LG Nexus 5 review: Back to the future

13 November 2013
Nexus phone releases are timed to let Google have the last word – and what a way to have it! A phone that matches any flagship on specs and premieres the latest OS version, but costs barely half as much as some of them. The Nexus 5 promises a....

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  • m
  • manskating
  • TfC
  • 15 Nov 2013

Hi
The nexus 5 chipset maker snap dragon have created an app called battery guru. This app makes a huge improvement with battery life tested nexus 5 since release and xperia Z1

    • N
    • Nikko
    • t7X
    • 15 Nov 2013

    AnonD-175233, 14 Nov 2013Just a side note, I read somewhere that leaving your phone ... moreAlthough it is really recommended to remove your phone from the charger when its 100%, its not dangerous for the batteries health if we forgot to.

    Because if my memory serves me right, Li-on or Li-poly batteries have an auto-off charge when it reaches 100%.

      • ?
      • Anonymous
      • Yd6
      • 15 Nov 2013

      Don't understand how some people are saying the Nexus 5 battery life is poor. I had a S3 before and N5 life far superior. You people need to stop living life through your phones.

        • ?
        • Anonymous
        • J5P
        • 14 Nov 2013

        "You will be able to eventually get the Nexus 5 from many online and walk-in stores around the world but the price will undoubtedly be higher, which sends the main benefit of the device right down the drain.", Nexus 5 is just another pointless failure here in Sweden!
        Chrome browser is one of the worst browsers for Android, Dolphin and Boat are both far better and both are able to play Adobe Flash, on Jelly Bean and soon on KitKat, just download the Adobe Flash.apk from Adobes archives! A browser that can not play Adobe Flash is unusable!

          • H
          • HappyNexus5
          • nFx
          • 14 Nov 2013

          AnonD-67354, 14 Nov 2013I have had this phone for two weeks now as an upgrade at Ca... moreI could not agree more with lefty. I have had this for ten days and battery is fine. I have had 18 phones in the last year so believe me. Fast browsing, clever widgets, avoiding unnecessary touch wiz etc. I got the 32gb one and also have 50gb on the cloud so happy camper. Trying to get one is the Achilles heel but I I hope you are well they sort it out soon.

            • P
            • Prit
            • N$s
            • 14 Nov 2013

            I feel only the price is the plus point, as N5 benchmarks are below HTC One and S4 even they are not using Snapdragon 800. Camera is poor, Battery life sucks, Audio Quality is poor, Look wise its ok not great like HTC or Sony. Better to buy little used HTC One or S4 or G2 for the same price what paying for N5.

              • p
              • paras
              • U$4
              • 14 Nov 2013

              shut up n take my money

                • D
                • AnonD-175233
                • 9xe
                • 14 Nov 2013

                AnonD-67354, 14 Nov 2013I have had this phone for two weeks now as an upgrade at Ca... moreJust a side note, I read somewhere that leaving your phone on the charger at 100% all night may reduce battery life somewhat. Just google 'Battery University' and read the articles there...fascinating stuff. The simple rules are:

                - small discharges are better than long discharges
                - keep away from heat
                - battery is happy at about 70 - 80% capacity
                - avoid full discharges (unless specifically recalibrating the battery by dropping it to 5% or less, and even then don't do it often)
                - charge slower (not always feasible as these devices are made to be used, not to be pampered)
                - recharge whenever you can but avoid frequent charge cycles (ie. 98% - 100% repeatedly), take the phone off charger as soon as it is fully charged

                  • A
                  • Adams
                  • 2W3
                  • 14 Nov 2013

                  Anyone know how I can use my Nexus 5 as a USB? So far it only lets me transfer my media files (photos, music, etc.) but not stuff like .rar files onto my phone

                  help plz

                    • D
                    • AnonD-78805
                    • mVA
                    • 14 Nov 2013

                    iam quite impressed by the device it looks far better than nexus 4 also very slick didn't got time to test the camera

                      • D
                      • AnonD-67354
                      • d@C
                      • 14 Nov 2013

                      I have had this phone for two weeks now as an upgrade at Carphone Warehouse (UK store). I must say it is a fantastic phone!

                      Was considering this or the G2 and played around with both a lot in the store, but this beat it simply because there was very little bloat software wise, the camera i am not that fussed about, and the sheer speed of this phone when running is fantastic. I have found no lag at all on any app at all.

                      Battery wise it does me fine.I have it on charge all night when sleeping and on a non work day it is lucky to go below 50% with heavy use. When I am at work, due to constant net browsing and music playing, it normally has about 30% battery left when I go to plug it in. I have yet to manage to run it below 20%, which any phone I have had in the past I have managed to do since day one

                        • G
                        • Guy with guts
                        • U{r
                        • 14 Nov 2013

                        AnonD-206172, 14 Nov 2013I had this Phone for 3 days previously I had a HTC One Mini... moreSo you are saying that your htc one mini has better camera than nexus 5. Lol people and their comments

                          • D
                          • AnonD-168288
                          • 3Ye
                          • 14 Nov 2013

                          Ash, 14 Nov 2013Thanks a lot, I am seriously considering G2 now. Hope it ge... moreIf you don't care too much about the camera abilities the G2 is a hands down buy.

                          People are getting 1 full day's usage completely on LTE with 5 hours of screen time.

                          That's all on 4G. It's just fantastic.

                          On 3G it will give even the heaviest users a full 24 hours worth of usage.

                            • D
                            • AnonD-206292
                            • X}0
                            • 14 Nov 2013

                            This phone won't last me even a day...
                            Low pricing at the cost of battery doesn't work for me..sorry Google.

                              • ?
                              • Anonymous
                              • nx}
                              • 14 Nov 2013

                              8bitplus, 14 Nov 2013Had mine about a week. Sending it back. Battery is the main... moreI remember the HTC hero, my first android device. It was good at the time but couldn't go back to it now

                                • A
                                • Ash
                                • 6q7
                                • 14 Nov 2013

                                Ryo Saeba, 14 Nov 2013It's easy. You'll most likely have a case over it and you w... moreThanks a lot, I am seriously considering G2 now. Hope it gets kitkat in near future.

                                  • 8
                                  • 8bitplus
                                  • MSx
                                  • 14 Nov 2013

                                  Had mine about a week. Sending it back. Battery is the main problem. camera too, but its not great always looking at the battery icon waiting to get a warning.

                                  Back to my HTC Hero I go.

                                    • ?
                                    • Anonymous
                                    • thH
                                    • 14 Nov 2013

                                    These phone gave LGG2 some tough times in sales. But apparently after confusing LG fans to which one they will get, N5 just committed a suicide. It had a high specs but seemed to gave average performance as reviewed.
                                    Looks like Google betrayed LG.
                                    And say Hello moto.LOL

                                      Ash, 14 Nov 2013Was waiting for this review. Now choices left are LG G2 &am... moreIt's easy. You'll most likely have a case over it and you won't feel that aluminum of the HTC anyway. The G2 looks and feel much nicer in real life. Go play with one in a store. You'll be surprised.

                                      The 5.2" screen of the G2 is best in its class. You just have to see it to believe it. Perfect color reproduction and it's as sharp as razor blade. You also get .2" more in pretty much the same size phone. heck, the G2 is even .3mm thinner!

                                      Camera on the HTC is pretty much useless. Don't even think about cropping or zooming the photos. 4MP is just retarded in this day and age. G2 doesn't have the best camera but it's still pretty good. Better then the HTC and N5 for sure.

                                      Battery of the G2 is highly superior to both the N5 and HTC. Forget about those synthetic "endurance" tests. It is much different in real life usages. You'll be lucky to get more then 3 hours of screen time with the N5 or HTC. Coming from a N4, trust me, 3 hours is horrible. What's the point of having an awesome phone if you can't even use it normally without doing stupid things trying to squeeze every last drop by the end of the day? You won't have that problem with the G2.

                                      Just my 2 cents.

                                        My last phone was the Nexus 4 and I seriously got what I paid for. It is/will be true for this phone. Everything is just OK. Not great, but not bad either. Good luck getting 4+ hours as advertise for web browsing. I could barely squeeze 3 hours screen time no matter what I did. The real life standby time is horrible. I would lose 20-35% over night. I don't think it will be much different with this.

                                        I sold it and got a G2. After the first full charge, I got almost 6 hours screen time and it's been consistent every day. Some days I get almost 7 hours screen time. Why I put so much emphasis on screen time? It's because that's when the phone is most active. It's when you're actually doing something with the phone. Standby time is great, too. 5-10% overnight with everything on. I don't even have to bother with turning off services such as GPS or bluetooth.

                                        If you got this, you'll need a portable battery pack if you're a moderate user. If you're a light user, good luck in the evening because you'll most likely be in the red. Heavy users will need to recharge mid day.

                                        Vanilla Android isn't all it's all made out to be. I also have a Nexus 7 and battery life is horrible on that as well. Just Google it and you'll find many stating the same thing. With other so-so hardware, such as the camera, large bezels, headphone jack on top, Nexus devices = fail!