Hello OzBargainers. I've been planning to 'upgrade' from a Xperia Z and my budget is under $450. Would you guys recommend getting the Nexus 5 or are there other alternatives that are just as good?
EDIT: So I have decided from the given information that I will either get a LG G3 or OnePlus One. What do you guys recommend?
Maybe he prefers the stock android experience?
Even so, I wouldn't consider it an upgrade, more like a sidegrade. LG G2 is also superior to the N5 in every way like you said (minus the stock android part) but both these options don't have SD storage and are not water resistant like the XZ series are. With that in mind, the only options where you get all these features and more are newer iterations of the XZ (Xperia Z2, Z3 or even Z3C).
OP, if you want to try an LG phone you could get an LG G3 with your budget if you don't mind the bigger screen.
Its terms of peformance and screen quality I can see it being a minor upgrade. I feel like the Xperia Z screen and design are lackluster in my opinion. I have always liked the look and feel of the Nexus 5 compared to the Xperia Z. Considering that the Nexus 5 receives the latest Android 'stock' experiences, also adds to this. Having had owned the Z for one year now, the battery has depreciated considerably making it almost useless without a charger nearby, so I would definitley call a new Nexus 5 an upgrade. :P
One Plus?
I have looked the One+1 but with all the hassles of trying to use a shipping forwarder when buying it direct from the site it is not worth it.
Just root your Xperia Z and flash a custom ROM to it!
As far as I'm aware, Sony even make this incredibly easy to do!
Great way to get over the Hardware upgrade cycle, cause the look and feel is different.
I'm running CM11 nightlies. :)
I honestly couldn't recommend the nexus 5 purely because of the battery life. after changing to the oneplus one it made me realise the battery life on the nexus 5 was absolute rubbish. in saying that I would recommend the oneplus one.
As much as I love my nexus 5 the battery life is shockingly terrible… I'll be lucky to get one day out of it…
Hopefully lollipop gives it a new life…
The problem is not with the software, nor is it Android's power usage optimisation — Kit Kat is already pretty good with battery life. The problem is much more fundamental — it's the stingy battery capacity.
1080p 5 inch display and a 2.26ghz quad core processor with only 2,300maH worth of juice, of course it will have a short battery life.
Lollipop/ Project Volta has a strong focus on battery life…
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2014/07/examining-project-vol…
I'll be happy with an extra 10-15%
Mine's extremely disappointing now as well. I'm at about 55% right now with 1h 20m SOT, and 20h standby. It's deteriorating as well - earlier in the year I could get ~4 hours SOT over 3 days standby. Luckily, having long battery life isn't a high priority for me at the moment - but it's still a disappointment in an otherwise nice device.
yep. sounds about what I was getting. at 50% my oneplus one is usually at 3-3.5 hours sot.
keep hoping Android L made no difference to my Nexus 5
I'd agree. Travelling with my Nexus 5 in particular was a nightmare.
Day to day? Tolerable.
Away from a charger and wanting to use the camera? Hah!
The camera on the Nexus 5 is amazing… No question about it. I find you need to kill apps on a regular basis with a program like battery saver. So much runs in the background… Kill them!!
camera is good, yes. but killing apps in the background, no. doing more harm than good.
The battery life on my Nex5 was fine on 4.4. I run a battery manager on it and it was no problem.
Then I upgraded to Lollipop. Much worse. I used to occasionally get a battery warning around 9pm; now, I have had them and 5:30pm and 6pm.
OnePlus coming up for my next phone, I reckon…
Maybe factory reset the device and wipe the battery stats using TWRP or ClockworkMod. Sometimes app interactions are to blame — factory resetting the phone will let Android rebuild everything from scratch.
If you get the oneplus one you won't be disappointed in the battery life. I'd say close to double that of the nexus 5. The only thing I'd say would be adjusting to the size and maybe slight delay in updating the phone to the latest version of android.
Why are you 'upgrading', from a Xperia Z to a Nexus 5?? I wouldn't consider that an upgrade. The camera on the Nexus 5 is worse, and I bet the sorry battery life is bad too; you will have to charge at least once a day.
Rather than a Nexus 5, a LG G2 would be a better option. They are both pretty much the same size, except that the G2 has a larger screen, better camera with OIS, and a muuuuch better monster battery life. (If you want the 'stock' experience, you can get one pretty close with CyanogenMod (easy installation steps here: http://www.theamigotips.com/?p=486).
…but I don't think a Nexus 5 (or LG G2) is an 'upgrade'. THey are more like replacements. Why do you think the Nexus 5 is an upgrade?