Gift Guide: Our Favorite Android Phone

Chris: Unlike the Nexus 4 — which was ostentatious in its own little ways — Google and LG apparently strove to dial back the design of its smartphone hardware to the point where there’s honestly not that much to talk about. It’s solid and monolithic. It looks like a pint-sized Nexus 7 from behind. If you’ve got a black N5 there’s a chance your volume rocker will wobble in some mildly annoying ways. The speaker (yes, singular) is, sadly, pretty pitiful and the software didn’t help matters earlier on there. Google has started pushing tweaked versions of the phone through the pipeline that have enlarged grille holes for the mic and speaker though, so last-minute Christmas shoppers should benefit from some mild (if necessary) design tweaks. And the subtler design of the Nexus 5 has another added benefit – showcasing that gorgeous full HD 4.95-inch display.