Should I buy the Nexus 5 or wait?

[cferthorney]

I am personally waiting till after the M8 announcement. I'm reasonably certain that I'll be going for the N5 or the Moto X as my daily driver until more details about the N6 (N5 2014?) Or Moto X2 come out later in the summer. In my opinion the N5 offers the best value for money without a doubt. Couple this with the fact that we in the UK don't have the 32gb version of the X are pushing me to the N5 and a SIM only package in June when contract is up.

Yes there are always new phones on the horizon, but October through April is phone release season as far as I'm concerned and particularly as we're now in March it's worth waiting for the last batch of announcements this time round before deciding. It will take something very special from HTC to make me change my mind, but I can wait till the end of the month.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[evostudios]

I would say get the nexus 5, it's the best bang for your buck out there. The only other phone that comes close in the price range is a Moto X. I've had mine since release and it's the best phone I've ever owned. It runs very smooth and the display is great. Really the only negative about the N5 is the camera, but nexus phone cameras have always been poor. Dooooo it!

Posted via Android Central App

 

[dkhmwilliams]

I just received my new Nexus 5 yesterday from Google. I must say that it looks perfect. There is not might bleed or insanely loose buttons. Although the first one I had was perfect too. Decided to ditch my iPhone 5S.

Sent from my Nexus 5

 

[Bront]

N5 Pros:
- Fast and direct google updates
- Phone not tied to any carrier and works on any but Verizon
- Competitively high end specs, should be highly functional for a while.
- Slim
- Good sized 1080p screen
- Wireless charging available
- Easiest phone to root and rom.
- No bloatware
- Pure Android

Cons:
- Camera is OK, but there are better on the market
- No SD Card Slot
- Smaller Battery (Plenty of ways to extend it, more than most phones in fact, but still a potential issue)
- Non-removable battery

Is the Nexus right for you? Well, if you have to have the latest and greatest, it's close, but it won't be it soon (though the improvements in the next upcoming phones don't seem that huge), and eventually there is likely going to be a Nexus 6. On the other hand, it's still a great value and a great phone.

 

[JeffDenver]

- Camera is OK, but there are better on the market

Very few. The only one out now I would really consider better is the G2.
I'd recommend that the OP check out the Nexus 5 camera thread to see actual samples. IMO the Nexus 5 camera is actually very good. Especially for Macro, though it has great lowlight as well.

http://forums.androidcentral.com/go...nexus-5-camera-photos-videos-thoughts-16.html

 

[gidgiddonihah]

Hardware no longer really matters. It is so far outpacing software's ability to utilize the extra horsepower that any modern flagship smartphone will feel super fast for its entire lifetime. 64-bit and extra cores are cool steps forward but steps that offer almost no benefits for the average user. I'd get the Nexus 5 and never look back.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

[Bront]

Very few. The only one out now I would really consider better is the G2.
I'd recommend that the OP check out the Nexus 5 camera thread to see actual samples. IMO the Nexus 5 camera is actually very good. Especially for Macro, though it has great lowlight as well.

http://forums.androidcentral.com/go...nexus-5-camera-photos-videos-thoughts-16.html

I'm only going off of some general feedback. I've got no complaints about the camera other than it doesn't have an optical zoom lens, but I wasn't expecting one either, nor do I have high expectations for one.

Hardware no longer really matters. It is so far outpacing software's ability to utilize the extra horsepower that any modern flagship smartphone will feel super fast for its entire lifetime. 64-bit and extra cores are cool steps forward but steps that offer almost no benefits for the average user. I'd get the Nexus 5 and never look back.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

Exactly. 64-bit doesn't really mean much in the phone arena, as 2 GB of RAM seems to be plenty for most phones, and you need more than 4 to start seeing some use out of the 64-bit processing. Sure, it MIGHT future proof your phone 3-4 years form now, but you're not likely to have it then anyway.

 

[Dudefella123]

This phone is on par with the latest offerings from samsung Nokia etc. It is a high end flagship phone. Blazing fast, I would go as far as faster than the iPhone 5 lineup. For me the latest stock android is a requirement so I will always be getting a nexus device.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

[patruns]

Exactly. 64-bit doesn't really mean much in the phone arena

It doesn't mean much of anything in most arenas. I have a 64-bit PC and almost none of the installed software is written to take advantage of 64-bit. Developers have been reluctant to write 64-bit software and apps because then only people with 64-bit devices and O/S's would be able to use them and the majority of the market is still 32-bit.

 

[JeffDenver]

Hardware no longer really matters. It is so far outpacing software's ability to utilize the extra horsepower that any modern flagship smartphone will feel super fast for its entire lifetime.

Hardware still matters a lot IMO...it's just the specifics have changed. Displays and CPU hardware are largely mature now. Cameras are the next horizon to be conquered. Storage still matters a lot too (far more than either Google or Apple are willing to admit).

 

[LeoRex]

I've been looking to buy a new phone for a while now, and I was hoping you guys would have some advice. Would it be best to buy a nexus 5 now, or wait for other phones. I was looking at the nexus 5 because it was a good deal to buy it and get a plan off contract for a cheap price. Would it be smart to wait for new phones like the htc m8? Will the nexus 5 get outdated soon, and any ideas how much the m8 would cost?

First.... cost.... There is nothing on the market that can touch the Nexus 5 in terms of value... the only one that comes close is the Moto X.... everything else is oceans away. With the M8 coming out, they've dropped the One's price.... to $500. Not sure about the new One's price, but guessing that you might be able to buy two 5's for the same price.

Now, performance and longevity... and this is just one man's opinion. I had a SIII before I got my N5 in January. The S3 is approaching its two year anniversary this May. But, even in today's landscape, that phone is still a pretty decent phone and if I was stuck with it for whatever reason (well, if TM didn't introduce their Break UP program, I would be), I wouldn't be all that upset about it... that phone has a lot of life left in it. Samsung has caught a lot of heat with the S4 and S5, people complaining about being underwhelmed. But I think we are seeing a bit of a plateau in terms of performance gains from generation to generation, one that was ushered in by the aformentioned S3, paired with ICS 4.0.4.... Up until then, people saw massive improvements with each new HW and SW generation. Now those leaps have turned into increasingly smaller steps.

So keeping that in mind, I can only assume that the Nexus 5 will also have a long shelf life. It has a lot high end hardware packed in there and, being a Nexus device, it'll have dev support, from Google and the custom world, for several years to come. Sure, it has its limitations, but they aren't so bad. The camera might not be confused with a DSLR... but I used it a lot on my recent vacation and the pictures came out pretty good (a couple of nighttime HDR+ shots came out quite nice). The other common complaints; storage and speaker, aren't really a big deal for me either. Love the thing and have no logical reason to get rid of it anytime soon.

 

[BlankThoughts]

If you are interested in the M8, I would recommend waiting for it to be officially announced, then make your final judgement.
I hypothesize that the Nexus 5 will probably be cheaper (Google Play).

-Sent From My Computer-