The Google Nexus 5 has been slightly revamped in terms of design, getting a few subtle, yet notable changes aiming to address some reported issues.
Google has made no official announcement regarding the tweaked Nexus 5, but newly-manufactured units reportedly sport larger speaker grills and stiffer buttons compared to the original units.
With these subtle changes, Google addressed some of the issues that Nexus 5 users had reported. The company made a similar move next year with the Nexus 4, quietly releasing a tweaked model that was less slippery.
This time, an XDA-Developers user reported on a Nexus 5 that's slightly different than the original version. New units come with larger speaker grills designed to address complaints about the smartphone's sound quality. Users and reviewers alike have reported that the Nexus 5's speaker grill orifices were too small, which resulted in a muffled, buzzy sound.
With the new units sporting slightly larger speaker grills, users are now reporting noticeable improvements in audio quality. On the other hand, users had also reported audio quality improvements following the Android 4.4.1 update, which indicates that at least part of the problem was on the software side.
Another issue that Nexus 5 users had complained about referred to a rattling sound coming from the smartphone's buttons, which were not so tightly fit. The new units reportedly addressed this issue as well, sporting tighter fitting buttons that are stiffer and no longer make a sound when shaking the device.
The XDA user further notes that the SIM card tray is slightly modified as well, and is now flush with the side of the phone. The user even posted photos to show the slight differences between the original and the newly-manufactured Nexus 5 units.
The new units reportedly have "fixed buttons, larger microphone and speaker holes, more yellow display, green stuck pixels."
As Google has yet to make an official announcement regarding these slight design tweaks, it remains uncertain at this point whether it will change the code of the revision to help users distinguish between the two versions. The differences are visible when comparing the two versions, but otherwise they may be difficult to spot.
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