7 Reasons not to buy the Google Nexus 5X Smartphone

Nexus devices have always been considered as the standard among the Android smartphones. But since last two years many smartphones have changed the way we look at flagship devices. When devices like Xiaomi Mi 4, OnePlus One and Moto X 2nd Gen was launched last year, no one saw it coming that the higher mid range would be changing the way people buy smartphones. The most damage was done by the OnePlus One and is still considered as one of best smartphones to come with impressive hardware and software experience.

Continuing the era, this time Google announced two Nexus devices; 6P and 5X. Here we are more concerned with the latter one. We explore why the new Nexus 5X isn’t exactly what it was expected to be. Android fans aren’t happy about many things on this new upgrade. For those who don’t know, Google has updated their LG Nexus 5 to Nexus 5X, and it was again developed in partnership with the South Korean giant and expected to arrived in India on October 13. Let’s shed some light on why you shouldn’t buy the Nexus 5X smartphone.

LCD, not AMOLED

These are the times of 2K Displays; every other smartphones manufacturer are offering them nowadays. But honestly I hate it, and many of Android fans do too. Though, there is one more important thing to notice here apart from less resolution on display.

Google has downgraded the display technology used on the Nexus 5X to LCD. While for the Motorola Nexus 6, the AMOLED technology was used, this is by far the best among display. The decision of not using a 2K display is understandable, but downgrading the technology does not. Moreover, the pricing on the device doesn’t justify the means.

Low RAM

The Nexus 5X packs 2GB of RAM, and that was not what was expected by us or either Android fans. The iPhone 6s that recently went on sale was also sporting a 2GB RAM. And that should be enough for a device running Stock Android. It will surely perform better than any Android phone with custom interface and OEM bloatware.

The smartphones in same price range have been offering as much as 4GB of RAM. And it seems like a good argument to put on that why Google didn’t offer the 3GB RAM model for Nexus 5X.

Camera Bump

There is camera bump on the new Nexus device, and we don’t like it. The clean design of Nexus phones has been made ugly by this protruding camera. The camera bump would have been bigger only if Optical Image Stabilization has been offered. But there’s no OIS on the 12.3MP rear camera, which is not exactly what we thought so. And isn’t an upgradation in terms of megapixel. Moreover, the Google’s promise of larger µm pixels can’t be cashed in right now as camera reviews haven’t popped on the internet yet.

No Optical Image Stabilization

Unfortunately, there is no OIS on the Nexus 5X, and that’s something we have been looking forward on Nexus devices. Even the Nexus 6P, which is the bigger sibling among two hasn’t received this essential feature. Without it, there is much more possibility that a camera won’t offer good details in low-light captures as well as couldn’t able to offer the anti-shake feature.

No Wireless Charging

A device that introduced Qi Wireless charging to the world of Android smartphones doesn’t come with that feature anymore. This was one of the most surprising disappointments of the new Nexus line-up. While the Nexus 4, 5 and 6 had the support of wireless charging, we can’t digest the fact that this generation of Nexus devices doesn’t support the future of charging.

Google may have introduced the wireless charging on their Nexus lineup earlier, but seems like they were hesitant to continue with the support. It’s their loss since Samsung heavily invested by introducing faster wireless charging on their Note 5 and S6 Edge+ smartphones.

No MicroSD Card Support

The feature that Samsung has also left out on their Galaxy S6 smartphone created a rattle among their consumers. While the smartphone generation is growing with at least 32GB storage, but there were some devices like iPhone 6s, which still comes with 16GB storage as the base model. Of course, iPhones aren’t known for offering microSD card support but Android smartphones does. It might not be big deal for many smartphone consumers, but offering 16GB storage for around $400 pricing isn’t too much.

No Dual SIM

The Nexus 5X only offers a single SIM slot while the devices in the same price range offer dual SIM slot that too with Dual 4G connectivity. Isn’t that would be interesting if the functionality was available on the 5X. Since, the company is offering the top of the line connectivity features such as faster Dual Band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth v4.2, NFC, A-GPS, Digital Compass, and of course the LTE Cat 6.

The dual SIM capability allows users to keep one device with them for both work and personal use. It should come under the necessary parts now so that manufacturers don’t make compromises on such features.

Verdict

Google has probably thought a lot about how to continue their Nexus series. It became obvious that a line-up that was more of a mid-range flagship is converting into a high-range flagship phones. It can be said that when company announced their Motorola Nexus 6, they were slowly stepping into higher end. So, in result the new generation Nexus arrived in two forms, one as mid-range while other as a high-end flagship smartphone.

But according to the current market standard the Nexus 5X isn’t worthy of its pricing at $379. Moreover, it comes only in 16 and 32GB variants without microSD card slot support. What we covered above clearly states that 5X isn’t a mid-ranger of 2015. There are devices such as Moto X Style Pure Edition and OnePlus 2 in the market that has much more to offer in terms of hardware and for most parts software as well. Unless you’re too eager to use a smartphone with Android Marshmallow 6.0, because then new Nexus devices are your only choice. For at least couple more months.