By The white Nexus 4 has been spotted at nearly every corner of the globe even since before the device was initially available. We’ve seen it in tons of pictures and promo shots, and it even popped up at a couple of trade shows, but it evaded the release calendar for quite some time without a peep from Google or LG about its existence. Well, we can finally stop chasing this crazy rumor as it has become official: the White Nexus 4 is on its way.
LG mentions the device will roll out first in Hong Kong tomorrow, May 29th, with launches in Europe, North America and the rest of Asia taking place over the next several weeks. LG didn’t drop any pricing information, though considering the only difference between this version and the one currently in the Play Store is the half white chassis we imagine that same attractive starting point of $350 will remain.
Of course, that means the rest of this device is also identical. It’s still got a 4.7 inch 1280×768 IPS Plus display, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon S4 Pro chipset, 2GB of RAM, and more. And no, folks, it won’t be launching with Android 4.3, but do expect to see Android 4.2.2 on board once you take the device out of the box and turn it on for the first time.
With that, LG’s CEO also had no problem denying its involvement in the construction of the rumored Nexus 5. Normally we’d call bologna and disregard any denials (because no one really expects these folks to spill the beans ahead of time), but considering LG didn’t play the typical “we don’t comment on rumors and speculation card” when asked about it we might be inclined to believe them.
CEO Kim Wong says it didn’t need the Nexus platform to gain more traction than the Nexus 4 already gave them, and insisted that the company’s custom user experience featured on the likes of the LG Optimus G Pro would continue to be its focus throughout the rest of the year (and possibly beyond).
Wong even went as far as to say that releasing a Google-controlled stock Android version of its flagship ala Samsung’s Galaxy S4 isn’t desirable for the company, so it seems we can rule out any “Google Edition” Optimus G Pros from the Korean OEM (though we never believed such a thing would happen in the first place).
Why are different color devices such a
…a big deal?? (accidently hit send too soon)
My thoughts exactly. I initially overreacted and thought “who effin cares about a white phone?!” I realize some people do care but a phone coming in a color shouldn’t be news.
Why can’t they make the screen bezel white too?
One of the new characteristics of a Nexus device has become the untainted, all-black face which I wish was the standard for all devices. To me, especially while watching video, the black bezel blends in with dark scenes and gives a nice edge-to-edge appearance.
Let HTC/SONY make next NEXUS ….. or may be Motorola (did they even launched single phone this year ?)
Now where’d the next Nexus come from. Lol. Maybe Google is waiting for a release from Apple to totally top that. In the mean time they have Google S4 and apparently the HTC One Google edition
Thank God!
Motorola should be dissolved into Google nexus line
I’d rather them be separate, giving us more choices.
This isn’t real white, only white in the back, not the front.
LG won’t be making the next Nexus because I’m thinking “Nexus” is no more. Instead I think we will start seeing OEMs offer “Google Experience” or “Nexus-like” versions of their flagships just like what Samsung and possibly HTC are doing right now. Remember all the hype about the possibility of each OEM offering a Nexus device. I think this is what they were talking about. If this is so, I will truly miss the Nexus branding but the experience will still be there. Only now, we will have more choices and better devices…Overall, I think it will be a good thing!
Except these “nexus experience” phones cost 2x what the nexus4 is selling for.
Although not worth twice the value of the Nexus 4, to get a true flagship with top of the line specs would validate an increase in price. With that being said, I would not settle for mediocre camera, display, battery life, internal/external memory or the lack of LTE. The Nexus 4 is an awesome device well worth the money, just wouldn’t be in the same league as some of the upcoming devices w/ pure android, IMO.
How was the Nexus4 able to be sold through Google Play store with (at the time) top of the line specs without selling at a high price? what’s to say Google can’t do it again and sell the New Nexus coming up this year with with AGAIN top of the line specs, at the low $349 price tag.
Don’t misunderstand, the Nexus 4 is without a doubt a top tier phone and still is for that matter. However, to keep cost to a minimum, LG sacrificed LTE and internal storage as well as camera enhancements. not to mention being sold by Google at cost. What I’m getting at, it would be awesome not sacrificing any specs and still get the Nexus experience. Even if I had to pay more for a device of this stature it would be well worth it!
the Nexus4 came with an LTE Chip preinstalled into the Hardware, which for reasons beyond me was never activated or not intended to be used. So in my opinion LTE was sacrificed unnecessarily. I’m definitely looking forward to an improved Nexus coming up within 5 or 6 months at the same $349 price point…. because it will be even more worth it compared to a phone with similar specs at a higher price.
Your right, I forgot about that. I never understood the logic behind the dormant LTE chip.
The only problem I see with this is it would kill the current pricing model. I think Google is seeing some nice success with the Nexus 4 and 7, and that because you can buy them relatively cheap off contract. While it would be nice to have the option of running stock Android out of the box on every flagship device out there, paying full price for that option doesn’t seem to be as popular a choice.
Excellent point! Although a long-shot, It would be nice if the carriers would get on board and offer the devices on subsidized contracts. T-mobile might let it fly but Verizon (my carrier) and/or AT&T…you might as well forget it!
I thought TMO does have it in their stores and on their website with the no contract, contract deal for $20 above your bill?
I think if you have good credit – if not, Tmo wants almost $500 up front – I said F that, bought it off G-play for $299.
There is a lot of black on that for it being white…
Racist!
LG has clarified Wong’s statement on the Nexus 5. They say they’re not currently working on the Nexus 5 but would not turn down the opportunity to do so.
Its a little late to not be already working on it, isn’t it? I mean we’re expecting it around November for wide release, right?
some rumor it to be released in october.
Hopefully Samsung makes the next Nexus.
I hope LG does it again. I had the Samsung galaxy Nexus and it just felt really cheap. I I’ve the feel and looks of the Nexus 4.
Really? My G Nex feels great. Much better than glass or metal. The design and color choice of the Galaxy Nexus is much better than the nexus 4. The only complaint is that back cover can feel flimsy at times.
That back cover was a pain to get off to pull the battery!
At least it had a battery to pull..
↑↑↑exactly↑↑↑
I’ve never needed to actually pull the battery. In what scenario is this needed vs. the hard shutdown via power button.
It’s not just about battery pulling, although that’s a plus in my book. Having the ability/option to replace a dead battery and go from 0%-100% in a second or two is great. You can also have the option to add a bigger longer lasting battery. Helps on long road trips or any kind of traveling in my experience. Though many may not even care or use it like that, but to have that ability is great. Taking it away imo does nothing but hurt a device. Don’t get me wrong I LOVE my Nexus 4! But it is a feature I greatly miss.. :( By the looks of it phones are going that way and it’s not enough for me to leave the Nexus line. -_-
I agree with you on that one. If batteries die or get old it makes sense to allow people to swap them out. For me I don’t need to worry about that since I buy a phone every year, but I’m a privileged individual.
Though if the average phone ever drops into water it is salvageable by removing the battery and sticking it in rice. If the N4 goes into water….welp, buy a new N4.
I love using rice to fix my phones!
I know. it’s actually a lot faster to use the hard shutdown in my experience with other phones.
I have yet to find a worthy upgrade to my Verizon GNex. I came close to the S4 but it was so light it didn’t feel near as substantial as my Galaxy Nexus. Kinda waiting on the Note 3 anyway!
Your worthy upgrade is the Nexus4, however since we are so close to the next Nexus release it might be worth it to just wait.
Unfortunately I wasn’t able to consider the Nexus 4 for due to the unavailability on Verizon. With grandfathered unlimited data and the lack of coverage from other carriers in my area, candidate upgrades for me must be of a Verizon CDMA/LTE variant. I know, another topic altogether!
The next time you renew your contract, you won’t be grandfathered into unlimited data anyway. Just saying, don’t expect unlimited data with your next upgrade.
Quite contrary…I have two lines, the unlimited data line has an upgrade available the other 2GB data line will have it’s upgrade available in August. I plan to swap my upgrade to the 2GB line purchase the new device on that line. Once established, I’ll swap the new device over to my unlimited line and wallah, new device and unlimited data. Complicated but it works. There are other methods that work that involve purchasing a ghost phone but haven’t had to go there yet.
I’m optimistic the next Nexus phone will have CDMA & GSM options
Yeah, you know we heard rumors just before CTIA that a Nexus 4 with possible 32GB on CDMA running Android 4.3. I don’t know, maybe Sprint. I feel Verizon burned that bridge with Google during it’s last GNex fiasco…With the games Verizon was playing I can’t blame Google if they never give Verizon another opportunity.
looks like they didn’t feel like they had enough…
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…vanilla
YEEEAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!
I have yet to see a Nexus 4 in real life… They are like purple orangutans, very hard to find
Ammm…I’ve actually seen tons of them here at great white north, on the train, subway and quite a few at work.
I actually know the guy at work who was sitting at his desk and kept refreshing the Play store page in order to grab one of the first N4s…I found that hilarious.
I was definitely one of those people that day lol
ditto
My brother owns one, my best friend owns one, my brother in law owns one, and two of my co-workers own one. maybe from your part of the country there are not that many true android fans. Oh, and I own one also.
I’ve only ever seen one Nexus 4 besides my own, and that was before I owned one. I questioned him, and he said he needed it for his job or something. They are pretty rare to see.
Where part of the earth do you live!? So sad….this is a nice and one of the best looking/design phone, xcept battery performance is suck… for power user/gamer.
Yeah dude same here. Aside from mine, I haven’t seen anyone else with an N4. Oh yeah and I live in LA FYI.
I haven’t seen one in the Baltimore/Annapolis area, and I’m constantly looking at people’s phones.
I’ve only seen one. It was in an airport in Miami, and the guy’s wife also had a Nexus 10.
Its only white to the people looking at you. The face is all black.
I love Android and have been a Phan for years but there’s something I’ve noticed, and this may not be a bad thing, but I want it out there: doesn’t the marketing around Google seem pretty Apple ESC. I mean, “a white nexus 4 – gimme.”
They don’t really market it all that much tbh, let alone the white one.
I meant just recently.
And Apple let sites like this do their advertising before as well. I still see people trying to post spam in YouTube comments about free iPads. I bet this comment is going to be flagged in a database just for having the phrase “free iPad” in it.
I don’t think, even if my speculative observation was absolutely correct, that it will ever get out of control as it did with Apple. I don’t care what anyone says the spam on the internet for iAnything was and still is at unacceptable levels.
But I digress. I just have been noticing that Google has been doing a great job with polishing their products lately. Apple has always made that part of marketing their products front and center. I think Google bringing these super polished products and software to market is great. Once again they’ve made things only better, even if it does take a page from Apple.
I have more to say on this topic if you’re interested.
To be clear, I never intended, and still don’t, for there to be any negative connotation in these posts.
I’ll read it, go ahead!
When Glass XE arrived and I opened the package it was breathtaking. This prototype was in such beautiful packaging and it looked like a finished product. The Magic Mouse reminds me of the touch pad on Glass. The designated touch pad doesn’t LOOK like a touch pad, it just is; and Google’s design is elegant.
Fast forward to the GUI. This GUI had to be thought up from the ground up. They had to ask themselves this question: How can we make this so that any user can use it? This question branches out into all sorts of other questions but I’ll just talk about my impressions of the GUI. They came up with the concept of having cards in a timeline that wrap around your head. Once someone hears that they basically know how to use the device. They say to themselves “OK, a touch pad, I know how to use that.” and what’s more intuitive than voice commands? I mean not much special knowledge is required to use it and that is no accident.
They’ve also blazed a new path with the actually usable motion gestures. Being able to tilt your head to an adjustable 10-40 degrees is useful. It saves you from an additional touch of the device, driving home the idea that you can interact with something with not needing to touch it whatsoever. – game changing.
And finally Google is driving buzz just as Apple did – right now I am writing a lengthy article, that could be interpreted as free advertising, explaining the features and what I as an average person think of Glass. And that is certainly one of the most valuable pieces of information one can obtain about a product they’re considering buying.
Very cool. Feel free to post the link here when you finish the article. I’d like to check it out.
Ahhhhh I just typed out a huge message and it didn’t post and it didn’t save. I’ll try again.
Basically what I wrote was that Glass XE comes in beautiful packaging and when you look at it, it looks like a finished product.
The design they came up with for the GUI allows anyone to basically pick up a pair and use it; it is explained as a timeline of cards that wraps around the user’s head. People say to themselves “OK, a touch pad, I know how to use that,” and they start swiping away; they are already familiar with “backing” up, so a swipe down makes sense. And what’s more intuitive than voice commands?
The the Magic Mouse reminds me of Glass’ touch pad, it doesn’t look like a designated touch pad; not only that but it works, and it works well.
Also, the head tilt gesture that turns the screen on and off at an angle of 10-40 degrees is nice. It allows one to control it and skip a step of having to touch the device. It really completes the hands-free aspect of the experience (what I call touchless screens). This is a game changer. And people are wowed by these things.
Lastly, Google is generating a lot of buzz about Glass, as Apple once did with their products. As an example of what I’m talking about – me writing this post. This is what one could interpret as free advertising. Not only that but this is the type of thing potential customers want to hear about something they’re looking into buying.
Hopefully I covered everything I wrote the first time I wrote this, but if you’ve ever had that happen to you you know how it is.
I love my Nexus 4, but good riddance LG. I swear if I have to deal with a launch like that again, I might explode.
I don’t think the launch BS was LG’s fault, was it?
I thought the starting point was $300? That’s what I paid for mine.
why? Seems pointless
They should remove 8gb nexus 4 lower the 16gb nexus 4 price to 300 and make a 32gb nexus 4 350
No 32GB model, no buy…I’d just get the Developer HTC One or wait to see if the Nexus One(2013) is a real thing…yes, I’d pay $300 over the price of the Nexus 4 to have 32GB of usable storage for Apps…and no the Galaxy NexuS4 isn’t going to do with it’s piddily 16GB+mostly useless SD card.