Galaxy Nexus hands-on impressions

This is not a full review, which will be written and published at a later stage, but rather our first impressions having had some hands-on time with the device.

The outside

The front of the Galaxy Nexus is almost all-screen with some space left open above and below the 4.65-inch display – above for the speaker and front-facing camera, and below for nothing visible (though there is a notification LED there).

The Galaxy Nexus has no physical buttons on the front of the device. Instead, the buttons that would normally be hardware buttons (home, back, menu and/or search) are now software buttons. Home, back, and a new recent apps button are all permanently visible, similar to Honeycomb.

It isn’t that Google is trying to do away with physical buttons, but more that they want to give manufacturers the option of whether to include them or not.

On the right side of the Nexus is a power button (points to Samsung for consistency), while the left side holds the volume rocker.

The top, similar to the Nexus S, is bare, while the bottom holds the microUSB port and 3.5mm jack. This is a configuration that I really enjoy with the Nexus S and I wish more phones would use it.

On the back, you’ll find the 5MP camera with LED flash. While it’s not the biggest camera (in terms of MPs) on the market, it does take good photos. Samsung/Google also tout that it has zero shutter lag, which seems to be accurate – any “lag” appears to be software-based and is actually just the time needed to save the photo.

The back plate is a subtly textured plastic. You don’t really feel the texture, you just feel that you can grip the phone better than if it was untextured (as with the Nexus S, for instance).

When taking the back cover off, it does feel a little flimsy, though less so than that of the Nexus S. The Nexus S has a stiffer back, which doesn’t feel like it can take much bending to break. The Galaxy Nexus’ backplate feels like it can take a lot more punishment.

Galaxy Nexus angle

The software

I have no fear in calling Android 4.0 (a.k.a Ice Cream Sandwich – ICS henceforth) the best version of Android to date. There are many changes under the hood as well as visible changes to the interface and experience as a whole. The level of polish in ICS takes Android to a new level.

The colour scheme has changed from Gingerbread’s vivid green on black, to a more muted blue on black.

Transitions are smoother and there are a few more animations than before which just heightens the overall experience. There are times where you may see a dropped frame or two, but it’s no more than what I’ve experienced on other major mobile operating systems. Android graphics and rendering has also been discussed in depth by people much more familiar with it, so I won’t go into that.

What’s important to note here, is that animations aren’t overt; they don’t demand that you notice them. The software buttons at the bottom give a blue pulse when pressed; the homescreen and lists give blue pulses; and the app drawer tilts a little when you reach the end.

As someone who has been with Android since 1.6, ICS is an absolute pleasure. I’m sure there are features present in ICS that we’ll be taking for granted in a few short months.

Galaxy Nexus back

Verdict

Subtle is the keyword to be used with the Galaxy Nexus.

The slight curve to the screen; the almost imperceptible texture of the back plate; the gentle pulsing animations; the smooth swiping gestures to cancel notifications, remove apps from the “Recent Apps list”, and close browser tabs – everything about the Galaxy Nexus is subtle with just a hint of playfulness.

A lot of work has gone into this, but it’s not screaming at you to notice it. It’s more that it wants you to silently appreciate it for its total unintrusiveness.

As first impressions go, the Galaxy Nexus made an excellent one. My editor almost had to wrestle me to the ground to get it back, but after promising to let me review it I (begrudgingly) handed it over.

As my final words on this first impression (which also serves as a tl;dr), I offer this haiku:

Galaxy Nexus
Subtle in all the right ways
First verdict: DO WANT!