The Google Nexus 4 versus the HTC One X 16 GB

I already did a comparison between the Google Nexus 4 and the Samsung Galaxy S III, and each offers good value for money. The HTC One X has been playing second fiddle to the Galaxy S III all year, but a newly released 16 GB model made it a good value for money proposition at Php21,590. Now, it faces a direct challenger with the Google Nexus 4 priced just a few hundred pesos more at Php22,240. 

The Google Nexus 4 and HTC One X 16 GB are easier to compare. Both are priced at the same level, both have 16 GB of non-expandable storage and both do not have user replaceable batteries.

Display. The Google Nexus 4 has a 4.7-inch HD IPS Plus LCD screen with a WXGA (768 x 1280) resolution. The HTC One X uses a 4.7-inch Super IPS LCD2 display with a HD (720 x 1280) resolution. Both are fine displays user similar technology, but the Nexus 4 is a bit sharper. So I have to give it to the Nexus 4 by a hair.

Winner: Nexus 4 by a hair

Power. Behind the display, the Google Nexus 4 uses a Qualcomm APQ 8064 Snapdragon S4 Pro chipset with a quad core Krait, which is what I like to call a "second generation" quad core processor. The Nexus 4 also has the new generation Adreno 320 GPU.  Backing up the CPU and the GPU is 2 GB of RAM.

The HTC One X users a Nvidia Tegra 3 chipset with a quad core processor  based on the older ARM Cortex-A9 architecture, has ULP GeForce graphics and 1 GB of RAM. 

The Google Nexus 4 is the more powerful of the two. Looking at benchmarks will show a rather different picture. The Nexus 4 either performs exceptionally well, or exceptionally bad. This really is more an issue of the Android Jelly Bean operating system not being optimized yet for the new Qualcomm APQ 8064 Snapdragon S4 Pro chipset. 

In the real world, both are fast enough but the Google Nexus 4 but HTC Sense UI really pushes the 1 GB of RAM on the HTC One X to the limit, and multitasking suffers.

Winner: Nexus 4

Endurance. Battery life. Well I will let the comparison speak for itself:

Talk time

• Google Nexus 4 - 14 hours 17 minutes
• HTC One X -  9 hours 57 minutes

Web browsing

• Google Nexus 4 - 4 hours 34 minutes
• HTC One X - 4 hours 18 minutes

Video playback

• HTC One X - 5 hours 45 minutes
• Google Nexus 4 - 4 hours 55 minutes

Source: GSM Arena

The Google Nexus 4 has much better talk time and slightly better web browsing time. The HTC One X will give you 50 more minutes on video playback. 

The Google Nexus 4 has a 2100 mAh battery, and should do better. An operating system update, should give it a boost in battery life. The HTC One X does pretty well considering in only has a 1750 mAh battery.

Winner: Nexus 4 on the chance it will improve with an OS update

Camera.  Okay, the Nexus 4 has a decent camera, the HTC One X camera captures detail a bit better and with a F2.0 lens should do better in low light. I will give it to the HTC One X, but many will disagree. Best you decide for yourself too. You can compare shots using GSM Arena's photo compare tool.

Winner: HTC One X, but its debatable.

Software updates. The Google Nexus 4 is already at Android 4.2 or 4.2.1 depending on your region and will be updated till 2014 most likely. Given HTC's recent track record on updates, it is likely that the HTC One X will get its last update sometime middle of 2013, to Android 4.2 or 4.2.1.

Winner: Nexus 4

Verdict. If you look at the win/loss column is looks close. But where the HTC One X does better, it does so slightly. The 2 GB of RAM, Qualcomm APQ 8064 Snapdragon S4 Pro chipset and a longer life before the Google Nexus 4 stops getting updates means it will be "relevant" for a longer period of time. Basically, you will be happy with it longer. For me it is a no brainer. I would pick the Google Nexus 4.