Wednesday, September 28, 2016

Pixel + Pixel XL versus Nexus 5X + 6P: Google's new phones compared, to scale

Big Pixel and baby Pixel side-by-side, in context.

As reported yesterday, we know have the first official-looking renders of Google's new Pixel phones, thanks to leaker Evan Blass. No surprise: Both the 5-inch Pixel and 5.5-inch Pixel XL look basically identical. In fact, the change in wallpaper is more noticeable than the difference in size, when viewed individually.

However, with a bit of simple math, it's easy to put these two alongside each other in context, since we know the relative screen sizes. So here you go — here's how Google's two new phones should look relative to each other. (Note that the phones are only to-scale relative to each other. Obviously they'll all appear larger or smaller than real life depending on the size of your screen.)

For greater context, here's 2016's Pixel phones next to the previous year's Nexus 5X and 6P — once again, to scale.

Left-to-right: Pixel (5.0-inch), Nexus 5X (5.2-inch), Pixel XL (5.5-inch), Nexus 6P (5.7-inch). Click to enlarge.

This year's Google phones are each smaller than their immediate predecessors, with the regular Pixel sitting below the 5X and the XL below the 6P. What's most striking here is how the Pixel XL's footprint isn't actually much bigger than the 5X, despite the substantial increase in screen size.

Specs won't be confirmed until launch day, but here's a comparison of what we're expecting, based on the most reliable leaks so far.

Category Google Pixel Nexus 5X Google Pixel XL Nexus 6P
Operating System Android 7.1 with Google UI Android 7.0 Android 7.1 with Google UI Android 7.0
Processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 Qualcomm Snapdragon 810
RAM 4GB 2GB 4GB 3GB
Display 5-inch AMOLED 1920x1080 5.2-inch LCD 1920x1080 5.5-inch AMOLED 2560x1440 5.7-inch AMOLED 2560x1440
Camera 12MP rear, 8MP front 12MP rear, 5MP front 12MP rear, 8MP front 12MP rear, 8MP front
Battery 2,770mAh non-removable 2,700mAh non-removable 3,450mAh non-removable 3,450mAh non-removable
Connectivity USB Type-C, Bluetooth 4.2 USB Type-C, Bluetooth 4.2 USB Type-C, Bluetooth 4.2 USB Type-C, Bluetooth 4.2
Fingerprint Yes Yes Yes Yes
Storage 32GB/128GB 16/32GB 32GB/128GB 32/64/128GB
IP rating IP53 N/A IP53 N/A