Why I think Nexus are overrated Android phone

[Stooby Mcdoobie]

I don't quite understand the point of this thread. If you are suggesting that the Nexus phone line is overhyped, I'd have to disagree. The first few phones were marketed as developer-friendly, and were mainly purchased by the more technically inclined/savvy. The price cut on the Galaxy Nexus and subsequent "low price" Nexus 4 & 5, coupled with an ever-evolving and capable OS, made those phones a bargain. Sure they lacked in features compared to Samsung or HTC's latest offerings, but you were only paying half the price.

Re the Nexus 6: I don't think it is overhyped either. It is similarly priced to its competitors and is a joy to use. Sure there will be a lot more people using a Nexus than ever due to its widespread carrier availability, but I still think it will be majorly owned by nerds who are into software customization. And for those who aren't -- it's not 2009 anymore -- Android 5.0 is more than capable out of the box without needing to be rooted.

P.S. (This question is for anyone) Have you ever heard anyone outside of your techy group of friends talk about a Nexus phone? I sure haven't.

 

[DeathTheKid]

Its not pure imo if it has an add on like that

Pure Android would actually be the OS that is released by Google before it is modified by the OEM's.

Many people are under the assumption that OEM "skins" (Touchwiz, Sense, Blur) are just simply themes. In reality, they are modifications to the underlying framework of the OS. This is why you see features and apps on phones that you can find in the Play Store using a Nexus. (Like Samsung's side-by-side apps, S-Pen, etc).

----------

Personally, I think why there is so much hype about the Nexus phones is that OEM frameworks have caused so many problems in the past.

Like not getting updates for months later if ever (fragmentation). Crashes, incompatible apps, and lag that are caused because of the OEM mods. Of course switching to another Android phone may mean there is a learning curve.

 

[Stuntman06]

No, it isn't, when you have a single click application that performs it it is not complicated

It seems that you're confusing rooting with flashing custom roms

I only tried rooting once a year ago on my Galaxy S3. I would describe the process as non-trivial. The procedure I followed included downloading some program I had to run on my PC. It copied some file on my phone that I had to uncompress. I had to reboot my phone in some unconventional way that brought up some menu and I had to select some items.

 

[IFRIT]

I only tried rooting once a year ago on my Galaxy S3. I would describe the process as non-trivial. The procedure I followed included downloading some program I had to run on my PC. It copied some file on my phone that I had to uncompress. I had to reboot my phone in some unconventional way that brought up some menu and I had to select some items.

Sounds pretty straight forward to me!?

 

[Dr McKay]

Rooting requires knowledge? Every time I have rooted a phone there has been a dedicated programn that did it for me and held my hand the entire way.

 

[AustinIllini]

Rooting requires knowledge? Every time I have rooted a phone there has been a dedicated programn that did it for me and held my hand the entire way.

Right. Even things as simple as unlocking the boot loader are made simple by youtube these days. I Android L'd my N5 for a while. They are the best all-around experience because they are developed directly by a software company, not some OEM trying to separate itself with subpar software.

 

[F123D]

All great except you forgot to mention manufacturer and carrier bloat that comes along with those other devices.

 

[MRU]

All great except you forgot to mention manufacturer and carrier bloat that comes along with those other devices.

Sadly it seems that in order for Google to get carriers on board to really drive nexus sales they too are now going to allow carriers to install bloat on nexus devices going forward.

 

[AustinIllini]

Sadly it seems that in order for Google to get carriers on board to really drive nexus sales they too are now going to allow carriers to install bloat on nexus devices going forward.

Sounds like the carriers might be getting crafty, too. Last I had heard, the OEMs have partitioned such that loading the build from developers.android.com still gets some bloat.

Buy unlocked. It's better and cheaper.

 

[bubulol]

Rooting requires knowledge? Every time I have rooted a phone there has been a dedicated programn that did it for me and held my hand the entire way.

Rooting isnt an issue at least if users follow instructions
Installing customs and dedicated root apps might be a trouble for non expert users
That's what i would warn for.
Does anyone need to root?
No
Why rooting then?
For custom rooms?
In this case, if you r advanced users, you should know there are plenty of rooms and you must follow specific instructions
Otherwise you may brick your phone for good (depending if it was soft or hard)
Technically whole root process (including post rooting process), doesn't not address to the majority of users.
Nexus products have been popularized these times for having a great money value and quick OS updates, that's all

 

[IFRIT]

Rooting isnt an issue at least if users follow instructions
Installing customs and dedicated root apps might be a trouble for non expert users
That's what i would warn for.
Does anyone need to root?
No
Why rooting then?
For custom rooms?
In this case, if you r advanced users, you should know there are plenty of rooms and you must follow specific instructions
Otherwise you may brick your phone for good (depending if it was soft or hard)
Technically whole root process (including post rooting process), doesn't not address to the majority of users.
Nexus products have been popularized these times for having a great money value and quick OS updates, that's all

Why are you warning anybody of anything when you think a phone is Rooted to install a custom ROM. People Root a phone to run apps that require it.

 

[Michael Goff]

Right. Even things as simple as unlocking the boot loader are made simple by youtube these days. I Android L'd my N5 for a while. They are the best all-around experience because they are developed directly by a software company, not some OEM trying to separate itself with subpar software.

When did Android start being made by a software company again?

 

[TechGod]

Why do you even have to root a nexus phone? You don't have to at all.... The nexus is way easier to use than anything from samsung...

 

[Oletros]

Rooting isnt an issue at least if users follow instructions
Installing customs and dedicated root apps might be a trouble for non expert users
That's what i would warn for.
Does anyone need to root?
No
Why rooting then?
For custom rooms?
In this case, if you r advanced users, you should know there are plenty of rooms and you must follow specific instructions
Otherwise you may brick your phone for good (depending if it was soft or hard)
Technically whole root process (including post rooting process), doesn't not address to the majority of users.
Nexus products have been popularized these times for having a great money value and quick OS updates, that's all

Rooting is not need to install custom ROM's and rooting is not only needed to install custom ROM's

 

[gotluck]

When did Android start being made by a software company again?

So google is an advertising company that just happened to write the software for the best search engine?

They wouldn't sell ads if their tech wasn't good.

 

[Michael Goff]

So google is an advertising company that just happened to write the software for the best search engine?

They wouldn't sell ads if their tech wasn't good.

They write software, but they're no software company. Apple makes software as well, but they're not a software company either. BlackBerry? They make software. Samsung has Tizen. Those two aren't software companies, though.

 

[jamezr]

They write software, but they're no software company. Apple makes software as well, but they're not a software company either. BlackBerry? They make software. Samsung has Tizen. Those two aren't software companies, though.

I think they do both....look at how many Google apps there are. Really good apps too. I think software is definitely in their portfolio of services they offer. They write the software and offer them as services......They make a profit from those services.

 

[gotluck]

They write software, but they're no software company. Apple makes software as well, but they're not a software company either. BlackBerry? They make software. Samsung has Tizen. Those two aren't software companies, though.

Respectfully disagreed, I would call both google and apple software companies, among other things.

 

[AustinIllini]

Respectfully disagreed, I would call both google and apple software companies, among other things.

Especially compared to Samsung or any other Android OEM

 

[Tsepz]

The Galaxy Nexus must be the only Nexus I ever wanted, and even that wasn't that great.

The Nexus phones are full of compromise, from poor cameras, average displays, poor batt life, no MicroSD in the more recent Nexus phones etc... The only reason I'd buy a Nexus is if I wanted to just test the latest Android update, but then again, each new update comes with a ton of bugs, so I have learnt overtime to be patient when there are updates for both my Android phone and iOS tablet as I have been bitten one too many times jumping on the latest update early.

So I personally don't see latest updates 1st as an advantage, as by the time the update is ready for a Galaxy S or Note, it has been polished.

 

[Michael Goff]

I think they do both....look at how many Google apps there are. Really good apps too. I think software is definitely in their portfolio of services they offer. They write the software and offer them as services......They make a profit from those services.

Well, yes. But Microsoft makes mice and keyboards, makes a profit, but they're not a mouse and keyboard company. They want to be a ... I can't use them as an example, no clue what they want to be anymore.

Apple is a company that makes its money from hardware, but happens to make the software for that hardware. They're still a hardware company in my eyes because of that.

 

[apolloa]

For advanced android users, Nexus is only phone to own because its based on pure Android stock, you can root etc...
But i think Nexus range product are overrated, only personal opinions though
I give some reasons explaining why there are better alternatives to Nexus

- You does not need to root to fully use Android.

- Rooting targets advanced users, moreover rooting seems to be way more complex than jailbreak
Rooting requires some computer and mobile knowledge!

- Nexus 5 is great value money but has average specs (we dont care specs but photo/camera hardware is crap)

- Nexus does not have micro SD slot like iPhone

- When you see for the first time Nexus pure Android interface, its unbelievable lifeless, Sony, HTC, Xiaomi, LG, even Samsung, they all bring on table something new in the interface

- It misses a lack of features and functionality, Sony has Stamina mode, Samsung many, many cool features, HTC, Blink field...
Pure Android interface hasn't any of them, its blank of anything, not really ready to use.
Android novices might be disturbed especially if they come from iOS.

- Nexus doesn't have premium design unlike Sony, HTC, Xiaomi...
Even Samsung with Galaxy Alpha.
If premium design was your concern, go on your way, Nexus is not for you.

- While its own Android concurrence implemented very impressive battery life on their phones, Nexus always has poor battery life, average, barely better than an iPhone.
If you want more battery life that would last over 1 day of use, you might take a look toward Galaxy Note 2/3/4, Xperia Z2/Z3, LG G2/G3, HTC M8, they all have extremely good battery life.

- You have only tight budget and cant afford expensive smartphones?
For Nexus 5 price you could get Sony Xperia Z2/ LG G3/ Xiaomi Mi4/ 1+1
All these smartphones are within Nexus price range.
They are more specced, more premium design, more features (waterproof for Sony, 2K display for LG etc...)

- Nexus price never drops unlike all other Android phones which price decreases constantly during their lifetime product


Edit: i forgot ''s'' to phone in title thread, sorry moderator, if you could correct it

You could not be anymore wrong about the specs if you tried. The Nexus 9 tablet for instance has the most powerful CPU and GPU in any tablet anywhere, and other specs are very good.
The Nexus 6 has a very very high res 2k screen and the highest end Snapdragon you can buy and has a nice premium design and very good camera, the Nexus 5 at the time of launch had the highest level Snapdragon processor too and a very high res screen of full 1080p.
The Nexus 5 camera is also good, and has Optical Image Stabilisation which the iPhone 6 lacks, and it can take RAW files with Lollipop.

As for featureless? In what way? You can add all the widgets and apps you want? Make it what you want, it comes with all the Google services built in instead of whatever services Sony or Samsung have made.

As for the rest of your post, well the battery life on the Nexus 5 is alright, not the best. It can feel a bit cheap and the lack of memory card is a moot point as you have cloud services. I was in a city the other day and the 4G on my Nexus 5 was faster than my home broadband is!

As for rooting, well their are some apps that will do it at the click of a button, but you need to remember to un root the device to receive OS updates, but it can be a tricky thing to do if your devices doesn't have an app. But no more so than iOS jailbreaking. And if you want you can install a custom ROM that can give a host of performance boosts, but you do need to be aware of what it means if you do that.

Still it's not rocket science and no, you do NOT need knowledge of mobile phones and computers to root and install custom ROM's, their are PLENTY of guides out there on how to do it.

Oh, and my Nexus 5 is not rooted or have a custom rom. It is pure stock and I like it, I want to change it though as it's a bit too big, but that's all. The OS is great, smooth, functional, easy to use, gets regular updates. If you can't use stock Android then you're in the minority IMO.

----------

P.S. (This question is for anyone) Have you ever heard anyone outside of your techy group of friends talk about a Nexus phone? I sure haven't.

I am the only person I know with a Nexus phone.

 

[OrangeInc]

I don't think English is the first language for the OP but I understand where they are coming from. Stock android is the dullest thing I've ever seen. Navigating the OS is simply not fun/interactive. Nexus' have no nifty features that other phones boast (fingerprint scanner, boom sound, s-pen, ir remote etc). No removable battery/micro sd is the killer for me because if my nexus 5 had these 2 features I'm 100% sure I'd keep the phone for the next 3-4 years instead of just the next 6 months. I think the main reason it's such a good overall phone though is the price point which is only possible because all the sacrifices I mentioned above were made to the phone but it makes up with a fast cpu and a 5 inch 1080P screen. I'm pretty sure that I'll be getting the LG G4 when it comes out though (as long as it has removable battery and sd card because if not I'll just get an LG G3, I really like how LG designs their phones, LG Nexus 5 included)

 

[upbraid]

nexus 4/5 was amazing, 50% the price of competitors and offered 85% the same experience (battery wasn't that great and camera was atrocious), nexus 6 is over hyped and over priced.

 

[mattopotamus]

nexus 4/5 was amazing, 50% the price of competitors and offered 85% the same experience (battery wasn't that great and camera was atrocious), nexus 6 is over hyped and over priced.

I agree with what you said in regards to the nexus 4/5, but the nexus 6 is not overpriced for what it is. It should cost the same price as a flagship.