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As an owner of Nexus 5 I must say I'm a bit disappointed with this announcement. I was looking forwards to upgrading my almost two year old phone to Nexus 5x, b

As an owner of Nexus 5 I must say I'm a bit disappointed with this announcement. I was looking forwards to upgrading my almost two year old phone to Nexus 5x, but there doesn't seem to be a good reason unless Nexus 5 stops getting new Android updates. They have the same resolution, same amount of memory, same amount of storage. I don't shoot video, and I probably won't use fingerprint reader - but I do use wireless charging every day.

stormbrew 11y ago
Wait, these don't have wireless charging? Ugh.
oconnore 11y ago
Why are you disappointed? It sounds like a device you bought a few years ago has a longer useful lifespan than you thought. You get to have a state of the art phone for less money when you own it longer. I wonder if devices will start to be built better, with more replaceable components as the rate of spec improvements in mobile devices slows down.
- x0x0 11y ago
  My phones seem to last 24-30 months; they just eventually take enough damage from being in my pocket and moved around all day every day that they die. And battery life goes to crap. I too was hoping for a nice nexus 5 upgrade.
  - tcdent 11y ago
    Yow. Here's a perspective from someone who has only owned two iPhones: I purchased the first gen on release day (2007) and carried it my pocket every day without a case until the 5 came out in 2012. I still have it, it still works. I bought my iPhone 5 in 2013 and carry it my pocket every day without a case. It has some cosmetic damage. Not fanboy-ing; I think it's legitimately interesting that most smartphones are still designed the way early cell phones were: plastic case around components, clipped or screwed on, flimsy from day one.
    - jholman 11y ago
      I suggest that the difference between yourself and x0x0 is mostly personal, not a difference in phones. My wife is hard on her stuff; even with a case, her phones (one iPhone, two Android) need replacing every few years. I don't use a case, and except for slightly lower battery life, my Android phones still look brand-new 4 years later.
      - Retric 11y ago
        I used to destroy phones fairly quickly until I stopped keeping my wallet and keys in the same pocket as my phone.
      - deleted 11y ago
        [deleted]
    - aianus 11y ago
      I treat my smartphones like garbage and have only ever broken my iPhone 6 (shattered screen). I still have all of my Android phones since the original T-Mobile G1 and they all still work. Now that Nexus has the fingerprint sensor I'm never getting another iPhone.
    - x0x0 11y ago
      Yeah, the nexus 5 is noticeably less well built than my partner's iphone. There are gaps around pieces of the frame and lint gets in; the plastic takes more damage; etc.
- adamc 11y ago
  Not the OP (although I feel exactly the same), but I'm disappointed because the battery life on my Nexus 5 is going nowhere but down... but I am not going to buy a new phone with exactly the same RAM and storage (and no SD card slot). The features they have added I don't care about (fingerprint scanner, better camera). I may well buy a new phone, but there is zero chance it will be a 5x.
  - myko 11y ago
    The Android M preview improved the battery life on my Nexus 5 considerably.
    - oneeyedpigeon 11y ago
      Don't tease. If that's true, it's fantastic news - battery life of less than a day, with fairly low use, is the biggest drawback of the N5.
      - dangrossman 11y ago
        It's not a tease. At today's event, they specifically said the Nexus 5 gets 30% better battery life with Marshmallow, mostly due to the "deep sleep" when you leave the screen off for a long time.
  - ARussell 11y ago
    Same thing happened to my battery, so I bought a new one and followed a YouTube video to replace it myself. Although the battery isn't meant to be replaceable, the process was not too terribly difficult. Maybe consider that as an option, too.
    - JeremyNT 11y ago
      I've read others describe the same, but when I went to look for a part I've been overwhelmed by the purchasing process. There seem to be several sources for this part and I have no idea how to guarantee its quality. I know the replacement is easy enough, having already had to disassemble the phone to replace the display. Can you tell me where you found the battery you are using now? I'm disappointed by the 5X. I was planning to replace the Nexus 5, but the 5x really does not appear to be a good value. If I can really get usable battery life out of the Nexus 5, I'll gladly keep using it, because there's very little else about it that seems in any way deficient.
- JimmaDaRustla 11y ago
  Mediocre phones today should be better than mediocre phones from two years ago.
  - janekm 11y ago
    They are, the $90 phones of today are amazing compared to two years ago (Doogee Y100X for example, surprisingly decent phone other than the camera).
- xlm1717 11y ago
  I would hope so. Once the specs all start to converge, then durability will be one of the last selling points they could use.
- mfisher87 11y ago
  I'm a little disappointed too. Don't get me wrong, my N5 is great and it doesn't have many disadvantages... but the stuff people really want should be more doable now. For example, a replaceable battery? Maybe an included thumblonger so you can reach the top-left corner :P
  - nogridbag 11y ago
    I have an LG G3 which I paid $50 for (upgrade price) which included an extra battery and battery charger (promo period). Being able to swap in a fully charged battery in seconds is something I now depend on when I travel - I never have any battery life anxiety. The lack of swappable batteries on most phones is a huge turnoff for me.
choward 11y ago
The potential deal breaker for me is the storage space. You can't just rely on having WiFi everywhere you go. Cell phone plans have data caps. I need to be able to store data on my device. I really don't understand their reasoning. I can get over not having a removable battery, but not having expandable storage is idiotic. They also just updated the apk file size limit from 50MB to 100MB. On top of that, they made the video camera capture at a higher frame rate which will take up more space. My iPod from nearly a decade ago has 80GB of storage. I don't want to have an extra device just for music anymore.
- mjcohen 11y ago
  My iPod Classic has 160MB, but it seems to be getting worse. I'm torn between either getting a phone (iPhone or 6P) with 128GB or getting the new iPod Touch with 128GB and keeping my Note 3 (I have had consistent trouble with 128GB cards).
AcerbicZero 11y ago
I was a Nexus 5 owner up until I dropped it a few months ago, shattering the screen, and was banished to an iphone 5s. Wireless charging was one of the things I missed most about my nexus, and I was fairly disappointed when I heard these two wouldn't be including it. If I still had my Nexus 5, I doubt I'd even be considering a 5x or a 6p.
- duncanawoods 11y ago
  gah - sorry, accidental downvote
- bgibson 11y ago
  Plenty Nexus 5's on Ebay, etc. http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2050601.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.H0.Xnexus+5.TRS0&_nkw=nexus+5&_sacat=0 http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2050601.m5...
seanalltogether 11y ago
The lack of wireless charging is a major drawback for me. I've come to really appreciate being able to drop my phone on the charging pad in landscape mode and have it launch the clock interface. I don't see any official dock for the 5x so far, and most 3rd party ones won't support landscape.
kailuowang 11y ago
Some other upgrades other than fingerprint reader and better camera 1. an always on sensor. 2. more powerful processors 3. larger battery 4. project Fi support 5. quick charge
zurn 11y ago
The useful life is limited by duration of security updates, if you care about such things. Google are strictly following their recently announced 18 month/3 year rule. Eg no Stagefright update to 5.1.1 for the Nexus 7 v1 even though it was just a few months previously updated to 5.1.1 This means you probably should only buy Nexus devices when they're new to market, unless you're happy with a 18 month lifespan for your device.
- 0xFFC 11y ago
  I haven't seen any official statement about nexus device update policy. Do you have any official reference ? p.s. People please stop claiming what you a fact. p.s. Being right about not getting update (n7 v1) dos not make your argument true.
  - sorenjan 11y ago
    > Nexus 4, Nexus 5, Nexus 6, Nexus 7, Nexus 9, and Nexus 10 devices get the latest version of Android directly from Google. These devices will receive Android version updates for at least two years from when the device first became available on the Google Store. > Nexus devices will also receive updates for security issues considered Critical for at least the following periods: > * Three years from when the device first became available on the Google Store > * Or, 18 months after the device stopped being sold on the Google Store https://support.google.com/nexus/answer/4457705?hl=en https://support.google.com/nexus/answer/4457705?hl=en
    - zurn 11y ago
      Yep. Notice how this phrasing does not say the listed models are currently being updated, just says how support length is calculated. Nexus 7 (2012) Stagerfright update is just missing without specific un-announcement, but it fits the schedule. It was sold till early 2013, 18 months from that... See threads on XDA etc for discussion on its absence.
    - 0xFFC 11y ago
      Thank you for reference . Now you have facts . This makes sense , my next phone definitely will not be a nexus (and believe me I was hardcore fan of nexus since the day they begun nexus program). Getting update for only 2 year ? Give me a break . I will be switch to another platform , definitely , I was waiting for ubuntu phone . I will seriously consider them for my next purchase. I am thinking about ditching whole phone/tablet or switching to phone with official support of CyanogenMod (which I think that didn't go anywhere). p.s. For multiple times when somebody claimed that , their only references was AndroidPolice site , which I don't give shit about . But seems google quietly updated their policy. (which is unacceptable for me as power user)
drzaiusapelord 11y ago
My wife dropped her N5 a few weeks ago and cracked the screen (why are phones still so delicate?). We bought the new Moto G that night from Best Buy. Its pretty much a Nexus 5 but with a 720p screen instead of a 1080p screen. She loves having twice the battery life and the $179 pricepoint was mindblowing. The low and mid range in Android is very competitive. I'm not sure what this new N5 is bringing to the table other than the AOSP Nexus experience. A slightly faster SoC and maybe a little extra battery life? For $400 with tax and shipping, I'm just not seeing the hype that's been dominating /r/android for months. $499 for a decent 6 inch phone seems like the real story here. Especially if it gets the typical Nexus price cut 6-9 months out. $449 or $399 for this could happen sooner than later, which would be an amazing deal. $499 is still really good, considering the previous N6 launched at $650. I'm surprised Samsung didn't balk at this, its pretty much a shot at their Note line which typically sells for $600+ unsubsidized. I think Google is trying hard to make phablets happen for non-techies any way they can, even to the point of pissing off their biggest OEM's. I also suspect there's some politicking here as Google is trying to groom Huawei to go after Samsung's massive marketshare. Samsung being the defacto Android product isn't good for Google or Android.
- mattmanser 11y ago
  Why are screens still so delicate? It's not even been 10 years since the original iPhone.
  - raisedbyninjas 11y ago
    The design of the Nexus 5 has a razor thin plastic bezel surrounding the edge of the screen glass. Minor bumps push through the plastic and crack the glass from the edge where the glass is weakest. The push for thin phones and tiny bezels is a cancer on phone design.
  - 0942v8653 11y ago
    I've never seen anyone decide not to get an iPhone because the screen is too fragile. I have seen people decide to upgrade their phone because the screen on their old one is broken.
koyote 11y ago
I am in the same boat. Wireless charging seems to be something very few people use, but those that do love it so much they would not want to trade it. Being able to simply lay my phone on my bedside table at night and have it fully charged the next morning is such a nice thing to have.
- josaka 11y ago
  I'm hooked. I never worry about the battery. It's dead simple to drop my phone on a charging pad at home, at work, and in the car.
  - wanderr 11y ago
    What do you use for the car? I haven't found a good qi charger for the car last time I looked
mkozlows 11y ago
So the thing is, the Nexus 5 was a near-perfect phone (especially considering it was released two years ago), and it's totally reasonable to think it's still doing the job very well -- it is. But that's a fact about the N5, not the N5X/6P. I mean, what would you want from a new phone that would show up on a spec sheet? Faster? Check, both of these are. The 808/810 aren't gigantic generational leaps over the 800, but they're significantly faster + 64-bit. Better screen? They're both bigger; >1080p resolution seems irrelevant on a 5"-ish screen (though obviously welcome on larger screens where 1080p would be under 400 dpi). More storage? Well, the 6P gives that to you, though the 5X doesn't. USB Type-C and faster charging? Check. Better camera? Check. Bigger battery? Check (2300 mAh for N5, 2700 mAh for 5X). More RAM? Check on the 6P, the same on the 5X. Plus the fingerprint thing is probably a bigger deal than you think. Loss of wireless charging is definitely a minus, though. So that's one downgrade, two specs that haven't changed on the 5X, and six that have; eight of those specs are better on the 6P. That's not a small upgrade, it's just that you have no reason to bother with an upgrade.
- dozy 11y ago
  Also, the improved 808 SoC at 20nm manufacturing process should offer better battery life over the 800 in the N5, even if they had the same battery capacity (which they don't, so it's a double-whammy there).
  - inversionOf 11y ago
    The 808 is also a big little architecture, with two A57 cores and four A53 cores. The A53 cores will likely carry the vast majority of every day use, and redouble the battery savings. As a Nexus 5 user I'm pleased with most of the changes and non-changes. 2GB is fine for a smartphone, and an image sensor with more than double the light capture area per pixel is brilliant, and if it delivers the better photographs will be worth it right there. Losing OIS...I don't think that's a downgrade as OIS was always suspect to begin with (not least because OIS only helps for lateral movements. It does nothing for rotational movements, and of course make subjects stand still. It yielded a tonne of unusable photos). The only thing I'm really displeased about is the removal of wireless charging. That was a really nice feature. Between the Snapdragon 810 and 808, the only real items of concern is that the 808 does not have h265 hardware encoding (the 810 does), and its image processing DSP is 12-bit per pixel rather than the 14-bpp of the 810.
bitsoda 11y ago
Look at it another way, you bought a great phone two years ago that you now get to enjoy for another year! I'd be thankful not for not feeling compelled to shell out ~$400 for a new phone. The only downside is reduced Li-ion capacity, of course.
neuromancer2701 11y ago
My big thing over the Nexus 5 is all the carriers are covered. I am a grandfathered unlimited data verizon customer. I am still using my Galaxy Nexus. The Nexus 6 was just too expensive for me since I am paying out of pocket to keep the unlimited data.
andrepd 11y ago
The problem is smartphones are stagnating. Let's see: * CPU: Processor evolution is stagnating, and processors are so powerful that they can handle most typical workloads with ease. Efficiency is now the order of the day, not raw power. * Screen: Densities are so high it that not only does it become difficult to manufacture higher density panels, but it actually hurts the device by draining more energy and killing performance and battery life to display pixels you aren't going to see. * RAM: 2Gb, the standard in mid-range phones and up, is sufficient for moderate use. 3Gb is comfy and 4Gb is gigantic. Again no substantial improvements in the horizon. * Storage: The more storage the better, but phones seem to have stabilized in the 16/32/64/128Gb, and anyway with cloud storage this is less and less of a concern. * Battery: A major pain in modern devices, with no imminent breakthrough in sight. * Camera: Incremental upgrades are looking promising, but there's only so much you can do with optics in a small form factor. In short, no major improvements or evolutions in the smartphone field are in the horizon, but they aren't really necessary for the short-term anyway.
- paddlepop 11y ago
  Stagnating or just the market approaching maturity? I personally don't miss the old PC days of having to upgrade my GPU every 12 months. Although I'm sure there are still some people that do, hopefully this means that most of us can keep our older phones without a significant performance deficit
- Geee 11y ago
  No. 640kB memory should be enough.
- detaro 11y ago
  So they'll finally build affordable phones that have all the interesting features and not faster ones with a random subset of them? Sounds like good news, but somehow I doubt it...
  - sounds 11y ago
    This! All the above are requirements, yes (CPU, Screen, RAM, Storage, Battery, Camera). I'd add one more requirement: manufacturers should be required to supply as a part of an extended warranty the latest release of Android. No more orphaning year-old phones. Once that's squared away, then I imagine manufacturers could compete on features -- things that customers want. Here are some examples: * Battery life. User-serviceable battery. * Removable storage * Wireless charging * Multiple SIM slots (popular in Japan) * FM Radio (popular in Japan) As you can imagine, a phone with all the above would be pretty large, but it turns out customers like a large phone. Sadly, no such phone exists today.
gcb0 11y ago
you are everything that is wrong with the world. be glad your two year phone still feels like current gen. keep your money. don't throw away a product that is full of heavy metals (yeah you won't throw away, but sell. but the person buying will throw his old one away. so it's the same) but no, let's instead complain i can't consume blindly and constantly. sigh.
- roymurdock 11y ago
  Why are you mad at a person who has rationally evaluated whether or not to upgrade an important productivity enhancing device (and who had decided not to upgrade) rather than the millions of uninformed people who just upgrade to have the newest and shiniest model?
diakritikal 11y ago
It's only got a single front facing speaker too.
- ruraljuror 11y ago
  The specs say: Dual front-facing stereo speakers.
chisleu 11y ago
I own a Nexus 5, and I just preordered a 5X 32GB. I'll tell you why. Wireless charging is something I use with my 5, but it is slow compared to USB. Compared to type C, is will be incredibly slow. There just won't be a need to charge the phone overnight like the wireless charger did. The battery life is better. The resolution is the same. This is a plus for me. I don't need higher resolution on such a small screen. It is already incredible for even the tiniest of fonts. Higher resolution = higher power use, higher CPU/GPU use, and more memory use. It would be fine, but I don't need it. I will use the fingerprint reader. I'm excited to see Android Pay take off. I hate getting my credit card stolen, and I don't like typing in a code every time I use GoogleWallet or whatever I used to use. The camera is a big deal. I'm excited for slow mo capable capture. I have a small child, and he is a ham. I also am looking forward to the speed increase. More cores = more potential concurrency = smoother interfaces. The primary reason I bought it was because it is financed (0%) over 24 months when you sign up for Project Fi. I get the $50 play credit, get to switch to Project Fi, and I get the phone in 2-3 weeks. The total cell phone bill w/ 1GB of data and the phone included is less than the $50 TMo wanted for their cheapest plan directly. Note: I would have gotten the 6P, except it was 4-5 weeks instead of 2-3, and I need it here soon as my cell phone plan is expiring.
shmerl 11y ago
And the new one is slightly bigger. Nexus 5 was already on the edge of comfortable for me. Why did they make it bigger?
- jfoster 11y ago
  Isn't it taller, but less wide, and thinner? There total surface area is probably bigger (height increased about 1cm whereas width decreased about 3mm), but I think it will feel smaller in your hand. When holding a phone, it's generally the width & thickness that makes it feel big. Both of those dimensions decreased. If you're talking about thumb-stretching to reach the top of the screen, though, that might get a bit more difficult.
  - shmerl 11y ago
    From what I see, the new one is 72.6 mm wide, and the old one is 69.2 mm. I.e. it's wider (which can make it annoying, if you can't comfortably hold it in your palm or in your front pocket).
akhilcacharya 11y ago
I come fro the same background and I agree for the most part. However, I have been impressed by the 6P - I might consider the $550 64GB instead of switching to the iPhone 6S.

stormbrew 11y ago

Wait, these don't have wireless charging? Ugh.

oconnore 11y ago

Why are you disappointed? It sounds like a device you bought a few years ago has a longer useful lifespan than you thought. You get to have a state of the art phone for less money when you own it longer. I wonder if devices will start to be built better, with more replaceable components as the rate of spec improvements in mobile devices slows down.

x0x0 11y ago
My phones seem to last 24-30 months; they just eventually take enough damage from being in my pocket and moved around all day every day that they die. And battery life goes to crap. I too was hoping for a nice nexus 5 upgrade.
- tcdent 11y ago
  Yow. Here's a perspective from someone who has only owned two iPhones: I purchased the first gen on release day (2007) and carried it my pocket every day without a case until the 5 came out in 2012. I still have it, it still works. I bought my iPhone 5 in 2013 and carry it my pocket every day without a case. It has some cosmetic damage. Not fanboy-ing; I think it's legitimately interesting that most smartphones are still designed the way early cell phones were: plastic case around components, clipped or screwed on, flimsy from day one.
  - jholman 11y ago
    I suggest that the difference between yourself and x0x0 is mostly personal, not a difference in phones. My wife is hard on her stuff; even with a case, her phones (one iPhone, two Android) need replacing every few years. I don't use a case, and except for slightly lower battery life, my Android phones still look brand-new 4 years later.
    - Retric 11y ago
      I used to destroy phones fairly quickly until I stopped keeping my wallet and keys in the same pocket as my phone.
    - deleted 11y ago
      [deleted]
  - aianus 11y ago
    I treat my smartphones like garbage and have only ever broken my iPhone 6 (shattered screen). I still have all of my Android phones since the original T-Mobile G1 and they all still work. Now that Nexus has the fingerprint sensor I'm never getting another iPhone.
  - x0x0 11y ago
    Yeah, the nexus 5 is noticeably less well built than my partner's iphone. There are gaps around pieces of the frame and lint gets in; the plastic takes more damage; etc.
adamc 11y ago
Not the OP (although I feel exactly the same), but I'm disappointed because the battery life on my Nexus 5 is going nowhere but down... but I am not going to buy a new phone with exactly the same RAM and storage (and no SD card slot). The features they have added I don't care about (fingerprint scanner, better camera). I may well buy a new phone, but there is zero chance it will be a 5x.
- myko 11y ago
  The Android M preview improved the battery life on my Nexus 5 considerably.
  - oneeyedpigeon 11y ago
    Don't tease. If that's true, it's fantastic news - battery life of less than a day, with fairly low use, is the biggest drawback of the N5.
    - dangrossman 11y ago
      It's not a tease. At today's event, they specifically said the Nexus 5 gets 30% better battery life with Marshmallow, mostly due to the "deep sleep" when you leave the screen off for a long time.
- ARussell 11y ago
  Same thing happened to my battery, so I bought a new one and followed a YouTube video to replace it myself. Although the battery isn't meant to be replaceable, the process was not too terribly difficult. Maybe consider that as an option, too.
  - JeremyNT 11y ago
    I've read others describe the same, but when I went to look for a part I've been overwhelmed by the purchasing process. There seem to be several sources for this part and I have no idea how to guarantee its quality. I know the replacement is easy enough, having already had to disassemble the phone to replace the display. Can you tell me where you found the battery you are using now? I'm disappointed by the 5X. I was planning to replace the Nexus 5, but the 5x really does not appear to be a good value. If I can really get usable battery life out of the Nexus 5, I'll gladly keep using it, because there's very little else about it that seems in any way deficient.
JimmaDaRustla 11y ago
Mediocre phones today should be better than mediocre phones from two years ago.
- janekm 11y ago
  They are, the $90 phones of today are amazing compared to two years ago (Doogee Y100X for example, surprisingly decent phone other than the camera).
xlm1717 11y ago
I would hope so. Once the specs all start to converge, then durability will be one of the last selling points they could use.
mfisher87 11y ago
I'm a little disappointed too. Don't get me wrong, my N5 is great and it doesn't have many disadvantages... but the stuff people really want should be more doable now. For example, a replaceable battery? Maybe an included thumblonger so you can reach the top-left corner :P
- nogridbag 11y ago
  I have an LG G3 which I paid $50 for (upgrade price) which included an extra battery and battery charger (promo period). Being able to swap in a fully charged battery in seconds is something I now depend on when I travel - I never have any battery life anxiety. The lack of swappable batteries on most phones is a huge turnoff for me.

choward 11y ago

The potential deal breaker for me is the storage space. You can't just rely on having WiFi everywhere you go. Cell phone plans have data caps. I need to be able to store data on my device. I really don't understand their reasoning. I can get over not having a removable battery, but not having expandable storage is idiotic. They also just updated the apk file size limit from 50MB to 100MB. On top of that, they made the video camera capture at a higher frame rate which will take up more space. My iPod from nearly a decade ago has 80GB of storage. I don't want to have an extra device just for music anymore.

mjcohen 11y ago
My iPod Classic has 160MB, but it seems to be getting worse. I'm torn between either getting a phone (iPhone or 6P) with 128GB or getting the new iPod Touch with 128GB and keeping my Note 3 (I have had consistent trouble with 128GB cards).

AcerbicZero 11y ago

I was a Nexus 5 owner up until I dropped it a few months ago, shattering the screen, and was banished to an iphone 5s. Wireless charging was one of the things I missed most about my nexus, and I was fairly disappointed when I heard these two wouldn't be including it. If I still had my Nexus 5, I doubt I'd even be considering a 5x or a 6p.

duncanawoods 11y ago
gah - sorry, accidental downvote
bgibson 11y ago
Plenty Nexus 5's on Ebay, etc. http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2050601.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.H0.Xnexus+5.TRS0&_nkw=nexus+5&_sacat=0 http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2050601.m5...

seanalltogether 11y ago

The lack of wireless charging is a major drawback for me. I've come to really appreciate being able to drop my phone on the charging pad in landscape mode and have it launch the clock interface. I don't see any official dock for the 5x so far, and most 3rd party ones won't support landscape.

kailuowang 11y ago

Some other upgrades other than fingerprint reader and better camera 1. an always on sensor. 2. more powerful processors 3. larger battery 4. project Fi support 5. quick charge

zurn 11y ago

The useful life is limited by duration of security updates, if you care about such things. Google are strictly following their recently announced 18 month/3 year rule. Eg no Stagefright update to 5.1.1 for the Nexus 7 v1 even though it was just a few months previously updated to 5.1.1 This means you probably should only buy Nexus devices when they're new to market, unless you're happy with a 18 month lifespan for your device.

0xFFC 11y ago
I haven't seen any official statement about nexus device update policy. Do you have any official reference ? p.s. People please stop claiming what you a fact. p.s. Being right about not getting update (n7 v1) dos not make your argument true.
- sorenjan 11y ago
  > Nexus 4, Nexus 5, Nexus 6, Nexus 7, Nexus 9, and Nexus 10 devices get the latest version of Android directly from Google. These devices will receive Android version updates for at least two years from when the device first became available on the Google Store. > Nexus devices will also receive updates for security issues considered Critical for at least the following periods: > * Three years from when the device first became available on the Google Store > * Or, 18 months after the device stopped being sold on the Google Store https://support.google.com/nexus/answer/4457705?hl=en https://support.google.com/nexus/answer/4457705?hl=en
  - zurn 11y ago
    Yep. Notice how this phrasing does not say the listed models are currently being updated, just says how support length is calculated. Nexus 7 (2012) Stagerfright update is just missing without specific un-announcement, but it fits the schedule. It was sold till early 2013, 18 months from that... See threads on XDA etc for discussion on its absence.
  - 0xFFC 11y ago
    Thank you for reference . Now you have facts . This makes sense , my next phone definitely will not be a nexus (and believe me I was hardcore fan of nexus since the day they begun nexus program). Getting update for only 2 year ? Give me a break . I will be switch to another platform , definitely , I was waiting for ubuntu phone . I will seriously consider them for my next purchase. I am thinking about ditching whole phone/tablet or switching to phone with official support of CyanogenMod (which I think that didn't go anywhere). p.s. For multiple times when somebody claimed that , their only references was AndroidPolice site , which I don't give shit about . But seems google quietly updated their policy. (which is unacceptable for me as power user)

drzaiusapelord 11y ago

My wife dropped her N5 a few weeks ago and cracked the screen (why are phones still so delicate?). We bought the new Moto G that night from Best Buy. Its pretty much a Nexus 5 but with a 720p screen instead of a 1080p screen. She loves having twice the battery life and the $179 pricepoint was mindblowing. The low and mid range in Android is very competitive. I'm not sure what this new N5 is bringing to the table other than the AOSP Nexus experience. A slightly faster SoC and maybe a little extra battery life? For $400 with tax and shipping, I'm just not seeing the hype that's been dominating /r/android for months. $499 for a decent 6 inch phone seems like the real story here. Especially if it gets the typical Nexus price cut 6-9 months out. $449 or $399 for this could happen sooner than later, which would be an amazing deal. $499 is still really good, considering the previous N6 launched at $650. I'm surprised Samsung didn't balk at this, its pretty much a shot at their Note line which typically sells for $600+ unsubsidized. I think Google is trying hard to make phablets happen for non-techies any way they can, even to the point of pissing off their biggest OEM's. I also suspect there's some politicking here as Google is trying to groom Huawei to go after Samsung's massive marketshare. Samsung being the defacto Android product isn't good for Google or Android.

mattmanser 11y ago
Why are screens still so delicate? It's not even been 10 years since the original iPhone.
- raisedbyninjas 11y ago
  The design of the Nexus 5 has a razor thin plastic bezel surrounding the edge of the screen glass. Minor bumps push through the plastic and crack the glass from the edge where the glass is weakest. The push for thin phones and tiny bezels is a cancer on phone design.
- 0942v8653 11y ago
  I've never seen anyone decide not to get an iPhone because the screen is too fragile. I have seen people decide to upgrade their phone because the screen on their old one is broken.

koyote 11y ago

I am in the same boat. Wireless charging seems to be something very few people use, but those that do love it so much they would not want to trade it. Being able to simply lay my phone on my bedside table at night and have it fully charged the next morning is such a nice thing to have.

josaka 11y ago
I'm hooked. I never worry about the battery. It's dead simple to drop my phone on a charging pad at home, at work, and in the car.
- wanderr 11y ago
  What do you use for the car? I haven't found a good qi charger for the car last time I looked

mkozlows 11y ago

So the thing is, the Nexus 5 was a near-perfect phone (especially considering it was released two years ago), and it's totally reasonable to think it's still doing the job very well -- it is. But that's a fact about the N5, not the N5X/6P. I mean, what would you want from a new phone that would show up on a spec sheet? Faster? Check, both of these are. The 808/810 aren't gigantic generational leaps over the 800, but they're significantly faster + 64-bit. Better screen? They're both bigger; >1080p resolution seems irrelevant on a 5"-ish screen (though obviously welcome on larger screens where 1080p would be under 400 dpi). More storage? Well, the 6P gives that to you, though the 5X doesn't. USB Type-C and faster charging? Check. Better camera? Check. Bigger battery? Check (2300 mAh for N5, 2700 mAh for 5X). More RAM? Check on the 6P, the same on the 5X. Plus the fingerprint thing is probably a bigger deal than you think. Loss of wireless charging is definitely a minus, though. So that's one downgrade, two specs that haven't changed on the 5X, and six that have; eight of those specs are better on the 6P. That's not a small upgrade, it's just that you have no reason to bother with an upgrade.

dozy 11y ago
Also, the improved 808 SoC at 20nm manufacturing process should offer better battery life over the 800 in the N5, even if they had the same battery capacity (which they don't, so it's a double-whammy there).
- inversionOf 11y ago
  The 808 is also a big little architecture, with two A57 cores and four A53 cores. The A53 cores will likely carry the vast majority of every day use, and redouble the battery savings. As a Nexus 5 user I'm pleased with most of the changes and non-changes. 2GB is fine for a smartphone, and an image sensor with more than double the light capture area per pixel is brilliant, and if it delivers the better photographs will be worth it right there. Losing OIS...I don't think that's a downgrade as OIS was always suspect to begin with (not least because OIS only helps for lateral movements. It does nothing for rotational movements, and of course make subjects stand still. It yielded a tonne of unusable photos). The only thing I'm really displeased about is the removal of wireless charging. That was a really nice feature. Between the Snapdragon 810 and 808, the only real items of concern is that the 808 does not have h265 hardware encoding (the 810 does), and its image processing DSP is 12-bit per pixel rather than the 14-bpp of the 810.

bitsoda 11y ago

Look at it another way, you bought a great phone two years ago that you now get to enjoy for another year! I'd be thankful not for not feeling compelled to shell out ~$400 for a new phone. The only downside is reduced Li-ion capacity, of course.

neuromancer2701 11y ago

My big thing over the Nexus 5 is all the carriers are covered. I am a grandfathered unlimited data verizon customer. I am still using my Galaxy Nexus. The Nexus 6 was just too expensive for me since I am paying out of pocket to keep the unlimited data.

andrepd 11y ago

The problem is smartphones are stagnating. Let's see: * CPU: Processor evolution is stagnating, and processors are so powerful that they can handle most typical workloads with ease. Efficiency is now the order of the day, not raw power. * Screen: Densities are so high it that not only does it become difficult to manufacture higher density panels, but it actually hurts the device by draining more energy and killing performance and battery life to display pixels you aren't going to see. * RAM: 2Gb, the standard in mid-range phones and up, is sufficient for moderate use. 3Gb is comfy and 4Gb is gigantic. Again no substantial improvements in the horizon. * Storage: The more storage the better, but phones seem to have stabilized in the 16/32/64/128Gb, and anyway with cloud storage this is less and less of a concern. * Battery: A major pain in modern devices, with no imminent breakthrough in sight. * Camera: Incremental upgrades are looking promising, but there's only so much you can do with optics in a small form factor. In short, no major improvements or evolutions in the smartphone field are in the horizon, but they aren't really necessary for the short-term anyway.

paddlepop 11y ago
Stagnating or just the market approaching maturity? I personally don't miss the old PC days of having to upgrade my GPU every 12 months. Although I'm sure there are still some people that do, hopefully this means that most of us can keep our older phones without a significant performance deficit
Geee 11y ago
No. 640kB memory should be enough.
detaro 11y ago
So they'll finally build affordable phones that have all the interesting features and not faster ones with a random subset of them? Sounds like good news, but somehow I doubt it...
- sounds 11y ago
  This! All the above are requirements, yes (CPU, Screen, RAM, Storage, Battery, Camera). I'd add one more requirement: manufacturers should be required to supply as a part of an extended warranty the latest release of Android. No more orphaning year-old phones. Once that's squared away, then I imagine manufacturers could compete on features -- things that customers want. Here are some examples: * Battery life. User-serviceable battery. * Removable storage * Wireless charging * Multiple SIM slots (popular in Japan) * FM Radio (popular in Japan) As you can imagine, a phone with all the above would be pretty large, but it turns out customers like a large phone. Sadly, no such phone exists today.

gcb0 11y ago

you are everything that is wrong with the world. be glad your two year phone still feels like current gen. keep your money. don't throw away a product that is full of heavy metals (yeah you won't throw away, but sell. but the person buying will throw his old one away. so it's the same) but no, let's instead complain i can't consume blindly and constantly. sigh.

roymurdock 11y ago
Why are you mad at a person who has rationally evaluated whether or not to upgrade an important productivity enhancing device (and who had decided not to upgrade) rather than the millions of uninformed people who just upgrade to have the newest and shiniest model?

diakritikal 11y ago

It's only got a single front facing speaker too.

ruraljuror 11y ago
The specs say: Dual front-facing stereo speakers.

chisleu 11y ago

I own a Nexus 5, and I just preordered a 5X 32GB. I'll tell you why. Wireless charging is something I use with my 5, but it is slow compared to USB. Compared to type C, is will be incredibly slow. There just won't be a need to charge the phone overnight like the wireless charger did. The battery life is better. The resolution is the same. This is a plus for me. I don't need higher resolution on such a small screen. It is already incredible for even the tiniest of fonts. Higher resolution = higher power use, higher CPU/GPU use, and more memory use. It would be fine, but I don't need it. I will use the fingerprint reader. I'm excited to see Android Pay take off. I hate getting my credit card stolen, and I don't like typing in a code every time I use GoogleWallet or whatever I used to use. The camera is a big deal. I'm excited for slow mo capable capture. I have a small child, and he is a ham. I also am looking forward to the speed increase. More cores = more potential concurrency = smoother interfaces. The primary reason I bought it was because it is financed (0%) over 24 months when you sign up for Project Fi. I get the $50 play credit, get to switch to Project Fi, and I get the phone in 2-3 weeks. The total cell phone bill w/ 1GB of data and the phone included is less than the $50 TMo wanted for their cheapest plan directly. Note: I would have gotten the 6P, except it was 4-5 weeks instead of 2-3, and I need it here soon as my cell phone plan is expiring.

shmerl 11y ago

And the new one is slightly bigger. Nexus 5 was already on the edge of comfortable for me. Why did they make it bigger?

jfoster 11y ago
Isn't it taller, but less wide, and thinner? There total surface area is probably bigger (height increased about 1cm whereas width decreased about 3mm), but I think it will feel smaller in your hand. When holding a phone, it's generally the width & thickness that makes it feel big. Both of those dimensions decreased. If you're talking about thumb-stretching to reach the top of the screen, though, that might get a bit more difficult.
- shmerl 11y ago
  From what I see, the new one is 72.6 mm wide, and the old one is 69.2 mm. I.e. it's wider (which can make it annoying, if you can't comfortably hold it in your palm or in your front pocket).

akhilcacharya 11y ago

I come fro the same background and I agree for the most part. However, I have been impressed by the 6P - I might consider the $550 64GB instead of switching to the iPhone 6S.