Nexus 5 rampages through benchmarks, has 'Key Lime Pie'

Google's next Nexus has just blithely strolled onto benchmarking site GFXBench and -- whistling jauntily, no doubt -- raised the bar for Android smart phones. The specs section of the benchmark also sheds light on the Nexus 5's hardware, and it doesn't disappoint.

Its max CPU frequency of 2.3GHz hints that the rumoured inclusion of a turbo-charged Snapdragon 800 chip could well be bang on the money. That's backed up by its performance, which is challenged only by prototype Samsung Galaxy S4s with the same chip.

As for its screen, it's apparently packing in 1,794x1,080 pixels in its rumoured 5-inch frame, an unorthodox resolution that nevertheless gives a staggering 419 pixels per inch -- far more than your eye can see at normal distance.

The Nexus 5 that bested these tests was running a version of Android referred to here as 'Key Lime Pie'. That's slightly odd, because Google recently changed the name of the K-version of Android (the follow up to Jelly Bean) to KitKat. Perhaps it's the naming convention of the benchmark site, or maybe Google simply hasn't bothered updating the filename yet.

Google is expected to announce the Nexus 5 in October, at the same time as KitKat is released. The Big G hasn't revealed what will be different in the next version of its mobile software, except to say, "It's our goal with Android KitKat to make an amazing Android experience available for everybody."

The new phone was thoroughly leaked last week when a Google employee apparently left a prototype in a pub, but since it was locked with a password, little could be gleaned on its specs.

Performance benchmarks are a useful indicator of a device's comparative strengths, but they aren't the be-all and end-all, particularly because they can be manipulated, as we saw with the Galaxy S4. But the Nexus 5 has outclassed some big names in many of the tests on GFXBench, and equalled the spectacularly impressive Sony Xperia Z1.

We're dying to get our hands on the new Nexus, and crossing all our fingers and toes that it'll be as reasonably priced as the bombastically bargainous Nexus 4. Incidentally, that wondrous mobile is now completely sold out, so expect a new Google blower sooner rather than later.

Are you hyped for the Nexus 5? Or is another rumoured Android phone tooting your horn? Give me a shout in the comments, or on our blisteringly fast Facebook page.