How Future-Proof is Nexus 5?

[salmanahmad]

How future-proof is Nexus 5 and Snapdragon 800 in general?

I bought the Nexus 5 just a few days ago and have really loved using the device. Amazing hardware coupled with great software.

With the recent advances in mobile processors how long do you think we have till Nexus 5 can not keep up with big games or even apps? Sure Snapdragon 801 and 805 have been released but they aren't huge improvements over 800 and it seems after the arrival of Snapdragon 800 the pace of advancement has slowed down considerably.

There are Snapdragon 808 and 810 processors being launched next year but since they will use 8 cores(which applications barely use) it still won't make Snapdragon 800 "old."

For most purposes even the Snapdragon 600(Nexus 7 2013)(HTC One M7)and Snapdragon S4 Pro(Nexus 4) provide a very smooth experience and Snapdragon 800 is quite ahead of those.

Tegra made a 64 bit 192 core SOC called the K1 but Tegra processors barely make it to mainstream devices and a few titles use the power of those Tegra SOCs.

Many Windows Phone devices released this year came out with a slower variant of Snapdragon 800 but still run flawlessly.

How long do you think Nexus 5 and Snapdragon 800 will continue to power a smooth and seamless experience?

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

[AndroidProf]

For a device like Nexus 5 to get out dated, it will still take about 2 more years mate. As for processors utilizing 8 cores, well up till now mostly 8 cores have been utilized by the device to reserve one or two cores for a specific purpose. However, you never know how things might turn. As per the 64 bit, 32 bit processors, the Qualcomm Head just last year stated that releasing a 64 bit device (referring to the iPhone) was a waste of resources for a phone as of this moment as it will take at least two years for the rest of the hardware to catch up and do some serious speed boost.
Being more generic, a new Nexus might (if Google doesn't abandon the project for Android Silver, which they said they wouldn't) be released at the start of the next year or the mid. But then again the Nexus 4 is still a strong device compared to most other devices.

 

[salmanahmad]

For a device like Nexus 5 to get out dated, it will still take about 2 more years mate. As for processors utilizing 8 cores, well up till now mostly 8 cores have been utilized by the device to reserve one or two cores for a specific purpose. However, you never know how things might turn. As per the 64 bit, 32 bit processors, the Qualcomm Head just last year stated that releasing a 64 bit device (referring to the iPhone) was a waste of resources for a phone as of this moment as it will take at least two years for the rest of the hardware to catch up and do some serious speed boost.
Being more generic, a new Nexus might (if Google doesn't abandon the project for Android Silver, which they said they wouldn't) be released at the start of the next year or the mid. But then again the Nexus 4 is still a strong device compared to most other devices.

This further strengthens what I am trying to say, most Google Play applications still can't multi thread enough to utilize even a quad core device.

However what you said about the Snapdragon employee, Snapdragon is somewhat a confused company. They used to advertise how 8 cores weren't a great feature and now they are moving towards it, the guy who said 64 bit was a marketing gimmick had to recall his statement and was fired as well, I think.

But he was right by the time 64 bit becomes a requirement for phones, iPhone 5S's hardware will already have become highly highly outdated.

Plus the 32 bit Snapdragon 800 on the Nexus 5 beats iPhone 5S in benchmarks, so we got that going for us, which is nice.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

[Closingracer]

This further strengthens what I am trying to say, most Google Play applications still can't multi thread enough to utilize even a quad core device.

However what you said about the Snapdragon employee, Snapdragon is somewhat a confused company. They used to advertise how 8 cores weren't a great feature and now they are moving towards it, the guy who said 64 bit was a marketing gimmick had to recall his statement and was fired as well, I think.

But he was right by the time 64 bit becomes a requirement for phones, iPhone 5S's hardware will already have become highly highly outdated.

Plus the 32 bit Snapdragon 800 on the Nexus 5 beats iPhone 5S in benchmarks, so we got that going for us, which is nice.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

I would still argue that the iPhone 5s is still as fluid if not more then the nexus 5 even with a dual core cpu. I had an iPad for a while and it was very snappy with the A7 cpu.

 

[Speedygi]

I would still argue that the iPhone 5s is still as fluid if not more then the nexus 5 even with a dual core cpu. I had an iPad for a while and it was very snappy with the A7 cpu.

I believe having multiple cores in a processor would help with multitasking more than anything.

 

[Closingracer]

I believe having multiple cores in a processor would help with multitasking more than anything.

I love Android but the iPhone is very fluid device with a dual core processor. 64 bit also helps even if you only have 1gb of ram assuming you have apps that supports it

 

[LeoRex]

The iPhone is fluid because of how Apple prioritizes things at an operating system level.... they prioritize touch response and performance over pretty much anything else. That being said, I've used them back to back and the 5S is no more, or less, fluid than the Nexus 5. Both are buttery slick.

If you bought a Nexus 5 today, I would wager that you'd get at least 2 more good years out of it.... probably more. Performance gains are slowing and current phones are so quick, even modest processing improvements will only be incrementally notice. You can easily tell the difference between going 20mph and 30mph, but when the difference is now between 140mph and 150mph.... not so noticeable. Other than those crazy 3D heavy games, mobile apps aren't all that crazy when it comes to processing needs.

Look at the Galaxy S3.... over two years old and it is STILL a pretty decent phone. It is still a very usable and serviceable phone today and for a while longer. The only thing holding it back is the OS...... but as long as users didn't take the JB update and its encrypted bootloader, they'll plenty of custom ROMs, probably even on the next version as well.

Even after the Nexus 5 loses 'official' support from Google, you'll see very strong support from the dev community (devs love that phone)..... No joke, you could get another 4 years out of the Nexus 5 as long as they keep a current OS on it.

 

[Ultraman1966]

How future-proof is Nexus 5 and Snapdragon 800 in general?

I bought the Nexus 5 just a few days ago and have really loved using the device. Amazing hardware coupled with great software.

With the recent advances in mobile processors how long do you think we have till Nexus 5 can not keep up with big games or even apps? Sure Snapdragon 801 and 805 have been released but they aren't huge improvements over 800 and it seems after the arrival of Snapdragon 800 the pace of advancement has slowed down considerably.

There are Snapdragon 808 and 810 processors being launched next year but since they will use 8 cores(which applications barely use) it still won't make Snapdragon 800 "old."

For most purposes even the Snapdragon 600(Nexus 7 2013)(HTC One M7)and Snapdragon S4 Pro(Nexus 4) provide a very smooth experience and Snapdragon 800 is quite ahead of those.

Tegra made a 64 bit 192 core SOC called the K1 but Tegra processors barely make it to mainstream devices and a few titles use the power of those Tegra SOCs.

Many Windows Phone devices released this year came out with a slower variant of Snapdragon 800 but still run flawlessly.

How long do you think Nexus 5 and Snapdragon 800 will continue to power a smooth and seamless experience?

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

Sorry to be pedantic here but I'm pretty sure the Google website says that the N7 2013 has also got the S4 Pro chipset.

 

[JeffDenver]

How future-proof is Nexus 5 and Snapdragon 800 in general?

Very.

It was way ahead of the curve in a lot of ways...wireless charging, OIS camera, 2 gigs RAM. The CPU still benmarchs towards the top, often beating the "more advanced" Snapdragon 801 phones. Even now I would say it is very futureproof and will still be getting updated a year from now or more. The Nexus 4 was an awesome phone on it's own, and this one is much better than it was.

With the recent advances in mobile processors how long do you think we have till Nexus 5 can not keep up with big games or even apps?

Yes. We have not seen true nextgen CPUs yet. The 801 ain't it...the 801 is an incremental improvement over the 800. The Snapdragon 800 is still industry-leading. It is comparable to the best CPUs out right now.

The only processor that stands out at all at this point is the Nvidia chip in the new Shield tablet. It's the first chip that is head and shoulders above the previous generation.

The Octo-chips sound impressive on paper, but are a lot less impressive in benchmarks and real world usage.

For most purposes even the Snapdragon 600(Nexus 7 2013)(HTC One M7)and Snapdragon S4 Pro(Nexus 4) provide a very smooth experience and Snapdragon 800 is quite ahead of those.

The Nexus 7 2013 has a Snapdragon S4 Pro. - http://www.phonearena.com/phones/Google-Nexus-7-2013_id8021

How long do you think Nexus 5 and Snapdragon 800 will continue to power a smooth and seamless experience?

Indefinitely.

CPUs and RAM have reached a saturation point. The new phone frontiers will be battery life and camera (and maybe storage), not CPU and RAM.

I think you can expect a smooth, fluid and fast UI both with Android L and whatever follows it. Not only on the Nexus 5, but probably the Nexus 4 and Nexus 7 tablets as well. More power will only make a difference in games. And the Nvidia Shield tablet is the future of mobile gaming. There is nothing else that will even come close to that in the foreseeable future.

 

[Closingracer]

The iPhone is fluid because of how Apple prioritizes things at an operating system level.... they prioritize touch response and performance over pretty much anything else. That being said, I've used them back to back and the 5S is no more, or less, fluid than the Nexus 5. Both are buttery slick.

If you bought a Nexus 5 today, I would wager that you'd get at least 2 more good years out of it.... probably more. Performance gains are slowing and current phones are so quick, even modest processing improvements will only be incrementally notice. You can easily tell the difference between going 20mph and 30mph, but when the difference is now between 140mph and 150mph.... not so noticeable. Other than those crazy 3D heavy games, mobile apps aren't all that crazy when it comes to processing needs.

Look at the Galaxy S3.... over two years old and it is STILL a pretty decent phone. It is still a very usable and serviceable phone today and for a while longer. The only thing holding it back is the OS...... but as long as users didn't take the JB update and its encrypted bootloader, they'll plenty of custom ROMs, probably even on the next version as well.

Even after the Nexus 5 loses 'official' support from Google, you'll see very strong support from the dev community (devs love that phone)..... No joke, you could get another 4 years out of the Nexus 5 as long as they keep a current OS on it.

The nexus 5 isn't "buttery slick" though....

 

[JeffDenver]

The nexus 5 isn't "buttery slick" though....

According to who? Mine is as smooth as any iPhone I have seen so far.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oI8snnLpEDE

That video was before ART, and is without GPU optimizations...and it is still as slick as the iPhone 5. Mine is actually faster than the one in that video.

 

[Closingracer]

According to who? Mine is as smooth as any iPhone I have seen so far.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oI8snnLpEDE

That video was before ART, and is without GPU optimizations...and it is still as slick as the iPhone 5. Mine is actually faster than the one in that video.

I owned a nexus 5 but sold it because of its horrible battery life and no WiFi calling and I have used an IPad Air and iPhone 5c and those are much smoother with less specs



The nexus 5 isn't "buttery smooth"

 

[LeoRex]

The nexus 5 isn't "buttery slick" though....

I strongly disagree... I had one, my wife had one, and they glide. If you had issues, not sure why. But you're not going to find too many people who've used one too agree with you

 

[Closingracer]

I strongly disagree... I had one, my wife had one, and they glide. If you had issues, not sure why. But you're not going to find too many people who've used one too agree with you

I could care less if anybody agrees with me or not I just think iPhones are "buttery smooth" where android isn't there yet...

 

[anon(50597)]

The nexus 5 isn't "buttery slick" though....

Mine sure is. No problems at all.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[macroguy07]

I also think you will have about 2 years more usable use out of The Butter Smooth Nexus 5 with the future upgrades of Android that will run on it.

 

[B. Diddy]

My Nexus 5 isn't buttery smooth. It's smooth as silk. Smooth as a baby's bottom. Smoother than Billy Dee Williams with his Colt 45. Can you dig it? I knew that you could.

 

[cribble2k]

This is a great phone. I bought it back in December, and am quite happy.

To answer the OP, I haven't heard of a feature on a newer phone that I wish I had. So, I think this phone is ready for the future. I'll probably use it for another 2 years.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[ajl]

I wouldn't say it's future proof, but I'd say it can definitely last you your two year contract (if you didn't buy it outright). Seeing as how it is a Nexus, it should get many software updates in the future. You shouldn't be left behind.

 

[Buddy1969]

I had Treos, I had WinMobilePhones, I had two IPhones, I had Palm/HP Pres, I had a SG3 and now I have a Nexus 5.
With maybe the exception of the WebOS devices, the Nexus 5 is the slickest Phone and the best value for money smartphone I have owned.

That said: the better is the enemy of the good. If a better phone comes out: hand it here