With the LG G2 and Moto X both officially here, it’s apparently time to start focusing on the upcoming Nexus 5 smartphone from Google. The rumors have already started flooding in, and right out of the gate we’re getting conflicting reports from all angles. Between a Motorola Nexus 5, to LG building it again with lower specs than the G2, now today we have one more to add to that list.
A new report has surfaced from the boys over at Tinhte, which is the same site and forum that gave us the absolute original leak and video of what is now the Moto X smartphone. So they have some people in high places, although we can’t confirm where this rumor stems from. They have some interesting details about the upcoming Nexus 5 by LG.
According to the report the Nexus 5 will be made by LG and mirror most of the specs of the LG G2, which was expected, but the design will have some significant changes. We’ll keep the thin profile, super thin bezels on the side of that 5.2-inch 1080p HD display, and the 2.3 GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor and 2GB of RAM are on board. Not the lower Snapdragon 600 as earlier reports suggested. The design will be somewhat similar to the Nexus 4 and G2, but Google aims to make it look more like the Nexus 7, so they’ll appear to be a family of devices.
That isn’t all either. The love/hate relationship with the awesome visual display and glass back on the Nexus 4 will roll over into the Nexus 5. Yes, LG and Google will be keeping the glass back, and hopefully they’ve learned a thing or two about durability and it won’t be so fragile.
Everything else will have a flat black matte look, and even the design and camera location will closely resemble the ASUS-made Nexus 7 tablet. If they follow the new Nexus 7 approach, there’s a good chance the LG Nexus 5 will support 4G LTE on all carriers, and that includes Verizon, but lets not get our hopes up just yet.
If Google and LG can get all of this done and still offer it for the reported (and expected) $299 and $349 price points like the Nexus 4, we have a feeling they’ll have another winner on their hands. Lets just hope this time they have enough supply to keep up with the demand.
VIA: GforGames
NOOOOOOOOOOOOO, Not the Glass Back Again!!! Big G, take a page from the Nexus 7 or your own Moto-X and give the thing a beautifully textured back that doesn’t slip out of your hands and breaks.
We know, we know.
I want glass back plz!!! I don’t use my case for anything other than work.. Makes them feel more solid and makes other people jealous 😉
Agreed, actually don’t mind the glass much. Just have to be more careful with the phone and keep it away from the wife 😉
i agree. glass is terrible for the back. it looks cool, but it’s not worth it.
i also don’t get why both the battery and the SD card cannot be replaced.
It has a nice feel to it as well. Glass feels nicer on the hand than plastic. I don’t like the crack on the back of phone however.
if it’s so nice, how come covers made of glass aren’t so popular (if they even exist) ?
you could put a cover of glass on a “plastic” (polycarbonate actually) smartphone and have the same feeling.
Then , for protection of the cover, you can add another cover on it . 🙂
I have to say I have mixed feelings about the glass. It feels nice but I do have a small crack on my phone. I believe the glass is just glued on a plastic back anyway.
As for covers – I have a bumper so I can still see and feel the glass.
was really hoping moto made this phone. I dont want the same LCD display again. I Miss OLED display. Also the camera and speakers suck on the nexus 4
Speaker, there is one speaker. Agreed it is too quiet. If I am using the phone for Navigation it is hard to hear the directions, even at full volume. and at full volume it is a bit screechy.
Not going to be the “same LCD” again. You aren’t paying attention. It’s going to be like the awesome 1080p LG G2 — IPS.
The only person not paying attention is you. I said I want an OLED display.
still not paying attention. Moto has no OLED displays. They have AMOLED, which is different.
I still like OLED displays more. Its my opinion. Plenty of positives and and negatives for both.
kind of an off subject question, but does anybody know where i can get that wallpaper?
I would love to see the back of the N5 look like that. At least add in some color on that X
Ummm. We custom made that image. Not an actual wallpaper, but let me see what I can do
thank you
Is there a rationale behind using glass back? I don’t see any saving margin with using Glass Back vs plastic back. Unless Big G sees something significantly beneficial using glass back, it makes no sense at all. Or its just purely for rumor sake!!!
I think it is for aesthetics only. Personally, I love the glass back on my N4. I hate myself (and Google a bit) for having to cover it up. I don’t think it has anything to really do with saving money.
Then, I would say, Big G did not still listen from customers’ complaints. They are taken over by the N4 success and not looking back at the issues and complaints.
It feels nice in your hand vs plastic. That is all I can think of.
I don’t see the point in making a phone beautiful at the back. Almost all of us will put the phone inside a case as soon as it leaves the box, so really there’s no point in it having glass back, is there?
Agreed. The back of my phone is merely interesting. I saw it sparkle once or twice and was actually kind of disappointed. And now I have a crack in one of the corners of the back of the phone.
If Nexus 5 does indeed work on Verizon, then it may be the phone that makes me consider abandoning the Galaxy Note series.
For a phone, they will most likely have to include the specialized CDMA modem, which could cause problems with software updates.
However, a primarily a GSM device with an added CDMA/LTE modem for Verizon and possibly Sprint could pull off the goal. If it has support for Sprint, that would make their MVNOs very compelling, since the updates would come very quickly while being free of a contract.
All carriers? Including Sprint AND Verizon? That might be a thick phone, unless Google has a CDMA modem that can be programmed to work on the carriers. since Verizon doesn’t lock down their LTE devices and include a SIM card. If Google can add that CDMA modem for the Verizon plus the LTE modem (which we do know is possible), this phone will be a hit! This would be good for people fighting to hold onto their unlimited data plans from Verizon and would be easily available without a contract.
I don’t think working on Verizon is an issue. Maybe Sprint will have issues since they are way behind in LTE deployment. If the phone has full LTE – which it should since T-Mobile has LTE now – Verizon has enough of an LTE network to make it work.
As an unlimited Verizon user my biggest worries are that it either won’t be on verizon at all, or it will be, but will not be available on the play store and will only come from the verizon store with verizon branding on the back at least, and cost $600-$700 while the AT&T and tmobile and other gsm versions will be $300-$350.
I don’t think that Google is going to go that far. If the Galaxy Nexus is any indication, they won’t let Verizon tamper with it this time. I think they’ll have one compatible with AT&T and T-Mobile up to 4G LTE in the Play Store, but will have CDMA and Verizon LTE radios inside. (If the LTE Nexus 7 is any indication)
If there’s one phone that will work on all four major US carriers, it will have a sprint embedded SIM (unless it has a removable SIM like the iPhone 5) plus a SIM tray where a Verizon, AT&T, or T-Mobile SIM can be put in. Unfortunately, that would be a mighty expensive (radios aren’t cheap) and mighty thick phone.
Google could sell the typical GSM phone with support for AT&T and T-Mobile’s networks (hopefully up to LTE), and then sell Verizon and Sprint versions directly to customers, but then those would fall mercy to the slow updates plaguing the Galaxy Nexus. Hopefully there will be a model that will be able to be used on all four carriers, which would technically be an unlocked phone, and thus no carrier restrictions, so the update crisis is resolved. I hope that it works out.
Re the last sentence “Let’s just hope this time they have enough supply to keep up with the demand.” The problem was not over-demand, the problem was woeful under-supply. Samsung had no problems selling 50 million S3 phones last year, and 85 million (projected) S4. Google only sold 3 million Nexus 4’s. LG either were not capable, or not willing, to supply enough stock.
My understanding is that the Nexus line of phones never sold well. So Google ordered based on past projections, and ordered way to few. When they had surprised demand they were left short of stock. It takes awhile to ramp up volume of phones. Rampup, and parts purchases can not happen instantly .
Yes maybe LG also could have gone faster – it took them 2 months to finally get supply ~= demand which I think was satisfactory considering the circumstances..
“Surprised demand”?! Australia, where I live, was the first country to see the N4 in the Play Store. It came on sale obscurely at lunchtime on Tue Nov 13 2012 and sold out within 30 mins (8GB lasted 1 hour longer). Not a single N4 was available from the Australian Play store until Jan 29 2013. There is much more to this story than simply “supply issues”.
Than what was it?
Well my point is we, the punting public, don’t know. Those facts infer that it goes beyond simple poor estimation by Google, or just low production rate by LG. There must have been some other commercial or strategic shenanigans going on which we have not been told about.
I agree it was probably problems on both sides. You also have to remember when you project to make X items you order parts from suppliers. It may be one of the suppliers was unable to provide parts as well. It would be sad I’d the problem was they could not source enough glass backs 🙂
fffffff… those glass backs.
Glass at the back? Who has invented this stupidity? Apple?
Yes, “25% iPhone users have broken glass”= ingenious…..
Lucky owner of sgs4 with plastic design and removable battery, happy!
Only limited people care about design
Woho! What a stupid comment! (-__-)”
I’m the lucky owner of a Nexus 4 with a glass back and have been for months now and the back of my phone is fine, thanks very much for worrying. I plug my phone in when I go to bed and when I wake up it is fully charged and it lasts me well until the end of the day. The phone itself charges really fast so even if I needed to plug it in during the day, it wouldn’t take more than 30 minutes to get a good 40% back into the battery. Either you’re deluded or everyone else is limited, otherwise manufacturers wouldn’t be making phones thinner, lighter, with less buttons, in different colours and materials, etc, or do you think that the S4 was not designed, like it came out of an elephant’s ass? What’s the big deal about glass, isn’t the screen of your beloved S4 made out of glass? You know what you sound like? An idiot. Simply by using the words Apple and Samsung in the same sentence shows that you’re one of these ridiculous fanboys. Grow up.
I’m a happy owner of 2 Nexus 4 phones. Both have been dropped many times and don’t have a scratch on them. The glass back is a non-issue….it’s in a case all the time so I never see it. The Nexus 4 has been a great phone. Cheap and no contract required on the lowest priced carrier available.
Buying a Nexus phone not only gives you a great phone with the latest software years before competitors but by buying a Nexus phone you are supporting a more logical ecosystem. One that takes the carriers out of the equation. My ISP doesn’t get to decide how much my computer costs so why should mobile ISP’s have a say in my phone?