Nexus 5: Blown away by performance!

[MBSMD]

So I'm a gadget nerd. I have more phones and tablets than I know what to do with. I've had several Android phones to go along with my iDevices but kept migrating back because of the often jerky and inconsistent experience on the Android phones.

However, in an unusually spontaneous mood, I bought a black Nexus 5 32GB from the Play store (noticed they were back in stock) and it was delivered yesterday.

I have NEVER seen Android function so smoothly. I know how this will sound, but this is what Android would be like if Apple made an Android phone. It's simply stunning. iPhone 5S smooth. Even my Galaxy S4 (which I am now going to sell) doesn't come anywhere even close to bring this smooth.

I honestly am amazed at how smooth and fluid the Nexus 5 is. And this is before enabling ART, by the way (haven't done that yet).

Wow. Simply wow.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[Golfdriver97]

Re: Blown away by performance!

So I'm a gadget nerd. I have more phones and tablets than I know what to do with. I've had several Android phones to go along with my iDevices but kept migrating back because of the often jerky and inconsistent experience on the Android phones.

However, in an unusually spontaneous mood, I bought a black Nexus 5 32GB from the Play store (noticed they were back in stock) and it was delivered yesterday.

I have NEVER seen Android function so smoothly. I know how this will sound, but this is what Android would be like if Apple made an Android phone. It's simply stunning. iPhone 5S smooth. Even my Galaxy S4 (which I am now going to sell) doesn't come anywhere even close to bring this smooth.

I honestly am amazed at how smooth and fluid the Nexus 5 is. And this is before enabling ART, by the way (haven't done that yet).

Wow. Simply wow.

Posted via Android Central App

The silky smoothness and the speed is what Android is. What you experienced was Samsung's skinned version of Android, which can cause some lag. Glad you are liking the device!

 

[LeoRex]

Re: Blown away by performance!

I have NEVER seen Android function so smoothly. I know how this will sound, but this is what Android would be like if Apple made an Android phone.

That's what you get when you combine top shelf hardware with an OS that isn't loaded down with extra junk.... Unless you have a GPE phone, that phone you get from your carrier has software that's, well, been around the block a few times. Google releases Android, Samsung gets it and rips its guts out and shoehorns TouchWiz. Then they send off the kit to the carrier (whether it be TM, ATT, VZW)... they then shoehorn their own stuff in there.

Of course, I think that is really kind of the point. I see the Nexus 5 as Google's Android showcase.... they can say "Here you go, this is how nice it is when you don't layer on all that stuff". I wish the rest of the market would take a queue and start treading lightly.

 

[MBSMD]

Re: Blown away by performance!

Oh, I'm well aware of TouchWiz's tendency to skip and stutter. But I also had a Galaxy Nexus at one point and it was never this smooth. Nor was the Moto Razr HD Maxx.

Whatever Google (and LG) did this time, I'm impressed.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[LeoRex]

Re: Blown away by performance!

Oh, I'm well aware of TouchWiz's tendency to skip and stutter. But I also had a Galaxy Nexus at one point and it was never this smooth. Nor was the Moto Razr HD Maxx. Whatever Google (and LG) did this time, I'm impressed.

Well, two main reasons... The Qualcom Snapdragon 800 platform... it's a beast. The Note 3 and LG G2 also use it, but most of the devices that have it are tablets (which should tell you something). Both the main CPU (quad core) and the GPU are extremely powerful.

Secondly... KitKat.... Jelly Bean was called 'Project Butter', which was a major push to smooth Android out and reduce or eliminate the laggy or jerky performance. KitKat (4.4) was 'Project Svelte'.... Google wanted to trim down and streamline Android to improve performance on lower end devices. Needless to say, that would also, in turn, improve performance on the high end stuff.

So combine an OS that has gone through two major performance overhauls and develop it to run on one of the most powerful phones on the market (The Nexus 5 was Google's reference phone for 4.4 I would assume) run it and you get one SMOooooooooOth phone.

 

[crxssi]

Re: Blown away by performance!

I have NEVER seen Android function so smoothly. [...]I honestly am amazed at how smooth and fluid the Nexus 5 is. And this is before enabling ART, by the way (haven't done that yet).[...]Wow. Simply wow.

I agree. I am totally wow'ed by the Nexus 5. It is even faster and smoother than my Nexus 10. Have only had it a month so far, but I have been EXTREMELY happy and impressed by it. One of the best purchasing decisions ever and I highly recommend it.

Could it be better? Sure- it should have more storage (64GB), stereo front facing speakers, a hard camera button, an IR emitter, a landscape doc, and some other stuff. But nothing has everything I want... this is the closest I have found yet. And for the price, it is a hell of a deal. The fact that it is almost bloat-free, has native Android, quick updates, and works on any carrier (including Verizon if they would let it) all just finishes off probably the best overall phone on the planet right now.

 

[UJ95x]

Re: Blown away by performance!

I agree. I am totally wow'ed by the Nexus 5. It is even faster and smoother than my Nexus 10. Have only had it a month so far, but I have been EXTREMELY happy and impressed by it. One of the best purchasing decisions ever and I highly recommend it.

Could it be better? Sure- it should have more storage (64GB), stereo front facing speakers, a hard camera button, an IR emitter, a landscape doc, and some other stuff. But nothing has everything I want... this is the closest I have found yet. And for the price, it is a hell of a deal. The fact that it is almost bloat-free, has native Android, quick updates, and works on any carrier (including Verizon if they would let it) all just finishes off probably the best overall phone on the planet right now.

Glad you're liking the Nexus 5. I haven't used it much but it did perform extremely well. The Moto X is also lag-free in my experience

Sent from my Galaxy S4 running SlimKat 4.4.2

 

[srkmagnus]

Re: Blown away by performance!

I have to agree. Got my Nexus on release and its been silky smooth. An overall great device to own.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using AC Forums mobile app

 

[Chex313]

Re: Blown away by performance!

By default the animations are slowed to make it more usable...If you want to make the N5 or N4 faster? Go in Dev options and reduce the 3 animation settings to .05...0 tends to make it too fast. Mix and match to see what you like.

 

[dkhmwilliams]

Re: Blown away by performance!

This phone is really fast. I can't imagine s device much faster.

Sent from my Nexus 5

 

[Relgoshan]

Re: Blown away by performance!

Right now I'm dangling between a Note 3 (function) or a G Flex (ergonomics and battery) if I get a superphone next.
I actually do not much enjoy the ergonomics of pure Android. How's that battery, I heard it wasn't so good at launch?

Does the Nexus 5 have any real key functionality beyond pure Android?

 

[B. Diddy]

Re: Blown away by performance!

Battery is fine for me. Usually around 40% at the end of the day. Not sure what you mean by "real key functionality." The Nexus 5 does everything I want it to do, without foisting useless unremovable stuff on me that I don't want. If I realize that I want it do something more, I can find it on Google Play.

 

[dkhmwilliams]

Re: Blown away by performance!

Right now I'm dangling between a Note 3 (function) or a G Flex (ergonomics and battery) if I get a superphone next.
I actually do not much enjoy the ergonomics of pure Android. How's that battery, I heard it wasn't so good at launch?

Does the Nexus 5 have any real key functionality beyond pure Android?

Battery life has been fine for me. I can make it home with about 50 percent which is more than enough for me. I wouldn't consider myself a power user though. I typically use my Chromebook for anything intensive. If I were deciding between the Note 3 and the G Flex, I would go for the Note 3. The Flex does seem cool, but I think that I would get sick of the bend in the phone. I know I did with the Galaxy Nexus and Nexus S. And the G Flex looks like it has even more bend than those phones had.

 

[Relgoshan]

Re: Blown away by performance!

Actually there's a standard feature I am curious about. Is the GPS actually working? That's an important standard feature which can override even endlessly useful gimmicks like Smart Stay.

 

[Evilnut]

Re: Blown away by performance!

If you haven't tried a Moto X yet, you will be impressed by it too. Buttery smooth & snappy fast. The N5 & Moto X show how Android was meant to run. Smooth & silky.

Posted via Android Central App from my Ebony backed Moto X

 

[Spencerdl]

Re: Blown away by performance!

IMHO....ALL Android phones (flagships) have stepped up their game in the past few releases....just my .02 cents

 

[MBSMD]

Re: Blown away by performance!

Love the N5's screen way better than the OLED of the Samsung phones. While the blacks may not be as good, I personally appreciate the sharpness and non-cartoonish colors.

Battery life so far seems reasonable. And while I haven't experimented much with ART, I do notice less awake-while-it-should-be-sleeping system wakelock episodes as shown on the battery use graphs with ART turned on.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[dkhmwilliams]

Re: Blown away by performance!

Love the N5's screen way better than the OLED of the Samsung phones. While the blacks may not be as good, I personally appreciate the sharpness and non-cartoonish colors.

Battery life so far seems reasonable. And while I haven't experimented much with ART, I do notice less awake-while-it-should-be-sleeping system wakelock episodes as shown on the battery use graphs with ART turned on.

Posted via Android Central App

That's the one thing that I miss about Samsung devices, the AMOLED screens.

 

[MBSMD]

Re: Blown away by performance!

That's the one thing that I miss about Samsung devices, the AMOLED screens.

Really? I found them to be power hogs (with anything other than black) and not as sharp as LCD (pentile vs RGB). And yes, for text I can see a bit of a difference. It's not extreme, but enough to notice.

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[UJ95x]

Re: Blown away by performance!

Really? I found them to be power hogs (with anything other than black) and not as sharp as LCD (pentile vs RGB). And yes, for text I can see a bit of a difference. It's not extreme, but enough to notice.

Posted via Android Central App

AMOLED screens are more energy efficient...

Sent from my Galaxy S4 running SlimKat 4.4.2