Unlike previous years, Google’s keeping the older Nexus handset around for the time being, selling it alongside the Nexus 6 and Nexus 9 at the same price point it launched at in November 2013. (Though Play Store availability remains sporadic.) So the Nexus 5 isn’t quite dead yet. But how does it compare to other handsets running Android 5.0? Is it still worth the money twelve months on? And might we see another smaller Nexus handset in 2015? Read on for our take on the Nexus 5, twelve months on.
Android is at a bit of a strange point right now when it comes to flagship devices. For me, personally, while some of the OEMs make very nice devices (especially Sony), they are all laden with crapware and customisations nobody is asking for, and worse yet, they will not get updates in a timely fashion. I would not buy from them until they Google Play Editions – but those are either not available at all, or not sold in many countries (they are not available in The Netherlands).
Nexus-wise, I am not at all impressed with the Nexus 6 – it’s far, far too large for my tastes, and I really dislike the bulgy Motorola designs.
Which brings us back to the Nexus 5: still the best Android phone you can buy right now, in my view. It’s relatively cheap, looks decent (the red one actually has the most pleasant material), it’s more than up to the job, gets prompt updates, and runs proper Android.
I hope Google keeps it around for a long time – or better yet, updates its internals if needed at some point.
I own a Nexus 5 and I am more than satisfied. I purchased it in January of 2014 and have had no problems. Currently I’m running Android 5.0 which I received as an OTA update within weeks of the official launch. The Nexus 5 is just the right size with its 4.95″ display, which is perfect at 1080×1920 pixels. The quad core 2.3 GHz processor is speedy and applications are buttery smooth. My only complaint is the lack of a memory expansion which my Nexus One had but I have plenty of room with 32 GB RAM. This is a solid, high quality phone that I look forward to keeping for the next couple of years.
Agreed… I have had my Nexus 5 since it’s launch and no major complaints. I wouldn’t mind a slightly updated (spec wise) and bigger Nexus 5 (no more then 5.2″/5.5″) but no need for anything above a 1080p display. It’s a damn phone! They don’t need a resolution any higher then that.
What Google really needs to improve on is it’s cameras with a return to removable batteries and SD card slots.
Edited 2014-12-15 20:41 UTC
I bought it two weeks ago and its great, but I would make it smaller not bigger. I have to hold it in a different (less comfortable) way to drag down notifications for example. With these kind of bezels a 4.7” phone would be about 0.5cm shorter I guess and that would help a lot to operate it swiftly with one hand.
I wanted to buy the new nexus phone, but unfortunately my hands are regular, not Shaquille O’neal style… (as is my wallet). I hope Google makes more phones rather than phablets. Nexus 5 (2015) would be a good move (although they would probably still make it larger than original).
Edited 2014-12-15 21:21 UTC
what about this: http://www.androidauthority.com/nexus-5-production-stopped-573907/
Edited 2014-12-15 21:36 UTC
Is the Amiga icon for this story a subliminal message of some sort? ;^)
I have the big-brother to the Nexus 5, the LG G2. This phone is almost perfect (and better than the Nexus 5 due to camera and battery differences).
A refresh of the Nexus 5 with slightly better internals would be great:
* Snapdragon 805 for the better GPU
* larger battery
* better camera
The rest of the phone is pretty much perfect. You don’t want to go any larger than it is. You don’t need any more resolution than 1080p at this screen size (but the GPU bump will do wonders to making things consistently smooth). And you shouldn’t need any extra CPU power than the 805 provides (could even underclock things a bit).
If they want to future-proof it a bit, they could go with the SD808 SoC instead of the SD805. That way, you get 64-bit ARMv8 support, and a nifty 2+4 big.LITTLE arrangement. This SoC uses 2 ARM Cortex-A57 “big” cores and 4 ARM Cortex-A53 “LITTLE” cores.
The Moto G has shown that 4 LITTLE cores is plenty for everyday “normal” usage, but it’s not quite enough for power users or gaming. Adding the 2 big cores will provide the juice needed for those times.
The Nexus 6 is too big, especially since it doesn’t ship with stylus support.
I agree the LG G2 has a better camera and battery but that doesn’t mean it is a better phone then the Nexus 5. People who like Nexus phones do because they are getting a non-carrier locked phone with stock Android, fast updates, and superior 3rd party ROM support with an easily unlocked boot-loader. Comparing the LG G2 to another non-Nexus phone would make more sense.
Edited 2014-12-15 22:09 UTC
Another LG G2 user. If Nexus 5 was cheaper, I would have bought that one. And that is something strange. It is already cheap. But secondhand G2 is cheaper (dutch, than you will understand this).
The G2 doesn’t have much crapware, but it is a minus to me. Once I get it rooted…
Has anyone here tried the Oneplus One? It ships with Cyanogen 11S based on Android 4.4.
I have one, the 64 GB Sandstone and it’s a great device. I’m sure it beats the Nexus 5 in every way possible especially the poor battery.
So yes I disagree the Nexus 5 is the best Android phone, as of now it’s the 1+1.
No updates. Can’t be bought most of the time.
So no, it really isn’t.
Once again, the Nexus 5 was not picked as the best phone because it has the best specs (it’s over a year old now). The reasons were laid out in the post, by me, and others in the comments.
The company behind the OnePlus One is really shaky… The stupid promotions, still can’t buy one directly, and disputes with the OS maker (Cyanogenmod) leaves something to be desired. Are they even going to be able to make a follow up device?
Edited 2014-12-17 13:26 UTC
I’ve just purchased a brand new Nexus 5. It’s going to be an Android development device. It’s a decent phone considering the price.
Lollipop is broken on the Nexus 5.
The ambient light / proximity sensor only works for the first 20 or so minutes after a reboot, then doesn’t work.
This means terrible battery life because you cannot use the automatic settings. You will turn up the light when you can’t see it (like when you’re outside) but you will rarely turn it down.
This also affects making phone calls. I had myself trained to press the power button prior to putting the phone to my face and likewise pressing it again when ending the call so that I could hang up.
I cannot believe that Google released this software for the Nexus 5.
I still cannot believe that they haven’t updated it yet with a fix.
Google: “nexus 5 lollipop light sensor” and see what I’m talking about.
I have installed Andro Sensor and CPU-z which can be used to view the sensor data. You basically don’t get any readings until a reboot.
I didn’t update my Nexus 5 or Nexus 7 (2013) with Android 5.0 as was waiting for 5.01. The Nexus 5 update was just released today…
I had no problems at all, however, I flashed the phone with 5.0 rather than upgrading it. I bought it a day before 5.0 arrived (a few weeks ago). Perhaps it’s upgrade related.
I got the Nexus 5 the first day it was out. Tried to do the same thing this year with the Nexus 6 but despite checking the website every few minutes that day never was able to purchase it.
Phones, empirically, have on average lasted me 18 months. Sample size close to 10. The mini usb connector goes bad. The headset attachment dies. The sound card goes. So I try to buy a new phone each year and avoid business downtime.
Though I love my Nexus 5 I will buy either the Nexus 6 or the Samsung Galaxy S6. (Assuming T-Mobile offers it with a vanilla Nexus like functionality.) I will wait to see which is available first.
I like Samsung’s S5 being the best visible display in sunlight. I like that Samsung actually has a waterproof rating. I like the idea they have memory cards. And batteries that can be swapped. And batteries that last weeks. If the Samsung S6 has all the S5 features, comes with no crap-ware via T-Mobile, costs the same as the Nexus 6, and is the same size as the Nexus 6… Well there would be no reason to buy the Nexus 6. And I will have stopped buying a new Nexus each year.
The Nexus 5 is great though. I still love it. However a phablet beats the Nexus 5 every day of the week. we are in the information age and need that extra display space.
Lets hope the Samsung galaxy S6 carries over all the S5 features in phablet form with a display even more visible in the sunlight!
I finally got around to updating my NexusOne (which I got May 2010).
The Nexus 6 was simply too expensive; so I was looking to get the Nexus 5; however, it simply wasn’t available and I got tired of waiting.
A friend got some discount codes for the Motorola X (2nd gen); so I used one of those and am quite happy. It’s running Android 5.0 (after update as it came with 4.4). It’s smaller than the Nexus 6, and not far off from the Nexus 5 in size.
Of course, I would have continued waiting if not for the discount code, but for the extra $10 it was worth it.