There are many Android smartphone lines with a rich history. Some, such as the Samsung Galaxy S series, are still going strong, while others, such as the HTC One and LG G series, have slipped into retirement. There are newer dynasties too, with theGoogle Pixel rangegoing from strength to strength as a shop window for thefirm’s latest and greatest tech. But before Pixel, Google gave us the Nexus line in 2010.
It was a brave new world for Google, as the OS maker shifted into hardware. Free from fussy interfaces and unnecessary bloatware, Nexus phones delivered us Android in its purest form, straight from the source — delicious and fresh,tasty sounding names and all.
But the phones themselves were rather special too, as Google partnered with established handset makers to bring its visions to life. The Nexus line may have only run for six generations, but it laid some of the groundwork for today’s Android smartphones.
So come with us, as we journey back to 2010. Apple launched something called an iPad, Lady Gaga wore a meat dress, the Lost finale pissed a lot of people off (editors note: it was good), and Google announced the Nexus One.
1Google Nexus One
A “Google phone” had been rumored for years, and finally, in 2010, the search giant introduced the Nexus One. While it was built by HTC, the Nexus One was very much a Google-first smartphone, without the former’s heavy Sense UI overlay.
The Nexus One boasted a bigger screen, and had a more powerful chipset and camera than the iPhone 3GS, and while the internal storage was pitiful, its microSD slot could support memory cards up to 32GB in size. It also had the fun roller-ball navigation button, which was pleasing to play with, but ultimately, a bit of a weak point.
It was relatively well received critically, with reviewers generally agreeing the Nexus One was capable of going toe-to-toe with the 3GS and Palm Pre thanks to its slick design, strong camera and powerful performance. While it could compete, it didn’t excel over the competition, and in the end sold poorly. But the foundations had been set. Google was no longer just making software — it was a smartphone hardware company too.
2Google Nexus S
For the second generation Nexus, Samsung was employed to create the Google Nexus S. It’s no secret that the Nexus S borrowed from the Samsung Galaxy S, with both phones having the same screen, chipset, and RAM allotment, with the design only slightly tweaked for the Nexus.
The Nexus S was better received than its predecessor, with Google having learned some valuable lessons. The AMOLED screen was colorful and rich, and the lightweight OS felt zippy under thumb. It offered the latest and greatest of Android at the time as the first phone to run Android 2.3 Gingerbread, and packed in plenty of features to keep things interesting. It also included NFC, which at the time was still absent from many handsets.
It wasn’t breaking the internet with wild design or over-the-top additions, but it was a well-rounded, powerful smartphone which gave it genuine appeal.
3Samsung Galaxy Nexus
Google and Samsung continued their partnership the following year, with the latter able to squeeze its own branding into the name of the handset. Name aside though, the Galaxy Nexus was a big deal. Gone were any signs of physical or capacitive navigation buttons below the screen, with Android’s controls instead being moved on-screen. The phone arrived with a major Android overhaul in the form of the Tron-inspired Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. And it was all powered by a dual-core processor.
It also had a huge — for the time — 4.65-inch display, dwarfing the iPhone’s 4-inch offering. It wasn’t all positive though, as the rear 5MP camera on the Galaxy Nexus was below the 8MP snappers which were now commonplace (remember, the Nokia 808 PureView and its 41MP camera also existed).
4Google Nexus 4
For its fourth-gen Nexus, Google switched partners again, this time employing Samsung’s South Korean rival, LG. And the result? A gorgeous phone with a stunning mosaic patterned rear. Yet the most eye-catching thing about the Nexus 4 was its price, as it comfortably undercut the iPhones and flagship Android phones of the time. This made the pure-Android experience accessible to a much wider market.
The Nexus 4 also packed a pretty good spec sheet, with a 4.7-inch HD display, Snapdragon S4 Pro chipset, 2GB of RAM and an 8MP rear camera, though, crucially, it lacked support for LTE. It wasn’t a flagship killer in the way the OnePlus One was, but it opened our eyes to powerful phones at more reasonable price points. It was also the first Nexus phone with a non-removable battery, as the industry switched to sealed units.
5Google Nexus 5
In 2013, Google succeeded its previous phone with the 4G-enabled Nexus 5, again made by LG, although the design wasn’t quite as eye-catching as the previous iteration. Still, its minimalist, smooth frame sat nicely in the hand, and it packed a modest array of specs for the price tag. On-screen, stock Android was slick and showcased Google’s advancements in UI and machine learning. Android 4.4 KitKat wasn’t a massive leap over previous versions in terms of design, but it did show Google was evolving its overall aesthetic.
Simplicity was the aim of the game, and for those looking for a fuss-free and more reasonably priced Android phone, the Nexus 5 was a fine offering. Battery life and camera quality may have been a touch lacking here, but if you were looking for more power, Google did have an alternative for you.
6Google Nexus 6
The Nexus 6 takes the award for the biggest screen on a Nexus phone with a sizable 5.96-inch offering, dwarfing the previous year’s Nexus 5 in its shadow. It packed more power, storage and battery capacity than its predecessor, alongside improved front and rear cameras. And, most importantly, it included Android 5.0 Lollipop, one of the biggest updates to ever roll out from Google.
It was also made by another manufacturer new to the Nexus brand: Motorola. At the time, the 5.96-inch display was huge and the design of the Nexus 6 was in-keeping with Motorola’s style, which meant it looked more like a maximized Moto X than anything else in the series. That wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, however, and the sleek body curved on the rear allowing it to nestle a little more comfortably in the hand. It didn’t particularly wow with headline features on eye-catching looks, but the Nexus 6 offered slick, big-screen performance by the bucket load.
7Google Nexus 5X
The beginning of the end for Nexus phones. In 2015, Google launched its first duo to bear the Nexus name, and the pair were the first (and only) handsets to come with a fingerprint scanner. They weren’t built into the display like they are today though — instead, the Nexus 5X had it well-placed on the rear, just below the camera.
Inour review, Ryan Whitwam declared “The Nexus 5X is a very, very good phone” and went on to say “the experience using this phone has surpassed my expectations.” That was thanks to the stylish design, decent performance, much improved camera, and pleasing battery life offered up by the LG-made 5X. However, being limited to just 2GB of RAM was a little disappointing, as Android swelled in size and was pushing this sort of configuration to its limit, and the 32GB of storage model was the better buy for anyone with longevity in mind. But as a final swansong for the inexpensive, lightweight Nexus, the 5X did the brand proud.
8Google Nexus 6P
Huawei got in on the Nexus action at the buzzer. The Chinese firm was going from strength-to-strength at the time, having mastered premium hardware and compelling handsets, and Google turned to it for the final Nexus phablet (there’s a word you’ve probably not seen for a few years). The screen size was scaled back from the Nexus 6 to a slightly more palm-friendly 5.7 inches, and it boasted the most powerful configuration of any Nexus phone, with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 810 chipset and 3GB of RAM. There were also more powerful cameras — though nothing like what we’d see in the Pixel series just a year later — and a 128GB storage option.
And looking back, the Nexus 6P was our first introduction to Google’s camera ‘bar’ which spans the width of every Pixel phone since the introduction of the Pixel 6 in 2021. We were sceptical of the design when the 6P initially launched, but really we were getting a glimpse of the future.
A fantasic legacy
These days, it’s all about the Pixel series, which now has more generations under its belt than the Nexus lineup ever had. While we doubt Google has plans to switch away from its branding anytime soon, it’s important to remember the Nexus program as the earliest iterations of what would becomesome of our all-time favorite smartphones.
Google Pixel 8 Pro
The Google Pixel 8 Pro is still a good deal in 2025, with plenty of software support and a premium flagship experience. The Tensor G3 is powerful enough for most tasks, and you’ll enjoy plenty of Pixel extras on Android 15. If you’re in the market for a Pixel but don’t want to pay flagship prices, the Pixel 8 Pro is worth a look.
