Display Analysis - Google Nexus 4 Review

The display on the Nexus 4 is another shared component between the Optimus G, and is a 4.7-inch IPS WXGA (1280x768) LCD, which is of course home to an RGB stripe and in-cell touch, or as LG calls it, "zerogap" touch. LG Display unsurprisingly knows how to make LCD displays, and the Nexus 4 display looks subjectively very good. At 320 PPI I can’t see any pixels, and don’t think we need to get into the whole visual acuity discussion again, it’s very good on the Nexus 4. The added width over straight 720p is something I noted was actually very refreshing on the Optimus G when playing with that device in Korea. Most apps scale appropriately and take advantage of it without any issue, and the extra width definitely is noticeable in Chrome, Plume, and all my daily drivers.

Brightness (White)

Brightness (Black)

Contrast Ratio

The Nexus 4 display goes very bright, at 466 nits, and achieves a contrast ratio of 1352:1 at that maximum brightness setting. This is a huge step over the barely 200 nits that the Galaxy Nexus could eek out.

CalMAN Display Comparison
MetriciPhone 5iPhone 4SHTC One XSamsung Galaxy S 3Samsung Galaxy Note 2Google Nexus 4
Grayscale 200nits Avg dE20003.5646.1626.6094.5785.8677.686
CCT Avg (K)692571715944680971098506
Saturation Sweep Avg dE20003.5918.7875.0665.4607.9868.517
GMB ColorChecker Avg dE20004.7476.3286.9637.3228.1857.531

I’ve mentioned that Google continues to struggle at calibrating their displays. The truth is that everyone except for Apple, HTC, and occasionally Samsung, struggle at calibrating mobile displays. This continues to be the case with the Nexus 4, and the result is that accuracy could be better. I’m convinced the results that we’re getting out of the Nexus 4 basically represent no attempt at calibrating the display, and as a result the numbers suffer.

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