Nexus 5

[SomeGuyDude]

N5 pic?

Correct. Flash on in the dark this thing takes scary good pictures. Just wish the audio-out was better.

 

[mKTank]

On the plus side for audio, the Nexus 5 has one of the best audio chips in the industry, also used by the G2. Pair that with Viper4Android and...this is the best sounding phone I've ever used and head-fi agrees.

 

[SomeGuyDude]

On the plus side for audio, the Nexus 5 has one of the best audio chips in the industry, also used by the G2. Pair that with Viper4Android and...this is the best sounding phone I've ever used and head-fi agrees.

Head-fi user checking in. Installed it. I'm... pretty effing impressed man, only used "high quality" to save on some battery use. Good find. Why does it sound so mediocre normally??

 

[mclld]

lol@headfi, that place hypes up so many headphones. Some of the people there must be clinically insane with some of the extremes on cables etc

 

[SomeGuyDude]

lol@headfi, that place hypes up so many headphones. Some of the people there must be clinically insane with some of the extremes on cables etc

Proud head-fi user here. You can't really talk about things being overly expensive when we're on an Apple board.

 

[mKTank]

lol@headfi, that place hypes up so many headphones. Some of the people there must be clinically insane with some of the extremes on cables etc

They're audio enthusiasts but they know what they're talking about, as enthusiasts usually do.

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Head-fi user checking in. Installed it. I'm... pretty effing impressed man, only used "high quality" to save on some battery use. Good find. Why does it sound so mediocre normally??

To save battery life I guess. First thing I installed with this phone was Viper. Turned it on for headset and Bluetooth.

Protip: uninstall the app and copy and paste the apk to root/system/apps. You obviously need root access for this. Then reboot and the app will show up again.

What this accomplishes is that, as a system app, Viper won't be offloaded to save RAM as it would without copying it there.

 

[vomhorizon]

I traded in my 5s for an N5. As someone who's been on android forever and then iOS for the last six months, I think I can make a few decent observations.

1) This is not a high-end device. It's very good, with a great screen, snappy and responsive, but it's a sub-$400 device. The camera isn't on the level of the 5s/S5/M8, the audio out isn't anything to write home about, no expandable storage, etc.

2) I honestly think the N5 has my favorite physical design of any device period. I know that's bizarre, but hear me out. Most of the other flagships feel luxury, when you hold them you kind of marvel at how well made they are. This is especially true of the 5s and M8, both of which are downright marvelous. The N5 is just invisible. Your experience with it has nothing to do with the device itself. The subtle black matte body makes you forget about the phone itself and puts all focus on the screen. I like it.

3) I forgot how much I love vanilla Android. Rooted, unlocked, Purity ROM for some tweaks, and I'm a happy guy. For all the qualms in #1, that doesn't change that I purchased this instead of the other, more expensive devices, and I'm happy I did. The N5 is a device that tries its damnedest to get out of your way and just let you use Android. It's the Google equivalent of an iPhone: no bloat, no mess, just you and what you wanna do.

4) It's just a solid device. For someone who's not using his phone as a primary or even secondary device, it's awesome.

Totally agree..if you go in for a N5 as an 5s replacement you'll be disappointed. It is what it is i.e an affordable full feature phone with some excellent hardware inside.

What I do not like about is the finish and materials. Since my company insures our phones i initially decide not to use a case for it, however the back dings up fast and requires constant cleaning (not to mentions minor scratches from daily use), the plastic does not feel very good and has some flexibility that i do not enjoy. Its an incredibly thin phone, and great dimensions overall to use without a case. I hate using it with my case (I have the Neo Hybrid which adds a lot of size to it (not thickness but just overall dimensions) but am increasingly doing so now because i am having to travel quite a bit.. Google could have perhaps done a better job of designing the materials so that they feel a little better but its tough to complain at this price point. I don't care much for the screen quality compared to the G2, or the battery life (I use two phones, and have a bunch of chargers in my computer bag or at the office)..

Absolutely love the stock android experience, especially with the freedom to put launchers (not allowed to flash a custom ROM on it) etc..

 

[a02]

For those who have both an iPhone 5/5S and the nexus 5 which has the better reception. I have family out in rural areas and as you can imagine the signal can be weak out there. Both phones are under consideration, and reception will probably be the deciding factor.

 

[SomeGuyDude]

For those who have both an iPhone 5/5S and the nexus 5 which has the better reception. I have family out in rural areas and as you can imagine the signal can be weak out there. Both phones are under consideration, and reception will probably be the deciding factor.

On T-Mo, the N5 has better reception, particularly indoors. It's not a huge difference, but I notice going into places that had my reception drop out entirely on the 5s I was able to pick it up a little better with the N5.

 

[Fernandez21]

On T-Mo, the N5 has better reception, particularly indoors. It's not a huge difference, but I notice going into places that had my reception drop out entirely on the 5s I was able to pick it up a little better with the N5.

My expierence on at&t was the opposite. Of the last couple of flagships I've had (One M8, G2, Nexus, Moto X, Note 3, iPhone 5S) the Nexus 5 had the worst reception. Of those handsets I would put the iPhone near the top along with the One M8 and Moto X, and at the bottom the G2 followed by Note 3 and Nexus 5.

 

[khha4113]

My expierence on at&t was the opposite. Of the last couple of flagships I've had (One M8, G2, Nexus, Moto X, Note 3, iPhone 5S) the Nexus 5 had the worst reception. Of those handsets I would put the iPhone near the top along with the One M8 and Moto X, and at the bottom the G2 followed by Note 3 and Nexus 5.

I'm on AT&T too with Nexus 5, and its reception seems much better than my old S4 and my daughter's IPhone 4s.

 

[3bs]

yep...that will work....but to flash any ASOP rom...Cyanogen included......you will need to unlock the bootloader. Then flash the rom because ASOP roms take a new kernel. To flash a new kernel you need access to the bootloader.

AOSP** sorry you said it 3 times I had to correct you

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I traded in my 5s for an N5. As someone who's been on android forever and then iOS for the last six months, I think I can make a few decent observations.

1) This is not a high-end device. It's very good, with a great screen, snappy and responsive, but it's a sub-$400 device. The camera isn't on the level of the 5s/S5/M8, the audio out isn't anything to write home about, no expandable storage, etc.

2) I honestly think the N5 has my favorite physical design of any device period. I know that's bizarre, but hear me out. Most of the other flagships feel luxury, when you hold them you kind of marvel at how well made they are. This is especially true of the 5s and M8, both of which are downright marvelous. The N5 is just invisible. Your experience with it has nothing to do with the device itself. The subtle black matte body makes you forget about the phone itself and puts all focus on the screen. I like it.

3) I forgot how much I love vanilla Android. Rooted, unlocked, Purity ROM for some tweaks, and I'm a happy guy. For all the qualms in #1, that doesn't change that I purchased this instead of the other, more expensive devices, and I'm happy I did. The N5 is a device that tries its damnedest to get out of your way and just let you use Android. It's the Google equivalent of an iPhone: no bloat, no mess, just you and what you wanna do.

4) It's just a solid device. For someone who's not using his phone as a primary or even secondary device, it's awesome.

I'm kinda bored of iOS (it's that time of the year again) and I'm not interested in any of the top flagships out right now so I'm considering getting the N5. I'm a bit worried about battery life though. How've you been fairing going from a 5S > N5? Main reason I wanna go with the N5 is to root and customise which is less of a PITA than other phones.

 

[Fernandez21]

I'm on AT&T too with Nexus 5, and its reception seems much better than my old S4 and my daughter's IPhone 4s.

Never had the S4, but mine was comparable with my old iPhone 4S, probably a little better. Really, until the iPhone 5 the iPhone never really had great reception, the 4 (with a case) and 4S were serviceable, but before that they were pretty bad.

The Nexus 5 reception isn't bad, but it's not great, at least not where I was using it.

 

[SomeGuyDude]

AOSP** sorry you said it 3 times I had to correct you

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I'm kinda bored of iOS (it's that time of the year again) and I'm not interested in any of the top flagships out right now so I'm considering getting the N5. I'm a bit worried about battery life though. How've you been fairing going from a 5S > N5? Main reason I wanna go with the N5 is to root and customise which is less of a PITA than other phones.

I slapped SlimKat and the Elemental Kernel on and it's been surprisingly diesel vis a vis battery life, and this is all on LTE:

In my opinion, the N5 is a flagship phone. I mean it IS Google's flagship, it's the highest-end Nexus. But more than that, the hardware is top notch and I honestly am not sure what it lacks that the M8, G2, or S5 have over it. Okay, maybe a higher clocked chip or something along those lines, but... so what? It's a full HD screen, great camera, awesome sound (with ViperFX), the works.

 

[BlueGoldAce]

I'm on AT&T too with Nexus 5, and its reception seems much better than my old S4 and my daughter's IPhone 4s.

I had to return my nexus 5, because the service on att was so bad. Really
Unfortunate, loved the phone, minus the battery life.

 

[jamezr]

AOSP** sorry you said it 3 times I had to correct you

Thanks...i stand corrected!

 

[3bs]

I slapped SlimKat and the Elemental Kernel on and it's been surprisingly diesel vis a vis battery life, and this is all on LTE:

Image

In my opinion, the N5 is a flagship phone. I mean it IS Google's flagship, it's the highest-end Nexus. But more than that, the hardware is top notch and I honestly am not sure what it lacks that the M8, G2, or S5 have over it. Okay, maybe a higher clocked chip or something along those lines, but... so what? It's a full HD screen, great camera, awesome sound (with ViperFX), the works.

Ordered one should be here this week or early next week.

 

[mclld]

I have been toying around with an N5 today, love the phone. I am not blown away by the camera but it would be fine for what I would use it for, here are some sample pics I took today

 

[dizmonk]

flipflopped and came back

I had the n5 and got rid of it because it had 16GB. When I did one long video of my kid, I had to delete a ton of stuff. I thought a long time about what I wanted and got the Galaxy s5...

I had the Galaxy s5 for 5 days before I took it back. I could not hear ANY calls on that or the s4. I think it's a combination of older age, t-mobile's network and the fact that the speaker is on back of the phone.

Ordered a 32GB n5 from from the Google play store and that's what Im going with.

Overall I find the simplicity, lack of bloatware, speed, size and overall performance excellent. Not to mention the price. The camera is better than I thought.

 

[3bs]

I had the n5 and got rid of it because it had 16GB. When I did one long video of my kid, I had to delete a ton of stuff. I thought a long time about what I wanted and got the Galaxy s5...

I had the Galaxy s5 for 5 days before I took it back. I could not hear ANY calls on that or the s4. I think it's a combination of older age, t-mobile's network and the fact that the speaker is on back of the phone.

Ordered a 32GB n5 from from the Google play store and that's what Im going with.

Overall I find the simplicity, lack of bloatware, speed, size and overall performance excellent. Not to mention the price. The camera is better than I thought.

I ordered mine a few days ago and went with the 32GB from the get go. Heck I would have gone with 64GB if that was available

 

[Vegastouch]

I had the n5 and got rid of it because it had 16GB. When I did one long video of my kid, I had to delete a ton of stuff. I thought a long time about what I wanted and got the Galaxy s5...

I had the Galaxy s5 for 5 days before I took it back. I could not hear ANY calls on that or the s4. I think it's a combination of older age, t-mobile's network and the fact that the speaker is on back of the phone.

Ordered a 32GB n5 from from the Google play store and that's what Im going with.

Overall I find the simplicity, lack of bloatware, speed, size and overall performance excellent. Not to mention the price. The camera is better than I thought.

I'm on T-Mobile. Every Samsung phone I've had, the ringer and speaker are loud. My Nexus 5 speaker isn't as loud as my GS3 was. I don't have a GS5 but I'd assume it is as loud.

 

[3bs]

I have been toying around with an N5 today, love the phone. I am not blown away by the camera but it would be fine for what I would use it for, here are some sample pics I took today
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Those look pretty decent but I would like to see people posting more pictures in low light situations or indoors at night. I feel like that's when my old Nexus 4 struggled and I'm hoping it's not too bad on the N5.

 

[jamezr]

I have been toying around with an N5 today, love the phone. I am not blown away by the camera but it would be fine for what I would use it for, here are some sample pics I took today
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Those are good pics! The N5 is a great phone!

 

[dizmonk]

I don't know why I had that problem. I could hear everything else (e.g., music, games, system sounds, etc.). It was ONLY on phone calls. I could never hear the other person.

I'm on T-Mobile. Every Samsung phone I've had, the ringer and speaker are loud. My Nexus 5 speaker isn't as loud as my GS3 was. I don't have a GS5 but I'd assume it is as loud.

 

[Farplaner]

http://www.reddit.com/r/Nexus5/comments/24vn31/battery_life_all_of_a_sudden_improved/

Any of you see this sudden battery life improvement as well? I just switched kernels so my battery life has become amazing lol