Android L being tested on Nexus 4?

posted by Alan F. / Sep 20, 2014, 7:52 PM

Just because there is no developer preview version of Android L for the Nexus 4, doesn't mean that those with the device should pack it in after Android 4.4.4. In fact, a pair of Google employees are seemingly taking the Nexus 4 out for a test drive, powered by Lollipops, Lemon Meringue Pie, Lemon Cookies, or whatever the "L" version of Android will truly turn out to be.

This information was discovered on the code.google.com website and includes emails from two different Google employees, both revealing that they are using the Nexus 4 with the "LRW52G" build of Android. For comparison purposes, Android L on the Nexus 5 is build "LRW66E."

Why wouldn't Google want to make the Nexus 4 support Android L? After all, the entry-level Android One handsets will run Android L and the Nexus 4 is higher spec'd with 2GB of RAM and a quad-core 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 Pro under the hood. It might not be the Nexus 5 with its quad-core 2.3GHz Snapdragon 800 and 2GB of RAM under the hood, but it should have more than enough zip to run Android L.

Google Nexus 4

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source: chromium

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Display 4.7" 768 x 1280 pixels

Camera 8 MP / 1.3 MP front

Processor Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro, Quad-core, 1500 MHz

Storage 16 GB

Battery 2100 mAh(15.3h talk time)

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56 Comments

1. UglyFrank

Posts: 2200; Member since: Jan 23, 2014

We can pray they continue to support what is still a powerful phone

posted on Sep 20, 2014, 7:58 PM 5

27. irbaaz

Posts: 175; Member since: Mar 27, 2014

This is the only one reason I like iPhone , they provide software support till the device is capable of....

posted on Sep 21, 2014, 12:57 AM 0

28. DogeShibe

Posts: 1121; Member since: Jan 10, 2014

You do know that they intentionally slow down your device...forcing you to update to the latest and greatest device.

posted on Sep 21, 2014, 1:21 AM 16

35. bachtiar

Posts: 4; Member since: Sep 12, 2014

Then it means you really should upgrade. I have been using my 4S for 3 years, and upgrading seems like normal. Even tho you're android flagship user, its normal to upgrade after 3 years.

posted on Sep 21, 2014, 4:00 AM 0

36. DogeShibe

Posts: 1121; Member since: Jan 10, 2014

Yes 3 years is normal if youre on a flagship. You see tech is improving day by day.

posted on Sep 21, 2014, 4:14 AM 1

40. Awalker

Posts: 1986; Member since: Aug 15, 2013

Three years? I upgrade every six months.

posted on Sep 21, 2014, 7:37 AM 0

48. killer7D

Posts: 551; Member since: Sep 18, 2014

I agree :)

posted on Sep 21, 2014, 12:10 PM 0

37. Arte-8800

Posts: 4562; Member since: Mar 13, 2014

Where is Jakelee.......

posted on Sep 21, 2014, 6:10 AM 2

38. DogeShibe

Posts: 1121; Member since: Jan 10, 2014

Polishing his trolling skills.

posted on Sep 21, 2014, 6:13 AM 1

44. Arte-8800

Posts: 4562; Member since: Mar 13, 2014

Lmfao +1 Hey Jakelee, are you reading this? It's kinda boring

posted on Sep 21, 2014, 9:29 AM 2

39. g2a5b0e unregistered

Banned. Not just limited. Banned. Started a new account--LiquidSnake. Banned once again. Hopefully, you're next.

posted on Sep 21, 2014, 6:58 AM 0

42. Arte-8800

Posts: 4562; Member since: Mar 13, 2014

Oh I see. How did you know that Jakelee was known by Liquid Snake? Lmao. Banned for what? Speaking the truth. Truth hurts.

posted on Sep 21, 2014, 9:14 AM 1

46. g2a5b0e unregistered

Everyone knew. It was obvious. Account was started a week ago. Same comments.

posted on Sep 21, 2014, 9:51 AM 1

47. DogeShibe

Posts: 1121; Member since: Jan 10, 2014

www.phonearena.com/user/androtaku

posted on Sep 21, 2014, 11:22 AM 0

49. Arte-8800

Posts: 4562; Member since: Mar 13, 2014

Androidtaku gave it away, because he always uses that phrase.

posted on Sep 21, 2014, 12:24 PM 1

2. Birds

Posts: 1172; Member since: Nov 21, 2011

I never got why OEMS started using the maximum clock speed of their chipsets as deceitful advertsiment for supposed CPU "power"... 2.3Ghz my third ass cheek... That snapdragon 800 hovers at like 1.3 Ghz for the most part.

posted on Sep 20, 2014, 8:08 PM 3

6. tedkord

Posts: 17509; Member since: Jun 17, 2009

Because its capable of running at 2.3GHz,and does during intensive tasks. There's nothing deceptive about it.

posted on Sep 20, 2014, 8:40 PM 12

7. CanYouSeeTheLight

Posts: 1122; Member since: Jul 05, 2012

They are advertising how high the clocks can go, by your logic a car that is advertised as being 100bhp doesn't deliver 100bhp all the time and therefore cannot be classified as having 100bhp? I couldn't care less tbh my M8 is always on powersaver which limits the S801 to 1.1GHz and i don't notice any drop in smoothness.

posted on Sep 20, 2014, 8:48 PM 8

43. Birds

Posts: 1172; Member since: Nov 21, 2011

I mean overall, i was just curious and I still am learning this techy stuff. My issue stems from the fact that it seems like it's clocked at 2.3 GHz rather than that's it's max clock speed for intensive tasks and my dumb ass believed that for a very long time LOL. I just wish they'd state the relative clock speed and the max clock speed for heavy tasks. If I'm not mistaken, Intel does that. And I view it different with a car in relation to a cellphone so that analogy is not how I'd define my logic. I know that a car is not pushed to its limits by a normal consumer, and one can say the same for cellphones to an extent. It's just that people go in with the expectation that a car will get them from point A to B. Not to say they don't care about horse power and foot torque and things of the like... It's just that with cellphones, its a bit different. I used to be the cellphone geek on campus (TBH I know sh*t but I manage, LOL, I'd like to think I know a lot but this place constantly proves me wrong) and people would ask me is such and such phone faster than an iPhone because of the higher reported clock speed. It was hard not to give them a long winded response on no and on how optimization and actual architecture plays a roll. My friend thought the GS5 was just a beastly performer compared to the iPhone 5S because research lead him to think that a quadcore 2.5 Ghz S801 was just a beast compared to apple's A7....on paper of course. I told him that apple's CPU can clock higher than 1.3 ghz for intensive tasks and that the S801 really isn't challenged hard enough to go up to 2.5 Ghz BUT it can. All it did was left the boy confused because he though that cellphones were as linear as their paper specs lead on... That is my issue with the whole clock speed thingy. LOL.

posted on Sep 21, 2014, 9:23 AM 0

53. CanYouSeeTheLight

Posts: 1122; Member since: Jul 05, 2012

But they work exactly the same way as desktop processors, they scale the frequency depending on the workload. Intel doesn't do that, Intel temporarily boosts the max frequency depending on how many cores are on (Intel Turbo boost), if 1 core is on they can boost it to the max turbo boost frequency, if 2 cores then a slightly lower frequency and so on. Samsung devices are never an indicative of how a SoC can perform as they are often bloated and slow down even the most beastly of SoCs. And there is the throttling factor too, due to thermal constraints in our devices the SoCs can't operate at max frequency because they generate too much heat that triggers the throttling that effectively brings the clocks down so that the processor generates less heat and consumes less power. A phone like the Galaxy S5 which is plastic made retains most of the heat inside and therefore throttles and this is why it can endure much more on the battery in graphics heavy applications than an M8 as the M8 being made of aluminium conducts the heat outside much more easily and barely throttles resulting in much more constant performance but also much more higher battery drain.

posted on Sep 22, 2014, 9:25 AM 1

8. Berzerk000

Posts: 4275; Member since: Jun 26, 2011

That's like saying it's deceitful for car manufacturers to say a car has a top speed of 200 MPH when normally people don't go above 80.

posted on Sep 20, 2014, 8:58 PM 5

50. Arte-8800

Posts: 4562; Member since: Mar 13, 2014

Wrong, whenever you swipe or open apps, the Cpu hits maximum point. Try using app called "Cooltools "

posted on Sep 21, 2014, 12:29 PM 0

13. Planterz

Posts: 2120; Member since: Apr 30, 2012

Birds, you really need learn how processors and kernel governors actually work. CPU-Z isn't going to help you, because viewing live system stats isn't an intensive task. That's why you only see it using one or 2 cores at lower clock speeds so often.

posted on Sep 20, 2014, 9:27 PM 1

25. JC557

Posts: 1926; Member since: Dec 07, 2011

All processors nowadays ramp up the clocks when needed and those higher clocks can be sustained for practically forever then that's what the processor is rated for. In the worst case scenario they will be throttled down if heat becomes a problem. It's been done since the era of x86 computing.

posted on Sep 21, 2014, 12:23 AM 0

3. xperiaDROID

Posts: 5629; Member since: Mar 08, 2013

If the Nexus 4 will be updated to Android L, then the same must goes to: Sony Xperia Z Sony Xperia ZL LG Optimus G HTC Butterfly These manufacturers must update these phones to Android L since the Nexus 4 will be updated to Android L. There's no any excuses except BS reasons.

posted on Sep 20, 2014, 8:20 PM 5

4. Settings

Posts: 2943; Member since: Jul 02, 2014

You should know by now that OEMs rarely update 2 year old phones for you to buy the new shiny ones.

posted on Sep 20, 2014, 8:27 PM 15

5. hurrycanger

Posts: 1775; Member since: Dec 01, 2013

Well. They will give you BS reasons.

posted on Sep 20, 2014, 8:35 PM 3

9. g2a5b0e unregistered

Ha. I highly doubt ANY of those phones will see it.

posted on Sep 20, 2014, 9:00 PM 6

10. Berzerk000

Posts: 4275; Member since: Jun 26, 2011

Well, there is one excuse. All of their skins take up more system memory than stock Android on the Nexus, so if the memory taken up by L and their skin was too much that would be a good reason to not update it, because it would either be impossible to update it or would dramatically reduce performance. Though I personally think all manufacturers should give the consumer the option to load stock Android on their device rather than their skinned version, so every phone would be a Google Play edition.

posted on Sep 20, 2014, 9:04 PM 3

14. Suo.Eno

Posts: 556; Member since: Feb 17, 2013

ikr... still a sh*tty excuse though. You would have thought that all these OEM "partners" (divided to 2 categorically in my book) learn a thing or 2 by now, get proper devs in, let them have more free rein to trim things down if/when they can't/wont play ball with AOSP or xda devs. thus slowly I realize the prescience of Android One program now.

posted on Sep 20, 2014, 9:49 PM 2

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