Google Nexus 4 vs. Apple iPhone 5: How Do They Stack Up?

LG launched the much awaited flagship Android phone Google Nexus 4 in India for ₹25,900 in May, leading many compnies to slash prices and bringing in creative EMI schemes and exchange offers.

After Nexus 4's debut, arch-rival Apple would have felt the most heat of losing out iPhone demand in price-sensitive markets like India. Even though it had already placed attractive EMI and smartphone exchange schemes, Nexus 4 comes with pure Android stock OS and considering its other specifications, it is touted as the best buy among the high-end smartphones.

 Here is a brief comparison of main features between Google Nexus 4 and Apple iPhone 5:

Display:

Nexus 4 sports a 4.7-inch WXGA IPS screen panel with an HD 1280x768p resolution and pixel density close to 318 ppi (pixels per inch). Even though Apple iPhone 5 is the biggest among its predecessor, it still can be used with a single palm gesture. It features a smaller 4.0-inch screen compared to its rival, but it has the most stunning viewing experience thanks to its retina display having pixel density of close to 326 ppi with a resolution of 1136x640p.

Processor:

In terms of power, Nexus 4 has an upper hand over Apple's iPhone 5 as the former packs a powerful and efficient 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro quad-core processor. Whereas iPhone 5 packs a bit slower processor having a dual-core Apple A6 chipset with 1.GHz CPU speed.

Storage and RAM:

LG smartphone Nexus 4 packs 2GB RAM and 16GB internal memory with no slot for microSD card for further memory expansion. On the other hand, Apple iPhone 5 houses 1GB RAM and it too does not come with a memory card slot either. But buyers will have options of buying three variants - 16GB, 32GB and 64GB models with prices rising with bigger memory, almost reaching ₹60,000.

Camera:

In this aspect, Apple iPhone 5 edges past Nexus 4. Even though they each pack an 8.0-megapixel main camera, higher pixel count does not always guarantee a quality picture. Apple's device comes with few cool features like iSight camera on the rear side and a FaceTime 1.2-megapixel HD front camera which comes with advanced lens that gives clear picture and good video recording capability. Nexus 4 comes with the standard 1.3-megapixel camera at the front.

Mobile Operating System:

Both, Nexus 4 and Apple devices run on most popular OS ecosystem in the smartphone industry. The LG phone runs on the Android Jelly Bean OS which houses a mammoth collection of more than 700,000 apps, but it has the drawback of housing an open ecosystem. Android  smartphones face the vulnerability of being hacked through malwares in less secured app stores.

Apple iOS apps are secured through closed system, as every new app is thoroughly tested by stringent procedure before it gets accepted in to the app store. It currently hosts more than one million applications in its ecosystem. Apple iPhone 5 got its OS update v6.1.4 in May this year.

Price:

Currently, the price of Nexus 4 is hovering around ₹25,900 in the market, whereas iPhone 5 is priced ₹45,500 (16GB), ₹52,500 (32GB) and ₹59,500 (64GB).

However, Apple in bid to attract thrift middle class buyers has launched EMI schemes and exchange offers. Prospective buyers can avail up to ₹7,000 discount for exchanging an old smartphone with a new iPhone; Young adults will get up to ₹7,700 discount, additional ₹700 for college kids .

Considering the specifications, both smartphones are worth their price. But, pocket friendly Nexus 4 is most likely to sway price-sensitive buyers in its fold from the expensive Apple smartphones.

Here is a breakdown of specifications of LG-Google Nexus 4 and Apple iPhone 5:

 Prices vary depending on the market.