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by andrewblossom 3588 days ago
The Nexus 5 (16gb - $349, 32gb - $399) was released nearly three years ago for a fraction of the price of the comparable iPhone at the time (iPhone 5s: 16gb - $649, 32gb - $749). I think you got a hell of a deal. Upgrade to the 5x for another $350 be happy with another few years of support. Or wait for the new Nexus phones to come out this fall...
2 comments

The only thing I'd add here is that unfortunately the Nexus 5x is not an upgrade over the 5 in terms of performance. It might even be a downgrade (I own both). Because the 5x uses a 64-bit arch, it uses more RAM than the 5x (and both only have 2GB). Also, the SD808 (2GHz) cores in the 5x are hardly a step up from the SD800 (2.2GHz) cores. The only real upgrade the 5x gives you is the camera.
Best new features for me are fingerprint sensor, USB-C and and quick charge.

Quick charge is a game changer. Less pressure to make the battery bigger if you can make the phone charge way faster.

> Best new features for me are fingerprint sensor, USB-C and and quick charge.

For me, USB-C is the worst part. Nobody else ever has a charger I can use, and when I plug into anything other than the wall adapter that came with the phone, it's always "charging slowly."

I keep this in the small key pocket of my jeans all the time (though my 6P battery life is around 1.5 days with heavy use):

https://www.amazon.com/adapter-Adapter-Convert-Connector-One...

I'll be upgrading my 5 to get USB-C, that little connectivity feature for me is the upgrade clincher.
I guess, but I prefer the wireless charging of the Nexus 5 to the USB-C connector of the 5x. Of course it would be nice to have both. Hopefully this year's versions bring back the wireless charging.
I was really disappointed since the Nexus 5. I'm not sure why Qi charging was removed. Quick charging doesn't replace being able to just put your phone down to charge.
>the Nexus 5x is not an upgrade over the 5 in terms of performance

Isnt it [0]? A 10-100% gain in performance is about what I'd expect from a 2-year smartphone cycle, and we'd be lucky to continue to get such gains.

If you can present data that actually shows no performance difference between the 5 and 5X, I'd be interested to see it.

[0] http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2015/10/nexus-5x-and-nexus-6p...

The Nexus 5X has no wireless inductive charging. My nice little Yootech charger sitting on my desk is useless with my wife's 5X. Those cool "charging tables" at Starbucks and other such places are suddenly useless, as well.

Also, 5X uses the USB-C connector, so you have to update all your cables and adapters on your desk and in your car. A real pain. When you're out in the world and need a charge-up, you'd better be carrying a USB-C cable, because no one else will have one.

I consider the 5X a side-grade and not of any particular value if you already have a 5. The 6P is at least a larger handset with a larger battery so it's got that going for it.

The good folks at Anker make thumb-size adapters that graft onto a USB-mini connector and turn it into a USB-C. These are easy to carry around and cost all of $5.99 on Amazon. Takes most of the hassle out of traveling in a mini-world.

You do have to remember to collect them when you're done, but the penalty for forgetting every now and then is not ruinous.

Anker have made a silly deal with some distributors that means that outside of the US and UK, genuine Anker products can be hard to get.

(Local distributor here has a minimum 1.5x markup plus a very very limited range)

Wireless charging is so much slower than wired. I played around with it with my old S4 (same launch year as the Nexus 5) via a receiver you could throw in the case. USB-C (easy connections and more reliability) plus fast charging make wireless charging seem like a quaint idea that couldn't catch on. Don't get me wrong, it'll come around eventually, but it's not really there yet. Once it's faster and a single standard, then we can talk.
Slower, sure? That's a given.

But being able to simply set my phone on my desk and keep it fully charged is a convenience I won't soon give up. I now buy phones with that in mind.

In theory, plugging in a cable isn't time consuming, but in practice, I only actually keep my phone charged during the day if I have a wireless charger nearby.

YMMV.