Nexus 5

[JordanCormack]

The Nexus 5 is the second device LG has manufactured in Google's phone line-up, it follows on where the Nexus 4 left off with a device with many of the features of a top end device with one or two drawbacks to save on cost.

 

The Nexus 5 comes with the increasingly popular Snapdragon 800 quad-core processor, clocked at a massive 2.3Ghz Adreno 330 graphics and 2GB of RAM. This makes the phone a truly high performance device and the benchmarks and synthetic tests show this. Pair this with the latest Android OS and there aren't many phones available that feel faster or more fluid.

 

The screen has increased in size from the Nexus 4 to match the Galaxy S4 at 5 inches. It also bumps the resolution to full HD (445ppi) but the LCD colours can still look a bit washed out next to an AMOLED device like a Samsung or Motorola. In my first few days of use I can say it is one of the best mobile device screens I have ever used. The front is covered in Gorilla Glass 3 which Corning say is three times more damage resistant than the previous version. The Nexus 5 is based on the LG G2 but it's unique back buttons have been replaced with the normal power switch on the right and volume rocker on the left. The buttons are made of ceramic this time rather than plastic, which will hopefully make them last longer under wear. On the top there is a 3.5mm audio jack and microphone, on the bottom there is the micro-usb port with what looks like a speaker grill on either side but one of these is only a microphone. This means it is possible to cover the speaker port whilst holding the phone in landscape. One of the features it does share with the G2 is the optical image stabilised camera, although it is an 8mp sensor here instead of 13 (There are some test shots atmy username dot com). Many people think the camera is one of the places LG/Google has saved money, but it is better than the Nexus 4 and is good enough for me to not carry around a dedicated point and shoot.

 

The back of the phone looses the glass back of the Nexus 4 which is a big relief as this was prone to cracking and scratching as it was not Gorilla Glass. The logo on the rear has been carried over from the 2013 Nexus 7 along with the soft-touch back. It comes with a 2300mAh battery which is smaller than other similar phones, but I have yet to put it through any heavy use or battery tests so can't comment on the battery life yet. There is a long list wireless features like NFC, b/g/n/ac WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, Qi wireless charging and the long awaited 4G. Living in the UK, 4G is just starting to become more popular in the main cities and I will be moving to a compatible sim/plan in the future, but as it stands, the Nexus 5 has some of the fastest HSDPA speeds I have seen with downloads exceeding 20Mbps. Anyone who is trying to decide what colour device to choose, the white model comes with a white top speaker and glossy sides, whereas the black has the same matte/soft-touch as the back. It is just down to individual preference on which is better.

 

One of the main features of any Nexus device is the latest Android OS and in this case Google has teamed up with Nestle to name this sweet new version 4.4 KitKat. It has some fairly large new features like the transparent menu buttons and notification bar which really show off the full screen instead of masking the top and bottom. Google Now is just a swipe to the left of the main home screen and can be also accessed by saying 'OK Google'. This is a feature brought in from the Moto X, but does not include the 'always listening' mode so cannot be used when the screen is off. Optimisations have been made so that 4.4 can run on devices with as little as 512mb of RAM, this is not a problem for the Nexus 5, but it would have been nice for them to update and bring some life back into the older Nexus devices, which they have not chosen to do. Lots of the Holo blue colouring has gone, to create a flatter, cleaner look (moving in a similar direction to iOS7?) but the settings app remains unchanged mysteriously.

 

Overall my first impressions are good, much like they were when I first got my Nexus 4, I'm sure there are things I have missed out and I will be writing a '6/12 months later' review when I feel the time is right. If anyone has any questions I will happily answer!

[Hirad123]

I would really love if you could test the battery and update this thread. I'm getting a nexus 5 soon and I really wanna hear about the battery. Good review though much appreciated.

[LogicDeifying]

Very nice review.I just wish companies would stop focusing on specs and give really good stuff what I mean by this is actual real world performance instead of something really good on paper which is specs.

Which is why I found the Moto G an incredibly good device and very persuading.Hopefully this will drift on to companies like Samsung and HTC.

[MatheusSanzo]

How does it feel in hand, and in the pocket?

[JordanCormack]

I would really love if you could test the battery and update this thread. I'm getting a nexus 5 soon and I really wanna hear about the battery. Good review though much appreciated.

I unplugged about 10 hours ago and I've been using it a fair bit, games, photos etc...It's not a bad battery, it's just not great.

 

Very nice review.I just wish companies would stop focusing on specs and give really good stuff what I mean by this is actual real world performance instead of something really good on paper which is specs.

Which is why I found the Moto G an incredibly good device and very persuading.Hopefully this will drift on to companies like Samsung and HTC.

I agree, that's one reason I haven't quoted a load of benchmarks in the thread, it scores much lower than even the G2. I think how it feels in the had is worth more than pure numbers on the screen, and the experience here is amazing

 

How does it feel in hand, and in the pocket?

It feels good! The soft-touch back feels better than any phone I have owned. I have quite large pockets and hands so it's a perfect for me, the bezels are very thin so it doesn't feel like a huge phone like a note.

[ilikemacandpc]

kinda disappointing. plastic is unacceptable. period. 

 

like the bezels. played with a friend's nexus 5 today, and it felt more immersive than my nexus 4. 

[LogicDeifying]

I agree, that's one reason I haven't quoted a load of benchmarks in the thread, it scores much lower than even the G2. I think how it feels in the had is worth more than pure numbers on the screen, and the experience here is amazing

Yep.I like how they made app start up time and boot and stuff.

[Focux]

So basically LG G2 = Nexus 5 ?

Kinda perplexed as to why a bunch of YT review channels say that the G2 is more popular than the Nexus 5. Maybe it's the screen and battery?

[SirReallySam]

Very nice review, but I really want a better camera if I was going to buy a smartphone...

 

At the moment I'm rocking a Motorola RAZR V3 Oh yeah...

 

[JordanCormack]

kinda disappointing. plastic is unacceptable. period. 

 

like the bezels. played with a friend's nexus 5 today, and it felt more immersive than my nexus 4. 

 

The plastic here feels better than on any other mobile device I have used, it feels solid as it isn't a thin removable back like on other phones...

So basically LG G2 = Nexus 5 ?

Kinda perplexed as to why a bunch of YT review channels say that the G2 is more popular than the Nexus 5. Maybe it's the screen and battery?

 

They basically changed some features to reduce the cost, eg: lower megapixel camera, smaller screen and battery. I don't think the Nexus 5 is aimed at the general consumer like the G2, there aren't any ad's showing it off either. Google seem to push the Nexus 7 but not the 5. I think this is why there is less sales

Very nice review, but I really want a better camera if I was going to buy a smartphone...

 

At the moment I'm rocking a Motorola RAZR V3 Oh yeah...

I had the first Motorola RAZR XT910 Android device and the camera on that was amazing!

[SirReallySam]

I had the first Motorola RAZR XT910 Android device and the camera on that was amazing!

COOL! Mine is not.... hahahah

 

 

SOOO BAD