Anyone seen any good rumours regarding the next nexus handset, we must be due a new one soon.

due an upgrade in Q4 of 2013, and really cant make my mind up if i should go for the HTC One, the GS4, iPhone 5s/6 or the lumia 1020

the camera on the lumia 1020 really attracts me, but the app support for windows is not great compared to Android and iOS.

so maybe a nexus 5 can be the one

without wanting to turn this into a win 8 v ios v android app debate...

what apps do you need to have that win 8 don't offer?

instagram and youtube to name just 2.

The next Nexus (who knows if they will call it the 5) will be better than the N4 and should follow the pattern of being cheap to buy. If you are serious about joining the cult of Nexus you should really be thinking about buying the phone and using a sim only 30 day rolling contract or a payg deal. The N4 contracts are poor deals imho. You feel so much better not being tied in to a carrier.

Apart from the Galaxy Nexus every other Nexus has been based closely on an existing handset (One = HTC Desire, S = SGS & 4= LG Optimus G).. So which handset will the new one be based on? I think the HTC One and the SGS4 are unlikely as Google already sell Google Play editions of these. The Xperia Z is no better than the N4. The Moto X is a possibility but again Google have said they are going to sell a GP edition of this as well. Maybe the LG G2? LG have done a great job with the N4 so they deserve another shot.

The 1020 is just a year old piece of hardware with a better camera bolted onto it. Microsoft need to release the next version of WP that will allow Nokia to sell phones with more than a dual core processor and have properly HD screens. This is coming but when? The next 1020 running a Snapdragon 800 with a 1080p screen would be a player. You may say you don’t need that but a 2 year contract is a long long time (I have calculated as almost 25 months!) and you will feel mightily pissed off when Nokia announce the next 1020 with way better specs.

The biggest app issue i have on WP8 is Spotify, its just cack compared to the android version.

i will not have a 24m contract, any phone i get will be on 12m contract.

The Galaxy Nexus was based off of the Galaxy S2 but with a few upgraded specs. Samsung released their own version, the S2+ a while after.

It's looking likely that LG has the contract again, which is good as I've owned every Nexus device apart from the S and the Nexus 4 is definitely the best so far. Secretly I'd like Sony to get the contract at some stage, though I think it's more plausible that they'll just release an Xperia Z (Google Play Edition). They were offered the Nexus One contract but turned it down, so I hope they change their minds one day.

There haven't been many concrete rumours on the next Nexus though which is a little bit odd as rumours tend to hot up around the beginning of September with the device usually coming in November along with a new Android version. I think a Nexus 5 with Android 5.0 would go quite nicely together, but we'll see. I'd also like to see more Google Play Edition devices released as well, as they are like different interpretations of Nexus devices.

Instagram is on it's way and there are a mutitude of options for you tube.

maybe so, but as it stands there is no official nstagram and no youtube app. in fact google are going out of their way to block any attempt at a semi-official youtube app, and instagram are doing the same with their new API restrictions.

Google are not “going out of their way” at all. They are enforcing the T&Sc. In fact Microsoft are sandbagging Google to make Google look like the bad guy. The first YouTube app blocked adds and allowed downloading. As great as those features are the is no way Google could allow this. The second app violated the rule that the apps should be HTML5 apps. Again Google were bound to pull it. The ball is with Microsoft.

Google should create their own app, just like they do for Android and iOS.
It should not be up to Microsoft to create a Youtube app.

Saying that though, the latest release of the youtube for android (released the past couple of days) is far from being perfect, so not surprised they are concentrating on getting that right before dealing with the minority windows mobile platform.

Why? The lack of a Youtube app is one of the things hindering adoption of WP - why should Google bother with an app for (in your own words) a minority operating system, when doing so will just make that other OS more competitive.

They are just moving the goalposts to keep an app from being allowed officially.

Why does Google insist on an HTML5 app when Android, iOS, Xbox 360 and a ton of YouTube apps on Smart TVs don't use HTML5?

I'm not sure there will be an explicit line of Nexus devices anymore. I think it will be existing devices with stock android branded as "nexus editions".

Also, the "normal" devices came after the Nexus ones previously, e.g. the HTC Desire came after the Nexus One.

Yes they are. As much as i like Google and use a lot of their services including Android, they are taking the piss.

No other youtube app is made with HTML5 so why are they only insisting Microsoft use it?

Not according to this story on El Reg:


You can read the situation any number of ways, but I suspect that the author of that article is right and this situation is just part of a bigger spat.

Anyway, about the next Nexus phone...

Given that they just launched a new Nexus 7, I think this is unlikely.

"Nexus" is Google's own interpretation of an Android device, I don't think they're going to get rid of it just yet, even now that they own Motorola and the Google Play Edition devices have been launched.

Though I did like the rumours a while back of each OEM being able to do a Nexus device with Google's consent....we could have had multiple Nexus devices launched....Galaxy Nexus 2, HTC One Nexus, Sony Xperia Nexus, LG G Nexus etc etc....

Oh bleedin flip.

Of course there will be another Nexus phone. Google put out the Nexus line for developers and to show case how android should be. Neither the SGS4 or the HTC1 showcase how Android should be - they have physical and capacitive BUTTONS! And whoop dee doo Google seem to be committed to giving us devices at bargain prices and the SGS4 and HTC1 do not fit into that category. Don’t get me wrong though I think that the GPE devices are a great idea.

And...

Google make the iOS and Android YouTube apps so they can choose to do that however they want. They simply request that all third party apps are built from HTML5 to give a consistent good user experience OF THEIR SERVICE. They are perfectly entitled to do this. Everyone else complies except Microsoft who keep trolling Google by releasing non-compliant apps and then crying foul when Google wag their finger and say no no. Even if it was only Microsoft being requested to use HTML5 it all that would be required is for them to actually do that. It is not as if they are being asked to build it from BASIC. HTML5 is pretty capable, look at what Firefox are doing with it.

And no Google are not going to build an app for WP8. Why would they? WP8 is a direct competitor to Android, as is iOS of course. But unlike iOS WP8 has no users. Google wants to get its services into the hands of the most users hence it builds great iOS apps and it has Android. If WP8 had a reasonable market share then Google would play ball but at the moment they are trying to strangle it at birth. I know I would find the transition to WP8 almost impossible at the moment because of this lack of Google services. Where as I could easily go to iOS - and with that horrible thought I will have to go for a lie down in a darkened room until the urge to vomit has gone.

IMO it's pointless getting the Nexus 4 on anything other than a pay upfront direct from Google Play and pair it with one of the plethora of amazing SIM only deals basis. Reason being Google seemingly sell the phone at or less than cost price and the networks don't, basically. The whole point of the Nexus 4's bargain price is to get people away from buying their phones on contracts which weigh heavily in the favour of the networks. Over a 24 month period the Nexus 4 16gb bought upfront from Google works out at £12/mth. Pair it with Three's 30 day commitment One Plan and for £30/mth you have an unbeatable combination. With the added bonus of not being held captive by one of the networks.

What pattern is that?

The Nexus 4 was the first Nexus to be cheap to buy.

The older ones were, if anything, more expensive than the phones they were based on - remember the Galaxy Nexus - £550 if I remember correctly.

In fact, when the Nexus 4 came out, the Galaxy Nexus was still on sale and cost more than its successor!

i swap my phone every 12 months though, and get a 30% discount on Vodafone through a friend and subscribe to Spotify.

obviously i am assuming Vodafone will range any new nexus phone.

so lets say they priced new phone at top tier

£43.40 a month gets me 8Gb data and spotify for 12months

where as your approach would be £51.25 a month for 12 months.

I reckon the fact that Google just knocked £80 off both versions of the Nexus 4 not only suggests the Nexus 5 is imminent but also that it will again follow the same marketing strategy of being very cheap for what you get.

Possibly, although the new Nexus 7 is slightly more expensive, but you're hopefully right, and I am more pleased with my Nexus 4 than I have been with any other phone I've owned, and I've owned a hell of a lot!

Will be interesting to see what it improves on.

My hope will be with better battery life, sound quality through headphones, 32Gb option, LTE and increased camera performance (low light performance especially). The rest of the specs are already fine IMO.

Having said that, I'm happy with the '4' and will likely miss this particular round of upgrades.

the new N7 is the same price. At launch the 16GB version was £199-£200 on google play and you had to pay for delivery. the new one is the same. but with free delivery.

It strikes me that reducing the N4 is telling. if the N5 were significantly more expensive they would be able to continue to sell the N4 at near to it's original price after the N5 were launched.

It wouldn't surprise me if the Nexus 5 is the same price as the original Nexus 4 prices, £239 and £279. IIRC when Apple launched the iPhone 5 it was exactly £80 more expensive than the 4S. Time will tell.

Although you're getting more for your money by having 16GB, the entry level model is basically £30 more expensive than the previous generation.

If you don't want that storage, it's as good as a price hike.