Samsung Galaxy Nexus

$344
  • Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich
  • 3.5G
  • 4.7"
  • Dual core 1.2 GHz
Released November, 2011
Also, in another touch from Honeycomb, the pop-up menu control disappears entirely and is replaced by a very cleanly designed menu button that looks like a triple-tiered colon (that's a page from the Windows Phone 7 design book).
Rated 90% by by c|net (Dec, 2011)

Conclusion Check out the Samsung Galaxy Nexus

97%
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87%
61%
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77%
67%
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87%
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First reviewed December, 2011

Features Key features of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus

Back view of Samsung Galaxy Nexus

1.2 GHz

Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich 3.5G

Music sounds great through my Monster Headphones and the screen is actually big and bright enough that I can watch video even with my old eyes.
Rated 100% by by Bret (Jan, 2012)

screen size

4.7"
4"
4.3"
This phone has very many positive's the screen size, screen size, fast 1.2Ghz processor, Google apps, Google music, 720p display, great camera with no shutter lag and panoramic mode are great.
Galaxy Nexus by Javyrmz (Jun, 2012)
I've been pleasantly surprised by the on-screen buttons not being a big deal at all (aside from the aforementioned "Menu" button's variable location), and the build quality of my phone looks to be just as good as anything I've seen with HTC or Motorola.
Galaxy Nexus by Strick1226 (Jun, 2012)

screen resolution

Samsung Galaxy Nexus
Samsung Galaxy S II
Samsung Galaxy S III mini
Black are deep, colors are bright and the detail the ultra-high resolution provides is unparalleled.
Galaxy Nexus by GSM Arena (Oct, 2011)
It is a good phone that works in the five bands used in cellular telephony, ie 3G works 850/900/1700/1900/2100 Mhz, your screen is 16 million colors with resolution of 720 x 1280 pixels, size of 4.65 inches and has 316 ppi pixel density.
Galaxy Nexus by Pedro-Gil-A (Feb, 2013)

memory

0 GB
2 GB

1 GB
2 GB
2 GB

processor

Samsung Galaxy Nexus
LG Nexus 4
Sony Xperia S
Between dual core and the optimized ICS, this baby is smooth and fast.
Galaxy Nexus by MusicFan (Dec, 2011)
1.2ghz of dual core and 1 gig of ram is a good combination.
Galaxy Nexus by cvbcbcmv (Dec, 2011)

camera resolution

0 MP
13 MP

5 MP
12.1 MP
20 MP
The main camera has a 5-megapixel resolution, but you also can shoot in 3 megapixels, 1.3 megapixels, QVGA, and VGA.
Galaxy Nexus by c|net (May, 2012)
Sure it only has a 5 megapixel resolution, but there is near-zero shutter time on this phone, and all of my pictures came out very clearly.
Galaxy Nexus by Jonathan-Hefner (Oct, 2012)
 

Performance Real world tests of Samsung Galaxy Nexus

cpu speed

1.5 GHz
1.5 GHz
Reinforced glass is nice too, really no need to put a screen protector on it and dull the clarity.-Processor speed.
Galaxy Nexus by MusicFan (Dec, 2011)
There's more to network speed than just the 3G/4G connection; the phone's CPU and RAM probably play a role, too.
Galaxy Nexus by Sundown (Apr, 2012)

browser benchmark

Samsung Galaxy Nexus
Samsung Galaxy S II
It feels fast and modern, and frankly might be better than Gmail in the browser in some ways.
Galaxy Nexus by The Verge (Nov, 2011)
The internet browser is easy to use and very fast.
Galaxy Nexus by Rusty-Shackleford (Dec, 2011)

download speed

10.87 Mb/s
7.6 Mb/s
In my personal usage I have seen LTE download speeds in excess of 30 Mbps and EVDO at a solid average of 1 Mbps.
Galaxy Nexus by Richard-Allen
I came from a 3G device so the download speeds have blown me away.
Galaxy Nexus by Adam-Terrell-Payne (Mar, 2013)

talk time

506 min
900 min
750 min
My battery stats when it's nearly drained show 1.5+ hours of talk time and 2.5+ hours of the screen being on, with 4G in use some of the time.
Galaxy Nexus by hsrob (May, 2012)
It did okay as far as talk time goes - 8 hours and 23 minutes - and the video playback time was about average (6 hours and 2 minutes).
Galaxy Nexus by GSM Arena (Dec, 2011)
 

Our analysis How does it stack up against its top 10 competitors

pros

  • 3.5 mm
  • Android Market (Android)
  • Capacitive
  • 5 MP
  • 3.58 Mb/s
  • OLED screens are typically higher contrast and use less power
  • Enables payment by phone and other wireless communications
  • 315 ppi
  • 1280 x 720
  • 84.66%
  • Micro USB
  • 4.7"
  • Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich
  • 1920 x 1080 @ 30 fps
  • 905 ms
  • 16 GB
  • Play games and use applications that take advantage of device rotation
  • 72 ms
  • Share your cellphone's data plan with other devices
  • 9 mm
  • 10.87 Mb/s

cons

  • limited to the phone's built-in storage for apps and data
  • Can't listen to local radio stations
  • Doesn't support the fastest, most reliable networks
  • Nov, 2011

Reviews Word on the street

Read the review (Dec, 2011)
Read the review (Oct, 2011)
Even with less than the ideal framerate, the 1080p videos produced by the Galaxy Nexus are top-notch with correct exposure, good colors, and excellent resolved detail.720p videos are shot at a slightly lower bitrate - 8Mbps - but the framerate goes up to 30fps so they are smoother.
Rated 86%
Read the review (Nov, 2011)
As far as video is concerned, the Galaxy Nexus can capture great 720p and 1080p recordings, though the quality suffers from the same issues as the still camera.
Rated 76%
Read the review (May, 2012)
Rated 90%
Read the review (Dec, 2011)
Rated 87%
Read the review (Nov, 2011)
Now, Google has made it front and center, one of your three camera "mode" choices, in addition to the standard camera and video.
Rated 90%
Read the review (Feb, 2012)
Black parts of the screen can maintain much purer black levels than standard LCD alternatives.
Rated 78% by 634 users at amazon.com
Love this camera as it is, and I used to do photography as a sideline with a "Real Camera.
Rated 100% by by Fred
The camera is so so, if you want to take nice pictures then buy a real camera.
Rated 80% by by umguy
Order a good screen protector when you order the phone and don't take off the retail packaging screen film until you are ready to put on the screen protector.
Rated 100% by by Keith (Dec, 2011)

Screen

The screen is bright, clear and a good size.
Samsung Galaxy Nexus review | Rated 80% by by Matt (Nov, 2012)
It's not perfectly readable under direct sunlight, but if you set the brightness to 100% it's usable.
Samsung Galaxy Nexus review | Rated 100% by by Picky-Buyer

Operating system

Nokia Lumia: Really good phone with all features neck to neck but what, Nokia carry a Windows OS which makes it far less competitive.
Samsung Galaxy Nexus review | Rated 100% by by vivek (May, 2012)
It is extremely fast and responsive with multitasking to be a breeze.
Samsung Galaxy Nexus review | Rated 100% by by Rusty-Shackleford (Dec, 2011)
I know lots of phones on the market right now have this os, and I haven't spent any time with the s3, but the interface is relaxing and beautiful.
Samsung Galaxy Nexus review | Rated 100% by by Amanda (Jul, 2012)

Type

The phone is fast, beautiful and runs android jelly bean.
Samsung Galaxy Nexus review | Rated 80% by by Matt (Nov, 2012)
I'm pretty tech savvy, I'm a programmer, I love Google: so I've wanted an Android phone pretty much ever since I first heard about them.
Samsung Galaxy Nexus review | Rated 80% by by Luke (Feb, 2012)
Those fears has vanish, the screen is gorgeous, and ICS is really a huge step forward for the android platformThinks I like.
Samsung Galaxy Nexus review | Rated 80% by by Lucy (Apr, 2012)

Apps

Sure, the other apps and features are nice too: Jet Audio for beautiful music playback, VLC player for video, Chrome for web surfing, Flixster, Google Maps, News and Weather feeds, Calculator, Stopwatch/Timer, Voice Recorder, Camera, Skype, etc..
Samsung Galaxy Nexus review | Rated 80% by by Eduardo-Nietzsche (Oct, 2012)
All of your paid for extra APPs can be recovered by simply re-loading them; they are on the cloud at the Apps Store and have you listed as already paid for; simply re-download the extra APPS you bought, if you have to.
Samsung Galaxy Nexus review | Rated 100% by by Fred
Other ICS additions include the ability to swipe alert messages away one by one from the pull-down notifications menu, recent apps list, and Internet bookmarks (they call it "gestures"); double-tapping the clock on the home screen to set an alarm; new Gmail messages that flash the name of the sender in the notifications bar; and more options for deflecting unwanted incoming calls.
Samsung Galaxy Nexus review | Rated 90% by by c|net (Dec, 2011)

Battery

I've been subjecting my LTE Nexus to what I would consider abnormally high usage in the couple weeks that I've had it (1750mAh battery - 100mAh lower than what the retail phones shipped with) and I can say this with certainty: if you're either tethering or using Verizon's mobile WiFi Hotspot feature, expect to either plug this in to the charger, or run down the battery in a matter of hours.
Samsung Galaxy Nexus review | Rated 100% by by Nathaniel-Allen
To preserve battery life I find myself turning off wifi, bluetooth and GPS if I am not using them.
Samsung Galaxy Nexus review | Rated 60% by by Dave-A. (Aug, 2012)
In deciding between the Nexus and the newly launched Galaxy S3, the Nexus has much better battery life and is half the price.
Samsung Galaxy Nexus review | Rated 100% by by Aj (Jun, 2012)

Competition What else you should consider

Editions Editions of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus

Price Edition Internal storage Max. download Is 4G Thickness Compare
$344
16 GB 7.2 Mb/s 9 mm
 
Compare
$265
16 GB 20 Mb/s 9 mm
 
Compare
$265
32 GB 20 Mb/s 9 mm
 
Compare

Discussions Get involved, ask your question about the Samsung Galaxy Nexus

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Popular Questions

September 5, 2012
Power Users: Switching from the iPhone to the Nexus?

Is this a good move? I feel like the Android platform is going to BlackBerry void and I'd like to move towards that platform sooner, rather than later.  What are your thoughts on moving from a...

Beginner I
5
Answers
September 6, 2012
Does the Galaxy Nexus have better battery life than the Nexus S?

I've got the Nexus S right now, and these days the battery doesn't seem to last even a day, and thats with light usage.  If i use the phone say for skype or calls, or GPS, then the battery really...

Beginner I
3
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September 9, 2012
Specs and info about both phones, galaxy nexus and galaxy s2

Can you please tell me more about the whole phone including the Games, apps, Camera, Internet, flash, design, hardware, software, calls and everything else. Thanks.

Visitor
1
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Unanswered Questions

September 9, 2012
International support?

I will be doing some traveling to Europe. Will both of these phones work there? 

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Community Find out what the Sortable community is saying about the Samsung Galaxy Nexus Unlocked

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people have recommended the

Samsung Galaxy Nexus Unlocked
Top Samsung Galaxy Nexus Unlocked experts at Sortable
theastromechdroid
Expert I
Samsung Galaxy Nexus
Supporter
Samsung Nexus S
  • Android 4.1 Jelly Bean
  • 3.5G
  • 4"
  • 1 GHz
Samsung Galaxy Nexus
Samsung Nexus S
2 more Sortable users recommended the Nexus S over the Galaxy Nexus Unlocked.
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Beginner II
0
votes

The galaxy nexus has a super amoled screen with a 1.2ghz processor supports jelly bean and was the first phone to have ice cream sandwich. 

Apple iPhone 4S
  • iOS 6
  • 3.5G
  • 3.5"
  • Dual core 0.8 GHz
Samsung Galaxy Nexus
Apple iPhone 4S
2 more Sortable users recommended the Apple iPhone 4S over the Samsung Galaxy Nexus.
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Beginner II
1
vote

I have the Galaxy Nexus, and my parents both own iPhones.  I also have an iPad, so I'm used to both OSs.  They are both good in their own ways, and have similar features and some different  One I...

Samsung Galaxy Note II
  • Android 4.1 Jelly Bean
  • 4G
  • 5.5"
  • Quad core 1.6 GHz
Samsung Galaxy Nexus
Samsung Galaxy Note II
It's a tie. Cast the deciding vote!
View all discussions | View comparison
Intermediate I
0
votes

Both are great phones that have different advantages. The Samsung Galaxy Note II has a large screen at 5.5", expandable storage, a quad core processor and a longer battery life. The Galaxy Nexus...