features a Quad HD (2560 x 1440) display spanning across 5.96-inches of display real estate, coupled with a 13MP camera on the back with optical image stabilization. All this running on Android 5.0, which in Google's words is the "sweetest" Android release yet. The only smartphone today which even comes close to offering similar hardware is the Samsung Galaxy Note 4, which has a retail price of Rs 58,000 on Indian e-commerce portals.
The Nexus 6 also packs 3GB of RAM, a 2.7GHz Snapdragon 805 quad core chipset accompanied by the Adreno 420 GPU, and a massive 3,220mAh battery with support for Motorola's Turbo Charger which can charge the device in double quick time compared to the conventional mobile chargers. So, taking these factors into account, it does seem like the Nexus 6 is a good deal provided Google and Motorola can keep up with the demand.
There have been murmurs around the Internet that the Nexus 6 hardware was originally planned for the now defunct Android Silver program. But with that being cancelled, Google reportedly had to fast forward the process and merge the device into the Nexus program. Android Silver was originally planned to be replacing the Nexus smartphones in 2015 as a premium series of handsets with high-end hardware.
All things considered, the Nexus 6 is a solid device for the high-end market. But whether the Indian audience will be receptive towards a high-end Nexus device is something that only time will tell. Bear in mind, the smartphone is taking on big guns like the Apple iPhone 6 Plus and the Samsung Galaxy Note 4, so it surely won't be easy for Google and Motorola to break into the high-end market.
Are you looking forward to purchase the Nexus 6 when it lands on Indian shores later this month? Share your thoughts.
This article is written by Chethan Rao, who is a freelance writer
The Play Store page also provides pricing details for the Nexus 6, and it looks like the smartphone will not go light on your wallets. With a price tag of Rs 44,000 and Rs 49,000 for the 32GB and 64GB models respectively, the Nexus 6 is the most expensive handset to come out of Google's sheds. So is the pricing justified?
Let's rewind the clock a little. The Nexus 4 and the Nexus 5 were the game changers for Google mainly due to the pricing. Considering that Google is set to change that with the Motorola Nexus 6, it's natural to be concerned. However, we have never seen an all-round Nexus smartphone coming from Google until now. Devices like the Nexus 4 and Nexus 5, while pretty capable in their own right, weren't without sacrifices. The Nexus 5 came with a sub-par camera sensor which has been its biggest flaw as owners will tell you. The Nexus 4 had some pertaining issues related to the build quality. But since they were sold almost at cost, it wasn't much of a concern really.
Read Also: Nexus 6 Review
However, with the Nexus 6, Google and Motorola are aiming for the untapped high-end market segment. It features a Quad HD (2560 x 1440) display spanning across 5.96-inches of display real estate, coupled with a 13MP camera on the back with optical image stabilization. All this running on Android 5.0, which in Google's words is the "sweetest" Android release yet. The only smartphone today which even comes close to offering similar hardware is the Samsung Galaxy Note 4, which has a retail price of Rs 58,000 on Indian e-commerce portals.
The Nexus 6 also packs 3GB of RAM, a 2.7GHz Snapdragon 805 quad core chipset accompanied by the Adreno 420 GPU, and a massive 3,220mAh battery with support for Motorola's Turbo Charger which can charge the device in double quick time compared to the conventional mobile chargers. So, taking these factors into account, it does seem like the Nexus 6 is a good deal provided Google and Motorola can keep up with the demand.
There have been murmurs around the Internet that the Nexus 6 hardware was originally planned for the now defunct Android Silver program. But with that being cancelled, Google reportedly had to fast forward the process and merge the device into the Nexus program. Android Silver was originally planned to be replacing the Nexus smartphones in 2015 as a premium series of handsets with high-end hardware.
All things considered, the Nexus 6 is a solid device for the high-end market. But whether the Indian audience will be receptive towards a high-end Nexus device is something that only time will tell. Bear in mind, the smartphone is taking on big guns like the Apple iPhone 6 Plus and the Samsung Galaxy Note 4, so it surely won't be easy for Google and Motorola to break into the high-end market.
Are you looking forward to purchase the Nexus 6 when it lands on Indian shores later this month? Share your thoughts.
This article is written by Chethan Rao, who is a freelance writer
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