Google Nexus 5 vs Nexus 4, Samsung Galaxy Nexus: specs comparison

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Google Nexus 5 vs Nexus 4, Samsung Galaxy Nexus: specs comparison
At last, the seemingly endless flurry of leaks and speculations has come to a halt as the Google Nexus 5 is finally official! And the smartphone is not looking bad at all now that we have its hardware and software specs confirmed by LG and Google themselves. As we expected, there's some top-notch hardware under the hood of the device, including a quad-core Snapdragon 800 SoC clocked at 2.26GHz. That 5-inch, 1080p screen doesn't look shabby either. 

Clearly, the Google Nexus 5 is a worthy rival to some of the top Android smartphones out there, especially given its relatively low off-contract cost. At the same time, it is a few steps ahead of the previous Nexus iterations as it has evolved from a hardware perspective. Sure, specs aren't everything that matters in a smartphone, but with Android devices in particular, they can often provide us with a good indication as to how a given device will perform.

Having that in mind, here's the specifications list of the Google Nexus 5, next to the specs for the Nexus 4 and the Samsung Galaxy Nexus. Anyone thinking of upgrading from an older Nexus handset? Let us know in the comments below!

Google Nexus 5 Google Nexus 4 Samsung GALAXY Nexus

Design

Dimensions
5.43 x 2.72 x 0.34 inches
137.84 x 69.17 x 8.59 mm
5.27 x 2.70 x 0.36 inches
133.9 x 68.7 x 9.1 mm
5.33 x 2.67 x 0.35 inches
135.5 x 67.94 x 8.94 mm
Weight
4.59 oz / 130.0 g 4.90 oz / 139.0 g 4.76 oz / 135.0 g
Materials
Back: Glass
Features
Notification light
Keys
Left: Volume control; Right: Lock/Unlock key Left: Volume control; Right: Lock/Unlock key Left: Volume control; Right: Lock/Unlock key
Colors
Black, Red, White Black, White Gray, White

Display

Size
5.0-inch, 70.89% screen-to-body 4.7-inch, 68.49% screen-to-body 4.7-inch, 64.92% screen-to-body
Type
IPS LCD IPS LCD Super AMOLED
Resolution
1920x1080px, 445 PPI 1280x768px, 318 PPI 1280x720px, 316 PPI
Colors
16 777 216 16 777 216 16 777 216
Protection
Corning Gorilla Glass 3 Corning Gorilla Glass 2

Hardware

System chip
Snapdragon 800 MSM8974 Snapdragon S4 Pro APQ8064 TI OMAP4460
Processor
Quad-core
2260 MHz
Krait 400
Quad-core
1500 MHz
Krait
Dual-core
1200 MHz
ARM Cortex-A9
GPU
Adreno 330 Adreno 320 PowerVR SGX540
Memory
2GB (LPDDR3)/32GB
2GB/16GB
2GB (LPDDR2)/16GB
2GB/8GB
1GB (DDR2)/32GB
1GB/16GB
OS
Android (6.0 Marshmallow, 5.1 Lollipop, 5.0 Lollipop, 4.4.4, 4.4.2, 4.4) Android (5.1 Lollipop, 5.0 Lollipop, 4.4.4, 4.4.3, 4.4.2, 4.4, 4.3, 4.2.2, 4.2.1, 4.2) Android (4.3, 4.2.2, 4.2.1, 4.2, 4.1.2, 4.1, 4.0.4, 4.0.1, 4.0)

Battery

Type
2300 mAh, Li - Polymer 2100 mAh, Li - Polymer 1750 mAh, Li - Ion
Charging
Qi wireless charging Qi wireless charging

Camera

Rear
Single camera Single camera Single camera
Main camera
8 MP (OIS, Autofocus, BSI sensor)
Aperture size: F2.4
Focal length: 30.4 mm
Sensor size: 1/3.2"
8 MP (Autofocus, CMOS image sensor)
Sensor size: 1/4"
5 MP (Autofocus)
Aperture size: F2.8
Flash
LED LED LED
Video recording
1080p (30 fps)
OIS, Video light
1080p (30 fps)
Video calling
1080p (30 fps)
Video calling
Front
1.3 MP
Video capture: 720p
1.3 MP 1.3 MP

Connectivity & Features

Bluetooth
4.0 4.0 3.0
WLAN
a,b,g,n,ac,dual-band
Hotspot, Wi-Fi Direct
802.11 a, b, g, n, ac
b,g,n,dual-band
Hotspot, Wi-Fi Direct
802.11 b, g, n
a,b,g,n
Hotspot
802.11 a, b, g, n
USB
microUSB, USB 2.0 microUSB, USB 2.0 microUSB, USB 2.0
Sensors
Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass, Barometer, Step detector, Step counter, Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass, Barometer, Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass, Barometer, Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor
Hearing aid compatible
M3
HDMI
Yes
Location
GPS, A-GPS, Glonass A-GPS, Glonass GPS, A-GPS
Other
NFC, ANT+, Tethering, Computer sync, OTA sync NFC, Tethering, Computer sync, OTA sync NFC, Computer sync, OTA sync

Multimedia

Headphones
3.5mm jack 3.5mm jack 3.5mm jack
Speakers
Earpiece, Loudspeaker Earpiece, Loudspeaker Earpiece, Loudspeaker
Features
Album art cover, Background playback Album art cover, Background playback, Preset equalizer Album art cover, Background playback
Screen mirroring
DLNA,Wireless screen share,SlimPort,TV-out DLNA,Wireless screen share,SlimPort,TV-out MHL
Additional microphone(s)
Noise cancellation, Video recording Yes

Cellular

4G (FDD) Bands
1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 20
3G Bands
6, 5, 8, 4, 2, 1 5, 8, 4, 2, 1 5, 8, 4, 2, 1
Data Speed
LTE Cat 4 (150/50 Mbit/s), HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s, HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s, UMTS HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s, HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s, UMTS HSDPA+ (4G) 21.1 Mbit/s, HSDPA 14.4 Mbit/s, HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s, UMTS
SIM type
Micro SIM Micro SIM

Phone Features

Notifications
Haptic feedback, Music ringtones (MP3), Polyphonic ringtones, Vibration, Flight mode, Silent mode, Speakerphone Music ringtones (MP3), Polyphonic ringtones, Vibration, Flight mode, Silent mode, Speakerphone Music ringtones (MP3), Polyphonic ringtones, Vibration, Flight mode, Silent mode, Speakerphone
Other features
Voice dialing, Voice commands, Voice recording Voice dialing, Voice commands, Voice recording Voice dialing, Voice commands, Voice recording

Regulatory Approval

FCC approval
Date approved: Nov 04, 2013
FCC ID value: ZNFD821
Date approved: Sep 07, 2012
FCC ID value: ZNFE960
Date approved: Oct 07, 2011
FCC ID value: A3LGTI9250
Measured SAR
Head: 0.92 W/kg
Body: 1.01 W/kg
Simultaneous Transmission: 1.46 W/kg
Wireless Router: 1.23 W/kg
Head: 0.55 W/kg
Body: 1.27 W/kg
Simultaneous Transmission: 1.50 W/kg
Wireless Router: 1.27 W/kg
Head: 0.43 W/kg
Body: 0.74 W/kg

Availability

Officially announced
Oct 31, 2013 Oct 29, 2012 Oct 19, 2011
Prices (MSRP)
$399


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