Nexus 5 review

[@kontar72]

This review needs to SERIOUSLY be updated since the phone's inconsistent battery and poor camera were both fixed in 3 sequential updates within one month of this review.

[@WarfareHD1]

How are people saying the verge is biased? This was a very thought out review and he said very good things about the phone while also saying bad things about it which are obviously present. In fact he even said it felt better then the iPhone 5s. I think you people are confused

[@taslimhasan8029]

Yeah. I am, as far as I know, an Android fanboy tbh. And I didn't find this video biased AT ALL. Some people just have to bitch about regular stuff. That's, like, their JOB in KZbin. :|

[@CYCimmortal]

Verge IS biased and loves Apple unconditionally but this review actually is not, but that's, frankly, quite rare.

[@franklouuu]

This review completely ignores the fact that this phone costs 350

[@kenkirtland6757]

he says compared to AMOLED and apples retina. amoled is a type of screen, retina is a marketing term that means nothing at all, the iPhone has an LCD screen

[@DuarteMateus]

Ken Kirtland what would you expect from them?

[@linked1one]

....why didn't he talk about the price?

[@MaxGamingHD15]

Its around 300-350$

[@BetoTheButcher]

What does he want for $350? Maybe Google should make a phone specifically for him at $700 with a better camera, any color he wishes and maybe he can grow a bigger pair of hands too.

[@TheVerge]

Read our full review, we definitely consider the price to be an important factor.

[@ShawnSmithTO]

I really like his tone and the inflections he uses during this review.

[@Dave2LA]

why on every android phone review on the verge i heard the word "iphone" more than the name of the device reviewed?

[@swapman6278]

So glad I run adblocker on iVerge videos

[@johnhernandez875]

I tried it, since this was a verge video, I couldn't hear about the device he was reviewing. You must be a lucky guy.

[@TheVerge]

We didn't forget the price in our full review :)

[@TheVerge]

If you look back at the last Vergecast, you can see that Josh's phone is a Moto X.

[@xedxron]

love Josh doing the review, he paces himself well, delivers points in a clear cut. and not having a buttload of information thrown at me within 5 minutes is pleasant.

[@TopFreeTemplates]

Great review once again, Ordered mine yesterday, supposed to be coming tomorrow, cant wait!

[@TheVerge]

Glad to have you, Cheese!

[@applefanatic414]

Nice to see Josh reviewing products again.

[@JackKirkpatrickVideos]

May I remind you that this 2013 PHONE HAS DOUBLE THE RAM OF THE IPHONE 6!

[@ShawnSmithTO]

I love the production on the Verge's reviews. Well done.

[@rajTrondhjem10]

a great review from Verge.. I just wish all product video reviews are longer like this!!

[@TannerHoyt]

Chris Caldwell I am getting sick of people assuming iOS users "don't know what they have" or "don't know anything about tech". Phandroids are quickly becoming the biggest assholes of all fanboys. I personally use Android, but I don't bash iOS or Apple fans. It's like Phandroids have to constantly keep telling themselves how AWESOME Android is and AWFUL iOS is. Insecure much?

[@thecloudsurfer]

People say that iOS scrolls smoother than Android. Something they always overlook is the fact that iOS only scrolls a very small amount no matter how fast you swipe. Android on the other hand measures the speed of the swipe and scrolls accordingly, resulting in more things to be loaded. So, Android devices scroll wayy better than iOS devices.

[@CIairvoyance]

This is literally not true.

[@thecloudsurfer]

It 'literally' is!

[@CIairvoyance]

I've done it on both. They both scroll relative to how fast you're moving your finger.

[@su_haris]

Actually, dude, iOS and Android Scroll according to swipe speed. I think you got one fact wrong there O:-)

[@thecloudsurfer]

***** Suhail Haris CIairvoyance, Lol, no. iOS, doesn't measure the speed of the swipe!

[@karlmaurer670]

I really love Verge Reviews like this. The way how they work with color gradients and of course the nice desk :)

[@Romeix182]

Glad to see Josh doing a review again. Fair review. I hope Google can fix the camera problems.

[@ZackGeragosian]

Solid review. Answered pretty much every question I had about the phone. Good job Josh.

[@BomYT]

I gave out about how little ye actually said about the nexus on the last vergecast but this review certainly makes up for that. Good job Josh & The Verge.

[@QuantumBraced]

It's funny watching this and hearing Josh say the Nexus 5 feels pretty big and you need to have big hands... 5" is considered tiny by today's standards.

[@NeroVingian40]

^ this, re-watching this video today, & was thinking about the same thing. Nowadays, the Nexus 5 is said to have the ideal size for one-handed usability.

[@ult935]

There are almost 7 inch phones in 2020

[@theshonen8899]

Josh, this is easily the most professional review you've ever done. Keep it up.

[@iftycent]

What's been most surprising is the fact that none of these tech bloggers were able to note that the side of the white Nexus 5 has a glossy finish compared to the matte finish on the black Nexus 5. Personally I prefer the finish on the white version

[@TheVerge]

Thanks for your impressions!

[@BenightedStar]

FYI: when taking a picture, hold down the blue trigger to focus the camera. Though you're right; the camera isn't the greatest.

[@TheVerge]

It would appear that the Nexus 5 has a Sony IMX179 sensor.

[@TheVerge]

Send us a video response and tell us how your experience was

[@TheGuyWhoSaysYes]

what i find really funny, is that a lot of the verge's reviews have morjority of the shots being tilts and pans, and in school they say never to do that. Yet there reviews are awesome looking! idk how they do it, but never less great job guys!

[@thefantasyocean]

Great review Josh. Just ordered mine as early birthday present to myself.

[@TheVerge]

The price is a very important factor in our full review. Check it out at the link in the description.

[@TrevorHanson82]

Good review. Josh is by far the best Verge reviewer. Well spoken and professional.

[@TheVerge]

The price was an important aspect of our full review, which you can read at the link in the description.

[@Sami5X]

at $350, the review score should be at least 9.5/10 the reviewer didn't even mention the price here there are not "minor scrolling issues" this phone is super fast, you know it was buffering, right? the camera isn't half as bad as the reviewer say

[@TrevBec]

Good, objective review. The screen does look somewhat washed out to me on lots of vids I've seen so far.

[@EricJones]

Sad about the camera. Hope it's not as bad as they say. I'll know in a few hours.

[@gidgiddonihah13]

Don't see how the reviewer does not know how batteries today are done. You condition the battery as you use it, bringing the length of time it lasts up each time. Same thing happened with my iPad (though it did start off at higher numbers). If its bouncing around you have a defective battery. Also that being said, the Nexus 5 does have a pretty mediocre battery life though for being $350 you can't fault it for that. Also it bugs me when anyone uses Apple's 'Retina' moniker as a screen technology. Otherwise excellent review!

[@ThanArlix]

Also as one other note the video record quality is brilliant. I think it was John from TLD posted a video of walking his dogs and you will see how crisp the video is with no issues focusing. My experience has been the same. Normally I never record video from my phone, on the nexus it is so good you will want to.

[@bachpham5357]

I miss Josh. A true unbiased reviewer

[@90nomads]

Thanks, appreciate the editorial. Offers a bit more than the usual read-the-spec-sheet reviews.

[@TheVerge]

But is your DSLR unlocked?

[@TheVerge]

Please give our full review on the site a look. We cover the price analysis quite thoroughly.

[@DerekJojenCummings]

I think the camera is awesome but im upgraded from lg optimus v, it will get better with updates especially considering it has hdr+ mode. Considering its 1/2 price of its competitors, this should be factored in. If you want super good quality pix maybe you should look into buying a dslr.

[@RyanOver]

Josh did the Nexus 4 review, him making the Nexus 5 review makes sense... and he's good at it.

[@LtMjBurrito]

I 1000% disagree with what your saying about the camera. A smartphone does not need ALEXA or Scarlet quality images. It's camera is actually pretty damn good. Even a touch better than the 5s. This review seems a bit skewed, as almost if you just don't really enjoy Android.

[@XinyeLi]

Battery inconsistencies? Have you thought about the fact that on the first day the phone was doing a lot of syncing and updating than the later days?

[@CurtisBond]

Hey, Josh. Far be it from me to tell you how you did one of your own reviews, but I've watched your Nexus 4 review several times and I remember you having nice things to say about the camera. Now in this video you say it "was a problem on the Nexus 4 and is a problem here now". Did your views on the N4 camera change over time or did you not go into full detail in your initial review? Just curious...

[@yuzusauce]

In case anyone's wondering, Google has fixed slow focusing issues on the camera as well as made the colors of the photos look better. It also takes pictures faster and can focus almost immediately again after taking a shot. Too bad there's no update they can release to "fix" the shit speaker

[@TheVerge]

We compared a flagship phone to other flagship phones.

[@TheVerge]

The Nexus 5 has a notification LED.

[@TheVerge]

Let us know what you think!

[@Mr92100]

I've have the nexus 4 for a year now, and i don't notice any of the problems he mentioned. My glass back is still sparkly and undamaged and the phone never slips.

[@fifth_elephant]

I could listen to Josh all day, he has such a great character to his voice. This phone is beautiful, I keep getting the Samsungs and I should try something new next time.

[@timg2727]

From a 2023 perspective, it's hilarious listening to him talk about how big the phone is. It's just a little guy by today's standards.

[@heitorlandeira]

I'm waiting your review, MKB! I'm from Brazil and I like your videos so much.

[@esaedvik]

I don't have one, and I'm not stating my opinion (yet), it's from reviews I've seen and images as well. The review you linked shows N5 camera to have more saturated colors (funny how some reviews state the exact opposite, spotty production quality?) and better contrast, but to me, it looks like focus was a bit off in many of the shots. That said, it's still probably the king of its price range by far. I think the Meizu MX3 has the same sensor...

[@Garrettdx1988]

I’m really excited for that “Hangouts” feature

[@attractiveguy142]

You're are much better than the person with the initial review. Unbiased, logical, and respectful.

[@DingusBobingus5555]

I am disappointed to hear the camera was shoddy. But I'm still in love with this phone. Thanks for the HONEST review.

[@atdm74]

I like this review - I think he should do more. Presents his ideas smoothly and well.

[@MobileIndifference]

I appreciate the honesty of you, I still want one

[@KalebPeters99]

7:44 - I love how people criticised the N5 because of it's not-so-flash specs, but now that Google's upped all the specs *considerably* with the N6, the same people are complaining about the price. You can't make such a great phone and still sell it for $400. And even with all that, it's still $100-$200 cheaper than a lot of other flagships out there now, including the iPhone 6.

[@ShawnSmithTO]

What an indictment "it instills basically no confidence - so you'll find yourself expecting to take a bad photos". dam

[@SwannerYT]

just to let everyone know the battery and camera software has improved greatly, the battery will usually last a whole day for average use and the camera now loads, focuses and capture's pictures alot quicker.

[@LostMySauce]

I'm glad Josh reviewed this

[@TonyRoberts]

Finally a balanced unbiased thorough review, thanks Josh.

[@TheVerge]

The price is a major aspect of our full review, which you can find at the link in the description.

[@MrGreyWolfAlpha]

what about the price? that's the big thing about it and you never mentioned it! a 16 gb iphone 5s off the apple website is 700 euro

[@AndrewAlvey]

TheVerge is the only outlet that has complained about the camera, most people are putting the camera on par with the Galaxy S4 and iPhone 5S.

[@crossforced]

thanks for talking about the actual experience of using the phone and not just specs...like every other reviewer on the internet.

[@Wariowaftfart]

Some people like the more realistic feel of the camera in the Nexus. Compared to oversaturated "fake" feeling of the S4. Its all preference really. Its the battery life that is way more important than the camera. It boils down to being a phone. And what's a phone without battery?

[@Dcypha69]

It was a good review because it was Josh.. He knows his stuff

[@Akabari100]

Josh makes pretty solid reviews

[@walker1054]

If it came in Gold that would count as it being much more creative? It's a simple colour change of a section on the back.

[@esaedvik]

2 weeks instead of 6 months is pretty fast in comparison to other manufacturers. They've already said it's coming up very soon. It's never been instant on any device.

[@1nsertTitleHere]

That is the base price. Yes, its $400 with taxes and shipping, but the base price is always the most important as taxes and shipping vary by location.

[@BrandtHambrick]

Pretty good review but so much about the camera but not one mention of HDR+ mode. Plus most other comparisons to date say it marginally not as good as S4 or iPhone.

[@omgitzanarwhal]

It actually is coming to carriers Sprint and T-Mobile will sell it subsidized, and while it is unlocked It still can't be used on Verizon. It doesn't have a whitelisted ESN.

[@Dark_Empyrean]

I have a GS4 Google Edition and I was Contemplating if I should sell my GS4 for a Nexus 5. Because of this review, I now know that I should stay with the GS4. Keep up the good work Verge for comparing all types of phones.

[@DavidJung03]

That is addressed in the full text review a bit. He talks about how Google is presenting the device as the "best Android experience" and that's the standard he uses to evaluate the Nexus 5. Google is not presenting this phone as "decent phone considering the price" so the review should not try to set a bar low because of the price. I think it's a phenomenal device (once the camera is fixed) for the price just like how Nexus 4 was.

[@TheVerge]

Stay tuned ;)

[@BenjaminBebop]

His galaxy nexus review is still my favourite phone review of all time

[@EnchantedScroll]

I said that because the N5 did better on the front facing camera, low light photos, and audio. Bright images were pretty much a draw. Also, he said the iPhone was over exposing images. So, ya, I still think the N5 won overall. Anandtech and Marques Brownlee are pretty much the best; I am waiting for their reviews too.

[@mitchellphillips7086]

Coming from a 2-4 hour battery on an ipod 4, I an very exited to get 9 hours on my Nexus!

[@TheVerge]

Read our full review, we've got actual test samples there.

[@darkheat246]

Adjust the settings and if the camera isn't working for you that's because of software not hardware so use another app

[@ksapci]

350 USD price tag for the given design and specs; there is not much to criticize. Simply the best value for money... period

[@KopparamNaveen]

Now this is what we call a "review"!! Rather than holding the phone in front of camera and running some benchmarks :D

[@Radu68]

Thank you, The Verge, for this great review!

[@traviskhtong]

Those tablets you are referring to usually gimp on the processor choices so it'll start lagging after a while (Nexus 7 2012) and they have a bigger frame to fit everything in. If you want to talk about relativity, you are putting the same, if not more and better components in a phone which is a smaller area while maintaining a lightness of 130g.

[@TheVideoZem]

Great review, Aaron you are the best reviewer!!

[@WAFFELTIME]

Perfect review, Camera is not a huge deal to me because anytime I want to take great photo's I would have my DSLR with me but for the price UNLOCKED its a steal

[@FreeFromWar]

I'd say one of the biggest things that's holding this phone back is the availability. They run out of these phones in minutes. Outside the US it's almost impossible to get or we have to pay twice the amount to buy it, which is absurd...

[@Rohitechniq]

I agree with you. The phone has latest processor and high 1080p display, which is more than fair for amount people will purchase it for. And this was a good fair review

[@cccPaKYccc]

It makes me cry when i remember that it will be only supported for 18 months

[@ANIME2020X]

Nice review, about the camera, well how could a software enhances a camera performance? That I don't get. What I know is that the camera is a physical object that consists of a lens and a sensor, the better the lens and the wider it's aperture, the better the photos, and so goes to the sensor, the bigger it is, the better (less noise on bigger sensors), so if the camera is not sharp, then it lacks on of the two elements I mentioned. a software update might enhance the post processing only.