Google is bringing on the next generation of vanilla-flavored Android with the LG Nexus 4, a combination, it seems, of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus and the LG Optimus G. The massive processor and the operating system on this device are the real heroes, of course, starting with the 1.5GHz quad-core Snapdradon S4 Pro SoC with Adreno 320 graphics under the hood – Qualcomm’s biggest and best yet. You’ll be working with Android 4.2 Jelly Bean+ (the newest version, newer than 4.1 Jelly Bean that was released earlier this year), this including a lovely new collection of features shown just this week by Google.

The display up front is 4.7-inches with 1280 x 768 pixel resolution using non-PenTile IPS LCD technology, that being both rather bright and sharp to the max. That’s 317.6 Pixels Per Inch, sharper than the Nexus 10, essentially the same as the Samsung Galaxy Nexus which sits at 316. The iPhone 5 sits at 326 PPI, just incase you want to know. The most highly dense display on a smartphone right this minute is the HTC J Butterfy with 440 PPI – massively insanely sharp!

The LG Nexus 4 has a glass-covered back, round edges on the top and bottom, and is just 131g (0.31 pounds) light. It’s 9.1mm (0.36 inches) thin and has a lovely 8 megapixel camera on the back with a 1.3 megapixel camera on the front. The Nexus 4 has 2GB of RAM and in this iteration we’ve got unlocked pentaband DC-HSPA+ (42Mbps) radio for connectivity with AT&T and T-Mobile. Under the hood there’s a 2100mAh non-removable battery and there’s no microSD card slot, so make sure you get the internal storage size you want right out of the box.

Stick around Android Community for our full review of the Google Nexus 4 from LG in the very near future – for now, let us know what you’d like to know about this smartphone. Anything we can answer or information we can ascertain will be sent unto you!

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84 COMMENTS

  7. I was wondering how the audio sounds through headphones? Is the quality comparable to the I Phone or an I Pod? I am thinking of getting this to replace my I phone 4 but am just wondering if it will make a good device to listen to music with.

    • of course! the quality of sound through headphones depends mostly on the headphones. You’re getting the exact same sound file.

      • Like on the crappy TF700T.. but I can tell you that the Galaxy Nexus, the predecessor, had no electrical noise in the audio. I even used it to play some beats at a street party. It seemed to play just as well as the music others would play through their iPods. Music is fine when charging, too

      • I don’t think it’s really fair to compare it to the Galaxy Nexus since the ‘Nexus’ name is applied to slightly modified phones from two different product lines from two different manufacturers…

      • Yes. The Nexus 7 has a notoriously bad DAC that makes listening to music through any decent headphones annoying. Hopefully, this is better.

  9. Chris, Android 4.2 images tend to show us that the new camera app takes pictures in 16:9. Even the Nexus 4 webpage in google´s site has some 16:9 samples. Is that the reallty?

    • Speaking of the Li-Pol battery, I’m really curious about battery performance, especially since it isn’t removable. It says stand-by time is 390 hours. The GNex is 290 hours, so that’s a pretty good improvement. Curious about real load usage with screen-on time. It would be good to see comparisons to the GNex.

      Also, I’ve read that the charging requirements for Li-Pol are different from Li-Ion and that you have to use the right charger (or is that covered in the phone electronics?) Does that mean I can’t use all of the micro USB chargers I’ve collected over the years? Are there any advantages with the Li-Pol battery (other than more charge cycles)? Does it charge faster? So, basically anything that can be covered about the battery would be great. 🙂

    • Interesting.. more advanced than Li-Ion? Does it have a greater capacity per cm³? People keep promising a new battery tech ‘just around the corner’, but some of them were like six years ago and still haven’t seen the light of day.

      • Tbh I’m not sure which is more advanced or has a greater capacity. And yes you are right there is a new battery tech on the horizon which will yield 10 hours per charge, but only needing 5 minutes to recharge from dead.It’s at least 2 years away.

    • The old Nexus phones had their entire front pane curved, and that actually survived the four-foot face down. IIRC, what broke was actually the display behind the glass (not that that’s a very good design, but it shows curved glass doesn’t have to be weak). I think Google have taken drops into account, since they’ve used Gorilla Glass on both the front and the back – drop resistance had to be on someone’s mind over there.

      • Thanks for the replies. My question stems from friends with iPhones and cracked screens. Maybe I’m mistaken but I thought the iPhone 4/4S displays were made of Gorilla Glass.

        This is great to know though!

      • From what I’ve heard, it’s a spectrum with scratch resistance on one end and drop resistance on the other. The iPhone was damn near unscratchable, but as a consequence, it broke easily. The iPhone 5 is tough as hell, but now it scratches easily. The only solution is a self-healing oleophobic coating on top of drop resistant glass, which I really hope to see in phones soon. Perhaps not next year, but the year after. If I were a phone company though, I’d push to get it done now.

    • It’s Corning Gorilla Glass 2, so it is very sturdy, scratch and crack resistant glass, plus the metal band around the edge wraps and merges with the glass so when you set it down you’re setting it on the metal.
      But yes it would be interesting to see how it does in a drop test 🙂

  12. I’m definitely gonna get straight talk on At&t for the unlocked version. Also, $349 unlocked with 16 GB is a pretty good deal considering the specs, and the hardware- software integration. Only downsides are no lte, and no means of expandable storage.Although, in my area there is 0 coverage of LTE, but strong HSPA+ coverage.

    • Im getting the unlocked 16gb and im on T-MO $30 100 Mins, Unlimited Text and Data. A phone like this would run for over $500 without a contract but its only 349!

      • You know I really like the T mo prepaid plans, however there is almost no coverage of any 3g let alone hspa+, I got Edge only on my dads galaxy s3 on T-Mobile. If T-Mobile had better coverage in my area, I’d consider the 30 dollar plan off contract.

    • Reason no LTE is because AT&T would need a different radio for only 77 service areas. It would just cost too much for far too few potential customers.

      I agree on price, even with a 2 year contract, brand new phones run near $300, so this is a fantastic deal.

      Storage… Google has a very robust cloud service. While it may take a while with a large music collection, load all your music on the Google Music cloud and just keep your faves on the phone. I can’t see how anybody could ever need more than 16GB physically on the phone at all times.

      I’ll be getting the 16GB myself, and I have a grandfathered unlimited data plan on AT&T, so let Netflix and Hulu reign!

    • It’s HSPA+ 42Mbps, only Tmobile supports that. Would be worth it to head into a store near you and give a phone a test run. Coming from a Verizon Gnex w/ LTE, I will be quite happy.

    • Uh yeah, even if it was on Verizon I still wouldn’t get it. 2100 MAH Non Removable Battery? 8gb Non Upgradable Storage? I have a feeling LG and GOOGLE would fuck this one up. Get the Note 2 or a Razr Hd and be done with it. The Razr is practically a Nexus at this point anyhow.

      • WTF is the difference when the battery is sh!t, the storage is sh!t, etc.? You pay for what you get, with these specs this phone could be .99 cents if it doesn’t have any useful specs its worth NOTHING not $299 w/out a contract unlocked blah blah…

      • You can buy a 16gb, you know… And if you really think a Razr HD is anywhere near this phone in stability or performance, you obviously haven’t had much experience in the Android community!

      • You have near unlimited storage on Google’s cloud, and with the screen type, battery life will be awesome on this phone. As for Verizon… with customer service as horrible as theirs, why would anybody care if it works on their network or not? Plenty of other carriers that are just as good or better.

    • And no AMOLED screen. They’re actually significantly less efficient than LCD for white images, which is what you’re almost always faced with if you’re actually using the phone. Not to mention whites aren’t white, more of a very pale green or yellow.

      • Such as living in the UK. There was a story a while back about the BBC forcing Adobe to keep their Flash up on Google Play because the Beeb hadn’t prepped a non-flash version of any of their apps. I have no idea if that’s still the case, though; they’ve since introduced their own media player software for Android which works with iPlayer and the like.

    • The web browser that comes with the phone (Chrome) is a very good mobile browser, I’ve been impressed with it on the Nexus 7, but no it doesn’t support flash. you can however get a version of Dolphin browser, or any other web browser that supports flash, and it will still work just fine on the phone.

  23. The biggest downside for me us the non removable battery. Typed the wrong thing into fast boot… then what do you do? It just sits in a 5hr bootloop

    • Hold the power button. The reset functionality is separate from the SoC, so even if you freeze or otherwise screw that up it will work.

  24. “and there’s no microSD card slot, so make sure you get the internal storage size you want right out of the box.”

    Okay, so where do I pick up the 64GB model? Oh… wait. Never mind. I’ll pass.

      • It depends. But I think, and for sure im not the only one, that 16GB isnt enough. 64 and 32 GB versions must be available…

      • It depends. But I think, and for sure im not the only one, that 16GB isnt enough. 64 and 32 GB versions must be available…

  25. I read that there will be a 16 Gig version for T-Mobile for a significantly higher price than the $350 on the Google site (I think it was supposed to sell for $500 unlocked). Will we be able to just pop in T-Mobile sim card in and be ready to go as I suppose would be the case for the T-Mobile version?

  26. I was getting bummed out since I just ordered the Samsung note 2 but then I read that the phone doesn’t support a memory card so now I’m happy 🙂

    Since I got a 64gb SDXC in my old phone that I can use for the note 2

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