Google Nexus 5 review: A worthy successor to the Nexus 4, but...

Digital18

Editor

posted on 10 years ago — updated on 1 second ago

32
views

While the Google Nexus 5 is a recommended phone, not all Nexus 4 users need to think about upgrading.

New Delhi: It's been two weeks since we posted our first impressions review of the Google Nexus 5 soon after it landed on Indian store shelves. After an extensive and exhaustive use, here's an extensive and (what I believe) exhaustive review of the phone.

The thing that attracts me the most to Nexus phones is its awesome pricing. At a time when other tech majors are pricing their phones around the Rs 50K mark, Google brings its showcase Nexus phone with price tags around Rs 30K. Also being a Nexus 4 user, I was also wondering whether the Nexus 5 will be worth an upgrade or not.

"It's quite light," exclaimed a colleague, who almost snatched the phone from my hands even before I could take a look at it. With a positive impression already made, when I finally got back the phone, and as I turned it, the smile on my lips faded a bit. The distinctive and gorgeous rear of the Nexus 4 (which was booth a boon and also a bane) was missing and in its place was a not-as-impressive matte-finished plastic back.

It's not the the rear of the Nexus 5 is bad, just that it doesn't look as good as the Nexus 4's. It appears that the issues of glass breaks on the Nexus 4 would have forced Google and LG to let go of it in the successor. But I still believe that Google and LG could have come up with a better alternative for the rear panel. The non-removable back panel of the Nexus 5 is prone to smudges and fingerprints and I have seen Nexus 5 owners frequently rubbing the back of their phones on their jeans to get rid of the smudges.

Apart from the design of the back panel, there was little else in the styling that put me off. The phone is light in weight and is slimmer than its predecessor. At 130g, the Nexus 5 is only 9 grams lighter than the Nexus 4, but the difference in weight appears to be greater when you pick it up. It is ergonomically designed that it comfortably grips in your hands. There are subtle curves on the back and corners.

In the first impressions review, I had pointed out the protruding camera lens on the Nexus 5 and had said that you may get worried while keeping it down, but during the review phase, I neither found the camera lens that bulges out hampering my experience in any way, nor did I take precautions while putting the phone down anywhere. And after more than a week's usage, the lens is fit and fine. Initially, I had found the power and volume buttons sharp at the edges, but over extended use it didn't feel uncomfortable. Overall, the Nexus 5 has simple looks and is pleasing to the eyes, but there are many better looking phones around.

The phone features a 4.95-inch 1920x1080 display (445 ppi). While the display is close to 5-inch, but it does not look mammoth. The phone easily fit in the pocket of my jeans. The display is bright, and produces rich colours and sharp details. The text appears crisp and is perfect for watching, reading and viewing. Even in bright sunlight, I could comfortably read and view. Typing on the Nexus 5 was fun and a wonderful experience. The phone also offers great viewing angles.

It comes with an 8 megapixel rear camera and a 1.3 megapixel front camera. Compared to its predecessor, the Nexus 5's rear camera is quite improved. The fifth-generation Nexus phone captures impressive snaps in both daylight and low-light conditions.

The camera on the Nexus 5 performed much better than the Nexus 4's - especially in low-light conditions. In comparison to the Nexus 4's camera, the lens on the Nexus 5 captures more light to reach the sensor and comes up with great results. The front camera on the Nexus 5 also did a fair job, and is appropriate for video calling and selfies. The phone supports 1080p video playback and recording.

The camera on the Nexus 5 is impressive (especially if you have been a Nexus 4 user), but it definitely isn't the best cameraphone around, but considering the price at which Google is offering the Nexus 5, there aren't any complaints.

It is the first phone to run Google's latest Android 4.4 (KitKat) OS, which is the biggest Android release since Android 4.1 appeared about a-year-and-a-half ago. The new OS comes with some great features and the biggest change you will notice is in the phone app. I have separately reviewed Google's latest Android OS and therefore not repeating my experiences here.

What I found limiting my experience on the Nexus 5 was the inability to disable Hangouts as my default messaging app. In other words, the Nexus 5 does not have a standalone SMS app. I didn't want my messages to appear in Hangouts, but I had no option except to read them there only. While Android 4.4 on my Nexus 4 allows me to choose between the two - Hangouts and SMS app - for reading messages, but the same on the Nexus 5 takes away that liberty.

Another thing I found did not work effectively for me on the Nexus 5 was its new "OK Google" feature. The new feature on the Nexus 5 lets users launch the voice search right from the home screen just by simply saying two words "OK Google." It did not activate voice search every time I called out "OK Google", so after a while I gave up using that much-touted feature. Altogether, Android 4.4 has some minor issues, but it any day offers a better experience than Android Jelly Bean.

Manufactured in association with LG, Google's Nexus 5 is engineered with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor clocked at 2.26GHz combined with Adreno GPU and 2GB RAM. The phone offer satisfactory experience and I did not find it lagging anytime throughout the review period. I could use multiple apps at the same time and the phone did not stutter even once. The Nexus 5 does not offer an experience that we have not experienced on other high-end devices, but it indeed offers an improved one.

The phone comes in two variants - 16GB and 32GB - and I had the 32GB model for review. The 32GB model offers user-accessible space of 26.76GB. While the 16GB model comes at Rs 28,999, the 32GB model costs Rs 32,999. These are the prices set by Google for the Indian market. LG is selling the phone at Rs 1000 more than the prices quoted by Google. In case you are planning to buy, I would recommend you to shell out a little more and opt for the 32GB model instead of the 16GB one. The drawback here is that the phone does not let you expand its memory, but the 32 model should suffice a heavy user.

Unlike the Nexus 4 which houses a speaker at the back, the Nexus 5 has a speaker at the bottom, which produces quality and fairly loud sound. But the Nexus 4 has a relatively louder speaker and this is where I found the the Nexus 4 outperforming its successor. But in terms of quality, the Nexus 5 produces clearer sound. The phone comes bundled with a pair of quality earphones, unlike the Nexus 4 which didn't have a pair in the box.

The Nexus 5 offers a decent battery life. On a single charge, its 2,300 mAh battery easily lasted for around 20 hours on normal usage. Expecting more than that would be too much, methinks.

The phone makes it to our recommendations list. I can affirm that it is the best Android phone available today in the price band of Rs 30,000-35,000. It is worth its price (actually more, if you consider the other phones available in the same price bracket).

But will I move on to the Nexus 5 from my Nexus 4?

No. I would rather wait for the Nexus 6 (if that is what Google decides to name it). While the Nexus 5 is a recommended buy, it doesn't pack in that much extra (apart from additional storage in the 32GB model) to make it a worthwhile upgrade for a Nexus 4 user.

Pros

+ Excellent display

+ Impressive camera

+ Fresh OS

+ Attractive pricing

Cons

- Average, but acceptable looks

- No expandable memory

- No standalone messaging app

Rating: 3.75/5

Nexus 5: Key specs

OS: Android 4.4 (KitKat)