A new Nexus phone used to be something to get excited about for Android devotees; it represented what Google thought could be an ideal mobile experience for others to build off of. The Nexus 5X doesn't quite engender that same mystique, but after spending over a week with one, we can still recommend it as one of the best overall value smartphones around.
The Nexus line has had some ups and downs the past few years, beginning with the beloved Nexus 5, which was followed by the huge Nexus 6 phablet that was less beloved (especially with retail prices starting at $699), and now we have the new Nexus 5X released alongside the larger, more premium Nexus 6P.
Is Google trying to simultaneously re-capture the magic of the Nexus 5, while offering phablet fans a choice? It sure seems that way, but lightning rarely strikes twice in the same place.
What does happen twice in the same place though is a phonemaker like LG making a pretty good follow up to a popular predecessor like the Nexus 5, and that's what has happened here with the Nexus 5X -- it's not magic or lightning in a bottle, but it is a good phone at a good price.
From the moment you pick up this 5.2-inch phone, you can understand why it starts at only $379 for a 16 GB model. It's made of lightweight plastic, but we find it to be a refreshing change from larger or heavier, metal-frame Android phones.
In an age of leather and ballistic-nylon-backed devices, it's understandable why some might find the Nexus 5X a little plain, but it's important to point out that simple isn't the same as cheap. There are plenty of inexpensive phones out there that feel budget through and through, but this isn't one of those – it's solidly constructed with a matte back that isn't too slick and provides a nice hand feel.
If there is one thing to love about the Nexus 5X, it's the perfectly positioned fingerprint sensor on the back panel, just below the camera. Expect this to be something that becomes standard on many Android smartphones in the relatively near future. It makes one-handed operation as easy as it's ever been by simply just touching any registered fingertips to the sensor surface to unlock or power on the phone.
Nexus Imprint, the name Google has given its fingerprint ID system, also works as well or better than any comparable fingerprint security system on other devices. It can be setup in under 30 seconds, recognizes fingerprints regardless of your fingertip's orientation on the sensor and is also blazing fast. Just reach for your phone, pressing your index finger on the sensor as you pick it up, and by the time you've actually brought your phone up to your face it's already locked and ready to go.
Nexus Imprint also allows you to use the fingerprint sensor for payments in Android 6.0 Marshmallow, which comes loaded on each Nexus 5X. Marshmallow hasn't been the most exciting upgrade to the mobile OS, as we haven't found its biggest new feature, Google Now On Tap, to be all that useful in these early stages (it's more a foundation for the future than a killer feature right now). But it's always good to know that each Nexus device will be towards the front of the line for future updates.
The other notable improvement over previous Nexus models in this phone is a camera that's finally respectable. Past Nexus devices have shipped with, at best, good enough and, at worst, sub-par cameras, but the 12.3 megapixel camera with laser auto-focus on the back of the Nexus 5X is competitive with the best smartphone shooters.
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