Buying a new smartphone around the 20K price mark? Well, there is a lot to choose from. Phones like the Moto X Play make for a good proposition, but what if you want the best phone in this segment? You will have to turn to the Nexus 5X or the Lenovo Vibe X3 in that case. Google’s Nexus 5X has presumably not been very popular, because of which it has undergone a big price drop, especially for the 16GB model, priced at Rs. 21,999. The Lenovo Vibe X3, on the other hand, costs Rs. 19,999 and on paper, looks quite similar. So, without further ado, let’s compare the two devices and see what’s what.
Here’s a look at the specifications first:
| LG Nexus 5X | Lenovo Vibe X3 | |
| SoC | Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 | Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 |
| Display Size | 5.2-inch | 5.5-inch |
| Display type | IPS LCD | IPS LCD |
| Display Resolution | 1920 x 1080p | 1920 x 1080p |
| RAM | 2GB | 3GB |
| Storage | 16GB | 32GB |
| Expandable Storage | No | Yes |
| Rear Camera | 12.3 | 21MP |
| Aperture size | f/2.0 | f/2.0 |
| Front Camera | 5MP | 8MP |
| Battery (mAh) | 2700mAh | 3500mAh |
| OS | Android 6.0 | Android 5.1 |
| Fingerprint scanner | Yes | Yes |
Build and Design
While the design of a smartphone is subjective, the build quality is certainly better on the Vibe X3. Lenovo’s device features a metal rim around the phone that not only adds a robustness to the package but adds some premiumness as well. The LG Nexus 5X may have a smaller footprint, but that doesn’t add much to the size difference. The Lenovo Vibe X3 is slightly bigger but provides a decent grip, thanks to its curved back. Another thing to mention is that the Nexus 5X is much lighter than the Vibe X3. However, all things considered, the Lenovo Vibe X3 would come out on the top.
Winner: Lenovo Vibe X3
Performance
Even though both phones sport the same Snapdragon 808 SoC, there is a difference in the synthetic benchmark scores. During our tests, the Nexus 5X performed better in most of the synthetic benchmarks. However, in normal day to day performance, both phones perform more or less the same. Multitasking is definitely better on the Vibe X3, thanks to the 3GB of RAM but the Nexus 5X isn’t a slouch either. For example, if you’re running multiple high-end games, like Asphalt 8, Modern Combat 5 etc. on both the phones, the Vibe X3 is able to keep games paused at a point (while you do other things on the phone) longer than the Nexus 5X. So, while in terms of processor performance, you wouldn’t notice a big difference, the Vibe X3 has a slight advantage on multi-tasking, which makes it the winner here.
Winner: Lenovo Vibe X3
Operating System and UI
The Nexus 5X has a clear advantage here, given the fact that it runs on Android Marshmallow, while the Vibe X3 is yet to be updated from Lollipop. That said, Lenovo has toned down its Vibe UI, to give a more stock-like feel, which is good. The newer OS on the Nexus also closes the gap in terms of multitasking, despite the fact that it has only 2GB of RAM. The device brings the purest form of Android to the table and hence, the UI is undoubtedly clean and the phone does not come with any pre-loaded apps, like on the Vibe X3.
As for the Lenovo Vibe X3, it was surprising to see a Lenovo phone without its usual Vibe UI. As mentioned above, Lenovo has recently cleaned up the interface and in the new UI it has kept everything minimalistic. There is a proper app drawer and smoother stock like UI. The number of pre-installed apps have also been decreased. However, it’s hard to stand against the fact that the Nexus 5X will be the first to get Android N, whenever that is out, which is why the Nexus 5X wins.
Winner: Nexus 5X
Display
While the displays on both phones are quite good and it’ll be hard to figure out the difference unless they are kept side-by-side, we found that the Nexus 5X is a tad better. The 5.2-inch LCD display on the LG 5X turns out to be better in all kinds of tests. We checked colour banding, contrast and saturation of colours. On top of that, viewing angles and the deeper blacks on the Nexus 5X, make it the winner.
Winner: Nexus 5X
Camera
Camera is one of the top priorities for many, when buying a new smartphone, and both phones don’t disappoint here. Lenovo’s Vibe X3 brings a 21MP, Sony IMX230 sensor, which supports 4K, but does not bring other features like laser autofocus. On the other hand, the Nexus 5X has a smaller 12.3MP sensor, but uses the newer IMX377 Sony sensor. It also supports video recording in 4K, but has laser auto-focus. However, the camera shutter is much faster and accurate in Nexus 5X, thanks to the laser assisted autofocus.
Images taken by LG Nexus 5X (L-R: outdoor, low light, bright indoor) (Click to see full size image)
Images taken by the Lenovo Vibe X3 (L-R: outdoor, low light, bright indoor) (Click to see full size image)
In almost all lighting conditions we found that the Nexus 5X was faster and produced better image quality. The colours were more true to life compared to the warmer images of the Lenovo Vibe X3. In addition, the Nexus 5X really shows its camera prowess over the Vibe X3 in low light imagery, thanks to laser autofocus and larger pixel size. The details and the colour composition are much better on the Nexus 5X.
Winner: Nexus 5X
Battery Life
In order to save weight and size, the Nexus 5X has a smaller battery. The phone comes in with a 2700mAh battery, against the Vibe X3’s 3500mAh. On regular usage, the Nexus 5X can manage a day’s worth of battery life. If you like playing games, you will end up with a dead phone before you hit the bed at night though. Lenovo on the other hand came better prepared. The Vibe X3 brings a 3500mAh battery to the table and offers better battery life, a day and half to be precise. So, even with heavier usage, the phone will survive the day easily. It wasn’t difficult to pick the Vibe X3 as the winner here.
Winner: Lenovo Vibe X3
Storage
The biggest blow to the Nexus 5X comes when you consider the storage on both the devices. While the Vibe X3 comes with 32GB of internal storage, which is expandable to 128GB, the Nexus 5X has a measly 16GB of storage inside, and that’s all you’ll ever get with it. For anyone buying a phone in this price range, it makes for a pretty big difference, especially because both the phones promise good performance, which means you’re likely to be downloading a lot of apps and games. Do we need to spell out the winner here?
Winner: Lenovo Vibe X3
Winner winner, chicken dinner..
While both the Nexus 5X and Vibe X3 are quite equally matched, the extra storage on the Lenovo device earns it the victory in this battle. The phone does have a lesser camera though, which means you will be making a compromise, but given the fact that the Nexus 5X still costs a bit more, it seems worth it.