My Experience with the Nexus 4 and iPhone 5

[Tinmania]

Overall a good review, although I feel you placed too much merit in the LTE. Three points just for lack of LTE? Dang. I'd have done one, maybe two MAX.

I wish you did a price point comparison. Opinions there would be interesting, because while the iPhone is much more expensive off contract, there are cheaper with contract options. The Nexus 4 is simply an off contract device but quite impressive. It's a premium device that can even be used on pay as you go network for a non-premium price.

I agree about the LTE. For me it is overrated. I am 22 days into my billing cycle and have used 165MB of data. If I had LTE I doubt I would have even noticed it. I don't deliberately conserve mobile data either--I just happen to be on wifi most of the time.

Regarding the price.... I think it is the non-contract prices that should be compared. Reason being if you are a non contract kind of person those are the prices you will have to pay.

If you are a contract person you still can't say the iPhone 5 is cheaper or the same price. Since you would be tied to a contract for an i5 you might as well still take advantage of a contract phone (if you buy the Nexus 4). I don't think I will be leaving AT&T, for example. If so there is no reason not to take advantage of a subsidized phone, even just to sell. So I can buy an iPhone 5 for $200 and turn around and sell it unused for likely twice that. That reduces my net cost of the Nexus 4.




Michael

 

[Tinmania]

Based on those results, it's pretty clear that these two devices are neck and neck. However, for the tests that matter the absolute most to me, the Nexus wins. The screen size and OS break it for me...

I agree completely. After using an N4 for 9 days now it is hard to go back to my iPhone 4S. I don't think a slightly stretched and thinner/lighter 4S (a/k/a iPhone 5) would change that.

Plus, the more I am used to using Android the harder it is to go back to the confines of iOS. Just about every day I find something that I had been hoping for on iOS.

I stayed with Apple last year for the 4S but was not too thrilled it was not the rumored "teardrop" larger i5. Figured, OK, they are going to go all out the next year. Then of course this year I hoped the rumors about the iPhone 5 were NOT true. Alas, they were. Could not pull the trigger on it.



Michael

 

[mattopotamus]

I agree completely. After using an N4 for 9 days now it is hard to go back to my iPhone 4S. I don't think a slightly stretched and thinner/lighter 4S (a/k/a iPhone 5) would change that.

Plus, the more I am used to using Android the harder it is to go back to the confines of iOS. Just about every day I find something that I had been hoping for on iOS.

I stayed with Apple last year for the 4S but was not too thrilled it was not the rumored "teardrop" larger i5. Figured, OK, they are going to go all out the next year. Then of course this year I hoped the rumors about the iPhone 5 were NOT true. Alas, they were. Could not pull the trigger on it.


Michael

I think it depends on your uses. I would say about 90% of people do not tap into the full potential of their iPhones. For example, I use it for Apple TV, Phillips hue, home security, managing my wireless network. I didn't realize how heavily I was invested into the apple Eco system until I tried to remove my phone from it. I know I am in the minority, but as someone who fully uses their phone to its full potential, I quickly learned I cannot steer away from an iPhone. If I did, everything would be a compromise or I would spend too much time looking for work arounds.

 

[Tinmania]

I think it depends on your uses. I would say about 90% of people do not tap into the full potential of their iPhones. For example, I use it for Apple TV, Phillips hue, home security, managing my wireless network. I didn't realize how heavily I was invested into the apple Eco system until I tried to remove my phone from it. I know I am in the minority, but as someone who fully uses their phone to its full potential, I quickly learned I cannot steer away from an iPhone. If I did, everything would be a compromise or I would spend too much time looking for work arounds.

While that is true I searched before I got my N4 and found all of my financial/banking apps were available. Ditto for home security. I won't ask what company you use but the main outfits seem to all have android apps. What was wrong with the android phillips hue app? I don't use that system but I see the app is there and compatible with N4.

I too have ATVs, but my interest in them is waning. Still, there are a whole bunch of apps in google play for the ATV--many do more than anything I could find for iOS. I tried one last night and it was pretty sweet. Naturally there were remote apps for ATV.

About the only thing I miss about the ecosystem is iMessage. Pretty much over that now.



Michael

 

[mattopotamus]

While that is true I searched before I got my N4 and found all of my financial/banking apps were available. Ditto for home security. I won't ask what company you use but the main outfits seem to all have android apps. What was wrong with the android phillips hue app? I don't use that system but I see the app is there and compatible with N4.

I too have ATVs, but my interest in them is waning. Still, there are a whole bunch of apps in google play for the ATV--many do more than anything I could find for iOS. I tried one last night and it was pretty sweet. Naturally there were remote apps for ATV.

About the only thing I miss about the ecosystem is iMessage. Pretty much over that now.



Michael

What app controls your Apple TV on android, b.c I could not find one unless I want to pay $30 for squid something. The Phillips hue app is pretty poor on android. You cannot set timers or control the lights unless on your home wifi. For example, I have timers set so they come on at a certain time in the morning and evening. I use my Apple TV probably every day, so that is very important to me. The biggest thing that I couldn't get over we're notifications. I just feel like they are much better on the iPhone...especially on the lock screen. The biggest draw for me to the nexus was the screen size and feel of the device in hand. Everything else I felt was better with IOS. I guess I don't really care about customization that much b.c function is most important to me.

4.2 is really nice, but a lot of the features are useless to me. I probably would never use photosphere, NFC, and I don't root or jailbreak my phones. I love the looks and feel, but everything else felt like a compromise in some way....be it apps or even simple things like backups. Also I have this new movie pass thing that lets you view unlimited movie theater movies and you have to have an iPhone to do it. The app they use it not out on android.

 

[Tinmania]

What app controls your Apple TV on android, b.c I could not find one unless I want to pay $30 for squid something.

My ATVs are jailbroken so I was only interested in what would work with it and with XBMC. One was free (XBMC) and the other was US $1.93 (Remote for Apple TV). I didn't buy the non-free one because I am intending to get rid of my ATVs and go with roku instead.



Michael

 

[mattopotamus]

My ATVs are jailbroken so I was only interested in what would work with it and with XBMC. One was free (XBMC) and the other was US $1.93 (Remote for Apple TV). I didn't buy the non-free one because I am intending to get rid of my ATVs and go with roku instead.



Michael

Gotcha. See I'm not interested in jailbreaking. Roku is really good and are struggling so you can get them dirt cheap. My ideal phone would be a nexus 4 body running IOS. I don't see apple ever going bigger than like 4.3 though. The 5S will be an iPhone 5 with a spec bump, so I may skip that, but the 6 will hopefully be a bigger screen. You never know though, apple could throw a curveball and jump straight to the 6 just to keep up with what is hot right now.

 

[onthecouchagain]

Plus, the more I am used to using Android the harder it is to go back to the confines of iOS. Just about every day I find something that I had been hoping for on iOS.

Michael

Yes! This is the general feeling of using Android for the first time -- "wow, I can do that?"

That's why I always say there's a world to discover.

 

[Tinmania]

Gotcha. See I'm not interested in jailbreaking. Roku is really good and are struggling so you can get them dirt cheap. My ideal phone would be a nexus 4 body running IOS. I don't see apple ever going bigger than like 4.3 though. The 5S will be an iPhone 5 with a spec bump, so I may skip that, but the 6 will hopefully be a bigger screen. You never know though, apple could throw a curveball and jump straight to the 6 just to keep up with what is hot right now.

In my opinion they will have to do something better than a 5S next year.

On the other hand I can't see them doing a single device with the i5's screen-size. So my hope, and it is thin hope, is that they release a 5S in that form-factor and at the same time a bigger 6 (or "new iPhone").



Michael

 

[mattopotamus]

In my opinion they will have to do something better than a 5S next year.

On the other hand I can't see them doing a single device with the i5's screen-size. So my hope, and it is thin hope, is that they release a 5S in that form-factor and at the same time a bigger 6 (or "new iPhone").



Michael

I think they will be hard pressed to get people to jump from a 5 to 5S with just better specs and a better camera. The 5 is so fast that the upped specs will be useless.

 

[onthecouchagain]

Tim Cook isn't adverse to shaking things up too.

I would be delightfully surprised if Apple announced a redesigned iPhone 6... with a larger screen, maybe?????

 

[cynics]

Good review. However just to nitpick about the world phone portion. There are three different versions of the iPhone 5 to support fragmentation of LTE networks and even then it doesn't cover them all I believe. Whereas the is one version of the N4 that's supported everywhere.

In the end it doesn't really matter the end user doesn't have LTE (in the US) with the N4 and the iPhone fallback is the same as the N4. But don't expect to see an LTE Nexus again until there is a one size fits all LTE chip set...

 

[Mxbzz]

I also have both the iPhone 5 and Nexus 4. While the iPhone is simple, fast, and smooth, everyday I am finding apps or features on Android that make it difficult for me to switch back to the iPhone.

I originally missed iMessaging, but quickly got over it after installing Facebook Mesaging and Google Voice. While it is not a replacement for iMessage, it does the trick.

I missed the Do Not Disturb feature on iOS but found an even better alternative on Android. "Let Me Sleep" lets me schedule not just the time to turn on silent mode, but also the days. Coupled with the LED notification, I don't ever need to check my phone unless I see it blinking. Speaking of which, I love how I could customize the LED color app by app.

Google Now is simply amazing. I always envisioned being able to check the traffic for my commute to and from work with a simple swipe. I love how the card shows up in my notification bar, and CHANGES depending on your location. It probably turns on the GPS every now and then, so when I'm at home, itll show me the ETA & traffic to get to work. It'll show my ETA & traffic to get home while I'm at work. It's things like this that make this phone so enjoyable.

NFC is great. I use it to check the balance on my metro card. It's definitely not a necessity but hey, if it's there, why not use it?

I wasn't too worried about the Nexus 4 not having LTE, and really haven't missed it at all. I mean, I did enjoy running a speed test and gloating about my LTE speeds on my iPhone 5, but that was only fun for a week. Speaking of data, I really like how Android has a built in data meter/limiter. Not only can you set a threshold until a warning, or cap, but you can set when your billing cycle ends.

Lastly, I didn't think the battery was too great. But now that I've had the chance to use it on a typical work day, it's actually not much more different than my iPhone 5. I charge it every night so it's not an issue for me.

All in all, this is a fantastic device for the price. I'm not fully ready to give up my iPhone 5 and switch to Android completely, but I really have no desire to return to it at the moment. When I think of the new "features" in iOS 6 (Passbook should NOT have been such a big deal in the Keynote), I can only think of Apple falling behind in innovation.

 

[Frankied22]

I am using a Nexus 4 right now on Tmobile alongside my AT&T iPhone 5 and I really can't decide which to stick with. There are things I love about both devices and platforms and there are things I don't like about each. I love Google Now and the customization of android. But I also hate how "janky" certain apps look on android. I still think iOS apps are more visually pleasing to look at and in turn to use.

There are a couple hiccups I have with my N4. One being that all my friends use iMessage and I am not aware of any good replacement for this on android besides whatsapp and no one I know is just going to get whatsapp for one contact.

The other pet peeve I have at the moment is my when using my headphones with my N4. My volume up and down buttons don't work and some button press functions don't do anything.

 

[Zwhaler]

Excellent review. I have the Galaxy Note 2 and agree with your points about the OSs. That was the main reason why I switched from iPhone, the second being the device itself which is nothing short of amazing. I had a difficult time getting around the limitations of iOS for a lot of tasks important to me, which include checking websites that have flash, listening to certain online radio stations that wouldn't work on iOS, and having a less enjoyable experience web browsing in general. Now that I've spent 2 weeks on Android, I much prefer the notification system on Android as well as the quick and easy access to settings like WiFi, Brightness, Bluetooth, having a power save mode, etc. I never upgraded to iOS 6, did they finally add a quick way to adjust screen brightness on the iPhone?

 

[dalbir4444]

But I also hate how "janky" certain apps look on android. I still think iOS apps are more visually pleasing to look at and in turn to use.

Yeah, the apps from the Gingerbread days look pretty ugly. But the ones that follow the holo guidelines are quite good.

The other pet peeve I have at the moment is my when using my headphones with my N4. My volume up and down buttons don't work and some button press functions don't do anything.

Are these Apple headphones?

 

[aerok]

Excellent review. I have the Galaxy Note 2 and agree with your points about the OSs. That was the main reason why I switched from iPhone, the second being the device itself which is nothing short of amazing. I had a difficult time getting around the limitations of iOS for a lot of tasks important to me, which include checking websites that have flash, listening to certain online radio stations that wouldn't work on iOS, and having a less enjoyable experience web browsing in general. Now that I've spent 2 weeks on Android, I much prefer the notification system on Android as well as the quick and easy access to settings like WiFi, Brightness, Bluetooth, having a power save mode, etc. I never upgraded to iOS 6, did they finally add a quick way to adjust screen brightness on the iPhone?

Nope not yet... if ever

 

[Frankied22]

Are these Apple headphones?

Ear pods, B&W C5 & P5s

 

[mathi-vadhanan]

"Fully supported" isn't necessarily true. The 4 didn't get Siri. 4S isn't getting navigation. Correction: I meant iPhone 4 doesn't get Siri and turn by turn.

Also remember the 3G didn't get the video recording and the multitasking with iOS 4. And still had worse performance and batter life.

 

[hulk2012]

I think it depends on your uses. I would say about 90% of people do not tap into the full potential of their iPhones. For example, I use it for Apple TV, Phillips hue, home security, managing my wireless network. I didn't realize how heavily I was invested into the apple Eco system until I tried to remove my phone from it. I know I am in the minority, but as someone who fully uses their phone to its full potential, I quickly learned I cannot steer away from an iPhone. If I did, everything would be a compromise or I would spend too much time looking for work arounds.

I agree and feel exactly the same. iPhone it's not just a phone but most importantly an office, remote control and transmitter. Can't comprehend losing that ecosystem built by me so the switch is impossible.

 

[onthecouchagain]

I am using a Nexus 4 right now on Tmobile alongside my AT&T iPhone 5 and I really can't decide which to stick with. There are things I love about both devices and platforms and there are things I don't like about each. I love Google Now and the customization of android. But I also hate how "janky" certain apps look on android. I still think iOS apps are more visually pleasing to look at and in turn to use.

There are a couple hiccups I have with my N4. One being that all my friends use iMessage and I am not aware of any good replacement for this on android besides whatsapp and no one I know is just going to get whatsapp for one contact.

The other pet peev e I have at the moment is my when using my headphones with my N4. My volume up and down buttons don't work and some button press functions don't do anything.

Google voice, mon ami. Just text your friends first letting them know it's you.
They save it and you're set. It's also free so you can even drop your text plan if you so inclined.

 

[daveathall]

Ear pods, B&W C5 & P5s

There are two cables for the B&W P5, the one with the remote control was made specifically for the iPhone so the remote would never work with any phone other than the iPhone, the other cable that comes with the headset does not have the control facility of course.

http://www.bowers-wilkins.co.uk/Headphones/Headphones/P5/Product-Details.html

Superb headphones BTW.

 

[thatappleguytoday]

Why are people so concerned about not using iMessage anymore? So your not sending free SMS to each other anymore? Don't most people with these 2 smartphones have unlimited messaging anyways?

Just trying to understand everyones logic about this thats all

 

[Frankied22]

Why are people so concerned about not using iMessage anymore? So your not sending free SMS to each other anymore? Don't most people with these 2 smartphones have unlimited messaging anyways?

Just trying to understand everyones logic about this thats all

My buddies and I send a lot of stupid pics or gifs to each other through iMessage. It's nice to have it just built right in. If we had to use a separate app like whatsapp just for silly crap like that we wouldn't even bother with it. Lol I know it's dumb but w/e. as far as I know I can't send pics or gifs easily from my N4 through GV or the stock messaging app

For instance, I see a silly gif on reddit and want to send it to my friend. Press and hold on the gif, copy it, and paste it into iMessage.

 

[mib1800]

My buddies and I send a lot of stupid pics or gifs to each other through iMessage. It's nice to have it just built right in. If we had to use a separate app like whatsapp just for silly crap like that we wouldn't even bother with it. Lol I know it's dumb but w/e. as far as I know I can't send pics or gifs easily from my N4 through GV or the stock messaging app

For instance, I see a silly gif on reddit and want to send it to my friend. Press and hold on the gif, copy it, and paste it into iMessage.

It is because all your friends are on the Apple ecosystem. But the rest of the 80% of smartphone users in the world iMessage is of no use. You sound like iMessage is the universal IM to everyone.