Brands like Apple are taking Indian market seriously as they had made its two new iPhone available for Indian users so early than expected and Google has done the same. Nexus 5 was launched earlier this month and within 20 days Google has made it available for Indian users via Google play store.
Google’s Nexus program’s goal was earlier set to provide best and pure version of Android to developers but these devices have been popular among normal users as well. So this time, Google has made new Nexus smartphone available for more users and countries.
Google Nexus 5 Review
Nexus 5 is a pure piece of best combination of hardware and Android OS. The moment you start using it you’ll find how better the Android is. Other manufacturers like Sony, Samsung, HTC, etc put their own branded skin on the Android to create a difference but it hurts the user experience on the other hand.
If you too want to use the best version of Android on a fastest Android smartphone till now then none other than Nexus 5 should be in your mind. If you go along the specs sheet then Nexus 5 should have a price tag of at least 37k INR but actually its price tag starts at only 29k INR only. So you’re also going to save cash.
Design and Hardware
When I first looked at Nexus 5 press release pictures then my first thought was, “Nexus 4 is still better in design” and it was also true practically. LG has done great home work in putting a unique cover on the Nexus 5 but still it isn’t better than the design of Nexus 4.
Nexus 4 was having glass panel at the back with a unique check box design which gave device a unique and attractive look but it was also having one disadvantage. As it was the glass panel on the rear so it was easily breakable. The new Nexus 5 doesn’t wear glass panel on the back so it can be an advantage as well.
The front design is very much similar to Nexus 4 but the front camera is on different side in Nexus 5. The ear piece speaker is in round design while in Nexus 4 it was flatter. Volume rockers are at left side while the power switch remains at right side. There are two loudspeakers at the bottom just like iPhone 5 while the microUSB port is in between. 3.5mm headphone jack is at the top. The rear part got a camera with LED flash and vertical NEXUS logo along with LG branding at the bottom.
All over the design is impressive. LG has managed to keep the thickness to only 8.6mm and weight to 130 grams. The device feels good in hand and gives a feel of having a luxury smartphone.
Performance
With Quad-Core processor clocked at 2.26GHz (Snapdragon 800 chipset) and 2GB of RAM Nexus 5’s performance is top notch. There is Adreno 330 (450MHz) GPU inside to manage the graphics performance across the software and it does it work well.
I’ve tested few Snapdragon 800 chipset based smartphones before and I’m already aware of the performance it delivers. Whether you’re a hardcore Android gamer or a power user, you won’t find any lag in the performance in Nexus 5.
Android was built for multi tasking from starting but it was CPU which was keeping it behind but with the CPU which Nexus 5 is having, you’re going to experience true meaning of multi tasking. I’ve been testing Nexus 5 since 2 days and till now I didn’t found any performance lag for a single time.
Display
Technically the display of Nexus 5 is not as good as display of HTC One or Samsung Galaxy S4 but from a user point of view it’s still good. Nexus 5 is having 5 inch full HD display added on True HD IPS panel which is protected by Gorilla Glass 3 and also supports multi touch. The pixel density is near to 445 ppi and practically you can’t see any pixel with naked eyes.
For me, display is good and visible at different viewing angles. If you’re using Xperia Z or Z1 then you’re definitely going to find the difference in quality when you look at Nexus 5’s display. You’re not going to get this quality in this price range.
Camera
I still don’t prefer photography with a smartphone but it’s better to have an option as cameras are heavier than phones. Nexus 5 is having 8MP shooter at back and 1.3MP at front. Nexus 5 is having Optical Image Stabilization feature which has definitely tuned up the quality of pictures and videos but you can still find noise while using camera in low light conditions.
Although there is LED flash at back but still I’m not impressed with the picture quality in low light conditions but it worked great in day time. Autofocus starts working instantly when you start the camera and the user interface is also good.
Connectivity
Nexus 4 was not having LTE support but Nexus 5 does have that. In India, LTE is yet to reach still the major cities but if you’re living in US or other developed countries having good LTE coverage then this is another attracting feature.
Dual band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 and NFC are other wireless data connectivity features in Nexus 5 which are getting common in smartphones these days. Nexus 5 is also having wireless charging feature.
Software – Android KitKat
With Nexus 5, Google also launched the latest version of its Android OS i.e. 4.4 eka KitKat. KitKat is so far the best version of Android and you’re going to find improvements all over the software.
The all new Android KitKat is having performance, graphics and battery life improvements along with some visual improvements. The apps have also been updated like new dialer, Hangouts now supports SMS and MMS, new improved camera software, Google search have been improved, new cards in Google Now and few other. You can now start searching by saying “Okay Google”.
I really liked using the new dialer app and Google search was also good but Hangouts still needs to be improved. It integrates SMS feature but in case if you’re chatting with a same person over SMS and data then there will be two different tabs for him which isn’t impressive to me.
Wrap up
With a battery which can last for a day easily with normal smartphone usage, Nexus 5 is the best smartphone which you can buy now. In case you want a high end smartphone but having lesser budget then Nexus 5 is the best option. Pure version of Android is another thing which you’re getting with Nexus 5 which according to me is the best feature.
Google is selling Nexus 5 in white and black colors and with 16 and 32GB internal storage. Nexus 5 with 16GB storage is priced at Rs 28,999 while the 32GB version will cost you Rs 32,999 only. This was the Nexus 5 review, I hope it helps you to make a decision whether to go for Nexus 5 or not.
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