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Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P Reviews Arrive (arstechnica.com)
An anonymous reader writes: A few weeks ago, Google announced its new Nexus phones — the 5X built by LG, and the 6P built by Huawei. The phones are starting to ship, and reviews for both devices have landed. So far, they're largely positive. Ars Technica calls them the Android phones to beat, though criticizes them for having fairly large bezels and no wireless charging. Android Police says the 6P's form factor is an improvement over the Nexus 6, being slightly narrower and taller. Meanwhile, most publications report that the 5X does a good job at carrying on the legacy of the excellent Nexus 5. It's their lower end phone, and most reviews mention that it feels that way in the hand — but battery life is reportedly excellent. The Nexus 6P's battery is capable, but doesn't last as long. Fortunately, the worries about overheating with its Snapdragon 810 chip seem overblown.
I don't need the chinese government seeing everything I do. It's bad enough the US government see it too.
" Starting at $379 for a 16GB version, the Nexus 5X is nearly as cheap as the 2013 Nexus 5, which started at $349."
I wish Nexus had taken a different tack than Apple, marketing a 16GB phone as entry level when few people are going to be happy with that. I understand that some suits somewhere told them to hit a certain price point, but 16GB is not going to leave users happy.
And on the high end, only having a 16GB and 32GB option are not going to leave power users very happy. Some of us might want a lot of storage for music and other media, but not want a phone that's too large to use one handed like the "P" phones.
Android devices might be absolutely, ecstatically awesome, but I'm never buying one again. The manufacturers and carriers guaranteed that my first Android device would be my last, by failing to allow me to upgrade to the latest, most secure version of the operating system.
Samsung wants to sell me an $800 tablet, but won't let me upgrade operating systems when critical security flaws are found? Screw them, and screw Google for allowing this type of ecosystem.
I'm sticking with Apple devices from now on.
So, how long will a $400-500 phone last us?
Google supports Nexus phones with major updates for "at least two years" now, and security updates for "the longer of three years from initial availability or 18 months from last sale of the device via the Google Store," which is better than any other Android OEM out there. After the Stagefright vulnerability cropped up, Google instituted a monthly security update schedule, and so far Nexus devices have gotten OTAs in August, September, and October, right on schedule.
It's good to see this stated up front. I'm hoping that this becomes a trend in the industry. The expected lifetime of the phone is going to be a very important factor when deciding on my next one.
Irony: Agile development has too much intertia to be abandoned now.
First, the actual comment from TFA was:
Daily battery life was nothing short of astounding and ranks among the best any modern smartphone can offer. The larger battery certainly helps and it’s likely that optimizations within Android 6.0 Marshmallow are doing quite a bit of work here too. I was able to get over 6 and a half hours of screen on time here with normal web browsing, chatting and video watching during a full day. This is among the best battery life you’ll find on any smartphone regardless of the specs, you’re looking at something truly magical here.
Second, as discussed extensively on reddit, it's way too early to draw any conclusions about the battery. Nobody has had the phone for more than a few days.
I like bezels and I wish my phone had a bigger one. I like to be able to lean back or lay down but I'd rather use my thumb and finger to push the phone up by using the bezel instead of having to hold it from the sides.
1) Must have a removable battery
2) Must have an SD slot
Like 99% of the rest of the people with good jobs, hot wives, nice cars and big houses, I'm buying an iPhone.
While there are advantages to wireless charging, the drawbacks for mobile phones make it somewhat less practical. I suppose the penultimate goal is that your device is charged all the time while in your pocket while you are in an area. The reality is that inductive charging 1) requires the device to be somewhat close to a charging station, 2) is less efficient than wired charging, and 3) takes more time than wired charging.
Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
I was disappointed by the lack of wireless charging and "only" 32GB for the Nexus 5X so am holding onto my Nexus 5 for now. Are there any other good options for a pure android phone (I bought a Samsung S5, but sold it after a month since I couldn't get used to their Touchwiz interface)? I don't really want to go down the route of Cyanogen mod or other releases where I have to flash the phone myself and some features may or may not be supported.
I'd really like the better camera of the 5X, but don't want to give up wireless charging.
so, you don't buy much do you?
Foxconn assembles nearly 40% of the worlds consumer electronics and has a sizable operation in china...however china has been starting to get too expensive for them so they have started offshoring.
It's convenience. It's easier to lay your phone on the charging pad in a car, for example, than plugging in a micro-USB cable. Plus you don't have cables lying around everywhere, in the car, in the house, at work, etc.
I'm sill on Android 4.4.4. This phone has never had an update, This phone was released in June 2014. Hardly an old phone. It was the flagship phone then.
The built in file manager shows all of my files stored in internal memory. All of my pictures etc are actually stored on the sdcard. When I remove the sdcard I can view these files on my pc.
The alarm works most of the time. The snooze button works once then the second time fails.
With this in mind I was very surprised that Google thought this was a good idea to have Huawei make their flagship phone. But maybe now we will get some support.
Buying stuff from China is only an issue in this way if it's some kind of network-connected computing device and the software is preloaded and not easy to replace. This basically means cellphones, and not much else.
If you buy a toilet valve made in China, for instance, I don't think that's something you need to worry about spying on you.
Even a laptop computer shouldn't be a problem, if you're just going to wipe the HD and install Linux. (If you're stupid and you use Windows, however, you're going to get spied on by Microsoft thanks to their new "telemetry" keylogger, and I don't see how it's any better or worse for China to spy on you than MS.)
But cellphones are definitely a different matter, since it's not so easy to change the software on them.
But when you, as a society, have made yourself completely dependent on China for all your manufacturing needs, including very high-end technological devices, I do think it's a bit silly to complain about them spying on you.
Plus you don't have cables lying around everywhere, in the car, in the house, at work, etc.
Instead, you have cables to plug in your wireless chargers everywhere......yeah. Neat.
I like it because it doesn't create any wear on the USB connector.
I have a Gen1 Moto G and given it is on the POS Verizon network, I have all but two of the Stagefright vulnerabilities and no doubt will until the sun explodes. The normal advice is to get a new phone that has a chance of a decent length of support, meaning Apple [insert walled-garden retching sounds here] or the Nexus line.
But the enlarged heart of the problem is the GIGANTISM that still runs amok among capable phones. I don't want anything larger than what I have (needing a backpack to lug around what are now basically phablets that won't fit into even American-sized pockets), which leaves me virtually no choice than the screendoor security I already have.
I guess I could try the hacked ROM path, but even now it seems so patchwork and stable as a house of cards (nightlies? for a fucking phone?) and I just can't imagine such rag-tag bands has perfected true security, leaving one open for the next lucrative zero-day (or taking a big check from organized crime to build-in a backdoor).
No MicroSD is a dealbreaker for me.
No removeable battery is a dealbreaker for me.
These have both flaws. Will not buy, at any pricepoint.
Foxconn: "Notable products that the company manufactures include the BlackBerry,[5] iPad,[6] iPhone,[7] Kindle,[8] PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Wii U."
But cellphones are definitely a different matter, since it's not so easy to change the software on them.
let's see...blackberry, and iphone are included in there. those are exactly the types of devices you said are worrisome.
and i would point out that software isn't the only thing you need to worry about. since the NSA was caught tampering with cisco switches. they are concerned they may be installing compromised chips.
the point is if you have access to the hardware you can make it do anything you want. including installing a rootkit that can't be removed by a simple OS reinstall.
Exactly. Cables plugged into chargers that never move and can be tucked away neatly. I'm glad you appreciate how much nicer this is than having several feet of loose cable lying around.
We hope your rules and wisdom choke you / Now we are one in everlasting peace
oops, messed up the link
NSA was caught tampering with cisco switches
[The Nexus 5X is] their lower end phone, and most reviews mention that it feels that way in the hand — but battery life is reportedly excellent. The Nexus 6P's battery is capable, but doesn't last as long.
In both battery benchmarks in the article, the Nexus 6P scores better. 631 vs. 548 and 277 vs. 207. It would seem at least from this article that the 6p battery situation is just better than the 5x, contradicting the article summary.
Foxconn assembles. They don't create, dumbass.
So you think that would stop the Chinese from spying on you if they wanted to?
The software on a nexus phone is is stock android *and* it's easy to replace.
and at the assembly stage is the perfect place to install rogue hardware and/or sfotware, dumbass.
The only reason I've been considering this phone is to let my family join the Google Fi project, because of the reasonable plan $ options ($20/month, and good data rates), and the ability to roam globally without extortionate fees. (and just to stick it to the major carriers assholishness).
However, regardless of how good the phone may be relative to past versions of Nexus, they're all familiar with iPhone and iOS now, and to break out of that is a big hurdle in itself. The tie-ins of iMessage, ease of using apps, user interface, etc, all conspire to keep us using iOS.
This is why it's hard to break up ecosystems... iPhone does most everything we want, but it just costs too much to switch.
To be honest, I'd rather the Chinese government spy on my than my own government.
Because Micro USB port is mechanically a point of failure, so reducing plug-in charging is nice over the long run.
Desktops, laptops, and new windows phones can all run the exact same programs now as I understand it, hardware allowing. That's what Microsoft has been working on for the past five years, cutting down the system requirements for windows on all platforms and unifying all the market segments of computing under more or less one operating system so programs can be written just once and target every device type.
Dealing with a shitty, highly limited app ecosystem in Windows phones is ending. Windows phone could have some of the *best* app support in a couple years, let alone the worst.
Micro B might be a failure but both devices have USB-C connectors which should be, by design, more failure resistant.
Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
Lack of wireless charging is a huge loss. I'd have pre-ordered a 6P if it had wireless charging. Not only an I used to it now, but I've got a lot of chargers.
It really marrs an otherwise great product.
const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
Some cars have them built in now. There are also companies building them into furniture for home and office. It's 2015, welcome to the future.
I guess my run of always buying the latest Nexus phones is over. Wireless charging is just to damn convenient to give up. I just can't go back to plugging in every time I return to my desk/couch, or risking a flat battery. If it hasn't got wireless charging it isn't a premium phone, it is just another compromise product.
No doubt you find charging with a cable traumatic! The sexually masculine nature of inserting a phallus into a slot is yet another attempt by the patriarchy to subvert the phallicly-challenged.
btw, trigger warning: cocks
I like it because it doesn't create any wear on the USB connector.
It's also a nice solution for devices whose USB connectors are broken. For a lot of Android devices with removable batteries (not Nexus devices) you can get after-market charging antennas to install inside the back cover and make it possible to charge a device that would otherwise need a potentially-expensive repair.
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Will Google be paying the Microsoft Android tax on these Google Nexus mobile devices?
Micro B might be a failure but both devices have USB-C connectors which should be, by design, more failure resistant.
It's rubbing two pieces of metal together that are both critical for charging the device instead of putting a functionally unimportant piece of plastic next to another piece of plastic. Anything that you plug is equally bad.
You missed the whole Lenovo debacle didn't you?
Where wiping the hard drive didn't in fact save you from their crap.
No doubt you find charging with a cable traumatic! The sexually masculine nature of inserting a phallus into a slot is yet another attempt by the patriarchy to subvert the phallicly-challenged.
btw, trigger warning: cocks
I was raped by this post. And posts are shaped like phalluses, you just made me imagination rape myself, you insensitive clod.
I've gotten very used to plopping my phone on the charging pad at the end of the day, and having it charged fully the next morning. I'm going to miss wireless charging, personally.
Shhhhh. He is walking around with blinders on. Let him live in his own world.
To be honest, I'd rather the Chinese government spy on my than my own government.
Think logical OR, not an exclusive-or (XOR).
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Wireless charging is an awesome feature. Its really easy to slot my Nexus 5 in and out of the cradle of my car system. Bingo! No fiddling to things connected etc. I can't believe they dropped the feature. My partner has an iPhone 6P and she's really jealous she can't do that with a phone that costs 3 time more than mine.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but the way I remember that, they put some malware into the BIOS which modified some Windows files, so re-installing Windows wouldn't get rid of whatever it was they were injecting into it, because the BIOS would just see the Windows file wasn't the modified version, and go modify it for you.
This isn't a problem if you don't install Windows in the first place.
Heck, it probably isn't even a problem if you "upgrade" to Windows 10, as the BIOS malware would have been hard-coded for an earlier version.
The Nexus 5, like the Nexus 4, like the Galaxy Nexus, was a 5" device that fits into a pocket. I've used the same sleeve case for all three.
The 5x is bigger. It's too big.
Given the Nexus 6 debacle I'd hoped Google would realise that there are a bunch of people that don't want to walk around with a fucking handbag just to hold their phone. Who find holsters inconvenient, awkward and uncomfortable. Who want a sensibly sized fucking phone.
But no. They want you to buy the humungous 6p or the stupidly oversized 5x.
Sticking with my Nexus 5. It's perfectly usable still, Marshmallow works nicely on it, and there just isn't a phone out there that's a reasonable upgrade.
Yeah, I remember that from a while ago. However, tampering with rack-mount network switches is a bit different from tampering with a cellphone. There just isn't any extra room in there for adding anything. And how could the NSA make a "compromised chip" anyway? I don't think the NSA owns any $5 billion fabs; that would be very hard to hide. Back to the switches: wasn't that just a software mod they did?
here is another relavent article Hiding backdoors in hardware. it references the NSA operating its own chip fab plant. it is in Fort Meade, Md. i don't know if it is still operating though.
other searches shows that the NSA recently took over an old Sony chip fab in san antonio
Linux would be immune of course.
Windows 10 not so much. It wasn't malware - it was a Windows feature being abused where Windows would execute arbitrary code stored in the BIOS.
No exploit or vulnerability.
^
This... My Nexus 5 has QI wireless charging, wonder why they took that feature away...
I've got better things to do tonight than die.
In all of the solutions I've researched the antenna plugs into the USB. You would want to install the antenna BEFORE the USB is damaged.
The ones I've seen, it attaches directly to the battery contacts.
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This is going to get downvoted to oblivion, but here it goes.
Normal people do not care about software updates. They care even less about security updates. They are on their contracts and happy to pick up a new phone every 2 years or so, and there is little elapsed time before their phone's current OS will go out of fashion.
Nerds do care about this stuff (myself included). This is the specific reason I buy the Nexus line. I have had non-Nexus devices before, and gotten bored (rather than frustrated) over lack of OS update, so I've flashed custom ROMs.
linux would be immune in the example above simply because it wasn't targeted, not because it has some magical ability to protect itself from such an attack.
what is stopping someone from building their own little micro kernel in the bios that can accept commands that would allow a remote attacker to control any operating system installed on the hardware. This could control the whole system and just run the installed OS as a VM.
If it was done at the manufacturing stage, then sure there is room, you just need a modified version of one of the chips, if the main SoC isn't an option for modification, then perhaps the storage controller, or any chip in the phone that is capable of DMA. And who said it would be the NSA doing it, they are just an example as they have been caught tampering.