Google’s LG Nexus 5X reviewed

Let’s just get this out of the way quickly: in 2013, the Nexus 5 was unbeatable value when it came out, offering flagship specs, decent design, and excellent screen, and a solid value at $399.

We’re not kidding when we say this was unbeatable, and while the battery life only really hit a day, this was one of the more popular phones to bring people over to Android.

But at a starting price of $659, the Nexus 5X is not that same arm twister. Rather, it’s a good update, but it doesn’t feel like the refresh worthy of its budget busting brother.

Two years on, the upgraded system with the same spec of storage doesn’t really feel like it’s worth nearly $300 more, and even though our dollar has taken a bit of a beating in that span of time, again, it still feels like the pricing of the Nexus 5X should be lower, almost to the tune of $200.

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We get the argument, though, because spec-wise, this is high-grade stuff, so Google and LG don’t want to undervalue, it’s just that after years of undervaluing on the 5 inch body, it seems a little weird to push that price back up all of a sudden. As if to say, “we’ve already got you, and now we can just charge more”.

We suspect it’ll be different with the Nexus 6P simply because there’s no mistaking the flagship class it sits in, with even high specs, a better screen, and a metal body, but here on the Nexus 5X, it just feels like Google should either drop the price a touch or upgrade the storage overall.

That last part would go a long way to making the handset feel a little more premium, because seriously, who buys a 16GB phone in a high-end phone?

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Finally, there’s that new Type C USB port at the bottom, and we list this in the negatives of the device simply because it is both a blessing and a curse.

On the one hand, you should be excited that the Nexus 5X is one of the first phones in the world to sport the Type C USB port, the next generation of high speed wired connections that will become the standard port to charge many devices, taking over from where microUSB was and allowing you to charge not just phones, but also tablets and laptop computers.

This is the future, and it’s even reversible. Like Lightning, you cannot possibly put this in the wrong way, so good luck breaking it by accident.

But because it’s the future, good luck finding a power supply in a pinch.

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Yes, this may be a standard, but on 2015, it’s probably not going to be an easily found standard until at least mid-next year, and as such, if you’re not using a computer where the new port is featured, you may not have a spare cable with you or found in a store.

That means you’ll probably need to go and grab a spare feeding back into standard USB, because one of these isn’t in the box. Rather, you just get a standard Type C to power brick, which is fine, but will probably be the charger you leave at home.

If you’re an owner of the 2015 ultra-thin MacBook, you already have something that works, but otherwise, well, it might be worth investing in a secondary cable because an extra isn’t included in the box.

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Conclusion

As much as we love what LG and Google have accomplished with the Nexus 5X, we’re stuck on one thing: the price.

With a starting price of $659, we really don’t understand why the 5X is a phone attracting such a high tag. Granted, there’s been a two year gap between the Nexus 5 and the Nexus 5X, and things have changed, but we’re now looking at a phone that delivers almost twice the cost, and we’re not sure it’s validated.

Outside of the camera and processor, the Nexus 5X reads like it should be a mid-range device, even though it comes with specs included in some flagship models, like LG’s own G4.

There are major differences, however, but given the Nexus 6P is easily Google’s top tier product and features a different design, body, set of materials, screen, and spec, it’s hard to view the 5X as anything other than the mid-range option.

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Except it’s not.

That’s one of the reasons why the Nexus 5X is such a confusing device. On the one hand, it’s excellent, and on the other, it’s overpriced, which is kind of like the original Nexus 5, except that was excellent and underpriced.

If you’re a huge fan of the Nexus 5 and want the next best thing but, you know, newer, Google’s and LG’s Nexus 5X is definitely worth a look, but if you want a Google phone, we’d probably look a little higher, because only at only a little over a hundred more for the Nexus 6P, you’ll likely find better value across the board.

Overall
Features
Value for money
Performance
Ease of Use
Design
Reader Rating0 Votes
Feels nice and light in the hand; Great screen; Android 6.0 is super fast; Speedy and solid little camera; One of the best fingerprint sensors we’ve ever seen; Strong mobile broadband performance;
No microSD slot; Google's "Now on Tap" isn't always useful; Design makes it so that you won’t always find it easy to pull out of the pocket the right way or place your finger on the sensor; Occasional speed drops that feel like there phone is falling over; USB Type C is both a blessing and a curse; Seems a little overpriced;
4