Google wanted a 6-inch Nexus 6, Motorola says

Remember the Nexus 6? It was a device crafted over a year ago that showcased the partnership between Motorola and search engine giant Google to show the consumer market what an Android flagship should be. Unfortunately, the Nexus 6 had two drawbacks: 1) it was a 6-inch device and 2) it was priced at $649. It is the former drawback that Motorola now admits was pushed by Google.

In an interview with tech site Techradar, Motorola said that it was Google who drove the 6-inch display size. “They [Google] wanted the screen size — we could have built it with same display size as the Moto X,” Motorola said.

We’re not surprised that Google dictated the screen size, seeing that the Motorola Nexus 6 also had a battery size to match that of Samsung’s Galaxy Note 4 (3,220mAh). We believe that Google crafted the Nexus 6 to square head-to-head with Samsung’s Galaxy Note 4 that year, and that the screen size was a way for the company to “one-up” Samsung (although the Nexus 6 didn’t have that effect at all). Some have said that Google pretty much leaves manufacturers alone to make decisions for Nexus handsets, but we don’t believe that: after all, whatever the hardware, Google must place its own stamp of approval behind it. We do know, however, that Google took special care to add a fingerprint sensor (Nexus Imprint) to the Huawei Nexus 6P last year (with Chinese manufacturer, Huawei), so Google is likely responsible for screen sizes as well.

Other indications of Google influence include the 5.7-inch display size of the Huawei Nexus 6P, which could have been put forth by Huawei but was likely an agreement between the two companies. Google has dictated the camera of the Nexus 6P, and the camera performs better than ever before — leading us to believe that Google is behind a lot of the experience, even if it tells others it takes a “hands-off approach.” While some may see these words as speculation, take Motorola’s word for what it is. After all, Motorola would have no reason to conjure up this claim now, over a year after the handset arrived on the market. We also see the fact that the Nexus 6P arrived with an octa-core, Snapdragon 810 processor instead of Huawei’s own homegrown Kirin processor as another example of Google’s influence in handsets bearing the “NEXUS” name. It’s nice to see that we now have confirmation of the search engine giant’s influence.

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