Nexus 5 Reviews

[lopri]

More reviews:
BGR -> http://bgr.com/2013/11/06/google-nexus-5-review/
Engadget -> http://www.engadget.com/2013/11/05/nexus-5-review/
Phone Arena -> http://www.phonearena.com/reviews/Google-Nexus-5-Review_id3479
Wired -> http://www.wired.com/reviews/2013/11/google-nexus-5/
ZDNet -> http://www.zdnet.com/google-nexus-5-review-best-low-priced-high-end-android-smartphone-7000022924/
IGN -> *http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/11/08/google-nexus-5-review
Slashgear -> http://www.slashgear.com/nexus-5-review-08304516/
Laptop Magazine -> http://www.laptopmag.com/reviews/smartphones/google-nexus-5-unlocked.aspx
Android Police -> http://www.androidpolice.com/2013/1...oid-police-authors-takes-on-the-latest-nexus/
Tweakers.net (via Google Translate) -> http://translate.google.nl/translat...mkwaliteit-scherp-en-dik-in-orde.html&act=url
Trusted Reviews -> http://www.techradar.com/reviews/phones/mobile-phones/google-nexus-4-1108999/review
The Telegraph -> http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technolo...us-5-review-the-best-phone-at-this-price.html
Forbes -> http://www.forbes.com/sites/larrymagid/2013/11/02/review-of-googles-nexus-5-smartphone/
Gizmodo -> http://gizmodo.com/nexus-5-review-the-best-is-still-the-best-especially-1458003288


The first one hits the net courtesy of CNet:

http://reviews.cnet.com/google-nexus-5/

Now, I know many here don't take CNet seriously but I do often get their opinions as unbiased average consumers~prosumers' voices. They don't go deep into the technical mumbo-jumbo, but they tend to have the an average-jane'ish discernibility to a new products, which is probably good enough for the target their audience. From what I've read, they have been quite fair to variety of echosystems and OEMs without glaring biases.

Said, that, I am troubled by a few observations made by the reviewer:

In a room with all the lights turned off, I lined up the device alongside the Galaxy GS4, HTC One, and Apple iPhone 5S. With their displays on maximum brightness, I viewed the same swatch of white on each of their screens. Despite its small size, the iPhone 5S was the purest and brightest, with the One coming in at a close second. The Nexus 5, however, looked a little hazier in comparison. Meanwhile, the white swatch on the GS4 appeared strikingly blue, as is expected with AMOLED screens.

On the other hand, the GS4 won by miles in the black swatch test. Its screen had the deepest and darkest shade (or "none more black," as Nigel Tufnel would say), followed by the iPhone and Nexus, which both looked paler. The One lost this round, with an almost subtly purple shade of black.

With Wi-Fi turned off and LTE activated, the Nexus 5's 2,300mAh nonremovable battery has a reported talk time of up to 17 hours. When both are activated, Google says, the device lasts 300 hours on standby. Internet tests reportedly yielded 8.5 hours on Wi-Fi and 7 hours on LTE.

While our handset is still undergoing battery testing, preliminary observations show that with brightness levels cranked all the way up, the phone streamed an HD video on LTE for approximately 20 minutes and lost 13 percent of its battery life.

Neither observations are comforting, and I am in an unenviable position of hoping the reviewer is wrong or the review unit was defective. "Hazy" colors and the S4/One-like battery performance are not what I hoped for the N5.

On the other hand, CNet likes the call quality of the N5, which makes me happy. The N4's call quality is sub-par.

 

[lopri]

I spent about 2~3 hours or so this afternoon tweaking my friend's new Note 3, and came away mighty impressed. (with a few caveats that can be dealt with) But things like screen and battery performance are not something users can augment easily. I was/am hoping the N5 to have the Note 3 - like battery life.

We'll see more in coming days, I suppose.

 

[RaistlinZ]

I'm a stickler when it comes to screen quality. I'd also like a top notch camera. If what they say about the screen being dim is true it might be a deal breaker for me.

 

[Crono]

Realistically it wasn't going to have the best display at $350 off contract. I know people just love to expect the world for the Nexus devices, but I'd be content with what it offers as far as battery life and display. We're talking a Snapdragon 800 phone $200 to $300 cheaper than the other flagships. I'd feel cheated if it were beating the One across the board (though that device is a few months old now). They pretty much had to limit it or at least differentiate it a bit versus the G2, as well.

I'm still awfully tempted to get a white Nexus 5, though. Must resist feeding the gadget fiend in me.

Its drawbacks are only apparent when you have other flagship devices on hand to compare it with. The average consumer most likely won't have that luxury, and so won't see all these nuances of the Nexus 5's screen.

This is something most reviewers miss in reviews. Often they'll do comparisons that make one display sound much worse than the reality of day-to-day use because they have access to a spectrum of phones that they can directly compare at the time of review. Unless you are really observant or a stickler for the highest display quality or are coming from a higher-end phone you probably won't have any complaints.

And damn you OP for posting a Nexus 5 thread, I'm having a hard enough time ignoring the main one.

 

[lopri]

Well, I hope the CNet reviewer got a lemon. In any case when mine arrives I can compare it with Nexus 4, iPhone 5, Galaxy S4, Galaxy Note 3, iPad, iPad mini, and Galaxy Note 8 to see for myself. (I do not own them all, but see people around me who have them on a daily basis)

Battery life is more worrying. I really want to do away with a tablet while traveling and have been eyeing on phablets lately, but could not have done it without seeing what Nexus 5 offers. I shall see.

In the meantime, I found this YouTube hands-on from some dude in U.K. Apparently some shops had these in store for pickup yesterday.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdJUCwyEAEo

 

[s44]

I was/am hoping the N5 to have the Note 3 - like battery life.

Based on what, magic? The Note has the same chipset and a 40% larger battery.

 

[lopri]

Yah. Magic.

Edit: But in all seriousness, Touchwiz bloats tend to drain battery quicker than naked Android. Even the oft-criticized LG software in G2 seems perform better than Touchwiz w/ S800 on battery front. Plus I think/thought Google did some optimization for better battery performance in 4.4. When it became clear that the N5 will inherit the G2's internal yet smaller battery I thought Google knew what they were doing.

Edit 2: What is LG's ROM called, colloquially or otherwise? (Touchwiz for Samsung, Sense for HTC, etc,.)

 

[s44]

When it became clear that the N5 will inherit the G2's internal yet smaller battery I thought Google knew what they were doing.

You mean... providing crappy battery life in the best Nexus tradition? (The crappy camera part may have changed, yes.) Seriously, Google builds have been *less* battery optimized, not more.

The LG skin doesn't have a name. And I think the G2 is basically the same as the Note when you adjust for screen size.

 

[Bman123]

Jesus you guys will complain about anything, its $350 brand new. Go spend $800 on a note 3 or iphone 5s

 

[dguy6789]

The issue is that current Nexus phone battery life is what Google considers acceptable. They aren't trying to increase it because they don't think it's bad, not because they can't increase it.

 

[lopri]

Jesus you guys will complain about anything, its $350 brand new. Go spend $800 on a note 3 or iphone 5s

I might, but I want to see for myself first. Going with Nexus 5 isn't exactly cheaper for me personally because I have not used my post-paid plan upgrades. The Note 3 can be had for less than $300. I am still confident that the Nexus 5 will not disappoint, compared to the N4. It's just that I've sold my 3G Nexus 7 and wanted to carry a single large device that can somehow make do what the N4/N7 combo used to do for me.

 

[poofyhairguy]

I might, but I want to see for myself first. Going with Nexus 5 isn't exactly cheaper for me personally because I have not used my post-paid plan upgrades. The Note 3 can be had for less than $300. I am still confident that the Nexus 5 will not disappoint, compared to the N4. It's just that I've sold my 3G Nexus 7 and wanted to carry a single large device that can somehow make do what the N4/N7 combo used to do for me.

It really sounds like you want the Note. I mean that last line is the Note target market.

 

[jpeyton]

At $349 unlocked off-contract, the Nexus 5 really should be compared to the GS3 and iPhone 4S. It beats both phones by a mile.

Comparing a $349 phone to $600-$650 phones is flattering, if anything.

 

[WelshBloke]

... I was/am hoping the N5 to have the Note 3 - like battery life...

WTF! :what:

There's no way it's going to have note 3 battery life.

 

[Graze]

I was/am hoping the N5 to have the Note 3 - like battery life.

LOL. Tell me you just messing with us, right?

 

[jiffylube1024]

We'll see what battery life is like when the review comes out- these apples to oranges 100% brightness on all devices are meaningless.

Based on the envelope tracking, screen GRAM and tiny bump in battery over the N4, the move to Qualcomm s800 from s600 and also a bigger, higher dpi screen I'd expect spe,thing like 15-25% battery life than the n4 and probably middle of the pack overall but we'll see..

If you take the lg g2 numbers and multiply them by the difference in battery capacities (2300/3000) between the g2 and N5 you get pretty stellar results:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/7251/lg-g2-and-msm8974-snapdragon-800-a-quick-look/3

 

[ponyo]

What's 77% of G2 battery life? Anyone want to look through G2 review and give us the answer?

 

[Accord99]

What's 77% of G2 battery life? Anyone want to look through G2 review and give us the answer?

I typically get about 4+ hours of screen time, 40+ hours of standby time, with about 40% of battery life left with a G2 in Canada. Most of the screen time is browsing on wi-fi, with the rest checking emails at work using LTE.

 

[hans007]

At $349 unlocked off-contract, the Nexus 5 really should be compared to the GS3 and iPhone 4S. It beats both phones by a mile.

Comparing a $349 phone to $600-$650 phones is flattering, if anything.

I don't really think that's exactly how I'd put it. For a lot of people the value is secondary to actually getting the phone you want.

Nexus 5 provides great value for $400 sure. But an extra $100 is an amount most people will pay to get a better phone even if the phone is only a little better. Given how much service costs and how much most people use their phones who are on this forum its probably worth it.

If you only have $350 then the nexus 5 is probably the best phone. People who can Spend more will so it is comparable. Its not like there is a $500 nexus to consider . it's more of a matter of comparing all the top phones regardless of price if price isn't that big an issue.

 

[desura]

Well,

Samsung is all about AMOLED tech, and basically the reviewer is comparing LCD tech to AMOLED. So yeah.

I myself really like AMOLED.

three kind of unrelated questions from me...

1. how long until we see AMOLED televisions? It's an amazing technology for video. Like, it has Plasma's black levels and even beats LCD's power consumption.

2. how long until Apple adopts it in their products?

3. how much faster is the Nexus 5 compared to the Nexus 4? by the looks of it, processor only got a frequency bump.

 

[Seven]

At $349 unlocked off-contract, the Nexus 5 really should be compared to the GS3 and iPhone 4S. It beats both phones by a mile.

Comparing a $349 phone to $600-$650 phones is flattering, if anything.

Don't think so. The N5 is clearly a better phone than the GS4 at least on the spec. The iphone comparison is completely irrelevant.

 

[dguy6789]

At $349 unlocked off-contract, the Nexus 5 really should be compared to the GS3 and iPhone 4S. It beats both phones by a mile.

Comparing a $349 phone to $600-$650 phones is flattering, if anything.

I think you have it backwards. The Nexus 5 makes the GS4 and iPhone 5S look like a rip off.

 

[Lyfer]

The Nexus 5 at $350 is a value device. Let's try not to sugar coat it. At its price it's an outstanding value for what you are getting.

However if you are on the evil empire aka Verizon, that's not an option sadly. Note 3 or iPhone 5s.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

At $349 unlocked off-contract, the Nexus 5 really should be compared to the GS3 and iPhone 4S. It beats both phones by a mile.

Comparing a $349 phone to $600-$650 phones is flattering, if anything.

That's bullshit. The phone is specced against today's phones which is the GS4 and iPhone 5S. By your logic, we should be comparing these phones to today's midrange phones like the GS4 Mini and HTC One Mini.

Google's pricing these phones differently, and if we're talking about what you can buy for $349, then yes it makes sense to compare against these crappy phones, but for people like us who just buy phones unlocked, it makes more sense to compare against flagship phones. The N5 is a flagship. Just because it's not the top at its game for ALL features doesn't mean the Nexus apologists need to come out and excuse every weakness.

 

[OS]

the N5 is still subsidized, but it's subsidized by your privacy as Google uses Nexus devices as a data mining platform, haha

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2013...e-kitkats-primary-interface-is-google-search/