Small nubs now lift the back of the phone up off a table; camera lens gets a slight redesign
Android Central has confirmed that the Nexus 4 has undergone a little bit of a design tweak. As first reported by German site MobiFlip. there are now a couple of small nubs on the rear of the phone, where the glass meets the foot, positioned just above the two screw holes.
We've confirmed the change on a pair of Nexus 4s we ordered on Monday this week and received on Wednesday. In the image above, our original Nexus 4, now some four months old, is on top, with a new retail unit (still in its protective plastic) at the bottom. Note the little nub between the screw holes of the two phones.
This small design change has a couple of effects. It lifts phone up ever so slightly, allowing sound to escape the flush speaker. We can confirm that sounds are a little fuller and louder. Not a great deal, but we can tell. The change also should help keep the glass back from getting the little hairline scratches it's been prone to pick up.
And perhaps more important, it should keep the ultra-slick phone from sliding off any similarly slick surfaces.
The little nubs are just big enough to be felt when you're holding it. You'll know if you've got them on your phone.
Nexus 4 camera housing also gets a tweak
Another small change noticed regards the camera lens. There's a little less exposed area around the lens. It's unclear whether that's simply a design change, or if it helps with light leakage, or if it's just discrepancies in the manufacturing process. (We're working on tracking that down.) But it is noticeable, at least when you're looking at two phones side by side. Interesting is that in our old Nexus 4, the lens is centered in the hole -- it's definitely not in the new unit we picked up this week.
