Google discounts Nexus 5X to $349.99, gives permanent $30 price cut

If you’re a Nexus fan wanting to get the latest from Google, we have some good news and bad news. Which do you want first?

Oh well, we’ll go ahead and give you the bad news first since we like to save the best for last: the Nexus 6P isn’t included in the discount. The good news? The Nexus 5X is, with Google discounting the latest budget-friendly phone by $30 permanently. In other words, the Nexus 5X will still cost $349.99, one month from now (unless Google gets generous around Spring), and come in the same 16GB and 32GB configurations as before. You’re getting a 5.2-inch, liquid crystal display (LCD) with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 technology and a Full HD screen resolution (1920 x 1080p), a hexa-core, Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 processor, 2GB of LPDDR3 RAM, 5MP front camera, 12MP back camera, both with f/2.0 apertures, and a 2,700mAh battery with 9 hours of WiFi and 8 hours of LTE use. The Nexus 5X, like its more prestigious sibling, the Nexus 6P, runs Android 6.0 Marshmallow out of the box. Google has updated Android to 6.0.1 Marshmallow, bringing over 200 new emoji to the Android scene.

The Nexus 5X is deliberately named because of its place in Google’s Nexus lineup: the third-generation LG smartphone (after the Nexus 4 from 2012 and the Nexus 5 from 2013) is in the footsteps of LG’s Nexus 5 from 2013. It is an updated, refreshed version of the Nexus 5 with a slightly better battery (2,700mAh vs. the Nexus 5’s 2,300mAh), better front camera (5MP), better processor (hexa-core as opposed to the quad-core Nexus 5), and a better price ($445 for the 32GB Nexus 5 as opposed to $399 now for the 32GB Nexus 5X). Google brought the Nexus 5X to market because of the disgust with which some Nexus fans decided not to buy the Motorola Nexus 6 last year. The Nexus 6 was the first Nexus smartphone that debuted with a $600+ price tag, with many Nexus fans waiting until this year to make another buy.

The Nexus 5X isn’t the powerhouse that the Nexus 6P is, but there’s one drawback to the device as opposed to its 2013 predecessor, the Nexus 5: the Nexus 5X doesn’t have in-built wireless charging. Google has confirmed as much on Reddit in days past, which means that saving the small amount between it and the 2013 Nexus 5 may not be as impressive as first thought. If you’re a fan of wireless charging, you’ll either have to make do with the new device or pass up buying it altogether. At this price point, though, you may not want to — that is, if the Nexus fanboy in you starts to rise. Keep in mind, too, that buying a Nexus 5X brings a new 90-day free trial Google Play Music offer (for newcomers, that is).