Google has once again partnered with LG to o ffer a flagship handset with a mid-range price
Despite a price bump over the £239 Nexus 4, Google’s smartphone remains the cheapest and best-value fl agship phone at just £299. The Nexus 5 has simple and understated style – none of the spangled glass rear of the Nexus 4 that divided opinions and made the phone slide o all manner of surfaces. The handset is also thinner and lighter than before; it feels small for a 5in phone.
The soft-touch matt rear cover is slightly curved, which helps it to sit nicely in the hand, but this is a separate piece of plastic so you’ll find a seam where the two pieces meet. The build quality doesn’t entirely match that of rival fl agship devices and, although we’d prefer a unibody, the Nexus 5 still has a desirable design. The Nexus’ 5in full-HD in-plane switching screen is beautifully rich, clear and responsive, and offers great viewing angles.
Performance is up there with the best smartphones, thanks to the formidable combination of a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor, Adreno 330 GPU and 2GB of RAM. Storage options have increased from 8- and 16GB to 16- and 32GB, which is one reason for the price increase, but the Google smartphone still lacks a memory card slot.
An 8Mp rear camera comes with optical image stabilisation and, although it takes decent photos, it’s a little way behind its rivals. The video quality in our tests wasn’t as good as we’d hoped, with less detail than we expect from 1080p footage.
With the Nexus 5 comes a new version of Google’s mobile operating system, Android 4.4. Otherwise known as ‘KitKat’, this platform has a redesigned interface and a plethora of new features. On Google’s phone you get a vanilla Android experience, clean, colourful and intuitive. Google Now is at the forefront, only a swipe away from the main home screen.
The visuals are better than ever, with transparent bars, full-screen album artwork and an immersive mode that lets apps take over the entire screen. KitKat is currently exclusive to the Nexus range. The Nexus 5 is an average performer in terms of battery life. Unless you’re a light user it will need charging every night, but wireless charging is a cool way to top up the non-removable battery.
Verdict
The Nexus 5 is a very desirable phone at a surprisingly low price. It’s one of the best-value phones you can buy, but it doesn’t o er the best build quality, camera or battery life.
