We put two latest premium smartphones into a comparison; which from the Sony Xperia Z5 Premium (~P40k from Sony Philippines) and Huawei Nexus 6P ($700US from online)performs better in camera, display, design and build, speaker, battery, price and performance test? Find out that in our in-depth and comprehensive comparison and review of Z5 Premium versus Nexus 6P.
Table of Contents
Design and build
The two are surely premium smartphones. The Xperia Z5 Premium is IP68 certified as to its Z5 and Z5 Compact siblings. This means you get up to 1.5m deep of waterproofing and dust resistance. Its form is squarish with rounded corners (corner bumpers for shatter/shock proof) and curved edges made of metal. It has thick bezels on top and bottom of the screen but on these areas sit the stereo speakers. Just behind is a 23MP main camera coupled with LED flash. The back is entirely made of glass with chrome finish giving the reflective effect like the mirror.
On the other hand, the Nexus 6P is one of the most premium Nexus phones over the period of the product line. It is made by Huawei and it features an aluminum body with glass camera island on top part of the back. It has a 5.7-inch display and thick top and bottom bezels too as to Z5 Premium.
Comparing both devices, we can safely assume that these profiles are within the phablet size, which most of you will need to use two hands most of the time. They are both solid and sleek too.
Display and viewing experience
Upon checking out the 5.5-inch 4K UHD display of Sony Xperia Z5 Premium if it indeed makes a difference in picture quality, we easily found that it is just way better compared to the 5.7-inch AMOLED of Nexus 6P with QHD resolution or 1440p.
Colors are more vibrant on Z5 Premium despite having an IPS LCD screen. The contrast level is somewhat deeper too, and of course, sharpness is convincingly higher on Z5 Premium.
See also: Xperia Z5 Premium Unboxing, 4K display hands-on and comparison
Camera in still (night and low light), video shoting and stabilization
Nexus 6P’s 12MP produced pleasing colors from its shots, but detail preservation is inferior to the 23MP of Sony Xperia Z5 Premium. Images from the latter are also brighter and have more accurate colors. Night shots are better too on Z5 Premium with lots of natural lights and colors rendered. You can also check  the difference in flash level and front-facing selfie camera quality.
On video shooting, we didn’t use 4K resolution instead we picked the 1080p which is still the default resolution and used by most users today. The focus speed on Z5 Premium was faster and the Steady Shot did work well similar to the Z5 classic and Z5 compact.
See also: Sony Xperia Z5 vs Galaxy Note 5 vs LG G4 vs iPhone 6s Camera Comparison
Performance and speed test
Powered by Snapdragon 810 octa-chip and 3GB RAM, day-to-day performance is surely fast and fluid on two Android smartphones. The Z5 Premium on Android 5.1.1 Lollipop performed better and faster in benchmark tests and actual speed test. The scores are slightly higher than on the stock Android Marshmallow-flavored Huawei Nexus 6P.
Benchmark scores
- AnTuTu: Z5 Premium – 54733, Nexus 6P – 45460
- Basemark OS II: Z5 Premium – 1402, Nexus 6P – 1237
- GeekBench 3: Z5 Premium – 1030 Single Core/3560 Multi Core, Nexus 6P – 766 SC/3170 MC
Battery and charging
On our 2-hour HD movie playback battery test, Sony Xperia Z5 Premium lasted 8 hours while the Nexus 6P hung in for 9 hours. The Z5 Premium’s battery life may have been affected by the 4K UHD or 2160p upscaling, thus its battery life is lower. But remember our test only includes video playback; this doesn’t include voice calls, web browsing and standby time. So likely, real-world and day-to-day usage will differ.
Using the 1.8A wall charger (faster chargers with Qualcomm Quick Charge 2.0 feature are available) on Xperia Z5 Premium, we were able to fully charged it from 0 to 100% for 2 hours and 10 minutes compared to the Nexus 6P at 1 hour and 45 minutes using the 3A charger, which is faster than 1.8A of Z5 Premium.
Also, Nexus 6P sports USB type-c port, which could handle more power and data over the standard microUSB 2.0. Go checkout some local stores if you want faster adapter for Sony Xperia Z5 Premium.
Speaker
In loudspeaker comparison, both front-facing stereo speakers have clear and crisp audio output. However, the Nexus 6P showcased a more powerful bass and higher treble. Sound is so much better and louder on the Nexus 6P, it greatly surpassed the quality of the Nexus 6 of Motorola.
Price and Verdict
Sony Xperia Z5 Premium is officially priced for $800, prices may vary depending on your region (taxes, tariffs). It is indeed more expensive than the Nexus 6P that only costs $600 for 32GB version and $700 for the 64GB, but this lacks storage expansion thru microSD card slot. On Z5 Premium, you can insert up to 2TB microSD card, though 200GB is currently the highest capacity available in the market right now.
It is really hard choosing the right device between the two or decide which is an overall better buy. The Xperia Z5 Premium has better still and video camera shooting capabilities and its construction is more rugged, thanks to an IP68 rating. For Nexus 6P, the stock Android 6.0 Marshmallow offer is very enticing and its all-aluminum design coupled with a fingerprint sensor that is faster and more accurate than Z5 Premium is hard to resist. Still, the final decision relies on your own preferences in hardware and software.
If you have any requests or suggestions, please do hit the comment section.
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Sony Xperia Z5 Premium vs Huawei Nexus 6 Ultimate Comparison Video
| Specs, PH Price | Sony Xperia Z5 Premium | Huawei Nexus 6P |
| Display | 5.5-inch 4K or 2160p UHD IPS Triluminos, 806ppi | 5.7-inch 1440p QHD AMOLED, 518ppi |
| Size | 7.8mm, 180g weight | 7.3mm thick, 178g weight |
| Design | IP68 rating, Scratch-resistant, oleophobic coating, stainless metal, water and dust proof | Aluminum back |
| Colors | Black, Gold, Chrome | Black, Gold, Silver |
| Chipset | Snapdragon 810 octacore chipset | Snapdragon 810 octacore chipset |
| Processor | Quad-core 1.5 GHz Cortex-A53 & Quad-core 2 GHz Cortex-A57 | Quad-core 1.5 GHz Cortex-A53 & Quad-core 2 GHz Cortex-A57 |
| Graphics | Adreno 430 GPU | Adreno 430 GPU |
| Memory | 3GB RAM, 32GB internal, microSD card up to 200GB | 3GB RAM, 32/64GB internal, No microSD card |
| Main Camera | 23MP f/2.0 camera, single LED flash, Steady Shot | 12MP camera, dual tone LED flash, OIS |
| Multimedia | 4K UHD video, 720p @120fps SloMo, HDR | 4K UHD video, 720p @120fps SloMo, HDR |
| Front camera | 5MP selfie camera | 8MP selfie camera |
| Connectivity | Dual 4G LTE cat 6, WiFi ac, Bt 4.1, FM Radio, GPS, NFC | Dual 4G LTE cat 6, WiFi ac, Bt 4.1, FM Radio, GPS, NFC |
| OS | Android 5.1.1 Lollipop (cofirmed for Android 6.0 Marshmallow) | Stock Android 6.0 Marshmallow |
| Software | Xperia UI | stock/vanilla android |
| Battery | 3430mAh, Quick Charge 2.0 | 3450mah, Quick Charge 2.0 |
| Ports | microUSB 2.0 | USB type-c |
| Official Price | Php40k price estimate | $700US for 64GB version |
| Availability date | November | November |
| Where to buy | Sony Philippines | Online/Google |
Related posts, news, reviews and comparisons:
- Sony Xperia Z5 Premium Unboxing, Hands-on 4K Display Comparison to Galaxy Note5, LG G4, Nexus 6P
- Sony Xperia Z5 classic vs Samsung Galaxy Note 5 Ultimate Comparison
- Camera Review and comparison: Xperia Z5 vs Galaxy Note5 vs LG G4 vs iPhone 6s
- Apple iPhone 6s vs Sony Xperia Z5 Compact Comparison, Camera Review, Speed Test, Benchmark
- Sony Xperia Z5 Review – The Best of Sony Yet
