Updated on December 10, 2021
On Halloween, Google officially released the Nexus 5, its successor to the previous Nexus 4 smartphone. Much of the information’s been leaked by now, so not much announced was actually a surprise (beyond maybe the price). A full list of the specs are available in this Engadget article.
Overall, despite costing $50 more than the base Nexus 4 model, the Nexus 5 does offer some improvements. Of particular interest:
- The often-fragile (or so online reports claim) glass back of the Nexus 4 has been replaced by a plastic back, supposedly similar (according to Engadget) to the one on the Nexus 7.
- The camera’s been improved with both optical image stabilizers (OIS) and with “true HDR” or “HDR+.” Both of these will supposedly reduce image blur, as well as correct for under- or overexposure. From the sounds of things, it should improve picture quality in low-light settings (such as indoors).
The glass back and the camera were in my opinion the weakest points of the Nexus 4, so I’m glad to see LG/Google correct both of these mediocre designs for the Nexus 5.
I’ll note that the Nexus 5 is slightly bigger than the Nexus 4. Not sure why the 5 needed to be even bigger than the 4, which I already find difficult-to-impossible to use single-handedly.
Still, the phone sounds like a good buy for the money. Those who’ve held off on buying a Nexus might want to consider this model.
