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We’ve heard a lot of rumors regarding what sort of device news Google would be presenting at its developers’ conference, Google I/O, next month. The strongest rumor to date has been the unveiling of a Motorola X Phone, a device we expect to be Motorola’s finest work with exceptional build quality, stock Android, and long battery life. According to unnamed sources of SidhTech’s, however, we won’t be seeing that unveiled at the conference.
More troubling is the possibility that we may not see a brand new Nexus device at the show. We hadn’t been expecting one just yet — no noise has been made about one in the rumor mill — but we imagined it could be, at the very least, possible. Scratch that one off the list.
We can still count on something new, though. The rumor suggests Google will be using Google I/O to launch a 32GB version of the Nexus 4 that has LTE. We wouldn’t be that surprised to see something like that considering LG built dormant LTE radios into the Nexus 4 to begin with. And it also wouldn’t be the first time that Google refreshed a Nexus product with more storage and new connectivity.
The timing makes a bit of sense, as well. The Nexus 4 launched well after last year’s Google I/O so this would be Google’s first opportunity to present developers with the device as a take-home consolation gift. Also, with T-Mobile’s LTE network launching it gives Google even more reason to officially provide the functionality in Nexus form. Sure, AT&T’s network has been up and running for quite some time but Google’s likely following T-Mobile’s cues more than anything as it’s the most friendly network in America when it comes to “BYOD.”
None of this is confirmed, of course, so don’t be too bummed out just yet. Even if we don’t see a brand new device at the show we’re sure many folks would be happy seeing a 4G LTE, 32GB version of the Nexus 4. We’ll be crashing Google’s I/O party May 15th in San Francisco so make sure to circle your calendars and circle back to Phandroid for all the latest on what is eventually announced.
The new Nexus I was expecting was a new 7inch tablet nexus.
Never expected a nexus phone, only the moto X.
So not bummed out the least by a refreshed nexus 4….so long as the 5th nexus phone will be released at the end of this year….need a replacement for my Gnex….and not gonna settle for a nex4
I need a replacement for my Evo 3D, and if the X Phone is going to be stock Android and will be released on Sprint, then I’d definitely be interested. I qualify for an upgrade now, but I’m hesitant to use it yet. I was waiting for the Galaxy S4, but I’d consider waiting for the new Nexus 5, or the X Phone, provided they’d be available on Sprint. I don’t want to burn my upgrade now only to regret it a few months later. I figure I’ve been waiting for 2 years already, what’s a few more months
Yeah, I think if I get a new phone, it’ll have to be Nexus. I just love the pure speed of AOSP.
Inb4 “ONLY 32GB storage???”
32gb should be the MINIMUM starting point on any modern phone these days. I hate going to the cloud for my music needs…
This is the truth.
Sporting a 16gb Nexus 4 and admittedly my space is a bit squeezed. 32gb should definitely be the minimum these days.
Sporting a 8GB Nexus 4 with 5GB still free…. I’m doing all right with my phone…
the 8GB Nexus 4 is perfect for people who load their phones with “normal” amounts of photos/music/video/files etcetera. however, “normal” storage usage seems to be increasing on average more and more. and more people are putting everything on their phones nowadays. Just yesterday i saw someone at Universal Studios in line waiting to go on a ride who was also using their smartphone to read the lecture notes from their professor, weird, but this represents the weird files people put on their phones all the time, some times it might even be a video lecture, or people who enjoy putting their work files, personal files, even graphic design photoshop files on their phone, merely as a means to eliminate a spare USB memorys stick. however, i think that an 8GB phone should still be sold if and only if the price point is lower and it will cause people who wouldnt ordinarily buy a smartphone to buy one because of the discounted price.
The cloud is my friend I took the tightwad move and got the 8 gig as well I have plenty of space left on the phone I take plenty of pics have tons of music and even a couple of full length movies, not to mention recorded lectures from classes. The phone geeks nit pick too much when they don’t want to utilize everything available too them. The only thing I wish I had more space on my phone is for more ROM backups I keep one on my phone at one time I prefer 2 though.
Yeah, I got the 16GB Nexus 4. I could have easily gotten the 8GB and saved myself some money, I just worried myself and got the 16GB just in case. Even some of the stuff I have on my phone now I could do without.
I manage just fine with 16gb, though I admit I’d like the option for more. By streaming music instead of putting on my device 16gb is more than enough though.
I liked the nexus 4, the reason i couldn’t consider it was its paltry storage options. For some people 16gb and cloud storage is enough but not for me. I need 64gb built in. I hope they have plans for that unfortunately i won’t hold my breath waiting.
Totally agree. I went with the 16gb nexus anyways because i’m too lazy to root and touchwiz / sense are garbage imo. I ran through the 16gb in a day, had to wipe out all of my music off the phone and can only listen to it through the internet now which sucks. I hope the next generation Nexus (Nexus 5?) has 32 and 64 options. We’re a bit too far into the smart phone thing to still only offer 8 and 16. I really don’t care what anyone says, cloud is not a viable option in a world of data caps and black out zones where you can’t get data.
Streaming is fine for me most of the time, but one tip just put a select group of your favorite artists on the phone, I have a massive music collection, I put 6 -8 gbs of my favorites on the phone, the rest I stream. Having only your favorites on the phone saves quite a bit of bandwidth because it’s the music you play the most, and with the cloud I have access to more than 64 gb of music.
Either that, or get yourself a Sansa Clip with a microSD card, and you’re off to the races. I’m not making excuses for Google’s paltry storage options, but this might actually be a superior solution if you don’t stream much and don’t need bluetooth, esp to save on your phone’s battery life.
Except i don’t want an extra accessory, i would prefer it all within the phone’s chassis
Have you seen the size of those Clips? You can easily fit one in your pocket :) Honestly, I find the inconvenience of carrying one around to be much less of a hassle than playing music on a phone, esp since I can skip tracks and such with it in my pocket, and the battery lasts a hell of a lot longer than a phone. Again, I’m not making excuses for Google here… just trying to make a case that playing music on a phone is not always the optimal solution. That is especially true when exercising, and having a big-ass phone flopping around in your pocket, or having to use an arm band.
We can wish.
I have 32gb but I use less than 16gb so I wouldn’t agree with that statement even though I do have it. Some people don’t have that much stuff on their phone.
Eh… I game on my devices and 16GB is just not enough. But isn’t this a bit… dumb? I mean it had LTE before. They just had it dormant. Does this means that the original Nexus 4 will be able to use their LTE?
It had support for one band of LTE on a carrier that officially launched LTE about a month ago.
If they release a new almost identical device, maybe just with AT&T and/Euro LTE frequencies. I think they should get the fcc to certify the original Nexus4 for T-mobile customers, but I’m not holding my breath.
Nah, a lot of users are perfectly fine with 16GB. But I will agree they need to include 32GB+ storage from the beginning.
Grainssssssssss GRAINS!!!! GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAINSSSSSSSSSSS of salt. No Google do NOT release a refreshed N4 I want that N5
Why not both?
LTE Nexus 4 and 1080p Nexus 7 with both be there.
I don’t believe this rumor at all. This is what should have been released last year not now and to do it now would be a mistake. Nexus 4 owners probably won’t give up their phones for 4G lte and extra storage space they already have on a cloud somewhere most likely and spend the extra time and money on only LTE. At least not me. Hi Nexus 5!
Yeah but this will draw in new people who didn’t buy a nexus 4 for storage and lte reasons
But would they really profit from this right now with the HTC One released and soon to be released SGS4?..Doubt it. What you would likely see with just adding space and LTE is people selling N4s and getting the new one (very few) and maybe a few new Nexus buyers. Most will hold out for a Nexus 5 *raises hand*
Agreed, i’ll just wait. I would much rather have the 32gb but i’d also rather wait until next year and pray LG doesn’t get the contract again. I love how fast the device runs but i’m still agitated by the light bleeding display, the glass back, lack of storage and LTE… LG just doesn’t make a quality product. That said I still wouldn’t buy any phone but a Nexus.
I’m one of those who held off for storage and lte
They’ve done it before though with the Nexus 7, so this isnt shocking at all.
I’m not going to completely trust rumours. After all they are just rumours. But I’m looking for an upgrade and I really hope a Nexus 5 appears. Not expecting anything though. Here’s hoping.
They’ve traditionally launched the new nexus phone in the fall, in time for the christmas sales cycle, right? Why would anyone expect anything except maybe a bumped spec N4 at IO?
Now, new N7/N10, new GTV, that would be much more likely.
By bump what do you mean? Processor? Camera? LTE? Screen?
For Nexus 7 2 the rumored refresh includes better processor and screen — no rear camera as this would drive the price point up. Have not heard much about Nexus 10.
Phone in the fall, tablet in the spring based on past history.
We’ll see. :)
If there is going to be no nexus 5 then at lest turn on the LTE radios in the rest of the nexus 4’s don’t make me regret getting the nexus 4 last month.
they can’t enable the LTE radios. it was never approved by the FCC to broadcast that air interface on that radio. they’d be looking at huge fines…
Could re-certify, but that costs money.
*cue Chris horror story* lol
A refreshed N4 sounds great. Of course it’s not for those of us who have N4s already, (having received my phone in December, I’m hardly ready to even consider replacing it) but those that held out because of limited storage and the lack of LTE connectivity.
OMG QUIT BITCHING ABOUT STORAGE. Before each and every one of us “techies, android fanboys” buys a new phone I’m pretty sure we stalk spec sheets and review sites, so if you KNOW you need more then 16gb of Memory…DONT BUY A NEXUS WHEN IT CLEARLY STATES 8/16 OPTIONS. Not everyone needs 32gb which for me seems like too much. We are the minority amongst the smartphone world and 8/16gb versions work fine for the normal uneducated person
UNLEASH THE RAGE MACHINE!! You’re right, but it’s human nature when something else comes out that’s better or appears to be more appealing?.. We will want it or at least most will. Thank you for raising awareness about this situation with CAPS LOCK
*EDIT* You forgot to mention cloud space and also that this rumor states possible 4G LTE connectivity which in my book is a huge plus.Carry on.
I’m educated and I’m happy with my 8GB Nexus 4….lol !
People are never happy dude no matter what companies offer. They always more or change some shit..Make your own damn device. LOL
Oh hush.
Most people tend not to realize that the Nexus line isn’t really a ‘consumer’ device, it targets a very niche market for those who want the purest android experience without any barriers….You can clearly notice this from its obvious compromises and lackluster sales.
If you have a problem with it, the solution is pretty simple….buy another device…
Other devices don’t come with Vanilla android… that makes it hard to just “buy another device”
Ahh…that’s where the appeal comes in…..you seek that stock Android experience, and as such must be willing to accept the compromises
Normal uneducated people try to load all their music on the phone…Most times 32gb won’t fit it. Its not just tech people that like to store their music on the phone.
I was with you until you called me a ‘normal uneducated person’. If anything I’m more so educated because my 16 GB has plenty of space, a full movie downloaded, and I properly use cloud storage with ease.
“DONT BUY A NEXUS WHEN IT CLEARLY STATES 8/16 OPTIONS.”
You are aware that this is exactly what the bitching is about for us “educated” folk…right?
As “educated” folk, we want stock android we can mod and rom all day long…that means we *have* to buy Nexus. When they skimp on things like storage, which is *insanely* cheap…well, we end up a bit miffed.
So excuse us, would you kindly, when we vent our dismay and frustration when we feel our only options are either going with something we don’t want…or going with something we don’t want.
It kills me that people still don’t get this…
I’m a fanboy. I love the Nexus devices and want them dearly, it’s just a shame that the storage option is so low when all competing devices have at least twice the storage.
I would prefer to not have to choose between great software and a decent storage option.
32GB is ok I prefer 64gb. The very minimum internal storage for today’s modern Smartphone should be 32. LTE is fantastic. Those added additions would make that phone much more wanted by today’s market. Great job LG and Google.
I have a 16gb phone and Tablet and I only use about 7gb of it. I play a LOT of games on mine too. If you don’t download a lot of movies or music on your device the larger capacity is really unnecessary.
I’m educated and I have 5.55 gb remaining on my 16gb.
They should refresh the phone with hardware upgrades. A Snapdragon 600 processor with a 13 MP camera, 2 GB DDR3 RAM, and 1080p display and keep the price around $300-$400. That would be hot seller for sure.
Eh, I make due fine with 16gb on both my phone and tablet, my main issue is this needs to be on Verizon. Especially now that I’m at the “new phone? lose unlimited data” phase, Google would have a huge seller if they had a reasonably priced refresh of the N4 available for it.
I wouldn’t hold my breath on Verizon getting a Nexus ever again unless they change their policies.
I was thinking to use 8GB/16GB of Nexus 4 paired with Sony MW1 bluetooth device. MW1 supports micro-SD card, where you can store all the music you want (just not videos). The rest of 8GB/16GB can be used for apps/photos/videos. However, the combination of two will cost roughly $450~$500.
Absolutely infuriating. Early adopters get shafted with the what should be considered the barest of storage space (16gb) then a few months later they release 32gb and lte… what a joke. I don’t care for non-nexus phones but the way they release these things is ridiculous. If you want the device in its correct form you have to wait 5 months until the phone is out of date to finally get the version you want. WTF.
If it still does everything you need it to do, why does it matter that it’s ‘out of date’?
Exactly, wargasm. The Nexus line is becoming more consumer centric, but it’s still really targeting a very specific group of people. This seems to be lost on many reviewers and consumers alike.
OMG OMG a Nexus with fully supported LTE! Around the same price point?! I’m in! I’ll sell/gift my current Nexus 4 in order to enjoy full LTE instead of half baked hacked LTE.
I didn’t see it mentioned but I’m surprised no one mentioned how Apple this is! Releasing a minor refresh?!? This makes me sad. Where’s my “gee whiz” gadgets?!? :P
Google doesn’t play it off like it is a whole new device everyone needs. It’ll probably still be the “Nexus 4”. Just like the refreshed Nexus 7 stayed a Nexus 7.
While I admit it’s possible we’ll see a LTE Nexus 4, I’m not holding my breath. Yes, Google has refreshed a Nexus device before (albeit, once – the Nexus 7), but this would be the first time for a phone.
Nexus phones traditionally come out in November or December (I’ve had every single Nexus in December for the past 3+ years, starting with the Nexus One in December of 2009, followed by the S in December of 2010, the Galaxy Nexus in December of 2011, and my current Nexus 4 – though I admit to having purchased the Galaxy Nexus from a 3rd party to get the GSM version, which is a yakju and not a takju, but nevertheless the point still stands).
We’ve also never once had a Nexus phone announced or released at Google I/O (which is roughly half way between Nexus phone releases), so though it would be the perfect time to refresh the line (if they’re going to do so), I’m still very wary of believing this rumor. An X-Phone, I could totally see, because though it would share a letter with “Nexus”, it won’t be a nexus in the truest sense of the word. I do expect to hear a lot about Android 4.3 (Unless they call it 4.5 – but I’ll bet anybody a beer it will not be 5.0), and some sweet Google TV news, lots of Google Glass stuff, and even some social with Google+, but a new Nexus with the only features being LTE and more storage? Just not feeling it, sorry!
Hope the rumor is true. I don’t really see Google shafting any early adopters of the Nexus 4, the phone is still selling for what is started at $299 and $349. People who are interested in getting the Nexus 4 LTE version would have to sell their devices or pass it on to a child or spouse who doesn’t necessarily interested in latest and greatest..
I would like to see this nexus 4 also have cdma and work on Verizon and done right this time, without Verizon slowing updates
Not gonna happen. My contract with Verizon ends September and I am leaving them then.
I am pretty sure that almost all the other rumors suggest that there will be an announcement of an HD N7 device. Whether or not it will be at the I/O who knows. Seems to be a lot of speculation from people based on previous I/O releases. :)
Wow, if this will be released then everything is good for Nexus fans. Gonna watch out for this device enhancements.
Kinda a noob question, but if the N4 were to be released with LTE would that be compatible with Sprint LTE as well??
I’m going to cry about this until I get a ticket or I’m done crying.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yl1bjO_Hzn8&feature=youtube_gdata_player
If they release this phone, they better turn the LTE functionality back on for the original nexus 4 too. It would be stupid not to.