It looks like there’s only a few days to go before Google officially release their new Nexus 5 smartphone. And I have to say, this has to be one of the most leaked phones I’ve ever seen. First, with the dude using the phone in the KitKat launch video, a full service manual going live before it was obviously intended to, and then appearing on the Google Play store before being yanked off again. Funny stuff. Come later this week, we should be finding out the official details, but for now we have a combination of conjecture, fleeting glimpses and a lifesize mockup of the nexus 5. what do you think? So how about we go on a hypothetical journey and compare this maybe Nexus 5 to the popular Galaxy S4.
Let’s start with the look and feel of both models. The buttonless front of the maybe Nexus 5 means more real estate dedicated to the screen, which also results in a slightly longer Galaxy S4, with room needed for the physical home button and capacitive buttons.
The S4 has a polycarbonate back, which isn’t as nice as the glass back of the Xperia Z or the previous Nexus 4. The maybe Nexus 5 has moved away from glass to a more tactile grippable back, feeling very similar to the new Nexus 7 released a few weeks ago. This could be a move to integrate the smartphone and tablet range in hardware and software.
Larger screen sizes seem to be the norm in the Android world now, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the maybe Nexus 5 has a 5 inch screen. It now sits at the same pixel density as the S4, and the screen looks fantastic – making images and words look almost like it’s printed on paper.
Now, I do like the Galaxy S4’s capacitive buttons because it maximises the real estate of the screen. However, with the maybe Nexus 5 sporting the new Android 4.4, or KitKat as it will be known to millions of chocolate-covered-snack fans the world over, the update to a transparent status bar and navigation buttons may actually be a better option.
Storage is still a bone of contention between the Nexus and the Galaxy models. The maybe Nexus 5 comes with a 16GB or 32GB capacity. The S4 is available in storage options up to sixty four gigabytes, plus it has a micro SD card slot that can handle up to sixty four gigabyte cards. Personally I still like the idea of external storage – just in case.
The maybe Nexus 5 camera sticks with an 8MP resolution camera from the previous model but now includes optical image stabilisation, which is an awesome feature for on-the-go pics. The Galaxy S4 has a 13MP camera but I will admit, it’s still easy to get a blurry pic when you’re not completely steady.
Both models are powered by a quad core chip, but the maybe Nexus 5 is a little snappier at 2.3GHz compared to the S4’s 1.9GHz, and having a raw Android experience without an overlay like Touchwiz should make it incredibly responsive.
That’s comparison of the maybe Nexus 5 versus the Galaxy S4. Tongue totally in cheek but probably close to how things pan out later this week. The latest OS update, optical image stabliser on the camera and 4G will make it a real contender against any other 5 inch smartphone in the market.