It'due south that fourth dimension of the yr again, where Google releases a new Nexus handset for those wanting a cheap yet powerful device running stock Android. 2022's Nexus is the Nexus 5, aptly named as information technology'south both the fifth Nexus device and information technology packs a 5-inch display. Like its predecessor, the Nexus iv, this new device is produced by LG and packs many similarities to the LG G2, which is the company's more than expensive flagship fashion.

Google Nexus 5 - $349 - $399 (unlocked)

  • 5.0", 1920 x 1080 IPS LCD brandish (441 ppi)
  • Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 SoC
  • ii.3 GHz quad-cadre CPU, Adreno 330 GPU, 2GB RAM
  • 16 or 32 GB internal storage
  • 8 MP camera, one/3.2" sensor, f/2.4 lens, 1080p video
  • 2,300 mAh, eight Wh bombardment
  • LTE, Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC
  • Stock Android 4.iv 'KitKat'
  • 130 grams, viii.6mm thick

Despite its depression price – $349 for an unlocked sixteen GB model – the Nexus 5 packs peak-of-the-line specifications. Internally there's a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 SoC with a 2.three GHz quad-core CPU, ii GB of RAM, LTE radios worldwide (a outset for Nexus devices) and a 2,300 mAh battery, complemented by a four.95-inch 1080p IPS display. Let's not forget the photographic camera either, which is an eight-megapixel unit of measurement and volition hopefully bear witness much more than capable than the Nexus cameras of the past.

The Nexus 5 is the first device to come with Android 4.4 'KitKat' out of the box, which brings a few improvements to the Android ecosystem, most notably a refined interface, performance optimizations and messaging integrated into Hangouts. As a purely vanilla device, this is the Android experience Google is afterward, and it will surely be interesting to run across how well the hardware fits the software.

The Google Nexus v (sixteen GB LG-D820) used in this review was kindly provided by Negri Electronics. No affair where you lot are in the world (including Australia, U.s., and abroad), Negri will provide y'all unlocked smartphones and tablets commencement and for the lowest prices - and they have plenty of Nexus 5s in stock!

Design

The Nexus 5 features a basic, no fuss nevertheless svelte blueprint that perfectly matches the blueprint language of Android iv.4. The long edges of the device are straight and flat, with little tapering to either side, while the peak and bottom edges are curved slightly for ergonomics and looks. The squarish pattern isn't as comfortable to hold equally the Samsung Galaxy S4 or LG G2, just its relatively pocket-size profile with minimal bezel keeps the phone as pocketable every bit the Nexus 4.

In fact the phone is almost identical in dimensions to the Nexus 4: it's 4 mm taller, 0.4mm wider and 0.5mm thinner; yet it has a display that's 0.iii-inches larger. In terms of z-superlative, the Nexus 5 comes in at viii.6mm thick on average, with a maximum thickness of nine.45mm at the slightly protruding photographic camera. In the hand information technology feels neither hugely thick nor unusually thin, and its reasonable weight of 130 grams makes the device quite portable.

The front console of the Nexus 5 is pretty much as minimalist equally phones come. To a higher place the iv.95-inch display sits a round, indented in-call speaker, to the left of which is a minor front end-facing photographic camera, and to the correct is a nearly invisible sensor array. As the handset makes use of Android'south onscreen buttons, below the display is naught but a multi-colored glowing notification orb, similar to what was seen on the Nexus vii tablet. The display itself covers roughly 71% of the front profile, which is comparable to the Galaxy S4 (72%) and an improvement on the Nexus iv (66%).

The back of the handset should be familiar to anyone who has a 2022-model Nexus seven. There's prominent landscape-oriented Nexus branding, a modest LG logo beneath and a sizable camera unit. One of the few aspects of the Nexus 5's blueprint I'm not particularly fond of is the big blackness ring around the photographic camera, however it appears to exist magnetic, which could hateful some interesting camera lens attachments are on their way.

Around the edges of the device there's the usual array of features. The left mitt side has the volume rocker, the top has the 3.5mm headphone jack, the bottom sees the USB port and two speaker grills (of which merely the left has a speaker behind) and the left side has the ability button. For my average-sized hands the power button is a niggling higher than I would take liked, existence seated most the very top of the left side, simply it's still in a ameliorate position than if information technology was on the actual tiptop edge.

The build quality of the Nexus five is slightly above that of the LG G2, despite the latter device being LG'southward premium offering. This is by and large due to the soft-affect polycarbonate dorsum panel that, thanks to its matte stop, doesn't feel equally cheap every bit the smooth, glossy plastic found on other devices. Yes, the edges are made from sleeky plastic, simply it's the dorsum panel that yous'll be feeling the most, and I appreciate the Lumia-like plastic LG has used there.

The entire front panel is protected by Gorilla Glass 3, which is polish to bear upon and swipe, equally well equally tough and scratch resistant. The bezels to the left and right of the brandish, which measure out 3mm each, brand the phone easy to use in i hand, and there'south a very slight plastic border around the glass that might aid when you drop the telephone face up-down.

As you might accept noticed, the model I received for review is white, however the simply actual part of the device that's white is the back panel. With the edges and front even so blackness, the two-toned design it produces looks quite nice, and although the color you terminate up choosing is entirely subjective, my preference definitely swings towards this white unit. If you do get the black unit of measurement, I hear the plastic used on the dorsum panel is slightly softer to bear on, but otherwise the phones are identical build-wise.

For an inexpensive yet high-end device, I was very impressed with what the pattern of the Nexus 5 brings to the tabular array. There'southward no flashy holographic back plate like with the Nexus four, but the successor's build is higher quality than the price tag suggests, and information technology suits the operating arrangement information technology runs very well.

Display

If you lot call up LG might have skimped on the brandish in the Nexus five, think again. It'southward not the verbal aforementioned panel that is seen in the LG G2, just in many ways it comes close. You get a 4.95-inch IPS TFT LCD brandish with a resolution of 1920 ten 1080 (1080p), bringing pixel density to 445 pixels per inch (ppi); specifications that are comparable to other flagship Android devices on the market right now.

With the Nexus five's software making use of onscreen buttons, the effective screen real estate is reduced from 4.95-inches to iv.67-inches with a resolution of 1776 10 1080. The onscreen buttons are easy to access and in a comfy position, plus in that location's the usual benefits where they disappear in sure applications that need to use the entire display, such as the video player. Unlike the LG G2 you can't change the buttons, but the default pick of back, home and the recent apps bill of fare is functional and there's no legacy carte du jour button to interfere with the current Android design.

The LCD panel institute in the Nexus five displays fantastic color quality, as you would await from the IPS technology used. Colors are balanced and realistic, yet vibrant and eye-communicable, which is exactly what yous're looking for in a smartphone's display. Looking at exam patterns reveals blood-red is the display'due south well-nigh dominant colour, while there is little to no color banding, indicating the display has a broad color gamut.

Contrast from the panel is superb, producing stiff untinted white levels and deep blacks, which makes reading text easy. When analyzing black levels, it was possible to discern all merely one of the departure squares in a test blueprint, and with white levels every square is visible. There is very slight backlight bleeding around the edges of the brandish, which affects the evenness of dark images, but it's unlikely y'all'll find this in everyday usage. Gamma values sit around 2.0, which isn't the all-time it could be (the ideal value is two.2), merely better in comparing to other panels, such as the Xperia Z1'south.

The Nexus five'southward viewing angles are very good; vertical off-angle viewing is slightly ameliorate than horizontal off-angle viewing, but in both situations there is trivial contrast and color distortion, which keeps the display readable in a variety of situations. I was very pleased with the effulgence range as well, which alongside a polarization filter helps keep the brandish readable in direct sunlight, and at night it ramps downwards plenty – perhaps even farther than usual – and then that your eyes don't become irritated. Autobrightness is quick and responsive, which again is great to meet.

1080p and 445ppi is a fantastic mix of crispness and clarity that allows this display to look similar newspaper, like to many other high-terminate phones y'all tin can go today. Many people today believe that 720p is truly all you need in terms of display resolution, but once you compare 720p to 1080p and start using it on a daily footing, you lot simply tin can't go dorsum. Information technology provides an extra level of item that's especially noticeable when reading text, and no matter how closely yous view the brandish, you won't notice the millions of individual pixels spread across the 68.9 square centimeter screen.

Through using an LCD panel rather than AMOLED, LG has avoided the problems associated with PenTile subpixel matrices, so this display (like about other LCDs) has your standard RGB stripe. The edges of text are so sharp so clear that it rivals printed words, while the level of item you can encounter in photos is amazing. Allow'southward non forget that a resolution of 1920 10 1080 means y'all can watch Blu-ray-quality videos without a loss in detail from upscaling or downscaling, and then the crispness transfers to movies also.

If this display was found on a $700 handset, I would find footling to complain about, making its inclusion on a $350 device even more than impressive. Non only is the panel brilliant, well-baked and high-resolution, simply it's also large and exhibits strong colour quality: a combination which should exit no Nexus five heir-apparent disappointed.