Quick Comparison: Droid Maxx 2 versus Nexus 5X

Motorola just unveiled its newest offerings of smartphones and among them is the Droid Maxx 2, with a similar size and display to the Google Nexus 5X that premiered in September. That means it's a great time to take a side by side comparison at these shiny new phones.

Both have a beautiful screen, awesome cameras, and plenty of features to catch your eye. Neither of them have been around for long, so read on to see our comparison of the newest budget-conscious offerings from Motorola and LG.

Similar Look, with design differences

The style and design implementations are fairly similar here. both opt for a traditional button placements with volume and power buttons hanging out on the side of the phone. The Maxx 2 has a textured power button so that it's easy to find by touch, without accidentally hitting the volume rocker. With that textured feel, it's really easy to find both buttons on the side and they protrude from the right side of the phone just enough. The Nexus 5X also has its plastic power and volume rocker located on the right side of the phone, just where you would expect to find them.

While these are both smaller than the superphones we see released all day, they have a strikingly different feel in your hand. The Maxx 2 is slightly larger, and feels significantly heavier in your hand. The back is ribbed, making it very easy to keep a decent grip on it. The camera is set into a panel in the middle of the back, and for anyone who had been using an LG G4 will recognize the feel of this back plate, even if there are no buttons there.

In juxtaposition the Nexus 5X is noticeably lighter in your hand, and while it's barely smaller than the Maxx 2 it has a better overall feel. The soft touch coating means that it doesn't feel slippery in your hand, and helps you to keep your grip. The camera on the Nexus 5X curves up noticeably, and placed underneath it is the fingerprint sensor so you're unlikely to accidentally touch your camera. There's a slight difference in the placement of the ports as well, since the Maxx 2 has it's headphone jack at the top of the phone, while the Nexus 5X sticks to the bottom.

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While these two both have a similar look, they have some larger difference when it comes to the hardware. Both have similar enough 5.5 and 5.2 inch displays, and have 2GB of RAM powering their respective processors. The Nexus 5X has a much more powerful processor making it easier to multitask with a Snapdragon 808 hexa-core over the Maxx 2's Snapdragon 615. The battery is where you'll see the biggest big difference, as the Maxx 2 is rocking a 3630 mAh battery that will keep you going far longer than the 2700 mAh that the Nexus 5X is packing.

When it comes to the camera, don't let just the specs fool you. The Maxx 2 is loaded with a 21MP rear camera that you might think would outstripe the 12.3MP on the Nexus 5X. That just isn't the case though. The Nexus 5X camera is extremely capable whether you are dealing with full daylight, lowlight, and even performs admirably in the full blanket of darkness. While the Maxx 2 can catch some incredible detail especially zooming in, it does tend to struggle a bit in low light, and there are some small problems when shooting in HDR. That means that if an awesome camera is a must have, then you should definitely keep your eye on the Nexus 5X.

Generational differences in Software

When it comes to software, there are once again a few stark differences here. The most easily noticeable is that the Nexus 5X is running on Android 6.0, while the Maxx 2 has Android 5.1.1 and will probably remain here for a while. They each also have their own array of software offerings. The Droid Maxx 2 has Moto Display and Moto Voice with gesture functions, which all focus on contextual information to make using your phone easier. The Nexus software gets to show off Marshmallow 6.0 which means there are some slick animations, and new performance features that you won't find on phones running older software.

These are both solid phones, but with alternative features you should stick to the one that best fits your user style. Whether that means the Droid Maxx 2 with it's larger display and battery, or the Nexus 5X running Android 6.0, a more powerful processor, and a killer camera, you'll get fantastic results.