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Here is my UNBIASED and HONEST Nexus 4 Review & Impressions

Hey all, hope everyone is doing good and had a nice weekend and enjoy the turkey day we have this week! Don't get too fat now, lol.
Anyways, I've had a chance to HEAVILY use and test Nexus 4 so I'm ready to write my review and give you impressions and what I do and don't like. I dropped 500 bills+tax $30 at T-Mobile store. They had last one in stock, I couldn't resist so I grabbed the last one. Yeah, I could of waited for Google to re-stock but I had to buy a phone for work right away, extra little extra cash laying around so it's not big of a deal. Keep in mind, before Nexus 4 I had and sold my GT-I9300 Galaxy S3 and also had Note 2 unlocked/International version. I also used/owned Galaxy Nexus.
So, first question a Galaxy Nexus user would ask if LG Nexus 4 is better than GNex. My answer to you is a thousand times YES. Its much faster, the display is better, camera is superb, built is 10x better than Galaxy Nexus. Android JellyBean 4.2 is the BEST mobile operating system, period.
Let's get one thing out there right away. Nexus 4 is without a doubt, the best phone I've ever owned. And it's coming from a Samsung fan who owned GS3/Note 2. I am really impressed with the built of this phone. And I don't know if its me but man the glass quality on this phone is ridiculous. The front glass just shines. As soon as you touch it you can feel the quality, not some cheap glass or plastic. One thing I really, really like is screen touch responsiveness. On my GS3/Note2 as soon as my finger touches screen, whatever gets touched it gets activated. With Nexus 4 you really have to AIM and PRESS what you really wanna touch and launch. This was a problem with my Note 2 and GS3. I was doing something and I accidentally would touch the screen which would screw up whatever I was doing before. So the screen on front is just amazing. The back is also nice, glossy and shiny, mostly unique due to the matrix coding underneath the glass. One problem with the back glass its extremely slippery. I bet tons of people will be breaking their Nexus 4's just because they are hard to keep in hand without a good case or a bumper which is a MUST for this phone. I don't have case nor bumper but I need to get a good one, so if someone knows a good case/bumper (quality made) please let me know. I just wish we didn't have to use case/bumper to hide the beauty of todays phones.
So the build and quality of the phone is SUPERB. But you drop this phone once and its a wrap. NEXT, I will talk about display.
Being a fan of Samsung and their screens I will say this. Nexus 4 screen is just a MILLIONS times better than any SuperAMOLED HD PenTile or Captivate display. The one and only display that will always be the best in my mind is SuperAmoled Plus. I wish Samsung made SuperAMOLED+HD now that would be a screen, but this TrueHD IPS LCD 2 Display is just much better. I compared GS3/Note2 to Nexus 4 screen quality and everything in Nexus 4 looks better. Colors are more "natural" and crisp. Also, I didn't notice any difference in BLACK/White levels between the two. But other colors Nexus 4 takes the cake. SuperAMOLED HD PenTile shows more vibrant colors but VIBRANT doesn't mean BETTER. I can have VIBRANT colors on my Samsung LED TV, but choose to display 55-60% of the color which gives it natural, realistic color where SuperAMOLED HD PenTile display feels like I have 80% or higher color on my TV. So being a fan of Samsung and SuperAMOLED screens, I can safely say TrueHD IPS LCD 2 display is just MAGICAL. You cannot see any pixels and I don't wanna mention RETINA display but Nexus 4 feels like it has Retina display with no pixels whatsoever. Being a smaller screen than GS3 text and everything else looks much sharper and I don't even want to compare it to the Note 2 considering its 5'5 inch screen with much less PPI. So the display of Nexus 4 easily stomps all over Note2/GS3 SuperAMOLED technology.
Next, sound quality. This is really personal choice but to me sound quality is nothing special in Nexus 4. Sometimes, depending on what your listening your speaker might have the robotic effect and not properly give you the high quality sound like GS3/Note would. So the sound is nothing special, medium at its best and cannot compare to GS3 and Note 2. Speaker is a lot louder than Galaxy Nexus though. If anyone knows how to enhance and better sound quality please let me know. Maybe Volume+ app could improve the overall sound quality.
Call quality is very clear and crips. I'm very impressed. Nexus 4 and GS3/Note 2 have just about the same call sound quality.
My BIGGEST problem with Nexus 4 is the battery life. Out of all phones I've used I think battery life is the worst. If you worry about battery life, I can tell you straight up, unless you plan charging your phone a lot, don't get this phone. I'm not a heavy user, have brightness to less than half, don't have many syncs but man the battery just SUCKSSSSS BALLSSSS. GS3/Note 2 ABSOLUTELY destroy Nexus 4 when it comes to battery life. And on top of all this, the battery is non removable which makes things even worse. Your battery at fully charged won't last ONE HOUR if your using GPS for an hour. My Nexus 4 was fully charged 98% and I wen't to a casino which is 1 hour away from my house. I had to use GPS and by the time I arrived at the Casino my battery was at 3% after 1 hour of GPS usage. This is just not acceptable. So the battery life on Nexus 4 is just horrible.
No LTE ? Should I buy Nexus 4 ? And my answer is IT DEPENDS. I live in Boston, and T-Mo HSPA+ is fantastic. Depending where I am, I can get 20+mbps. I have a buddy with Verizons LTE network and sometimes my HSPA+ is faster than his LTE. I have pre-paid account with T-Mo $60 everything unlim + 2gb of HSPA+ which is enough for me. So if you live in area where you get good HSPA+ speeds you won't need LTE trust me and chances are you'll have higher success finding more HSPA+ coverage than LTE anyways. So, Nexus 4 / T-Mobile doesn't have LTE but you will be more than happy with HSPA+. At least I am.
No SD Card ? Should I still buy NEXUS 4 ? Again, it all depends. If you really use sd cards and store a lot of sonds/apps or whatever than you shouldn't buy this phone. I never used SD Card so for me it doesn't matter if it has sd card or not. I use DROPBOX so I'm fine with that.
Now to some basic specs review. The phone is just GS3/Note2 on STEROIDS and Growth Hormone when it comes to speeds. Don't get fooled by benchmark scores. I was a benchmark whore before and wouldn't buy a phone if it didn't have the highest benchmark score but after doing some research I can tell you BENCHMARKS sucks and don't ever judge a phone by benchmarks and only by their quad core processors, judge it by the latest operating system. Nexus 4 is just FASTER and 10x more fluid than my GS3/Note 2. JellyBean 4.2 ProjectButter is where its all at baby. For those of you who are curious about benchmark scores I will just say I get over 5000 on Quadrant after 2nd or 3rd run. But constant score remains about 4800 and up never less. There is NO LAG at all, and everything is just SUPER SUPER smooth when opening and closing things. QuadCORE+2GB of RAM + 4.2 = heaven.
So, what score would I give it to Nexus 4. 8/10. I will take 2 points for battery life/non removable battery and one point for not having an option to use removable sc card (even though I don't use it, its still very important to the community). Everything else on this phone is just fantastic. Even with those 2 points off, I really believe Nexus 4 is the best Android phone right now. Popularity wise not, Galaxy S3/Note 2 will always be more popular and appealing just like iPhone is, but to experts and true Android fans, Nexus 4 is the best phone right now.
AND with all this said, the phone is $349/$299. This alone is better than anything Samsung/Apple have to offer.
And goodluck getting 4.2 on GS3 or Note 2.
Feel free to comment.

GPS kills my GNex too. I never really use it unless i know i am going to charge it soon.

Nice question.
Thanks for this though, good to get an unbiased review.

TL; dr version ?

Let me get this straight, one hour of GPS use killed your battery?

Even with a little sync, data always on, GPS, and half brightness the battery will suffer hugely compared to disabling data when not in use, no sync, GPS off, and lowest brightness .
You could pull a lot better times. Still, I agree the battery seeks to be a disappointment. I believe there is a new governor introduced on the N4 because it only seems to stay at it's highest and lowest values... So with some kernels in development hopefully the. Attery gets better!
Nexus S (GSM i9020a)
AOKP (Milestone 1 - 4.1.2)
Matrix Kernel (24.0 - CFS)
Ondemmand (Screen On) (800/100)
Wheatley (Screen Off) (400/100)
Deep Idle (N/A - Deadline)
BLX (N/A - Inverted Apps)
Black Exodus (Stock Voltage)

dieselfatal said:
Nexus 4 screen is just a MILLIONS times better than any SuperAMOLED HD PenTile or Captivate display.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Caps lock + exaggeration = biased
Still a nice review though.

if it wasn't for the poor battery life which i think will hugely improve with an update from Google, would you choose the Nexus 4 over the Note 2? i am asking because i will paying the price of the Note 2 on this Nexus since i don't have Google Play in my country.

Anubis007 said:
if it wasn't for the poor battery life which i think will hugely improve with an update from Google, would you choose the Nexus 4 over the Note 2? i am asking because i will paying the price of the Note 2 on this Nexus since i don't have Google Play in my country.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nexus. Just wait, once developers start popping out kernels the battery will be better. I've even seen people currently pull 4-5+ hours screen time in 18-22 hours.
Nexus S (GSM i9020a)
AOKP (Milestone 1 - 4.1.2)
Matrix Kernel (24.0 - CFS)
Ondemmand (Screen On) (800/100)
Wheatley (Screen Off) (400/100)
Deep Idle (N/A - Deadline)
BLX (N/A - Inverted Apps)
Black Exodus (Stock Voltage)

you must have a rogue app or something...killing a full battery with gps on for just 1 hour doesn't sound right

Anubis007 said:
if it wasn't for the poor battery life which i think will hugely improve with an update from Google, would you choose the Nexus 4 over the Note 2? i am asking because i will paying the price of the Note 2 on this Nexus since i don't have Google Play in my country.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nexus 4 is a better phone FOR ME and what it has to offer. I had Note 2 before and yes the screen size is nice and all and the S Pen features but Nexus 4 is just better. Faster, snappier and its fast in a good way I cant describe it. And the display cannot be compared. But you will suffer with poor battery life non removable and no SD. This can be fixed. Charge battery more and use DropCloud.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app

Dropbox I meant. DropCloud where did I get this from hahaha
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app

My 2 year old Galaxy S with slimbean 3 owns ur nexus 4.
Seriously though, ud better wipe all the jizz off ur nexus 4 before it does any lasting damage...
Sent from my GT-I9000 using Tapatalk 2

dieselfatal said:
Nexus 4 is a better phone FOR ME and what it has to offer. I had Note 2 before and yes the screen size is nice and all and the S Pen features but Nexus 4 is just better. Faster, snappier and its fast in a good way I cant describe it. And the display cannot be compared. But you will suffer with poor battery life non removable and no SD. This can be fixed. Charge battery more and use DropCloud.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks, it feels good to hear that since many people call me crazy for choosing the Nexus over the Note 2. i don't care for the insane amount of storage since i am no gamer and i don't have thousand of hours of music. i just know this Nexus has a very capable hardware (including battery size) and that's all what matters i guess.

Seems legit thanks for review

knuckles1978 said:
My 2 year old Galaxy S with slimbean 3 owns ur nexus 4.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Except.. not at all.

Great review I am loving mine also.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda premium

knuckles1978 said:
My 2 year old Galaxy S with slimbean 3 owns ur nexus 4.
Seriously though, ud better wipe all the jizz off ur nexus 4 before it does any lasting damage...
Sent from my GT-I9000 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please dont hijack my thread with negative comments bro. This is Nexus 4 section. I make good money so I rock with whatevers the best. Had Note 2 and GS3 was impressed. Nexus 4 dethroned em both. Move on.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app

Anubis007 said:
if it wasn't for the poor battery life which i think will hugely improve with an update from Google, would you choose the Nexus 4 over the Note 2? i am asking because i will paying the price of the Note 2 on this Nexus since i don't have Google Play in my country.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you are paying the same amount gor both phones. Note 2 is a much better and more powerful phone. Pure Android experience is great and all but the features of Note 2 is worth more than just that.
Sent from my GT-N7100

knuckles1978 said:
My 2 year old Galaxy S with slimbean 3 owns ur nexus 4.
Seriously though, ud better wipe all the jizz off ur nexus 4 before it does any lasting damage...
Sent from my GT-I9000 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A wild Samsung fanboy appeared!

Nexus 6/ Mini review

Hi there, bought a galaxy note 3 a couple months back - then bought 4 nexus 5s.. sold 3 which covered the cost of the 4th one.
In short I pretty much got a nexus 5 for free thanks to google's lack of stock.
Coming from the note 3, the nexus 5 felt very nice to use, even with the same internals the N5 felt significantly faster. Not sure whether its due to kitkat optimizations or the lack of bloatwiz.
Been using it for a week so Ive pretty much got my thoughts straight. Build quality is supurb, love the feel in hand, and the thing looks so damn sexy.The screen is lovely, one of the best Ive seen. Camera is okay, dissapointing compared to some of the other flagships but hey, who cares its a smartphone. most of the photos taken will be compressed to use on facebook/instagram. Speaker is also pissweak.. Sound that comes out is quite good, just lacking any sort of volume.
However, the biggest problem for me atleast is the battery life, coming from a note 3 I was used to whacking the thing on charge after a heavies day of use with it still at 50%. With the N5 I can barely get through a whole day.
So here comes my topic: If only the screen was enlarged to phablet territory, and the battery was then boosted (thanks to the bigger chassis) this would be the perfect phone. The camera and speaker failiage I have learnt to live with, but the battery life was sub par (dont get me wrong, its not terrible as far as other phones go.. On par with apples offerings) Imagine a 5.5-6 inch nexus with a bigger battery keeping the same design language. Wowy!
Thoughts?
P.S
Going to keep using the N5 until cyanogen comes out for the note 3.. Touchwiz was too annoying for me.

Riimez said:
Hi there, bought a galaxy note 3 a couple months back - then bought 4 nexus 5s.. sold 3 which covered the cost of the 4th one.
In short I pretty much got a nexus 5 for free thanks to google's lack of stock.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow. Are you proud of doing that? Because of ppl like you the stock is even shorter. People like you get a special place in hell. Hope CM hurries with the Note.
To the topic. Not really a phablet. 5 inch are the max. The N5s battery lasts me more than through one day so no need for a bigger battery here.
Accidentally thanked you...

TobiS87 said:
Wow. Are you proud of doing that? Because of ppl like you the stock is even shorter. People like you get a special place in hell. Hope CM hurries with the Note.
To the topic. Not really a phablet. 5 inch are the max. The N5s battery lasts me more than through one day so no need for a bigger battery here.
Accidentally thanked you...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haha.. Selling them straight away - gives people a chance who missed out on the initial order batch to buy them.. For a small premium of course.
I would have bought one anyway, which means the number of people owning a nexus 5 is the same whether I bought 3 or not

Riimez said:
Haha.. Selling them straight away - gives people a chance who missed out on the initial order batch to buy them.. For a small premium of course.
I would have bought one anyway, which means the number of people owning a nexus 5 is the same whether I bought 3 or not
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wouldn't have missed out if you didn't buy 4, maybe those 3 people went to order behind you hut couldn't because you got three lol
Sent from my SGH-I337 using xda app-developers app

its a bit like the sneaker phenomenon, ppl wait in line to buy shoes then more ppl wait in line cuz they realized they can sell it to make a profit. prices of products become inflated. some products get extremely inflated as in the case of the iphone 5s gold.

Firstly I think you need to edit your title, it's a bit misleading.
But I would not classify the Nexus 5 as having sub par battery life, its got decent battery when compared with devices in its class.
Comparing it's battery life to a bigger device with a significantly bigger battery isn't really a fair comparison.

Riimez said:
Hi there, bought a galaxy note 3 a couple months back - then bought 4 nexus 5s.. sold 3 which covered the cost of the 4th one.
In short I pretty much got a nexus 5 for free thanks to google's lack of stock.
Coming from the note 3, the nexus 5 felt very nice to use, even with the same internals the N5 felt significantly faster. Not sure whether its due to kitkat optimizations or the lack of bloatwiz.
Been using it for a week so Ive pretty much got my thoughts straight. Build quality is supurb, love the feel in hand, and the thing looks so damn sexy.The screen is lovely, one of the best Ive seen. Camera is okay, dissapointing compared to some of the other flagships but hey, who cares its a smartphone. most of the photos taken will be compressed to use on facebook/instagram. Speaker is also pissweak.. Sound that comes out is quite good, just lacking any sort of volume.
However, the biggest problem for me atleast is the battery life, coming from a note 3 I was used to whacking the thing on charge after a heavies day of use with it still at 50%. With the N5 I can barely get through a whole day.
So here comes my topic: If only the screen was enlarged to phablet territory, and the battery was then boosted (thanks to the bigger chassis) this would be the perfect phone. The camera and speaker failiage I have learnt to live with, but the battery life was sub par (dont get me wrong, its not terrible as far as other phones go.. On par with apples offerings) Imagine a 5.5-6 inch nexus with a bigger battery keeping the same design language. Wowy!
Thoughts?
P.S
Going to keep using the N5 until cyanogen comes out for the note 3.. Touchwiz was too annoying for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Screw you ! Blasted hungry animal.... If you had $1600 floating around you could afford to buy just one outright....
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

Someone convince me to skip the Nexus 5

I have a N5 ordered, to be shipped Dec 3.
With shipping, the 32gb comes to $460 CAD. I currently have a N4 16gb that can be sold for $250 I'm guessing.
Since I've been running Rastakat 4.4 on the N4 with ART enabled, it feels really smooth and the battery life also seems improved - almost as much as the N5 battery life estimates.
I do love a nice screen and wouldn't mind the extra pixels on the N5 and having a touch thinner device.
Am I alone in this?

You are not alone
I am seriously considering getting the N5. Since the N4 is close to its 18 month support, I am probably going to upgrade.

Why don't you save the money and buy the next Nexus phone instead? N5 is nice but not worth the $200 upgrade. I also updated my N4 to 4.4 with ART and it is so smooth.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app

If you have the extra money I see no reason not to upgrade. Me personally, I'm gonna wait till next year when they start releasing 64-bit phones, until then I'm fine with my N4

I don't play much videos on the phone, I don't use my Nexus 4 for the sole purpose of web browsing, I don't play many games that require any fancy screen, my Nexus 4 isn't broken.
And I don't feel the $200 upgrade is worth it.
These points sure convinced me when I had to cancel my pre-order.

I'm staying with the n4. The biggest upgrade on the n5 was LTE but the n4 has LTE in Canada (you quoted Canadian prices so I'm assuming you are in Canada)
I'm either getting the next nexus or a n5 when google clears them out next fall
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app

I want it to but to me it is essentially the same device. Look at how buttery smooth the nexus 4 is now in its current state. The biggest killer to me was the fact that the nexus 5 has only a 2300 mah battery. I'm 100% positive if the nexus 5 had also had a 3000 mah battery like the Lg g2, it would have been a guaranteed purchase. As of now, there's really not much we are missing on IMHO. And updates will definitely be here to stay for a while. I hope the nexus 6 does everything right, or that a device comes out in 2014 that meets my requirements. I'm not sure if i want to use a device that does not give me the stock android ui's experience.
If you sell your devicae for 250$ and get the nexus 5, it's only 200$ you're spending that that doesn't seem too bad off, if i could fine someone to buy my nexus 4 (in clean condition, has had a cover as well as screen protector since day of purchase) then i would more than be willing to sell my nexus 4 in favor for a nexus 5. But i can't be bothered searching for a buyer, that's the only reason i'm not doing so. Haha!

shadehh said:
I want it to but to me it is essentially the same device. Look at how buttery smooth the nexus 4 is now in its current state. The biggest killer to me was the fact that the nexus 5 has only a 2300 mah battery. I'm 100% positive if the nexus 5 had also had a 3000 mah battery like the Lg g2, it would have been a guaranteed purchase. As of now, there's really not much we are missing on IMHO. And updates will definitely be here to stay for a while. I hope the nexus 6 does everything right, or that a device comes out in 2014 that meets my requirements. I'm not sure if i want to use a device that does not give me the stock android ui's experience.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree. I still have my Nexus 4 and do not feel N5 is much better. Unfortunately I need Wifi calling at home so I finally bought an LG G2 for $450 from eBay(almost brand new with a manufacturing date of less than 2 months) That is about the same price as a 32GB N5 but with much more. For pure android experience, I have enough from N7, N4, and Nook HD+ on CM 10.1. For Wifi calling, taking pictures, and traveling, LG G2 meets my needs much better due to the camera and larger battery. I wish I could sell my N4 for $250. My local price is down to $150-$200 due to too many people selling it... I might just keep it as a backup phone or test platform.

I also thought about upgrading..but with a 2014 car payment I think I'll skip it.
Running 4.4 and its real nice and smooth.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app

In the nexus 5 forum I'm seeing terrible battery stats compared to n4. Guys are posting as low as 3hrs max screen time, much less than I get on lte. With art I doubt you'll constantly notice a difference between this and the 5.
I will upgrade for 4K recording like note 3, Flex screen or 1440/2160P screen, 3gb ram, and cpu that can beat A7x.
Sent from my SGH-T959 Backup

Got one for my daughter as she was on my old iPhone 4. I used it for a couple of days first. In day to day usage, I can't see any difference tbh. Honestly, wait till N6 so you feel the benefit of the upgrade. Plus the camera (while taking better pictures) is slow as molasses. It's just not that compelling an upgrade and build quality is not nearly the same, it feels bit Samsung-ish...
It's not a bad phone at all, but it's just not that big a jump from N4.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

Nexus 5 is still a 'meh' upgrade. The spec bump is nice but it could, no, should've been better. Especially the battery, that part is a big turn off. Design wise, though fragile, Nexus 4 still looks sexier.
A lot of interesting things are gonna happen in 2014, I'd wait till mid 2014 to see what to upgrade to.
Sent from my blazing fast Nexus 4

I wanted the n5 solely for the camera and 32gb storage. I'm debating on if I should upgrade. I kept my n4 in near perfect condition so I can get 200+ for it. But I'm still not sure if I want to spend basically $225, which is a good deal imo, but I also like hoarding my money
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app

It's your money, buy it if you want, if not don't buy it.

I always try and come up with reasons what I would change in my current phone/gadget and see how the phone I am considering fares with the new needs.
So if I were to look at the N4 i'd change:
- Battery life
- Camera
- Slightly bigger screen
- Louder speaker
- Louder ear piece speaker
- More space (32gb)
So speed wise its great. It's smooth and I doubt I need a processor bump that much. I dont need LTE.
So lets see how the N5 stacks up:
- Battery - marginally better. Or maybe even not.
- Camera - sure it's better in theory. But reading reviews makes me think that I will be changing something that is horrible to something that is simply isn't very good.
- Screen seems to be a big improvement, but again viewing angles seem to have been a bit meh
- Speaker on the N5 is actually quiter than the one in N4, so a big no no
- Earpiece speaker on the N5 doesnt seem to be any better than in the N4, only maybe there is no N4 static.
- N5 sold where I am from come only in 16gb versions, so...
So following logic and not the simple desire of owning a new gadget, I will be skipping the N5. It simply isnt the phone that will make me replace my N4

Depends on what you expect to use your N5. I personally will stay with N4 until it dies

Personally, I wait for the N6. The N5 is nice and has stunning specs, but it lacks the 'wow-factor'. Nothing wows me on that phone. Yeh, the screen is nice and the SoC is a beast, but still, it lacks something special. Something unique.

One of my friends bought the N5 and I could use it for some time. My first opinion was that it is not a great upgrade for me. My N4 is still a great phone. Its smoth, quick, no lags and I can run every app that I need.
Unless the build a better battery which a big improvement I wont buy a new Phone.
For me it´s not worth the 200+ $ but its your desicion.

I have a N4 and had the N5 for a week. I decided to return it because the new email app has a bug which doesn't allow anyone to use Exchange email - endless sync loop which doesn't push new messages and kills the battery. I personally couldn't get Exchange email on my phone and that was a deal breaker. Take a look and you'll see numerous threads about it and not much of a response from Google.

Just bought a new house, wife's going crazy buying furniture, shopping for the wife's luxury SUV, and our first kid is due in less than 2 months.
I'll survive without an upgrade this year.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app

Confessions from a Nexus 5/former Galaxy Nexus User

When I got my Galaxy Nexus (GN) it was sheer happiness. I was using a legacy Nokia Symbian candy bar and this was my first foray into unmolested Android. While all was not perfect with the GN, I was still mostly pleased. Then the fateful day occurred when I dropped the GN a little too hard and the screen shattered even though the phone was protected by a Diztronic TPU case. I now needed a new phone, but I knew the Nexus 5 (N5) would be out soon, so I kept using my shattered GN until the N5 was available and when it arrived, I realized cracking my screen was a blessing in disguise.
Without further ado, my quick major comparisons to the GN:
The N5 is FAST. REALLY FAST. It makes my GN feel like an unfinished prototype/research model that should have never been brought to market.
The N5’s GPS locks on quickly. REALLY quickly. My GN could take a minute or more at times to get a lock and, by then, my wife, annoyed, would whip out her iPhone and tell me my phone sucks.
The N5 has “awesome battery life.” While its battery life is average in general, compared to the GN it is legendary. The GN’s screen and data connection would kill the battery and it would rarely last till the afternoon if I frequently used both. With the N5 I can make heavy use of my screen and data connection and my battery will likely last the day.
Qi support. This makes number 3 above even better and there’s no jamming of Micro-USB ports into the phone and hoping I didn’t have the port upside-down (particularly when it’s dark/at night). When I’m at my desk, my phone is always charging. When a call comes in, I simple pick up the phone and then put it back down to charge when I’m done—nothing to plug in/I’m untethered. When I leave my desk for an hour or three, I have no fear of using or pushing the phone as hard as I’d like as I know I’m probably fully charged, because the phone was sitting on the charger, and I’ll have more than enough battery life for whatever I might encounter. Qi is simply elegant and something the iPhone can’t do.
LTE. While I got decent “4G” speeds on the GN—around 8Mbps down—the 20+/30+Mbps I get now alongside far better PING times is a great improvement.
The N5 has almost zero lag. It’s really that fast. My GN was almost all lag. Project Butter improved things, but the GN still has lag all over the place. I’m sure the N5 will start to slow down as newer software makes greater demands of the hardware, but, for now, this thing flies.
If you’re still using a GN, stop. It sucks, particularly when compared to a modem smart phone. Get the N5 and stop having your wife/girlfriend tell you your phone sucks, because it does.
Cheers.

lol, i loved my galaxy nexus! it demolished my nexus s i speed. but when i got my nexus 4, it just blew away the gnex in speed and performance. but then i got the nexus 5.. it makes the nexus 4 feel like a childs toy

Amen to all that.
But to be fair, the GNex was pretty good for its time--it was roughly in the same class as its contemporary, the Galaxy S II (just as the N5 is with the LG G2). But of course the N5 is so much faster and smoother and an all round better smartphone. A few things that I still feel the GNex is better though--it feels more comfortable holding the GNex than the N5 because the GNex is more rounded while the N5 has sharper edges. I still prefer the audio jack placement on the GNex. And I miss slightly the removable battery--my GNex had the official extended battery. But these are small issues compared to the vast improvements that the N5 brings.

I also agree with all of this. I came from a Galaxy Nexus as well, and I loved that phone. Even now, it was "fast enough" and the battery lasted "long enough" and it was a solid working device. I had a Nexus One before that, so I was starting a pattern of skipping every other Nexus phone, so it was time to buy the Nexus 5.
My experience exactly matches every one of your points. Battery life and overall speed are by far the biggest differences I've noticed. I'm as happy with this phone as I was when I upgraded to the GNex two years ago.

I actually was very happy with my gnex, i did end up getting the nexus 5 and very happy i did, cant go wrong with stock android kit kat

Better than my nexus 4
Having never owned the gnex, or its predecessors, the N4 was my first Nexus device. That being said I was shocked at how much better the N5 is. particularly in signal strength. on H+ there wasn't a single place in Toledo that I could get above 95 dbm. and my house was regularly 117Dbm or lower. Now (after flashing back to the xxx.xxx.17 modem) I see about 100dbm in my house on LTE and consistently around 80 on H+!!! The .23 modem that came with 4.4.1 KILLED MY SIGNAL!
I really think Lg/ Google skimped with the hardware on the N4. Yea the processor was great for the time and the phone will hold its own for another couple of years.
But after about a week of enjoying that flashy glass back i was too paranoid about walking around with a piece of fine china to enjoy my device. I always thought the back was more suited for a girl anyway, besides the fact that after armoring your phone in a rugged case to protect the stupid glass back, you couldn't see it anyway.
All in all the N5 is a joy. People complaining about the speaker must not have had a nexus 4. And who cares about "loose" buttons the ceramic tactile feel of them makes up for it.:laugh:

simms22 said:
lol, i loved my galaxy nexus! it demolished my nexus s i speed. but when i got my nexus 4, it just blew away the gnex in speed and performance. but then i got the nexus 5.. it makes the nexus 4 feel like a childs toy
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Click to collapse
I second this post. I was EXTREMELY proud of my nexus 4...until I got the nexus 5...the size difference and battery life make the nexus 4 feel like a toy. Very well put Simms.

Agreed on all counts. The galnex spec sheet was outdated within four months. I'm just glad I rode my vzw contract out and gave them the bird for t-mobile (pre-paid) and the nexus5.
good day.

Having owned pretty much every Nexus device since the GNex ( GNex, N4, N5 and N7) the N5 simply blows them all away, and I really loved the N4.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

The GNEX was garbage even when it was current!
The N5 is a rocking piece of kit.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

Well... I have both phones and can agree with most of this, but how about this "awesome battery life" and LTE?
It is really not bad... except when LTE mode is activated and LTE network is found. It looks like battery drain on LTE is almost the same in active use and in sleep - and phone is warm all the time. Almost like some kind of hand warmer - handy at winter.
Better Battery stats and everything else confirms, that phone is in deep sleep, but battery graph falls with same speed in active use and deep sleep state - and this is on almost "bearable" LTE signal (-80...-90 dBm). Drain stops immediately, when mobile network mode is switched to 3G.
Will try out other network when I go to christmas vacation. Maybe this is some kind of network issue.

nmt1900 said:
...and phone is warm all the time. Like some kind of hand warmer - handy at winter.
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Click to collapse
Weird. My phone is only warm when charging.

Good riddance to this POS phone. Can't wait to activate my n5 on T-Mobile!
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

BinkXDA said:
Weird. My phone is only warm when charging.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It might be some network issue. Will know little more next week, when phone can be tested with other operator in another country.

Switch from iP4 to GNex -- I was happy to switch over to android
Switch from GNex - N5 -- insanely estatic and sheer satisfaction -- blazing speeds, HD screen

I have the Galaxy Nexus and to be quite honest with you I still use the sh*t out of it. I found it to be a great device. I wonder when Samsung gets the Nexus contract again what they will have in store for us.
I have a soft spot for it since it was my first Nexus and it had a good amount of storage space 32gb. Since I have tabs and phones I use them all for different things. I use my Nexus 7 for gaming, my Galaxy Nexus for audiobooks and multimedia, and my Nexus 5 for everything else. Overall I love my Nexus 5 and Galaxy Nexus..heck I'm downloading a ROM for them now!
Cheers
---------- Post added at 01:16 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:03 AM ----------
I have the Galaxy Nexus and to be quite honest with you I still use the sh*t out of it. I found it to be a great device. I wonder when Samsung gets the Nexus contract again what they will have in store for us.
I have a soft spot for it since it was my first Nexus and it had a good amount of storage space 32gb. Since I have tabs and phones I use them all for different things. I use my Nexus 7 for gaming, my Galaxy Nexus for audiobooks and multimedia, and my Nexus 5 for everything else. Overall I love my Nexus 5 and Galaxy Nexus..heck I'm downloading a ROM for them now!
Cheers

I also had a GN but I was always annoyed by it's overall slowness. For me there was only minor improvement compared to my former Nexus One.
After just half of a year later I got my N4 and was much happier with it, than with Gslug Nexus.
The N5 is even better than the N4, but compared to the Change from GN to N4 the change is not that dramatic. The only advantages of the GN were its look and feel (which is in my opinion the best out there) and its robustness.
The only disadvantage right now is, that there are only a few usable and very limited Custom Roms for the N5 because of KitKat but this is only a temporary problem.
BinkXDA said:
When I got my Galaxy Nexus (GN) it was sheer happiness. I was using a legacy Nokia Symbian candy bar and this was my first foray into unmolested Android. While all was not perfect with the GN, I was still mostly pleased. Then the fateful day occurred when I dropped the GN a little too hard and the screen shattered even though the phone was protected by a Diztronic TPU case. I now needed a new phone, but I knew the Nexus 5 (N5) would be out soon, so I kept using my shattered GN until the N5 was available and when it arrived, I realized cracking my screen was a blessing in disguise.
Without further ado, my quick major comparisons to the GN:
The N5 is FAST. REALLY FAST. It makes my GN feel like an unfinished prototype/research model that should have never been brought to market.
The N5’s GPS locks on quickly. REALLY quickly. My GN could take a minute or more at times to get a lock and, by then, my wife, annoyed, would whip out her iPhone and tell me my phone sucks.
The N5 has “awesome battery life.” While its battery life is average in general, compared to the GN it is legendary. The GN’s screen and data connection would kill the battery and it would rarely last till the afternoon if I frequently used both. With the N5 I can make heavy use of my screen and data connection and my battery will likely last the day.
Qi support. This makes number 3 above even better and there’s no jamming of Micro-USB ports into the phone and hoping I didn’t have the port upside-down (particularly when it’s dark/at night). When I’m at my desk, my phone is always charging. When a call comes in, I simple pick up the phone and then put it back down to charge when I’m done—nothing to plug in/I’m untethered. When I leave my desk for an hour or three, I have no fear of using or pushing the phone as hard as I’d like as I know I’m probably fully charged, because the phone was sitting on the charger, and I’ll have more than enough battery life for whatever I might encounter. Qi is simply elegant and something the iPhone can’t do.
LTE. While I got decent “4G” speeds on the GN—around 8Mbps down—the 20+Mbps I get now alongside far better PING times is a great improvement.
The N5 has almost zero lag. It’s really that fast. My GN was almost all lag. Project Butter improved things, but the GN still has lag all over the place. I’m sure the N5 will start to slow down as newer software makes greater demands of the hardware, but, for now, this thing flies.
If you’re still using a GN, stop. It sucks, particularly when compared to a modem smart phone. Get the N5 and stop having your wife/girlfriend tell you your phone sucks, because it does.
Cheers.
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Click to collapse

To be honest, none of the custom roms are impressive or better than stock on a Nexus device. There are many custom roms but that's only cause it's way easier to develop for a Nexus device than it is for non stock Android devices. And unfortunately most of the roms are identical with very minor variances as well as being pure garbage.
The roms that add features are worth looking at but so far non are as stable as stock.
I used to own 2x GNEX at the same time. One flashed with every top custom rom available and the other pure stock. As nice as some of the added features the custom roms had and as fast as the custom kernels seemed to be, the roms weren't stable and the kernels started bogging down in a few days.
The stock phone never slowed down and performed consistently till the end.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that on a Nexus, stock is best cause it's built by the best developers already....
I've used custom roms on all my other Android phones but will not be on my N5 based on my custom rom experience on the GNEX!
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

Elisha said:
To be honest, none of the custom roms are impressive or better than stock on a Nexus device. There are many custom roms but that's only cause it's way easier to develop for a Nexus device than it is for non stock Android devices. And unfortunately most of the roms are identical with very minor variances as well as being pure garbage.
The roms that add features are worth looking at but so far non are as stable as stock.
I used to own 2x GNEX at the same time. One flashed with every top custom rom available and the other pure stock. As nice as some of the added features the custom roms had and as fast as the custom kernels seemed to be, the roms weren't stable and the kernels started bogging down in a few days.
The stock phone never slowed down and performed consistently till the end.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that on a Nexus, stock is best cause it's built by the best developers already....
I've used custom roms on all my other Android phones but will not be on my N5 based on my custom rom experience on the GNEX!
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Seems like you never tried Franco Kernel.
Gesendet von meinem Nexus 5 mit Tapatalk

tr1cky1 said:
Seems like you never tried Franco Kernel.
Gesendet von meinem Nexus 5 mit Tapatalk
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Click to collapse
I have. I even bought the app when I had the GNEX.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

note 5 upgrade

Looking to upgrade to the NOTE 5. But not sure if it would be worth it yet. I do like the display and that is usually the biggest reason for me. NOTE 4 display still looks hot and roms for note 5 are starting to roll out. What do you think?

Depends. Do you value expandable storage, removable battery, and IR? If so then the note 5 would not be a good upgrade. I personally think the note 4 is still a top of the line device, its not even a year old yet. IMO the note 5 feels more like a sidegrade than an upgrade.

Do it battery sucks on the note 4 I get anywhere from 3-3 1/2 hours I'm upgrading to the note 5 cuz honestly the lack of sd storage and non removable battery actually sounds like a plus right now
Sent from my SM-N910T using XDA Free mobile app

I'm actually getting the note 5 I was told you get twice the battery life compared to the note 4 so 6 hrs would be amazing lol
Sent from my SM-N910T using XDA Free mobile app

Battery life depends on the user . 6hr sot is wishful thinking if you use your phone. If you don't do alot on your phone then i can see that but why would you buy a note . I rather get that new Huawei nexus at half the price. Anything over a 1,000 is just wasted money if you have a note 4 ,the note 5 is better but not 1,000 better no way.

kabuk1 said:
Depends. Do you value expandable storage, removable battery, and IR? If so then the note 5 would not be a good upgrade. I personally think the note 4 is still a top of the line device, its not even a year old yet. IMO the note 5 feels more like a sidegrade than an upgrade.
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Click to collapse
i actually have to agree here, i upgraded to the note 5 for a total of 3 weeks, and i found that i REALLY missed having 140gb of storage on my device.
not to mention the ir remote for my tv and some other ir devices. im not sure how you getting 3h of battery life on the device though... i have CM12 on my n910w8 and i get home to a decent 35% at the end of the day with med heavy use. i can see if you are using gps then 3h would seem about right. i cant think of any other ways of how one would drain the battery so quickly.

I think people should start saying they "updated" to the 5 instead of "upgrading." We all know not all updates are upgrades. Lollipop 5.0.x is an example of that. It doesn't just extend to software either.
Sent from my SM-N910T using XDA Free mobile app

yup i do value my sd card i think i will stick with note 4 for now

rile1564 said:
I think people should start saying they "updated" to the 5 instead of "upgrading." We all know not all updates are upgrades. Lollipop 5.0.x is an example of that. It doesn't just extend to software either.
Sent from my SM-N910T using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sidegraded & downgraded are also exceptional words for that pos phone as well
Sent from my SM-N910T using Tapatalk

Honestly without the SD Card and the battery makes it feel too much like the iPhone. If Galaxy phones are your thing go with the note 5, but at this point I would just get the iPhone. Samsung's trying so hard to COPY the iPhone why not just the original thing? lol
Really disappointed in the note 5, a lot of spen problems from what i hear as well.

Note 5 has no IR blaster - that I can live without. But no external microSD card and no removable battery? Sorry those are deal killers for me, I will not buy one because of this. Yes it would be nice to have the faster processor and the 4gig RAM instead of 3GIG rRAM does make it tempting ..plus it does have a better camera too. But these things ...at least for me...do not out weigh my need for microSD card and removable battery - so it's just not worth spending the money on it.