A mid-range Google smartphone for the masses

Dec 26, 2015 21:14 GMT  ·  By

The collaboration between Google and LG dates from a few years ago, when the Nexus 4 made it to the market. Fast forward three years and the South Korean company launched the third Nexus smartphone in partnership with Google.

The LG Nexus 5X is a sequel to the popular Nexus 5 released back in 2013, but it's not really a flagship smartphone. The true flagship device launched by Google this year is the Nexus 6P manufactured by Huawei.

The Nexus 5X is, in some ways, Google's Android One project that offers the pure stock experience to the masses.

Since Android One was a flop, the search giant had to find a way to bring its Android stock experience to more consumers, and a cheaper handset is always a good solution.

LG Nexus 5X is clearly positioned in the mid-range category. The smartphone was released on the market back in October and was initially available for sale through Google Play Store only.

It comes in two versions, 16GB or 32GB, and costs around $350 - $400 outright, depending on the country. As many Android fans know by now, the amount of storage is very important for Nexus smartphones since they lack microSD card slot.  

Operating system Android 6.0 Marshmallow
Display 5.2-inch with FHD (1080 x 1920p) resolution
Processor Hexa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 clocked at 1.8GHz
RAM 2GB
Cameras Dual 12.3MP as primary; 4032 x 3024 pixels, laser autofocus, dual-LED flash
5MP secondary, 1080p@30fps
Storage 16GB 
Battery 2,700mAh
Dimensions 147 x 72.6 x 7.9 mm; 136 g

Design - more akin to Motorola smartphones

The Nexus 5X does not look at all like its predecessor, the Nexus 5, and that's not necessarily a bad thing. You could easily mistake the LG-made Nexus 5X for a Motorola device thanks to the dual front speakers and slim body.

The device is slightly larger than the Nexus 5 since it comes with a bigger display and battery. The back of the phone features a fingerprint scanner right under the camera. There's also a dual-LED (dual-tone) flash to the left of the camera and a speaker grille that hides the earpiece (not a loudspeaker).

I've found the positioning of the fingerprint scanner within the reach of my not-so-long fingers, so no one should have issues using this feature on the fly.

LG Nexus 5X is made of plastic material that features a matte finish. Although the phone is prone to fingerprints and grease, the semi-matte finish can improve your grip on the Nexus 5X.

It's also worth mentioning that the battery inside the LG Nexus 5X is not replaceable. The battery cover can't be pulled out either unless you're using special tools designed for that, but I wouldn't recommend it if you don't know what you're doing.

The external buttons have been slightly repositioned for easier use, so you will find that the power button and the dual volume key have been placed on the right side the phone.

The left side of LG Nexus 5X features the (nano)SIM tray, and this requires a special tool to pull it out, which is provided in the sale package.

LG Nexus 5X (front)
LG Nexus 5X (front)

LG Nexus 5X's bottom side is pretty crowded. It features the USB Type-C port, a 3.5mm audio port, and a small mic. The top side features the secondary mic and nothing else.

The South Korean company did its homework and brought the Nexus lineup into 2015. Even though it's made of plastic, it doesn't feel cheap at all. On top of that, LG Nexus 5X looks solid enough, though it will probably not withstand drops on concrete.

Display and camera - better results as compared to Nexus 5, but lacks some features

LG Nexus 5X comes with a slightly larger display than its predecessor. The smartphone sports a 5.2-inch IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen display that supports full HD (1080p) resolution.

As expected, the phone's display is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 3 coating. Another hint that Nexus 5X is not really meant to compete with other flagship handsets is the fact that its display does not offer Quad HD (2560 x 1440 pixels) resolution, which is now standard for top-of-the-line handsets.

However, for a full HD (1080p) display the Nexus 5X does offer an amazing experience. According to Google, the smartphone's screen provides 424ppi (pixel per inch) and no less than 455nits at maximum brightness level.

The LG Nexus 5 did not have a bad display either, but the Nexus 5X has one of the best screens in the family. It's perfectly visible in strong sunlight, and your eyes won't hurt when reading it in dark environments for a longer period.

The only thing I regret is the lack a controls for adjusting the display's colors, although the default setting looks pretty much spot on.

Moving on to the camera, the Nexus 5X packs a 12.3-megapixel photo snapper on the back, which features laser autofocus, dual-LED (dual-tone) flash, and 4K video recording.

If you previously owned the Nexus 5, then you've probably noticed that we did not mention anything about OIS (optical image stabilization).

Unfortunately, LG Nexus 5X's camera lacks OIS, a feature that the previous model includes by default. Also, as far as I've noticed, the camera focuses on the objects very fast thanks to the laser autofocus feature, but the phone does not come with the new phase detection autofocus.

The phone's main camera packs a Sony IMX377 sensor, which is one of the reasons it can capture high-quality pictures.

LG Nexus 5X camera and fingerprint sensor
LG Nexus 5X camera and fingerprint sensor

Although Nexus 5X's camera does not come with a high amount of megapixels, the module was pretty big, hence the small hump on the back side that marks the spot where the camera is placed.

However, there are few 12-megapixel cameras on the market that offer such high-quality pictures. The noise levels in most pictures are on the low side, while the color accuracy is very high.

The camera UI is pretty straightforward mostly because it only gives users access to a handful of settings like flash, HDR, and self-timer.

The good news is you can install any compatible camera application from Google Play store that will provide you with much more settings and manual controls like focus, shutter and others.

A nice trick that comes in handy when you want to take a quick picture is to open the camera with a double tap on the Power key, even when the smartphone is locked.

On the front, LG Nexus 5X sports a secondary 5-megapixel camera for selfies and video calls, which performs quite well.

LG Nexus 5X's camera can capture 4K video at 30fps, but it lacks a 1080p @ 60fps mode, which would have been perfect for fast-paced objects.

The good news is 4K video captured with Nexus 5X looks way above average quality-wise, so check out our video sample shot with the device.

Even though you won't have any additional settings at your disposal when shooting videos, the results are quite good with the default ones.

LG Nexus 5X camera sample
LG Nexus 5X camera sample

Power and performance - not a flagship killer, but a decent performer

Google has decided to go for Qualcomm chipsets for both its Nexus smartphones launched this year. However, the Nexus 5X gets the Snapdragon 808 processor while Huawei-made Nexus 6P is powered by a much more powerful Snapdragon 810 CPU.

Even though it's not the most powerful CPU on the market, LG Nexus 5X can easily compete with other flagship devices. It will not outperform most of them, but it's the closest you can get for the money.

I was a bit disappointed with the fact the Nexus 5X comes with only 2GB RAM. It's true that most mid-range smartphones come with the same amount of RAM, but there are many others that pack 3GB of RAM and cost much less than the Nexus 5X.

If coupled with 3GB RAM, Nexus 5X's Snapdragon 808 processor would have provided an even better performance. Even so, LG Nexus 5X can easily run just about any application or game you throw at it.

We've attached some synthetic benchmark results where everyone can see how LG Nexus 5X performs when put against Samsung Galaxy Note 5 (Exynos 7420 CPU / 4GB RAM) and Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 (MediaTek Helio X10 CPU / 2GB RAM).

LG Nexus 5X AnTuTu benchmarks results
LG Nexus 5X AnTuTu benchmarks results

One of the main drawbacks of the Nexus lineup is the fact that it doesn't come with microSD card slots, and Nexus 5X is no exception. You can choose either the 16GB or 32GB model, but you won't be able to expand internal memory.

Menu and software - Android, as it's supposed to be

One the most appreciated features offered by Nexus family is the pure Android experience. Since Google kicked off the Nexus lineup, all smartphones come pre-installed with stock Android.

With stock Android, customers will be provided with the raw experience. There are no bloatware, no unnecessary apps or services, and no UIs preloaded on the phone.

As I've mentioned earlier, this is one of the main reasons that Android fans prefer Nexus handsets. Obviously, you can decide to customize your Android experience as you see fit by downloading any launchers available in Google Play Store.

Even though not many things are worth mentioning on the outside, Google is making lots of improvements under the hood. Android 6.0 Marshmallow packs many new features that come in handy while on the move.

Doze is one of those features, and it drastically changes the way Android works. It saves a lot of battery when the smartphone is in standby mode.

Another feature that I found refreshing is called Ambient display, and it allows users to see the time and any notifications they might have received, when it senses your movement. If you want to see what notifications you received in full colors, you can simply tap on the display.

Also, you get toggle for just about any major features implemented into the Android operating system, which you can access easily from the notification bar.

One thing that you won't get with Android stock and Nexus 5X is multi-window support. Neither Lollipop nor Marshmallow offers this feature, but you will still be able to switch between apps through the app switcher implemented.

For those obsessed with privacy and security, Nexus 5X provides them with access to each app's permission list. Basically, whenever an application decides it wants to access your data, it will ask you first.

Once you allow an application to access your data, it will not ask you again. Android 6.0 Marshmallow comes with an app permission list that offers you an overall look at what permissions each app has been granted.

The Homescreen of the LG Nexus 5X is one of the cleanest and simplest I've ever seen. There's basically just one pane with shortcuts, and you won't even have to scroll down for more as they all fit in just one window.

LG Nexus 5X clean homescreen
LG Nexus 5X clean homescreen

Even without any unnecessary apps preloaded on the Nexus 5X, you will still have only 10GB of internal memory at your disposal if you purchase the 16GB model.

Overall, LG Nexus 5X is the perfect smartphone for those who hate to scroll through multiple windows to get to the application they need, but also for those who despise all current UIs offered by handset makers.

Last but not least, the Nexus lineup is one of the few options if you want to be among the first to receive major Android software updates.

Battery life - good on standby, but not impressive

One of the biggest improvements over the previous Nexus smartphone is the battery capacity. The Nexus 5X is powered by a 2,700 mAh battery, which is far superior to the 2,300 mAh battery included in the Nexus 5.

Even though battery life is better than the Nexus 5's, it's still not much better than other mid-range devices' even with all the battery life improvement features included in Android 6.0 Marshmallow.

Thanks to Doze, the Nexus 5X can detect when the phone is not used and start saving battery energy by removing apps that work in the background.

That should make your Nexus 5X last longer, but the results aren't that impressive. You can probably go for about a week without charging your Nexus 5X if you're not using it too much.

However, LG Nexus 5X can decently last for about two days of full use. Obviously, that highly depends on how you're using the smartphone, as some actions deplete the battery faster (like watching movies) than others.

Connectivity - USB Type-C port is great, but lacks SlimPort support

As expected, Nexus 5X offers the full connectivity package that includes features like 4G LTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS with AGPS and GLONASS, as well as USB Type-C 1.0 port.

However, the smartphone lacks some features that the predecessor had, like wireless charging and SlimPort. The Nexus 5X comes with Android Pay support as well, and NFC (Near Field Connectivity) support.

As far as LTE speeds go, LG Nexus 5 offers LTE Cat.6 support for speed up to 300Mbps download and 50Mbps upload.


The Good

I've already mentioned that Nexus 5X is a great choice for those who want to avoid any bloat or unnecessary software on their smartphones.

However, the biggest advantage of owning a Nexus device is that you will be among the first to receive software updates.

LG Nexus 5X is no exception, so if you don't want to wait for Samsung, LG or any other handset company until they release major Android updates, the Nexus family is your only option.

These two traits make the Nexus 5X stand out from other mid-range Android smartphones available on the market. Feature-wise, the device packs some great hardware such as the 5.2-inch display and 12.2-megapixel camera that are great performers.

USB Type-C port and the hexa-core Snapdragon 808 processor are among the strong points of the LG Nexus 5X. Also, let's not forget the device comes with Android 6.0 Marshmallow operating system right out of the box.

The Bad

The lack of microSD card slot is probably the main issue with the LG Nexus 5X, but this drawback applies to the entire Nexus family.

Unfortunately, LG Nexus 5X lacks some features that were present in previous models, such as OIS (optical image stabilization) for the camera and wireless charging for the battery.

I would have been much content with slightly more amount of RAM, as the Nexus 5X packs only 2GB. Also, it would have been nice if Google had offered a 64GB model as well.

Conclusion

LG Nexus 5X is clearly an improvement over the previous Nexus flagship smartphone, but it's not a true flagship by its own nature. Instead, it's a mid-range device that offers users the raw Android experience.

Google has decided to include some new features into the mix, such as USB Type-C port and fingerprint sensor, which are nice additions to the Nexus family.

LG Nexus 5X is the perfect choice for those who want to keep their smartphones up to date with the latest version of Android, at least for the next two years or so.

Although it's not the best performer in the mid-range class, LG Nexus 5X is certainly a high-quality device that can be affordable for those living in the United States, and slightly more expensive in the rest of the countries.

Our Rating

looks 4
build 4
speed 4
battery 3
calls 4
camera 4
video 4
apps 5
screen 4
signal4

final rating 4

Nexus 5X photos and screenshots (55 Images)

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