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?

[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?

[aitikin]

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

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]

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?

[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?

[aitikin]

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

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.

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

[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

[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

[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.

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

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

[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.