Google has stopped selling the Nexus 5, the company’s 2014 flagship Android smartphone. A Google spokesperson told The Verge today that “while some inventory of Nexus 5 still exists (with our retail and carrier partners), our focus is on the Nexus 6 at this time.” Searches for the older model on Google’s new hardware store show that the Nexus 5 is no longer available for purchase direct from Google.
This leaves the Nexus series without an affordable, yet powerful smartphone – which in turn means that right now, I have absolutely no idea which Android smartphone to recommend. The Nexus 6 is too expensive and too large (and personally, I find it hideous), and everything else leaves you at the mercy of OEMs when it comes to updates (i.e., you ain’t getting any). I really hope Google has a refreshed Nexus 5 in the pipeline.
I would say the Moto G 2nd Gen is the “Poor man’s Nexus”. I’ ve bought 3 for my family (wife, son, mother), and it’s good for that price. I’ve also bought a Moto E for a friend, not that bad for a cheapo…
One could argue that the Moto E/G is not a Nexus, since it doesn’t get updates straight from Google. On the other hand, I would imagine most Nexus users are getting tired of being Google’s unpaid beta testers.
Edited 2015-03-12 18:08 UTC
Possibly. I have a Moto G 1st gen and that has received Lollipop within the last week. Not quickly enough to be a Nexus but still pretty much guaranteed to get any update it is physically capable of running after having useful feedback from the Nexus owners about updating woes.
Seems like the Moto G is still a decent compromise candidate.
One of the lucky ones (I’m still waiting for it). Moto’s update pushes seem fairly random, however. Point is, if it’s not a Nexus, there’s no way to be certain you’ll ever get an update. Keeping older Nexuses on sale would[‘ve] mean[t] being able to get ones hands on regularly updated devices for cheaper than the current top-of-the-line, but that possibility is gone now and I don’t think it’s a good move. Not every developer all around the globe can afford to always bu the new top Nexus device.
That puts it ahead of my Nexus 7 LTE, which still hasn’t received Lollipop via OTA. Nexus is not the guarantee of timely updates the way it once was; now it seems you only get the new version quickly if you buy a new device.
I generally like beta testing, though not on devices that need to be as stable as a phone. Still, beta or not, I’d rather have a Nexus with vanilla Android than the other crap OEMs are trying to force on us. I actually give some respect to Motorola here for providing a mostly vanilla Android, though I’m not impressed with their actual hardware quality (the flash on my first gen G died after a year). Even for $200 I would have expected a bit more life out of it. I’d get the 2nd gen G if it had either 5 ghz Wifi or LTE (one of these two would be enough), but unfortunately it has neither.
No LTE, and no 5 ghz Wifi though. Dealbreaker for me. Maybe the Moto X?
the new moto G (2015) supports LTE. I believe it supports 5Ghz wifi as well, but I’m not 100% sure.
http://www.gsmarena.com/motorola_moto_g_4g_%282015%29-6991….
Thanks. Had no idea there’s a 3rd gen this year. Will keep a watch on that, might be just what I’m looking for.
Hmm, looks like I can’t order it yet unless I want to ship it in from the UK. No idea when I’ll be able to get it. Man I hate the tech situation in this country sometimes, f**king FCC.
If you can get one these are pretty good. Should have timely updates.
In the case of Lollipop, I think Google rolled it out a bit early.
I wound up getting new hardware (a new Nexus 5) from Google because on my old Nexus 5 the ambient light sensor / proximity sensor stopped working with Lollipop.
The hardware might be decent, but I don’t really like their sales method. I’m not begging any company for “invites” to buy their device. It just seems wrong. *They* should be begging me for my sale.
One plus one is unfortunately no as fast / responsive as N5.
It has much higher touch latency and stutters as hell (poor drivers and not well tuned cpu governor).
The avaiability of Camera2 APIs in upcomming Lolipop is also uncertain, could as well be missing.
All of this despite arguably better HW than N5.
Apparently optimisation enginners are not easy to get.
On the plus side way better battery live, better screen and a camera with potential.
And the looks.
Edited 2015-03-14 18:37 UTC
I was gooing to suggest the OnePlus One (or whatever it’s called), but then I remembered them and Cyanogenmod had that fallout recently.
My coworker is loving his OnePlusOne but is also worried about the software situation. The forum seems to be in a “you promised too much, delivered too little” mob mood: https://forums.oneplus.net/threads/cm12s-in-final-stages.279627/
Google has a refreshed Nexus 4 in the pipeline. I can’t live with big phones. The sweet spot in dimensions was for me my Nokia N9. I could live with a slightly bigger phone, a few millimeters wider perhaps, but not much.
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Nexus 5 has been listed as “out of inventory” for a good while now. Shame, as it would be my ideal phone right now if I could easily get one. Now that they’re out of production the price has gone up, even for used Nexus 5s.
I have been using my Nexus 5 for over a year now and I love it! It’s just the right size and has powerful specs to boot! I plan on keeping my phone for at least another year or so (or until it begins to give me problems! Battery life, etc.) I hope Google continues to support this great phone with updates. In my opinion, the Nexus 5 was the perfect compromise of cost and performance while remaining up-to-date and relevant in the Android sphere. It’s very telling that Google killed this excellent device in order to promote its newest Nexus 6 offering which I agree is a nice phone but a bit too big for my tastes.
I own a Nexus 6… and really like it.
I used to own a N900, and later a N9 (loved it). I really enjoy the stock Android, quality build, and big screen. Screen size, to me is mostly a matter of taste. Since I enjoy web browsing and using it slightly in work situations, the screen size is great.
Nexus phones guess where always considered developer phones. They never reached to the public because most of them like to have a phone rather then updating software. It’s the same target that never updates their windows or consider that they still run an antivirus after the subscription expired.
The point of the matter now is that Google has to keep updating the core functions android even for phones that do not have stock version from them and taking into account that the Nexus line never sold very good, well they do tend to make it obsolete.
Nexus 6 should have be launched a year or so bac because it would have let developers to test the scalling of the applications on different screen sizes. It puzzles me that even now there are apps on Android that never got optimized for tablets.
Currently I am using a Nexus 4 and besides the beta testing I’m doing for Android 5 (unpaid of course) I can’t name an app that takes full potential of it (mind you I don’t actually game on a phone).
If I am to update now, I’m in the same predicament.. Was looking for a dual sim phone, with stock OS support from the manufacturer. Since Google does not have this in place (and neither Apple), the Nokia Lumia series start to look as a very good option.
The price is also good, but the specifications are not on par even with what I have now…
Aren’t you just looking for http://www.android.com/one/
Always up-to-date software
Runs Android 4.4 KitKat and automatically gets the new version soon after it’s released.* Whether in a month or in two years, Android One phones get better with time.
* Receives automatic Android updates for up to 2 years.
(and otherwise the update situation seems to have improved quite a lot: http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/android-5-0-lollipop-update-new…)
Edited 2015-03-13 09:12 UTC
That’s fine, but I think they (and I ) are looking for something a better than that. Something like the Nexus 4/5 that were really good Android devices, just software updates aren’t enough – a good screen, and fast processor are also kinda important.