We’ve heard before that there’s a chance the Nexus 4 is going to live on, even with the Nexus 5 launching soon. However, that it would be marketed and sold as the Nexus 4 with LTE. Which would right the wrong of not including LTE last year. Keeping on the Nexus 4 wouldn’t be too bad an idea when you think about it, after all the Snapdragon S4 Pro is still a very capable chip and there’s no reason why it won’t get updated to future Android versions for at least another year or so. A recent filing at the Bluetooth SIG has given us a hint that a Nexus 4 LTE model might be returning to the Play Store some time soon.
As Droid-Life have noted, the above listing in the Bluetooth SIG has the Nexus 4 described as “LTE mobile phone” with the model number LG-E960, which Nexus 4 fans all over will know as the Nexus 4. There’s not much to go on here but, considering the Nexus 4 was never sold as a device with LTE last year – despite being able to run on T-Mobile’s LTE network – seeing it listed with LTE would suggest that a different model is coming back to the Play Store.
When looking for the Nexus 4 on the Play Store (at least for me, in the UK) it’s listed as “coming soon”. Suggesting that all of that reduced stock that sold for $199/£159 for 8GB and $249/£199 for 16GB has sold out and that LTE-ready stock of the Nexus 4 might be on its way. While it seems a little strange to keep last year’s device available for sale, it would give Google the opportunity to sell devices to meet various price points. Which could turn casual users in need of a new device on the relatively cheap side on to the Nexus line.
With October coming to a close, we’re beginning to wonder just when we’re going to see Android 4.4, KitKat, and the Nexus 5 launch. We’ve heard numerous dates and we’ve been teased a number of times. Whenever it launches though, we’re pretty sure Google will have another hit on their hands.