- Conclusion Get the lowdown
- Features How they compare
- Performance Real world benchmarks
- Differences Technical showdown
- Reviews Word on the street
- Competition Others to consider
- Discussion Answers and opinions
Compare with...
- LG Nexus 4
- Samsung Galaxy S II
- Samsung Galaxy S III mini
- LG Optimus 4X HD
- Sony Xperia S
Conclusion Which is better for you?
Features Key features of the Samsung Nexus S compared to the Samsung Galaxy Nexus
GHz1
Android 4.1 Jelly Bean 3.5G
1.2 GHz
Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich 4G
Rated 90% by by TrustedReviews (Feb, 2012)It'll focus in on subjects around 10cm away in good lighting conditions, but the level of detail captured is not hugely impressive, with clear signs of heavy processing visible when zoomed-in to pixel level.
screen size
4"
4.7"
Nexus S by Glibnus-Tau (Nov, 2011)ADDITIONAL PROS: Active NFC and Google Wallet, Excellent seamless integration with Google Voice, Chat, etc. (it's a Google branded phone what did you expect), great size, weight, and ergo shape, great display, terrific Bluetooth headset link distance both line of sight and non line of sight.
Galaxy Nexus by Javyrmz (Jun, 2012)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.
screen resolution
Nexus S by Mohammed (Nov, 2011)If you need something faster in data go with the Galaxy SII or better....Screen is excellen with vivd colors and sharp details...simply Samsung quality.
Galaxy Nexus by GSM Arena (Oct, 2011)Black are deep, colors are bright and the detail the ultra-high resolution provides is unparalleled.
memory
| 0 GB | 1 GB | 1 GB |
processor
Nexus S by Matt (Jun, 2011)It is very, very fast, I know dual-core is the next big thing but I can't imagine needing anything snappier.
Galaxy Nexus by MusicFan (Dec, 2011)Between dual core and the optimized ICS, this baby is smooth and fast.
camera resolution
| 0 MP | 5 MP | 5 MP |
Nexus S by Jonathan-Hefner (Nov, 2011)I can honestly say that the NS4G takes MUCH better pictures with less Megapixels behind it.
Galaxy Nexus by c|net (May, 2012)The main camera has a 5-megapixel resolution, but you also can shoot in 3 megapixels, 1.3 megapixels, QVGA, and VGA.
Performance Real world tests of Samsung Nexus S vs Samsung Galaxy Nexus
cpu speed
Nexus S by M.-Cox (Sep, 2011)If rooting your phone is your thing, and you happen to want to adjust processor speed, one thing I found out while using the SetCPU app (my use is for down-clocking the processor when the screen is off to help save battery) - well, if you set a profile to down-clock the processor for screen off, DO NOT set the processor to its lowest setting in the profile settings.
Galaxy Nexus by MusicFan (Dec, 2011)Reinforced glass is nice too, really no need to put a screen protector on it and dull the clarity.-Processor speed.
browser benchmark
Nexus S by c|net (May, 2011)You will definitely notice a difference, but still, EV-DO coverage is reasonably fast, and it's more widespread.
Galaxy Nexus by The Verge (Nov, 2011)It feels fast and modern, and frankly might be better than Gmail in the browser in some ways.
download speed
Nexus S by nettieo (Aug, 2011)It's not 4G, but on HSDPA I'm consistently getting download speeds of 6 - 7 Mbps and HSUPA uploads of 2 - 2.5 Mbps.
Galaxy Nexus by Richard-AllenIn my personal usage I have seen LTE download speeds in excess of 30 Mbps and EVDO at a solid average of 1 Mbps.
talk time
840 min
506 min
Nexus S by GSM ArenaThe battery is quoted at 6.7 hours of talk time, with a standby time of 17 days in 3G mode (scaled up to 14 hours of talk time and 29.7 days of standby in 2G networks).
Galaxy Nexus by hsrob (May, 2012)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.
Differences What are the advantages of each
Advantages compared to the Galaxy Nexus 32 GB
| Significantly longer standby time | 42,780 min | vs | 17,400 min |
|---|---|---|---|
| Around 2.5x longer standby time | |||
| Longer talk time | 840 min | vs | 506 min |
| Around 70% longer talk time; go days without charging | |||
| Lighter | 129 g | vs | 149 g |
| More than 10% lighter | |||
Advantages compared to the Nexus S
| Supports Adobe Flash | Yes (Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich) | vs | No (Android 4.1 Jelly Bean) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Somewhat common; Many games and videos on the Internet require Adobe Flash | |||
| Is 4G | Yes | vs | No |
| Somewhat common; Supports the fastest, most reliable networks | |||
| Outputs video to TV | Micro USB | vs | None |
| About half of smartphones can output to TVs; the modern day slide projector, great for sharing your photos & videos | |||
| Significantly faster real world upload speeds | 3.58 Mb/s | vs | 2.23 Mb/s |
| More than 60% faster actual upload speed | |||
| Significantly higher resolution screen | 1280 x 720 | vs | 800 x 480 |
| Around 2.5x higher resolution screen | |||
| Records significantly higher definition video | 1920 x 1080 @ 30 fps | vs | 720 x 480 @ 30 fps |
| 6x higher definition video | |||
| Store significantly more stuff | 32 GB | vs | 16 GB |
| 2x more storage capacity; free yourself from memory cards | |||
| Significantly sharper screen | 315 ppi | vs | 232 ppi |
| Around 40% sharper PPI; enjoy photo-realistic, crisp images | |||
| More cores | Dual core | vs | Single core |
| Twice as many cores; each additional core lets your phone do more without visible UI slowdowns and jerkiness | |||
| More highly reviewed by consumers | 84.66% | vs | 76.49% |
| More than 10% more highly reviewed by consumers | |||
| Bigger screen | 4.7" | vs | 4" |
| Around 20% bigger screen | |||
| Better browser benchmark | 905 ms | vs | 1,804 ms |
| Around 50% better browser benchmark; load pages more quickly on your mobile device | |||
| Faster processor | 1.2 GHz | vs | 1 GHz |
| Around 20% faster processor; run computation-intensive applications, such as photo editing, faster | |||
| More battery capacity | 1,750 mA·h | vs | 1,500 mA·h |
| Around 20% more battery capacity | |||
| Marginally newer | Nov, 2011 | vs | Dec, 2010 |
| Release date 10 months later | |||
| Thinner | 9 mm | vs | 11 mm |
| More than 10% thinner | |||
| Slightly faster real world download speeds | 10.87 Mb/s | vs | 8.03 Mb/s |
| Around 40% faster actual download speed | |||
| Better theoretical download speed | 20 Mb/s (LTE) | vs | 7.2 Mb/s (HSDPA) |
| Around 3x better theoretical download speed; enjoy lightning fast downloads on modern networks | |||
Reviews Word on the street
Samsung Nexus S | Samsung Galaxy Nexus | ||
 |  
|
| |
|---|---|---|---|
 |  Rated by 192 users at amazon.com Rated 40% by by TTN  Rated 60% by by J.-Palodichuk--Creature...-For-a-while. | Rated by 634 users at amazon.com Rated 100% by by Fred Rated 80% by by umguy Rated 100% by by Keith (Dec, 2011) | |
type
Samsung Galaxy Nexus review | Rated 76% by by c|net (May, 2012)It's compatible with Google Wallet (Verizon's phone is not), and it has the pure Android experience that we enjoyed on the HTC Nexus One and the Samsung Nexus S. Yet, Sprint's version also falls short, at least for the moment.
Samsung Galaxy Nexus review | Rated 90% by by TrustedReviews (Feb, 2012)It is significantly more expensive than most other Androids, a full £200 more than the current price of its predecessor the Samsung Nexus S. But if you're on a top-end contract, it's a better buy than much of the similarly-priced competition - the combination of that screen and the software really does make all the difference.
durability
Samsung Galaxy Nexus review | Rated 100% by by Craig-G. (Dec, 2012)The Samsung Nexus is better than the LG because it's a durable and thin phone that allows you to change the battery when you want.
Samsung Galaxy Nexus review | Rated 100% by by Craig-G. (Dec, 2012)I hope Google lets Samsung build their flagship phone again or that the new rumored Google/Motorola phone is more like The Samsung Nexus.
operating system
Samsung Galaxy Nexus review | Rated 60% by by Wilson-Oliveira--Wilson-Vasc (Dec, 2011)Here is my honest opion about Samsung Nexus Prime, fast, better OS, if change battery twice a day is not a problem go to verizon, for some reason Tmobile 4g not working as well as HTC sensation , maybe reception or something else i will wait upgrade to 4.03 and see.
screen
Samsung Galaxy Nexus review | Rated 90% by by TrustedReviews (Feb, 2012)Although it features a Pentile Matrix sub-pixel layout, which we found reduced sharpness and clarity in the Samsung Nexus S and Motorola Droid RAZR the high resolution here mostly quashes the problems it can introduce.
reception
Samsung Galaxy Nexus review | Rated 20% by by SkeetFor any of all of those who have suffered with Samsung Nexus 4G dropped calls, connectivity issues, random shutdowns, camera freezes, and other mystery signal loss read on.
Competition What else you should consider
 | 1 | LG Nexus 4 Rated the best by consumers |
 | 2 | Samsung Galaxy S II Least latency on actual networks |
 | 5 | Sony Xperia S Sharpest screen |
 | 6 | Samsung Galaxy S Advance 6-way tie: Supports FM radio |
 | 8 | LG Optimus L9 2-way tie: Better than usual battery capacity |
Popular Questions
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
Answers Samsung Nexus S
theastromechdroid 
Expert I
If battery was what was important to you, then stick with the NEXUS S. It has a better battery life than the Galaxy NEXUS. Buying a new battery on eBay or Amazon should fix the problem right... View theastromechdroid's recommendation
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- October 9, 2012
- Reply to: Does the Galaxy Nexus have better battery life than the Nexus S?
