Nexus 6P vs. LG V10 vs. Galaxy Note5: Jumbo joust

Performance

The three phones boast QHD screen resolution, and two of them do split-screen multitasking. In other words, they squeeze every last drop of performance out of the GPU and RAM.

RAM often gets overlooked, but with today's octa-core mid-rangers it's one of the most important components of performance. And that's the RAM left over after the vendor skins take their share. The Huawei Nexus 6P has only 3GB of RAM, compared to 4GB for the other two, but it's plain Android with no split-screen multitasking so 3 gigs are plenty, the phone never slowed down.

The GPU is equally overlooked. Marketing misdirection screams "octa-core CPU!" but the Snapdragon 615 chipset, so popular in the mid-range, comes with a weak Adreno 405 that struggles on 1080p. Not to mention that not all CPU cores are equal.

The LG V10 is doubly at a disadvantage here. All three phones have four Cortex-A53 cores for low-power needs, but the V10 pairs them with just two fast Cortex-A57s. So the difference is bigger than what core count suggests. It also uses the Adreno 418 GPU, which is about 20% slower than the Adreno 430 used in Nexus 6P's S810 chipset.

The Samsung Galaxy Note5 brings superior CPU performance than the Nexus 6P thanks to higher clockspeed. Basemark OS II 2.0 shows the Note5 leading in both single and multi-core performance, but gives a narrow victory to the Nexus 6P in overall performance (this includes RAM and storage performance, some graphics and web tests).

The LG V10 lags behind, even in single-core performance because its Cortex-A57 cores run at a lower clock speed. The highest frequency is 2.1GHz (Note5), then 2GHz (Nexus 6P) and you can see the LG phone trailing behind at 1.8GHz (V10).

GeekBench 3

Higher is better

• Samsung Galaxy Note5
  5124
• Huawei Nexus 6P
  4539
• LG V10
  3607

Basemark OS 2.0

Higher is better

• Huawei Nexus 6P
  2040
• Samsung Galaxy Note5
  1880
• LG V10
  1383

Basemark OS 2.0 (single-core)

Higher is better

• Samsung Galaxy Note5
  6745
• Huawei Nexus 6P
  6014
• LG V10
  4261

Basemark OS 2.0 (multi-core)

Higher is better

• Samsung Galaxy Note5
  28360
• Huawei Nexus 6P
  17661
• LG V10
  17127

Looking to AnTuTu 6 for a through system test, the Nexus 6P again outperforms Galaxy Note5 by a small margin. The newer (not to mention leaner) Android version probably helps. Note that Marshmallow is yet to drop on our Note 5 and V10 test units but will come eventually.

AnTuTu 6

Higher is better

• Huawei Nexus 6P
  89345
• Samsung Galaxy Note5
  81615
• LG V10
  67547

In the GPU triathlon the Adreno 430 GPU of the Huawei Nexus 6P takes the crown with a strong lead over the Galaxy Note5 and LG V10, especially in the on-screen test (that is at full 2,560 x 1,440px resolution). GFXBench shows the edge extends particularly when the graphics move to the newer OpenGL ES 3.1 standard.

GFX 3.0 Manhattan (1080p offscreen)

Higher is better

• Huawei Nexus 6P
  25
• Samsung Galaxy Note5
  21
• LG V10
  15

GFX 3.0 Manhattan (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Huawei Nexus 6P
  17
• Samsung Galaxy Note5
  15
• LG V10
  9.5

GFX 3.1 Manhattan (1080p offscreen)

Higher is better

• Huawei Nexus 6P
  17
• Samsung Galaxy Note5
  15
• LG V10
  10

GFX 3.1 Manhattan (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Huawei Nexus 6P
  11
• Samsung Galaxy Note5
  6.7
• LG V10
  5.7

Basemark ES 3.1 confirms the standing, only the older Basemark X gives the win to the Note5. The LG V10 consistently ends up last.

Basemark X

Higher is better

• Samsung Galaxy Note5
  26281
• Huawei Nexus 6P
  22825
• LG V10
  15161

Basemark ES 3.1 / Metal

Higher is better

• Huawei Nexus 6P
  504
• Samsung Galaxy Note5
  316
• LG V10
  297

Winner: Huawei Nexus 6P. Multiple benchmarks show the 6P is way ahead in overall performance, and it handled modern 3D graphics much better than the Note5.

Runner-up: Samsung Galaxy Note5. It showed promise in the CPU tests but didn't score a decisive victory. The Mali-T760MP8 GPU is powerful but doesn't impress on OpenGL ES 3.1 tests.

Third place: LG V10. The choice of chipset limits V10's ambitions. The phone is a smooth operator in daily use, but demanding apps and games will run better on the other two.

Audio quality

All three contestants delivered an excellently clear audio output when connected to an active external amplifier, which is par for the course for high-end smartphones. When measuring the volume levels, the LG V10 and the Samsung Galaxy Note5 have a small advantage over the Huawei Nexus 6P, but there was nothing to put the two Korean flagships apart.

Plugging in a pair of headphones caused quite a bit of distortion in the Nexus 6P output. The LG V10 showed a few weaknesses as well; it was enough for the Galaxy Note5 to grab the victory here. With the headphones in, the Samsung phablet outdid its South Korean rival in both loudness and clarity.

Here go the results so you can do your own comparisons.

Huawei Nexus 6P frequency response


LG V10 frequency response
Samsung Galaxy Note5 frequency response

You can learn more about the tested parameters and the whole testing process here.

Winner: Samsung Galaxy Note5. The clear audio output both with headphones and an active external amplifier along with nicely high volume secured this round for the Samsung flagship.

Runner-up: LG V10. The V10 put up a good fight, but when we plugged in the headphones, it just couldn't keep up with the Galaxy Note5.

Third place: Huawei Nexus 6P. It started decently with the lower volume being our only criticism, but when we plugged in our standard headphones, its performance quickly went south.