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    Galaxy Nexus and Android 4.0 vs. iPhone 4S

    By Taylor Hatmaker, Tecca | Today in Tech – Wed, Oct 19, 2011

    Google's new Ice Cream Sandwich OS and Apple's iOS 5 go head to head

    Android and the iPhone may seem like oil and water — at least depending on who you ask — but the two major forces in the smartphone world are starting to increasingly take their cues from one another. Apple just introduced iOS 5, the newest version of its wildly popular mobile operating system, and now Google's let the cat out of the bag on Android 4.0 (playfully nicknamed "Ice Cream Sandwich") and a new flagship phone, the powerhouse Samsung Galaxy Nexus. Android 4.0 seeks to remedy the most common complaints about Android: namely its complexity (and the fact that it isn't the indomitable iPhone). Read on to see how the two mobile heavyweights fare in a head-to-head match.

    The sleek interface of Ice Cream Sandwich

    Appearance
    If you've spent any time with an Android tablet, you've seen the Tron-esque stark black visual landscape that Google has now ported over to Android for phones. Thought up by lauded mobile designer Matias Duarte, the look is a somewhat radical new direction: A sleek retort to the simplicity of iOS that stands apart with deep blacks, glowing blues, and an ultra-modern new font called Roboto. Android 4.0 also tosses resizable widgets into the mix, making it even easier to get weather, email, texts, and more without opening an app.

    Apple's iOS 5 doesn't introduce much in the way of a visual redesign, but why mess with a winning formula? As far as function goes, iOS 5 does introduce an extremely useful pull-down notification system that replaces the incessant pop-ups of yore, though Apple admittedly took its inspiration from Android.

    Winner: Android 4.0 Android's new look is striking and innovative (even if it isn't everyone's cup of tea). The visual style of iOS is clean by definition, but it doesn't have the pizazz of the new blue Android 4.0 and didn't evolve nearly as far in the last update.

    Apple's iCloud automates you backup needs

    Syncing and software suites
    Apple has made much ado about iCloud, its brand new iOS 5 feature that zaps your downloads to the cloud and syncs iTunes downloads like apps, music, and photos them across your iDevices. If you're a former MobileMe user you'll be happy to know that the service is now free, and rolled up under the banner of iCloud for email, contact, and calendar syncing.

    Integration with the cloud has always been a strong suit for Google. While Google Music Beta might have been upstaged by on-demand cloud music darling Spotify, Google's vast suite of software services are quite handy on Android compared to their iOS counterparts. Apps like Gmail offer a richer, deeper experience on Google's own platform, and with Android 4.0, Google has upped the game with enhanced offline email search (up to 30 days back), a functional redesign to make things simpler and smoother, and a revamped Calendar app.

    Winner: Tie If you're more plugged into iTunes and the service formerly known as MobileMe, Apple's software will make your life a breeze. If you lean more heavily on Gmail, Google Calendars, and the like, Android is built for you.

    Siri on the iPhone 4S is an advanced AI

    Killer features from the future: Siri vs. Android Beam and Face Unlock
    Both iOS 5 and Android 4.0 have a futuristic touch — and we're not just talking glowing blue tones either. With iOS 5, Apple introduced us to Siri, a voice command and search app that's almost eerily sophisticated. You can speak into your iPhone 4S and ask Siri anything you want (really, anything!) and Siri speaks the information you need — or least a quirky retort. Android has boasted handy built-in voice commands for longer, but Siri is far more comprehensive...and far closer to being sentient.

    Paired with the futurescape of its new look, Android 4.0 introduces two very cool little bonus features: Android Beam and Face Unlock. If you've ever used the clever app Bump to swap phone numbers, Beam is the exact same idea, but expanded. With Beam, you can tap two phones together and watch as websites, videos, directions, and apps are zapped from one phone to the other.

    Face Unlock for Android 4.0 is a trick that could prove pretty useful in securing your phone from prying eyes. Using Google's face recognition technology, you can unlock your phone just by peering into the front-facing camera and having your face recognized.

    Winner:     Siri Both Apple and Android's new futuristic features have some inherent limitations. Siri is only available for the iPhone 4S, and isn't open to all iOS 5 users. Android Beam will debut on the new flagship Galaxy Nexus phone, and then be possible between any two Android 4.0 phones that have a Near-Field Communication (NFC) chip or sticker. Unfortunately, knowing Google's checkered past with Android updates and its ongoing struggles with its grab bag of Android makers, it's hard to say how long it'll be before the stars will align for Beam.

    Samsung Galaxy Nexus

    iPhone 4S vs. Galaxy Nexus
    While the iPhone 4S is no iPhone 5, it's no slouch either. The phone isn't radically redesigned, but it's got a huge boost in speed thanks to an A5 processor, an even better camera with an 8MP sensor and f/2.4 aperture, and then there's Siri behind the wheel, and the winning design and retina display introduced with the last generation iPhone.

    There's a veritable sea of Android phones out there, but the new reigning champion is the Galaxy Nexus, made by Samsung and due out next month. As the latest in Google's bloodline of Nexus flagship phones, it will be the first phone running Android 4.0 out of the gate — a huge advantage in our crazy, mixed up Android world.

    Samsung Galaxy Nexus tech specs:

    • 4.65" Super AMOLED screen
    • 1.2Ghz dual-core processor
    • Support for 4G LTE
    • Sliver-thin 9mm thickness
    • Curved design that makes it feel natural to hold
    • Android 4.0
    • NFC

    Winner: iPhone 4S In terms of screen quality, speed, and design, these two phones are clearly the very upper crust of the mobile world. They're very nearly equally matched, but the Galaxy Nexus does have a few tricks up its sleeve, with the ability to connect to true 4G networks — not to mention NFC, a burgeoning technology in mobile payments that's set to explode. Still, the iPhone 4S is a better fit for the average buyer. The flagship Android phone's huge screen will be great for multimedia, but at a whopping 4.65", it's just plain too big to have the same broad appeal as a more modestly-sized device.

    Now that Apple has snagged (and refined) some of Android's killer features like voice commands and the drop-down notification window, the iPhone is more of a force to be reckoned with than ever — even if it did play dirty. The Galaxy Nexus is an extremely powerful phone, but there will (hopefully) soon be many more Android 4.0 devices floating around, and none can stay on top for long. For its broad appeal and refined operating system, this round goes to the one and only iPhone.

    This article originally appeared on Tecca

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    623 comments

    • Ben
      Ben Yesterday
      Personally, a big problem with the iphone that I have is the memory space it has. The largest iphone is 64 GB. With no micro SD slot. Where I have a 32 GB micro SD in my Droid 3, that I can easily switch out for a card with different videos/music/pictures on it, not to mention that buying a SD card for my Droid is about 3 times cheaper than buying a iphone with similarly upgraded memory. The emphasis that Apple places on memory is ridiculous.
    • jack
      jack  •  Pittsburgh, United States  •  Yesterday
      I see no merit in this "review" whatsoever. The writer compares them in different categories and basically negates it all at the end. I would respect your choice of the iPhone if you actually had legitimate reasons for it being the better device, but you instead base your decision off screen size, which is purely preference.
    • AntiMindControl
      AntiMindControl 2 days ago
      These phones are becoming smarter than their users.
    • RaymondC
      RaymondC  •  Pleasanton, United States  •  Yesterday
      Heres an idea, buy the phone you like, and leave everyone else alone
    • Michael G
      Michael G 2 days ago
      Must be a paid ad. I sat down with a 4S owner and showed him my one year old, rooted, tweaked and customized, EVO that's running a GB ROM and a hot kernal. He must have said, "How'd you do that?" a dozen times.

      Oh, and he had to use my phone as a hotspot to get WiFi.
    • DevinD
      DevinD 2 days ago
      You just listed how the Galaxy nexus is better in almost every hardware spec, yet the iphone wins? Since when is a bigger, better screen a bad thing? So what if Apple finally got the status bar and voice controls, Android users have had that ability for quite some time...iphones are good reliable device, but I'll take my android phone over that anytime.
    • Logan G
      Logan G 2 days ago
      So the Galaxy Nexus has a bigger, higher resolution screen, facial recognition, a built in baramoter, has an LTE radio on available networks, is opensource and customizable, and has a wider availibility but it loses because you can have mindless banter with siri on one version of the iphone?? Geeze, someones tripple beam is out of calibration.
    • kluvlaw
      kluvlaw 2 days ago
      4S looks nice, but the main knock on Nexus is that it's screen is too big?

      In a world where phones and computers, hello tablets, are have merged closer together than ever, screen size is the PROBLEM? I'd say that is a totally subjective complaint that will be proven VERY wrong when millions of Nexus' are sold. You apparently don't know what consumers want.

      Psst- A bigger screen on a lighter, thinner, phone is a plus.
    • somebody
      somebody  •  Boston, United States  •  Yesterday
      truly this review is written by dick sucking apple fanboy. the galaxy nexus is clearly a better phone and more advanced than the iphone 4s that copied android in many features. there were android phones 2 years ago that did what the "new" features on the iphone 4s did
    • Christopher
      Christopher Yesterday
      Um, dear Yahoo team. Your mouseover text reads "Galaxy Nexus phone (Motorola)" ... how can I take this article seriously now?
    • Albert Bonham
      Albert Bonham 2 days ago
      You surmise that the iphone wins out simply b/c (in your opinion) it has broader appeal? I can't get on board with that.
    • Bruce
      Bruce 2 days ago
      Good luck swapping spare batteries on the iphone in 5 sec, Good luck getting a refund on a bad app, Good luck getting 4G, Good luck getting adobe flash , Good luck getting political apps such as wikileak. And last but not least good luck getting a physical keyboard and screen over 3.5".
    • Demosthenes
      Demosthenes Yesterday
      lol people complain about the phone being too big? I remember when "cell phones" required a separate bag to carry they were so big, and no one complained then.
    • j.r.
      j.r.  •  Cleveland, United States  •  2 days ago
      I like how the article fails to mention the lack of Flash media for iPhone, the fact that iPhone can only connect to one computer, it gets stuck syncing all the time, has bad reception, does not have an expandable memory slot (mini SD), cannot download music from open sources (only iTunes), and has various other frustrations that Android does not have. I had an iPhone for over two years but switched to Android because of Apples various restrictions.
    • ColoradoSuport4AZ
      ColoradoSuport4AZ  •  Aurora, United States  •  Yesterday
      How much did apple pay for this review?...... The reasoning behind Apple getting number one in the final paragraph? 1. Their screen is smaller 2. They don't have true 4G compatibility 3. They aren't able to tap into new NFC technology & 4. They stole idea's from Androids capabilities...... LOL What a great summary lead up to a wrong conclusion......haha
    • Boxerbud
      Boxerbud  •  Fort Worth, United States  •  Yesterday
      Excusssssssssssse me, but Siri is nothing new, doyou know what you're talking about? Haven't you heard of Vlingo on Androids platform? Maybe they just didn't market it correctly, but it's a personal assistant that does all that Siri does and it has been out on Android for over a year !! Aren't you aware of Samsung suing Apple over stealing their intellectual rights copywriting ?? DUH
    • Kevin Fitzgerald
      Kevin Fitzgerald  •  Woburn, United States  •  Yesterday
      If Mr. Hatmaker decided that the iPhone was a better phone simply because it was smaller, I think that's a pretty weak decision point.

      I would accept that the iPhone could have an advantage with Siri, but to say that most consumers want a smaller phone seems a bit trivial.

      My mother wanted an iPhone because she loves her iPad, but her complaint is that the screen is too small for her. The Nexus is thinner, and not all that much larger.

      My girlfriend is getting an iPhone 4S on 10/28 and I'm getting the Nexus when it comes out, so we'll see which phone is better in a head to head context.

      We've been battling her iPhone 4 against my Droid X for over a year now, differences are barely noticeable.
    • B
      B 2 days ago
      Yahoo has an article every single day sucking of Apple
    • FugazStar
      FugazStar 2 days ago
      lol. this article is a joke
    • CHills
      CHills 2 days ago
      This article is crap. All previous reports I have read indicate that the screen is not as nice as the original iphone 4. Also they're giving props to apple because it has managed to snag some of androids killer features. So its still catching up! Android has moved on and included more features. I hate this trend of praising all things apple.
      Also I agree the screen is a preference, however I guarantee there will be future phones and anything the review will be screen is too small at 3.8 inches or screen is too big at 4.2 inches or screen is same size and has twice the resolution as the 4s but it is not made by apple. Give me a break.
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