Apple iPhone 5c vs Google Nexus 4

We saw how determined Google is to go after Apple’s throat after the release of Nexus 4. This is yet the best budget Android device you can get. Two months ago, Google announced its new 7-inch tablet that was meant to be the iPad mini killer. And probably it is; you can see in our comparison how Nexus 7 offered better specs than iPad mini for a cheaper price. On September 10th, Apple unveiled its new ‘budget’ iPhone. Let’s see how it stacks up against the 11-month old flagship smartphone from Google.

 

Technical Specifications 

Even though Apple made iPhone 5c heavier and thicker, Nexus 4 is still larger in width, height and thickness and it also weights more. When holding these devices in hands, none of them are thin and both seem to have the same weight (probably because of weight dispersion over the area). But at the same time, iPhone 5c’s aspect ratio makes it painless to use with one hand. As you know, Apple has stopped at 4-inch so you can still reach the top-left corner.

	Dimensions	Thickness	Weight
Apple iPhone 5c	4.9 x 2.33 inches	0.35 inch	132 grams
Google Nexus 4	5.27 x 2.7 inches	0.36 inch	139 grams

 

Google Nexus 4 features a powerful 1.5GHz quad-core Qualcomm S4 Snapdragon processor, whereas iPhone 5c has an Apple A6 dual-core processor that runs on 1.3GHz. There is no official information about how much memory packs iPhone 5c, but we suppose it’s the same amount from the iPhone 5, which is 1GB. On the other hand, Nexus 4 packs twice as much. On paper, Google Nexus 4’s specs look better. First benchmarks will appear after September 20th, when the iPhone 5c sales begin. But lets have a look at this charts that show expected results in the most popular benchmarks.

 

Design and Build-quality

Apple is known for its impeccable build-quality. Moreover, iPhone 5c features a unibody, continuous polycarbonate construction that looks incredible shiny and feels very tough and solid in the hand. On the other hand, Nexus 4 does feel great in the hand too. Its plastic cover doesn’t creak at all, therefore we think the build-quality is better than on any other Android device.

 

Displays

Both Nexus 4 and iPhone 5c use IPS screens. Nexus 4 has a much bigger display – 4.7inch and a 1280×768 resolution whilst iPhone 5c is highly comparable to iPhone 5‘s 4-inch Retina screen with a resolution of 1136×640 pixel. The Nexus 4 display is inferior to the iPhone 5c but not by much. We’re talking about 318ppi versus 326ppi on iPhone 5c. Both displays offer a great image, however, specialists claim that the Retina screen on the iPhone 5/5c/5s is one the best calibrated screens on the market and delivers sharper images comparing to Nexus 4.

 

Cameras

Speaking of numbers, both devices feature a 8-megapixel main camera and Nexus 4 has a bit higher-resolution front camera: 1.3-megapixel vs 1.2-megapixel on the iPhone 5c. Despite that Nexus 4 wins on paper, in real-life things are quite differently.

	Main Camera	Video Capture	Front-facing Camera	Video Capture
Apple iPhone 5c	8 megapixel	1080p HD 30 fps	1.2 megapixel	720p HD 30 fps
Google Nexus 4	8 megapixel	1080p HD 30 fps	1.3 megapixel	480p SD 30 fps

Because iPhone 5c has exactly the same camera from the iPhone 5, we can earlier assume that it’s going to perform like this:

*Nexus 4

*iPhone 5c

 

You can notice how much better the snapshots and video of iPhone 5/5c look. iPhone 5c will definitely be a winner in this compartment.

 

Battery life

Latest news say Apple boosts battery capacity in iPhone 5c from 1440mAh to 1507mAh. Still, Google Nexus 4 appears to have a much larger battery of 2100mAh. But again, the tests are going to proof the real-life usage of both devices. If iPhone 5 performed quite the same as Nexus 4, we expect iPhone 5c with its new battery to beat Google’s flagship smartphone.

 

Verdict

Is Google Nexus 4 better than iPhone 5c? Definitely not. But its very good price makes it a great deal, offering quite similar specs and speed. Below you can compare the prices of these two smartphones:

	With 2-year contract	Off-contract
iPhone 5c 16Gb	$99	$549
Nexus 4 16GB	–	$349 $249

Google Nexus 4 is currently $100 off. Unfortunately, it’s only available off-contract. If you’re on budget – give Nexus 4 a shot because it definitely gives more bang for the buck. However, if you’re all into colors and you are going to get a new contract anyway, iPhone 5c is the best you can get at the moment.

 

Let me know which of these two smartphones you like the most in the comment section below.