Nexus 5 Review The Best Android Can Offer

On the outside, the Nexus 5 is unremarkable. That doesn't mean bad, just that nothing really stands out. It's a slightly rounded rectangle, most reminiscent of a Galaxy S4 except a bit taller (5.43 vs 5.38 inches), a bit thicker (0.34 vs 0.31 inches), and just a hair narrower (2.72 vs 2.75 inches). The back is a brushed plastic that strikes a nice balance between smooth and grippy. The only physical buttons on it (the power button and the volume rocker) are both placed just prominently enough, and offer a satisfying click.

Really the Nexus 5's only distinguishing features are an extra-large camera lens (which is necessary for the built-in and fantastic optical image stabilization), and its big bright screen. Speaking of the latter: that IPS Plus display is sharp and plenty bright, even in direct sunlight. When compared to an AMOLED display, you can see a bit of rosiness in the whites (whereas AMOLEDs tend to skew a bit greenish) which we find pleasing, but no IPS display can come anywhere near an AMOLED when it comes to blacks. The Nexus 5 manages a respectable very dark gray, but it can't touch that vacuum-of-space blackness that the AMOLEDs have.

There is no removable battery, expandable memory, or IR blaster on the Nexus 5. There is, however, wireless charging, which actually comes in pretty handy.

Nexus 5 Review: The Best Android Can Offer (Especially For the Price)Expand
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Left to right: Moto X, Nexus 5, HTC One, Galaxy S4
Using It
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The Nexus 5 is fast. We expected it to tear, and it is, indeed, the fastest Android phone we've ever used. Truth be told, it's only slightly faster than the current top-ranked speedsters like the HTC One. But slightly faster than something that's already fast as hell is still fast as hell. We'll take it! That said, if you were expecting the Snapdragon 800 when combined with stock Android would result in a phone so speedy you'd actually time-travel backwards a little every time you used it, well, it's not that, but it's the closest thing we've got.
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The thing is, that speed isn't always obvious. See, most of the stuff you actually use your phone for doesn't require that much processing power. So, when we pitted the Nexus 5 against the under-powered Moto X and had them race to open a giant app like Dead Trigger 2, the Nexus only won by about 1.25 seconds. Certainly nothing to sneeze at, but until games or video editing suites for mobile take a big leap forward and require much more horsepower, the extra speed is just kind of a nice bonus rather than a life-changer at the moment. You are free, however, to feel smug about how future-proof that mad-dog engine will make your new phone.
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The Nexus 5 definitely feels light for its size, and LG did a nice job on the build quality. It feels solid all the way around, and fairly scuff-resistant. At the same time, there's no wow-factor here. When you first hold the HTC One there's a whoa moment when you feel just how solid it is. Likewise,the Moto X makes you realize just how small a 4.7-inch screen can feel in your hand. The Nexus 5 is comfortable, but it's definitely not as comfortable as either of those other devices. It's missing that wow factor.