Google Nexus 5

Right, so I'm far less impressed with the N5 than I thought I would be. I managed to play with one today and was fairly disappointed. I suppose if I had a standard S4, the N5 would have been impressive. My S4 LTE version is running a Google Edition ROM and custom kernel and the OS runs just like the N5 ships. There was nothing about the N5 that really stood out for me besides a nicer finish. I have multiple batteries and desktop chargers for my S4 which is hugely helpful and having more real estate on my screen with my hardware buttons just looked better to me. From what I've read on the forums, I get the same if not better battery life from my phone (and I'm yet to use an app like Greenify)...there's just no advantage to getting the N5. The "I've got a unique phone" factor doesn't really mean anything to me, especially if the phone will give me lesser performance than my existing one.
So, having finally been able to compare the two (I realise that a standard S4 cannot run the ROM's I am running on my LTE version so this is not a std S4 vs N5 opinion), I am no longer keen on the N5.
My brother is in Syndey at the moment though and I've told him to only get a red version, the black and whites are just too common now. The red is currently out of stock, but he'll check daily until the day he leaves in about 8 days time. If it comes back in stock, he's ordering and another family member will bring it back sometime in April. If it's not in stock by the time he leaves, I told him not to bother with the black or white (currently available to ship). If I get a red unit, I'll flog it.
 
Right, so I'm far less impressed with the N5 than I thought I would be. I managed to play with one today and was fairly disappointed. I suppose if I had a standard S4, the N5 would have been impressive. My S4 LTE version is running a Google Edition ROM and custom kernel and the OS runs just like the N5 ships. There was nothing about the N5 that really stood out for me besides a nicer finish. I have multiple batteries and desktop chargers for my S4 which is hugely helpful and having more real estate on my screen with my hardware buttons just looked better to me. From what I've read on the forums, I get the same if not better battery life from my phone (and I'm yet to use an app like Greenify)...there's just no advantage to getting the N5. The "I've got a unique phone" factor doesn't really mean anything to me, especially if the phone will give me lesser performance than my existing one.
So, having finally been able to compare the two (I realise that a standard S4 cannot run the ROM's I am running on my LTE version so this is not a std S4 vs N5 opinion), I am no longer keen on the N5.
My brother is in Syndey at the moment though and I've told him to only get a red version, the black and whites are just too common now. The red is currently out of stock, but he'll check daily until the day he leaves in about 8 days time. If it comes back in stock, he's ordering and another family member will bring it back sometime in April. If it's not in stock by the time he leaves, I told him not to bother with the black or white (currently available to ship). If I get a red unit, I'll flog it.

Why did you ever think it would beat your S4 in performance? :confused:

I'd say the price is a big part of the phone's appeal.
 
Yeah, but it still has more raw power, doesn't it?

Nope.

The N5 is running on the latest Qualcomm MSM8974 Snapdragon 800 chipset, whereas the S4 run on a Snapdragon 400 chipset.

*Android 4.4 is blazingly fast on any quad-core phone, so might not see that much difference between older and newer phone chipsets.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Nope.

The N5 is running on the latest Qualcomm MSM8974 Snapdragon 800 chipset, whereas the S4 run on a Snapdragon 400 chipset.

*Android 4.4 is blazingly fast on any quad-core phone, so might not see that much difference between older and newer phone chipsets.

You mean Snapdragon 600. And it is no slouch, either (my Nexus 7 2013 absolutely flies with this chipset).

It goes back to what I mentioned some time ago- more than dual-core on Android is a massive waste. Motorola did it right with the Moto X.
 
Why did you ever think it would beat your S4 in performance? :confused:

I'd say the price is a big part of the phone's appeal.

I think I expected more after following this thread and seeing many comments like this is the best phone I've ever had, this phone is so incredibly smooth, this phone is so snappy etc... I was expecting those comments to be in comparison to the other latest handsets out there, the S4 would be the obvious one here. Maybe a stock S4 is pretty bloated sure, but the S4 LTE hardware is not an S4 and is capable of much more.
 
Right, so I'm far less impressed with the N5 than I thought I would be. I managed to play with one today and was fairly disappointed. I suppose if I had a standard S4, the N5 would have been impressive. My S4 LTE version is running a Google Edition ROM and custom kernel and the OS runs just like the N5 ships. There was nothing about the N5 that really stood out for me besides a nicer finish. I have multiple batteries and desktop chargers for my S4 which is hugely helpful and having more real estate on my screen with my hardware buttons just looked better to me. From what I've read on the forums, I get the same if not better battery life from my phone (and I'm yet to use an app like Greenify)...there's just no advantage to getting the N5. The "I've got a unique phone" factor doesn't really mean anything to me, especially if the phone will give me lesser performance than my existing one.
So, having finally been able to compare the two (I realise that a standard S4 cannot run the ROM's I am running on my LTE version so this is not a std S4 vs N5 opinion), I am no longer keen on the N5.
My brother is in Syndey at the moment though and I've told him to only get a red version, the black and whites are just too common now. The red is currently out of stock, but he'll check daily until the day he leaves in about 8 days time. If it comes back in stock, he's ordering and another family member will bring it back sometime in April. If it's not in stock by the time he leaves, I told him not to bother with the black or white (currently available to ship). If I get a red unit, I'll flog it.

To be honest, I would have expected this. A GPE device (or one with the appropriate software) would be a Nexus in every respect other than physical hardware. You are correct in that there would be no tangible advantage in getting one over the S4 LTE other than it being unique.

As much as I love the Nexus line, I was mighty tempted by the LTE S4 simply because the option of the GPE ROM existed. Still happy with my device though :)
 
I think I expected more after following this thread and seeing many comments like this is the best phone I've ever had, this phone is so incredibly smooth, this phone is so snappy etc... I was expecting those comments to be in comparison to the other latest handsets out there, the S4 would be the obvious one here. Maybe a stock S4 is pretty bloated sure, but the S4 LTE hardware is not an S4 and is capable of much more.

Most of us who have the Nexus 5, didn't come from the LTE S4. I suspect that most of us would not have made that move, either.
 
You mean Snapdragon 600. And it is no slouch, either (my Nexus 7 2013 absolutely flies with this chipset).

It goes back to what I mentioned some time ago- more than dual-core on Android is a massive waste. Motorola did it right with the Moto X.

Spot the deliberate mistake. Thanks MJ. :)

The big thing about the Nexus 5 is the price point. Incredible value for what you're getting.
 
Spot the deliberate mistake. Thanks MJ. :)

The big thing about the Nexus 5 is the price point. Incredible value for what you're getting.

This is the biggest drawcard. Top of the line specs for half the price. My SO paid 50% more for her S4 locally, than it cost me to import my N5 (granted, she bought it from Vodacom).
 
100% agreed, Samsung tear the absolute ring out of the price, the N5 is unbelievable value compared, hands down best money can buy. If I had a std S4, I'd keep the N5.
 
Wow this thing is snappy! Notice that the icons are also larger compared to N4...

Also feels lighter than the N4...
 
So went to the iPhone5S colleagues this morning and was showing them 'ok google...'

They were not impressed...so left my phone with them to play with and they all started testing and showing each other how fast the 'ok google' command was....

:D:D:D
 
Crazy thing is, if you load Google Now on a iPhone 5, it actually responds faster.
 
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X