On an impulse, I bought a black 32GB Nexus 5x on Cyber Monday. The price was excellent and I had not used a Nexus phone since the Nexus 4. It seemed to be getting decent enough reviews (although not nearly as positive as the 6P) and I liked the size vs. the Moto X 2015. It also seemed to address some of the things I felt were short comings with my Moto X, namely a fingerprint sensor and a better camera. I used the 5x as my only phone for over a month. After that month of use, I switched back to my Moto X 2014 and am sold the 5x. Here is why:
Essentially the 5x only does one thing much better the Moto X in my opinion, and that is using Android Pay with the fingerprint sensor. I actually can't stress how good the sensor is. The location is perfect and it is super fast. I like this implementation over TouchID on my iPad Air 2 because you don't have to push a button. Simply place finger on the sensor and bam, the phone is unlocked. When using Android Pay, place finger on sensor and scan phone and bam, you have paid. It really is a good experience. The problem is everything else on the phone is kind of a let down. At least compared to my Moto X.
Let's start with some easy things. I think the 5x screen is better, but that is really subjective and I think it is only slightly better. And they are basically the same size. Performance is also essentially the same.
The 5x also takes better pictures, but unless you reboot the phone at least daily, the camera gets SLOW. I mean really slow. As someone with small kids, I need my phone camera to open quickly and take pictures quickly, all the time. The 5x does not do this. I also prefer twist to open the camera rather than the power button. I also prefer the Moto camera software to Google's camera, but that is personal opinion and I may be clouded by the slowness of the 5x camera. So for me, the improved picture quality doesn't make up for all the other camera issues on the 5x.
As far as battery life goes, the 5x has marginally better battery life, but it is barely better than my Moto X with my usage and the Moto X is much older. I still need to charge either during the day to make it to the end of the night or I need to charge in the evening.
Compared to Moto Display, Ambient Display is a joke. It just doesn't work. I found myself picking up the phone and nothing happening until I pushed the power button to see notifications. And I really missed waving my hand over the phone to see notifications.
I also missed chop to open the flashlight, and Moto Voice. Having to have the screen on or have it plugged in to use voice commands was a real bummer. Especially while driving.
One of these things, I may have been able to accept, but when you combine all of these things together, I think the Moto X 2014 still provides a better overall experience when compared to the 5x. I do think the 5x is a decent phone, and if the things I highlighted aren't important to you or if you are coming from a different phone, you may have a different opinion. But if you are considering the 5x, I'd suggest you also check out the Moto X 2015 as well.
Essentially the 5x only does one thing much better the Moto X in my opinion, and that is using Android Pay with the fingerprint sensor. I actually can't stress how good the sensor is. The location is perfect and it is super fast. I like this implementation over TouchID on my iPad Air 2 because you don't have to push a button. Simply place finger on the sensor and bam, the phone is unlocked. When using Android Pay, place finger on sensor and scan phone and bam, you have paid. It really is a good experience. The problem is everything else on the phone is kind of a let down. At least compared to my Moto X.
Let's start with some easy things. I think the 5x screen is better, but that is really subjective and I think it is only slightly better. And they are basically the same size. Performance is also essentially the same.
The 5x also takes better pictures, but unless you reboot the phone at least daily, the camera gets SLOW. I mean really slow. As someone with small kids, I need my phone camera to open quickly and take pictures quickly, all the time. The 5x does not do this. I also prefer twist to open the camera rather than the power button. I also prefer the Moto camera software to Google's camera, but that is personal opinion and I may be clouded by the slowness of the 5x camera. So for me, the improved picture quality doesn't make up for all the other camera issues on the 5x.
As far as battery life goes, the 5x has marginally better battery life, but it is barely better than my Moto X with my usage and the Moto X is much older. I still need to charge either during the day to make it to the end of the night or I need to charge in the evening.
Compared to Moto Display, Ambient Display is a joke. It just doesn't work. I found myself picking up the phone and nothing happening until I pushed the power button to see notifications. And I really missed waving my hand over the phone to see notifications.
I also missed chop to open the flashlight, and Moto Voice. Having to have the screen on or have it plugged in to use voice commands was a real bummer. Especially while driving.
One of these things, I may have been able to accept, but when you combine all of these things together, I think the Moto X 2014 still provides a better overall experience when compared to the 5x. I do think the 5x is a decent phone, and if the things I highlighted aren't important to you or if you are coming from a different phone, you may have a different opinion. But if you are considering the 5x, I'd suggest you also check out the Moto X 2015 as well.
