Help me decide? iPhone 4S -> LG Nexus 4?

[Kaitlyn]

I currently have an iPhone 4S and was planning to switch to the Nexus 4. Now I'm not so sure if it's the UPGRADE I was hoping for... here is what I have:

+ it SHOULD be faster overall - more ram, processor, etc. etc.
+ I think I'll like Android better. Better control to do certain things/tweaks/etc.
+ I'm a Google person - GMail, calendar, docs, etc. etc. I suspect this should be much better on Android
+ Bigger screen/higher res. Find I do lot more web browsing/etc. these days and the screen should be good for that!
- It seems apps on iOS are better. Better quality, more of them
- I have a 32GB iPhone 4S and max on nexus is 16GB. I have 18GB of music, ~2GB offline GPS app, videos+photos, etc. I understand (and like) cloud but what about when I go out of range (subway) or elsewhere (out of province/country)
- No LTE. I don't care about it today I guess but if this was my next phone, LTE is likely to only become more important 6 months, 1 year from now...
-/+ Is the camera/video better or worse?
- Worse battery life? Early reviews seem to indicate battery life isn't exactly great

There are various things I don't care about:
- NFC I actually think I'll like.. but I don't know enough about the real-world application and at this point it's certainly not a must-have or anything like that
- Wireless charging - not like I'm going to buy a wireless charger for all these places (home, work, car, etc.) so... ya

What do you guys think? I also want to wait for some actual reviews to come flowing in... but wonder what some of you guys think?

Have I missed anything of importance?

[amace]

the Nexus 4 is FAR better than the 4S. THere's no real comparison.

Yes, it will be faster. and I think you'll like Android better than IOS.

As for the apps being better? Yes and no. Claiming that IOS apps are made better is untrue. Alot of the same apps exist that run the same. THe one issue is that apps need to be compatable with all sorts of phones. ios apps have the advantage of being designed for only three phones.

The 32GB CAN be an issue. the price you pay when it comes to the Nexus. Limited space due to limited price.

the 4S doesn't have LTE either.

Can't vouch for the camera

NFC CAN be handy, but IMO it's pretty gimmicky right now. has potential in the future though.


iphone 5 vs. LG4 has an argument, but iphone 4S? No way.

[mariokarter]

I currently have an iPhone 4S and was planning to switch to the Nexus 4. Now I'm not so sure if it's the UPGRADE I was hoping for... here is what I have:

+ it SHOULD be faster overall - more ram, processor, etc. etc.
+ I think I'll like Android better. Better control to do certain things/tweaks/etc.
+ I'm a Google person - GMail, calendar, docs, etc. etc. I suspect this should be much better on Android
+ Bigger screen/higher res. Find I do lot more web browsing/etc. these days and the screen should be good for that!
- It seems apps on iOS are better. Better quality, more of them
- I have a 32GB iPhone 4S and max on nexus is 16GB. I have 18GB of music, ~2GB offline GPS app, videos+photos, etc. I understand (and like) cloud but what about when I go out of range (subway) or elsewhere (out of province/country)
- No LTE. I don't care about it today I guess but if this was my next phone, LTE is likely to only become more important 6 months, 1 year from now...
-/+ Is the camera/video better or worse?
- Worse battery life? Early reviews seem to indicate battery life isn't exactly great

There are various things I don't care about:
- NFC I actually think I'll like.. but I don't know enough about the real-world application and at this point it's certainly not a must-have or anything like that
- Wireless charging - not like I'm going to buy a wireless charger for all these places (home, work, car, etc.) so... ya

What do you guys think? I also want to wait for some actual reviews to come flowing in... but wonder what some of you guys think?

Have I missed anything of importance?

Its possible that they might release a 32 GB Nexus 4. I'm sure they noticed that the 16 GB model sold out first in all regions when it went on sale. Since you'll be using Google maps you might even just want to delete your other GPS app to free up some storage as Google maps is all cloud and has the most recent maps. This will leave you without options when abroad/out of service (no additional charges for using data in other provinces) though. The app disparity I would say is extremely small (but still a plus for iPhone for sure). Camera is ok, on par or perhaps worse thatn that of the iPhone 5. Though a few reviews have said battery life is bad I think more of them have said its good.

This is the most usefull application of NFC IMO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mE7cQvMDBXc

There are a decent amount of reviews out now I believe.

[mr_raider]

God knows when the N4 will be in stock again. You can get an SGSIII which is a massive upgrade from the 4S. The Optimus G is also a good choice, since I expect many of the N4 ROMs to be ported to it, kind of like the Desire/N1 situation.

[Tabooger]

They might release a 32gb N4, just like they did with the Nexus 4, when? who knows, but in this day and age I doubt they're going to just stick with 16gb without any micro sdhc slot.

[desidealer49]

Best review is yourself. Do yourself the favor, buy it, keep if you like, sell/return if you don't.

[Replicant]

FWIW, I have the 4s (not yet jailbroken!), and I have an HTC Desire (rooted out the wazoo). I've been playing a lot with both recently. They each have their pros, their cons. But everything you wrote tells me you will be better off with an Android phone. The iPhone is better build quality, somewhat more stable, good battery life, good screen quality, good sound... and the Android phones are better everything else. The Apple is an Oldsmobile, the Android is a hot rod. You can customize Androids any which way you like, and you can just do more with them; app stores notwithstanding. Hope that helps.

[djemzine]

They might release a 32gb N4, just like they did with the Nexus 4, when? who knows, but in this day and age I doubt they're going to just stick with 16gb without any micro sdhc slot.

You mean just like they did with the Nexus 7 heh.

[Tabooger]

You mean just like they did with the Nexus 7 heh.

Oops ya 7*, too many iterations of tablets and phones to keep up with!

[shaolinmonk]

I think 4s/5 will still be fine for your needs..Google products work great on iOS.. maps coming soon too

the s3 might suit your storage needs and has a better camera

The nexus 4 is great if you care about the vanilla experience but nothing in your posts screams out you really care about keeping up with vanilla android

I personally can't stand smoled screens though

[lg777]

I would stick with your 4S for a bit longer. You need storage which the N4 does not have. I don't see a point to upgrade to i5 or SIII at this point so wait just under a year and you'll have some better upgrades to consider.

[veesah]

Nexus hardware is awesome. Android OS is awesome. But apps.. think carefully about the apps you use everyday and check the google play store for alternatives..

I have the 4S and was also considering the Nexus 4. When I checked for apps, I found critical gaps in my current apps... All the big app makers support both platforms, but the indies who put their life into refining an app on iOS rarely build for Android. Something to watch out for.

[Nucks]

Nexus hardware is awesome. Android OS is awesome. But apps.. think carefully about the apps you use everyday and check the google play store for alternatives..

I have the 4S and was also considering the Nexus 4. When I checked for apps, I found critical gaps in my current apps... All the big app makers support both platforms, but the indies who put their life into refining an app on iOS rarely build for Android. Something to watch out for.

I agree with this. For the casual user, every single app you'd use on iOS will be on on Android for the most part. Some of those apps will definitely be less polished as they were bad ports. Going forward, it's becoming less of a problem. Companies can't ignore Android anymore with how popular it's become. But older apps or devs that do not care much will just lazily do a port.

Then there must be a very specific type of app you have on iOS that you might not find on android. e.g. a specific medical app that you need to use for work purposes.

[jimmy-j]

if camera and video are important to you, stick with the iphone.

the speed and low light quality of the 4s is the best. i have an sgs3 and a 4s and can tell you the 4s will focus, snap and process the picture faster in light and low light situations better. the video also on the 4s is head and shoulders above the sgs3.

i don't think the nexus 4 will be much of an improvement for photo/video.


everything else aside from photo/video, android is amazing.

[evosero]

Just got my first Android phone after last having an iPhone 4, and there are little things with Android that off the bat I love.

For one, the "auto correct" on Android makes Apple's a joke. The ability to fully customize your app screens is also a nice change. The ability to turn on/off wireless, bluetooth, etc from the main drop down screen is also nice, instead of going through 4-5 screens on iOS. Everything just feels more accessible, for lack of a better term.

Anyway, I've been an Apple user for a long time (around 18 years) so am not an Android fanboy nor an otherwise Apple fanboy, but while I'm sure I'll find some shortcomings soon enough, from first impression I've found that with Android I keep saying "Oh wow, why couldn't I do that on an iPhone?