The official Nexus 5 thread.

[thedosbox]

In all 3 major connectivity parts (cellular, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth) the Nexus 5 has the most powerful modems I have experienced on mobile devices so far. They are F-A-S-T and extremely agile. I do not know whether this is a common feature of S800 (probably it is), or how well the new Apple stuff do in this area, but the way the Nexus 5 handles various connections is swift and graceful. Of course, the addition of LTE is perhaps the most significant upgrade over the Nexus 4, even disregarding its performance.

For some perspective, here's a comparison of the Nexus 5 with the Moto X:

http://www.androidcentral.com/nexus-5-vs-moto-x

I tossed both the Nexus 5 and the Moto X on the charger until full, then set them on my desk, face down and didn't touch them for about two hours. This is the result.

Not only is the Nexus 5 awake at least twice as often as the Moto X, but with both phones using a T-Mobile SIM card, on the same account, on the same desk, the signal uses more juice to stay alive on the Nexus 5, as indicated by the yellow "Mobile network signal" bar.

Granted, the N5 is running 4.4 while the Moto X is running 4.2.2, so it'll be interesting to see if the same result happens when the T-Mobile 4.4 update completes its roll out.

 

[lopri]

What do you mean by agile ? What phones aren't agile ?

By agile I mean how quickly and smartly the radio finds the correct signal in changing environments. Manually and automatically. Try switching between 2G to 3G to 4G to Wi-Fi in different locations. (mix-them up) Add in VPN, sleep and wake-up, and Bluetooth tethering, etc,. and the Nexus 5's modem has been nearly flawless so far in my experience.

 

[lopri]

For some perspective, here's a comparison of the Nexus 5 with the Moto X:

http://www.androidcentral.com/nexus-5-vs-moto-x

Granted, the N5 is running 4.4 while the Moto X is running 4.2.2, so it'll be interesting to see if the same result happens when the T-Mobile 4.4 update completes its roll out.

I have no access to Moto X so I cannot say. But my Nexus 5 doesn't do that although it's possible that the GEL in 4.4 is doing things background as you say. I do not use GEL so that could explain why I do not see that.

Edit: Even given that, it doesn't make sense to me that N5 is running on such weak signal while the Moto X is at full strength. Not saying the dude is lying, but that looks like a rather unusual condition than a norm. I have multiple devices to compare the signal strengths using AT&T, T-Mobile, and various Wi-Fi networks, and that kind of disparity is hard to come by even on low-end products.

 

[thedosbox]

I have no access to Moto X so I cannot say. But my Nexus 5 doesn't do that although it's possible that the GEL in 4.4 is doing things background as you say. I do not use GEL so that could explain why I do not see that.

Not too surprising as signal quality varies drastically by location.

Edit: Even given that, it doesn't make sense to me that N5 is running on such weak signal while the Moto X is at full strength. Not saying the dude is lying, but that looks like a rather unusual condition than a norm. I have multiple devices to compare the signal strengths using AT&T, T-Mobile, and various Wi-Fi networks, and that kind of disparity is hard to come by even on low-end products.

I believe Motorola have a good reputation when it comes to their radios, but we won't know until he retests with a 4.4 equipped Moto X.

 

[FwFred]

I'm still on the fence. I have a Nexus 4 which I've been using for the past few months. I have an unopened Nexus 5. I can't decide if I should keep it or return it.

I'm looking for improvements in battery life, and reception at work (inside). A better camera, display, performance would be appreciated, but not enough for the upgrade cost (after selling the 4). I'm in a T-Mobile LTE area.

Seems like battery life is an improvement, but maybe not huge. Reception inside seems to be about the same. I was going to play around with my wife's, but that plan fell flat when she broke hers after a week :-/

 

[Zivic]

I'm still on the fence. I have a Nexus 4 which I've been using for the past few months. I have an unopened Nexus 5. I can't decide if I should keep it or return it.

I'm looking for improvements in battery life, and reception at work (inside). A better camera, display, performance would be appreciated, but not enough for the upgrade cost (after selling the 4). I'm in a T-Mobile LTE area.

Seems like battery life is an improvement, but maybe not huge. Reception inside seems to be about the same. I was going to play around with my wife's, but that plan fell flat when she broke hers after a week :-/

I have both devices...

either one will be a HUGE improvement in battery life, display, performance and camera vs the N4.. in terms of reception T-Mobile sucks donke d1ck in my area so I can't comment on that. both are very good on ATT for me.

the moto X is the device I prefer due to its extras, in hand feel, and better battery.

if you have the 5 I say just keep that and go with it.

 

[cbrunny]

Yesss... shipping notification came yesterday for my replacement Nexus 5. First one went through the washing machine. Don't do that. It won't live.

I had to go back to my Gnex & subsequently wasn't able to sell it off right away. But more importantly, using the N5 for a week or two before going back to the Gnex really showcases the power of this phone. No surprise here: the N5 is a powerful phone.

Hopefully the delivery-man speeds.

 

[Chiropteran]

My nexus 5 has been wonderful. I upgraded from a Note 2, which in some minor ways was a downgrade (no more stylus, smaller screen), but overall I love the Nexus 5.

Service is simply better all around. I use t-mobile, which was acceptable on the note 2 but somewhat spotty. After switching to the Nexus 5, I feel like I am back on Verizon, or even better. It's just an excellent connection all over, never a poor signal. Admittedly I live in a major city area, but this is a huge step up from what I experienced with the Note 2. Interestingly, within my condo with my wife watching netflix on a tablet (using the wifi), I actually get higher speed on LTE than I do on the local wifi. I'm sure this is due to the wifi being highly congested between my other devices and neighbors using nearby channels, but I am still impressed at the LTE speeds.

I might be imagining this, but when I listen to music in the car over bluetooth, I feel like it's coming out with better quality from the nexus than it did on the Note 2. Maybe a placebo effect.

The clean app list is wonderful. It doesn't really impact normal use much, but I was always bothered by having mandatory samsung apps and t mobile apps and before I switched, verizon apps. I just love the clean base install of the nexus device and lack of forced bloatware.

Battery life on the note 2 was wonderful. Nexus 5 doesn't seem any worse though.

Best part: my Nexus 5 arrived with a dead pixel. It bothered me, so I called support, they sent me a new phone out immediately and it's flawless. I was worried it might take some time to get the replacement phone, but it arrived in about a week. Very satisfied customer here.

 

[cbrunny]

Best part: my Nexus 5 arrived with a dead pixel. It bothered me, so I called support, they sent me a new phone out immediately and it's flawless. I was worried it might take some time to get the replacement phone, but it arrived in about a week. Very satisfied customer here.

Did they make you return the dead pixel'd N5?

 

[soccerballtux]

Did they make you return the dead pixel'd N5?

you're a bad person

--

the integrated speaker that you put to your ear sounds very weak/harsh/cold/tinney
one reviewer referred to it as the opposite of "warm" sounding.
It sounds yuck.

 

[cbrunny]

you're a bad person

Seems like a pretty unnecessary attack on my character. It's a legitimate question.

 

[kevinsbane]

They put a hold on your credit card balance, and if you don't return your old phone/device before their time limit, they charge your cc for the replacement phone.

 

[cbrunny]

Interesting. Thanks!

 

[lopri]

I might be imagining this, but when I listen to music in the car over bluetooth, I feel like it's coming out with better quality from the nexus than it did on the Note 2. Maybe a placebo effect.

I had a similar experience. My Nexus 4, when playing music in my car via Bluetooth, makes hissy sound when singers notes go high up. It doens't happen with the Nexus 5, iPhones, and the Note 8. I likewise thought it's a placebo effect since Bluetooth simply transfers data to the car's stereo. I am curious if anyone else had this experience.

 

[lopri]

Let me appreciate the beauty of the N4 first. ^^ I have replaced the clear skin that I had on its back with a wooden sticker. I can't get over how pretty it is, fake be that as it may.

With the Nexus 5 I opted for a case. I couldn't keep the naked back clean.

Together-shot

On to the screens. Click on the link after each thumbnail to see the originals. (warning: 4000x3000 pixels per shot)

First thing you notice is much warmer whites on the Nexus 5. In the original link below, you can also see the subtle difference a higher PPI makes on text. Even if you don't see pixels in either phones, the text is cleaner on the Nexus 5.

Original: http://i.imgur.com/Z6lMhoO.jpg

More accurate colors on the N5. For some reason the camera picked up pixel grids on the N4 (Can be seen in the original, linked below)

Original: http://i.imgur.com/LoN0lbV.jpg

Higher contrast on N4 gives a wider viewing angle.

Original: http://i.imgur.com/eulMZXu.jpg

One interesting thing is that the Nexus 4's screen shows more stuff horizontally. Usually letters, one or two more words. I presume it's due to the ratio of resolution. (Nexus 4 is 1280:768, instead of 1280:720) You can see this from AnandTech forum app above, "SSF, Notebooks, Pre-built/Barebone PCs" sub-section label. In other words, the Nexus 4's screen is wider when viewed vertically, and can display more text in a given line than the Nexus 5. This is consistent system-wide. Not sure how much of a big deal this is on ~5" screens, though.

So which screen is better? Nexus 5 by a lot. Only thing the Nexus 4 beats the N5 is contrast, especially darker black.

 

[zerogear]

Huh, my Nexus 5's white not that warm at all. If anything it's fairly on-par with Movie Mode on my Galaxy S4

 

[jacktesterson]

I've got the same Wood sticker on the back of my phone, with a Army green colored Bumper.

Dbrands?

 

[lopri]

Yes, Dbrands.

@zerogear: I think it's the incandescent lights in my kitchen doing its thing. (and perhaps brown tiles on the walls) Yah the warmness is way exaggerated. I should take a pic in daylight and re-upload it.

 

[zerogear]

Last night on Nexus 5 --

-- Stock w/ root, mostly on Wifi, with 3 bump charge (maybe around 1-2% each)

 

[Red Storm]

Any reason why my Nexus 5 won't show up in Windows 8? It shows up in device manager, but it doesn't matter if I try MTP or PTP neither shows the Nexus as an accessible device. Attempted to update the driver but it says it's already up to date.

 

[lopri]

I had to manually re-installed the drivers. What version of Google drivers do you have? Previously with the N4 I had 4.0.0.0. I grabbed 8.0.0.0 from Google.

You probably have to manually install the drivers. Instead of pointing to the drivers folder at the first chance, I selected "Let me pick from a list of drivers.. blahblah" then among the listed devices I chose "Android device" (or it might have been "Android ADB device"). After that procedure I finally selected "I have the drivers" and pointed to the drivers folder.

 

[Red Storm]

It doesn't really give me a choice though. I can uninstall the driver but as soon as I plug the phone back in it automatically installs itself. Yay Windows 8...

 

[lopri]

After you select "update drivers," instead of going directly to the new drivers folder, choose the option below.

I assume you are trying to access ADB interface using developer mode? You may have lots of Android drivers and if the above doesn't work you may need to manually uninstall drivers that are not in use. Check out USBDeview.

 

[Red Storm]

Thanks that worked. Switched it from Android ADB Device to MTP Device. All I wanted to do was see the phone in the drive list and copy some files.

 

[lopri]

Last night on Nexus 5 --

-- Stock w/ root, mostly on Wifi, with 3 bump charge (maybe around 1-2% each)

I rooted mine as well, disabled some things and run a firewall. I don't worry about the N5's battery life in day-to-day use unless I am going on a trip.

Why is your screenshot so brown-ish? Are you using some sort of color filter?