Nexus 5X hands on review – A More Manageable Nexus

For the delight of Nexus fans, Google has officially launched its two newbies – LG made Nexus 5X and Huawei build Nexus 6P in India at a launch event in Delhi today. These new Google babies are now available for pre-booking from different retail and e-commerce partners as the sale and distribution of these phones are being handled by LG and Huawei respectively. After a dismal show of Nexus 6 and much hyped Android One, Google has tried to come out with its ‘A’ game with these two premium Nexus devices. At the launch event, we got the opportunity to spend some quality time with both of these devices and based on our hands-on experience, here’s our first impression of the Nexus 5X.

Also Read – Our hands-on review of Huawei Nexus 6P

After a dull response to Motorola manufactured Nexus 6, Google has once again turned towards LG for Nexus 5X. The Nexus 5 was a massive hit, offering more than its fair share of hardware at a heavily subsidized price. Google with Nexus 5X has tried to redeem some of that goodwill of its predecessor. Two years is a really long time in smartphone space, and the LG Nexus 5X faces an entirely different market and a whole new level of competition. But the LG Nexus 5 still strikes as an impressive addition to the Nexus family.

First up the look and feel of the phone. The Nexus 5X is clearly meant for those who appreciate more manageable display and one handed operation. The dimensions of 5X are 147 x 72.6 x 7.9mm and it is also quite light at 136 g. Despite being made from plastic, it gave us feel of a premium device so for that, a thumbs up to LG. However, the slight bulge around camera looks quite odds which slightly dilutes its looks. Google’s Krishna Kumar – Android/Nexus Product Leader explained to us that it is because of extra-large 1.55-micron pixels in the rear sensor. Overall, it gave us the feeling of a sturdy and lightweight phone. You can choose from three (mineral) colors  – Quartz White, Charcoal Black and Ice Blue.

The most talked-about feature or the new Nexus phones is the fingerprint sensor which is placed on the back panel. Dubbed as Nexus Imprint sensor, it is the Mountain View giant answer to Apple’s Touch ID. Like OnePlus Two, Google has placed its biometric sensor just under the camera module whereas, Apple embeds it on the front clubbed with the home button. Since fingerprint sensor needs to be setup before it can be used for locking and unlocking of the device, we didn’t get the opportunity to try it out on our hands on unit. As per company claims, it takes less than 600 milliseconds to unlock the phone using fingerprint sensor.

Following what’s becoming a new industry standard, Nexus 5X also comes with USB – C port placed at the bottom of the phone. The benefits of USB – C port is faster data transfer and quick charging. According to Google, just 10 minutes of charging can offer battery life of up to four hours. Krishna Kumar told us that Google follow standard 800 battery recharge cycle test for all it products, which means you are covered for the next two and half years or so.

On paper specification rarely reflect real performance in our experience. The Korean conglomerate partnered with Google, has refreshed Nexus 5 hardware by placing a Snapdragon 808 processor with a 64-bit 1.8GHz hexa-core CPU, which also powers LG G4. The Qualcomm processor is assisted by Adreno 418 GPU to handle graphic intensive tasks. At a time when major flagship phone makers are trying to pack more and more RAM, LG has persisted with 2GB of RAM on the 5X.

So far, generation after generation, the biggest let down in Google phones has been its sluggish camera performance. Google has finally cracked the mystery of mobile photography with Nexus 5X. The smart device sports a 12.3-mega-pixel camera with F2.0 Aperture, laser beam auto focus, and a dual LED flash. At the launch event, we explored the default camera app for few shots and the image quality was way better in comparison to what we have seen on Nexus devices so far. In the low light condition, the camera produced clear pictures with an almost perfect blend of colors and contrast. The smartphone is capable of shooting 4K and slow-motion videos. The seifle 5 MP camera with F2.0 aperture also performed well during our hands-on review of Nexus 5X. Unfortunately, the SmartBurst feature, which lets you take series of shots in succession is missing on the Nexus 5X.

Every year with new Nexus phone debuts a new version of android and this time with Nexus 5X and 6P also came a re-engineered version – Android 6.0 Marshmallow. In Marshmallow, Google has carried forward its successful material design. Marshmallow powered device comes with several interesting features like Now on Tap, Doze battery saving option, run-time app permissions, which are worthy of being applauded.  Now, you can get intuitive contextual cards from within any app using Google Now on Tap, and at the time of your hands on it worked swiftly without any delay. After reflecting on the feedback that Google has received it made a welcome move to avoid bloatware in this new device.

In our initial experience with LG Nexus 5X we found quite a few positives in the phone including its camera, fingerprint sensor and Marshmallow. However, it will take more than just few minutes of hands-on to test the full potential of the phone.

Take a look at hardware specifications below.

Also Read – Nexus 6P VS Nexus 5X Comparison

Key Specifications and Features