Google Nexus 5X review: LG's Nexus legacy continues with the best of the mid-range

[Spider]

By Matthew Miller | October 19, 2015 -- 08:02 GMT (01:02 PDT)

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Pros

• Impressive fit and finish
• Pocketable form factor
• Excellent camera performance
• Competitive mid-range pricing

Cons

• No OIS or wireless charging

One of the most, if not the most, beloved Nexus smartphones was the LG-made Nexus 5. While I think the Nexus 6P could have been released by itself and satisfied the Nexus fans, I understand that the Nexus 5X will appeal to Nexus 5 fans while also offering a more pocketable device for those tired of big slabs.

LG's latest smartphones have been excellent and the LG G4 remains one of the best smartphones available today. I attended the Nexus launch event and was able to handle the cool mint green, official color name of ice, Nexus 5X. My first impression was that it was extremely light, the back plastic felt fantastic, and it was easy to slip in my front pants pocket.

Out of the box impressions
The Google Nexus 5X arrived in a simple white square box with a sleeve that showed a big X on one side and the front and back of the 5X on the other. Glued to the under side of the box cover you will find a visual guide to ports, cables, and buttons found in the retail package.

The Nexus 5X retail package includes the Nexus 5X, USB Type-C to USB Type-C cable, A/C adapter for USB Type-C cord, SIM card removal tool, warranty guide, and Google Play Music offer card. One cable missing from this package, compared to the Nexus 6P package, is the short USB Type-C to USB cable. If you want to connect the 5X to a computer without a USB Type-C port or use one of your existing A/C USB chargers then you can pick up this USB Type-C to standard USB cable for $12.99 from Google.

I love the feel of the Nexus 5X and the back smooth plastic reminds me of the HTC One X, which used my favorite plastic material ever. It has a matte finish and is tough for me to stop sliding my fingers over it. I was sent the white, aka quartz, model with 32GB of memory to test out.

Specifications

• Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 1.8 GHz hexa-core 64-bit with Adreno 418 GPU
• Display: 5.2 inch LCD at 1920 x 1080 pixels resolution, 423 ppi, Corning Gorilla Glass 3
• Operating system: Android 6.0 Marshmallow
• RAM: 2GB LPDDR3
• Storage: 16 and 32 GB internal options
• Cameras: Rear 12.3 megapixel camera with f/2.0 aperture and large 1.55 micrometer pixels. 5 megapixel front-facing camera with f/2.0 aperture and 1.4 micrometer pixels
• Speaker/mics: Single front-facing speaker, 3 microphones
• Sensors: Fingerprint, proximity, motion, compass, gyro, barometer, Android Sensor Hub
• Wireless: Bluetooth 4.2, 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac @x2 MIMO WiFi, GPS, NFC
• Battery: 2,700 mAh battery with fast charging via USB Type-C (up to 7 hours of use with 10 minutes of charging)
• Dimensions: 147 x 72.6 x 7.9 mm and 136 grams
• Colors: Carbon (black), quartz (white), ice (mint green)

As you can see, the Nexus 5X has reasonable specifications, especially when you consider you can pick one up for just $379 or $429. Looking at other mid-range smartphones, the Nexus 5X offers quite a bit at a fair price and looks great doing it.