Which one should I get?
It is not new mobile news that Google has invested heavily in their smartphone battle against Apple and Microsoft. LG Electronics has been responsible for manufacturing the Nexus 4, a handset with specifications above the price point. You can grab one on eBay for around £300, at least 50% less than most of their rivals. LG has, in the Nexus 4, developed a very competitive product, at a totally amazing price. But…Is the Nexus 4, a real rival to the iPhone 5? Or is the iPhone 5 one of the greatest iPhone deals? Here is a comparison of the technical specifications between the two products, one that will provide you with a more meaningful choice in the end.
iPhone 5 Features vs. Google Nexus 4 Features
The Hardware
The Nexus 4 has spectacular IPS display of 4.7 inches. It has an 8MP camera, quad-core processor at 1.5 GHz and 2GB of RAM. The iPhone has a 4 inch screen with 326 ppi. Its camera is also 8MP and the processor is dual core and 1300 GHz. The Nexus certainly wins on specs. Both phones are fast and snappy though, and Apple, as always, have got a lot out of their specifications.
Dimensions and Weight
Although not always an essential aspect at the time of choosing a phone in this case the size does matter. The iPhone 5 comes out on top with dimensions of 123.8 x 58.6 x 7.6 mm and only 112 grams, compared with 133.9 x 68.7 x 9.1 mm and 139 grams for the Nexus 4. The Nexus is nice in the hand though and is well proportioned.
The Price
There is no argument here. The Nexus 4 starts at £300 while the iPhone 5 has a starting price of £500. Although, I must say that the 16GB model Google phone is priced at £349 and this is what should be compared with the iPhone 5 as the basic model has the same internal storage.
The Screen
This is a controversial topic. It is a matter of taste. Large screens have advantages that we all know about, but also they have the disadvantage that they are more fiddly, or even impossible to use with one hand. Therefore, in this respect, I give the handsets a tie. The 4.7 inch Nexus against the 4 inch iPhone 5, is a personal decision for each user. On pixel density the iPhone 5 has a slight edge at 326 vs 318 ppi. But the difference is not discernable based on pixels at all. Both phones have very good displays, but not up to the level of the Samsung Galaxy S4, HTC One and Sony Xperia Z.
Software
The two phones have the latest versions of their respective operating systems, and the truth is that it is very difficult to be fully objective. You know the eternal debate that exists in the comparison between Android and iOS. Each has its advantages and disadvantages, so each user will have to assess them, and opt between the personalization and freedom of Android versus the ease of use and optimization of iOS.
Capacity
Since neither of the two Smartphone offers the option to insert an external memory card, the winner is the iPhone 5, as it offers versions ranging from 16GB to 64GB. The Nexus allows us to choose between 8 GB and 16 GB variants, which would be insufficient for heavy consumers.
Specifications / Performance
At first glance, if we put face to face the sheer numbers of processor, RAM, camera or battery, you would get the impression that the Nexus 4 is a phone equal to or more powerful than the iPhone 5. But the reality is not so clear cut. We all know how well integrated hardware and software are in Apple products, and how well they squeeze each and every ounce of performance out of their products. I actually believe that the overall performance of the iPhone 5 is better than the Nexus 4.
Main Camera
Both handsets have 8-megapixel cameras with Full HD quality and can record at 30 frames per second, offering vivid clarity in both pictures and video..
Connectivity
There are two main connectivity considerations; LTE and the NFC chip. LTE (or 4G) is the new standard in countries like Japan and the U.S., and is rolling out in the UK. It offers theoretical downstream performance of over 100MBps and is a massive leap forward for mobile broadband.
With NFC all you need is another terminal with this technology and you can transfer files, make payments or simply encode labels through the chip. It is the future of mobile payments that we are seeing advertised on TV at the moment.
Battery
The use of phones for internet access, either by mobile or wireless networks, and the screens with better resolution, makes smartphones far more battery intensive than they were in the past..
The Nexus 4 has a battery of 2100 mAh, compared to 1400 mAh on the iPhone 5. The Apple battery underperforms and may not get you through the day. The Google battery is just about sufficient in juice. You can charge the Nexus device wirelessly too.
Availability
The Nexus 4 sold out very quickly. In Google’s official store and stock was exhausted for both the 8GB and the 16GB models; it has been hard to get the devices through third party distributors too. At times, where the Nexus was available, its price was elevated. Indeed, the Nexus is on eBay now at about £300. The iPhone 5, despite having been some initial stock problems, is available pretty much everywhere now.
Conclusion
The truth is that in this match there is no clear winner.
If you want a great phone at a great price and do not mind sacrificing a bit of quality in materials and user experience, the Google Nexus 4 is your phone. If you have a high enough budget, you like the Apple system and you are a lover of iPhone deals, the iPhone 5 has to be your choice.
4G Mobile News
We have seen in the mobile news that 4G connectivity has hit around 50% of the UK through Everything Everywhere. With the mobile news also showing the Three Mobile, O2 and Vodafone are releasing their 4G services this year it look like we will get 99% 4G coverage of the UK before too long.
Top Tip on iPhone Deals
Although the iPhone 4 is now very much midrange the iPhone 4S performs comparably to the iPhone 5. It is worth looking out for iPhone deals on the previous incumbent of the iPhone flagship phone status.
Having the latest mobile news to hand was a godsend for Phil Turner. He was aware of all the latest developments because he regularly used sites like uSwitch.
image credits: Apple and Google
I will choose iPhone 5 for sure!