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LG Nexus 4

8.3 Verge Score 9.0 User Score Write Review
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Verge Review

Getting the Nexus 4 for review was something of a treat for me. I've been anticipating the arrival of a follow-up (and upgrade) from the company's previous flagship device — the Galaxy Nexus — for a handful of very specific reasons. In fact, I've held off on moving to other, excellent devices with expectations of this mystery phone in mind. While I have been largely pleased with using the Samsung-produced Nexus, there are some irksome qualities to the handset (a poor camera, weak display,...

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Basic Specs

Thickness .36 inches
Weight .31 pounds
Form factor Slab
Screen size (diagonal) 4.7 inches
Carriers T-Mobile
Operating system Android
Launch OS version 4.2

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Tech Specs

Hardware

Height 5.27 inches
Width 2.7 inches
Thickness .36 inches
Weight .31 pounds
Form factor Slab
Color Black
Loudspeaker Mono
Noise cancellation Hardware (multi-mic)

Display

Screen size (diagonal) 4.7 inches
Technology IPS LCD
Pixel arrangement RGB
Resolution (Y) 1280 px
Resolution (X) 768 px
PPI 320
Touchscreen type Capacitive

Connectivity

Carriers T-Mobile
GSM Yes
GSM frequencies supported 1900, 1800, 900, 850
UMTS / HSPA Yes
UMTS frequencies supported 900, 2100, 1700, 1900, 850
WWAN data standards supported UMTS, EDGE, HSPA+, HSUPA, HSDPA, GPRS
Wi-Fi Yes
Wi-Fi support 802.11n, 802.11g, 802.11b, 802.11a
GPS Yes
Bluetooth Yes
NFC support Yes
Media streaming DLNA

Processor

Manufacturer Qualcomm
Brand / family Snapdragon S4 Pro
Model APQ8064
Clock speed 1.5 GHz
Number of cores 4

Memory

RAM size 2 GB

Storage

Internal size 8 GB, 16 GB
External No

Front Camera

Resolution 1.3 megapixels

Rear Camera

Resolution 8 megapixels
Flash LED
Focus type Autofocus
Video resolution 1080p

Software

Operating system Android
Launch OS version 4.2

Interface

Video out Yes
Headphone jack 3.5mm
Other ports Micro USB

Sensors

Sensors Compass (Magnetometer), Proximity, Ambient light, Gyroscope, Accelerometer, Barometer

Battery

Capacity 2100 mAh
Quoted use time 10 hr
Wireless charging Optional

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  • 9.0
    Show all User reviews

    Reviewed by tawfiqmp (Currently owns)

    December 7, 2012 09:47 pm

    Just an awesome phone. The Nexus line of devices give you the best Android experience with the software and the timely updates. The design on this new device is pretty nice, very sleek. The display is better than I expected, and it looks a lot better than the previous model (the Galaxy Nexus). The biggest knock is probably LTE, but for me, I think i'm satisfied with what I have now which is HSPA+ - Overall, it's a great phone.

    The Breakdown

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    • Design 8
    • Display 9
    • Camera(s) 7
    • Reception / call quality 7
    • Performance 9
    • Software 9
    • Battery life 8
    • Ecosystem 8
    Show the rest of this review and the breakdown
  • 10.0
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    Reviewed by robbieelias (Currently owns)

    December 2, 2012 11:54 pm

    This is my favorite phone that I have used so far. It is unmatched mainly because of how good it is for how much it costs.

    The design is excellent. I love the "sparkled" back as it is very original and nice. It looks good all around and it also feel great in the hand especially thanks to the soft edges. My only concern is the possibility that it breaks, but until it is not actually broken this is not an issue.

    After having owned the GS2 and the Galaxy Nexus, I find that the IPS display on the Nexus 4 is much nicer in almost every way except for blacks, but this difference isn't by much and it is superior otherwise. Also, the screen is very smooth and soft which makes it so fun to use.

    The camera is definitely better than the Galaxy Nexus, but I have not done enough testing yet to judge.

    Call quality and reception seem to be better than the previous nexus and therefore very good. The lack of LTE does not apply to me because I live in Canada but I still choose to keep it off as HSPA+ is more than enough for me.

    The best part about this phone is how fast it is. Don't listen to the benckmarks, it is faaasssttt. Only in Chrome browser do I notice any lag but it's still awesome.

    As for Android 4.2, it's my favorite mobile OS so ya... Battery life is also pretty good, I personally get 4h30 of screen time which lasts me maybe 2 days.

    Overall, I absolutely love this phone and it has been a pleasure to use. I would definitely recommend it to everyone especially considered its value.

    The Breakdown

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    • Camera(s) 9
    • Reception / call quality 9
    • Performance 10
    • Software 10
    • Battery life 9
    • Ecosystem 10
    Show the rest of this review and the breakdown
  • 9.0
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    Reviewed by masiaudio (Currently owns)

    November 30, 2012 12:53 am

    Overall a great device. I've had my 8 for about 2 full weeks now. I do wish the battery was better out of the box... But note that i have CM10 on it... It's pretty good. To me that's the great thing about the phone... The developer community is already larger than most phones out there, so i an sure the battery thing will be figured out eventually for stock users. Still a recommended buy to my friend despite the battery life

    The Breakdown

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    • Camera(s) 8
    • Reception / call quality 10
    • Performance 10
    • Software 10
    • Battery life 8
    • Ecosystem 10
    Show the rest of this review and the breakdown
  • 9.0
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    Reviewed by bradreiter (Currently owns)

    November 29, 2012 12:09 am

    After a week of use, I have no hesitation in recommending this phone. I disagree with the rhetoric that this phone needs LTE to be revolutionary. It is a top of the line android phone for $300 off contract. It is straight from Google and it is unlocked allowing you to bring it to any GSM network. It is going to change the way stubborn phone companies operate.

    The Breakdown

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    • Design 10
    • Display 9
    • Camera(s) 8
    • Reception / call quality 9
    • Performance 10
    • Software 10
    • Battery life 9
    • Ecosystem 10
    Show the rest of this review and the breakdown
  • 10.0
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    Reviewed by FU3L (Currently owns)

    November 26, 2012 08:12 pm

    The LG Nexus 4 is the phone Android has been waiting for. It is the first to offer a level of premium quality that most should find meets or exceeds that of Apple's iPhone. The attention to detail this device received is a testament to Google's Android ambition; the soft touch around the edges, the subtle chrome and holographic effect across the back, the slight bevel on the glass...real thought went into all this. The display is phenomenal. It absolute destroys that of my Galaxy Nexus's. The camera has been an utter joy to use, especially when one considers Android 4.2's native Photosphere capability. I have used it countless times already. Having formerly used a Verizon LTE device, my move to T-Mobile was, I thought, cause for concern, but to my delight and surprise, the Nexus 4 has had better signal, better call quality, and significantly higher data speeds. There isn't much to say performance wise, because, in using this device, unlike my other Androids, performance was not a concern. I felt no need to overclock this device, nor did I ever encounter a stutter or a force close, or any problem of the sort. To reiterate a famous quote, "it just works." Android 4.2, to me, does not bring a significant amount of new features to the OS, but I've come to appreciate Photosphere and the new keyboard very much. The toggles are also a nice addition as they are something I would typically root for to achieve. In my experience of having smartphones, the Nexus 4 being my fifth, the battery life was stellar. 16 hours with 4-5 hours of screen on time has thus far been a walk in the park for this device. One often hears the argument of the iOS ecosystem when preaching Android, but I, however, feel that the Android ecosystem is perfectly adequate and improving daily. One of my close friends owns an iPad and we decided to browse the appstore just to see what all the fuss is about. For each app he had installed, there was a matching Android app or equivalent (equivalent to his standards). So honestly, in terms of what is available, I feel they are much the same.

    The Breakdown

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    • Design 10
    • Display 10
    • Camera(s) 10
    • Reception / call quality 8
    • Performance 10
    • Software 9
    • Battery life 10
    • Ecosystem 9
    Show the rest of this review and the breakdown
  • 10.0
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    Reviewed by simo.alb (Currently owns)

    November 26, 2012 03:24 am

    It's an incredible device! It looks and feels wonderful, the build quality is fantastic. The glass on the two sides is so smooth but the design in the back breaks the monotony of all black. The screen seems to float on the surface of the glass which doesn't even seem to be there, the image is incredibly crisp and large, the color saturation is a bit bleak compared to the Samsung AMOLED.

    The performance is out of this world. The speed is incredible, not one stutter or blink! You can go from browsing the Play Store to having the app installed and opened in 5 seconds. Multi tasking and app switching is flawless.

    Google Now and Photo Sphere bring the capabilities of the phone to an unimaginable level. After all it's pure Google innovation.

    The Breakdown

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    • Display 9
    • Camera(s) 10
    • Reception / call quality 9
    • Performance 10
    • Software 10
    • Battery life 9
    • Ecosystem 10
    Show the rest of this review and the breakdown
  • 9.0
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    Reviewed by squashbuckler (Currently owns)

    November 23, 2012 03:43 pm

    Stepping up from a galaxy Nexus was not as big of a change as I thought it would be performance-wise. The screen and feel of the hardware was definitely a big step in the right direction though. The slightly wider real estate is superb. When its working correctly is the epitome of smooth and polish. When it's buggy which it has been on and off It's unbelievably bad. right now I'm noticing that the playstore has a bug that causes the phone to overheat. Once it heats up - Stutter city, here I come. The bugs seem software related and I'm hoping we will see fixes soon. Running on ATT HSPA in central IL I can pull in 8mbits down on a good day and another friend of mine was seeing 6.5 mbits down with a straight talk Sim using att bandwidth. Despite the bugginess the phone still delights to no end - especially when you run apps that have been optimized with androids most current design language. My biggest gripe about android and not really the phone, is that the refresh rate in the gallery is still miserable. This is software related and should not be an issue on a topshelf phone. Still as far as phones go, this one is hard not to recommend.

    The Breakdown

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    • Design 8
    • Display 9
    • Camera(s) 7
    • Reception / call quality 9
    • Performance 9
    • Software 9
    • Battery life 7
    • Ecosystem 8
    Show the rest of this review and the breakdown
  • 8.0
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    Reviewed by kyip87 (Currently owns)

    November 23, 2012 02:18 pm

    So far it's an excellent phone, hardly any issue's at all for me. Though it feels nice in the hand I do worry about dropping it like my old Iphone 4, also for me I also wouldn't mind if the sparkles on the back weren't there. The display is great, with auto brightness on I can read off it without a problem in sunlight too. Reception/Call quality was excellent on Canada's Roger's Network but was weak in some areas indoors on the Wind Mobile Network(most likely nothing to do with the phone). The phone is still new I've only installed like 20 apps so it's running smoothly(no delays at all). The stock Android is great no issues so far for me. Battery life is not bad, with light to moderate usage the phone lasts from 8am-12am and still had a bit of power left. With moderate to heavy use you may need to charge a bit earlier into the evening. But considering how much larger the screen is, I can say the battery is better than my old iphone 4.

    The Breakdown

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    • Design 8
    • Display 9
    • Camera(s) 7
    • Reception / call quality 8
    • Performance 9
    • Software 9
    • Battery life 8
    • Ecosystem 9
    Show the rest of this review and the breakdown
  • 10.0
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    Reviewed by NickAVV (Currently owns)

    November 22, 2012 01:39 am

    The hardware on the Nexus 4 feels high end and expensive. The camera is fast and good quality (and Photospheres are awesome). The software is fantastic (and given its Nexus-ness it will continue to be fantastic and up to date for a good few years). The thing is blazing fast, scrolling around web pages in Chrome is buttery smooth for example. Speaking of Chrome, swiping in from the edges of the screen switches tabs, and with the Nexus's glass curving down off the edges, this gesture is incredibly natural and even kind of fun. Call quality is great, and signal strength seems solid everywhere I've gone so far with it. There's an RGB notification light on the front under the screen, and with LightFlow you can make it do your bidding. I really can't recommend this phone enough, buy it!

    The Breakdown

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    • Design 10
    • Display 10
    • Camera(s) 9
    • Reception / call quality 9
    • Performance 10
    • Software 10
    • Battery life 10
    • Ecosystem 10
    Show the rest of this review and the breakdown
  • 9.0
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    Reviewed by Definitive (Currently owns)

    November 21, 2012 09:44 pm

    Short list:

    Screen needs calibration (minimal tweaking)
    +
    Battery needs to make sense
    +
    Camera needs to have better exposure
    +
    = Google needs to spend more on getting professionals in the respective fields to work on this.

    The back is NOT gorilla glass. (diffidently needs protection)
    If they fix this stuff, it's a perfect phone. Unless you need LTE.

    The Breakdown

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    • Design 10
    • Display 9
    • Camera(s) 9
    • Reception / call quality 10
    • Performance 10
    • Software 10
    • Battery life 7
    • Ecosystem 9
    Show the rest of this review and the breakdown
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