This 12-year-old Motorola Nexus phone was huge and ahead of its time

When you think about the history of smartphones, several iconic releases stand out. I’m talking about the Galaxy SIII, iPhone 4, HTC One M7, and even Google’s LG-made Nexus 5 was a big deal, even if it didn’t have sales numbers to back it up. But one phone that’s often overlooked is this huge 12-year-old Motorola phone, the Nexus 6.

Motorola’s Nexus 6 was one of Google’s most important releases

Lessons learned from this premium “phablet”

Motorola and Google teamed up on the Nexus 6 in 2014, and that was a huge year for Android as a whole. It delivered the shift to Material Design, Android Auto and Android TV were announced, Google sold Motorola to Lenovo, Wear OS and the HTC One M8 arrived, Flappy Bird and Clash of Clans were all the rage, Samsung’s Galaxy S5 was gaining popularity, and OnePlus was making waves with its first phone, a $300 flagship killer. Exciting times, and that goes for the Nexus 6, too.

Google’s Nexus and Pixel lines have a long and storied history, but many people overlook the Nexus 6 as one of the most important models. This polarizing phone was absolutely massive, but it marked a significant shift for the Nexus line, moving away from a “developer device” to a mainstream, premium phone for the masses.

Unfortunately, things didn’t turn out that way, but it was still a big deal and way ahead of its time. It wasn’t quite premium enough to compete with phones like the Galaxy S5, Note 4, or iPhone 6 Plus, but Google (and Android as a whole) learned some important lessons that led to where we are today.

The “mainstream” Nexus 6 was a milestone, and Google further refined its approach with the Huawei Nexus 6P and LG Nexus 5X the following year, before going all-in on the first Google Pixel in 2016.

Google’s Nexus 6 was a whale-sized phone

The biggest phone released in 2014, and still big for 2026 standards

Credit: Cory Gunther / How-To Geek

When the Nexus 6 arrived in 2014, the term “phablet” was a popular way to describe phones that stretched to around 5.5 inches or more. For example, Samsung’s big Galaxy Note 4 that year came in at 5.7 inches, and many people thought it was too big.

The Nexus 6 took the term phablet to the next level with a 5.96-inch (marketed as 6-inch) display, slim bezels, dual front-facing speakers, and a design so large and wide that it was extremely unwieldy. It was a sight to behold, and a beast to hold. I remember reviewing the Nexus 6 and thinking that while it was big and beautiful, it was impossible to use one-handed.

Google’s internal code name for the phone was “Shamu,” for those that remember, which should tell you everything you need to know. Co-developed with Motorola, it was often referred to as “Motorola Shamu” or the “Moto XXL” due to its large physical size. It was the biggest phone released that year, along with the Huawei Ascend Mate 7 and Nokia Lumia 1320.

The masses quickly realized that it was too big and couldn’t match other high-end phones at the time. The next year, the Nexus 6P was even more premium, albeit with a smaller screen. Even Samsung’s Galaxy Note series stayed at 5.7 inches for several years, and that’s probably because the company didn’t want to go too big like Google’s Nexus 6.

However, in a way, the Nexus 6 showed manufacturers what not to do. If they wanted to release a phone of that sheer size, it needed to be easier to hold with thinner bezels and a screen that wasn’t so wide.

Credit: Cory Gunther / How-To Geek

Fun fact: Google didn’t return to a screen size above 6 inches until the Pixel 2 XL in 2017, and Samsung didn’t either, at least on flagship phones, until the 6.3-inch Galaxy Note 8.

But even by today’s standards, the Motorola Nexus 6 is massive. It’s almost as tall as the current Google Pixel 10 Pro XL, wider than the Galaxy S26 Ultra, and impressively slim and lightweight. It’s a pretty neat phone that pushed a few too many boundaries 12 years ago.

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Need a bigger phone? The Pixel 10 Pro XL offers just that. While you largely get the same experience as the 10 Pro, you’ll get a bigger screen and bigger battery—so you won’t be missing out on anything over the standard-sized 10 Pro.

An important disappointment

At the end of the day, the Nexus 6 turned out to be a commercial disappointment but not a total failure. Google’s Shamu and Moto’s XXL phone paved the way for the bigger screens we all enjoy and use today, and helped Google pivot from developer phones to premium mainstream models.

And the rest is history.