Gadgetory

in my Nexus for review I actually found it hard not to compare the new official Google device to its predecessor the Samsung Galaxy Nexus however in this comparison we're going to be taking a look at the similarities and the differences between Nexus past and Nexus present so this is Joshua Carter mandroid authority what's going on everybody and this is the Galaxy Nexus versus the Nexus 4 there's one thing you can't deny the Nexus 4 by LG looks a lot like the Samsung Galaxy Nexus you have the same features on the front with the large 4.7 inch screen the front facing camera in essentially the same place and even the notification light found near the bottom the button layout is exactly the same with the power button on the right and the volume rockers opposite it the differences start with LG's own modifications with the design the headphone jack is actually found on top this time and the bottom houses the charging port surrounded by the two Torx screws which seem to have become LG's distinctive trait it's like a focal point where the construction of the phone begins and ends imagine this gorgeous glass encased phone being constructed and when it's all put together these Torx screws complete the process the back shows yet another change the Nexus 4 introduces in which the carrier or phone manufacturer name is done away with and is replaced with Nexus LG's Nexus 4 also does away with the gray plastic back of the Galaxy Nexus and puts a sleek glass panel covering the crystal reflection design the result is a sleek looking black slab that does away with the curved design of the Galaxy Nexus to deliver a beautiful looking phone that feels great in the hand glass makes this phone feel like a truly luxurious device okay yes this is a pretty fragile phone a number of users have reported that even a small drop has broke in either the front or the back panels nonetheless given its affordable price tag the Nexus 4 is still one of the best-looking phones out there right now just take some care with it the Galaxy Nexus was one of the phones of its time able to support the previously hard-to-find Super AMOLED display that helped to bring a great viewing experience it was certainly one of the first phones to get the constant dang look how big that screen is and it solidified that having a screen over 4.5 inches was not only OK for a smartphone it was going to become a standard LG then needed to up the ante by providing their own screed technology in the Nexus 4 covered in Corning Gorilla Glass the true HD IPS display has a resolution of 1280 by 768 and is able to bring in 320 PPI pixel density to be fair the official measurement of the nexus 4 screen is indeed bigger than that of the Galaxy Nexus even if it is just by point 0 5 inches however the real story here is the zero gap technology while the true effectiveness of it has been somewhat contested I personally believe it works zero gap takes all the layers typically found between the protective and display layers and removes them completely the result is an even crisper and vivid viewing experience also as LG claims it allows for better screen responsiveness I personally found all of this to be true on both the Nexus 4 and the Optimus G it's fraternal twin so I would have to definitely give it to the newer device for truly improving on the already great display capabilities of its predecessor the camera comparison further adds to the Nexus fours lead as the Samsung Galaxy Nexus honestly didn't bring great quality to begin with already brought down by 2 megapixel count at only 5 the picture quality in the Galaxy Nexus was not on par with most of its competition and despite quick shutter to picture speeds it really didn't set the bar very high which was good for LG as it was able to learn from this and add in not only the adequate camera that a smartphone of this caliber needs but one with enough extra features to go the extra mile as a megapixels seems to be the standard count for high-end smartphones now that's exactly what you get with the Nexus 4 however the quality of the camera is impressive it is a very solid performer that creates usable and ultimately very pleasing photos the new features are due to the inclusion of the newest Android operating system jelly bean 4.2 the camera app interface has been revamped in order to introduce a touch and swipe dynamic that does away with traditional menus it really is a great way of controlling the settings of the camera and it feels very fresh other than that the inclusion of photosphere is a nice addition albeit ultimately just a novelty all in all the camera on the Nexus 4 is a vast improvement from the Galaxy Nexus and it leaves its predecessor in the dust as far as performance goes the Samsung Galaxy Nexus packed a dual-core TI OMAP that clocked in at 1.2 gigahertz but the power VR s GX 540 graphics processor what that means is that the experience of the phone was exemplary for its time and it still remains as one of the nicest experiences in a phone to date good memories are bound with the Galaxy Nexus and the enjoyment was only further enhanced if he ever put a custom ROM on it further optimization would be achieved and the phone would continue to feel relevant even after an entire year of having it I certainly take advantage of what seems to be a processing package made to go the distance which is what makes the Nexus 4 zone performance feel like such a feat the quad-core Snapdragon s4 pro processor at 1.5 gigahertz and the Adreno 320 graphics processor really make this phone fly it is hard to deny just how awesome the performance and perceived experience of the Nexus 4 fields in side-by-side comparisons with my Galaxy Nexus the Nexus 4 was simply just able to open its apps quicker and load content faster this comparison just couldn't be one-sided though as I said before the torque screws found on the bottom of the Nexus 4 seemed to be the start and end of the phone's general construction as such the battery is not replaceable honestly this comes as a disappointment to me as I have become very used to having a spare battery with my verizon Galaxy Nexus 4G LTE takes up a ton of battery and even on days when I have forgotten to charge my phone the extra battery was definitely a lifesaver the battery in the Nexus 4 is larger than the one originally found in my Galaxy Nexus but even if it can typically last a day having the charging cable on hand will have to become a new habit the connectivity of the Nexus 4 compared to its predecessor was perhaps the part of the in-depth review that actually did feel like a comparison and this is for a good reason the Nexus 4 is lack of full support of 4G LTE is already well-documented and I was definitely curious to see how it would really affect the network experience now I am a seasoned Verizon LTE user and since my area is covered well by the phone company's mobile internet coverage I'm definitely used to very fast speeds it really does spoil you a little bit which is why the Nexus 4 with its HSPA+ support does indeed feel slow again my test using a borrowed t-mobile SIM card yielded the following results with the Nexus 4 running at full signal strength its internet was able to keep up with my verizon Galaxy Nexus running only at half reception strength I honestly can't deny the difference and to be fair I am too used to my LTE speeds by now and finally we have the software since these are Nexus devices this is essentially leaving the most important part for last this is because being a Nexus device means that users are getting the latest and greatest that the Android OS has to offer updates will also come to Nexus phones and tablets before all others the Samsung Galaxy Nexus was the first device to come with Android 4.0.4 designated Ice Cream Sandwich if a new device was an update to ICS it was easier to disregard this was not the only important aspect of the Galaxy Nexus as its support for developers spawned a community of Reuters and customizers who took the Android OS and tweaked it to its own delight this was true for the Nexus One and the Nexus S and now for the Galaxy Nexus the residue mand from a multitude of users who wanted their phones to have some features not really found in the stock experience and to this day the Galaxy Nexus root and ROM community is going very strong and I suspect all of this to be the same with the Nexus for that same community of enthusiastic software adventurers will likely flock to the newest and so far greatest a Nexus device yet and make it their own but with the Nexus 4's included jelly bean 4.2 comes its own revolution that with its new features it is now clear that google has been paying attention to the routing community now features like power widgets in the notification drop-down of custom roms are found in a new page that Google put in itself it's getting easier and easier to choose the stock OS over community-created custom roms and that is a true testament to the Nexus 4 it brings the latest OS will always be updated and if you are so inclined to take advantage of how easily it can be routed and the community responsible for doing it you're getting a great deal of freedom with Google's newest official device and so there you have it the Nexus 4 is not just a giant leap forward for the Google Nexus line it truly represents the roots and the legacy of its predecessors the Samsung Galaxy Nexus was and still is one of the best phones on the Android platform and the Nexus 4 not only brought the best parts of its past along it lays down the groundwork for the future as such the Nexus 4 is a stellar improvement to Google's previous official device and is likely to remain so for quite a while killer specs a great form factor a wonderful screen first dibs on Google updates and perhaps most importantly for some the freedom to modify it to your heart's content these are all things you can use to describe both of these phones upon release the Nexus 4 is out now and is one of the hottest selling phones on the market and why shouldn't it be it has succeeded in filling some pretty big shoes for my full written comparison head on over to Android authority comm you'd a source for all things Android