LG Nexus 5 Review

Those who follow the mobile sphere surely know what the term ‘Nexus’ means. It is the name that is given to Google’s line of pure Android smartphones. The first model of this series was the Google Nexus One and since then Nexus has become the company’s core way of showcasing its latest version of the Android platform, and this time it is the Google Nexus 5.

The LG Nexus 5 or simply the Nexus 5 is the latest and an affordable Google’s smartphone that comes with the top-shelf specs. The Nexus 5 is made in collaboration with Google and LG and it runs on the latest version of Android 4.4 KitKat. The Nexus 5 is a solid smartphone with a 2.3GHz Snapdragon 800 chipset and 2GB RAM, which certainly sounds market leading. It has a 2,300mAh battery and a 5-inch 1080p display with an 8 mega pixel optically image stabilized camera and of course LED flash, and as expected, this pure Android smartphone is endowed with the most cutting edge hardware as well.

What’s more? The phone is available in two colors: black and white, and two sizes: 16GB and 32GB. With the Nexus 5, you can bring the best of Google on your homescreen at a price that is too good to be true, i.e. $349 and $399 for 16GB and 32GB respectively.

The LG Nexus 5 comes with the standard set of accessories you'd expect in a smartphone's retail box. Here is the list what you get when you unbox the The LG Nexus 5.

• LG Nexus 5
• Micro Cable
• Wall Charger
• SIM Removal Tool / SIM Ejector Pin
• Get Started Guides

Headphones are not included in the retail package, let alone some fancy accessories.

Let’s first talk about the Nexus 5 design. The Nexus 5 is unremarkable on the outside but that doesn’t mean bad. It's a slightly rounded rectangle, most suggestive of a Galaxy S4 except a bit taller, a bit thicker and a bit narrower. The brushed plastic at the back gives a good balance between smooth and grippy.

The only physical buttons are the power button and the volume rocker and both of them are placed just notably enough. These buttons offer a satisfying click. The most distinguishing feature of the Nexus 5 is an extra-large camera lens that contributes to the built-in and fantastic optical image stabilization. Furthermore, the big bright screen is also something to talk about.

Well, the design of the Nexus 5 is unquestionably more self-effacing this time around, although the design is not something we should claim as being impressive but yet we should keep in mind that there are always certain limitations and more than ever when it’s aiming for such a low cost.

On the whole, the design of the Nexus 5 is pretty simple and underplayed with pleasant matte finish. The Nexus 5 is a nice looking bloke and even if it will not win any design contest, the phone looks are certainly not be complaint for.

As the name of this phone suggests, the LG Nexus 5 comes with a 5-inch screen with 1080x1920 IPS LCD display which is one of the most pleasant mobile screens that you can have at this price tag. To be exact, the screen is 4.95 inches with a sharp and plenty bright IPS Plus display.

The outdoor visibility is simply better than many other phones, although colors and contrast is a bit punchy but nevertheless, there are many other pleasant qualities about the Nexus 5 like it is able to produce sharp details with its 445 ppi pixel density. On the whole, the screen reflectivity is very low and the display is very bright.

The Nexus 5 would not be as sweet without KitKat. The LG Nexus 5 is the first device to run Android 4.4 KitKat - the latest version of Google’s mobile OS. And, this is the thing that makes the Nexus 5 so noteworthy. The KitKat makes you feel like you are in a totally new world even if you are very much familiar with Android’s previous versions. It is more smoother than Android 4.3 Jelly Bean.

KitKat does not bring any game changers like the previous Jelly Bean iterations, rather it is emphasized more on polishing further the user experience, overall system performance as well as experience, in addition, KitKat also bring along some useful system app updates. KitKat definitely is the reason to choose the Nexus 5.

The artistic tweaks of KitKat make it feel more modern, stylish and sleek. Furthermore, Google Search has been pushed to the forefront, and a new home screen is dedicated entirely to Google Now which will be the first thing that you notice when you swipe around the home screen.

The latest Hangout app combines SMS, MMS and GTalk chats into just one single app which is a major revamp. Simply add contacts to a conversation (a Hangout), the phone tells you whether they are available on SMS only or for chat, or for both.

Though, the phone does not offer as much customizations as you get with some other Android phones, but Google has fine tuned truly worthwhile options that it makes available in Nexus 5. For example you can choose font size from 5 different options available between “small” to “huge” and the font size will change throughout the phone user interface.

Talking about its visuals, it is nice to see the direction Google in moving towards with its platform. With KitKat interface, Google has taken a more simplified approach. It is a more sleeker and cleaner user interface that is easy to use and will surely enhance the user experience.

Now, let us take a look at processor of the Nexus 5. The phone uses a state-of-the-art Snapdragon 800 chipset which is notably faster than the top new Android phones of late 2013. The Snapdragon 800 chip used here features a quad-core 2.3GHz Krait 400 CPU that shouts with loads of snappiness with its performance. Furthermore, the phone is also equipped with 2GB of dual-channel LPDDR3 RAM and the Adreno 330 GPU. Performance wise, the LG Nexus 5 is a speed demon from minor tasks, to high intensity ones that require some serious firepower.

There is no expandable memory storage available on the Nexus 5 therefore, you will have to think about what you really need to store in it. The available memory is 16GB or 32GB.

A 2,300mAh Li-Ion battery is what you get with the LG Nexus 5 that according to Google can last up to 17 hours of 3G talk time. Battery life has been a mixed bag depending on the use. Its output ranges between 8 to 12 hours with our heavy usage which suggest you need to charge your phone constantly if truly want it to use a lot before calling it in for the day.

The Nexus 5 is equipped with an 8 mega pixel camera that performs well, if not excellent. The Nexus 5 does not pay attention to the mega pixel race and therefore, keeps the more than adequate 8 MP resolutions of last year's Nexus. Sorry to say that Google does not splash anything new with the camera app rather it is just the same interface that we have seen before that is notable for its uncluttered layout.

The Nexus 5's camera is certainly a huge improvement over the Nexus 4, and it certainly has some software that really helps to make up the difference. There's an LED flash as well in the Nexus 5 and what truly impress us is its optical image stabilization.

The camera app and interface is identical to what we have seen on the Google Play Edition Samsung Galaxy S4 and HTC One in Android Jelly Bean 4.3. Navigating the camera app is easy. In order to get to the quick settings, simply hold a finger anywhere in the viewfinder. Further, swiping gestures let you toggle the HDR mode, exposure, settings for picture size, white balance, timer, geo-tagging, scene mode, flash on or off and switching to the front-facing camera.

On the whole, the Nexus 5 takes photos quite quickly after the shutter key is pressed. However, with HDR+ it takes a bit longer and force to keep still until the second shutter sound is played.

Generally speaking, the image quality is really good with nice and sharp details. However, there’s a little bit of saturation with its color production, causing it to appear a bit unrealistic at times. But keeping the specs and its price in mind, we should not complain about it. 1.3MP front-facing camera also produces images of average quality, but since the camera's angle of view is not too wide so you have to stretch your arm if you want to fit someone else in the shot. All things considered, the front-facing camera on the Google Nexus 5 is usable, although we cannot expect much out of it.

You can also record 1080p video footage with the Nexus 5 at an average bit rate of 17Mbps. However, if you point it towards the sun, the camcorder has a tendency to pick up some kind of lens flare but it works well. The color accuracy and smooth motion in the videos are something that you will enjoy the most. However, the videos become choppier and noisier in low light scenarios. The mics pick up the voice with crystal clear clarity, not only the person who is recording the videos but also of other people who are closer to the phone, and even the breeze in the background.

Even though, it is Android KitKat 4.4 the Gallery app’s layout as well as functionality remain the same. The App is still usable and since we are given many useful editing tools, it becomes even more usable. Alternatively, one can browse photos and videos via Google+ Photos. You can also back up your photos by using Google+ Photos in order to make them look better with Google’s Auto Awesome feature.

Another preloaded app is Google Play Music app that comes with no new features rather it is just the same we all are familiar with. Unfortunately, internal speaker of the Nexus 5 is one of its weakest parts no matter what equalizer settings you will choose, its audio quality will remain just too flat in tone.

Unlike some other smartphones, the LG Nexus 5 also lacks in diverse video codec support. However, it is capable of playing those videos that are encoded in MPEG-4 and H.264. DivX and Xvid are regrettably omitted. On a plus note, due to its ample sized screen, sharp looks, brilliant display and smooth playback watching high definition videos on Nexus 5 will be a fun.

This is something extremely important to check in any phone you are going to buy. After all, what’s the point in buying a mobile phone whose call quality is awful and you will have hard time hearing the other person? Talking about the call quality of the Google Nexus 5, we can say that if it is not the best thing then it is also not the worst. Nevertheless, at the exceptionally least, you will be able to get through phone calls with some ease.

The Nexus 5 takes a different approach in terms of its earpiece as well which is circular and small in size. It could be the way it disperses audio, but we find its volume output to be lacking. At your end, the voices have a flatter tone but still audible enough to understand, however, at your caller’s end, the voices are rich, distinctive and very clear.

Well, for sure the Nexus 5 offers the best deal for your buck, with some awesome specs and the latest OS for an incredibly reasonable price. The fact that you can buy the Nexus 5 for as low as $350 as well as its Android 4.4 KitKat makes it even more sweeter deal. Very clearly, here we cannot, or we should not point our finger at any one feature that is clearly the victim of cost cutting, with the only exception being its battery life that could get even better. But, yet it is to some extent better than the last year’s Nexus 4.

Frankly speaking, there is so much to be said about this high-end smartphone, mostly good things to be honest. Not to mention again that its killer pricing is something that can be the trend setter. Furthermore, you will love its high resolution display, overall excellent performance and of course the enhancements that are brought to you by its Android 4.4 KitKat.

Furthermore, the user experience the Android 4.4 KitKat brings does not try to overwhelm you with plentiful new and complex features. Rather than that, the Nexus 5 focuses on providing a simplified experience that is easy to learn and operate. This simplified approach omits all the unnecessary redundancy from the Nexus 5 making it a smartphone that emphasizes on the core experience. Plus, all the problems that we saw in the Nexus 4 are addressed here.