See how the LG Nexus 4 fares against the Samsung Galaxy Nexus

Now that the LG Nexus 4 has landed officially, its time for us to check whether it’s all worth all that hype and rumors it carried till Oct 29^. And most importantly, has Google included and enhanced features that lacked the original Galaxy Nexus. The handset has definitely been priced at a non-negotiation requirement level but it’s important to understand whether the tag is proportional.

The best way is to try and compare the handset with some of the premiers in the market including likes of iPhone5, Samsung Galaxy S3, Samsung Galaxy Note 2, Nokia Lumia etc. However, as I have said above comparing it with the original Nexus will enlighten us on whether should we even proceed with comparison with others, because the original Nexus failed to deliver completely even though it was the first ICS handset.

We will take into consideration all important aspects including display, data, memory, camera, CPU, GPU etc. Let’s start off with the display.

Display:

LG has increased the display by a minor 0.05’’ and that shouldn’t be a significantly different experience compared with the original Nexus which was of 4.65’’. LG has increased the display diagonally thereby keeping the bezel size same. Doesn’t matter!

However, there’s a twist here. A Corning Gorilla Glass has come to Nexus 4’s rescue and that’s why the winner is obvious. The Galaxy Nexus had an Oleophobic coating instead.

Winner: Neutral

Operating system:

The original Nexus certainly wore an ICS crown upon launch but since then we have seen a number of upgrades including Jelly Bean (with upgraded versions within) and now Android 4.2 in the Nexus 4. Android 4.2 has got some amazing features including multi-user support. A higher OS version will obviously come with enhanced features and there shouldn’t be any looking back.

Winner: Nexus 4

Processor:

While the original Nexus sported a dual-core 1.2 GHz Cortex-A9 ARM processor, the Nexus 4 has been blessed with a Qualcomm APQ8064 Snapdragon Quad-core 1.5 GHz Krait. Generation gap! More cores are always the better and Qualcomm scores a bit more high in terms of processors. The Nexus 4 wins unarguably.

Camera:

Rear camera resolution in the Nexus 4 has been increased to 8MP this time. The Galaxy Nexus sported a 5MP rear shooter. Secondary remains constant at 1.3 MP. Although a camera test would better reveal quality, for now we’ll have to rely on the more pixels factor. We will bring you more details as we get our hands on the Nexus 4.

Winner: Nexus 4

Storage:

While the internal storage remains constant at 16GB, there’s no external card slot in the Nexus 4 too and that is the crappest thing to happen again. Technical reasons apart, this might be a deal killer for any layman, anybody.

Unlike Galaxy Nexus, the Nexus 4 comes with an 8 GB variant too but it’s of no use seems like even Google thinks in a similar way. Try buying it in the Play Store and you’ll understand what I am talking about.

Winner: Neutral

RAM:

RAM for the Nexus 4 has been increased to 2 GB and the additional 1 GB is most welcomed. The Galaxy Nexus sported 1 GB of RAM.

Winner: Nexus 4

Network:

Same, no LTE network! Like the original Nexus, the Nexus 4 is compatible with 2G and 3G only. Here’s why:

“We certainly have a desire to offer devices on every carrier on the planet”. “The tactical issue is GSM vs. LTE. A lot of the networks that have deployed LTE haven’t scaled completely yet – they’re hybrid networks. They’ll do their old thing and they’ll do LTE, which means the devices need both radios built into them. For now, we’re gonna sit back and let those networks evolve.”

This was quoted by Andy Rubin, Google’s Senior Vice President of Mobile and Digital Content. Additionally Rubin stated:

“Two radios in a device right now certainly raises the cost, and diminishes battery life,” he explained. “When we did the Galaxy Nexus with LTE we had to do just that, and it just wasn’t a great user experience. It’s possible to do it right, but that’s not where we’ll put our resources initially. Tactically, we want to make sure the devices are available for every network on the planet.”

Google wanted to offer the most requisite features at price tags of $299 and $349. Moreover, the Nexus 4 would be sold unlocked and across various geographies.

Winner: Neutral

 Battery:

The battery power this time is 2100mAh compared to the 1750mAh battery in the Galaxy Nexus. Talk Time seems to have increased by 7 hours. The Nexus 4 on a 3G connection boasts a healthy 15 hours of talk time. My math is right, that’s 7 more hours compared to the Galaxy Nexus’s 8 hours.

Winner: Nexus 4

NFC:

Both have NFC’s.

Winner: Neutral

GPU:

The LG Nexus 4 has an Adreno 320 paired with 4 Krait cores and which is a numero-uno. The Galaxy Nexus featured a PowerVR SGX540 processor which scores low when compared to the Adreno 320. Here are the benchmarks:

Winner: Nexus 4 obviously

Verdict: We see the rope being pulled more towards the Nexus 4. That’s kind of obvious as it’s an iteration of the new Nexus program and companies strive to make products better and learn from their shortcomings. Nexus 4 is a result of that improvement.

Moreover, both the phones cost $349 for the 16 GB unlocked versions and that’s the end of story. Brilliant Google, absolutely brilliant!