Galaxy Nexus vs. iPhone 4S

[onthecouchagain]

I have both a 4S and Nexus in My hand ....... Don't see the ICS Keyboard better,the touch response of the iPhone is unmatched. While the Nexus seems to be a really nice phone the reception and battery life is atrocious .

I suppose everyone's experience will be different. When I had the iPhone 4 I found it missed a lot of key presses resulting in unintentional auto corrects or just general typos. It just didn't seem like it was able to keep up typing wise. The touch response is near perfect every where else on the phone. Just when thumbing fast it missed keys. I'm not finding the same thing happening with ics. The auto correct should be commended again.

 

[pjo]

snyc minus cloud/exchange

One thing I haven't seen mentioned is there doesn't seem to be a way to sync android phones with your Mac without hopping either via gmail or exchange. (someone can hit me with a clue-bat if I've missed this).

 

[entatlrg]

After using the ice cream sandwich keyboard I can easily say it is leagues above iOS'. Its more responsive and the auto correct is stunning. It even recognizes when you accidentally type "hibthere" and know you mean "hi there". Its genuinely difficult to make a typo.

Ice cream sandwich overall is really special.

Interesting, I thought the Nexus keyboard sucked, nor did I care for ics at all, bought my nexus last Friday, returned it a few days ago.

 

[Neverbepeace]

Was on my way to picking the galaxy nexus......but before buying, I played with the demo........it's a nice looking phone.....sexy as hell.....fast......nice screen......but the phone is HUGE! LOL

after testing the phone, I walked out the store empty handed


I couldn't get over the size of the phone.....that is my only con. Then I looked at my 4S and the screen appeared small to me


4-4.3 should be the max size of a phone.....4.6 is going tablet status.

Debating on buying a samsung galaxy s II now hmmmm

 

[NewYork88]

Taking My Nexus back in the Morning ....... Loved everything about the Phone except Battery and Reception..... kinda important... Love ICS,display,size. Could have been a keeper but if anyone claims reception or battery life close to a 4S they are crazy!

 

[thenerdal]

4-4.3 should be the max size of a phone.....4.6 is going tablet status.

The screen on the Galaxy Nexus is 4.6 inches, but you have to remember that there are no physical buttons and that it's part of the screen. So, the buttons take up part of the 4.6 inch screen, meaning, that it's basically a 4.3 inch screen.

An example:

 

[Neverbepeace]

The screen on the Galaxy Nexus is 4.6 inches, but you have to remember that there are no physical buttons and that it's part of the screen. So, the buttons take up part of the 4.6 inch screen, meaning, that it's basically a 4.3 inch screen.

An example:
Image

Good point....might reconsider now

 

[thenerdal]

Good point....might reconsider now

Yeah, don't let the extra .2 inches fool you.

 

[mysterioustko]

Ok, I'll bite.

Yes I can tether and I don't pay extra, I was using it one day ago. Free google nav no, free mapquest nav yes (same thing, I've used both). Installing non app store apps is a choice and if you want that you can jailbreak but not everyone wants to install non app store apps, just like android there is a choice but apple makes it more difficult doesn't mean it can't be done. Actually it does but it sucks it's on the back cause it uses the camera flash but not all androids have led notifications. Samsung doesn't and the nexus just got one (previous models did not). As for 4G if you mean real 4G ie LTE there aren't a lot of phones that can do that and since it's new the battery life is terrible. If you think the nexus is 4G you got anther thing coming its max is HSDPA 21 Mbps while the 4s is 14 Mbps, in real life you won't notice I bet (except for Verizon, I think that's LTE but the more popular version will be the gsm model around the world)

Same things just different ways. The way you think is better to do things will ultimately make that phone better for you and you will say it is better but they do the same stuff in different ways.

For the sake of argument and accurate information I'll deposit my two cents. I have to agree with the other guy, they don't do the same things. There is a plethora of things that can be done on the Galaxy Nexus that can't be done on the 4s. I will not make an exhaustive list but I will throw a few things out. But to start off, I will address a couple things that were already mentioned. Mapquest's nav app and google nav aren't on the same footing. Google nav is integrated into the OS which gives a little more functionality in other apps than what you can get from mapquest's app. As for LED notifications, iphone does not have a led notification light, and flashing camera flash is nowhere near the same thing. That being said here's just a quick list of things that can be on the GNex that can't be done on the 4s (this is by no means an exhaustive list, this is just off the top of my head).
1. Transfer files via bluetooth
2. Pay for things using the phone (nfc, and yes I use it almost everyday)
3. Write nfc tags (this is useful to create nfc based events, for example placing my phone in a universal car mount with a nfc sticker will cause it to turn off wifi and go into car mode.
4. Connect phone to television and play video games using playstation controller. The phone is the console and it's all output on the TV and you're playing using the playstation controller. BTW this is great when using onlive and really comes in handy in hotels and you need to pass the time or have kids with you.
5. Social network integration other than twitter. Some of us don't like twitter and would much rather use facebook for example. I can have OS wide integration of any social networking platform.
6. Ability to control what apps can use data, and control how much data my phone uses.
7. Though the led was mentioned I'm going to mention, the fact that I can use rgb led alerts. Meaning I can make the led whatever color I want to for whichever alert I want to.
8. Specific alert types for specific things.
9. USB host. I can connect various usb devices to my phone using an adapter.
10. Ability to not use any storage space on the device yet have every song, movie, and photo available to me as if it were stored locally.
11. Interapp integration. Certain things from one app will be available in other apps and throughout the OS. For example, evernote, dropbox, and many others.

This is by no means an exhaustive list. These are just some things off the top of my head.

 

[hh83917]

I think it's all subjective. If someone bought an iPhone or Android phone to begin with, it's less likely that they would switch to android considering the App's one already invested in the iTunes or the Android Marketplace.

I used to jailbreak my iphone 3g and after a while, I restored it back because I just didn't have time to mess with it. I just want it to work reliably and not wait for "safe release" before I do an iOS update. Now with the 4S, I just use it as it is and it's been working fine for me.

I've had an unlocked HTC Desire I use while traveling in Asia and stopped using it when I return to the States. It's nice to have the customization and all, but in the end, I didn't really care for customization. Having the screen setup one way or another, and the background and icons, doesn't really do much for me. It's not a computer, that there's TBs of files and thousands of programs I need access to and is hard to find. There's only so much menu on a phone OS, Android or iOS. Once you know where it is, for me, it's fairly easy to get to in a couple taps.

And for the graphics and screen size part, I think it'll matter more on a tablet or netbook type device. For a phone, tell you the truth, I won't be playing games 24/7 on it. I need the battery life for incoming phone calls. And usually the bigger the screen, the lower the battery life. Maybe I'm getting old and don't know what's the fuss is about.

In conclusion, I think it all come down to the phone OS. I felt if you like how either Android or iOS works, and have bought apps on it, then stick with it, so you don't waste that extra cash you've spent on it. And those $0.99 do add up to a hefty sum. And seriously, if someone is into smartphone, they would have switch phones at least every 2-3 years, it's just human nature.

 

[mysterioustko]

Taking My Nexus back in the Morning ....... Loved everything about the Phone except Battery and Reception..... kinda important... Love ICS,display,size. Could have been a keeper but if anyone claims reception or battery life close to a 4S they are crazy!

I guess I'm crazy....I easily get through a day of use on my phone. With light use I've gotten about 29 hours. But since I charge my phone every evening that really doesn't matter. As long as my phone can go 12-15 hours I'm good, which it does with ease.

 

[kevinof]

Agreed. I have a Galaxy Nexus and an i4 and I get through the whole day on the Nexus. I wake at 7 and at midnight I have on average 30-40% left. As I charge it overnight that works just fine for me. I make an average of 2 hours of voice calls each day and who knows what texting/email/browsing etc. More than happy.

I think the iphone 4 still has better battery. Some of that is the smaller screen (big screens take big power) but i also suspect that Apples being in control of both the hardware and the OS they are able to optimize the two to better manage the power usage.

I guess I'm crazy....I easily get through a day of use on my phone. With light use I've gotten about 29 hours. But since I charge my phone every evening that really doesn't matter. As long as my phone can go 12-15 hours I'm good, which it does with ease.

 

[Shockwave78]

I returned my Nexus after about 24hrs and 4 full charge cycles from 0% to 100% (on purpose for the most part)...

The phone is a absolute beast and Apple is going to have some serious competition with the next gen android devices. I am an iphone user from day 1 and the Nexus I would say is all around a better phone than the 4s EXCEPT for battery life. But from what i am hearing from many android users over there is that it takes a good full week until your battery is fully in sync with the phone. It could be showing you 10% charge left but it actually has 40 or 50%+ . I would have given it the full week if i knew this! With the iphones iphones its the same thing your battery will get better over the first week but the differences are not that large.

A few observations -

1. I know what all the fuss is now about with the android notification system. It is unbelievable and its in my mind constantly now since i have experienced it and I may purchase the phone again just for that alone

2. ICS is as smooth as iOS all around, no choppiness at all, no lag..

3. Adjusting system settings are quick and easy, very nice...

4. 4G LTE on Verion is just sick, i was averaging around 20mb down/10mb up consistently with about half of my testing running 30mbs down many times

5. I did not have any reception issues as others have said, it was much much better than my iphone 4 especially indoors.

6. The built in browser I was not to fond of, mainly because of how bookmarks were laid out, it took like 2 or 3 clicks to get to them, then they were tiles. I was recommended to get dolphin browsers which was great and would have served as the replacement until it stopped working(not compatible yet)

7. When you sign into google while setting the phone up...It takes every google account you set up ever and puts it on the phone...I ended up going to my photo gallery and saw my 30gb of pictures i uploaded to picasa! pretty cool!

8. The camera is slightly better than the iphone 4 i would say, the SLR type shooting pictures speed is nice but most come out blurry. The shutter speed is just to fast, but when you take just one pic like we do with our iphones is great and then gives you multiple options to upload it to many many photo sites/social networks.

9. Google music works great on it, takes maybe 2-3 seconds to load an album for the first time, after that it was instant every time i went to it.

10.Visual voicemail...I was worried about this not having it, but I went to the app store and Verizon had an app for it...Its basically a seperate icon on your screen wherever you put it and you click on that for your voicemails, it is not built into the dialer, I actually preferred it this way after using the phone for awhile

 

[SurferMan]

Was on my way to picking the galaxy nexus......but before buying, I played with the demo........it's a nice looking phone.....sexy as hell.....fast......nice screen......but the phone is HUGE! LOL

after testing the phone, I walked out the store empty handed


I couldn't get over the size of the phone.....that is my only con. Then I looked at my 4S and the screen appeared small to me


4-4.3 should be the max size of a phone.....4.6 is going tablet status.

Debating on buying a samsung galaxy s II now hmmmm

This is the reason I got the SGII, the AT&T version is 4.3" (the others are larger), when I've tried other phones with bigger screens they just felt noticeably more bulky and large, haven't played with the new Nexus though. But the 4.3" SGII was designed real well in terms of screen size and phone size, barely larger then an iPhone and more ergonomic shape to use/hold. Plus it has a way better camera then the Nexus, no idea why they stuck that low end camera in a flagship phone? The 4S and SGII cam's blow it away.

Plus we're going to be able to flash ICS soon on it, no need to wait for Samsung/AT&T to release updates even though they said this will be their first phone in the line to get that update. I'm pry going to flash UnNamed though as that seems to be the best rom and it's stable, battery life even improved which is already excellent and better then the 3GS and 4S (similar to my 4 in my use though the 4 still has better standby then pretty much any phone).

Two things took me a bit to get used to, the power button on the side (I still hit the top like an iPhone sometimes lol), and the Capacitive buttons (still find myself pressing and forgetting it has no home button like the iPhone once in awhile lol), but the Capacitive button's are really cool and when you long press them you get access to other settings/menus etc.

I returned my Nexus after about 24hrs and 4 full charge cycles from 0% to 100% (on purpose for the most part)...

The phone is a absolute beast and Apple is going to have some serious competition with the next gen android devices. I am an iphone user from day 1 and the Nexus I would say is all around a better phone than the 4s EXCEPT for battery life. But from what i am hearing from many android users over there is that it takes a good full week until your battery is fully in sync with the phone. It could be showing you 10% charge left but it actually has 40 or 50%+ . I would have given it the full week if i knew this! With the iphones iphones its the same thing your battery will get better over the first week but the differences are not that large.

A few observations -

1. I know what all the fuss is now about with the android notification system. It is unbelievable and its in my mind constantly now since i have experienced it and I may purchase the phone again just for that alone

2. ICS is as smooth as iOS all around, no choppiness at all, no lag..

3. Adjusting system settings are quick and easy, very nice...

4. 4G LTE on Verion is just sick, i was averaging around 20mb down/10mb up consistently with about half of my testing running 30mbs down many times

5. I did not have any reception issues as others have said, it was much much better than my iphone 4 especially indoors.

6. The built in browser I was not to fond of, mainly because of how bookmarks were laid out, it took like 2 or 3 clicks to get to them, then they were tiles. I was recommended to get dolphin browsers which was great and would have served as the replacement until it stopped working(not compatible yet)

7. When you sign into google while setting the phone up...It takes every google account you set up ever and puts it on the phone...I ended up going to my photo gallery and saw my 30gb of pictures i uploaded to picasa! pretty cool!

8. The camera is slightly better than the iphone 4 i would say, the SLR type shooting pictures speed is nice but most come out blurry. The shutter speed is just to fast, but when you take just one pic like we do with our iphones is great and then gives you multiple options to upload it to many many photo sites/social networks.

9. Google music works great on it, takes maybe 2-3 seconds to load an album for the first time, after that it was instant every time i went to it.

10.Visual voicemail...I was worried about this not having it, but I went to the app store and Verizon had an app for it...Its basically a seperate icon on your screen wherever you put it and you click on that for your voicemails, it is not built into the dialer, I actually preferred it this way after using the phone for awhile

Yeh the Android system seems to have a "learning" curve for the battery after like a week or so. You have to do the calibration settings that others have on other forums. My battery life was so-so at first, then I calibrated, now it's excellent. What happens is sometimes the system reads it wrong and like you said it may show 10% when you really have 40% left and then shuts down when you get lower.

Samething like on the Macbook Pros, I've had to calibrate and track with Coconut Battery when sometimes the laptop doesn't get normal life out of the battery usually every couple of months I check. It wouldn't display the correct reading for charge and would die sooner as it goes off those readings.

 

[onthecouchagain]

The UI of ICS is incredibly enjoyable to use. Everything, from the basic home screens, to the screen while in call. It all feels both modern and futuristic. A lot of things finally make sense and feel intuitive. Kudos to Google.

However, there is still room for improvements (e.g., iCS is still a tiny hair laggier than iOS), but ICS is indeed special. I think Engadget said it the best: "ICS may not win anti-Android users over, but it'll make Android users very very happy." Indeed, it's the first time since leaving the iPhone 4 that I feel confident staying with Android.

I'm really interested to see what iOS will bring. In the mean time, I dare say give ICS a try.

 

[BrandoFiasco]

I agree, ICS is very very smooth, the smoothest Android i have ever used. My brother got one yesterday so i was testing it out and comparing it side-by-side to my IP4, paging through the app drawer (loaded with over 80 apps) and home pages is just as smooth as iOS. I did not notice it was a tiny hair laggier in the pulse app and when using pinch-to-zoom.

Something that always bugs me on Android (no fault of the the Nexus) is there is no right-side alphabet navigation column in contacts and the music app like there is in iOS. I find that very useful.

Overall the phone is very sleek and sexy, the front face has no hardware buttons or ugly branding so it looks very clean. Verizon 4G is beast. Im thinking about picking one up, but still debating.

My $.02

 

[ChazUK]

Something that always bugs me on Android (no fault of the the Nexus) is there is no right-side alphabet navigation column in contacts and the music app like there is in iOS. I find that very useful.

If you hold your finger on the blue scrollbar to the right of the screen and scroll up or down, you get an alphabetical tab that goes through each initial of the alphabet for you.

 

[Shockwave78]

I agree, ICS is very very smooth, the smoothest Android i have ever used. My brother got one yesterday so i was testing it out and comparing it side-by-side to my IP4, paging through the app drawer (loaded with over 80 apps) and home pages is just as smooth as iOS. I did not notice it was a tiny hair laggier in the pulse app and when using pinch-to-zoom.

Something that always bugs me on Android (no fault of the the Nexus) is there is no right-side alphabet navigation column in contacts and the music app like there is in iOS. I find that very useful.

Overall the phone is very sleek and sexy, the front face has no hardware buttons or ugly branding so it looks very clean. Verizon 4G is beast. Im thinking about picking one up, but still debating.

My $.02

I may buy it again...Its a huge decision really..I was charged $35 already for a restocking fee on the 1st one. I'd hate to return it a second time and pay another $35.

The biggest thing holding me back i guess is the stereo in my truck, its a Pioneer X930BT and has build in ipod/pandaro/aha radio and is great..I will lose all that unless i spend another $100 or so on an ipod, or just keep my iphone 4 for it but then i am really am paying $650(now $700) without the sale of the iphone 4 to make up the cost.

oh what to do

 

[lilcosco08]

Taking My Nexus back in the Morning ....... Loved everything about the Phone except Battery and Reception..... kinda important... Love ICS,display,size. Could have been a keeper but if anyone claims reception or battery life close to a 4S they are crazy!

3G vs 4G handset

Obviously there's going to be a trade off between data speeds and battery life

 

[BrandoFiasco]

If you hold your finger on the blue scrollbar to the right of the screen and scroll up or down, you get an alphabetical tab that goes through each initial of the alphabet for you.

Ya i noticed that, but just not quite as easy as tapping the letter. Minor i know, but i love that part of the iPhone.

 

[SurferMan]

3G vs 4G handset

Obviously there's going to be a trade off between data speeds and battery life

That's why I think HSPA+ is best all around, you still get speeds higher the most peoples wifi setup at home, and you get the same battery life as normal 3G use. There still needs to be work done to have LTE and battery life improve, guess we'll have to find out what happens next year when newer chipsets will be available. I mean I average 7-9 Mbps down on my SGII, if I'm at home my WiFi is in the low 20 range, but 7-9 (or even 3 like it is sometimes when the network is busy) is way more then enough for a mobile phone.

I've had the wifi off by accident and when I realized it was off I was surprised b/c of how fast hspa+ is. LTE is faster but then you get massive battery drain.

 

[NewYork88]

3G vs 4G handset

Obviously there's going to be a trade off between data speeds and battery life

No 4G within a 8hr drive of us,4G turned off so I disagree ,it's a direct comparison ......

 

[NewYork88]

I guess I'm crazy....I easily get through a day of use on my phone. With light use I've gotten about 29 hours. But since I charge my phone every evening that really doesn't matter. As long as my phone can go 12-15 hours I'm good, which it does with ease.

The signal is the killer for Me,I'd have bought a extended battery no problem.I charge My phone every night,My days start at 6:00 AM and end at 10:30 but our Building at My Business is a Steel Structure and tough on Signal.I get 3G there with a 4 and 4S,the Nexus wouldn't pull 3G and barely could call out on 1X.I checked the signal in test mode on iPhone and it consistently pulled -80 where the Nexus was -100 to -120 which will drain battery..... Sitting in my House it was the same,the iPhone was always way better,not bars but true reception numbers. That and My 4S has even better reception than the iPhone 4 I was testing the Nexus against.I've spent 2 days reading on Android Forums and Signal strength and battery life is a big problem with the Nexus,to big for it to work for Me even if the Phone is awesome !

 

[El3ctronics]

The signal is the killer for Me,I'd have bought a extended battery no problem.I charge My phone every night,My days start at 6:00 AM and end at 10:30 but our Building at My Business is a Steel Structure and tough on Signal.I get 3G there with a 4 and 4S,the Nexus wouldn't pull 3G and barely could call out on 1X.I checked the signal in test mode on iPhone and it consistently pulled -80 where the Nexus was -100 to -120 which will drain battery..... Sitting in my House it was the same,the iPhone was always way better,not bars but true reception numbers. That and My 4S has even better reception than the iPhone 4 I was testing the Nexus against.I've spent 2 days reading on Android Forums and Signal strength and battery life is a big problem with the Nexus,to big for it to work for Me even if the Phone is awesome !

According the most reviews this isn't the case at all. So...proof or it didn't happen.

 

[NewYork88]

According the most reviews this isn't the case at all. So...proof or it didn't happen.

Whatever dude, it's called Google and it takes about 10 seconds to find threads with the same issue,pictures and all,my bad for not having a 3rd device handy to take a picture to make you happy !