[Nexus 5 General] chrizzled:
I don't usually post on here but really wanted to share my opinions on the N5 as a Nexus enthusiast. Before I start I'd like to point out that on top of owning all of the previous Nexuses, I was trained as an industrial designer and currently work at a tech company doing software UX design, so I cover it in depth from both points of view. I've also never flashed a custom ROM and have always used my Nexus as a regular consumer would, so bear that in mind as I cover the software. Oh and apologies in advance for the length.

Hardware

The Nexus 5 hardware is excellent. It's the most refined and understated industrial design of any Nexus so far. Nothing is arbitrary; for once there are no egregious lines or curves. There's no more 'hump' on the bottom like the Samsung Nexus'. There's no glittery back like the Nexus 4. It's similar to the Xperia Z1 and iPhone 4 in its strive for simplicity. Even the controversial camera lens serves a purpose- you can almost always feel when you have a finger on it, preventing photos with a blurry pink intruder.

The build quality is also a new high point for the Nexus series. Even though the Nexus One was made out of metal, HTC hardware hadn't matured to where it is now with the HTC One, and there were imperfections in the machining and fitment. The Nexus S and Galaxy Nexus were typical Samsung with large gaps between the screen and bezel-that were prone to collecting dust and debris. The Galaxy Nexus also had visible witness lines (where the tool separates in the injection molding process) along the sides. The Nexus 4 was well-built, but its construction with the chrome bezel felt outdated and harkened back to iPhone 3G days.

The Nexus 5 features some amazing tolerances between the screen and bezel, too small to let dust in, and resulting in a very precise feel when you run your finger over the edge of the glass. The parting line between the back panel and the bezel possesses this same level of precision. The Nexus and LG logos on the back are more than meet the eye- upon close inspection there is actually a reflective plastic layer inlay inside the debossed characters- probably what Matias Duarte was referring to when he mentioned in an interview that the casing goes through several post-processes, including 'lasers'. I'm guessing the reflective inlays are laser cut and then glued into the deboss.

The only hardware letdown are the power and volume buttons. In theory they should be great; the button themselves have a precise, machined feel to them and you can actually see the layers of ceramic when light reflects off them. The issue is the way they are attached to the phone- they move around a bit within their housings, something I haven't felt since the Nexus S. There's also a bit of backlight that leaks around the edges of the display, only visible when you're looking at the display from the side.

The camera is better than the Nexus 4, and that's good enough for me. I've always felt that smartphone cameras are what you make of them, and the Nexus 5 gives me a lot more to work with. I've taken some incredible shots with even the Galaxy Nexus camera, and if you know how to steady a camera and work with exposure, the Nexus 5 can take great photos. That said, iPhone cameras have an amazing ability to make anyone's haphazard shots turn out great, and sadly the Nexus 5's camera can't compete in that regard.

Software

On the software side, KitKat is a great update that really lets apps shine. From a design perspective, it makes sense that they got rid of 'Holo Blue' in the system UI, because it really did clash with some of the looks developers were trying to achieve in their apps. The full-screen 'immersive mode' is great, but the black gradients at the top and bottom really bother me. It looks like the edges of the screen are burnt, especially when there's a light background like in Google Now. In a DevBytes video on Youtube Roman Nurik said something like "in this iteration it's a gradient", which suggests to me that this was a controversial decision and leaves some hope that these horrendous gradients will be fixed in a future release. I think the transparent bars really lends itself to some apps with full-bleed views like Maps though, and I can't wait for an update that enables them.

The new dialer adds a lot of utility; I've only used it for a couple days but it seems like it will get smarter in time as it learns who I contact the most. So far it looks like it's going to make the People app obsolete for me.

That said, some changes may be hard to swallow for Android enthusiasts. One of the things I missed the most is the network activity indicators for Wifi and network in the status bar (those little up and down arrows), as well as the blue color that showed you were connected to Google's servers. The indicators still exist, but they now live in the quick settings in the notifications shade. I'll miss being in an app and seeing whether or not it was accessing the network just by glancing at the top right corner of the screen.

The fact that Google Now is a swipe away from your homescreen is nice, but not entirely necessary- it was a swipe away anyway, by pulling up from the home button. The fact that Google Now is on the left also means that your homescreen is the leftmost one, and the ability to have screens on the left and right of the homescreen (present since the beginning of Android) is now gone. I used to keep my widgets on the left and apps on the right of my homescreen so this is a big change. This is slightly abated by the fact that you can long press to zoom out, and then fly through all of your screens, but for some infuriating reason, it doesn't select the screen I want on a single tap- I have to press it twice. This may be the first time since Gingerbread that I'll use a custom launcher.

Hangouts and SMS integration should be great in theory, but in practice it's a mess. SMS and hangout threads are actually separated and not blended into one conversation, and if you're using multiple accounts it gets even more complicated because you'll now have two separate inboxes.

Overall the hardware is a great upgrade from the Nexus 4, and is definitely the best looking Nexus so far. The software has some great additions to increase usability, but also has some omissions that Android enthusiasts know and love. As we all know, Android is a very iterative piece of software; I'm just wondering whether my expectations based on advancements in the user experience of previous iterations has left me disappointed in KitKat's subtle improvements.

Odd and Ends

Yes, the display is fantastic

So far, the battery seems better than my Nexus 4

The Snapdragon 800 is a beast