Gadgetory

the 5.2 inch Nexus 5x doesn't look like anything special it's a plastic phone and it feels cheap rough edges shallow buttons I can even hear something rattle inside when I shake it why would you possibly want this phone because for 379 dollars it is cheap and yet it feels nearly as powerful as Samsung's latest galaxies it all starts around the back of the phone right under your index finger tip that's where the new Nexus fingerprint sensor lives one touch and you're ready for action no need to hit the power button no need to shift my grip on other phones the fingerprint sensor can sometimes feel like a bit of a stretch there is a new use for the Nexus power button though you can press it twice to launch the camera even if the phone's asleep and gosh is this new twelve point three megapixel Nexus 5x rear camera so much better than the ones on previous Google phones I've gotten great pictures even in low-light it's the same camera you'll find on the more expensive Nexus 6p right down to the laser autofocus system what really makes this phone feel fast though is clean pure Android there are no unwanted apps or services bogging down the nexuses speedy hexa core snapdragon 808 processor and two gigabytes of RAM only the new Android marshmallow operating system just don't expect a lot of great new Android features I'm a big fan of the new vertical app tray and I like telling my apps which permissions they can use but I wouldn't buy a phone just to get marshmallow in those features the biggest new feature now on tap supposedly lets you Google anything you see on your screen without interrupting your flow but it takes longer than I'd like to bring up too few results I'm also not a huge fan of the new USB type-c charging port you'll find on the bottom edge it charges fast and you can plug it in upside down but it won't work with any of the micro USB chargers you probably have lying around this is also not the phone to pick for watching movies with a friend the 5.2 inch 1080p screen is pretty crisp but the single speaker yes just one sounds pretty awful to me I'm mostly a fan of the Nexus 5x it's fast cheap lightweight and works on any u.s. cellular carrier you can even use it with project Phi Google's own service that combines multiple networks to give you more reception in more places I just wish the Nexus 5x looked and felt a little better in my hand the original Nexus 5 which came out two years ago was cheaper than this phone and it felt better with a silky smooth soft touch rear cover and a nice design surely the new Nexus is a far faster phone but why should we sacrifice comfort and style I'm Sean Hollister for CNET and you can read more about the Nexus 5x in my full review you'll find it at cnet.com