Remember when Google's Nexus 5 turned the Android world on its head?

Summary

Google teamed up with LG to release the Nexus 5 in 2013.
The Nexus 5 was relatively affordable, while offering high-end specs and a clean ‘stock’ Android interface.
While primarily designed as a device for developers, the Nexus 5 is looked back on with fondness by the Android community.

These days, Google commands a high degree of mindshare in the US mobile hardware space. Its in-house Pixel phones aren’t massive in terms of unit sales or revenue generation, but the company remains at the forefront by virtue of owning the Android platform, and by offering Apple-esque vertical integration.

Prior to the release of the first Pixel phone in 2016, Google was still involved in the phone hardware business through its Nexus line, albeit in a less hands-on manner. Over the course of several years, the company teamed up with various Android hardware makers to produce a total of 8 distinct Nexus handsets.

While the Nexus program gave birth to a number of excellent phones, none quite stand out to the same degree as 2013’s Nexus 5. Made in collaboration with LG, and loosely based on the then-popular flagship LG G2, the Nexus 5 is a downright iconic piece of tech history.

…the Nexus 5 is a downright iconic piece of tech history.

The phone launched in the US for a price of $350 (about $477 adjusted for inflation) for the 16GB model, or $400 (about $542 adjusted for inflation) for the 32GB variant. Unlike its Android contemporaries, the phone wasn’t sold through carriers or major retail chains. Rather, Google sold the phone through its own online hardware storefront.

The Nexus 5’s relatively affordable price tag was a big deal in the tech space at the time, as it undercut similarly speced high-end Android phones, including the Samsung Galaxy S4 and the HTC One (M7).

The Nexus 5’s relatively affordable price tag was a big deal in the tech space at the time.

While initially targeting developers and tech enthusiasts as opposed to the broader consumer market, Google inadvertently beat OnePlus to the punch in the so-called flagship killer trend of the mid 2010s.

Google Nexus 5

The Nexus 5 was a 2013 collaborative effort between Android maker Google, and hardware maker LG. The phone features a 4.95-inch FHD display, the Snapdragon 800 processor, and 2 GB of RAM.

SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon 800
Display: 4.95-inch 1080 x 1920 LCD
RAM: 2GB
Storage: 16, 32GB
Operating System: Android 4.4 (Ice Cream Sandwich)

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The Nexus 5 was something of a ‘flagship killer’

The Nexus 5 turned heads with its affordable price tag, its clean software experience, and its high-end specifications

For $350 in 2013, the Nexus 5 was an extremely appealing smartphone at the time. It offered a full HD display, a clean and bloat-free Android software experience, the promise of timely updates, and the premium Snapdragon 800 chipset. It also rectified the biggest fault of its predecessor — the Nexus 4 — by including 4G LTE connectivity.

Many, including myself, were quick to snatch up a Nexus 5 unit at the time — it offered a solid helping of the flagship smartphone experience, without a flagship-worthy price tag. Soon after, the OnePlus One would release, which would mark the true start of the flagship killer era.

Many, including myself, were quick to snatch up a Nexus 5 unit at the time.

Looking back at the Nexus 5 in retrospect, it’s clear that a number of corners were cut to achieve an aggressive price tag. The physical unit doesn’t hold up too well: the soft-touch plastic is a fingerprint and dust magnet, and it lacks the supple grippability seen in the company’s Nexus 7 tablet.

The display’s resolution might’ve been top-of-the-line by 2013 standards, but the LCD itself is dim and washed out, all while coming with a hearty dose of light bleed along the bezel edges. As for the single, 8-megapixel f/2.4 camera sensor — the less that’s said about it, the better.

On the flip side, there are plenty of smaller details and inclusions that make the Nexus 5 a joy to come back to all these years later. The ceramic power button and volume rocker combo are an unexpected inclusion, adding a touch of premium tactility to the mix.

…there are plenty of smaller details and inclusions that make the Nexus 5 a joy to come back to all these years later.

The addition of built-in wireless Qi charging was forward-thinking by Google, and it came with a unique surprise: magnetic coil alignment when paired with official Nexus Qi charging accessories. You read that right — the Nexus 5 had MagSafe a full seven years before the iPhone 12 launched.

Despite its unassuming design language, its questionable build quality, and its middling camera and screen hardware, the Nexus 5 remains one of the most iconic smartphones of all time. The device provided a ton of hardware at a price that was hard to refuse, and it made one thing abundantly clear: Google ought to be taken seriously in the Android phone space.