SpecEagle review · Samsung

Galaxy Nexus review: The 2011 Google flagship that launched Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.

SpecEagle Editorial·Nov 2011·$399
Overall
16/100
Class rank
#65 of 70
Tier
Flagship
Buy?
Look elsewhere
The verdict, up front

The phone that introduced modern Android’s look.

The Galaxy Nexus launched Ice Cream Sandwich and on-screen navigation — the foundation of Android’s modern design. A historically important device.

01Display

40/100

40/100 is one of the weaker display results among flagship phones of 2011 — 23 points under the average. Check the rows below before buying for this.

TypeSuper AMOLED, curved glass
Size4.65 inches
Resolution1,280 × 720 px (316 ppi)
ProtectionGorilla Glass

02Camera

22/100

22/100 is one of the weaker camera results among flagship phones of 2011 — 34 points under the average. Check the rows below before buying for this.

Main5 MP, f/2.75, zero shutter lag
Selfie1.3 MP
Video1080p @ 30 fps

03Performance

12/100

12/100 is one of the weaker performance results among flagship phones of 2011 — 39 points under the average. Check the rows below before buying for this.

ChipsetTI OMAP 4460 (45 nm)
CPUDual-core 1.2 GHz
GPUPowerVR SGX540
RAM1 GB
Storage16 GB / 32 GB

04Battery

30/100

30/100 is one of the weaker battery results among flagship phones of 2011 — 26 points under the average. Check the rows below before buying for this.

Capacity1,750 mAh (removable)
Wired~5 W
WirelessNo

05Build

38/100

38/100 is one of the weaker build results among flagship phones of 2011 — 21 points under the average. Check the rows below before buying for this.

06Value

28/100

28/100 is one of the weaker value results among flagship phones of 2011 — 18 points under the average. Check the rows below before buying for this.

What works
  • Launch device for Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.
  • First phone with on-screen navigation buttons and Face Unlock.
  • Curved HD AMOLED display.
  • Clean stock Android.
What doesn't
  • Weak 5 MP camera even for 2011.
  • Small 1,750 mAh battery; plastic build.
  • Software ended at Android 4.3.
  • Discontinued — a vintage device.
Cross-shop it against
Nexus 4 (LG)
$299 · score 80/100

How this review is built: every section score, spec row and comparison on this page comes from SpecEagle's tracked catalogue — scores weight measured specs against the 70-phone cohort of flagship devices released around the same time. We don't publish invented lab anecdotes. Spot an error? .