Google Nexus 5 Posts Best Gaming Benchmark Among Android Smartphones

MojoKid writes "Rumors around the what and when of Google's upcoming Nexus 5 smartphone have been plentiful, and ahead of the supposed release date on Halloween, a benchmark score for the handset has slipped out from Rightware, and it's downright impressive. According to Rightware's Power Board, the Nexus 5 delivered the second-highest Benchmark X gaming score among smartphones, behind only the iPhone 5S, making it the most powerful Android-based handset in the land. The LG-made phone shares a GPU (the Adreno 330) with the third-place Sharp Aquos SHL23 but bested the latter handset with a score of 14.27 to 13.10. A leaked user manual revealed that the Nexus 5 will boast a full HD 4.95-inch display, Snapdragon 800 processor (2.3GHz), 2GB of RAM, 16GB or 32GB of onboard storage, and 8MP rear-facing and 1.3MP front-facing cameras."

Comments

Why is this surprising?

[Zak3056]

According to Rightware's Power Board, the Nexus 5 delivered the second-highest Benchmark X gaming score among smartphones, behind only the iPhone 5S, making it the most powerful Android-based handset in the land.

Latest generation flagship smartphone faster than previous models. Film at 11.

Re:Why is this surprising?

[Joce640k]

Have you compared the prices of the two?

Re:Why is this surprising?

[nurb432]

Is there a price yet for yet to be released product to compare with?

No.

Re:Why is this surprising?

[Zak3056]

Have you compared the prices of the two?

Don't get me wrong, I'm not out to take anything away from Google here (if I could have a nexus phone on Verizon, believe me, I'd be rolling a couple of dozen out tomorrow). I'm not comparing price/performance here, I'm just pointing out how silly it is to make a big deal out of the fact that someone's unreleased flagship device is faster than everyone else's existing devices.

Re:Why is this surprising?

[Anonymous Coward]

Yes, $350.

Re:Why is this surprising?

[Anonymous Coward]

Still rocking my LG Optimus 4X HD running CM 10.2 nightlies. Works great without LG's horrible Android implementation.

Re:Why is this surprising?

[aitikin]

Possibly: http://www.theverge.com/2013/10/17/4850738/nexus-5-google-play-store-price

Re:Why is this surprising?

[Anonymous Coward]

It's more a testament to how much better a clean Android version performs since there are other phones out with the same general specs (CPU/GPU).

Re:Why is this surprising?

[timeOday]

Perhaps it's more significant that the 5s is faster, being already 2 or 3 weeks old :)

Then again, the benchmark registers 14.27 on one and 15.54 on the other. This is where techies start quibbling about unfairness in benchmarks that could easily tip the balance either way, and where the majority of consumers simply stop caring about unnoticeable, incremental one-upsmanship. What is the next significant innovation in mobile?

Re:Why is this surprising?

[AmiMoJo]

The iPhone has a much, much lower resolution screen. It only has to render 36% as many pixels as the Nexus 5. The benchmark they used seems to run at the native screen resolution, so for slightly lower frame rate you get a much higher quality image.

Re:Why is this surprising?

[exomondo]

It's more a testament to how much better a clean Android version performs since there are other phones out with the same general specs (CPU/GPU).

Is it actually the same specs or just the same model of GPU? It doesn't even say what the GPU clocks are so the benchmark on its own is pretty meaningless as far as drawing conclusions about stock Android vs OEM Android.

Re:Why is this surprising?

[exomondo]

The benchmark they used seems to run at the native screen resolution

Actually you can run it in onscreen (native) and offscreen (720p) modes, given that the Nexus4 scores 15.8 in onscreen mode it's probably more likely to be an offscreen comparison or perhaps a weighted combination of the two.

Re:Why is this surprising?

[Anonymous Coward]

Except it is not a normal flagship. Making it cheaper is a big factor in its design process. For once it has smaller battery than LG G2 it is based on.

Re:Why is this surprising?

[Anonymous Coward]

Except that the Nexus 5 is a modified LG G2 which is older than the 5s..

Re:Why is this surprising?

[ZipXap]

Maybe you're just not nerdy enough to appreciate the news.

Re: Why is this surprising?

[AvitarX]

Also, isn't the nexus 4 the first phone with kit Kat?

Re:Why is this surprising?

[Desler]

The benchmark they used seems to run at the native screen resolution, so for slightly lower frame rate you get a much higher quality image.

Nope, that 15.54 is the offscreen mode of Basemark X. Anandtech's benchmark using Onscreen mode had a value of 27.37.

Re:Why is this surprising?

[Desler]

By 5 days...

Re:Why is this surprising?

[willy_me]

Perhaps it's more significant that the 5s is faster, being already 2 or 3 weeks old :)

What is impressive is that the 5s is a dual core 1.3GHz processor while the LG uses a 2.3GHz quad core CPU. The A7 processor appears to be very well designed. I wonder how much power it uses when compared to the snapdragon 800.

Re:Why is this surprising?

[rsilvergun]

Because it's gonna sell for $300 instead of $600.

Re:Why is this surprising?

[Anonymous Coward]

Perhaps it's more significant that the 5s is faster, being already 2 or 3 weeks old :)

What is impressive is that the 5s is a dual core 1.3GHz processor while the LG uses a 2.3GHz quad core CPU. The A7 processor appears to be very well designed. I wonder how much power it uses when compared to the snapdragon 800.

I thought this whole benchmark was about the GPU, not the CPU. That would make your comment less relevant (though the CPU still plays a part I'm sure).

There is no doubt the 5S has some pretty amazing hardware in it...I would agree with that. I'd still never buy one, but that's due to software and features than performance.

Re:Why is this surprising?

[Anonymous Coward]

Latest generation flagship smartphone still slower than current iPhone. No, not surprising at all.

Re:Why is this surprising?

[rtb61]

More importantly what the crap is that Apple gaming score doing when comparing it too other hardware pushing around 2.5x the pixels. Seriously, WTF, has everyone gone stupid all of the sudden. Want to compare gaming bench marks than do it at the same resolutions otherwise, seriously, piss off.

Re: Why is this surprising?

[Anonymous Coward]

If by Nexus 4 you mean Nexus 5, then yes.

Re:Why is this surprising?

[nurb432]

Rumors don't count.

Re:Why is this surprising?

[slash.jit]

Right.. why are we even talking about rumored benchmark comparison then.

Re:Why is this surprising?

[AmiMoJo]

It's a graphics benchmark so probably GPU bound, rather than CPU bound.

Re: Why is this surprising?

[iamhassi]

So the iPhone 5s is faster and cheaper? That's a first for Apple isn't it?

Re:Why is this surprising?

[exomondo]

It's a gaming benchmark so it would include a significant portion of CPU as well. If you look at the benchmark program itself (if you don't have it you can see videos on youtube) it certainly has a heavy reliance on the CPU, cranking the resolution to push it beyond acceptable framerates would make it more GPU-bound but given that the tests in question appear to be done at even lower than native resolution (at 720p) the CPU is going to have a significant impact on the results.

Re: Why is this surprising?

[aitikin]

No it's not. If you go no contract, the 5s is only $649.99, the Nexus 5 is only $349.99...

Go Nexus!

[Servaas]

Would be a nice feat if true. I'm a big fan of the Google Nexuses owning the Nexus4.

smartphone gaming sucks

[Goonie]

Much and all as the 3D graphics prowess of modern smartphones is amazing, trying to do any serious gaming on them is an exercise in frustration. Touchscreens are useful for some things, but their slow response times and lack of real tactile feedback makes it impossible to play fast-action games well on them.

Re:smartphone gaming sucks

[timeOday]

I think smartphone graphics are more interesting as an avenue for general purpose computing when connected to a full-size screen and keyboard. (And by "connected" I mean wirelessly, from inside my pocket!)

Reading?

[Anonymous Coward]

How fast is it reading from a microSD card? (Oops) ;-)

Rightfully so!

[Anonymous Coward]

This is the only Android line worth buying, IMO, though I will probably skip this generation and wait for the next Nexus. Either way, it's a breath of fresh air compared to the crooks over at Samsung.

I won't buy another nexus until they add miniSD

[t0qer]

I got the nexus 4. The lack of the miniSD slot has really been a bummer on this phone. I know google's answer is "Everything in the cloud!" but in real life (meaning, not in Mountain View) the lack of an SD slot is irritating.

16gb can get used up really fast. Even with the best carriers you're going to lose coverage AND bust that cap on your monthly data usage.

Re:I won't buy another nexus until they add miniSD

[Anonymous Coward]

Meh, just get a wireless drive.

I have a Kingston MobileLite and it works fine.

Re:I won't buy another nexus until they add miniSD

[steveo777]

I have a 16GB Nexus 10 that I thought would be just fine. I'm almost never away from wifi. Boy-howdy was I wrong. After almost a year with it the biggest problem I've had is that Play Magazines (Motortrend) take up ridiculous amounts of space, so in those times when I can't be online (when I get around to reading them) it can get a bit constrictive. It's just not enough space, even if you're all cloudy-like.

Tablets really should have SD slots, too, so that's sort of a fail. I love Android but I may move on to non Nexus devices from now on if the price of the higher storage models doesn't come down.

Re:I won't buy another nexus until they add miniSD

[Anonymous Coward]

You don't represent a big market though. For a lot of people it is not important.

Re:I won't buy another nexus until they add miniSD

[Anonymous Coward]

I got the nexus 4. The lack of the miniSD slot has really been a bummer on this phone. I know google's answer is "Everything in the cloud!" but in real life (meaning, not in Mountain View) the lack of an SD slot is irritating.

16gb can get used up really fast. Even with the best carriers you're going to lose coverage AND bust that cap on your monthly data usage.

Hey the 90's called. They want their year back...

Re:I won't buy another nexus until they add miniSD

[Nerdfest]

Same here ... pictures suck up a lot of space. I use a lot of apps and don't even really have room for music or videos. I'm hoping the NExus 5 can run USM OTG like the Nexus 7. I'd consider that approaching acceptable.

Re:I won't buy another nexus until they add miniSD

[aergern]

So ... other than the "cloud" falacy ... ever strike you that Microsoft sued a bunch of OEM's? And maybe it was due to their use of exFAT/Fat32 on the SDcard? Yeah. Well. Think about it.

If they don't format the /sdcard partition in a Microsoft FS but may you use Android Transfer or as an MTP device ...then OEM's and Google don't have to pay Microsoft a dime. heh.

Re:I won't buy another nexus until they add miniSD

[CastrTroy]

They could probably format the card in EXT-2/3/4 and nobody would care. Most people just want extra storage for the device, and don't really care if its in a format that windows can't read. It would be easy enough to copy files between devices using a network share.

Re:I won't buy another nexus until they add miniSD

[mjwx]

You don't represent a big market though. For a lot of people it is not important.

This. A lot of people wont ever use 8GB on their phone, even more simply manage their data.

I'm considering an 8GB Nexus 5 to replace my 16GB Galaxy Nexus which sits at 75% or more empty.

An SD card slot is nice, but thanks to some of the patents used by MicroSD (namely the FAT patents) Google cant include it without being threatened by /.'s public enemy #1.

Re:I won't buy another nexus until they add miniSD

[reub2000]

This wouldn't be that big of an issue if they offered the device with a decent amount of built in storage.

Re:I won't buy another nexus until they add miniSD

[Nemyst]

Best forego Nexus devices entirely then. Google won't add an SD card: they WANT you to use the cloud. They'll bump the internal storage every so often (like the N5 which goes to 32gb), but no removable media. Not only would it add a cost to the devices when only a very small proportion of users would benefit, it'd go against their own services.

The Nexus devices are distilled a Google experience, both hardware and software. This means very connected (the Nexus were amongst the first phones with NFC, for instance), very reliant on the cloud and Google services and open to modification (largely software, mind). If you want something that differs, such as an SD card slot, I'm afraid the only choice is to go to one of the (sadly dwindling) hardware manufacturers still including one.

Re:I won't buy another nexus until they add miniSD

[cyber-vandal]

My dad, no techie by any stretch of the imagination, has expressed his frustration at the measly 8GB on his 3GS. He's looking forward to getting a 16GB 4S but I'm betting he'll use that up too and have to start taking stuff off again. My friend's wife soon burned up her 16GB on her 4S taking pictures of their kids. Samsung don't seem to be too bothered about any patents given that my Note 2 has an SD slot that I have put a 32GB card in. This isn't about patents it's about control and greed. Google want as much of your stuff on their servers and Apple want to charge you £80 for an extra 16GB of storage that you can buy for £4.99 on Amazon.

Re:I won't buy another nexus until they add miniSD

[cyber-vandal]

Samsung, LG, Sony and Huawei all make phones with SD cards. Nothing to worry about yet.

Re:I won't buy another nexus until they add miniSD

[Anonymous Coward]

But if they had SD slots, then there is less reason to upgrade.

Re:I won't buy another nexus until they add miniSD

[vawwyakr]

I am a fairly heavy daily user of my phone for various purposes and still have 19.2 gigs free on my 32 gb phone. I used to be highly concerned about having an SD card but in general now I don't have any actual need for one for the vast majority of my usage. All this to say, to each their own, I would rather have a top of the line phone selling for $350 off contract than a phone running someone's crapped up version of Android so I can use an SD card.

Re:I won't buy another nexus until they add miniSD

[t0qer]

And expanding on this comment..

Since google is a big user of the FUSE project, they could probably write a userspace driver for windows to read EXT-2/3/4.

Release date

[clarkn0va]

the supposed release date on Halloween

I thought that date was bumped.

2.3GHz indeed

[Anonymous Coward]

Now I can finally emulate proper gaming hardware instead of relying on the crap you guys keep shoveling out on the app store.

Re:2.3GHz indeed

[Anonymous Coward]

On a screen the size of your hand, with shitty touch-screen controls. Whoopity-do!

Article facts wrong: Apple iPhone5S GPU

[rsborg]

is a series 6 PowerVR part [1], not a 5XT as implied by the article. Wonder if anything else is wrong with Rightware's analysis.

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_A7

Re:Article facts wrong: Apple iPhone5S GPU

[Anonymous Coward]

The Rightware powerboard SHOULD use just the GL_RENDERER string as the basis for the GPU selection. So someone pulled that part out of their hat.

yes yes, great..

[Anonymous Coward]

.. so when will we see this in the heart of Europe (*ahem*Luxembourg..*ahem*) sometime in June 2014 probably, for around.. let's see, rumored price is at 349USD so here it would be at least 350EUR ~ 480USD? Well, wait, there's no Devices on the Luxembourgish Play store (there is in the neighbouring Belgium, France and Germany) so it will probably come to some retailers at around 500EUR ~ 686USD or so, just like the Nexus 4 did - 8 months after it's launch.. yeah I'm bitter.

Re:yes yes, great..

[Anonymous Coward]

Move to a real country you cheese eating surrender monkey!

Are you happy to see me?

[Anonymous Coward]

... Or are you just trying to set up a wireless terminal connection from inside your pocket?

Benchmark for a not yet released phone

[kTag]

So let me get this straight, this phone is not out yet (so we can't reproduce this benchmark) but it's already slower than a phone that has been out for month... Performance is for sure something I would not emphasize if I was Google or LG

Re:Benchmark for a not yet released phone

[Anonymous Coward]

So let me get this straight, this phone is not out yet (so we can't reproduce this benchmark) but it's already slower than a phone that has been out for month... Performance is for sure something I would not emphasize if I was Google or LG

So let me respond to this with another poster's comment:

The iPhone has a much, much lower resolution screen. It only has to render 36% as many pixels as the Nexus 5. The benchmark they used seems to run at the native screen resolution, so for slightly lower frame rate you get a much higher quality image.

So that 5s is rendering 36% of the pixels as the Nexus 5; or, to put it another way, if the N5 was rendering a 5s screen, it would be about 60% faster than a 5s.

Re:Benchmark for a not yet released phone

[Desler]

Except that the benchmark quoted is for offscreen rendering. So, no, it's not as that person claimed as the display resolution doesn't have any influence. Anandtech ran the onscreen mode for Basemark X and the 5S score was nearly double the one quoted in the submission at 27.37.

Re:Benchmark for a not yet released phone

[arkhan_jg]

Except the nexus 5 is likely to come in around half the price of the iPhone 5S (off contract) at $350. And quite a bit cheaper than the 5C, while blowing the latter away in performance terms.

It might only be the 2nd fastest overall, but at bang-per-buck, it's damned impressive. Personally, I'm hoping they bring back the very cheap nexus 4's; there's nothing even close to the quality/performance in that price range on android, and my wife is after a new android phone but doesn't want to spend too much.

Re:Benchmark for a not yet released phone

[Sockatume]

iPhone owner here. I'll take a Nexus and $350 of cold hard cash any day.

Re: Benchmark for a not yet released phone

[iamhassi]

But it's faster than all other android devices so that's still something.

Re:Gaming?

[geekoid]

Why? as a civilized country the process is dealing with these issues.
But hey, lets go break some windows, that will change everything~

Did they cheat?

[manu0601]

Did they cheat, like everyone does?

Re:Did they cheat?

[Servaas]

No they did not. Can't be bothered to look it up but it has been shown that Google like Apple does not check if there is a benchmarking program is running.

Meh

[Anonymous Coward]

It's too big - it's the size of a Galaxy S4. What's next- everyone going around with phones the size of a Galaxy Mega - that'll be sad ..

Moto X is the thing to get if u don't get an iPhone 5s imo. Otherwise Galaxy s II, LG Optimus True HD, Galaxy M Stlye are all reasonably sized

SD slot?

[Anonymous Coward]

Now all we need to do is convince Google to put an SD card slot in the damn thing...

Where is Tuppe666

[Anonymous Coward]

Where is Tuppe666 to tell us how Apple sells underpowered low tier hardware. Hail Google!

What a joke.

[ZigZagJoe]

This post (and the article linked) is shitty even by slashdot standards. This "power board" has exactly two (2) current-generation phones. No shit they're going to be the top of the list. It's not like anything else was released using this same chipset in the last month or so, right? What a joke.

Nexus also running old Android?

[Anonymous Coward]

I assume that they downgraded the N5 to the same version as the other droids.
Or maybe they upgraded the old ones to 4.4 to get a fair comparison?

Enough with the tease.

[TanyaDevany]

I want it now!

Re: I won't buy another nexus until they add miniS

[iamhassi]

Agreed. I did not buy a Nexus tablet because they do not offer a card slot. Apple can do this because they at least offer 64gb and the new iPads offer 128gb. Being stuck with 32gb or less is absurd considering the power these devices have, like owning an exotic sports car with a 3 gallon gas tank.