A quick look at Google's Nexus lineup. A quick look at Google's Nexus lineup What about Samsung and HTC

First, Google talked about how things are in the tablet market, showing graphs of growth in the tablet segment and stagnation in the computer segment. Further - a graph with an impressive growth in sold android tablets.

Then a couple of words about the success of the first Nexus 7 model and that this tablet was a milestone for Google, and then the presentation of a new toy.

Google Nexus 7 (second generation)

Google and Asus decided to simplify the name of the device as much as possible, that is, not to change anything in it, we have the same Nexus 7. There will be three versions of the tablet on sale, with 16 GB and 32 GB of memory and Wi-Fi, as well as a 32 GB version with LTE. But let's start with the characteristics.

It's no secret that now many people are waiting for models with screens in the 7 "segment of tablets high resolution, however, before the announcement of the new Nexus 7, no one had "shot". Some waited and hoped that Apple will show a new iPad mini with Retina-display, others - that Liao's uncles in their small factories in China will be the first to rivet 7 ”tablets with FullHD-screens. None of this happened, and Google and Asus were the first to introduce a compact tablet with a high-definition screen.

Features of the new Google Nexus 7:

• Body materials: matte soft-touch plastic
• Operating system: Android 4.3
• Network: 2G / 3G / 4G LTE (optional, for 32GB version)
• Platform: Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro
• Processor: Quad-core, 1.5 GHz, GPU - Adreno 320
• RAM: 2 GB
• Memory for data storage: 16/32 GB (no memory card slot)
• Interfaces: NFC, Wi-Fi Dual-band (a / b / g / n), Bluetooth 4.0 (A2DP, Bluetooth Smart), microUSB (USB 2.0) connector for charge / synchronization, 3.5 mm headset, miniHDMI
• Screen: LCD IPS-matrix, capacitive, 7 "with a resolution of 1920x1200 pixels, 323 ppi
• Camera: 5 MP main, 1.2 MP front
• Sound: stereo speakers
• Navigation: GPS (support A-GPS)
• Optional: accelerometer, light sensor, proximity sensor, wireless charging
• Battery: non-removable, up to 9 hours in HD video mode, up to 10 hours in browser mode
• Dimensions: 200 x 114 x 8.6 mm
• Weight: 290 grams

The design of the new Nexus 7 is not of particular interest, in my opinion, they tried to make it as simple, unassuming, dim and calm as possible. So that it would be liked by the widest possible range of users, plus, it is practical thanks to its design, as well as black color and matte plastic. It uses a soft-touch coating. Compared to the first Nexus 7, there was interesting solution with a pattern on the back of the tablet, here the back will be smooth.

The first noticeable change from the original Nexus 7 is the thinner bezels to the left and right of the screen, as well as the body itself, which is 2mm thinner than the previous tablet.

But even more important is the second change - the new display. The updated Nexus 7 uses a 7 ”IPS display with a resolution of 1920x1200 pixels, it is the first compact tablet with a high-resolution display. The ppi (dots per inch) value in the new device is almost one and a half times higher than in the previous model.

Further - there were stereo speakers, before there was one speaker, doubled the amount of RAM, the updated model uses a more productive platform. Instead of one front camera, the second generation Nexus 7 has two of them - a front one with a resolution of 1.2 megapixels and a main one with 5 megapixels.

Partially eliminated the main drawback of the original "seven" - a small amount of flash memory, it was only 8/16 GB, and even less available. The new Nexus 7 still lacks a slot for a memory card, but the base volume has been increased to 16 GB, and there will also be a 32 GB version.

Of the pleasant features - support for NFC and Wi-Fi Dual-band, the possibility of wireless charging, as well as a tablet version with 32 GB and LTE (so far announced only for some operators in the US). The tablet has an HDMI port.

The capacity of the built-in battery is not named, but at the presentation, a Google representative noted that, on average, the new Nexus 7 will work up to 9 hours when watching HD-video and up to 10 hours when working in a browser.

Now the main thing is about prices. In the States new google The Nexus 7 will be available on July 30th, with a 16GB version on sale that day for $ 229. The 32 GB and 32 GB versions with LTE will be a little later, but also soon, according to Google.

Pricing for the new Google Nexus 7:

• Nexus 7 16 GB Wi-Fi - 229 USD
• Nexus 7 32 GB Wi-Fi - 269 USD
• Nexus 7 32 GB Wi-Fi + LTE - 349 USD

Android 4.3

Along with the new Nexus 7, Google has unveiled the next Android OS update - 4.3. From a user perspective, there isn't much new here. First, there is support for user profiles, so now you can create different profiles for yourself, brother, dad, mom, and so on and quickly switch between them on the lock screen. Secondly, updated Google play, now you can view apps optimized for running on tablets, as well as use your personal game account, which displays achievements in different games, your friends and their achievements, and other data.

The Chrome browser finally has a full screen mode of displaying pages, and also updated Google maps, the new version is optimized to work on tablets. Another browser-related change is the introduction of a built-in translator.

From the point of view of developers, there are more changes. First, along with the new version, Android has added support for OpenGL ES 3.0, and this is new beautiful graphics with realistic reflections and details, the first demos using this technology will soon be available on Google Play. Second is support bluetooth technology Smart. This technology is used to "pair" multiple Bluetooth devices with minimal power consumption. In particular, it is used in heart rate monitors and other accessories from Polar, in watches Casio G-Shock Smart Watch, Motorola's Motoactv accessory and some other toys.

The update to Android 4.3 for current devices of the Nexus family will begin to "arrive" today (OTA), so the owners Galaxy Nexus, Nexus 4, Nexus 7 and Nexus 10 can already prepare for its early installation.

ChromeCast

Another device unveiled this day is the Chromecast accessory. This is a small keychain that plugs into the HDMI port of the TV, connects to WI-Fi and then allows you to control the broadcasts of video, music or pictures from your devices to the TV.

In a sense, this is an analogue of Apple TV, in a sense, an alternative to the segment of compact HDMI-whistles on Android from Chinese manufacturers. Inside the Chromecast, there is a simplified chrome version OS, and all control is carried out from your device, be it an Android or iOS tablet or a smartphone. You can watch YouTube videos, listen to music, watch photos or play movies from special services. The programs and services themselves are installed on a smartphone or tablet, and Chromecast acts as a link between the device in your hands, from which you want to broadcast something, and the TV screen on which you are going to watch it.

The cost of the accessory in the US will be $ 35. We will try to take it for a test and tell you more about how it works.

Conclusion

Google is gradually taking small steps in the right direction. The company does not ignore those segments where it has already excelled (Android), but at the same time is working on new areas. Now one of these new areas is tablets, the release of the first Nexus 7 showed that it is time for Google to deal with this market, because while this is Apple's territory, and other manufacturers choosing Android will not be able to do something without steps from Google, which should optimize the system for working with tablets. In this case, the company acts as a catch-up. Another new segment is the development of services related to streaming video and music, representatives of Google talked about this at the recent Google I / O conference, and now another step has been taken in the development of this direction - Chromecast.

As a reminder, Google announced that an update to Android 4.3 for the Galaxy Nexus, Nexus 4, Nexus 7 and Nexus 10 will be available for download today.

Artem Lutfullin ()

Detailed testing of the new flagship smartphone from the Google Nexus line

The software giant and creator of the most widespread Android mobile platform today, the American company Google, continues to release once a year another update for its line of branded Nexus smartphones (the Google Nexus series now includes several tablets, but now we are talking about smartphones) ... This year, the company again entrusted the release of its branded smartphone with the Google logo to the Korean giant, LG, which last year already noted the development of "Googlephone" at number 4.

Pictured: Google Nexus 5 (left) and Google Nexus 4 (right)

The main message and the main distinguishing feature of all devices of the Nexus series is the desire to demonstrate to the market the capabilities of the newest and most recent version of the Android OS using a living example, that is, on a fully functional serial device that you can just go and buy in the store. By the way, about buying: the price of Nexus series products is usually lower than the prices of similar products from other manufacturers, for which the devices managed to acquire a lot of fans around the world. The Nexus 5 is no exception: now in America, the Nexus 5 version with 16GB of flash memory is asking $ 349, and a little more, $ 399, for the 32GB version. Considering the top-end hardware and advanced features of the new product, comparison with other flagship smartphones on the market is clearly in its favor.

Devices of the Nexus series always enter the market not only with the latest version of the OS, but also with a completely original, "bare" software part, that is, in such a smartphone (or tablet) you will not find the notorious third-party graphic shells or masses preinstalled apps - only Android OS with standard applications, and only the most latest version... In this case, the Nexus 5 runs perfectly new version Android 4.4, which, after a series of Jelly Bean versions, has received a separate new name, traditionally corresponding to some of the sweets - now it's KitKat.

To create a "purebred" Google Phone, a world-renowned manufacturer is usually chosen: such giants as HTC and Samsung were involved in the production of the first smartphones of the Nexus series. Now LG has firmly established itself in this role, releasing smartphones with the Google Nexus logo on the world market for the second year in a row. And since the Korean company is also successfully engaged in the production mobile devices under its own label, it makes sense to compare its own products with those that it does for Google. Last year, they were two almost identical in terms of the internal arrangement of the smartphone Google Nexus 4 and LG Optimus G, but not too similar in appearance. Now it is logical to compare with each other flagship smartphone LG G2, recently introduced on the Russian market, and Nexus 5.

Pictured: Google Nexus 5 (left) and LG G2 (right)

Like last time, smartphones are completely different in appearance, but their insides are almost the same, including the use of the most advanced SoC Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 in both models, so they, accordingly, have the highest performance. Let's combine all the listed models into a single plate for ease of comparison and begin the story.

Key features of Google Nexus 5 (D821)

	Google Nexus 5	Google Nexus 4	LG G2	Sony Xperia Z1	Samsung Galaxy Note3
Screen	4.95 ″, IPS	4.7 ″, IPS	5.2 ″, IPS	5 ″, ASV?	5.7 ″, Super AMOLED
Resolution	1920 × 1080, 445 ppi	1280 × 768, 317 ppi	1920 × 1080, 424 ppi	1920 × 1080, 440 ppi	1920 × 1080, 386 ppi
SoC		Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro @ 1.5 GHz (4 cores, ARMv7 Krait)	Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 @ 2.2GHz (Quad Core Krait 400)	Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 @ 2.2GHz (Quad Core Krait 400)	Samsung Exynos 5420 @ 1.9 GHz (4 + 4 cores)
GPU	Adreno 330	Adreno 320	Adreno 330	Adreno 330	Mali-T628 MP6
RAM	2 GB	2 GB	2 GB	2 GB	3 GB
Flash memory	16/32 GB	8/16 GB	32 GB	16 GB	32/64 GB
Memory card support	not	not	not	microSD	microSD
Operating system	Google android 4.4	Google Android 4.2	Google Android 4.2	Google Android 4.2	Google Android 4.3
Battery	non-removable, 2300 mAh	non-removable, 2100 mAh	non-removable, 3000 mAh	non-removable, 3000 mAh	removable, 3200 mAh
Cameras		rear (8 Mp; video - 1080p), front (1.3 Mp)	rear (13 Mp; video - 1080p), front (2 Mp)	rear (20.7 Mp; video - 1080p), front (2 Mp)	rear (13 Mp; video - 1080p), front 2 Mp, video 1080p)
Overall dimensions	138 x 69 x 8.6 mm, 130 g	134 x 69 x 9.1mm, 139g	139 x 71 x 8.9mm, 143g	144 x 74 x 8.5 mm, 170 g	151 x 79 x 8.3mm, 168g

• SoC Qualcomm Snapdragon 800, 2.27 GHz, Quad Core Krait 400
• GPU Adreno 330, 450 MHz
• Operating android system 4.4 KitKat
• Touch display IPS, 4.95 ″, 1920 × 1080, 445 ppi
• Random access memory (RAM) 2 GB, inner memory 16/32 GB
• Communication GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz
• Communication WCDMA 800/850/900/1900/2100 MHz
• Data transmission 2G, 3G, LTE (Bands 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 20)
• Bluetooth 4.0, NFC
• Wi-Fi 802.11a / b / g / n / ac (2.4 / 5 GHz), Wi-Fi hotspot, Wi-Fi Direct
• GPS, A-GPS
• SlimPort
• Wireless charger
• Gyroscope, proximity sensor, lighting, pressure, electronic compass
• Camera 8 MP, autofocus, optical stabilization
• 1.3MP camera (front), 720p video recording
• Li-ion battery 2300 mAh
• Dimensions 137.84 x 69.17 x 8.59mm
• Weight 130 g

Contents of delivery

Nexus 5 goes on sale, frankly, in not the most beautiful packaging... An ordinary rough matte thick cheap-looking cardboard of a large rectangular box is covered on top with an additional paper casing of frivolous children's colors - the packaging in this case does not indicate any premium or even seriousness of the purchased product, and generally does not really correspond to its contents.

There are a couple of compartments inside the box that hide a poor set: charger (1.2 A) yes USB-Micro-USB connecting cable. No headphones were found in the kit, nor were there any other accessories - everything is very laconic.

It is worth mentioning separately the complete key, which should be used to remove the container with the SIM-card: it is a metal master key with an extremely thin rod - a spout that serves to press the corresponding secret button when the container is ejected. But the trouble is: the developers, by some unknown whim, made a hole with a button, and, accordingly, the key itself is so thin that nothing but this branded key will fit into the hole. Unless you have to take a real sewing needle, because neither an ordinary paper clip, nor even sharp stationery "buttons" for cork boards are able to penetrate such a gap. Why they did this is unclear, but if you lose the branded key, then picking up a replacement will not be as easy as using an ordinary paper clip in similar mechanisms of other similar devices ( Apple iPhone, eg). The exact same problem was observed with the Nexus 4.

Appearance and usability

Compared to the previous model in the series, the Nexus 5 has become, according to the preferences of the modern market, a little larger in size, but in general it has retained its recognizable shape. Body outline latest smartphones The Nexus series differ from most others in the rounded upper and lower end faces, while most smartphones have straight, albeit with rounded corners.

The direction of beveled side edges has changed: the Nexus 4's front panel was wider than the back one, and the Nexus 5's body, on the contrary, seems to expand all the way back, that is, all four sides of the smartphone lying on the "back" are beveled upward in a pyramid, which is why you can take the smartphone with your fingers it became uncomfortable from the table, because the fingers now simply slide up along the bevels of the side faces.

However, the situation is slightly corrected by the materials from which the body of the novelty is made. The soft-touch coating contributes to good grip of the fingers: the entire body is made of matte, rough-to-touch plastic with the effect of a rubberized surface, so there is no need to fear fingerprints or slipping out of hands in this case.

The housing is non-separable: it is a one-piece solution with a tightly closed back cover without access to the battery. In principle, the lid can be removed if desired (judging by the experimental research of colleagues from iFixit, the lid is held on several plastic latches with minimum amount glue), but it is unlikely that such interference is a warranty case, and there is no particular point in this.

All slots and connectors, and there are not many of them here (there is only one slot for a SIM card), are located on the side edges of the device. Installation container micro-SIM cards is located on the right, and, as mentioned above, opens by pressing a special complete key into a secret hole with a button. The developers, like last time, did not provide for the possibility of expanding the memory due to microSD cards, so there is no corresponding slot here either.

Otherwise, the arrangement of the elements on the case is familiar: the Micro-USB connector is on the bottom, the audio output for headphones with a diameter of 3.5 mm is on the top, next to the second additional microphone, which serves for noise reduction.

The buttons here are made of ceramics, so, in theory, they should be more durable than plastic ones, but in general this is not too noticeable to the eyes, and it does not affect the general perception in any way. The buttons are not large, but protrude well from the body, with straight sharp edges, are easy to touch, have a pliable stroke and a good, distinct response. The power and lock button is not on the top, but on the side of the Nexus 5, so in general there are no complaints about the controls.

The landscape of the rear surface is made up of the elements familiar from the previous model of the series: a camera window with a single-section LED flash and a couple of logos related to LG and the Nexus line itself. Both logos, by the way, do not look as luxurious as on the Nexus 4: there were silvery inscriptions under the glass, but here they are just letters squeezed out in plastic, as if a schoolboy had worked with a burning device. At this point, it is worth noting that although the rubberized coating of the Nexus 5 is more practical, the glass back of the Nexus 4 with a shiny backing and silver logos looked much more expensive and stylish. This also applies to comparing the Nexus 5 with the LG G2.

There is no loudspeaker grill on the rear surface, it is brought to bottom end and consists of two blocks of small round holes on the sides of the connector - just like the Apple iPhone.

The Micro-USB connector here supports the SlimPort interface (displaying an image on a large screen, analogous to MHL), but, unfortunately, does not support OTG (USB Host) mode, so, like in the previous Nexus 4 model, you cannot connect a mouse to it with a keyboard, no flash drive. This is a significant difference between the novelty and LG's own brainchild - the G2 model, which has everything listed in stock, and this cannot be an accident. By the way, power is supplied to the flash drive connected through the OTG adapter (this is evidenced by the light indicator on the test flash drive), so here, as in the Nexus 4, the ability to connect external devices is apparently simply blocked at the software level. Nexus 4 users have managed to remove this restriction, so there will probably be a solution this time too.

The front panel of all devices in the Nexus line is always coal black, the glass that completely covers the entire front has a significant darkening, so that when the screen is off, the front panel looks completely solid and impenetrable black. The window for sound output from the earpiece, cut in the upper part of the Gorilla Glass 3 protective glass, has a circle shape, unusual for smartphones, and not a traditional oblong slit. Otherwise, everything is familiar: next to the speaker grill, you can see the eyes of the sensors and the front camera, there is a wide ledge below for gripping with your fingers, but of course there are no hardware buttons on it - they have long since moved to Android 4.x to the screen in the form of software icons. By the way, one of android innovations 4.4 is the ability to hide the panel with these buttons to free up useful screen space.

And finally, a little about the color differences of the options for the device under consideration today. In nature, this time there are two modifications: black and white. There are no particular differences between the models, and in general, the difference is noticeable only when viewed from behind - the front panel and even the sides of the white Nexus 5 still remain black.

Screen

The Nexus 5 smartphone is equipped with an IPS sensor matrix manufactured by LG with a physical size of 62 × 110 mm, a diagonal of 126 mm (4.95 inches). The side frames here are not as thin as those of the LG G2 - the difference is literally a millimeter, but this is very noticeable by eye: in the case of the G2, there was a feeling that the screen was not supported at all from the sides, there is no such feeling here. Compared to some other models on the market, though, the Nexus 5's side bezels are still very thin. The physical screen resolution in dots here is 1920 × 1080 (Full HD), the density of dots per inch reaches a very high value of 445 ppi. The LG G2 has a slightly lower density, because at the same resolution the screen area of \u200b\u200bthis model is slightly larger (diagonal 5.2 inches, 424 ppi).

The display brightness has both manual and automatic adjustment, the latter based on the operation of the light sensor. Multi-touch technology allows you to handle up to ten simultaneous touches. The smartphone also has a proximity sensor that locks the screen when you bring the smartphone to your ear. The screen remains readable in bright sunlight. The screen is covered from above protective glass Corning Gorilla Glass 3, scratch resistant.

Detailed expertise using measuring instruments conducted by the editor of the sections "Monitors" and "Projectors and TV" Alexey Kudryavtsev. Here is his expert opinion on the screen of the test sample.

The front surface of the screen is made in the form of a glass plate with a mirror-smooth surface, resistant to scratches. Judging by the reflection of objects, there is a very effective antiglare filter, which in terms of reducing the brightness of the reflection is no worse than that of the Google Nexus 7 2013. For clarity, here is a photo in which a white surface is reflected in the turned off screens (from left to right: Nexus 5, Nexus 7 and a smartphone with an IPS screen, a review of which will be published a little later):

Due to the difference in the color tone of the reflection and the color of the frames, it is difficult to visually assess the amount of decrease in the brightness of the reflection - however, statistics from graphic editor shows that the screen on the Nexus 5 is the darkest, slightly lighter on the Nexus 7 and even lighter on the second smartphone (average brightness values \u200b\u200bare 90, 92 and 99, respectively). The doubling of reflected objects in the Nexus 5's screen is very weak, which indicates that there is no air gap between the layers of the screen. On the outer surface of the screen there is a special oleophobic (grease-repellent) coating (very effective, no worse than that of the Nexus 7), so fingerprints are removed much more easily, and appear at a slower rate than in the case of ordinary glass.

When manual control brightness and when displaying the white field on the whole screen, the maximum brightness value was about 480 cd / m², the minimum - 11 cd / m². The maximum brightness is quite high, which, given the high efficiency of the anti-reflective filter, will provide excellent readability even on a sunny day outdoors. In complete darkness, the brightness can be lowered to a comfortable level. There is an automatic brightness control by the light sensor (it is located at the top right on the front panel). In automatic mode, when the ambient light conditions change, the screen brightness both increases and decreases, but the second - with peculiarities. When changing from bright lighting conditions to almost complete darkness in automatic mode, the brightness decreases to 175-180 cd / m² (this is too much), however, when you put the smartphone in sleep mode and turn it back on, the brightness is set to the corresponding dark conditions of 30 cd / m². What it is: a feature of the implementation or a marriage of a particular instance - we do not know. In an office lit with artificial light (approx. 400 lux), the screen brightness is set to approx. 200 cd / m² (acceptable), in a brightly lit environment (corresponds to a bright day outdoors, but without direct sunlight - 20,000 lux or slightly more) increases up to 440 cd / m² (almost maximum). As a result, this function, with the exception of the oddity with the transition to darkness, works more or less adequately. Only at the lowest brightness there is some modulation of the backlight, but its relative (and even more so absolute) amplitude is small, so visually the screen flickering cannot be seen in the entire brightness range and the presence of such modulation cannot in any way affect the comfort of working with this smartphone.

This smartphone uses an IPS-type matrix. The micrographs show the typical IPS sub-pixel structure:

The screen has good viewing angles without inverting tints and without significant color shift, even with large gaze deviations from the perpendicular to the screen. For comparison, here are the photos in which the screens of the Nexus 5 and another smartphone with an IPS screen (it is smaller and without on-screen buttons) display the same images, while the brightness of both screens is set to about 200 cd / m². White box perpendicular to screens:

AND test picture under the same conditions:

It can be seen, especially in skin tones and a gray background, that the color rendition is different, and the picture of the Nexus 5 is brighter.

Now at an angle of about 45 degrees to the plane and to the side of the screen:

It can be seen that the colors did not "float" on both screens, but the whiteness of the Nexus 5 increased noticeably.

And a white box at an angle:

The brightness at an angle on both screens has noticeably decreased (about five times, based on the difference in exposure), but in the case of the Nexus 5, the brightness drop is slightly less. At the same time, the color tone of both screens has changed slightly.

The black field is strongly lightened when deviated along the diagonal, but remains almost neutral gray. A photo with another smartphone for comparison shows this (the brightness of the white areas on both screens is the same!):

When viewed from a perpendicular view, the uniformity of the black field is good, but not ideal, since in a couple of places along the edge of the screen there are slightly overexposed areas (the second smartphone has an aggressive dynamic brightness adjustment, which significantly reduces the brightness of the backlight on the black field, so its screen is very dark here) :

The contrast (approximately in the center of the screen) is not the highest - about 750: 1. The response time for the transition black-white-black is 19 ms (11 ms on + 8 ms off). The transition between gray tones of 25% and 75% (based on the numerical value of the color) and back takes 30 ms in total. The gamma curve plotted at 32 points did not reveal any blockage in highlights or shadows, and the exponent of the approximating power-law function is 2.02, which is lower than the standard value of 2.2, while the real gamma curve noticeably deviates from the power-law dependence:

Apparently, after all, this smartphone also has some kind of dynamic adjustment of the brightness of the backlight in accordance with the nature of the displayed image (brightness increases in light images, and decreases in dark images), so the resulting dependence of brightness on hue (gamma curve) is most likely , does not correspond to the gamma curve of a static image, since the measurements were carried out with sequential display of shades of gray on almost the entire screen. For this reason, we carried out a number of tests - determining the contrast and response time, comparing black illumination at angles - when displaying special templates, and not single-color fields in full screen.

The color gamut is sRGB:

The spectra show that the matrix filters moderately mix the components together. As a result, the colors visually have natural saturation.

The grayscale balance is good, as the color temperature is just slightly above the standard 6500 K and the deviation from the black body spectrum (delta E) is less than 10, which is considered an acceptable indicator for a consumer device. At the same time, the color temperature and delta E change little from shade to shade, which has a positive effect on the visual assessment of the color balance. (The dark areas of the gray scale can be ignored, since the color balance is not very important there, and the error in measuring color characteristics at low brightness is large.)

The screen has a high maximum brightness and an effective anti-glare filter, so you can use your smartphone without any problems even on a sunny summer day. In complete darkness, the brightness can be lowered to a comfortable level. It is also permissible to use a mode with automatic brightness adjustment, which works adequately, with the exception, in our case, of conditions with a transition to darkness. The advantages of the screen include a very good oleophobic coating, no flickering and no air gap in the layers of the screen, sRGB coverage and a fairly good color balance. Unfortunately, due to the low stability of black to deviation of the gaze from the perpendicular to the plane of the screen, the Nexus 5 screen does not reach the top level.

Sound

In terms of sound, the Nexus 5 smartphone was not to our liking. Pure and even sounding remains only at a fairly low volume level, and above it, an open rattling begins. Apparently, this is why the developers simply limited the maximum volume bar - otherwise how else to explain that a smartphone is not capable of providing a really high volume level comparable to that of any other devices of the same class? The same applies, unfortunately, to the sound in the headphones - in them the sound remains clear, but also very quiet. However, wheezing and distortion are easy to hear if you use any third-party player or even just start watching a movie in a regular MX player at maximum volume. The only gratifying moment in all this is the good saturation of the sound with pleasant low frequencies, however, this plus is instantly neutralized by the irritation from the inability to reach a comfortable volume level. In any case, the Nexus 5 came out not very sound-wise, and true music lovers are unlikely to like it. Let's remind, by the way, that the device does not even come with standard headphones.

We also did not find an FM radio and a voice recorder in the standard configuration of the smartphone.

Camera

The Nexus 5 is equipped with, as is now customary, two digital camera modules. Front-camera here it has a 1.3 megapixel sensor and takes photos with a maximum resolution of 1280 × 960, and video only in 720p. During movie shooting, you can continue to take still pictures, the test shot is shown below.

The main rear camera is different from the one used in the previous Nexus model; now it is an 8 megapixel module with optical stabilization Images. By default, the camera shoots at the maximum possible resolution of 8 megapixels, while the images are obtained with a size of 3264 × 2448. Sample photos and our comments on their quality are presented below.

	The sharpness is not bad. The noise reduction works well, but initially the noise is not weak, which is why the boundaries of objects have small irregularities.
	The exposure is well chosen. Sharping is barely noticeable.
	Fairly good sharpness even in distant shots and uniform across the entire field of the frame.
	The camera does a good job in low light. In places in the shadows, strong noises are noticeable, which are well processed.
	Macro photography is mediocre.
	The camera works well for text, but is slightly damaged by small ripples caused by noise, which can significantly damage small fonts.

Now the test is on the laboratory bench.

	Illumination ≈1300 lux. The camera is doing well. The picture is quite sharp, although some blurring is still present in places.
	Illumination ≈460 lux. The noises increase slightly, but they practically do not change the situation, except that the blurred zones worsen somewhat.
	Illumination ≈240 lux. The next deterioration noticeably affects only the same areas. In general, the situation is not deteriorating very much.
	Illumination ≈240 lux, flash. Flash greatly improves the situation by returning the original resolution.
	Lighting<1 люкс. В темноте камера не справляется, однако кое-что различить на снимке все-таки можно.
	Lighting<1 люкс, вспышка. Вспышка вновь значительно улучшает ситуацию по разрешению почти до исходной.

The camera performed well in a lab test. Sharpness is fairly uniform across the entire frame. The noise is very moderate and handles well. A kind of blurring of small details is associated with very soft sharping, which is almost invisible. It is worth noting the reasonable operation of the flash, which does its job well: the frame is illuminated completely and almost evenly, there are only slight darkening in the corners.

Among the characteristic features of the camera, one can single out good noise reduction, moderate and almost imperceptible sharping and a good flash. As you can see from the graph, the Nexus 5's camera performed well against the competition.

The camera turned out to be quite good, but did not demonstrate anything outstanding. It practically lacks the disadvantages inherent in budget smartphones, but there are also no pleasant features that are characteristic of flagship cameras. Moreover, if we take into account macro photography and shooting of text, the camera is much closer to the budget than to the flagship ones. In the end, we can say that the Nexus 5 received a good, but not standout camera, which is quite suitable for not very demanding documentary or artistic photography.

The organization of the settings menu for shooting control is not entirely familiar: you cannot find any identification icons until you put your finger on the screen - then a circular contextual multistep menu will appear, which must be passed without lifting your finger from the display, otherwise it will disappear. In principle, if you get used to it, this can be quite a convenient solution, but in any case, at first it does not look very familiar. As a standard for Googlephones, it is annoying that there is no small thumbnail with the ability to quickly view the photo just taken. More precisely, the miniature appears imperceptibly for a split second in one of the corners, but disappears immediately. If you didn't have time to "catch" - you will have to go to the gallery, and if something was viewed there before and some other album remained open, then the number of steps to the goal increases significantly, which cannot but cause irritation. At least that's how things are organized by default by the developers.

The Nexus 5's video camera shoots at maximum settings in Full HD 1080p resolution at 30 frames per second. Test videos are posted below. Clips are saved in an MP4 container (video - MPEG-4 AVC [email protected], sound - AAC LC, 96 Kbps, 48 \u200b\u200bkHz, 1 channel).

• Movie # 1 (73.1 MB, 1920 × 1080, 29 fps)
• Movie # 2 (41.6 MB, 1920 × 1080, 29 fps)

You can customize a lot when shooting: change the ISO, affect the white balance, set the resolution for photo and video shooting, use the advanced HDR + mode that works very well here, add geotags, and also choose one of the usual shooting modes (in motion, at night, in a party, panoramic, etc.).

Shooting in the Nexus 5 can be done by pressing both the virtual icon on the display and the hardware volume key, which, when the camera mode is activated, starts to be responsible for the shutter release function.

Telephone part and communications

The smartphone works as standard in modern 2G GSM and 3G WCDMA networks, there is support for fourth generation (LTE) networks with a breakdown by regions (there is a model separately for the North American market, and another for the rest of the world, as in our case). The check showed that with the SIM-card of the domestic operator Megafon, the smartphone really confidently finds and works with the 4G network, as far as the not-too-developed domestic infrastructure of LTE networks allows it. 5 GHz Wi-Fi range is supported, NFC support is also present. The Micro-USB connector supports USB 2.0. Note that when connected to a PC, a message appears about the possibility of using the USB 3.0 interface, but in fact this is just a controller's capability, but the contact lines themselves in the connector are not divorced. But the mode of connecting external devices (USB Host, OTG) here, we repeat, does not work, just as it did not work in the previous model Nexus 4. This is rather strange and unpleasant, especially considering the absence of a slot for memory cards, as well as the fact that in LG G2 this mode works, and any connected flash drives, as well as mice with keyboards, are perfectly recognized.

No freezes or spontaneous reboots / shutdowns were observed during testing. When you bring the smartphone to your ear, the screen is blocked by the proximity sensor. The screen is large, so the drawing of letters and numbers of virtual keyboards is quite comfortable to operate. Unfortunately, the additional top row with numbers, which is built into the keyboard of top-end Samsung smartphones, is absent in the standard keyboard - this is not very convenient, you have to switch the layout from letters to numbers and back all the time. It is curious that the user will not find here the usual service for sending ordinary SMS messages, instead of it, the Hangouts program is already installed, which combines both the old-fashioned short message service via an operator (SMS) and the newfangled options for text and voice communication using the Internet -telephony.

OS and software

The Nexus 5 uses the latest version 4.4 Google Android software platform, named after the famous KitKat chocolates. No third-party graphical user interfaces (skins like HTC Sense), as well as pre-installed additional applications, are not found here. Everything, up to the elementary file manager, will have to be installed independently from the Google Play online store. It is this moment that has categorically divided the adherents of the Android system into two opposing camps for many years: those who do not like violence against the user's personality by the hardware manufacturer by cluttering the device's memory with a mass of unnecessary software, and those who, on the contrary, are very fond of various », Changes and additions from the manufacturer, whether they are their own graphical shells or at least useful additional programs (at one time the popularity of the HTC Sense branded shell was so high that some users bought devices of this brand exclusively because of it).

As for the innovations of Android 4.4 itself, there are enough of them, and most of them are related to the optimization of the system and its various components. Thus, the work of the music player, the distribution of resources between applications in multitasking, the work of the browser (Chrome), the use of RAM by applications were optimized, which in theory should allow all applications to work more smoothly even on devices with 512 MB of RAM. Much attention was paid to security issues. More details about the changes implemented in the new version of Android OS can be found in our newsletter.

One of the most notable innovations is the introduction of the ability to quickly access voice commands in Google Now. As in the Motorola Moto X we recently examined, program-based voice communication with which always begins with an “OK Google Now” greeting, in the new android version also implemented advanced voice control, and work with it also starts with a similar "OK \u200b\u200bGoogle". The innovation of the implementation of Android 4.4 KitKat is that it can be activated with a pronounced phrase - whereas before, to activate voice search, it was necessary to touch the corresponding icon on the screen. But unlike the same Motorola Moto X, there is no separate constantly awake processor for voice control, so a locked Nexus 5 cannot be woken up with the phrase “OK Google” - nothing will happen. In order for the smartphone to react to the spoken words, it must still first be picked up, unlocked in the usual way, and only after that the corresponding window of the voice recognition program will open to the phrase “OK Google”. In principle, in this place it is already possible to put an end to the whole undertaking - after all, the meaning of voice control is precisely in contactlessness, as, in fact, it is implemented by Motorola. And in Nexus 5, due to the need to take the device in hand and manipulate the device awakening, the lion's share of the intended comfort is lost. There is one more annoying negative trifle: the program perfectly recognizes phrases pronounced in Russian (for example, "Weather in Moscow"), but it is impossible to activate the voice search itself with the phrase "OK Google". To do this, it is necessary to make the main language English, but then the program completely ceases to understand Russian. In general, Google has a lot to work on here, but for now, voice search works smoothly and is activated only in English.

The graphics processing support of the processor cores is provided by the powerful graphics core Adreno 330. The device provides 2 GB of RAM, which is quite enough. But as for the volume of built-in user storage, it is impossible to expand it with a penny microSD card, which means that you will have to choose for yourself in the store once and for all a limited amount of 16 or 32 GB of built-in flash array, paying extra for an additional "portion" memory. However, compared to the previous model of the line, this is progress: the Nexus 4 generally had only a nominal 8 GB of memory. Of the 16GB of flash memory in our version of the Nexus 5, 12.1GB were free.

To get an idea of \u200b\u200bthe performance of the Nexus 5 platform, let's run a standard set of benchmarks.

All the results obtained by us when testing the smartphone in the latest versions of popular benchmarks, we have summarized for convenience in tables. As expected, the version of AnTuTu X aimed at combating the "cheating" of manufacturers showed exactly the same result as the main AnTuTu (the difference of 2% should not be taken seriously, the spread of results from launch to launch is noticeably greater). So Google is not trying to deceive anyone about the performance of branded smartphones.

When testing the graphics subsystem in the 3DMark cross-platform test, the subject "flew" beyond the maximum possible result, receiving the mark "Maxed out!" not only in standard mode, but also in Extreme mode. For the most productive smartphones, it is now possible to run 3DMark in Unlimited mode, where the rendering resolution is fixed at 720p and VSync is disabled (which can cause the speed to rise above 60 fps). Thus, it was not in vain that we started collecting statistics on new tested devices in the Unlimited mode, this time it came in handy more than ever.

Results of testing the graphics subsystem in the Epic Citadel gaming test.

Video playback

To test the "omnivorous" video playback (including support for various codecs, containers and special features, such as subtitles), we used the most common formats, which make up the bulk of the content available on the Web. Note that it is important for mobile devices to have support for hardware decoding of video clips at the chip level, since it is often impossible to process modern versions at the expense of processor cores alone. Also, do not expect a mobile device to decode everything, since the leadership in flexibility belongs to the PC, and no one is going to challenge it. All results are summarized in a single table.

Format	Container, video, sound	MX Video Player	Native video player
DVDRip	AVI, XviD 720 × 400 2200 Kbps, MP3 + AC3	reproduced normally	not reproduced
Web-DL SD	AVI, XviD 720 × 400 1400 kbps, MP3 + AC3	reproduced normally	not reproduced
Web-DL HD	MKV, H.264 1280 × 720 3000Kbps, AC3	Hardware +
BDRip 720p	MKV, H.264 1280 × 720 4000 Kbps, AC3	plays fine with decoder Hardware +	video plays fine, no sound¹
BDRip 1080p	MKV, H.264 1920 × 1080 8000 Kbps, AC3	plays fine with decoder Hardware +	video plays fine, no sound¹

¹ the audio in MX Video Player was only played after switching to software decoding or to Hardware +; the standard player does not have such a setting

This smartphone has support for outputting images and sound to an external device using SlimPort (or Mobility DisplayPort) adapters connected to the Micro-USB connector. For testing, we used an LG IPS237L monitor. Output with this monitor and adapter is 1920 x 1080 at 60 fps. In landscape orientation of the picture on the smartphone screen, the display of the image on the monitor screen is carried out in landscape orientation, while the image on the monitor is inscribed in the boundaries of the screen and exactly matches the image on the smartphone screen. In portrait orientation, the image on the monitor screen is also displayed in portrait orientation, while the image on the monitor is inscribed in the height of the screen, and wide black fields are displayed on the right and left. The sound is output via HDMI (in this case, the sounds were heard through the headphones connected to the monitor, since there are no speakers in the monitor itself) and is of good quality. At the same time, at least multimedia sounds are not output through the loudspeaker of the smartphone itself, and the volume is not regulated by the buttons on the smartphone body - it is only turned off. The smartphone connected via SlimPort is being charged, while the SlimPort adapter must be connected to a power source through its existing Micro-USB connector.

Then, using a set of test files with an arrow and a rectangle moving one division per frame (see "Testing methods for video playback and display devices. Version 1 (for mobile devices)"), we checked how the video is displayed on the smartphone screen. Screenshots with a shutter speed of 1 s helped to determine the nature of the frame output of video files with different parameters: the resolution varied (1280 by 720 (720p), 1920 by 1080 (1080p) and 3840 by 2160 (4K) pixels) and the frame rate (24, 25, 30, 50 and 60 fps). In our tests, unless otherwise stated, we used the MX Player video player in Hardware + mode. The results of this (block entitled as "Screen") and the following tests are summarized in the table:

File	Uniformity	Skips
Screen
watch-4k-30p.mp4	well	not
watch-4k-25p.mp4	well	not
watch-4k-24p.mp4	well	not
watch-1920x1080-60p.mp4	excellent	not
watch-1920x1080-50p.mp4	well	not
watch-1920x1080-30p.mp4	well	not
watch-1920x1080-25p.mp4	well	not
watch-1920x1080-24p.mp4	well	not
watch-1280x720-60p.mp4	excellent	not
watch-1280x720-50p.mp4	well	not
watch-1280x720-30p.mp4	well	not
watch-1280x720-25p.mp4	well	not
watch-1280x720-24p.mp4	well	not
SlimPort
watch-4k-30p.mp4	badly	a lot of
watch-4k-25p.mp4	well	not
watch-4k-24p.mp4	well	not
watch-1920x1080-60p.mp4	not reproduced
watch-1920x1080-50p.mp4	well	a lot of
watch-1920x1080-30p.mp4	well	not
watch-1920x1080-25p.mp4	well	not
watch-1920x1080-24p.mp4	well	not
watch-1280x720-60p.mp4	not reproduced
watch-1280x720-50p.mp4	well	a lot of
watch-1280x720-30p.mp4	well	not
watch-1280x720-25p.mp4	well	not
watch-1280x720-24p.mp4	well	not

Note: If both columns Uniformity and Skips "green" ratings are set, this means that, most likely, when watching movies, artifacts caused by uneven alternation and skipping of frames will either not be visible at all, or their number and visibility will not affect the viewing comfort. “Red” marks indicate possible problems with the playback of the respective files.

According to the criterion for outputting frames, the quality of video playback on the screen of the smartphone itself is high, since frames (or groups of frames) are displayed with a more or less uniform alternation of intervals and there are practically no frame drops. The smartphone can even display 4K files up to and including 30p. However, uniform frame interleaving is a relatively unstable state, since some external and internal background processes lead to periodic failure of the correct interleaving of intervals between frames and even (very rarely) to skipping individual frames. When playing video files with a resolution of 1920 by 1080 (1080p) on a smartphone screen, the image of the video file itself is displayed exactly in the width of the screen, one to one pixel by pixel, that is, in the original resolution. The brightness range displayed on the screen actually corresponds to the standard range of 16-235, that is, all shades of shades are displayed in the shadows and highlights.

With a monitor connected via SlimPort, when playing a video, the image of a video file is displayed only in landscape orientation, while an exact copy of the smartphone screen is displayed on the monitor:

When playing video files with a resolution of Full HD (1920 x 1080 pixels) on the monitor screen, the image of the video file itself is displayed exactly along the edge of the screen, maintaining the true proportions, and the resolution corresponds to the Full HD resolution. The brightness range displayed on the monitor is equal to the standard range of 16-235, that is, all shades are displayed in the shadows and highlights. The results of tests on the monitor are shown in the table above in the block "SlimPort"... The output quality is worse than the output on the smartphone itself without a SlimPort connection. In the case of videos with 50 and 60 fps in the steady state, only every second frame is played, and in the case of 60 fps, the video is output about ¼ slower, that is, the smartphone can no longer cope with it. However, if we restrict ourselves to the typical 24 fps for movies and TV series, then we have no special complaints about the quality of output to an external monitor. How the picture will be displayed in games is still a question.

In general, connections to external monitors, TVs and projectors made with the SlimPort adapter can be used for gaming (not very dynamic - that's for sure), watching movies, displaying web pages, and other activities that benefit from multiple times the screen size.

Battery life

The Nexus 5 has a lithium-ion battery of 2300 mAh. Despite the decent amount of built-in battery, the subject did not show outstanding results in terms of battery life - everything is average.

	Battery capacity	Reading mode	Video mode	3D Game Mode
Nexus 5	2300 mAh	22h 10m	5h 05m	3h 45m
Meizu MX3	2400 mAh	13h 20m	8h 00m	4h 25m
LG G2	3000 mAh	20 h 00 m	12h 30m	4h 45m
Sony Xperia Z1	3000 mAh	11h 45m	8h 00m	4h 30m
Samsung Galaxy Note3	3200 mAh	22h 00m	13h 20m	3h 35m
ZTE nubia Z5	2300 mAh	9h 00m	6h 40m	3h 00m
Htc one	2300 mAh	14h 15m	7h 25m	2h 14m

Continuous reading in FBReader (with a standard, light theme) at the minimum comfortable brightness level (the brightness was set to 100 cd / m²) lasted more than 22 hours until the battery was completely discharged, which is an excellent indicator. However, it gets worse. When continuously watching YouTube videos in high quality (HQ) with the same brightness level via a home Wi-Fi network, the device lasted only a little over 5 hours, and in 3D games mode - 3 hours and 45 minutes.

Outcome

Notable problems with the Google Nexus 5 include poor audio quality, poor voice control, and an unintuitive photo interface. On the positive side, it is worth noting a good screen, the latest version of the Android operating system with a number of improvements, high speed and relatively low cost. Therefore, if you are calm about smartphones without pre-installed additional applications and are ready to put up with some of the described shortcomings, then the new Google product deserves attention.

• nice appearance
• practical case
• large screen diagonal
• relatively low price

• not the best sound quality
• inconvenient camera control
• no memory expansion
• short battery life

The Nexus product line is unique in the world of mobile technology. Born in the head of the Google corporation, but assembled by other manufacturing companies, these devices have the purest Android on board. Without any graphical changes or additions.

The history of the appearance of the Nexus models, or rather the reason for their appearance, is quite simple. Google didn't like the fact that manufacturers were changing their operating system beyond recognition. We changed the interface, technical characteristics, and also introduced our own unique adjustments. By doing this, they put users in an uncomfortable position, because it became almost impossible to update the firmware to the latest version. Deciding to put an end to this, the Google development department came up with the idea of \u200b\u200bcreating their own devices on "pure" Android'e. The company did not assemble these devices themselves, but entrusted this task to eminent and influential companies on the market.

The first device from the line was released in 2010 and was called the Google Nexus One. The smartphone was assembled by HTC, which remains faithful to the partnership with Google today. In fact, the Google Nexus One was a close relative of the HTC Disere. The difference was only in the price. The HTC branded phone sold a little more. Technically, it was the most powerful smartphone at the time. In addition, it was sold at a fairly attractive price. For $ 529, the buyer received a device with a 3.7-inch screen, a 5-megapixel camera and the most powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 1 GHz processor at that time. HTC Desire, having similar characteristics, at the start of sales, was released for $ 600. The Nexus One is the first smartphone to run Android 2.1 Eclier. The official update ended at version 2.3.6.

Google Nexus S. HTC passed the baton to Samsung

At the end of 2010, Samsung launches the next google-device - Google Nexus S. This time the smartphone from the search engine was a "little brother" of the Samsung Galaxy S, which went on sale half a year earlier. Nexus S continued the tradition of its predecessor and turned out to be a little cheaper and slightly weaker than the main flagship. The screen is slightly worse, the performance is slightly lower, the lack of slots for memory cards: all this was done in order to reduce the competition between devices to a minimum. The Nexus S was running Android 2.3. It was possible to upgrade to version 4.1 Jelly Bean. Galaxy S has only been updated to 2.3.

Galaxy Nexus. Same Samsung

Google decided to continue cooperation with the Korean manufacturer and the next device was again entrusted to Samsung. The Koreans took the new Nexus build very seriously. The Galaxy Nexus is more than just a relative of the original flagship. The Galaxy Nexus has no buttons on the front, which is an innovation in the world of mobile devices. It is now possible to control the phone using virtual keys. All this is a service of Android 4.0. In October 2011, an official presentation took place, which Google and Samsung held together. However, Google removed the name.

Nexus 7. ASUS continues old traditions and makes its own adjustments

The device, which made a lot of buzz both in the press and among users, entered the market in 2012. This was not the next smartphone in the Nexus lineup. Google decided to release a tablet. The Nexus 7 development was entrusted to ASUS and they did not disappoint. From this model it became customary to write a number on Nexus devices. The number represents the diagonal. The seven-inch Nexus was introduced to the world simultaneously with Android 4.1. Many feared for the Nexus 7. After all, competitors in the market for electronic devices are not weak: iPhone 4S and Sony Playstation Vita. But the Nexus 7 survived. For just $ 250, consumers received a tablet with the most powerful internals: an Nvidia Tegra 3 processor (4 cores), an HD display, 1 gigabyte of RAM and 16 built-in. There was also a version with 8 gigabytes of memory, the price tag of which was $ 200. Everyone was happy with the tablet, from buyers to critics. No wonder the Nexus 7 won the Gadget of the Year and Tablet of the Year awards from the respected T3 publication.

Nexus 4. Behind the LG machine

Determined not to delay the release of the next Nexus device, Google decides to release the new Nexus in the same year. A new version of Android 4.2 was also presented. The new device is the smartphone again. This time LG was the manufacturer. Nexus 4 (smartphone diagonal is 4.7 inches) turned out to be very high quality in terms of design and concept. The functionality was also fine, but the first thing that caught my eye was the combination of glass and plastic back cover. A light pattern shimmered beautifully under it. As for the characteristics, the Nexus 4 was still at the forefront of progress: Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor (4 cores), 8 or 16 gigabytes of internal memory, HD display and so on. However, this model has one significant drawback: the absence of a memory card slot made life much more difficult for many users. Nexus 4 also did not support LTE networks, but folk craftsmen quickly dealt with this problem. There were no more complaints. On the contrary, the model had an innovative Q1 function - a wireless charging system.

Nexus 10. Return of Samsung

The next gadget marked Samsung's return to Nexus development. As the name suggests, this is again a tablet. The Nexus 4 and Nexus 10 were unveiled at the same time. The ten-inch tablet was radically different from its predecessor, the Nexus 7. It's not just the screen diagonal. The design has been completely redesigned and redesigned. The Nexus 10 looked more like one of Samsung's tablets than a standalone device. They gave out rounded edges. The technical stuffing was not at the peak of progress this time. However, the situation was saved from a part by the display: a 10-inch matrix, a resolution of 2560x1600, a pixel density of 300 ppi. Even the iPad with its Retina and 264 ppi density cannot boast of such a high-quality display. The Nexus 10 display is still considered the benchmark today. Nothing more good can be said. The success of the Nexus 7 has not been repeated. The device went by for the most part unnoticed and did not find respect among Nexus fans.

Nexus 7 sample 2013. ASUS is back in business

ASUS did not rework their own concept. They also did not reinvent the wheel and try to surprise people with a certain technological revolution in the new version of the Nexus 7 tablet. If we can describe all the work done in one word, then “technological evolution” is best suited. The new incarnation of the Nexus 7 is thinner, lighter, faster. The internals have been updated: Snapdragon S4 processor, 2 gigabytes of RAM and 16 (32) internal memory. Full-HD display with a resolution of 1920 x 1080. Added support for LTE and memory card slots. Now the critics have nothing to complain about.

Nexus 5. Queue for LG

Now is the time to update the range of smartphones. The five-inch Nexus was created by the LG team. Outwardly, it is not much different from the second generation Nexus 7. Moreover, they are similar as twin brothers (except for the size, of course). But in order to somehow dilute the strict and boring look of the smartphone, the device went on sale in three color versions: strict black, white and deep red. But the Nexus 5 was distinguished by its filling: Qualcomm Snapdragon 800, 2 GB of RAM and 16 GB of internal memory (32 are also present) and a Full-HD display. All this magnificence is worth $ 350. For the version with 32 gigabytes of internal memory on board, you will have to pay another $ 50. The Nexus 5 has a "technical cousin" LG G2, which sells for $ 300 (!) More. Along with the five-inch Nexus, the new Android 4.4 KitKat was presented.

Motorola Nexus 6 is the name of the next brainchild of Google

The name can already say a lot. The development was carried out by Motorola, and the diagonal of the new smartphone this time will be 5.96 inches. The device will run Android 5.0 Lollipop. The technical characteristics are as follows: Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 2.75 GHz, 3 GB of RAM, 32 (64) GB of internal memory, support for LTE, GSM. Wi-fi, Bluetooth 4.1 of course included. Also on board is a 13-megapixel camera. Sales began on October 29, 2014

The Google Nexus family of smartphones appeared in early 2010. The first smartphone, the Nexus One, has long been considered a phone made exclusively for developers with no clarity as to whether it will ever be marketed to regular users.

This was the first step by Google, with which the search giant clearly defined the concept of its Nexus phone - a smartphone developed by Google itself, which runs on the version of Android that it originally intended.

For a long time, Nexus devices were not popular with ordinary users. They were mostly used by Android developers and fans. In 2016, Google shut down the Nexus project and introduced a new line of devices called the Pixel. It was a series of truly premium flagship phones that, according to Google, should appeal to regular users.

In 2017, the company introduced the most advanced and. Galagram invites you to remember where it all started and what Google's Nexus phones have become today.

• Release date: January 2010
• Codename: Mahi Mahi or HTC Passion

The phone that started the Google Nexus lineup is the legendary HTC Nexus One. Of course, today its characteristics look just ridiculous, even smartwatches now have more memory and more powerful processors. But at the time of the announcement, it was a cool flagship with a 3.7-inch display, Qualcomm Snapdragon S1 processor and 512MB of RAM.

The Nexus One introduced a fancy trackball that could be used in place of an optical mouse for more accurate input. The first Google phone had an incomprehensible design, a good display and a modern (at that time) processor, and was also equipped with a clean version of Android 2.1 Eclair.

• Release date: December 2010
• Codename: Crespo

The second Nexus was dubbed the Samsung Nexus S. A microSD card slot was cut from its body, a sign that no next Nexus will get this slot. What was the reason? Google engineers were concerned that slow SD cards were slowing down the Android system. And that entails a bad user experience, which the company couldn't allow.

The Nexus S ran on Android 2.3 Gingerbread, one of the oldest versions of Android. The Nexus S itself was a plastic phone, not outstanding in terms of design. Among other things, this was the last Nexus phone with capacitive buttons below the screen: all other Nexus phones since late 2011 have come with on-screen navigation keys.

• Release date: November 2011
• Codename: Maguro

Samsung's legendary Nexus was released in 2011. At the time, it was equipped with a "huge" 4.65-inch display with an HD resolution of 1280 × 720p. A notable feature of the Galaxy Nexus was its slightly curved design, like the original Samsung Galaxy S prototype. It also had a removable back cover for easy access to the battery. But the next Nexus were already solid without the possibility of opening the cases.

And yes, the Galaxy Nexus was a platform for the announcement of Android IceCream Sandwich and the era of on-screen navigation buttons. The new face of Google's mobile operating system looked stylish, futuristic and already more like Apple's iPhone.

• Release date: November 2012
• Codename: Mako

LG's Nexus 4 was one of the most important Nexus phones out there, and it wasn't just because it ran on stock Android and promised timely system updates and top specs. Affordable price has become his calling card.

The starting price of the Nexus 7 in the US was $ 299, which is, for a minute, half the cost of the Apple iPhone and Samsung Galaxy at the time. The Nexus 4 has become an attractive purchase not only for developers, but also for regular users.

This phone from the Nexus line was made in the style of LG devices. Many will remember it for its glass back and pixel iridescent pattern on the back.

• Release date: November 2013
• Codename: Hammerhead

The 5-inch Nexus 5 has become a versatile smartphone for many people and has stood the test of time, remaining responsive even after multiple Android updates. Another convenience that carried over from the Nexus 4 was support for wireless charging, a particularly useful feature that manufacturers still include in their devices.

And while Google set out on a mission to fix the problem Nexus phones had in terms of camera quality, the Nexus 5 fell flat in the effort. Its 8MP main camera was a huge step up from the Nexus 4's mediocre rear camera, but it still fell short of the iPhone 4S / 5 and Samsung Galaxy S3 / S4 in terms of speed and image quality.

The Nexus 5 also suffered from CPU heat issues and terrible throttling, with the only solution being to place it in the refrigerator for maximum clock speed. Despite some technical issues, the Nexus 5 was one of Google's most successful phones. It had a very affordable price and nice design, especially in the red color of the case.

• Release date: October 2014
• Codename: Shamu

The largest 6-inch Nexus 6 was released by Motorola in October 2014. Motorola was not chosen by chance, as Google recently acquired part of Moto's business and several important patents from the company. Regardless, the Nexus 6 is one of the least popular phones in the Nexus lineup.

What is the reason is difficult to say: maybe in its price or in the dimensions of the case. Various sources, including official Google reports, indicated that sales of the phone were significantly lower than expected.

The Nexus 6 also had a poorly calibrated AMOLED display that showed very unnatural colors. It was the first phone with Android 5.0 Lollipop on board. Even now, this unit is still being sold elsewhere in the US and Europe. Google has slashed the price of the Nexus 6 to $ 299, making it one of the most affordable Nexus devices on the market.

• Release date: September 2015
• Codenames: Bullhead and Angler

After a setback in 2014, rumors surfaced that Google could kill the Nexus line entirely. But in 2015, the Google Nexus is back on the scene. The company unveiled two Nexus smartphones at once: a 5.7-inch phablet from Huawei and a more compact 5.2-inch phone from LG. Both gadgets ran on Android 6.0 Marshmallow.

Among the chips, both devices received front-facing stereo speakers, a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner and a modern USB Type-C connector. The Nexus 5X was powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 processor, while the Nexus 6P comes with the Snapdragon 810. Apart from the display diagonal, the processors were the biggest difference between the two.

• Release date: September 2016
• Codenames: Sailfish and Marlin

In 2016, Google completely shut down the Nexus program, and instead launched a premium line of devices under the Pixel brand. By comparison, the Pixel is more ambitious than the Nexus. Google is trying to sell phones to the general public, not just developers and enthusiasts. Pixel smartphones are now premium products with a corresponding flagship price (the younger version costs $ 649). As an OS out of the box, the “pixels” are Android 7.0 Nougat.

The Pixel's key features are its clean interface with the most advanced features and system updates, as well as a great camera. The Pixel also became the first phone to feature Google Assistant onboard. The company's engineers have optimized Android on Pixel and Pixel XL devices so well that they perform better even now than any other Android smartphone.

With the Pixel lineup, the company wants to compete not only with A-brands and Android phone makers, but also with Apple itself. After all, the camera on the original Pixel smartphone is no worse than on the iPhone.

Google Pixel 2 and Pixel XL 2

• Release date: October 2017
• Codenames: Walleye and Muskie

The second-generation Pixel phones bring another significant change: the XL 2 now has a modern bezel-less design, while the smaller Pixel 2 still has bezels around the screen. Both phones have front-facing speakers and no 3.5mm audio output. Headphones will have to be connected via the USB Type-C port using a special adapter.

In addition, the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL are expected to be powered by the flagship Snapdragon 835 chip, which is more powerful and more energy efficient than the first generation Pixel processor. And of course, Android 8.0 Oreo is preinstalled out of the box on both the junior and senior versions.

ASUS Google Nexus 7 tablet test: a magnificent seven

This is one of the reasons why firmwares with new versions of Android are often delayed - after all, manufacturers “install” on their devices not a “bare” OS, but framed in some proprietary interface, stuffed with their own programs and drivers. And this customization takes a lot of time and money.

Therefore, it is not surprising that Google decided, in addition to the release of the Android OS, to control the development of phones and tablets - to promote its own OS, demonstrating its work on "reference" devices. And although the "corporation of good" does not directly participate in the development, still much in the original product depends on its will. Such products, designed specifically for Google and always running on the latest version of android, make up the Nexus family.

ASUS Google Nexus 7

At various times, the developers of Nexus smartphones were the most promising companies at that time: Nexus One, the very first nexus, was released by the Taiwanese HTC, whose decline now seems to be inevitable. The next two smartphones: Nexus S and Galaxy Nexus were presented by the Korean company Samsung, and is still alive. The newest smartphone Nexus 4 is also made by Koreans - LG (nee Goldstar). Well, for the production of the first nexus tablet, the Taiwanese ASUS took up, which invented netbooks, and then presented the very successful ASUS Transformer tablets to the world.

Unlike the previously listed smartphones, the ASUS Google Nexus 7 tablet does not have a twin brother produced under the individual ASUS brand. Even the Nexus 4 is just a Google copy of the LG Optimus G smartphone. But the Nexus 7 is an original product. Moreover, Google and ASUS promoted the tablet well before its release: the companies promised that it would be the most productive mini-tablet with the highest screen resolution in this segment, but at the same time the price for it would start at $ 200 for the younger model. ...

Well, dreams of two hundred dollars have remained dreams for Russians, but the price of 10 thousand rubles (you can see the more beautiful number 9990 on the price tags, but you and I understand the essence of this marketing technique) also looks very adequate. Much less powerful mini-tablets are sometimes more expensive.

Parameters	Amazon Kindle Fire HD	Huawei MediaPad 7 lite	Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 P3100 / P3110	ASUS Google Nexus 7	Apple iPad mini
Screen	7 '', 1280x800	7 '', 1024x600	7 '', 1024x600	7 '', 1280x800	7.9 '', 1024x768
Pixel density (PPI)	216	170	170	216	163
CPU	TI OMAP4460, 1.2 GHz, 2 cores	RockChip RK2918, 1 GHz, 2 cores	TI OMAP4430, 1 GHz, 2 cores	NVIDIA Tegra 3, 1.3 GHz, 4 cores	Apple A5, 1 GHz, 2 cores
Video processor	PowerVR SGX544	Vivante GC800	PowerVR SGX540	NVIDIA ULP GeForce GPU	PowerVR SGX543MP2
RAM	1024 MB	1024 MB	1024 MB	1024 MB	512 MB
Inner memory	16 GB	8 GB	8/16 GB	16/32 GB	16/32/64 GB
NFC	-	-	-	there is	-
Memory cards	-	micro-SDHC	micro-SDHC	-	-
Rear camera	-	3.2 megapixels	3 megapixels		5 megapixels
Front-camera	1.3 megapixels	0.3 megapixels	0.3 megapixels	1.2 megapixels	1.2 megapixels
Dimensions and weight	193x137x10 mm, 395 g	190x120x11 mm, 370 g	194х122х11 mm, 344 g	199x120x11 mm, 340 g	200x134.7x7.2 mm, 308 g (312 g - 3G)
Price for the minimum configuration	RUB 8,000	RUB 8,000	RUB 10,000	RUB 10,000	RUB 15500

Appearance

The design of the Nexus 7 is another illustration of how an item can look better from the side and rear than from the front. Actually, only the screen adorns the front surface. If it is off, then we see a nondescript black glass in front of us.

But on the sides, the view is already much more interesting thanks to the metal edging:

But on the rear surface it is still better - there is textured and very pleasant to the touch soft-touch plastic. The tablet is really nice to hold in your hands:

There are only three hardware buttons: turning on / locking the screen and two volume control buttons combined into a rocker. All these buttons are located on the top right side:

At the bottom there is a micro-USB port and a 3.5 mm headphone jack:

The version with 3G (hurray, there are already such models) on the left side at the bottom you can find a slot for a micro-SIM card.

Unfortunately, the GSM module does not allow turning the tablet into a full-fledged phone (as, for example, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 P3100 has done), but high speed data transfer (HSDPA) in 3G networks is available.

Also in the photo, on the metal edging, you can see contacts of unknown origin - it is assumed that various accessories will be released soon, which will finally explain the purpose of these contacts. However, at the moment we have not seen such accessories yet.

Screen

The Nexus 7 uses a 7-inch screen with a resolution of 1280x800 pixels, which is the highest resolution of any mini-tablet today. And if the 10-inch iPad 3 and 4 are a cut above in this parameter among all other devices in their class, the iPad mini is seriously inferior to the nexus.

The type of matrix is \u200b\u200bTFT IPS and although IPS is not a panacea, the screen looks really great. This also applies to color rendition and viewing angles.

Interface and software

Since Nexus is a special family of Android devices designed to carry a "clean" OS (or, as they say in the advertisement, Pure Google), there is no ASUS proprietary interface here. The version of Android in the tablet is the most current, 4.2.1 and about updates, believe me, you don't have to worry - as soon as 4.3 or some 4.2.4 comes out - it can be installed on the tablet on the same day.

In general, the interface of Android 4.2 differs little from Android 4.1, although you can see that the designers have chosen to move towards minimalism - a fashionable trend nowadays. Although this was understandable when moving from 3.x to 4.x.

Moreover, Google decided that it would be advisable to unify the interface for tablets and phones. That is why virtual buttons "back", "home" and "recent applications list" here look the same as on the phone and are located on the bottom panel in the middle of the screen.

And this decision, in my opinion, is doubtful. First, what is the point of this unification? The tablet and the phone are held differently even in the hands, which means that the location of the buttons should be different. Second, why hasn't Google still figured out how to get rid of these buttons altogether? They occupy the same place. There are great examples of interfaces where no buttons are required, but the functionality does not suffer. Notable representatives: BlackBerry Tablet OS on the BlackBerry Playbook tablet and MeeGo on the Nokia N9 smartphone. If at one time Google did not hesitate to adopt ideas from the "live" iOS, then it is hardly worth talking about the dead MeeGo and the dying BlackBerry OS. After all, even iOS uses only one button - and no one seems to be particularly complaining. And most importantly, it does not take up precious screen space.

If you rotate the screen to landscape orientation, then the absurdity of the location of the bottom buttons becomes even more obvious:

The biggest change in Android 4.2 is the top notification bar. More precisely, now there are two panels: notifications and quick settings. Swiping down from the top and bottom of the screen will open the notification panel:

And if on the right side of the screen - access to quick settings:

Now this is much more convenient than it was.

The keyboard has hardly changed. But it's nice that the switching of the input language was still assigned to the button - doing it through the menu of the bottom panel or stroking the "Space" button is still much less convenient.

And this is how the keyboard looks in portrait orientation:

Also, the main innovation of version 4.1 migrated to version 4.2 - the Google Now assistant program.

The application displays the tips that the user needs (from the point of view of the application): the weather forecast, the way to the house (by car or public transport - you can select in the settings), interesting places nearby, as well as information on air flights or match results, if you ever searched using Google something related to aircraft or sports.

Performance and multimedia

The ASUS Google Nexus 7 is not a very nimble tablet. It is noticeably weaker than modern flagship phones like the Samsung Galaxy Note II or LG Nexus 4. The performance of the Nexus 7 is about the same as that of the ASUS Transformer Prime:

However, this could have been guessed without testing - the tablet runs on the same processor as the Transformer Prime: a quad-core (plus a companion core) NVIDIA Tegra 3. At the moment, this SoC can no longer be called a modern high-performance system as it was a year ago.

Nevertheless, many modern three-dimensional toys run without problems and lags on Nexus 7. You can even call a tablet a gaming tablet, but keep in mind that good games take up a lot of internal memory (2 GB is already commonplace, and the popular Bard's Tale is generally unpacked into 3, 5 GB), but it cannot be expanded here. So if you really plan on playing a lot on the Nexus 7, it's best to buy the 32GB version right away. As you know, there is never too much memory.

Also, the Tegra 3 processor does a good job with videos, including in Full HD. In theory. In practice, this is a very capricious processor - you can never know in advance whether a given video will start on a device with Tegra 3 and how it will work. That is, in theory, you can even play MKV in Full-HD, but in practice - as luck would have it. Maybe, for example, there is no sound or there will be constant lags or something else. And it is difficult to connect these phenomena in any way with the resolution of the video or the codec or even the bit rate.

Camera

The tablet has only one camera - front. And that's right - there is no point in spending extra money and space on a rear camera, which is like a dog's fifth leg. But the front camera is useful for Skype.

Test shots ASUS Google Nexus 7

The quality is quite typical for the front cameras of modern smartphones and tablets. Nothing special, but it will work for Skype.

It is interesting, by the way, that the “camera” application itself is absent in the tablet. That is, when you talk using Skype or another video chat program, it turns on automatically, but you just won't be able to click your loved one. Someone even released a special app for the Nexus 7 on Google Play (installation does not require root privileges):

We can only guess why the developer chose the Nikon amateur SLR as the application icon.

Battery

In continuous video playback mode, the tablet worked for almost 8 hours. The result is not bad, although two hours were not enough for the autonomy of any iPad. However, among Android tablets, only the Amazon Kindle Fire HD is better than the nexus in this parameter.

Total

I think Google and ASUS have a good product. Already from advertising, we understand that Nexus 7 is focused on family entertainment: the consumption of content while sitting on the couch or with children on the carpet. Of course, for the consumption of "adult" content (nothing seditious - I mean modern 3D games and full-length movies in Full-HD), it is hardly suitable, there is not enough memory. But for simple and beautiful three-dimensional arcades, cartoons - just right. It is also convenient to use it as a book reader (for those who do not like E-ink devices) - iPad mini is too expensive in this sense, and Nexus 7 is just right. In the subway, it is very convenient to read from the nexus, holding the tablet with one hand - thanks to the low weight, the hands do not get tired.

Well, and most importantly, with the Nexus 7 we will always have the most current version of Android, not stuffed with, moreover, all sorts of excesses that waste precious memory - this is often the fault of large vendors.

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