LG Nexus 4 vs Samsung Galaxy S III
A spec-by-spec comparison of the LG Nexus 4 and the Samsung Galaxy S III, taken from their full specification sheets. Green marks the better value in each measured row.
Head to head
| LG Nexus 4 | Samsung Galaxy S III |
|---|
| Price | $10 | $50 |
| Our rating | 8/10 | 8/10 |
| Battery | 2,100 mAh | 2,100 mAh |
| RAM (max) | — | 2 GB |
| Storage (max) | 16 GB | 64 GB |
| Screen size | 4.7 in | 4.8 in |
| Main camera | 8 MP | 8 MP |
| Weight (lower is lighter) | 139 g | 133 g |
| Released | Nov 2012 | May 2012 |
Summary: Samsung Galaxy S III is ahead on storage (max), screen size, weight (lower is lighter).
★ Which should you buy? Samsung Galaxy S III is the stronger overall pick on the measured specs. If budget matters more than the extra capability, LG Nexus 4 is the cheaper option.
Reviewed by the infozme.com Editorial Team — see how we research & rate phones.
Display
| LG Nexus 4 | Samsung Galaxy S III |
|---|
| Type | True HD-IPS+ LCD | HD Super AMOLED |
| Size | 4.7 inches, 62.9 cm² (~68.3% screen-to-body ratio) | 4.8 inches, 63.5 cm2 (~65.9% screen-to-body ratio) |
| Resolution | 768 x 1280 pixels, 5:3 ratio (~318 ppi density) | 720 x 1280 pixels, 16:9 ratio (~306 ppi density) |
| Protection | Corning Gorilla Glass 2 | Corning Gorilla Glass 2 |
Platform
| LG Nexus 4 | Samsung Galaxy S III |
|---|
| Chipset | Qualcomm APQ8064 Snapdragon S4 Pro | Exynos 4412 Quad (International) / Qualcomm MSM8960 Snapdragon S4 Plus (USA) |
| CPU | Quad-core 1.5 GHz Krait | Quad-core 1.4 GHz Cortex-A9 (Exynos) / Dual-core 1.5 GHz Krait (Snapdragon S4 Plus) |
| GPU | Adreno 320 | Mali-400MP4 (Exynos) / Adreno 225 (Snapdragon S4 Plus) |
| OS | Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean), upgradable to 5.1 (Lollipop) | Android 4.0.4 (Ice Cream Sandwich), upgradable to 4.3 (Jelly Bean) or 4.4.2 (KitKat) on some variants |
Memory
| LG Nexus 4 | Samsung Galaxy S III |
|---|
| Internal Storage | 8GB or 16GB | — |
| RAM | 2GB LPDDR2 | — |
| Card Slot | No | — |
| Card slot | — | microSDXC (dedicated slot) |
| Internal | — | 16GB 1GB RAM, 32GB 1GB RAM, 64GB 1GB RAM (some variants had 2GB RAM) |
Main Camera
| LG Nexus 4 | Samsung Galaxy S III |
|---|
| Modules | Single 8 MP | — |
| Features | Autofocus, LED flash, Photo Sphere | LED flash, Geo-tagging, touch focus, face/smile detection, panorama, HDR, Burst shot, Zero shutter lag |
| Video | 1080p@30fps | 1080p@30fps |
| Single | — | 8 MP, f/2.6, AF |
Selfie Camera
| LG Nexus 4 | Samsung Galaxy S III |
|---|
| Modules | Single 1.3 MP | — |
| Video | 720p | 720p@30fps |
| Single | — | 1.9 MP, f/2.6 |
| Features | — | Video call |
Battery
| LG Nexus 4 | Samsung Galaxy S III |
|---|
| Type | Non-removable Li-Po 2100 mAh | Removable Li-Ion 2100 mAh |
| Charging | Standard wired charging, wireless charging | — |
| Talk time | — | Up to 11 h 40 min (3G) / Up to 21 h 40 min (2G) |
Body
| LG Nexus 4 | Samsung Galaxy S III |
|---|
| Dimensions | 133.9 x 68.7 x 9.1 mm (5.27 x 2.70 x 0.36 in) | 136.6 x 70.6 x 8.6 mm (5.38 x 2.78 x 0.34 in) |
| Weight | 139 g (4.90 oz) | 133 g (4.69 oz) |
| Build | Glass front (Gorilla Glass 2), glass back, plastic frame | Plastic body |
| SIM | Micro-SIM | Micro-SIM |
| Colors | Black, White | — |
Comms
| LG Nexus 4 | Samsung Galaxy S III |
|---|
| WLAN | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA, hotspot | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot |
| Bluetooth | 4.0, A2DP | 4.0, A2DP, EDR, aptX |
| GPS | Yes, with A-GPS | — |
| NFC | Yes (Android Beam) | Yes |
| Radio | No | Stereo FM radio with RDS (International model only) |
| USB | microUSB 2.0 (SlimPort HDMI) | microUSB 2.0 (MHL TV-out), USB On-The-Go |
| Positioning | — | GPS, GLONASS |
Launch
| LG Nexus 4 | Samsung Galaxy S III |
|---|
| Announced | October 29, 2012 | 2012, May 03 |
| Status | Discontinued | Released 2012, May 29 |
| Release Date | November 13, 2012 | — |
| Original OS | Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean) | — |
Frequently asked questions
Which is lighter, LG Nexus 4 or Samsung Galaxy S III?
Samsung Galaxy S III — 139 g for the LG Nexus 4 versus 133 g for the Samsung Galaxy S III.
Which is newer, LG Nexus 4 or Samsung Galaxy S III?
LG Nexus 4 — Nov 2012 for the LG Nexus 4 versus May 2012 for the Samsung Galaxy S III.
Is the LG Nexus 4 or the Samsung Galaxy S III rated higher?
We rate the LG Nexus 4 8/10 and the Samsung Galaxy S III 8/10.
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