The Samsung Galaxy S3 has been the relatively undisputed heavyweight champ on the Android scene for half a year now. It is, quite simply, an awesome smartphone. The new challenger emerging is the Google Nexus 4 and it’s looking lean, mean, and dangerous. Manufactured by underdog LG, the Nexus 4 combines impressive specs with an affordable price tag. The question is – does the Nexus 4 have what it takes to steal the title?
Warm up for the main event with an undercard including our Samsung Galaxy S3 review and a detailed Galaxy S3 vs Nexus 4 spec showdown.
The Galaxy S3 has been on the market for a while now and you can get it from various carriers, although there are some slight differences between versions. The Nexus 4 comes in two flavors – 8GB or 16GB – and it went on sale November 13.
Display quality
Let’s open the bout with the first thing that strikes you about both devices: the screen. The Galaxy S3 has been lauded and derided for having a huge display. At 4.8 inches, the screen size was criticized by some for making the phone too large to handle comfortably. Consumers clearly didn’t agree with the critics because sales have been impressive and there’s a clear trend towards bigger displays in the market generally now. The Nexus 4 has a slightly smaller display at 4.7 inches.
The fact the Nexus 4 has a slightly higher resolution and a smaller screen than the Galaxy S3, means that the pixel density is greater. The Nexus 4 should be sharper. The displays also use different technology. The Nexus 4 display is IPS LCD and the Galaxy S3 is Super AMOLED (if you want to know what that means check out AMOLED vs LCD). Both displays have great color reproduction and good viewing angles and they both have Gorilla Glass 2 protection. The Galaxy S3 might edge it on better viewability in sunlight and that extra size, but the Nexus 4 display is sharper.
Winner: Draw
Design and feel
Neither Samsung nor LG are famed for high quality construction when it comes to smartphones. The Nexus 4 has a rounded form factor and is made of plastic with glass front and back and a chrome style rim. When the light catches the back you’ll see an eye-catching hologram design. It’s a premium look and feel not generally associated with LG, but it is indicative of the company’s push towards the top end of the Android market.
The Galaxy S3 is also rounded with a slightly textured pattern on the border which carries round onto the plastic frame and polycarbonate back cover. There is a single Home button on the front, while the Nexus 4 has no physical buttons on the front. Despite claims that the plastic feels cheap it is very durable and it obviously helps to keep the weight down.
In terms of size the Galaxy S3 is slightly bigger in height and width, but it is also slightly slimmer and it weighs a touch less. Ports and buttons are virtually identical, including right side placement for the power button, which helps you reach it more easily on larger form factor smartphones.
Winner: Draw
User interface and platform
The Galaxy S3 launched with Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich), but the Jelly Bean 4.1 update has rolled out to many devices already. It also has Samsung’s TouchWiz interface, which has already added some features such as a Quick Settings menu in the Notifications bar.
There isn’t a huge difference in usability, but the latest version of Android is always the best. The 4.1 update for the Galaxy S3 brought a very noticeable improvement in speed and performance, alongside great features like expanded Notifications and Google Now. An S3 with Android 4.0 and TouchWiz is definitely behind the Nexus 4 with vanilla Android 4.2.
Winner: Nexus 4
Processor and RAM
Both devices have quad-core processors. The Galaxy S3 has a 1.4GHz Exynos 4412 and the Nexus 4 is sporting a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro clocked at 1.5GHz. The Nexus 4 has 2GB of RAM, which outperforms the 1GB of RAM in the European and international versions of the S3. The U.S. version of the Galaxy S3 matches the Nexus 4′s 2GB of RAM but lags behind with a dual-core processor.
Winner: Nexus 4
Storage
The Nexus 4 comes in 8GB and 16GB versions and in typical Nexus-style there is no microSD slot. You’ll need a screwdriver if you want to open it. The Galaxy S3 comes in 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB varieties and you can expand by a further 64GB thanks to the microSD slot which you can get to by removing the back cover. There is no contest here.
Winner: Galaxy S3
Cameras
When it comes to the main camera, both devices have excellent 8-megapixel rear-facing cameras that can record 1080p video at 30 fps. They also both have the usual LED flash, face detection, and a host of other features. Android 4.2 brings a cool new Photo Sphere feature for panoramas to the Nexus 4, but the Galaxy S3 camera app has some nifty features, too.
It’s easier to separate the two phones on the front-facing camera because the Galaxy S3 has a 1.9-megapixel camera and the Nexus 4 has a 1.3-megapixel camera. Do many people really care about the front-facing camera? For those that do, the S3 wins out.
Winner: Galaxy S3
Battery
Both phones have batteries rated at 2,100mAh. The Galaxy S3 battery is removable while the Nexus 4 battery isn’t, but few people will carry around a second battery anyway. We’ll need to wait for more extensive hands-on testing to see if there’s any real difference in actual use, but . It’s probably worth mentioning that the Nexus 4 does support wireless charging and has a nifty Wireless Charging Orb accessory, although you do have to buy it separately.
Winner: Draw
Connectivity
You’ve got NFC, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, DLNA, and everything else you would expect to find on both smartphones. The widely noted difference is that the Nexus 4 doesn’t support 4G LTE. It’s debatable how much that matters, because HSPA+ can be very fast, but if you live in the right area then LTE is the fastest mobile network connection you can have right now so it was a surprising omission.
Winner – Galaxy S3
Price
This is where some of the losses above for the Nexus 4 can be cancelled out because it is significantly cheaper than the Galaxy S3. It is basically $300 for the unlocked 8GB Nexus 4 or $350 for the 16GB version. That compares to around $600 for an unlocked 16GB Galaxy S3.
On contract you can get the Nexus 4 for $200 while the Galaxy S3 is closer to $300.
Winner – Nexus 4
Overall Winner: Nexus 4
If we add up the scores it actually turns out to be a tie with 3 wins apiece and 3 draws, but hopping off the fence we’ll give this one to the Nexus 4 because it manages to offer more value for your money. The wins that the Nexus 4 racked up will probably be more important to most people – it’s faster, it has the latest version of Android, and it’s cheaper. However, if you’re on a carrier with a robust 4G LTE network, or you heavily value storage or the quality of your front-facing camera, the Galaxy S3 may be the phone for you.
I got my Galaxy S3 for $99, and I have no desire for it to be faster than it already is. I would hate to have glass on the back of the phone (twice as likely to break if I drop it) and I would not give up the expandable memory slot that the S3 has – not to mention the S3 comes in 32 and 64 GB versions. So with those considerations I’d say the S3 is above and beyond winner…
You call this an in-depth review??? The bit about the screens says nothing, Simon. You say it has good color reproduction? I call BS. Apparently, the device display isn’t even calibrated and colors are off. Psshhh..you call yourself a nerd lol.
There is FAR MORE to photo image quality than megapixels. The quality of the lens is far more important, and the quality of the sensor (including ISO performance) also plays a huge part. Not to mention the photo processing software. This article doesn’t even touch on any of that… I want a real comparison.
no mention that the cortex a15 arch of the cpu in the nexus, while the cpu arch of the s3 is older a9? or the fact that the ram bandwidth of the nexus is over 2GB/s wider than the ram bandwidth of the s3? also, anyone that would pay $200 on contract for a $300 retail phone is a moron, along with anyone that would not prefer a faster phone to a slower one, especially at half the price.
getting any phone on contract is a rip anyways, since you end up paying your carrier back for the substity and them some with the inflated price of contract plans…i bought my nexus and pay $30 a month for unlimited texting, and unlimited data with a 5GB 4G cap, and i use a free VoIP service when my minutes run up.
Your pricing of the S3 is incorrect. When it came out, it was $199 on contract, not $300 or $299. And now you can get it for much less at various places including FREE at T-mobile, so although it may have a higher price tag for unlocked version, on contract, they are both the same price or S3 is cheaper.
torn between nexus 4 and HTC DNA
I find carrying an extra battery when traveling a must. Using the S3 as a 4g hotspot drains the battery fast.
Being able to carry a micro SD is another must while traveling. I load a few 80 min videos and about 8GB of music. The 16GB on my phone would not be enough.
If you buy either phone under contract the provider always charges a premium for the added storage. A 32GB micro card can be found on ebay for under $20. A lot more storage on the S3 for the same price as the Nexus.
samsung is boss
I got my Galaxy S3 on an online Black Friday deal for $48. Have yet to see any significant deals on the Nexus 4. Even Sprint’s and AT&T’s direct price for the Galaxy S3 (with contract) is only $200, and Verizon sells a bundle with case, screen protector, and car charger for $244 (though oddly they sell the phone solo for $249). Even so, I’m still seeing holiday deals on the S3 running about $100, with $149 being the worst “deal” I’ve seen — still weighing in at $50 less than an on-contract Nexus 4.
Then there’s the tiny, tiny, itty bitty issue of… no CDMA. If you’re on Verizon or Sprint, switching to the Nexus 4 is going to necessarily entail a carrier jump, and in my neck of the woods at least, neither of the available options is one I want to go with because both have terrible coverage out here.
For those that complain about TouchWiz or other bloat on the Galaxy S3, just grow a pair and put CyanogenMod 10 on your phone. It took me about 10 minutes of Googling, 5 minutes of downloading and transferring to my phone, 5 minutes of actual work to make it happen, and required me to engage about 12 brain cells throughout the entire process. Of course if you don’t have the requisite 12 brain cells, this procedure could be markedly more difficult for you ;)
Oh, and I have Jelly Bean on my S3.
yeah but its not the latest version of jelly bean and who knows if SGS3 will get the latest version so dont hold your breath.
But I agree with you on the memory. Google needs to come out with better memory options which is the only thing stopping me from buying a nexus device.
That’s the beauty of rooting and flashing CM10.
Wow, everyone here seems to be Samsung geeks. Trust me, I love Samsung products as well., but I feel like everyone commenting here has never handled the Nexus 4. I compared mine (on t-mobile’s hspa+4 network) to my friend’s GS3 (Verizon 4g lte) and my nexus beat it on almost every data comparison. I am not saying the nexus 4 is a better phone, but the rest of you are not being fair.
Lets not forget about a huge omission and part of the reason that the nexus 4 is faster. No bloatware! nexus 4 is pure Google. This might not mean much to most, but some like me really like the consistency of pure Google phones.
BTW my buddy pays almost 90 dollars a month for his AT&T service. I pay a no contract 30 dollars a month for unlimited data, and then 3 dollars for my SIP phone with unlimited talk and text. Because the phone is unlocked I am able to set this up. I love this set up.
So, I pay almost 1/3 the monthly price for a faster (in my tests) phone with better service, and without contract. Hmmmm, I really do think the gs3 owners are being unfair here.
Jusher44, who is your carrier and how to get text and talk for that cheap ?
The LTE version of S3 has 2Gig of ram which is the one i have and i’m running 4.1.2 now. I have to say i’m absolutely recommend this phone to people. I’m a apple fan but man this phone rocks. I would never ever get a phone without SD. Google is terrible in this area where they want to rip you off (16Gig limit is just crazy) and bind you to the cloud which is why i only buy Samsung and i’m really happy with the phone and the updates.