Nexus 4 shortcomings - Software fix?

Lugz6002

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Dec 27, 2012
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Hey y'all,

After having read many reviews of the N4 and having owned one for about 3 weeks now, I wanted to get your opinions on possible software fixes for some of the documented shortcomings of the device.

Excluding the lack of LTE (of no concern to me in the UK) and the limited 'on device' storage, It appears that most of the other weaknesses of the device could be fixed with a software update. Weaknesses such as:

- Battery life
- Camera quality (photos)
- Random bugs
- Etc.

Given that this is my first Nexus device (and first Android device, period), I wanted to ask about previous Nexus devices & leading Android smart phones in general (I've switched over from iOS).

Have issues like the above been present in previous Nexus devices and then been fixed by a software update from Google? Just trying to ascertain how realistic these issues will be addressed by Google, based on previous Nexus devices.

Also, given that the next version of Android will probably be announced / released during 2013, how many updates to Jelly Bean are we likely to see between now and then?

Appreciate any input on this.

Cheers guys!


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gone down south

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Jul 24, 2012
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The battery is average for smartphones, the camera is average for smartphones, random bugs happen to every phone.

The problem is that everyone is cherry picking issues to focus on, every feature of the phone compares negatively to the same feature on some other phone. As a complete package, though, it's pretty hard to beat.

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Lugz6002

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Oh, I love the N4, don't get me wrong. I just want to know how reactive Google have been in the past at fixing things that can be addressed in a software update.

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Jerry Hildenbrand

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The first six months of the life of a Nexus phone is a complete bug fest. It's always been this way, and it's because Google uses us all as final beta testers. I'm good with that, because it means I get to have patches and new features ASAP, but the tradeoff is that I have to help test all the bugs in the new version. If things follow the direction they always have, a few more minor updates will roll out between now and the next big release.

Your specific issue camera quality is easy to fix. The software forces the ISO setting too high. Grab a camera app from Google Play that lets you set it manually, drop it to 400 for low light shots and 100 for good lighting, and the pictures are pretty darn good. This probably wont get "fixed", because lower ISO means slower focusing and shutter speed, which are important for most people who just want a quick picture from their phone versus a high quality picture from their phone.
 

Lugz6002

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Thanks Jerry. Care to recommend a decent camera app from the Play store that does what you say? Cheers.

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anon(996907)

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What type of photo quality issues are you having? My nexus 4 seems to have trouble focusing both with auto focus and also manual touch focus. It seems to focus in and then out again. Most the pictures end up with the background focused and the foreground slightly off.

I'd say its one of the major downsides for me so far.
 

Lugz6002

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Dec 27, 2012
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What type of photo quality issues are you having? My nexus 4 seems to have trouble focusing both with auto focus and also manual touch focus. It seems to focus in and then out again. Most the pictures end up with the background focused and the foreground slightly off.

I'd say its one of the major downsides for me so far.

Actually, I've not used the camera enough to ascertain whether any issues affect me. I was basing my list of issues on what people have said in the many threads I have read, both here and on other forums.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2