Here we are again with another comparison, this time it's a battle between the latest flagships around : Google's Nexus 5 and Samsung's Galaxy Note 3. These are two of the best smartphones available right now. Both these devices sport top of the class specs with great full HD displays and blazing fast processors , but gadgets are more than just specs. You wouldn't be wrong if you said that both the devices are world's apart. But which phone is right for you? Well we are here to find out just that by putting these two head to head against each other in a number of categories. So lets get started!
Design and build
Now this is the most significant difference between the two. While the Note 3 is a significantly larger device with a huge 5.7" display , the Nexus 5 is smaller with a screen size of 5". The Note 3 is meant to be a phablet while the nexus 5 is your typical flagship device. The larger dimensions of the Note 3 also make it more heavier than the Nexus 5 weighing at 168gm and 130gm respectively.
Both the devices have plastic builds but differ completely in the overall feel. The Nexus 5 has a soft touch plastic casing, similar to the Nexus 7 and a clean front that simply looks amazing. On the other hand The Note 3's back has a leather like texture to it providing good grip and a fresh change from the glossy plastic back seen on most galaxy device. Running around the phone is a border that looks like metal but it isn't.. its plastic-chrome but still gives a good feel to the device. The Note 3 is much bigger, almost unusable with one hand, but it is meant to be that way. It's here to give the user a combined experience of a tablet and a phone while the purpose of the Nexus 5 is to be the ideal android flagship.
Where the Nexus 5 has a premium feel to it, the same can't be said about the Note 3 . A combination of premium and tacky, that's what the Note 3 is.
Performance
Both the devices are powered by a Snapdragon 800 SoC clocked at 2.3 GHz and are amazingly fast. The Note 3 takes the performance level even further with 3 GB of RAM. That's 50% more as compared to every flagship smartphone out there. However, the 2 GB RAM on the Nexus is also more than enough for the average user.
There isn't much difference in the performance of flagship smartphones these days. Anything that's powered by a snapdragon 800 is a beast. The only performance differences are on benchmarks (and these are not too big) but that is not what matters. Seriously, does a 0.54 second delay in loading an app really matter?! What really matters are the real world tests a device has to face. It should be lag free, quick, and provide the user a great experience and these two devices are designed to do just that.
Display
Both the devices sport Full HD displays which is pretty much the standard for every flagship device these days. The Nexus 5 with its 5" screen has a pixel density of 445 ppi and Note 3 with a 0.7" larger Super AMOLED screen has a bit lower pixel density of 386 ppi. The ppi on the Note 3 is lower but there shouldn't be a significant difference as you'll be holding the larger Note 3 slightly away from you.
They share the same resolution but the difference in both the screen is fairly noticeable as the IPS LCD on the Nexus 5 produces much more real tones of color as compared to the AMOLED screen on Note 3 which gives more saturated colors. In other words you could say that the display on Nexus 5 looks washed off while the colors really pop on the Note 3.
This one really comes down to personal preference as some may like the bigger display of the Note 3 while some may prefer a bit smaller screen and go with the Nexus 5.
Software
Although both devices run android, there is a big difference between the two. The idea behind the Nexus 5 is to provide the user with pure android experience while the Note 3 does just the opposite. With so many customization, a super heavy UI and tons of added features it doesn't feel anything like stock android.
The Nexus 5 is the first device to feature the latest version of android i.e. 4.4 KitKat which brings with it a some new changes to the OS. The Note 3 runs Samsung's TouchWiz UI on top of android 4.3 jellybean.
Where the Nexus 5 with it's latest version of android provides a minimalistic experience the Note 3 gives you every feature Samsung could think of : from note taking features to tons of shooting modes to multitasking. The S-pen too has a bunch of exclusive features. But with loads of features you'll have to deal with loads of bugs and face a UI that's, well, cartoonish and immature.
Google's idea has always been to provide the smoothest and cleanest android experience ever. When you put the Nexus 5 against Note 3 it feels almost featureless but much more easy to use, mature and smooth.
Camera
The Note 3 comes with a 13mp camera that does fullHD @ 60fps and even 4k video @ 30fps. It comes with tons of camera moods from Beauty shot to Sound and shot. The photos on the Note 3 turn out to be pretty good with great details and good sharpness. There is also a 2 mp front camera that does fullHD video.
The Nexus 5 hasn't seen a raise in a megapixels count from its predecessor and remains at the same 8mps. it offers less details but makes up with optical image stabilization for preventing blurry photos and videos and HDR+ for better dynamic range shots.The camera also performs fairly good under low lighting conditions. The camera UI is minimalistic and you wont find many camera features like the Note but the photos turn out to be great and OIS is a great advantage.
With a higher pixel count and tons of other features the Note 3 takes this one with a slight margin, but both the devices are capable of taking some great photos and work well in low lighting.
Battery life
Nexus 5 is powered by a 2300 mAh that is enough to get you through your day on average usage. The battery is not removable. There is also an option of wireless charging with the Nexus 5. The Note 3 beats the Nexus 5 in the battery life comparison with it's huge 3200 mAh battery that'll last the whole day and still have a good amount battery juice left. The battery is also removable so you can change the battery if you run out but that's unlikely to happen.
Storage
The Note 3 comes in 16/32/64 GB variants with an option of increasing the storage with an SD card too so you won't need to worry about space running out. The same can't be said about the Nexus 5. With only 16 or 32 GB Storage space and no support for SD cards, running out of space on Nexus 5 is it's biggest problem. There is only a $50 difference between 16 GB and 32 GB variants so we would suggest to add a few bucks and go for the 32gig version cause the 16 GBs run out real quick.
Pricing
32 GB variants: Nexus 5 for $399 and Note 3 for $699. Enough said.
Both the devices are here to accomplish different goals. Both the devices differ in their approach. The Nexus 5 is meant to be high profile flagship at an affordable price. It's here to provide the pure android experience and to provide the best Google experience. It is in every way a true Android phone. The way Google meant it to be. Samsung's Note 3 has a much different aim. It is the phone that defines the Phablet category of smartphones. Its flooding with features. It has top of the class specs and provides additional functionality with it's S-pen Stylus. These are the best devices available in their respected categories and two of the best smartphones available right now.
Design and build
Now this is the most significant difference between the two. While the Note 3 is a significantly larger device with a huge 5.7" display , the Nexus 5 is smaller with a screen size of 5". The Note 3 is meant to be a phablet while the nexus 5 is your typical flagship device. The larger dimensions of the Note 3 also make it more heavier than the Nexus 5 weighing at 168gm and 130gm respectively.
Both the devices have plastic builds but differ completely in the overall feel. The Nexus 5 has a soft touch plastic casing, similar to the Nexus 7 and a clean front that simply looks amazing. On the other hand The Note 3's back has a leather like texture to it providing good grip and a fresh change from the glossy plastic back seen on most galaxy device. Running around the phone is a border that looks like metal but it isn't.. its plastic-chrome but still gives a good feel to the device. The Note 3 is much bigger, almost unusable with one hand, but it is meant to be that way. It's here to give the user a combined experience of a tablet and a phone while the purpose of the Nexus 5 is to be the ideal android flagship.
Where the Nexus 5 has a premium feel to it, the same can't be said about the Note 3 . A combination of premium and tacky, that's what the Note 3 is.
Performance
Both the devices are powered by a Snapdragon 800 SoC clocked at 2.3 GHz and are amazingly fast. The Note 3 takes the performance level even further with 3 GB of RAM. That's 50% more as compared to every flagship smartphone out there. However, the 2 GB RAM on the Nexus is also more than enough for the average user.
There isn't much difference in the performance of flagship smartphones these days. Anything that's powered by a snapdragon 800 is a beast. The only performance differences are on benchmarks (and these are not too big) but that is not what matters. Seriously, does a 0.54 second delay in loading an app really matter?! What really matters are the real world tests a device has to face. It should be lag free, quick, and provide the user a great experience and these two devices are designed to do just that.
Display
Both the devices sport Full HD displays which is pretty much the standard for every flagship device these days. The Nexus 5 with its 5" screen has a pixel density of 445 ppi and Note 3 with a 0.7" larger Super AMOLED screen has a bit lower pixel density of 386 ppi. The ppi on the Note 3 is lower but there shouldn't be a significant difference as you'll be holding the larger Note 3 slightly away from you.
They share the same resolution but the difference in both the screen is fairly noticeable as the IPS LCD on the Nexus 5 produces much more real tones of color as compared to the AMOLED screen on Note 3 which gives more saturated colors. In other words you could say that the display on Nexus 5 looks washed off while the colors really pop on the Note 3.
This one really comes down to personal preference as some may like the bigger display of the Note 3 while some may prefer a bit smaller screen and go with the Nexus 5.
Software
Although both devices run android, there is a big difference between the two. The idea behind the Nexus 5 is to provide the user with pure android experience while the Note 3 does just the opposite. With so many customization, a super heavy UI and tons of added features it doesn't feel anything like stock android.
The Nexus 5 is the first device to feature the latest version of android i.e. 4.4 KitKat which brings with it a some new changes to the OS. The Note 3 runs Samsung's TouchWiz UI on top of android 4.3 jellybean.
Where the Nexus 5 with it's latest version of android provides a minimalistic experience the Note 3 gives you every feature Samsung could think of : from note taking features to tons of shooting modes to multitasking. The S-pen too has a bunch of exclusive features. But with loads of features you'll have to deal with loads of bugs and face a UI that's, well, cartoonish and immature.
Google's idea has always been to provide the smoothest and cleanest android experience ever. When you put the Nexus 5 against Note 3 it feels almost featureless but much more easy to use, mature and smooth.
Camera
The Note 3 comes with a 13mp camera that does fullHD @ 60fps and even 4k video @ 30fps. It comes with tons of camera moods from Beauty shot to Sound and shot. The photos on the Note 3 turn out to be pretty good with great details and good sharpness. There is also a 2 mp front camera that does fullHD video.
The Nexus 5 hasn't seen a raise in a megapixels count from its predecessor and remains at the same 8mps. it offers less details but makes up with optical image stabilization for preventing blurry photos and videos and HDR+ for better dynamic range shots.The camera also performs fairly good under low lighting conditions. The camera UI is minimalistic and you wont find many camera features like the Note but the photos turn out to be great and OIS is a great advantage.
With a higher pixel count and tons of other features the Note 3 takes this one with a slight margin, but both the devices are capable of taking some great photos and work well in low lighting.
Battery life
Nexus 5 is powered by a 2300 mAh that is enough to get you through your day on average usage. The battery is not removable. There is also an option of wireless charging with the Nexus 5. The Note 3 beats the Nexus 5 in the battery life comparison with it's huge 3200 mAh battery that'll last the whole day and still have a good amount battery juice left. The battery is also removable so you can change the battery if you run out but that's unlikely to happen.
Storage
The Note 3 comes in 16/32/64 GB variants with an option of increasing the storage with an SD card too so you won't need to worry about space running out. The same can't be said about the Nexus 5. With only 16 or 32 GB Storage space and no support for SD cards, running out of space on Nexus 5 is it's biggest problem. There is only a $50 difference between 16 GB and 32 GB variants so we would suggest to add a few bucks and go for the 32gig version cause the 16 GBs run out real quick.
Pricing
32 GB variants: Nexus 5 for $399 and Note 3 for $699. Enough said.
Both the devices are here to accomplish different goals. Both the devices differ in their approach. The Nexus 5 is meant to be high profile flagship at an affordable price. It's here to provide the pure android experience and to provide the best Google experience. It is in every way a true Android phone. The way Google meant it to be. Samsung's Note 3 has a much different aim. It is the phone that defines the Phablet category of smartphones. Its flooding with features. It has top of the class specs and provides additional functionality with it's S-pen Stylus. These are the best devices available in their respected categories and two of the best smartphones available right now.
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