By 
As we lay in the aftermath of today’s big announcements (Android 5.0 Lollipop, Nexus 6, and Nexus 9), I think we can now officially call it in: we aren’t going to see a Nexus 5 refresh for 2014. This may come as the biggest let down for those that felt Google’s new gargantuan-sized Nexus 6 phablet was simply too unwieldy, but as we all saw today, Google didn’t surprise the world with a brand new Nexus 5.
Earlier today we told you guys about the Nexus 5 (along with the Nexus 7 and Nexus 10) showing as “out of inventory” in the Google Play Store, suggesting that the Nexus 6 would soon replace the smaller handset. But is that really the case? Let us now divert your attention to the newly remodeled Google Nexus homepage showcasing — not only the Nexus 6, Nexus 9, and Nexus Player — but the Nexus 5 as well. The question you should ask is why would Google go through the trouble of creating a completely new homepage for a device that’s supposed to now be “obsolete?” Simple. Because it’s not.
Although Google hasn’t actually come out and said anything, it seems as if they will continue offering the Nexus 5 in the Google Play Store as a smaller, low priced Nexus option which makes perfect sense. In the event they wanted to refresh some of the device’s specs, offering up a 64GB model or simply dropping the price another $50 would be alright by us given how well the Nexus 5 has aged the past year. What do you guys think?
I’ll take a bigger battery…
Some upgraded hardware should be nice, such as cpu, camera and battery
But it’s not necessary. The Nexus 5 can compete with the M8 and S5 on paper and in real world testing.
The Nexus 5 runs great, just like the M8 and S5. It last at least another year.
Or maybe they just want to sell a nexus celphone (n5), nexus phablet (n6) and nexus tablet (n9).
Then new nexus 6 IS NOT a phone, or celphone, it is a phablet.
A “phablet” is a type of phone … And a terrible word, just like selfie *cringe*
In this day and age, a PHABLET is accepted as a big phone, and a phone is a… phone.
The 4.7 inches iphone is a phone, the 5.5 inches ones is a phablet.
S5 is a phone, note4 is a phablet.
Nexus 5 is a phone, Nexus 6 is a phablet.
This IS a fact now, not an opinion.
Another fact? Phablets carry a price premium over the phones of the same brand/manufacturer.
PS: i myself, call the nexus 6 a “taphone”, it is way to big >P
As a fan of large phones, I accept that they are not popular with a lot of [tiny handed] people. Personally, I would have loved to have phone functionality in the Nexus 7. It fits in my hand very well; this little 6″ thing is ok, but still not ideal. Sadly, the N7 didn’t work well as a phone. It lacked the speaker and microphone placement that enabled it to be held and used the way telephone handsets have traditionally been held and used. It lacked the hardware to connect it to the wireless networks that enable most modern phones to work. I could install and configure software such that I could carry on a voice conversation with someone who was using a phone, but it wasn’t designed for this purpose, and that lack of design contributed to the poor experience in trying to use it as a phone.
I don’t have a problem with small phones, but I understand that they are still phones. I don’t come up with a new name and say they aren’t phones because they are too small. So the N6 is bigger than many other phones. Fine. It is still a phone. My parents have a cat. It’s small. I went to the zoo and saw a tiger. The tiger was a lot bigger, but it’s still a cat. Just because we have another name for it doesn’t mean a tiger isn’t a cat. Just because the N6 has a 6″ screen doesn’t disqualify it from being a phone.
The first phone I used weighed several pounds, and had to be plugged into the wall with a wire. It also came it two parts, connected to each other with a really curly wire. THAT was a phone. When it rang, there was a real bell in it that clanged (a.k.a. “rang”). The screen size was zero pixels. It had no way to access email, and there was no web browser. I have no idea how that chunk of machinery — which existed several decades before cellular networks existed — is more like a Nexus 5 than a Nexus 6. If you put all three on a table and randomly polled a bunch of people as to which two of the three devices were most similar to each other, you might not get a single response that said the phone and the N5 are more similar to each other than either is to the N6. One single inch in screen size between the two (a 20% increase), but otherwise no significant visible or functional differences, and suddenly the N6 is disqualified from being categorized as a “phone,” yet somehow the N5, which shares only a single characteristic with the things known for years as phones (i.e. the ability to carry on a two-way voice conversation), is the standard for devices of that name? The facts supporting your argument are far from convincing.
Your examples are ilogical and non related to our reality.
You can consider anything that makes phonecalls a phone all you like.
That does not change the fact that society has accepted “big phones” (or in other words, phones as big or bigger in total size than the Samsung Galaxy Note “1”, and not bigger than small tablets, like the Nexus 7) as “Phablets”. It is a category.
There are small tablets that can make phonecalls… they are still tablets that make phonecalls, not phones :P
I like big phones, i don’t like carrying them tho (Here in Argentinca, pockets can barely fit my Nexus 5).
a better cam! and 64Gb storage option and SD801 with 50$ increase in price would have made the device more awesome! I wouldlove to see a bigger battery too but since google says project volta is going to increase battery life compared to kitkat i’m okay with N5’s battery
I’m hoping they do a complete refresh of the Nexus 5 based on the Moto Droid Turbo. That way, they cover all bases with a great phone, a great phablet, and a great tablet.
Even with premium pricing, this would make me ECSTATIC.
Hopefully motorola would revamp it too… basically a 5 inch moto nexus
I too stand behind this idea. I like my Nexus 5 and I won’t be changing it for a Nexus 6. I think in six months or so would be perfect timing for a new Nexus 5 as Qualcomm will be ready with the Snapdragon 810. Although the Nexus 6 with the 805 CPU is not 64 bit it isn’t about what you can do with 64 bit today that you can’t with 32 bit. For me it is about future proofing updates and capabilities and buying at the right time.
Agreed, but that’s not to say I “want” premium pricing
*nods*
Looks like possible new color options?
I was always under the impression that the Nexus series was a set of devices that were decent to great in processing power and general specs, but were lacking in terms of camera/speaker quality and so on. I’m not really sure what they were thinking when they were making the Nexus 6. That’s a flagship phone. Not that the N5 wasn’t a flagship phone, but it wasn’t a HTC One M8. I think they’re gonna be hurtin’ when the cheap (frugal) people like myself and other Nexus buyers don’t grab it.
I agree but at the same time, I might not grab it at launch but if i see a good deal. I wouldn’t be opposed to picking one up.
The Nexus line was Google’s flagship device. It was used as a standard for developers to develop to use. Also not all the Nexus phones have been budget priced. The first 2 were $530, then the Galaxy Nexus came out at $400. It was not until the Nexus 4 & 5 that the cost went down to $350.
The Nexus 6 is following the trend of larger phones that developers want to develop for. That comes with a larger price tag. Though considering that all the carriers sold the Nexus 5 off contract at almost 30% higher than the Play Store, we might see this also with the Nexus 6.
These are going to be available through the carrier, so you aren’t going to have to pay full price for them up front. I don’t know why so many people are complaining about the price.
Buying from your carrier is a huge ripoff. The price is factored into your monthly rates and you’re pretty much guaranteed to lose the net savings within a year. I save at least $25/mo with a prepaid plan.
I know this.
I need a new phone and I want pure Android. Most offering have a larger screen than what I want. This makes perfect sense and I’ll be watching (hoping) for a price drop on the 5 once the 6 is made available.
I’ve been waiting for a price drop too and I’m sure as hell not paying either double for a 6 or the same price for a 1 y.o. phone. If nothing changes in the next few weeks, I think it’s time to seriously consider OnePlusOne.
I’m frickin glad they didn’t offer a new 5. Google can keep their sticky lollipop fingers out of my wallet… Until 2015 if they refresh with new model. Blast you Google and your technically powerful ways to spend my money!!!!
Gosh that would be amazing
Given the state Android is in now. How light it is. How Lollipop has been built to run on lower end devices..mixed in with the fact that the nexus 5 is right sized for those who don’t like the 6inch phone, I have to say I am happy to see the nexus 5 stick around. It just makes sense..5 inch phone, 6 inch phablet, 9 inch tablet.
The SD800 is plenty powerful and more than enough to run the next 2 or 3 revisions of Android. I would hope Google could bump up the storage..but 26gb is cool with me….
Also, Lollipop is supposed to improve battery life, so that angle is covered without new hardware.
#FHRITP
Now introduce the Nexus 5 to Verizon and we’ll be good to go.
They need a 64GB version. That shouldn’t be restricted to 5+” screens.
Yeah, I hope this is the case. When I saw the price of the N6, my first thought was, “what do I do if my little boy flushes my N5 down the toilet?” I’m not springing for the 6 or the Moto X or any of the other >$500 flagships, but I don’t want to downgrade to a Moto G or get something on a contract. I’d be happy to get a new N5 to replace the old one in the event it breaks.
A Nexus 5 with a better camera, bigger battery, and a Snapdragon 805 would have been perfect.
Even just an upgrade to the Snapdragon 801 would help the battery life and the n5 needs all the help it can get.
Add Verizon too.
ATT $50 on contract. So we still get pure android and direct updates from Google without all the bloatware?
Nexus 5 32G in red and white are still available on the play store
Desperately hoping for a normal-sized Nexus refresh :(
If they keep the price the same and bumped the internal storage to 32GB/64GB and the battery capacity to 3000 mAh I would be sold
Personally,and yeah I’m about to get personal…o.k.,I was str8-up HEARTBROKEN when I read what the price was gunna be for the N6 and yeah,i can afford and yeah its probably worth every penny right? “WRONG”! It’s missing a couple things that I was looking forward to using ok,….so what’s a guy to do? Bite the bullet and buy this beast? Nope,not gunna do it EL’ GOOGLE!! But what I ‘am gunna do is rock my N5 ’til the wheels fall off and in the meantime I’m taking this invite I’m about to receive and I’m buying that OTHER beast called the One+One for the low-low price of $349! So f__k a Nexus 6 right in the ‘ol poop shoot WITH NO LUBE….I’m done!
just got a one+, coming from a note3, lol. Spectacular phone with a nice sized screen. Very good for the money!
I’d purchase a N5 with 64GB storage, I didn’t think I’d use a good portion of my 32 but boy was I wrong.
This is why I really wish more OEMs would incorporate micro SD slots. With the new 128Gb SDXC cards debuting it only makes sense for those of us who keep a large music library or put a lot of large files on our devices.
Refresh the 5 to be like the new Droid would be great
that would rock (the droid turbo, right? XD)
This is what I was trying to say people. Google just wanted nexus 6 as their flagship phone which Is why they didn’t go for affordability. The nexus 5 and nexus 7 will be their affordable devices
That would be great if that were true.
it’s not even a phone. How do they even make it a flagship phone?
epic fail
How is it not a phone? Whether it’s big or small if you can make calls and text etc… It’s a phone
Some people will always have something negative to say.
My PC make calls and text as well….so does my laptop. They must be phones by your definition. Wait, so does my TV.
You get my point -___- and yes by my definition you COULD use all of those as your phone if you so desire.
Ahhhhhhhhh but it is
In steps OnePlus One with what we hoped the Nexus 6 would be. That phone is going to be in high demand now. Still after 2 months nothing else has yet to tempt me. 64GB is awesome, 24 hour battery life, great camera. CM 11s. What’s left to discuss. You can get mad at the companies tactics to get their foot in the door, but seems silly to let some stupid marketing decisions turn someone off of great hardware.
I think OPO is pushing out invites now after the announcement of Nexus 6. I just bought myself one yesterday without doing anything particularly to get an invite. I just somehow got it. All I did was had a forum account (never participated anything though) since 2 months ago.
Not refreshing the Nexus 5 is a big fail.
Yep, this was all I wanted out of the entire announcement. That been said Android 5.0 looks spectacular, too bad there is no new device coming out worth using it on for me. Maybe the new Moto X will suffice.
I’m wondering if they’re starting a 2 year cycle alternating between small and phablet. The innovation in the hardware space is starting to slow down and we’ve got to the point where screen resolution and processor speeds are pretty much at the peak of what people really need. Couple that with the improvements with ART and there’s not much more that can be done noticeably.
This is a pretty fair assessment, sure wouldn’t hurt either. Even Apple has convoluted the Phone & Tab market to an extent as well.
Agreed. Especially with contracts being deemphasized somewhat, it’s likely people will begin holding onto phones longer to either save up for the next one or go a year or so without payments.
Exactly what I’ve done. I’ve held on to my GNex for 3 years because it has been handling everything fine, so didn’t see the need to waste money on a new phone after the typical 2 years. Now it’s starting to struggle I’m in the market with a year of savings in the bag…although I’m wondering if a factory reset will work just as well to speed things up.
I wonder if they’ve finally fixed the gap issue around the display. I constantly have to take a piece of paper and clean lint out between the glass and bottom of my phone.
I’m glad to see this. I’ve had my Nexus 5 since February and this phone is still screaming fast and will only run better on Lollipop. Hopefully this means an extra year of updates for this beast.
Outside of the fashion statement/trendy angle, smartphones have pretty much hit the point PC’s and Laptops hit years ago. Outside of a small number of power users, there’s very little perceptible difference to be gleaned from just adding “more power”. They already do what most people need/want them to do. Google and Motorola have done a lot in the last couple of years to improve things so Android can run better on lesser hardware, which can extend the life of devices.
It’s also why wearables and media devices are being promoted. They realize that smartphone lifecyle is bound to be extended. Carriers are de-emphasizng contracts in favor of full price or long term payments. This is going to push people to keep phones longer since there will be a noticeable difference on their bill.
Yea. I was actually thinking of not even upgrading my M8. I don’t really see a reason to. It’s been a while since I thought that way, too.
I was also thinking of just getting the Nexus 6 and keeping that. Nice large screen, front facing speakers. Works for me. I’m just sad the phone is going to weight like 2 ounces. =.=
You were planning to upgrade a 6 month old phone?
Phones are like expensive clothes for metrosexuals with me. I’m like a Phonesexual… There needs to be a word to distinguish this. LoL!!
I know, very dumb move, but you can’t tell me other wise. But I hate myself right now. I just want to have all the phones. LoL!!
they are out of stock with both versions of the Nexus 5
The 32GB option is available in white and red.
I think a 2 year hardware refresh makes since. The Nexus 5 is almost a year old and can still hang with the new models this year. There is no big jumps with hardware really. Maybe a 64 bit CPU. And more ram. Which I think really isn’t needed.
This makes complete sense. While I love the specs of the Nexus 6, it really is too big for me. I want something that will easily fit into my pocket. My 2013 Moto X is still running quite smoothly, and I really love it. I am probably going to upgrade to the 2014 Moto X, as it just better in every possible way to the first gen moto x, (and I can personalize it with Moto Maker) except I do think the screen size is right on the edge of being too big for my personal taste.
Google has evolved the nexus line from showing what stock android is supposed to be like, to now having a pretty well developed and mature line of devices. I love my Nexus 7 (2nd Gen), but am glad to see that the Nexus 9 is going to be an option in the future, as well as the current Nexus 5, or an updated version 6 months to a year down the road.
Still one of the best phones. Happy with my purchase still.
Hopefully this shows that they see the need for a smaller display nexus phone. I haven’t had a non-nexus android yet, and so far this 6 (because of size) is the only one I haven’t wanted to upgrade to immediately. next year I’ll hope for a device refresh of the nexus 5 name, hopefully something with a longer lasting battery.
Good. The Nexus 5 is clearly not an obsolete phone. It’s still a great choice and I’ll continue to recommend it to people that don’t want to get a Galaxy device, but don’t want to spend $600+ on another high-end device.
I think Google’s strategy this time is to compete with already existing iPhone 6+ & Galaxy Note 4..
Its pretty noticable that iPhone is a stiff competition for them due to different platform and Samsung its all due to Touchwiz issues of introducing s-voice and magzine instead of “ok Google” and cards..!!
So I guess, the Specs war started again.. Buyers will think before they buy after famous #bendgate from flawless corp. Apple. :p
If the price drops by 50 I may buy the nexus 5
I don’t see what all the fuss is about. The Nexus program has always catered to the sub 5″ device lovers. This is their first foray into phablet territory. Let those of us who want pure android on a phablet device finally get to enjoy it. Don’t feel so gaddam self entitled.
Yeah, I have an N5. What more can you want. Lollipop is interesting, like getting a different phone for nothing. And it spawned that great “15 Best Lollipop Songs” piece.