Google Nexus 4, 10 years later! [Mini-Documentary]

This is the LG Nexus 4, ten years on from its launch in the winter of 2012. It arrived as smartphone growth was exploding and 4G LTE was being rolled out around the world. If, like me, you used a Nexus 4 in 2012 you'll probably have some fond memories of this slick, glittery, early-2010s powerhouse. But even if you didn't, you'll also want to check out our retro review, because there's more to this decade-old little Google phone than you might think!
0:00 Intro
0:48 Why Nexus, Why LG?
5:16 Hardware, Rubber Reversion
7:46 Cameras, Photo Sphere
9:20 Jelly Bean, KitKat, Lollipop
11:38 Secret 4G Functionality
13:06 Reception
13:54 Android 11 on Nexus 4
15:28 Wrapping Up
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[@coffeevie]

Still my favorite Nexus of all time. I still have my original black one (where the sides are slowly turning to goop from the rubber) and a white one I bought a few years ago that is running mobile Ubuntu for fun

[@julianc528]

I've been loving these "look back" type videos like the Pixel / Nexus history one! Thanks XDA! 🤗

[@Call_me_Engram]

I still have one in a drawer running OmniROM Kit-Kat 4.4.4 Probably the best Rom I've ever tried, the entire lock screen system and configuration of this Rom was a masterpiece.

[@androidash]

Don't you ever get it out? I've been "tinkering" since the beginning and I still do it today, it's a lot of fun to get the older devices out and play around. The time flies, suddenly 5-6 hours have passed 😁

[@Call_me_Engram]

@@androidash Sometimes I still use it to do background stuff like converting files or downloading data. Unfortunately I already tried every single Custom ROM, kernel and Mod on the Nexus 4, so there's just nothing to be discovered there for me anymore. I tried countless Mods using Xposed Framework, I remember trying all the Custom Kernels and sticking to the HellScore Kernel as I believe it was the best one and I tried every single Custom ROM available for it. In my opinion the best ones were: OmniROM 4.4 Paranoid Android 7.1

[@tvrtkocro28]

@@Call_me_Engram ommi and paranoid were my favorites too on nexus 5!

[@Call_me_Engram]

@@tvrtkocro28 Yeah, Paranoid was light with just few tweaks here and there, very similar to stock Android while Omni was very heavy on customisation. Both were stable enough to be used on a day to day basis.

[@Maxr1998X]

I still have found memories of the Nexus 4. The device itself is very pretty (and easy to repair!), the custom ROM and modding scene was lively and fun, and it aged really well in my perspective. Booted it up just a while ago and was surprised how well it ran (on an Android 11 custom ROM). The only things that sucked a bit back then were the camera and battery life. Still, for the price you really got a lot. Unfortunately the battery on mine was swelling after nearly 10 years so I had to remove and recycle it. Maybe I'll get a replacement battery for nostalgia reasons before long.

[@transkryption]

back when batteries were replacable and android was fun

[@Return2TheLiving]

Back when batteries also took forever to charge and would barely last a day

[@transkryption]

@@Return2TheLiving so id keep several. plus they don't last a day now. QC 2.0 is on the S5 = fine. and seperate boards for USB not direct main board microsoldering, so a $10 easily replaceable fix back when SCREWS were a thing. not glue& tape.

[@ZwaetschgeRaeuber]

@@transkryption idk what kind of phones you use but i repair phones for fun and most of them have a single, easy replacable charging board. but yea the glue part for the back is trash. i just replace them with a new one when opening.

[@transkryption]

@@ZwaetschgeRaeuber I thought Samsung after the s1⁰ moved away from seperate boards... the S5 may as well not have screws given how you need to de-glue the screen to get inside anyway... Infuriating

[@ZwaetschgeRaeuber]

@@transkryption the last samsungs i repaired were my note 10+ and the other one was a a52 from 2018 or 19 and both had easy replacable boards. same goes for all xiaomi/poco/redmi and huawei devices i repaired. idk about apple devices or galaxy s20 and above series, since i dont repair iphones and i advice against samsung phones nowadays

[@AirJordan23DCH]

I had the Sony Xperia Z Ultra (Google Play Edition) and a Nexus 5 I loved both of those phones I wish Google would go back to Google Play Edition phones again

[@inkdaddy66]

It’s nice to see old android devices. My first was a Galaxy nexus. I loved that phone

[@NickBasra]

This was my all time favourite Nexus and one of my all time fav phones

[@planetminecraft411]

Really cool look back. Loved the video

[@c_004]

Nexus 4 was my first Android phone, and it's what got me into Android modding. I managed to install Android Oreo on my 8 GB unit, but my younger bro dropped it, rendering it useless lol. I then moved on to Xperia Z5, and then back to Google with the Pixel phones.

[@anthonywilliams9415]

My first Nexus device. Loved, loved, loved that phone.

[@androidash]

Yes! I've still got several old devices and I often get them out and play around, love it. I hope to see more of these. I think HTC One M7 should be coming up in a few months

[@dankovac4176]

4:26 it was internally the same phone as Optimus G. I mean totally identical, it was possible to install Nexus's firmware on it.

[@joaopaulobonomeneto1287]

Simply the best smartphone I've ever had, and it was my first touch-smartphone ever. Unhappily after like 2 years of good use, it fell on the floor and the screen was smashed. I didn't think of repairing it because I thought that 2 years with a phone was too much, and decided to buy a new one... the dreadful Samsung Grand2Duos, one of the worst phones I've ever had. Until today, the only phone that managed to get close to Nexus 4 that I had was my old OnePlus 5T. Now I'm trying out the Xiaomi 12, I hope it gets along nicely.

[@alsa4real]

evolution of android brings back so many memories

[@HansyPants184]

Oh yeah! Lock screen widget screens were wicked! I miss being excited by phones like the Nexus 4/5. I remember refreshing the Nexus 4 sale page multiple times a day for what felt like months to finally get mine.

[@chrisrodgers49]

This was my 3rd Android phone. It was the phone that I learned to root and rom on. I probably think about this phone more than any other. I stayed with the Nexus line through the 6.

[@antoniosandoval8383]

It last me for almost 4 years. It was a great phone. Custom roms really gave it a second life with new features, and the hardware was outstanding (the camera was the only thing lacking).

[@mrd5024]

Still use mine. I keep it when I go biking. Still pretty fast for how old it is

[@SakosTechSpot]

I remember trying to order this in my college class on my old 3g phone and the Google servers crashing throughout the release. I somehow managed to get my order in. Still have my N4 to this day. Good times.

[@mind-blowing_tumbleweed]

Thank you for this video! I had this beauty back in 2013. It worked so well. The only annoying thing was the battery - 3 hours of screen time at best. At the time lagging was the issue compared to iOS, and this phone never failed me in this regard. Cyanogen Mod was a revelation to me. Many small convenient features, everything works so well on this phone. Many times I practiced distro hopping and spent time setting up everything again. I don't really see what Android in 2023 can do Android in 2013 couldn't in terms of features I actually use everyday. But I hope Pixel 7 is a worthy successor to Nexus 4 which was just amazing.

[@GitaeRyu]

Damn, I miss those days.

This is my first android smartphone! It's still the phone I've liked the most, although my Pixel 5 is challenging that spot. I still have the phone, but it started boot looping back in 2019. The phone was blazing fast, battery life was subpar but overall, a great smartphone!

[@29091992abhishek]

This was my first phone which I bought from my first job' first pay. The phone was sheer love! Unfortunately someone stole it!

[@hertsman5]

I have installed Linux Ubuntu Touch on my old Nexus 4....I wanted a phone for just calls and txts that was secure did not send out information back to Google about where I was , who I was messaging, what i was buying and what apps I was using. It still runs great !! I also trashed Windows 10 and have Ubuntu on my Laptop !

[@Arrozconchopsticks]

I enjoyed that time of Android. I remember the "LTE hack" also. I used LTE on it with T-Mobile. I know it doesn't have wireless charging(which it should've had) but the 6a feels the closest to a modern version of it.

[@smitbangare9526]

miss android kitkat. It was the best Android OS till date for me, especially with CyanogenMod ;(

[@TheRailroad99]

in general i think android 4.x was the peak of android. 2.x and earlier looked really ugly and more like a tech demo. But Android 4 started to be a very polished OS, and still very open source friendly. (And developers honoured this! - The custom ROM scene was thriving back then). 5.x was the last OS where google updated all AOSP apps. In modern android versions some of them don't even compile anymore without changes, and most don't follow the current material you design language. Also, the menus of android 4 were great and did not change - just got bigger. With most android versions since, the settings layout got redone so often that by now the only fast way to find a setting is the search bar - horrible UI concept!

[@Gary0557]

Amazing how great that phone still looks, especially with putting the white back on the black phone.

[@jamesjames7601]

The nexus 4 was my first android phone by Google and man I really loved it. It was with me through some good times and bad times. I only wished battery life on it was better. During my first few weeks with the phone in early 2013, it died before the day was over. This caused me to change my charging habits and charge more frequently through out the day. Despite the battery life it was a great phone.

[@RichardRatner.1972]

Big love Alex, Kindest regards, as ALWAYS, Richard U.K

[@carbullzone953]

Those were the good old days. Nexus 4's design, aside from the height and bezels looks way better than the current-day Pixel imo.

[@shahrukhqureshiKun]

Looking forward to Nexus 5 and 6 look back videos.

[@zangetsuee]

God, so many nostalgic feelings. Syria didnt import these phones for reasons I still dont know but I remember urging my friend to buy a Nexus 5 from lebanon when went there once. He was quite noob and wanted the flashier Note 3 from Samsung but I remember feeling so flustered because he wouldnt listen when I said the nexus phones are very well build phones XD

[@jradish]

another added benefits of the little nubs in the later versions was to keep the back of the phone off a cold countertop. If the back of the phone got hot during high usage, and it was placed down gently on a cold glass/marble table, the back glass of the Nexus 4 would shatter

[@juanmartinmoralespinzon6751]

My first phone, i have good memories

[@wbxg4mer]

still have it!!! best phone

[@TurboBass]

The Nexus 4 was and still is one of the GOATs and I miss that time, but don't necessarily want it back.

[@NehemYah810]

Tbh those photos on this old ass phone look pretty good 🤷‍♂️

[@lieftheshinigami]

My favorite story of my Nexus 4 is when I had someone come over bragging about their newly acquired S5 and my scrappy little nexus ran circles around it in terms of performance. I still have it but sadly I lent it out to a friend and the screen came back destroyed. I don't think the rubber barrier has started to deteriorate much either. I had to replace the screen once and somehow the proximity sensor stopped working properly, which was a drag, but hey, things happen.

[@alexguitar841]

Man I regret not owning that phone... It looked so good!

[@jradish]

man i remember lock screen widgets and dash clock. damn i miss 2013

[@DARKSHREK000]

This guy definitely saw my recent watch history and said "I gotchu" 😂😂😂

[@ZwaetschgeRaeuber]

now id love to see my first android phone again. the htc one x. would have never bought again but it was interesting for the time

[@jgames01]

Where'd you get the replacement back cover?

[@Mister_kipling]

That river Island t-shirt is about 10 years old too lol

[@TheAJKahn]

Still have one. Use it for media playback and GPS for my bike rides. 😊

[@aared]

12:49 I was so confused by that cut

[@dylanheyl]

Dashclock was amazing!

[@ponzi_bunny]

I remember tripping running a skateboard and my phone flew from one side of the street to the other and up in the SKY and even with a case it shattered… traded an iPod for a black listed nexus 4 and removed the display and put it on mine within 2 days… good old memories. iPhone 5 and nexus 4 days were so good

[@XDAVideo]

No lie my original Nexus 4 cracked removing a dbrand skin

[@ponzi_bunny]

@@XDAVideo I almost bought one one time lol… but then I realized that this is the most beautiful phone ever to exist.. I using a mint iPhone 6s rose gold now with new battery and I love it. Get all day battery and damn… the nexus phone came to my head but too old I think.. would love to buy one just to hang it on a wall… great times I swear

[@bhushandoiphode]

I have so many fond memories with the legendary Google Nexus 4. Used it to its potential for 3 long years until it's display died.

[@arwlyx]

I miss the nexus line, pixel just isn't the same thing

[@lenacheney]

I remember being so bummed I dropped my nexus 4 and cracked it

[@CrueHead18]

Still my personal favorite smartphone.

[@lukaszakul]

I have had One, still using with carbon OS android 9.

[@heymerv_]

My first Nexus phone. A year later the digitizer broke and render it unusable. I then bought Nexus 5.

[@DanielBrown89]

Favorite phone ever

[@getabhirup]

Another Nexus4 (Mako) fanatic here. Mine is running LineageOS (Android 10) after repartitioning. Can't seem to dispose it off. The brain doesn't agree.

[@arnold_m_xavier]

Do a similar video on Nexus 5x. I think it will handle custom ROMs much better

[@XXB4XX]

Those nubs were for the speaker as it sat flat and blocked the port

[@kiwilbadvoice5538]

Btw bro, how about android one program?

[@P5YcHoKiLLa]

I had/still have the black one. Even posted a guide on XDA to replace the battery since I had to do it for mine : "Bulging Nexus 4? No problem!! (Battery replacement guide)"...TinyPic killed all the photos though, I just found out :/

[@Jazzinvader]

I still wish they made a mini pixel. Like the iPhone 13 mini. Same everything, just smaller

[@BorisZX6R]

I loved the entire Nexus lineup, owned the Galaxy Nexus, Nexus 4, Nexus 5, Nexus 5X , Nexus 6 was too wide for me and Nexus 6P was a bit pricey for me at that time...

[@bhushandoiphode]

Nexus 5X was probably the worst of them all. Poor built quality and constant boot loop issues.

[@BorisZX6R]

@@bhushandoiphode build was not that bad at all. But the storage did fail in mine within the warranty period. It felt a bit slower than the Nexus 5 for some reason.

[@introdructor]

And i gave first like, happy 10th birthday, nexus 4 :) 🥳

[@wertywerrtyson5529]

Loved the Nexus 4. It felt big compared to the iPhone 4 and was cheap and fast. It also looked great. Unfortunately the glass back broke. And then the front. It was eventually retired.

[@elvinsworld11]

Nice

[@ApexierGS]

I still loved Android 4.4.4, KITKAT.I stalled on 5.0 and 5.1 updates cuz of UI bugs and app crashes on lolipop, and newer versions I skined my Android to look like KITKAT 🤗

[@alanwisdom7777]

It seems from another century 😆

[@sickandloose]

I had this... 🥰

[@TajulAkbarIsmail]

same here

[@HaryonoYong]

I failed to install google on my nexus 4 with lineage os in it. I have 16 GB one. But I failed to repartition it

[@thecontentprism]

I loved my nexus 4

[@Biaanca5036]

The nexus 4 and Nexus 5 have great battery life _when used with the original ROMs they officially support._ :) Modern android have way too many redundancies and security stuffs in place and all of that junk takes up way too much CPU and GPU power which is why so many people complain about having terrible 40 minute battery life. I just use KitKat and greenify to fake the modern deep-sleep stuff. Plenty of battery life for a workday and an after work meal

[@jradish]

this is still the prettiest Nexus imho

[@maximusg88]

I miss Google Now

[@RossCanpolat]

Nexus 5, Nexus 6, Nexus 7 Tablet and now I'm on a Pixel 6 Pro. I've had 3 Samsung's (S3, Note 4 and Note 9) and hated each one of them. Long live pure Android 👍

[@yaqoublewatermelon80]

very quickly started lagging, overheating, back glass shatered after drop from knee height - this was my first & last nexus, shame I remember liking alot its design

[@rafars2246]

The original and the only one.

[@iSamYTBackup]

still more useful than an iphone 5 in 2022 trow a rom on the nexus 4 and boom cheap phone

[@phritza]

I still have mine in a box under my bed. The screen is damaged.

[@WiseRuler]

Yeah my wife broke the screen on hers. She also broke her LG G2 😢

[@bhushandoiphode]

OnePlus 6 is the modern day Nexus 4.

[@H4TTOR1_H4NZO]

I would still use mine but no VOLTE 😑

[@sabriilies7424]

I want the nexus 5 🥲 to be back again

[@darwinerius]

love this phone if i didt break the screen i wouldn't buy new phone.. i wish i can fix mine so that i can use it again.

[@legotrucks1]

Watching this on a pixel 6a

[@shanehorne22]

Nexus 4 did not have wireless charging

[@Poochie78]

This phone has HSPA+ not 4G … trust me I know more than anyone .. it might have said 4G but it’s H+ aka 3.5 G

[@TheRailroad99]

No! HSPA(+) is 3G (or 3.5G as you call it) and was standard even back then! The 2010 Galaxy S had HSPA, 2011 SII had HSPA+ and 2012 and later phones (at least flagship ones like the iPhone 5 and the S3) have 4G connectivity - including this one - well, technically at least. As stated in this video the Nexus has 4G hardware, but it can not officially enabled. However it is there - and not just a 4G icon: It still gets signal in my area where 3(.5)G got disabled last year (after patching the modem firmware).

[@Poochie78]

That’s Cap! You could get these at T mobile .. I had 3 of them

[@Mozes316]

They should have kept the Nexus line IMO... But of course I'm looking from a nastalgic view as opposed to a business one. Unfortunately I was on Verizon during the Nexus era and couldn't areally experience that Samsung/Nexus BS rather than a true Nexus phone. Should have just switched to T-Mobile years ago...

[@dinckelman]

I'm still trying to get a Nexus One in running condition. That phone was fun. There was genuinely nothing like it, until the iPhone came out

[@gasperstarina9837]

I had Nexus S but it was built very bad and had dead pixels...I liked the phone for 2,3 weeks but then when they returned money i went buy iPhone and still using Apple in 2023

[@aranperumal]

2022 - 5G, 6gb ram, 128gb rom, smaller chin,

[@TajulAkbarIsmail]

💪 Nexus 🦾

[@HaimPeretz]

I really liked my Nexus 5 back in those days. It also has the magnetic wireless charging way b before the Apple MagSafe:) I built a Diy MagSafe wireless charger: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nHraiouEe7p5frs

[@metatronblack]

I like 🍪

[@techrevisit]

Noice❤️ First ? 👀

[@carilynfirestone3438]

𝓅𝓇𝑜𝓂𝑜𝓈𝓂 😬