LG G3 or Nexus 5?

[Gazler]

Ok so I am looking for a new phone to buy. I browsed through a no. of phones and I am kind of stuck between the nexus 5 or lg g3. Now the price difference between the two is significant for me (in my country) but I am still willing to shell out that much if its worth it in the end with the g3. I was hoping I could get some insight as to how they both perform from experienced users. These are the features/specs that matter to me in a phone:

Display : I like a vibrant and clear display. Love it, actually. Screen size is not much of a problem for me in both the cases but I do prefer one handed use.

Lag: I absolutely hate lag. Even if there is some stutter while scrolling in the app drawer, it irritates me. Very little to no lag is very preferable.

Gaming : I game, a lot. And I want my device to play any game I throw at it without any problem. Games like Asphalt 8, Injustice: Gods Among Us should not be a problem.

Music : Good speaker quality is preferable. I listen to a lot of music but mostly on my headphones so I am not sure if that is different for different phones.


Apart from these features there isn't much that I look for in a phone. Camera quality is not a seller for me (as long as it is decent). As for the OS, I have tried the stock android and loved it, lollipop looks even better. I have never tried a G3 so I am not sure how much bloated it is or how good the skin for G3 is by itself.

Sorry for the long post but I have been waiting to get a new phone for a long while now and I don't want to make any mistake now that I am finally getting one, since I will be using it for at least 2 years.

Thank You!

 

[Golfdriver97]

For the most part the Nexus 5 is pretty smooth, and the display is nice. The speaker is ok, but easily muffled by your hand. As for gaming, I can't say. I don't use complex games that much.

 

[Slovenix]

For next 2 years and by looking at what you want the G3 is clear winner. However there is some occasional lag because of QuadHD display on G3. Look up some reviews

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[salmanahmad]

Two very different devices, both with their own set of advantages and disadvantages.

As an owner of a Nexus 5 I can say that it is probably the best device I have ever used, and even if offered the choice to move to some other phone, I wouldn't.

As far as the display goes most experts online would say that the Nexus 5 has a washed out display. But the reason why it seems "washed out" is because the display has the most accurate colours of any display, this statement is backed by Anandtech. Oh and I am sure you'll be able to use it better one handed than the LG G3.

As far as games go, I am a 110% sure that Nexus 5 will handle every game you throw at it and will handle it better than the LG G3, because the G3 has similar hardware powering a much higher resolution display.

I don't game much, apart from some Clash of Clans but I did try some Asphalt 8 because of you and it ran flawlessly, there are some minor hiccups in the menus(developer's fault) but as soon as the game starts, everything runs great.

In general day to day fluidity I am sure that the Nexus 5 will perform better than the G3, a lot of reviews complain about how the G3 lags.

Nexus 5 IMO has a great camera, maybe the LG G3 is better but in my testing the camera has always been stunning: http://imgur.com/a/cpKQZ

Speaker performance was originally not amazing, Android 4.4.1 improved on it and maybe the Nexus 5's speaker isn't as good as some of the top tier smart phones but I find the loudness of the speaker more than adequate now.

Battery life is probably the Nexus 5's greatest downfall, it's not all bad and on some days it lasts pretty long on others it doesn't. I don't if the G3 has better battery life.

If you have any more questions, I am willing to answer. IMO the Nexus 5 is better than the LG G3.

A device to consider though would be the OnePlusOne, it has slightly better internals and much better battery life than the Nexus 5(it is also cheaper) but it's hard to find it.

 

[Gazler]

Thanks a lot for the replies guys. Really appreciate it.

Slovenix : I did actually check out some reviews online and noticed there was some lag while scrolling in the g3 in a video review. Not sure if its that bad. Have you ever tried a g3?

salmanahmad : Thanks a lot for the detailed reply. Appreciate that you tried the game for me. And glad to know they run smooth on it. I have tried the nexus 5 and I wont say it has a washed out display exactly, looked pretty good to me if not very crystal clear like the g3. Also, regarding the battery, do you think it could last a day with moderate gaming in between? As in, how long does it last when you play clash of clans on it daily? I've also heard that lollipop was supposed to make battery life much longer for the n5.


Now if only a G3 user could give me some insight on how good the phone is, especially the lag issue. No one in my circle uses a G3 so I havent actually seen it or used it till now, only in reviews.

 

[salmanahmad]

Slovenix : I did actually check out some reviews online and noticed there was some lag while scrolling in the g3 in a video review. Not sure if its that bad. Have you ever tried a g3?

I wont say it has a washed out display exactly, looked pretty good to me if not very crystal clear like the g3. Also, regarding the battery, do you think it could last a day with moderate gaming in between? As in, how long does it last when you play clash of clans on it daily? I've also heard that lollipop was supposed to make battery life much longer for the n5.

You might find some scrolling lag on the Nexus 5 as well, but only in a few select applications and it has more to do with the developer than your device. So far the only app that lags on my device is the Facebook app, it's not unbearable but I wish they would fix it.

And if the Nexus 5 display doesn't seem washed out, that's great! Oh and about screen sharpness, any screen that is above 300 PPI will usually be sharp enough for the eyes of the majority of consumers, the Nexus 5 has 440+ PPI so it's display sharpness is nothing to be sniffed at.

Clash of Clans isn't an extremely battery intensive game, and I play it for a few minutes every day so I can't say really. But I believe I have gone through almost an entire day without any charge and some mild gaming.



Android Lollipop didn't do a whole lot to improve the battery however it did come out with a new power saver mode, the Nexus can sip a lot of battery when it is sitting idle luckily if you turn on power saver at 15%(or even 5%) it can save a lot of battery while still allowing you to SMS and call.

And trust me the lag on the LG G3 is real, and software alone can not fix the lag on the device, as it probably has more to do with hardware than software. But software can definitely alleviate some of the issues.

Oh and Lollipop introduced a few performance issues on the Nexus 5 but they aren't very major and I'm sure they will be resolved soon. Oh and Android 5.0 made scrolling in apps a whole lot better!

 

[Gazler]

Hmm, I see. Well the nexus seems like a good option from what you've said. I guess I ll just check it out and the g3 too once I go to buy the phone. Thanks a lot

 

[salmanahmad]

Hmm, I see. Well the nexus seems like a good option from what you've said. I guess I ll just check it out and the g3 too once I go to buy the phone. Thanks a lot

A thanks on my posts would be greatly appreciated.

Certain carriers or retailers allow you to own a device for a week before you have to purchase it, if these are any such places in your country avail them.

Edit: Oh and if you are willing to pay enough to get a G3, there is another device that is similarly priced but much better called the Moto X 2014. That might be worth considering.