14 DAY TRIAL // This week’s batch of fresh rumors revealed that a remake of the Nexus 5 smartphone, which launched in 2013, was under consideration by manufacturer LG.
Sure, the source that brought to our attention this piece of info is pretty obscure and you should take it with a big grain of salt, but entertaining the possibility of a new Nexus 5 seems pretty exciting, nevertheless.
Google’s current Nexus 6 proved to be quite a controversial handset. The phone is vastly different to its predecessor in terms of size, design, specifications, and even price. Basically, one of the best valued smartphones on the market was replaced by one of the biggest, most premium phablets on the market.
The underlying idea is that the Nexus 5 was received a lot better than the Nexus 6, and if LG manages to fix the problems that were reported with the 2013 handset, the 2015 model might make a lot of people come back to the loving arms of the Nexus family.
Things LG will have to improve with the next-gen Nexus 5
When the Nexus 5 launched, it was considered that the phone got a lot of things right: the 5-inch display was quite perfect and the 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution was of acceptable quality back then, and it still is today.
However, the phone still had its fair share of issues. For starters, the Nexus 5 isn’t all that thin. Moreover, we can’t really say the handset excels at providing a long battery life, especially after the Android Lollipop update.
So, if LG does indeed take up the project of building a new Nexus 5 in 2015, it should pay extra attention to battery life. Making the phone thinner might also be considered nice by those who appreciate sleek devices.
Next, LG should look into upgrading the cameras. The Nexus 5 does have a decent 8MP camera on the back, complete with OIS (optical image stabilization), which is a pretty important feat to have and hasn’t made it into all flagships yet. For example, the HTC One M9 comes devoid of this feature.
LG implemented a 16MP snapper in its latest G4 flagship. The shooter bundles an f/1.8 lens and improved image stabilization and gets a new “color spectrum sensor” with better color and white balance. So in theory, LG could port the same camera equipment to its remade Nexus 5 unit.
Naturally, internal specs need an upgrade too, but given the controversial story about the overheating Snapdragon 810, Google and LG might opt for the safer road and implement the Snapdragon 808 instead. This decision would also end up impacting cost, so the Nexus 5 could be sold for an affordable price tag.
Furthermore, 3GB of RAM and not 4GB, plus 32GB of internal storage, seems to be the norm for a decent flagship that’s not bound to make a huge hole in your budget. The presence of a microSD card for memory expansion would also be a welcome addition, but given the fact that LG offers this option with the G4, we can speculate it shouldn’t be a problem.
Last but not least, LG should take into consideration pricing. One of the main reasons the Nexus 6 failed to incite consumers is that it sold for a higher price tag than the 2013 Nexus 5.
Google is also said to be partnering up with Huawei this year for a 5.7-inch device, which albeit being smaller than the Nexus 6, sure seems to be pretty large. Nevertheless, the possible LG Nexus 5 seems like a better choice for those of us craving a more affordable device with a medium build.