Review: Google Nexus 4

Android has a new champion. The Nexus 4, built by LG in collaboration with Google, is the best overall Android handset currently available, and it's one of the best phones to be released this year.

It's a truly exemplary piece of hardware that showcases the best of what Google can offer in a smartphone when crufty user interface skins from hardware makers and bloatware from carriers are cut out of the equation.

It's as close to perfect as I've seen any Android smartphone get.It's as close to perfect as I've seen any Android smartphone get. But the Nexus 4 falls just short of perfection due to one major omission: It's not compatible with any LTE networks. The Nexus 4 will run on just about any other cellular network outside of LTE (GSM, UMTS, Edge, GPRS, 3G and HSPA+), which means you can take the handset with you all over the world, swapping SIM cards as needed. It also means Google can sell one device in multiple markets all over the world, since Europe, Asia and other continents are still largely without LTE service. This is likely a big reason why Google can charge so little for the Nexus 4 – $300 with 8GB and $350 with 16GB, unlocked and off-contract. For comparison's sake, an unlocked iPhone 4S from Apple sells for about $650 to $850. An unlocked Samsung Galaxy S III runs $800.

The lack of LTE connectivity will spoil the Nexus 4 for some. But if you don't mind living without LTE – and you likely currently are, given AT&T and Sprint's small LTE footprint, and the fact T-Mobile has yet to begin building its LTE network – then the Nexus 4 is a good buy. And you'll also be freed from taking on a two-year carrier contract, though T-Mobile is selling the Nexus 4 at $200 on-contract if you're into that too. If you do take the Nexus 4 plunge, I'm sure you won't be disappointed.

Living with the Nexus 4 and using it over the last week has been a joy. The first thing you notice when you pick up the handset is just how sturdy and luxurious it feels. The front and back of the device are coated in Gorilla Glass 2. I took a set of keys, a fork and a pocket knife to the front and back glass panels of the Nexus 4 and couldn't get a scratch to show up anywhere. I also slipped and dropped the phone while pulling it out of my pocket this week, and it showed no signs of my fumble.

I can't blame the design of the Nexus 4 for my clumsiness. It's quite grippy thanks to a rubberized band of plastic that runs in a ring around the whole device. This band is where you'll find your buttons and ports – a volume rocker and a SIM card tray on the left, a sleep/wake button on the right, a headphone jack up top and a micro USB port for charging on the bottom. There's also a strip of chromed plastic that skirts the edge of the face. It's a handsome touch that doesn't distract from the massive 4.7-inch 1280 x 768 display. The strip smoothly meets the curved edges of the phone's touchscreen, which glides into the sides of the phone – it's somewhat reminiscent of the display treatment on HTC's One X. It's a fantastic design choice, as it makes the Nexus 4 comfortable to hold and makes it more satisfying to swipe your hand across. There's no resistance here, no hard edges. Just silky glass on a 0.35-inch thick device that weighs just 4.9 ounces.

Beneath the glass back panel, there's a sparkly, textured inlay that shimmers when the light catches it just right.The display on the Nexus 4, which packs a density of 320 pixels per inch, is one of the best I've seen on a smartphone handset. I wouldn't say it's the absolute best, as I still prefer the color reproduction of the One X and the sharpness of the iPhone's Retina display, but it's very close. While colors do lean toward the cool side, LG's True HD IPS LCD display is flat-out gorgeous. The level of detail and definition seen here is worthy of a flagship phone. Everything looks spectacular: apps, e-books, magazines, comics, websites, videos and photos.

Beneath the glass back panel, there's a sparkly, textured inlay that shimmers when the light catches it just right. It's very subtle. The back appears to be just plain black glass, but when the light hits it, you see sparkles. While it's purely cosmetic, it's a detail that, along with the top-notch fit and finish, shows some thoughtful design.

It not only looks great, it runs like the wind. I couldn't find a single stutter or hiccup during my week with the phone. Even graphically intensive apps like Google Earth, or fast-paced games like Nova 3 loaded quickly and ran smoothly. This can be attributed to Qualcomm's 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor, Adreno 320 graphics processor, and 2GB of RAM. The rear-facing 8-megapixel camera is also very nice, but falls just shy of greatness. The photos it takes aren't quite as clear or detailed as the ones we've seen from the cameras on the HTC One X and iPhone 5. When it comes to battery life, the Nexus 4 is also performs just below the One X and the iPhone. Under normal use, I could go a day before having to charge it. If I was using the handset non-stop, I'd have to charge the Nexus 4 before I left work. This is good battery life, but not exceptional.

Carrying on the Nexus tradition, it packs an NFC chip, so you can use it with Google Wallet for mobile payments, or you can use Android Beam to transfer files (like homebrew porn, for example) to other NFC-enabled phones. It also supports wireless charging, and since it uses the Qi wireless charging standard, you can use a charging pad from another manufacturer (like Nokia) until you get Google's official orb-shaped charging accessory. You can read more about the hardware in my initial hands-on report I wrote when the phone was first announced.

Running Google's latest version of Android, 4.2 Jelly Bean, the operating system is nothing but smooth. Android 4.2 is largely the same as 4.1 Jelly Bean – and still comes with the voice-powered Google Now – but there are improvements. There's a new gesture-based typing system that lets you swipe your finger over the keyboard to form words. The Camera app has new controls, including some Instagram-like filters and an HDR mode built in. Most impressive is a 360-degree panorama mode called Photo Sphere that allows you to easily take Street View-style images that you can then share to Google+ and even upload to Google Maps. If your pictures pass muster, they'll be added to Street View. From the notification shade, you can launch into a new quick settings page where you can toggle airplane mode, turn Bluetooth on and off, set an alarm, check battery life adjust your display's brightness.

Also see our review of the Google Nexus 10 Android tablet.

And there is simply no better Android experience than Android as Google has built it. While HTC, Motorola and Samsung make (mostly) attractive skins for Android that offer some unique features, the pure Android you find on Nexus devices is still the fastest and most user-friendly version of the OS. And the single biggest advantage for any unlocked Nexus handset: Software updates come directly from Google without delays. Hardware makers and telecom carriers often take months for to roll Android updates out to their own hardware, if they bring them over at all. And that's a shame.

It's also one reason the Nexus logo is plastered across the back of the phone, and why there's no Google branding anywhere on the hardware.

This is significant. Nexus handsets have never sold terribly well. They've always been niche products for hackers, developers and Android enthusiasts. But the Nexus 4 is different. It's one of three devices – along with the Nexus 7 and Nexus 10 tablets – that Google is positioning not only as true alternatives to the best products from rivals Amazon, Apple and Microsoft, but also to the products of its partners in the Android world. Nexus has grown from a hacker platform to a capital-B Brand. It's a place for thinking big, and for showing off cool new stuff like NFC, wireless charging and higher-density displays. There's even a TV and print campaign to trumpet the launch of these next-gen devices. This handset is the flagship of the Nexus line, and the best example of Google's ambitious side-project growing up.

WIRED Thoughtfully designed hardware displays a quality of finish that can compete with the best rival smartphones. Big 4.7-inch screen is crisp, detailed and beautiful. Quad-core processor and 2GB of RAM gives it power to spare. NFC and wireless charging show Google pushing new platforms forward. Bargain pricing for and unlocked beast of a phone. Latest Android, directly from Google, with no delays from carriers or hardware makers.

TIRED No LTE connectivity means the Nexus 4 is confined to slower, older mobile networks. No micro SD card slot or expandable storage of any sort. The rear speaker isn't very loud and doesn't sound very good.

Friday November 2, 11:45am PDT: This review was updated to clarify the battery performance of the device.