With the release of Google Nexus 6 manufactured by Motorola last year, Google decided to take a new direction by going completely premium and releasing a very pricey phone. But due to the mixed reviews the phone received and the popular demand of bringing the Nexus 5 back, Google decided to bring two new Nexus phones this year. The Nexus 5X manufactured by LG, is a refined and updated version of their acclaimed Nexus 5 phone from 2013.

In terms of design, the phone takes a very normal smartphone design with a rectangular shape and rounded corners. The 5X is slimmer than the Nexus 5 and even though it follows a different design philosophy, the phone does look like a Nexus 5 when you see and hold it. The phone has a Nano-SIM port instead of the Micro-SIM found on the Nexus 5. The screen on the newer phone is only a little bigger at 5.2” IPS LCD Full HD (1080x1920 pixels). Bigger screen makes the phone lose some pixel density as the previous device also had the same resolution on a smaller screen. The screen is protected by the same Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection.

The new phone comes with Marshmallow, the latest of the Android OSes, and a newer chipset, namely, Qualcomm Snapdragon 808. The phone is equipped with two processors, one quad-core Cortex-A53 and one dual-core Cortex-A57, accompanied by Adreno 418 graphics and 2 gigs of RAM. The phone also as the new USB Type-C connector.

One of the things that were considered negative in the original Nexus 5 were the cameras. The rear camera was average while the front was terrible. The new phone has received major upgrades in that department as the rear is now a 12.3 megapixels sensor with laser autofocus and dual-LED flash, capable of taking some great shots with its wide aperture. The front camera as well takes much lighter and better pictures at 5 megapixels. Video recording also supports 4K video and slo-mo video at 720p (120 frames per second).

The battery has also received an upgrade with a 2700 mAh battery over the 2300 in its predecessor. The new battery will easily last a day of mild use and will go into the next day as well. However, the battery will be non-removable so you might want to charge/discharge carefully.