Technology moves quickly.
The big guns in the mobile industry such as Apple, Google, Samsung, HTC and LG, regularly provide the market with their updated smartphones and tablets. Samsung Electronics launched the Galaxy S3 in the year 2012, Galaxy S4 in 2013 and Galaxy S5 in 2014. It would be rightly called evolution. However, the point to ponder upon is whether we require latest and updated technology or are we better off by saving money, by opting for an older but capable variant?
Let us compare two of the finest smartphones from Samsung and Google in the Galaxy S3 versus Nexus 4 review.
Screen
The Samsung Galaxy S3 smartphone comes with state of the art Super AMOLED screen. The device comes equipped with a 4.8 inch display operating at a resolution of 720 x 1280 pixels. The device has a pixel density of 306-ppi that is simply astonishing. The S3 smartphone caters the user with brilliant color reproduction, along with superb viewing angles. The screen comes with a coating of Corning’s Gorilla Glass 2 for protection against scratches.
The Nexus 4 has a 4.7 inch True HD IPS Plus screen operating at a resolution of 768 x 1280 pixels. The device has a pixel density of 318-ppi. The smartphone offers bright and sharp visuals along with well-reproduced colors. For protection, the screen comes with a Corning’s Gorilla Glass 2 protection.
Power
The Galaxy S3 smartphone is powered with Samsung’s Exynos 4412 quad chipset, clocked at a speed of 1.4GHz quad core processor. The processor is aided with a Mali400MP graphic processor. It is beyond doubt that both these pieces of silicon are capable of offering smooth performance. The device offers a RAM of 1GB. The smartphone comes with an internal storage capacity of 16, 32 or 64GB variants along with external memory card slot for memory enhancement.
The Nexus 4 on the other hand has a Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset running at a speed of 1.5GHz Krait processor along with Adreno 320 graphic processor. The device offers a RAM of 2GB and is available in 8 or 16GB variants. However, the device does not support external memory card slot for memory enhancement.
Both these devices have highly acclaimed processors offering excellent benchmarks and tremendous speed.
Software
The Galaxy S3 smartphone was released with a Jelly Bean operating system. However, the device can be rooted and a plethora of ROMs can be installed to bring it in line with the latest Android based devices. The Jelly Bean operating system of the device comes along with Samsung’s TouchWiz User Interface that empowers the device with extra apps and social networking features and more.
The Nexus 4 smartphone comes with the latest and updated production of Android – KitKat. The company has plans to update the device to Android L, once it hits the market in 2014. The Android L is considered a huge update from Google. Rumors are that it may be the last from Google. The Nexus 4 is an outdated device in comparison to the latest standards. However, the latest variant of the Nexus 4 comes with KitKat that offers the user with smooth and long lasting performance.
Form
Samsung Galaxy S3 smartphone measures 136.6mm in stature, 70.6mm in breadth and 8.6mm in thickness. The device is available at a weight of 133 grams. The device is thin and light. However, the all-plastic construction of the device is a put-off, for most users. Nevertheless, the device is strong and well built.
In comparison, the Nexus 4 has a neat and meticulous build quality. You may not find anything overwhelming about the design, except for its back plate that offers the device strength rather than being its weak point. The device measures 133.9mm in stature, 68.7mm in breadth and 9.1mm in thickness. The Nexus 4 weighs around 139 grams.
Both the devices have the main 8MP rear cameras with basic features capturing at 1080p. However, the S3 device has a 1.9MP front camera in comparison to the 1.3MP front facing camera of the Nexus 4 device.
Verdict
Both the Samsung Galaxy S3 and the Nexus 4 offer a solid and decent performance. However, the Nexus 4 is a better bet at present, with the expected up-gradation of the device to Android L. On the contrary, if you are looking for a bargain and Jelly Bean is not an issue for you, go for the competent Galaxy S3 smartphone.
Related ItemsNexus 4Samsung Galaxy S3
