Nexus 5: Dispelling the Myths

[badbrad17]

I haven't read all the comments but great thread. One other thing to mention if it hasn't been already is the fact that there will be issues with apps that have not been updated for Kit Kat. Problematic apps can and will negatively impact your device until the developers get their updates done.

Things like performance and battery consumption can be caused by this. Lots of the negative comments disappear after a month because the devs get everything fixed.

Also the camera app will get updated. It was the same with the Nexus 4 and Moto X. This is a Google update issue and nothing to do with LG. The G2 camera performs perfectly so some of these comments are also false.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using AC Forums mobile app

 

[JeffDenver]

Google is definitely working on camera enhancements. And not just for the Nexus.

Google working on RAW support and improved camera features for Android

 

[badbrad17]

Just saw that. Good to hear.
This article also talks about something called burst mode "Google code reveals work on burst mode and improved face detection for Android cameras" http://feedly.com/k/1cDEDcn

Sent from my Nexus 4 using AC Forums mobile app

 

[beiting]

The camera seems ok to me overall. The only issue I have is the speaker volume being pretty awful, other than that it's an awesome phone.

 

[Adranalyne]

I'm not sold on this "5 hours on-screen time" thing. I'm not saying I couldn't eek that number out from time to time if I really tried, but to give anyone the impression that a normal usage case would get that much life out of one charge is something I'm not willing to do. For instance, on auto brightness, one Google account (syncing App Data, Calendar, Chrome, Contacts, Gmail, Google Play Music, Keep, and People Details), Location mode set to Battery Saving, a mixture of 3G/LTE (around -95 dBM/2-3 bars of service), some Hangouts messaging, Facebook/Twitter, and some browsing on Chrome, I'm sitting at 6 hours 51 minutes of usage with 1 hour and 16 minutes of on-screen time. I'm at 68%. No voice calls or video. I'm using a completely stock Nexus 5. I'm also on my 9th charge cycle on this phone.

I'm on pace for roughly 13-15 hours of usage with 3 to 3 and a half hours of on-screen time. That's not bad, but I wouldn't be able to come close to 5 hours on normal usage. Just figured I'd make sure the people reading this thread didn't think that was the norm.

 

[robber]

I'm not sold on this "5 hours on-screen time" thing. I'm not saying I couldn't eek that number out from time to time if I really tried, but to give anyone the impression that a normal usage case would get that much life out of one charge is something I'm not willing to do. For instance, on auto brightness, one Google account (syncing App Data, Calendar, Chrome, Contacts, Gmail, Google Play Music, Keep, and People Details), Location mode set to Battery Saving, a mixture of 3G/LTE (around -95 dBM/2-3 bars of service), some Hangouts messaging, Facebook/Twitter, and some browsing on Chrome, I'm sitting at 6 hours 51 minutes of usage with 1 hour and 16 minutes of on-screen time. I'm at 68%. No voice calls or video. I'm using a completely stock Nexus 5. I'm also on my 9th charge cycle on this phone.

I'm on pace for roughly 13-15 hours of usage with 3 to 3 and a half hours of on-screen time. That's not bad, but I wouldn't be able to come close to 5 hours on normal usage. Just figured I'd make sure the people reading this thread didn't think that was the norm.

Agreed, my device aint gettin' no 5 hrs

 

[clevin]

Lots of the negative comments disappear after a month because the devs get everything fixed.

or because people tired of complaining the same thing again and again...lol. Its totally non-scientific and you shouldn't make any conclusions here.

I'm not sold on this "5 hours on-screen time" thing.

I do think its doable, GSM arena tested it can do 4:45 web or 6hr video, if you mix the two tasks, you can definitely get 5hr, just need to be sure to turn off sync, and stop any type of data in standby mode to prevent battery drainage when not in use.

 

[Adranalyne]

or because people tired of complaining the same thing again and again...lol. Its totally non-scientific and you shouldn't make any conclusions here.

I do think its doable, GSM arena tested it can do 4:45 web or 6hr video, if you mix the two tasks, you can definitely get 5hr, just need to be sure to turn off sync, and stop any type of data in standby mode to prevent battery drainage when not in use.

I meant being able to do it continuously as part of normal usage without any real compromises.

 

[JeffDenver]

Agreed, my device aint gettin' no 5 hrs

I tested this myself. It's not a matter of debate as far as I'm concerned...I have already gotten it. 5 hours, 4 minutes, 5% remaining.

I could probably get even more by turning off LTE and dimming the display. The test I did was with LTE on and display on full.

I meant being able to do it continuously as part of normal usage without any real compromises.

It would depend on what you mean by compromises. My test was continuous, and the phone was not at idle the entire time. I did not view any video though...the most draining task I did was playing a game for half an hour.

 

[Adranalyne]

I tested this myself. It's not a matter of debate as far as I'm concerned...I have already gotten it. 5 hours, 4 minutes, 5% remaining.

I could probably get even more by turning off LTE and dimming the display. The test I did was with LTE on and display on full.


It would depend on what you mean by compromises. My test was continuous, and the phone was not at idle the entire time. I did not view any video though...the most draining task I did was playing a game for half an hour.

That's not normal usage. No one keeps their phone on continously throughout the day. For someone using their phone in a normal way (expecting to be getting 15-20 hours, voice calls, texting, gaming, browsing, videos, etc.), the more realistic usage would be between 3 and 4 hours. I'm also going to say that I highly doubt you could get 5 hours on full screen brightness, but we'll have to agree to disagree on that one. When it's all said and done, this phone has pretty decent battery life. That's better than what was expected.

 

[JeffDenver]

That's not normal usage. No one keeps their phone on continously throughout the day.

If the point is to test screen on-time, why is that not a good test?

Normal use would not have the phone on that long. If anything it is harsher on the battery. What conbstitutes normal use to you while the screen is on?

For someone using their phone in a normal way (expecting to be getting 15-20 hours, voice calls, texting, gaming, browsing, videos, etc.), the more realistic usage would be between 3 and 4 hours.

Maybe...I never expect 15-20 hours. For me normal use is 8 or 10 at most. But I am a heavier user than most people probably are.

But as was stated above, there have been tests already showing 4 hours and 45 minutes even with continuous looping video. That is going to drain your batter more than anything else except maybe games.

I'm also going to say that I highly doubt you could get 5 hours on full screen brightness

For me it's not even a debate. I've done it. I got closer to 6 hours actually.

The battery life sucks for ALL phones with embedded batteries IMO. It's only a matter of degree to me. Before the nexus 4, all my phones had extended batteries, and I could get days out of them at a time even with heavy use. I can't do that anymore. Google insists on embedding them now. If I had the iPhone's battery life it would still not be enough for me.

 

[Adranalyne]

If the point is to test screen on-time, why is that not a good test?

Normal use would not have the phone on that long. If anything it is harsher on the battery. What conbstitutes normal use to you while the screen is on?


Maybe...I never expect 15-20 hours. For me normal use is 8 or 10 at most. But I am a heavier user than most people probably are.

But as was stated above, there have been tests already showing 4 hours and 45 minutes even with continuous looping video. That is going to drain your batter more than anything else except maybe games.


For me it's not even a debate. I've done it. I got closer to 6 hours actually.

The battery life sucks for ALL phones with embedded batteries IMO. It's only a matter of degree to me. Before the nexus 4, all my phones had extended batteries, and I could get days out of them at a time even with heavy use. I can't do that anymore. Google insists on embedding them now. If I had the iPhone's battery life it would still not be enough for me.

Again, I stand by my comments. I don't buy it, but again, agree to disagree. If I didn't own the phone, I'd take everything you said with a grain of salt considering your love affair with this particular device. Since I do own the phone, it's not that important.

 

[JeffDenver]

Again, I stand by my comments. I don't buy it, but again, agree to disagree. If I didn't own the phone, I'd take everything you said with a grain of salt considering your love affair with this particular device. Since I do own the phone, it's not that important.

I am ok with you not taking my word for it...do you doubt GSM arena as well? Do you believe they lied about getting 4 hours 40 minutes of battery life with video running the entire time?

 

[Adranalyne]

I am ok with you not taking my word for it...do you doubt GSM arena as well? Do you believe they lied about getting 4 hours 40 minutes of battery life with video running the entire time?

That's a battery rundown test. I'm talking about normal day-to-day usage. Do you not understand the difference between the two?

 

[JeffDenver]

That's a battery rundown test. I'm talking about normal day-to-day usage. Do you not understand the difference between the two?

No need for insults. Just asking a question.

 

[Rule9]

I am ok with you not taking my word for it...do you doubt GSM arena as well? Do you believe they lied about getting 4 hours 40 minutes of battery life with video running the entire time?

Can you link to their test please?
I want to see what brightness, sync, and LTE settings were.

Sent from my Sony Xperia Z1

 

[JeffDenver]

Can you link to their test please?
I want to see what brightness, sync, and LTE settings were.

Sure. i think this is the one he was talking about:

LG Nexus 5 battery life test - GSMArena Blog

EDIT: And I misquoted...video playback was actually over 6 hours. 4 hours 45 minutes was for web browsing.

 

[jairusz]

I was skeptical about getting 5 hours of screen time until I was out over and used gps, yelp, light texting, web surfing and checked on clash of clans throughout the day. Got 4hrs 58mins of screen time with 4% battery left.

 

[Adranalyne]

I'm not trying to insult you, but I'm clearly talking about actual usage, not rundown tests. If I was talking rundown tests, I wouldn't ever bring up the Nexus 5; it gets spanked by phones like the HTC One and Moto X in both categories. Just like they say a bunch on this site, I don't care about battery tests. Real world usage is all that matters and this isn't a 5 hour on-screen phone under normal usage. No matter how badly you want it to be.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[alexlam24]

Bad battery life? My HTC Amaze excels at that! 1 hour of screen time!

Sent from Samsung Z1 GPE on T-Mobile