Although it has been around for a long time, having been released almost two years ago, the Google Nexus 5 smartphone still remains as one of the most efficient handsets around, and not just because of the mid-ranged price but also because of its performance. The combination of middle-ranged phone design and balanced specs gives the Nexus 5 tremendous edge over other competitors, at least for users who are looking for good performance in a phone.
However, how does the Nexus 5 fare against the slew of more recent releases that combine premium looks with better handset performance, such as Samsung's newest flagship, the Galaxy S6?
Design
Although there is at least two years' gap between the two releases, there isn't much that changed in terms of phone designs. The Galaxy S6 still sports the same bar form factor as the Nexus 5, although the S6 looks sleeker and more premium with its glass-surface looks. The Nexus 5, on the other hand, is indistinguishable from other smartphones out in the market.
Hardware specs
In the specs department, the Galaxy S6 showcases how technology easily and quickly updates. The 5.1-inch display is stunningly clear and delivers bright colors against the Nexus 5's smaller, 4.95-inch screen with 445 ppi pixel density. Under the hood, the Galaxy S6 also benefits in the tech strides the industry has made. While the Nexus 5 is still a reliable workhorse with a quad-core Snapdragon 800 and 2 GB of RAM, the S6 sports Samsung's more recent Exynos octa-core processor partnered with 3 GB of on-board RAM.
Features
While both smartphones don't offer much in expandable storage, the Galaxy S6 offers more options for users since the device comes in 32 GB, 64 GB, and 128 GB variants. The Nexus 5 only offers 16 GB and 32 GB of non-expandable storage.
The Nexus 5, being one of Google's very own, doesn't lose when it comes to updates. Although the device was launched with a previous version of Android KitKat, it already has been updated to the latest Android 5.1 Lollipop, as opposed to the Galaxy S6's stock Android 5.0 platform.
