It is a very good phone.Google likes to use different manufacturers to make it's range of Nexus products. The Nexus 5 is made by LG, whereas the Nexus 7 is by Asus and the Nexus 10 by Samsung. You probably wouldn't know LG make it unless you spot the little logo on the back, though. It has none of the quirky design elements of the LG G2, which is no bad thing.
This is a deeply pragmatic phone in many respects, in that Google was clearly out to make a mobile that looks and feels great, without any of the flashy, budget-busting bits of a £600 phone like the iPhone 5S. The Google Nexus 5 is arguably much more conservative, design-wise, than the Nexus 4 it replaces. There's no doubt there were some serious issues with the software on the Nexus 5 when it first launched. In December 2013, Google updated the Nexus 5, bumping it up to Android 4.4.2. It has tried to address some of the most common and serious issues with the phone – mainly centred around the camera. At release, it was slow, had autofocus reliability issues, as well as exposure metering problems.
The Android 4.4.2 update tries its best to fix these complaints. The core photographic abilities of the Nexus 5 haven’t changed – it still has an 8-megapixel camera twinned with an f/2.5 lens. However, other elements have improved dramatically.
Most important of the lot is speed. The Nexus 5 camera is a lot more usable because it’s no longer incredibly slow and clunky.
The tone of the images has changed slightly too, with greater contrast and amped-up colours. Images ‘pop’ more, although some shades can look a mite oversaturated in some shots. Once you’ve accepted that the Nexus 5 camera is never going to be a photographic superstar, though, it’s a fair compromise.
For more on the camera updates, check out the dedicated Nexus 5 camera page of this review. However, carry on reading our original review below to find out more about what the Nexus 5 is like.
However, the forthcoming Android 5.0 Lollipop update should offer further improvements.The Nexus 5 is made of soft touch matt black plastic. It doesn't sound as impressive as the aluminium of the HTC One, but the response from the TrustedReviews team was unanimous – it feels great.
Its back is lightly curved, adding to the hand-friendliness of the silky smooth finish. The Nexus 5 looks good, too. Every part of the phone bar the LED flash is black ( a white version is also available) , and the lack of any recognisable gaudy extras beyond the over-sized camera lens housing make it quite a 'pure' design.
It comes across as a much more confident phone than the Nexus 4, with its 'jazz hands' spangly finish and glass rear.
