How to get the camera's auto white balance to work on a Nexus 4 I've been taking pictures with a Nexus 4 for a few days now, and noticed that the colors are off on many pictures. Finally today, I decided to do a Nexus 4 vs. iPhone comparison, with the same scenes, and it seems to me that:


The auto white balance on the Nexus 4 / Android 4.2 isn't always working; in particular, with incandescent lights, in Auto mode, at times whites are greenish. Forcing the incandescent light mode fixes this.
In all cases (incandescent or fluorescent, Auto mode or correct mode specified), the image lacks contrasts: whites are grayish and dark areas lack details.


Just walking around with a Nexus 4 and an iPhone while pointing are things around makes this very clear. Is there a way to improve this, or should I just resign myself to the iPhone camera (lens, sensor, DSP, software?) being overall better than the of the Nexus 4? (And my apologies if this sounds a bit provocative, as I seriously hope this is not the case!)
This isn't a miracle solution, but:


When taking pictures indoor, keep in mind that Android's auto white-balance might make the wrong choice. Look at the image on the screen, and if it feels unnatural, try manually selecting the incandescent or fluorescent settings.
Be aware that, at least currently, the Nexus 4 camera doesn't compare favorably to the iPhone 5 camera: on the Nexus 4, pictures tend to lack details, colors are washed out, and images lack contrast with both white and black leaning towards the grey.

If you own a Nexus 4 and find this disappointing, let me try to reassure you: first, it isn't as bad as it sounds; second, there is still a chance this can be improved with software; third, don't forget your unlocked Nexus 4 costs almost half the price of an unlocked iPhone 5.


Below are some pictures of the same scene I took with an iPhone 5 and Nexus 4, so we can compare them side-by-side. This first shot was done indoor, in a low light, without a flash. Left: iPhone 5 (original), right: Nexus 4 (original).



This second shot was done outdoor. Top: iPhone 5 (original), bottom: Nexus 4 (original).