Google Nexus 5X, 6P with fast charging go on sale in Australia

Two long-anticipated Google Nexus phones with fingerprint scanning and fast charging can be pre-ordered today.

Two long-anticipated Google Nexus phones with fingerprint scanning and fast charging are heading downunder. Google today announced pricing and availability and said they can be pre-ordered now.

The Huawei-made Nexus 6P with a 5.7-inch display will sell for $899 and $999 for models with 32GB and 64GB of storage respectively, while the smaller Nexus 5X made by LG will cost $659 and $739 for 16GB and 32GB of storage.

Both feature fast charging. The manufacturers claim that the Nexus 5X will last four hours after only 10 minutes of charging while the Nexus 6P will go 7 hours on a 10-minute top-up. The 6P will charge from 0pc to 100pc in just 97 minutes, it is claimed.

Both phones have fingerprint scanners on the back of the handset and for the first time their operation is supported officially by Google Android’s 6.0 operating system, Marshmallow. You rest the phone in the palm of your hand with your index finger touching the back of the handset. Google calls the feature “Nexus Imprint”.

The other signature feature is a larger 1.55 micrometer sensor that increases the main camera’s ability to take shots in low light.

The Nexus 6P could prove a hit for Google and Huawei who have teamed up for the first time. It combines Huawei hardware with a vanilla (pure) version of Android. It has a high resolution 518 pixel per inch quadHD screen, a 12 MP back-facing camera that also shoots 4K video, and an 8MP “selfies” front-facing snapper.

The phone has an anodised aluminium case and two front-facing speakers. It has a large 3450 milliampere hour battery. In Australia Nexus 6P will sell in three colours: aluminium, graphite and white.

It will be available from JB Hi-Fi and Harvey Norman from next Tuesday, November 3.

Vodafone users can buy the Nexus 6P (64GB) for $5 per month on an $80 Red plan. Optus will offer the Nexus 6P (32GB) for $5 on a $60 plan. The 6P will also be available from $899 (for the 32GB version) at the Google Store.

The Nexus 5X is the third smartphone that LG has made for Google. The 5X boasts a 12.3 megapixel camera that can capturing 120 frames per second for slow motion playback and can record in 4K.

It has a 5.2-inch, 423 ppi full HD display, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 processor and a 5MP front-facing camera for selfies.

It will be available from retailers including Harvey Norman and JB Hi-Fi and from Telstra on contract.