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Phones Switching to Nexus 4 - My Experience
- Thread starter slu
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With a really good camera? Hopefully this year. Couch said Google said they would deliver a good camera this next nexus. Is that the only thing that you think is holding back the nexus line of phones? Other than storage because I am not sure they will address that.
Yeah I find the rest of it top notch. 16 GB is fine with USB otg.
I am not even asking for some really amazing camera or going for stuff like iPhone's sapphire lens or the htc's ultra pixels. Just a decent enough camera that takes sharp photos on the go. The camera sensor in N4 is really cheap, it is very hard to focus is properly and even when I compare it to an iPhone 4, the iPhone 4's sensor takes much sharper photos.
I am sure they can find a cheaper but decent camera module in 2013. I would appreciate better battery life too but so far I think it is manageable.
May be google is planning to make moto nexus this time. Moto has been eerily quite about their new hardware since the new razrs and I think something big is about to happen, hopefully.
Too bad the Nexus 4 doesn't support USB OTG without a power adapter and a special kernel. And with an additional power adapter, that kind of defeats the whole On The Go purpose. This was a huge bummer to me because I bought a USB OTG cable right before I ordered my N4.
Battery life is decent. I think it takes a few weeks to break it in. At least that was my experience with it. But although battery life is sometimes manageable, manageable != ideal.
Yeah not ideal but not so bad either. Don't get me wrong though, any improvement is a major plus to me. I think 4.2.2 has made the battery from downright sucker to live able at least. I do notice that using 3G data really drains the battery and does it quite fast, don't know if it is something to do with how the chips are placed or the software.
Do you still use a nexus 4 or did you switch to something else?
I have been using my Nexus 4 since November. I love it just about everything about it and will probably never go back to an iPhone.
And I totally agree that 3G drains battery like crazy. And I think it is probably because of the OS. This is one the iOS will always have: OS efficiency. I think because Android just has too many devices to "support", proper support, which brings along efficiency and optimization, is nearly impossible.
For best battery life, you really need to root, and install a custom Kernel, which will improve battery life significantly.
I went back to Official CM10.1 ROM + Matrix 8.5 kernel.
Now I can get 4h On Screen time easily, usually closer to 5h. Plus the phone is faster / smoother than stock, and more custom options and tweaking. And this kernel calibrates the screen, makes the colors look amazing.
My standby time, with this ROM & Kernel is outstanding. Before bed I charged phone fully to 100%, then took off charger read few websites,, left phone on desk overnight with 99% charge in it, woke up this morning, 7.5 hours later, phone still at 99%, and it was on 3G all night, not WiFi.
I went back to Official CM10.1 ROM + Matrix 8.5 kernel.
Now I can get 4h On Screen time easily, usually closer to 5h. Plus the phone is faster / smoother than stock, and more custom options and tweaking. And this kernel calibrates the screen, makes the colors look amazing.
My standby time, with this ROM & Kernel is outstanding. Before bed I charged phone fully to 100%, then took off charger read few websites,, left phone on desk overnight with 99% charge in it, woke up this morning, 7.5 hours later, phone still at 99%, and it was on 3G all night, not WiFi.
You can get decent efficiency and optimization with custom roms and kernels. For example most of the decent roms available for the Nexus 4 have a bunch of krait and bionic optimizations that are built specifically for the Nexus 4 hardware. My Nexus 4 with Sabermod rom and Trinity kernel is extremely good on battery.
Totally agree on rooting and custom kernels making a major improvement in battery life. Like I said, I am running the official CM10.1 Nightly ROM + Matrix Kernel v8.5. Right now my battery is at 63%, with 10h 28m use, and 2h 41m On Screen time so far.
Plus this Matrix kernel improves the screen colors and gama significantly, really makes the Nexus 4 display look much much nicer compared to stock.
This guy is the best for helping people "root" their Android phones, he has a web page for every phone out there. Following his step by step guide, and video tutorial, makes it nearly fool proof. I am no computer programmer, and have rooted plenty of phones using his guides, just follow his guide to a "t", and it really is easy. Will take 15 - 20 minutes tops, and your rooted, and good to go.
Nexus 4 root;
http://nexus4root.com/nexus-4-root/how-to-root-nexus-4-windowsmac-osxlinuxubuntu/
ROM; official CM10.1
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2020859
Kernel; Matr1x v8.5
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2007231
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Ya I am running CM 10.1 and Franco kernel on my Nexus 4. But the point I was trying to make is that Android lacks the efficiency and optimization that keeps iOS feeling so smooth. The only way to get improved optimization, which still in my mind doesn't match iOS, is with a custom ROM and kernel, which most Android users will never use.
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Did you change any other settings on your kernel to get that kind of battery life? Or are you just leaving it as is? Also, did you have to turn a bunch of features off? I would love to get that kind of battery life on my Nexus 4.
No specific settings with this kernel. Just flash in recovery and let it be. I don't have any e-mail accounts sync at all, no FaceBook app at all, I use a very good app named "Greenify" keeps a lot of heavy tasks from running in the background, like Maps, Voice, etc...
Most the day I am on 3G, not WiFi until night time. I use my phone a lot during the day for calls doing business, and text like a madman, and check and send e-mails a lot.
I would guess on a heavy workday, I get 12 - 14 hours total use of battery life, with around 4.5h On Screen time. On Weekends with light use and on WiFi I go 24h easily.
Right now battery life @ 37% with 12h 50m total use, and 3h On Screen.
Well that actually sounds right on par with what I get. But 63% with 10.5 hours and 2.5 hours OST is more than I normally get though.
Yeah i totally agree, out of the box iOS is much more efficient and optimized as it is made specifically for the iPhone. Since there are so many different android phones it is hard for the Android OS to be optimized for them all. This is why i recommend Android phones to people that like to tinker as there is massive improvements to be made if you put some time in. Personally the tinkering is what makes a new phone so much fun
btw on my last last charge i got just over 6 hours OST and 15 hours standby Yeah i totally agree, out of the box iOS is much more efficient and optimized as it is made specifically for the iPhone. Since there are so many different android phones it is hard for the Android OS to be optimized for them all. This is why i recommend Android phones to people that like to tinker as there is massive improvements to be made if you put some time in. Personally the tinkering is what makes a new phone so much fun
That is some ridiculous OST. I am hoping the Nexus 5 fixes the two major problems associated with Nexus devices: awful camera and awful battery.
If the Nexus 5 improves the camera and battery and keeps all the positives of the Nexus 4 it really will be a winner. Ill be getting one regardless
Today on my Nexus 4, I got 15h 45m battery life, with 4h On Screen time. Most of that on 3G, maybe two or three hours on WiFi today.
I am running Official CM10.1 Nightly ROM + Matr1x kernel v8.5
Not sure how to add my screen shots proving that, while submitting this post threw my phone ?
I am running Official CM10.1 Nightly ROM + Matr1x kernel v8.5
Not sure how to add my screen shots proving that, while submitting this post threw my phone ?
That is REALLY good for 3G. I can only get 5 hours SOT on Wifi. I also love Mat1x kernel, it is best on the stock rom. For custom roms Trinity is my favorite by far.
I also am on stock and never have a problem getting through an entire day. Plus if you are on wifi then you really do not have to worry about battery.
Use CyanogenMod, it has that browser built-in (well, if not that, it's the one that says 'Browser').
To solve battery issues for the OP, take a look at XDA Developers ROM section for the Nexus 4. My personal recommendation is Xylon ROM + faux kernel with snake charmer and eco mode on. Nearly 5 hours of screen on time.
That is a giant assumption. I have seen people get only 2 hours of OST with settings that should be getting them 4. Clearly there are varying levels of battery life. This inconsistency is why I consider it awful. Assuming everyone is getting the same "average" battery life (and average by who's standards, yours?) is just naive.
I wonder if google i/o will make non-nexus owners jealous.
If it is just 4.3 and incorporates stuff like babel/some minor improvements and adjustments may be i will just get the One for now and get the nexus in the fall with 5.0 / 4.4.
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What i don't get is the nexus 4 has a decent 2100mah battery. I do note that the device is quite good on wifi however. My guess is that LG cut corners while making the nexus (to keep price low) and the modem chip isn't as integrated as it is on the rest of the devices or something else is amiss. Even an S3 with AOKP gets 5 hr SOT daily so i wonder if android OS is really the issue here.
If it is just 4.3 and incorporates stuff like babel/some minor improvements and adjustments may be i will just get the One for now and get the nexus in the fall with 5.0 / 4.4.
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What i don't get is the nexus 4 has a decent 2100mah battery. I do note that the device is quite good on wifi however. My guess is that LG cut corners while making the nexus (to keep price low) and the modem chip isn't as integrated as it is on the rest of the devices or something else is amiss. Even an S3 with AOKP gets 5 hr SOT daily so i wonder if android OS is really the issue here.