Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

onthecouchagain

macrumors 604
Original poster
Mar 29, 2011
7,382
2
I think most already know what I love about Android 4.2 so I'll mainly focus on what I don't like:


Hardware... LG has created a beautiful device. There are many things to love, but some not as lovable...

-Don't like the move of the headphone jack to the top. I think it feels more natural to put my phone upside down when entering/exiting my pocket. Will need to adjust to keeping it upward. Also dislike that the wire gets in the way when holding the device.

-Not thrilled about the chrome trim. Thank god it's subtle. Love the tapered edges of the screen though. Truly beautiful front panel from top to bottom. As for the back, it's love or hate, but know that it is super subtle. Even when it catches light, I find it difficult to make out the pattern. Thank goodness. The majority of the time, it'll just look like a solid black back, which I'm fine with.

-I think the power button is a little too high. Nitpicking. It's clearly to offset the volume buttons so they're not aligned. I never had a problem accidentally hitting them with the GN, though. Another minor adjustment.

-The device is harder to use one handed than the Galaxy Nexus. I was fine with the GN, but with the additional width of the N4, slight as though it may be, things across the screen are just a hair out of reach. More adjusting required here.

-The speaker is MUCH louder than the GN (very happy about that) but the placement of it can definitely be muffled.

-I definitely hear a slight-as-can-be static from the earpiece when it's not in a call. I would have never ever known about this if I had not read it online. It's there. Don't know what's up with that. As long as it's not causing battery drain or any other harm, I can live with it. Definitely weird. Edit: I should note that this can only be heard when you hold the device to your ear. And even then you have to be in a quiet room and listening very closely.

-Glass... While I like the new design and the new feel, it sort of sucks I have to go back to being super duper uber careful due to the glass and where I place it down on (reminds me of my 4S days). Also, the lack of accessories at this point and time really blows.

-Lack of Storage Options... I don't see why Google couldn't offer a 32GB version for more. These days 16GB feels really tight. It's kind of annoying they will only offer it (maybe) down the road.



Software... Android 4.2 is seriously rocking. A real winner in almost every respect. But here are some things that are bugging me...


-Okay, Gesture typing is great, but why is Google not allowing even more with the keyboard? Custom auto correction still makes zero sense. It shouldn't just put your custom auto corrections in the suggestion bar, it should actually auto correct to it, thus the name AUTO correction. So for example, if I set up "OMW" to be "On my way" every time I type "omw" it should instantaneously change to "on my way" after I hit the space bar. It's not enough to simply put "on my way" in the suggestion bar. I complained about this in ICS, and I'm complaining about it now still. In general, I wish Google would really run with the keyboard. It's so good. It can be even better. Think Swiftkey like predictions (which they tried to emulate, but is a joke comparatively) and think even more customizations: keyboard sizes, ability to change duration of long press (it takes way too long currently), etc. Come on, Google. I will be returning to Swiftkey.

-Quick Settings. I suppose it's quicker than finding the Settings icon, but it doesn't allow toggling except for Airplane mode. Kind of bummed about that. At this point, it's only okay. The flipping animation is neat but it's a little slower than I want to get to where I'm going. Not a big deal, but definitely not as cool and useful as it could have been. Thankfully there's still Power Toggles (it has never crashed on me. Straus said it crashed on him daily. Not sure why.)


-***So this is important***: Is it me or did the touch points get smaller? I think this may be the reason why some people say the device is "unresponsive." It's not unresponsive. I just think the touch points have gotten smaller. Maybe it's something to do with the resolution change? I don't know. I find myself missing the home button every now and then. Bare in mind, this is not me hitting the home button, the device registering the hit (with the graying effect) and the home button not reacting or reacting slowly. I'm 100% missing the home button. Because otherwise, when I do hit it, it's instantaneous. As is App Switcher. I find I have to be a little more accurate with my presses. Again, could be a matter of adjusting to the new resolution, screen size? Not sure.

-PhotoSphere is cool. I guess. Sometimes it's brilliant, other times it's not.

-The camera is good, and it's definitely better than the GN, but it's still meh. I wasn't impressed with the shots I took. Even with HDR. I'm going to settle and just be glad it's better than the GN's camera. I think whoever said that it was on par with the iPhone 4S is 100% accurate. Not a bad thing, per se.

-Lock Screen widgets... Not only do I think this is sort of useless, but I actually dislike that there are now edges of "boxes" to the sides in the lock screen. It makes the lock screen feel... cramped. Me no like. Wish there was a way to disable lock screens.

-Battery life is good, but not better, as I was hoping and expecting it to be, as my Galaxy Nexus. I really do not understand why this is. There's a bigger battery, quad-core, still running HSPA+, it's holding better reception and signal than my GN, and has more up to date software. What gives? It should be blowing the GN out of the water. I am hoping this improves over software updates. If not, it's a shame. This feels like I'm on my 4S again, which got me through the day. But the GN got me through the day and then some (I'm talking about 40-50% left after a full day of moderate use. I've shown the screen caps before). Again, it's not that battery life is bad, it's just that it's not matching what the GN gave me.


MORE MINOR QUIPS:

-Why is there still no default battery percentage icon in the status bar? Silly.

-Google Now is so much faster to access, but as Straus said, it should allow the option to have Google Voice Search listening the moment you swipe up from Home button.

-Bolded hour in the digital clock... It was cool at first, but starting to dislike it. Again, wish there was a setting to disable bold and just have the digital clock be even all the way because I want to keep it and love the new Clock/Alarm app that it launches into (it's really cool and I can see why AndroidPolice devoted a whole section to it in their review). EDIT: This can be fixed with "Fixed Clock" app. Cool.

-Sometimes when I'm swiping between home screens really fast, it bounces back to the previous screen. Josh Topolsky talked about this in his Nexus 7 review. I never experienced that with the GN. I wonder if it's because the Nexus 4 (and 7, maybe?) have too sensitive of screens? Don't know. It's rare, but it's the first time I've noticed it. (FWIW, I've seen this happen on the iPhone and my iPad too).



I can't really think of much else. Those are my complaints.

Besides all of that (which sounds like a lot but isn't really) I love the Nexus 4. If I was to write out what I loved about the device, it would be many times longer than what you see above.

PS. Where is the wireless charging orb, Google?
 
Last edited:

ChazUK

macrumors 603
Feb 3, 2008
5,393
25
Essex (UK)
Headphone jack in the top is one of the things I consider a downgrade too. :(

I hate the trailing lead when my headphones are plugged in.
 

onthecouchagain

macrumors 604
Original poster
Mar 29, 2011
7,382
2
Headphone jack in the top is one of the things I consider a downgrade too. :(

I hate the trailing lead when my headphones are plugged in.

Yes. I'm going to add that. I dislike that too. Sometimes it gets in front of the screen, or in general, it's trailing over your hand when using the device. Lame move.
 

THE JUICEMAN

macrumors 68020
Oct 3, 2007
2,371
1,122
Thanks for the write up. That is a good point about the touch points. However, that might be a problem but not the sensitivity issue people are talking about. For example pinch to zoom on the web is far less sensitive than other android phones or the iPhone. Glad you are loving it though!

I bought an iPhone 5 today to try our side by side with my Nexus 4. Ugh. I love/hate both of them. I'll save that for another post.

Btw how long have you had your N4?
 

onthecouchagain

macrumors 604
Original poster
Mar 29, 2011
7,382
2
Thanks for the write up. That is a good point about the touch points. However, I that might be a problem but not the sensitivity issue people are talking about. For example pinch to zoom on the web is far less sensitive than other android phones or the iPhone. Glad you are loving it though!

I bought an iPhone 5 today to try our side by side with my Nexus 4. Ugh. I love/hate both of them. I'll save that for another post.

Btw how long have you had your N4?


Few days. It turns out my sister got it for my birthday. It was a late gift as she got back-ordered. :) Amazing surprise.
 

cnguyen0320

macrumors regular
Aug 14, 2012
177
0
You mentioned that the glass is tapered. Does that mean that it is also above the frame? So it'll be the only thing touching your tabletop if you put it down? This is why the 4/4s glass broke so often and why the iPhone 5, with it being flush to the frame, has fared so well on drop tests.

Battery life is also a huge letdown if it's running at the same level as a GNex. Is your GNex equipped with an extended battery? Because a full day is really odd for the small stock battery. Also could it be because your are in the honeymoon phase with your N4 that battery is weak?
 

cnguyen0320

macrumors regular
Aug 14, 2012
177
0
Oh and also the static from your earpiece can be due to blown speakers from it playing sound too loud. My speakers do that, it sucks...
 

jamojamo

macrumors 6502
Feb 12, 2010
387
7
I also disliked the Bolded clock.

There is a free app called "Fixed Clock" that takes it back to the old look.
You can also donate to the developer if you wanted with a different version but they are the same functionality.

:)
 

onthecouchagain

macrumors 604
Original poster
Mar 29, 2011
7,382
2
You mentioned that the glass is tapered. Does that mean that it is also above the frame? So it'll be the only thing touching your tabletop if you put it down? This is why the 4/4s glass broke so often and why the iPhone 5, with it being flush to the frame, has fared so well on drop tests.

Battery life is also a huge letdown if it's running at the same level as a GNex. Is your GNex equipped with an extended battery? Because a full day is really odd for the small stock battery. Also could it be because your are in the honeymoon phase with your N4 that battery is weak?

My Galaxy Nexus was gsm and on Tmobile. It pulled down amazing battery life. Stock Android and stock battery.

I'm hoping over time the battery will get better on the nexus 4 with software updates. I can definitely see its sipping faster than I'm used to on the GN. I just see lower numbers at points in the day.

----------

I also disliked the Bolded clock.

There is a free app called "Fixed Clock" that takes it back to the old look.
You can also donate to the developer if you wanted with a different version but they are the same functionality.

:)

Woah thanks!
 

onthecouchagain

macrumors 604
Original poster
Mar 29, 2011
7,382
2
I also disliked the Bolded clock.

There is a free app called "Fixed Clock" that takes it back to the old look.
You can also donate to the developer if you wanted with a different version but they are the same functionality.

:)

Oddly, now I sort of like the Bold clock. :eek:

Whaddya'll think?

Ndnhk.png
1op44.png
 

THE JUICEMAN

macrumors 68020
Oct 3, 2007
2,371
1,122
Got my replacement for the static ear piece yesterday. The new one is better. I would ask google to send another.
 

tbayrgs

macrumors 604
Jul 5, 2009
7,467
5,097
Oddly, now I sort of like the Bold clock. :eek:

Whaddya'll think?

I think the bold hour version complements your wallpaper better. The thinner font gets lost in that horizontal line. But of course, just my $0.02.

Also, agree with many of your thoughts on JB 4.2--been using it on my N7 and don't care for the lock screen widgets or quick settings either. Going to play with it a bit more but probably reverting back to Paranoid Android in the near future--love that ROM.
 

Dr McKay

macrumors 68040
Aug 11, 2010
3,531
260
Kirkland
Damn I've never noticed the static in the earpiece before, not till I pressed it right against my ear and heard a very faint static.

Also can I grab that wallpaper off you please?
 

onthecouchagain

macrumors 604
Original poster
Mar 29, 2011
7,382
2
Damn I've never noticed the static in the earpiece before, not till I pressed it right against my ear and heard a very faint static.

Also can I grab that wallpaper off you please?

Yep. I would have never known about the static either had I not read it off the net. I'm not losing sleep over it. Has there been anything regarding it causing battery drain or other issues, though?
 

Attachments

  • vector-2001_00359644.png
    vector-2001_00359644.png
    231.9 KB · Views: 159

435713

macrumors 6502a
May 19, 2010
834
153
Onthecouchagain, I almost passed out that you had any complaints.

You joking?? :p
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Vegastouch

macrumors 603
Jul 12, 2008
6,185
992
Las Vegas, NV
Onthecouchagain, I almost passed out that you had any complaints.

You joking?? :p

Well to me, many of those complaints were non issues to me. I mean the power button is too high? Not something i would notice or care about unless it was just vastly different. Id be coming from a GS3 so it would actually be a bit narrower to me, and shorter but we arent talking about a huge difference and i dont really care where they put the headphone jack. Im good with it at the top...or the bottom.

Im not trying to dispell his claims or anybody else. Im probably one of the least picky people when it comes to these things. The stock clock....wouldnt bother me, i would probably just use Fancy Widget (like i do most of the time anyways) or my wp clock 2 live wallpaper. And if i didnt like the stock keyboard, id probably just use Swiftkey or SlideIt. I paid for them so why not? However, i enjoy reading what people like or dislike. A reason why i dont rush out and get the first wave of new devices.

I know some who bought the Nexus 4 are just trying to stay as stock as possible but that isnt my agenda. For me it is not having TouchWiz or Sense layed over it and getting the updates first that matters most to me so i will use 3rd party apps with no qualms.
 
Last edited:
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.