Will the 2012 Google Nexus phone(s) out-spec the Galaxy S3?

[maxnicks]

I have a Verizon Galaxy Nexus by Verizon. It's my fourth Android phone. I doubt I'll switch away from a Nexus phone and hope Samsung produces it. My only complaint about the phone is the horrible camera. If the next Nexus has a camera that's just as bad then I may switch to WinMo.

I did purchase the 3750 maH battery for my phone so I get pretty much all day use no matter the load I put on the phone.

I've had the Motorola Droid 1, Motorola Droid 2, and the HTC Thunderbolt, and currently the Samsung Galaxy Nexus. I've been pleased with all of them. The camera could be a deal breaker this time around...

I'm very curious as to what's coming out this fall that's not simply a rumor.HTC was pretty awesome. but the relatively pure Google experience of the GN is simply put, outstanding.

 

[rocket321]

I hope they are able to build a phone which sells on the play store (unlocked) for $399. Then they will drop the current Galaxy Nexus down to $249 and make it the value offering.

To achieve that I believe they will need to stay pretty conservative while at the same time making significant improvements over the current Galaxy Nexus:

S4 Dual Core (it will be nearly a year old, discount!)
2GB RAM (GNex had 1, and everyone knows RAM is cheap these days)
32GB Storage (GNex had 16 & 32, lets make the base 32 this year)
8MP Camera w/ BSI & Instant capture (To bring it on par, but not ahead of 2012 phones)
1.3 or 2 MP FFC
NFC

The above should give nearly "twice as good" specs to everything in the Galaxy Nexus without spending a lot of cash on parts because they have been in production for a while and so their costs are all falling.

The items below are a little be less obvious to me:

Screen - They have been on AMOLED for quite a while now, and in the GNex they took screens to the next level. However I don't know what "the next level" is from the S3 or how much it will cost. I would expect something similar to the S3 or One X. Don't expect them to push the limit on screen again this time.

Radios/Carriers - the S4 (Krait) chip is famous for supporting nearly every air interface you could ask for on chip. I would expect this phone to show up in GSM HSPA+, GSM+LTE, and CDMA+LTE variants. The HSPA+ would be the Play Store / International phone and the others will get bastardized (just a little bit ) by carriers. A big question mark for me is if this one will go to VZW - after the botched launch and subsequent bad press for slow updates big Red may be off the table especially with Google now selling phones direct to customers which flies in the face of the strangle hold the carries currently have on the US market.

Manufacturer - Initially I thought it was a toss up - both Samsung and HTC have implemented S4 phones with great screens and built quality. However; if Google wants AMOLED display tech they will go with Sammy because Sammy will give them a discount if they buy the whole package from them (like a bulk discount!) because Samsung makes the AMOLED displays. If they went HTC I'd expect an IPS screen but since HTC doesn't build screens they are probably coming from LG and it would depend on cost. Also Sammy uses the plastic bodies which is going to be cheaper than HTC's fancy metal / oxidized..blah blah blah. So after some thought it think to hit the price point they want its going to be another Samsung build.

Battery - keep in mind Krait S4 chips are more power friendly than the chips from 2011 (28nm vs 45nm). This means at the same size you should get 10 - 20% more battery life out. I would like to see one in the 2100mah area and forget about selling everyone an OEM extended battery...but that's not going to happen and here's why. The GNex's OEM extended battery was sold to f'ing everyone who bought a GNex. Seriously - find me someone who has a Gnex and didn't grab the extended batt. Samsung/Google saved money with the smaller included battery and then cleaned up by charging those crazy OEM prices for a slightly bigger one. Expect the same thing this time around as we are talking about sticking to a price point and Samsung likes to make fat stacks of money. Expect the stock battery to be 10% bigger than Gnex and still have an extended battery option which is another 15-20%. Still, with the improvements in SoC, you should be looking at 25-30% better life than the GNex which is a nice bump.

Pogo Pins - please keep these! We the consumer love wireless crap. We keep hacking phones to work with the Palm touchstone. Keep throwing these lovable pins in! However if they are REALLY close on making the budget, they could get dropped to make their price point.....

No LED - didn't have one on past models, won't spring the money for one now
No SD slot (if it wasn't obvious) - didn't have one on past models, won't spring the money for one now
No HDMI - but if we're lucky they will keep the MHL functionality
No hardware keyboard - sorry but thats SOOO 2010. People got to learn their soft typing or give their money to RIM hahaha.


That about wraps it up - what do you think?

 

[bornjamerican]

To answer your question, yes IMHO. The Galaxy S phones gave birth to the Nexus S, bump in specs realized through developer involvement. From the Nexus S came the new flagship phone, the Galaxy S II. And once again, a bump in specs once stability was achieved comes the Galaxy Nexus. The Galaxy Nexus' limits were pushed and gave us the Galaxy S III.

Given the success of Samsung phones, it would ludicrous for Google to turn away from Samsung phones. They help each other drive sales through the roof. The logical thing would be to carry on the tradition. If it ain't broke, then don't fix it. A bettr saying in this case would be, if it ain't broke, tweak it.

On another note, there was nothing special about the Nexus 7 before Google got involved. What really hammered it home was the Kindle Fire's low price that many flock to. Asus priced their 7 inch tablet at $249 while Samsung was still at $299+. Samsung could've easily been selected but Google didn't want to get invloved with Samsung's on going litigation with Apple. And Google wanted to move more devices, so enter Asus and Google cut costs at their expense.

 

[Orion78]

Nexus devices never top in specs that always. Plus no device in 2012 will be better than the current Samsung Galaxy S3. Software wise the Galaxy S3 is the BEST SMARTPHONE ON THE MARKET PERIOD. Not even the Nexus experience is better than the Galaxy S3.

You're so full of BS. Not too long ago you said the Galaxy Nexus would dominate until the next Nexus. You flip flop and contradict everything you say from one sentence to another. Every device you own you think its the best. Well, you can't fool me. From what I hear, you never owned any of these phones.

 

[gcole]

The S3 is their flagship device. It's not that they don't want the GN to sell well, but (even if it is made by them), why would they intentionally give their flagship device competition? That's a dumb businesses move. Will they give it similar hardware? Sure. Better? Not a chance.

Sent from my Nexus S using Tapatalk 2

I feel just the opposite. I believe at least 95% or more of the general phone buying population has no clue what a 'Nexus' devise is. Only a couple of my Android sporting friends have even heard of it - and that was probably just from me talking about it. I've never seen one in a retail store and at least half of the sales staff in them give you the blank stare when asking about it. Selling a Nexus device with similar or better specs than your flagship device may sway some buyers from the S3 to another device they are selling, but also may bring in new customers that would buy a higher spec'd device from another manufacturer. Advertising sells, so if they continue with the heavy S3 advertising (and neglect the Nexus) it would have very little, if any impact on the S3.

 

[Southrncomfortjm]

Top specs is really not a big deal anymore, at least to me. I'd like for Google to concentrate on features that really make the phone better in reality than just on paper. Here's what I want:

(1) A good *phone* - so solid radios (sorry Sammy) and good call sound quality

(2) A decent dual core processor - quad core doesn't seem to add much to the experience except expense.

(3) High quality camera, don't care if its 5, 8 or greater MP, I just want clean and crisp pictures, not the crap that my GNEX captures. I'll trade no shutter lag for iPhone quality pics instantly.

(4) A solid speakerphone for video chatting. Seriously, spend a few bucks more and get us a quality speaker for once

(5) 32GB internal storage - don't care about an SD card and Google won't give us one anyway

(6) Outstanding battery life - I'm talking Droid RAZR MAXX quality. I don't want to spend $200 on a phone+contract and then have to shell out another $20-$50 for a bulky extended battery just to get through a day without a charge.

(7) High quality (preferably non-pentile) 720p display. Something like the Rezound's.

(8) High quality construction - I don't want to have to put a case on my phone, so make it sturdy. Also, add something grippy to the sides, I always feel like my GNEX is going to fly out of my hand when I hold it without a case.

And that's about it. Its all for nothing really since I won't be buying the next Nexus phone as I have another 1.5 years on my contract. Would be nice to see this happen since it would only yield better results when I can actually upgrade.

 

[idiotekniques]

I'm not sure if the next Nexus will have better specs than the GS3 or not. I don't think that Samsung intentionally gimped the galaxy nexus last year (with the 5MP camera, no micro SD, etc.). I believe that Google has the final say on what hardware goes into the Nexus products. It's quite possible that they had a lesser camera and no SD to save costs. Remember, they sell the Nexus devices unlocked and want to make it a bit more affordable.

It is more about the dev side for Nexus but I'm hoping that with the success of the N7 and its sales, that Google realizes that people are willing to pay for a good product with decent specs and pure Android. I really hope HTC will make another one as they could use a boost with their falling profits as of late. A 4.7"-5.0" aluminum bodied HTC with 720P screen (the One X screen is very nice), microSD slot (or at least 32GB internal), pure android, large capacity battery, quad S4 w/adreno 320, & 10-12MP camera. I guarantee that me and a lot of other people would jump on that. I'm excited just thinking about it.

10-12MP camera is overkill and a waste, especially in a camera phone. better off to stick with 8mp, or even 5-6 and keep improving IQ and specifically noise on lower light shots. the more MP stuffed on a sensor, the worse it's low light shooting ability is. this is mitigated with huge sensors like on full frame cameras like Canon's 5D series for example, and also as the technology gets better, but that's not what we are shooting here.

i have a micro four thirds Olympus OM-D E-M5 and it's 16MP. it does quite well at higher ISO's, but again that sensor size is much larger than a cell phone camera.


the MegaPixel race is just a marketing ploy for people that don't know much about cameras. they needed a spec to key on for consumers, and MP was it. unfortunately, it wasn't backed by the actual reality technologically or with the engineering.

and to top it off, 95% of us don't even need those MP for anything. most of these images are web only, not being cropped much, not being printed large, and 8MP is plenty for any web and printing 95% of us need to do. the other 5% would be using a dedicated camera anyway.

 

[Orion78]

10-12MP camera is overkill and a waste, especially in a camera phone. better off to stick with 8mp, or even 5-6 and keep improving IQ and specifically noise on lower light shots. the more MP stuffed on a sensor, the worse it's low light shooting ability is. this is mitigated with huge sensors like on full frame cameras like Canon's 5D series for example, and also as the technology gets better, but that's not what we are shooting here.

i have a micro four thirds Olympus OM-D E-M5 and it's 16MP. it does quite well at higher ISO's, but again that sensor size is much larger than a cell phone camera.


the MegaPixel race is just a marketing ploy for people that don't know much about cameras. they needed a spec to key on for consumers, and MP was it. unfortunately, it wasn't backed by the actual reality technologically or with the engineering.

and to top it off, 95% of us don't even need those MP for anything. most of these images are web only, not being cropped much, not being printed large, and 8MP is plenty for any web and printing 95% of us need to do. the other 5% would be using a dedicated camera anyway.

So you're going to complain if a phone has a decent 10-12 mp camera? Lol

 

[srosencrans]

Yeah, I thought I heard earlier already that Samsung had already been chosen to make the next Nexus Phone.

Google picks Samsung for 4th generation Nexus phone | Android and Me

 

[srosencrans]

Your right, and Samsung has the best component supplier ties of any of them. They can probably get a better deal than the smaller manufactures.

 

[Dave_k605]

do phones need to be specced higher than what they are now?

Not in the near future that's for sure.

 

[Pdelponte]

Here is my wish list

S4 Dual Core
2GB Ram
2300mAh or greater battery (removable)
1080p HD display
4.5" Screen
Curved design
32GB internal storage (expandable)
High quality construction (LITTLE TO NO PLASTIC)
Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie
Bluetooth
NFC
Levitation (so its never droped and broken)
Time travel (incase the Levitation fails and it breaks)
Personal Cloning Device (with anti-brownie monster software)
Waffel toaster (with 16 different toast settings)
Teleportation device
Automated Vacuum Cleaner
Personal Security Device (Tazer)
Mind Reader
Memory Eraser

 

[Evoken]

I am planning to get an S3 but was thinking about waiting for the new Nexus phone. Is there a rumored date for release?

 

[dmmarck]

I hope they are able to build a phone which sells on the play store (unlocked) for $399. Then they will drop the current Galaxy Nexus down to $249 and make it the value offering.

To achieve that I believe they will need to stay pretty conservative while at the same time making significant improvements over the current Galaxy Nexus:

S4 Dual Core (it will be nearly a year old, discount!)
2GB RAM (GNex had 1, and everyone knows RAM is cheap these days)
32GB Storage (GNex had 16 & 32, lets make the base 32 this year)
8MP Camera w/ BSI & Instant capture (To bring it on par, but not ahead of 2012 phones)
1.3 or 2 MP FFC
NFC

The above should give nearly "twice as good" specs to everything in the Galaxy Nexus without spending a lot of cash on parts because they have been in production for a while and so their costs are all falling.

The items below are a little be less obvious to me:

Screen - They have been on AMOLED for quite a while now, and in the GNex they took screens to the next level. However I don't know what "the next level" is from the S3 or how much it will cost. I would expect something similar to the S3 or One X. Don't expect them to push the limit on screen again this time.

Radios/Carriers - the S4 (Krait) chip is famous for supporting nearly every air interface you could ask for on chip. I would expect this phone to show up in GSM HSPA+, GSM+LTE, and CDMA+LTE variants. The HSPA+ would be the Play Store / International phone and the others will get bastardized (just a little bit ) by carriers. A big question mark for me is if this one will go to VZW - after the botched launch and subsequent bad press for slow updates big Red may be off the table especially with Google now selling phones direct to customers which flies in the face of the strangle hold the carries currently have on the US market.

Manufacturer - Initially I thought it was a toss up - both Samsung and HTC have implemented S4 phones with great screens and built quality. However; if Google wants AMOLED display tech they will go with Sammy because Sammy will give them a discount if they buy the whole package from them (like a bulk discount!) because Samsung makes the AMOLED displays. If they went HTC I'd expect an IPS screen but since HTC doesn't build screens they are probably coming from LG and it would depend on cost. Also Sammy uses the plastic bodies which is going to be cheaper than HTC's fancy metal / oxidized..blah blah blah. So after some thought it think to hit the price point they want its going to be another Samsung build.

Battery - keep in mind Krait S4 chips are more power friendly than the chips from 2011 (28nm vs 45nm). This means at the same size you should get 10 - 20% more battery life out. I would like to see one in the 2100mah area and forget about selling everyone an OEM extended battery...but that's not going to happen and here's why. The GNex's OEM extended battery was sold to f'ing everyone who bought a GNex. Seriously - find me someone who has a Gnex and didn't grab the extended batt. Samsung/Google saved money with the smaller included battery and then cleaned up by charging those crazy OEM prices for a slightly bigger one. Expect the same thing this time around as we are talking about sticking to a price point and Samsung likes to make fat stacks of money. Expect the stock battery to be 10% bigger than Gnex and still have an extended battery option which is another 15-20%. Still, with the improvements in SoC, you should be looking at 25-30% better life than the GNex which is a nice bump.

Pogo Pins - please keep these! We the consumer love wireless crap. We keep hacking phones to work with the Palm touchstone. Keep throwing these lovable pins in! However if they are REALLY close on making the budget, they could get dropped to make their price point.....

No LED - didn't have one on past models, won't spring the money for one now
No SD slot (if it wasn't obvious) - didn't have one on past models, won't spring the money for one now
No HDMI - but if we're lucky they will keep the MHL functionality
No hardware keyboard - sorry but thats SOOO 2010. People got to learn their soft typing or give their money to RIM hahaha.


That about wraps it up - what do you think?

I don't have the extended battery

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Xparent Cyan Tapatalk 2

 

[I Can Be Your Hero]

I am planning to get an S3 but was thinking about waiting for the new Nexus phone. Is there a rumored date for release?

Nothing at all at the moment. There's been barely any rumours that the phone exists at all, and to be perfectly honest, I could see Google not releasing a Nexus phone this year.

Google have already released a new software version (4.1 Jellybean) and a new Nexus device (Nexus 7). Nexus device launches typically coincide with software releases. I'm not convinced we'll see the next version of Android (Key Lime Pie?) in 2012, which would lead me to believe we also won't see a new Nexus phone this year.

I could be wrong, and Google may buck the trend and release a new Nexus phone that runs on Jellybean, or make me doubly wrong and release Key Lime Pie along with a new Nexus phone this year........but I don't see it happening.

I'd like to be as optimistic as everyone else, but I ask myself:

1. Is there a good chance Android Key Lime Pie will be released this year? I would say it's doubtful

2. Would Google release a new flagship Nexus phone without a brand new version of their software? I would say it's doubtful

3. Based on point 1 & 2, will we see a new Nexus phone this year? I personally don't think so.

But hey I'd be more than happy to be wrong in this instance.


Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

 

[xyzlene]

Nexus 2012 wish list.
Respectable camera.
Best processor
Best GPU
Respectable screen
Best battery life
Best antenna/GPS - hello moto.

In other words a nexus that works...

I purchased my gnex the first day. I'm glad to use it ask daily driver, but I yearn for more....

Boot Samsung,,, moto , or HTC....

Thing is nexus has changed... its still a Dev phone, though it is more accessible..... meaning,,,,, make it top notch.

 

[bunique4life05]

The nexus project is an auction where the highest bidder is chosen. Google still has the final say regardless who has the highest bid. From what I have read the past three years Google has followed that auction system for last three years. Andy Rubin actually a year or two ago he spoke about next project and express that Google is sticking with the bidding system. I think he had to make statement in regards to Nexus Project because of the critics. The point is they have been sticking to that system for the last three years and have not stated they will change.

Now we are in 2012 and we have a Nexus 7,Q and Jellybean all came out the middle of July. Google also had more up it sleeve in July with Project Glass and later Google got into cable and internet businesses with releasing Google Fiber. All of this happen in roughly 7 months without warning.Lets not forget all the companies bought up by Google which are:
1.social analyst company
2.sparrow
3.travel online company

Taking in account of all Google has done in last 8 months compared to there last three years is astonishingly different. Rember the last three years all you speculated and expected from Google was what the next nexus smartphone was going to be at the end of year. Unfortunately that is not case this year google has branched off in so many other areas this year it hard to tell where they are going. In regards to the og topic I say this who knows because based how this years has gone can you see any type of pattern that Google is following? Because I can't and as far next nexus or nexi come out I am sure on now hardware side I will be pleasantly surprised what Google has to offer. Google has dons lot big things again last 7 month and ICS,Jellybean, Nexus 7/Q are milestones in relative short amount of time and we still have 4 months for Google to make more. Lastly I am hopping for multiple nexus smartphones form Google because it follows more Google's open source philosophy which boils down to giving the end user choices.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Android Central Forums

 

[mwara244]

When I was reading a few months back over several blogs including droid-life, Google wanted to not alienate other companies with buying motorola and in thinking Moto would have exclusivity to the nexus branding. That's when Google said it would allow 5 different manufactures to all have the ability to make a nexus device, providing they wanted to, to begin with. The articles made it sound like phone manufacturers. Remeber, by the time the Google/Motorola deal was finally sealed a week or two after the chinese approval, Google had already had the first 400k or so nexus tablets being made in april way before the finalization of the deal, and I'd assume the Q was in development at the time too. So I'd assume that it would be phone manufacturers rathan that just device makers.
I loved motorola hardware on my D1, dropped that sucker 20x +, but the super omled screen on my nexus was amazing when it came out, and I heard the S3 has a better screen than the nexus. I figure if I don't like any of the nexus phones that should come out by november, the S3 will be dropping in price a lot to buy full retail from verizon. Hopefully by then someone will figure out how to put stock android on the S3, cause I hate skinned phones.

 

[KYRspwiidy]

I'd prefer it be made by HTC. I am thinking there will be one phone. It was rumored that there would be 5 nexus DEVICES, not phones.

1. Phone
2. 7" tablet
3. 10" tablet
4. Some nexus google TV?
5. Nexus Q (discontinued)

That is my thought anyway.

actually i am thinking we will see:
10 inch tablet
7 inch tablet
nexus q
nexus phone
google nexus glasses

 

[bunique4life05]

When I was reading a few months back over several blogs including droid-life, Google wanted to not alienate other companies with buying motorola and in thinking Moto would have exclusivity to the nexus branding. That's when Google said it would allow 5 different manufactures to all have the ability to make a nexus device, providing they wanted to, to begin with. The articles made it sound like phone manufacturers. Remeber, by the time the Google/Motorola deal was finally sealed a week or two after the chinese approval, Google had already had the first 400k or so nexus tablets being made in april way before the finalization of the deal, and I'd assume the Q was in development at the time too. So I'd assume that it would be phone manufacturers rathan that just device makers.

Wall Street Journal came out with an article a couple months before the N7 was anounced @ G I/O that Google working with five manufacture. These manufacture would all coming out with Nexus device this fall. Wall Street Journal seemed to already know about Google plan for PDK before it was anounce @ G I/O. What better way to draw attention to the Playstore by having five nexus smartphones to sale. All Google will need then is there own mobile insurance and as well up date the playstore app to allow users to purchase their hardware.


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