4S to S4

[497902]

I own an iPhone 4S at the moment. I didn't upgrade to the iPhone 5 because I'm quite disappointed with it and looks like the iPhone 5S will disappoint me as well. I'm seriously considering to switch to a Galaxy S4.

My questions:

Should I get the Snapdragon i9505 (for me the only one officially available here) or the Exynos i9500? I heard the i9500 is faster and has better battery life. Is that true?

Should I get the 16GB version and an SD card or should I buy a bigger version? (Because the SD card isn't as fast, or is it?)

Does it work well with a Mac?

Will my iTunes media still work? (Music, Videos)

Can I still transfer my photos to my iPad without connecting both devices to my Mac?

What will I miss and get in Android compared to iOS?

Anything else I should know?

 

[Stuntman06]

Should I get the 16GB version and an SD card or should I buy a bigger version? (Because the SD card isn't as fast, or is it?)

I would recommend you get the storage option that you need. It's just easier to manage than having a separate SD card. If you like being able to remove the SD card to other devices, then perhaps the SD card option is better for you.

Anything else I should know?

If you haven't used Android phones much before, there will be similarities, but also some subtle and not so subtle differences. It will take some time to get used to the differences. You may experience some frustration because you may try to use iOS gestures and they don't work as you may first expect. The apps will also work differently (unless the developer is lazy and just does a minimum iOS port of the app) than iOS apps.

 

[Sylon]

I have the regular one here in the States (AT&T) and don't usually have issues with battery life unless I'm using the phone a lot or in an area with spotty service. Spotty service will destroy your battery life regardless of which phone you have.

I have the 16GB, never ran into issues with storage space, but then again, I'm not a huge cell phone gamer. If you have the extra cash, go for the 32GB.

I have a Mac, works just fine. Although I rarely use Kies to sync it, it does work when I need it to. There are options out there that helps you keep from having to connect your phone to your computer to move files off and onto it. Cloud storage apps like Dropbox and Google Drive are out there, along with wifi transfer apps like, well, Wifi Transfer Pro (I think that's the name of it), that I use. It allows you to "tap" into your phone's storage using your computer's internet browser, as long as both devices are connected to the same wifi network. I use it to pull a bunch of photos off my phone at once without pulling the SD card.

Kies does work with your iTunes music library, but I've had issues with Kies updating whenever I add new songs to my iTunes list. I prefer to use my iPod for my iTunes music or Pandora on my S4 for listening.

Transferring photos from your S4 to your iPad can be a little tedious, but things like Dropbox will work. Although I think you can use the SD card adaptor for the iPad for transferring photos. That should work. Anyone else with experience in that might be able to chime in on this.

I don't miss much from iOS now that I've switched to Android, mostly because I still have my iPhone and iPad around the house. There are a few apps that Android doesn't have, certain ones that work better on iOS than Android (like, oddly, YouTube). But you learn to cope, find alternatives, etc.


I hope this helps.

 

[T5BRICK]

Should I get the Snapdragon i9505 (for me the only one officially available here) or the Exynos i9500? I heard the i9500 is faster and has better battery life. Is that true?

If you go for the GS4, the Snapdragon based model is the way to go. I went with the HTC One, but I don't really care about swappable batteries or SD cards.

Should I get the 16GB version and an SD card or should I buy a bigger version? (Because the SD card isn't as fast, or is it?)

Normally the SD card really only holds media, speed isn't really that important. That being said, I'd go with at least 32GB.

Does it work well with a Mac?

I found that after iOS 6, my iPhone 4s was rarely plugged into my Mac. I haven't needed to plug my HTC One into one, I sync everything from "the cloud."

Will my iTunes media still work? (Music, Videos)

I switched all of my music over to Googlle Play Music a while ago and it's been great. It was able to transfer everything without any issues. I don't have any DRM laden iTunes videos, I don't imagine those would work(could be wrong here).

Can I still transfer my photos to my iPad without connecting both devices to my Mac?

Dropbox should work for this.

What will I miss and get in Android compared to iOS?

iMessage was the only thing I missed.

Anything else I should know?

Take a look at other phones. The GS4 is a good phone, but there are others out there.

I ended up reading a lot over at XDA and have flashed several differnt ROMs. It's a lot of fun.

 

[jamojamo]

If you go for the GS4, the Snapdragon based model is the way to go. I went with the HTC One, but I don't really care about swappable batteries or SD cards.



Normally the SD card really only holds media, speed isn't really that important. That being said, I'd go with at least 32GB.



I found that after iOS 6, my iPhone 4s was rarely plugged into my Mac. I haven't needed to plug my HTC One into one, I sync everything from "the cloud."



I switched all of my music over to Googlle Play Music a while ago and it's been great. It was able to transfer everything without any issues. I don't have any DRM laden iTunes videos, I don't imagine those would work(could be wrong here).



Dropbox should work for this.



iMessage was the only thing I missed.



Take a look at other phones. The GS4 is a good phone, but there are others out there.

I ended up reading a lot over at XDA and have flashed several differnt ROMs. It's a lot of fun.

What do you use as an iMessage replacement?

 

[Explicitic]

At launch I would have said Snapdragon S4 if you wanted the ability to go AOSP, and an Exynos S4 if you plan on staying with TouchWiz. The i9500 now has an AOSP ROM, though, so I'd recommend the Exynos S4 (even if you plan on doing no modding whatsoever). The Exynos 5410 benchmarks a bit higher than the Snapdragon 600 in most cases and you should be similar performance between the two. There's also the benefit of a Wolfson DAC in the 505.

 

[sbddude]

Transferring photos from your S4 to your iPad can be a little tedious, but things like Dropbox will work. Although I think you can use the SD card adaptor for the iPad for transferring photos. That should work. Anyone else with experience in that might be able to chime in on this.



I hope this helps.

Try using a OTG connector on the s4 to copy the photos to a sd card or thumb drive, and the iPad camera kit on the iPad. You might even be able to directly connect s4 to iPad with the CCC. This is possible with iPhone.

For music try PowerAmp. It does a great job of organizing music in an ipod-like way (artists, genres, songs, etc.)

 

[T5BRICK]

What do you use as an iMessage replacement?

On my iPhone 4s, I was a cheap bastard and I had AT&T disable texting. I relied solely on iMessage. I also used Google voice for the contacts that didn't have iDevices.

After I switched to Android, for a while I was relying on Facebook messenger combined with Google Voice. I've since decided that I can justify paying for texting, so I use a combination of texting and Facebook messenger.

 

[497902]

I'd recommend the Exynos S4

Hmm, the Exynos version isn't officially available in my country. Where should I buy it? I can't get it on contract, right? Will it even work here?

 

[jimbo1mcm]

For OP: I don't think there is a significant difference between processors. If your country has LTE, get the S4 that has it. Both processors are great. I got a 16 GB S4 because the 32 wasn't available. I also got a Class 10 Sandisk 32 GB Micro SD card which I use to store my music and video and photos. I also use a program called My Backup Pro to backup my phone onto the Micro SD card. It can come in very handy.

I use Doubletwist which is similar to Itunes in function and form and Air Sync to move my music between my MacBook Pro and my S4.

Welcome to Android. You will enjoy the S4. Most of the questions that you will have are already answered. Google it to find the answer and stay with the forums.

There are a multitude of cases to fit your personal preference. I have an Element Atom case which ports the sound to the front of the S4.

I haven't missed my Iphone 5 for one second.

 

[Tsuchiya]

I own an iPhone 4S at the moment. I didn't upgrade to the iPhone 5 because I'm quite disappointed with it and looks like the iPhone 5S will disappoint me as well. I'm seriously considering to switch to a Galaxy S4.

My questions:

Should I get the Snapdragon i9505 (for me the only one officially available here) or the Exynos i9500? I heard the i9500 is faster and has better battery life. Is that true?

Should I get the 16GB version and an SD card or should I buy a bigger version? (Because the SD card isn't as fast, or is it?)

Does it work well with a Mac?

Will my iTunes media still work? (Music, Videos)

Can I still transfer my photos to my iPad without connecting both devices to my Mac?

What will I miss and get in Android compared to iOS?

Anything else I should know?

1) I had the quad core version and it was fine. After a few updates and a new launcher it was smooth as butter. Battery was better than my 4S. If you can get it, then go for the Octa, but you won't be disappointed with the quad core.

2) Now you can store apps on the memory card it isn't such a big deal, but I did prefer having stuff on the internal memory (gallery would be smoother for example). Go 32/64GB if you can.

3) More or less. You get Android File Transfer or Samsung Kies to transfer stuff. They worked OK. Music transfer was kind of a pain in the arse though.

4) Yeah, there is a Dropbox/photostream work around that worked very well. Google it.

5) I preferred the iPhone for one handed use (like changing tracks), and missed the calendar and mail app (I never was quite satisfied with the Android options. I wasn't prepared to drop my iCloud stuff either).

6) The plastic body was kind of gross. Also you will be tinkering with software on the device A LOT before you're happy with it. Android+Mac just isn't as seamless as an iOS device + Mac.

 

[heutusops]

I own an iPhone 4S at the moment. I didn't upgrade to the iPhone 5 because I'm quite disappointed with it and looks like the iPhone 5S will disappoint me as well. I'm seriously considering to switch to a Galaxy S4.

My questions:

Should I get the Snapdragon i9505 (for me the only one officially available here) or the Exynos i9500? I heard the i9500 is faster and has better battery life. Is that true?

Should I get the 16GB version and an SD card or should I buy a bigger version? (Because the SD card isn't as fast, or is it?)

Does it work well with a Mac?

Will my iTunes media still work? (Music, Videos)

Can I still transfer my photos to my iPad without connecting both devices to my Mac?

What will I miss and get in Android compared to iOS?

Anything else I should know?

get the exynos version, it's faster has better GPU and samsung has a great support for exynos

forget the SD card, go for the bigger storage option

it works well with a mac

here's what you'll get in android:
http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/10-reasons-android-beats-ios-7-6C10339298
http://www.androidauthority.com/10-reasons-why-android-is-still-better-than-ios-145370/

 

[bearda]

If you use iTunes for music install Google Music Manager. It makes transitioning from iTunes Match music to Google's Play service completely seamless (and it's free). Google basically offers an iTunes Match equivalent for free, and it can scan all your iTunes purchased music (or other music, for that matter) and make it available on an Android device. Much easier than copying things over, especially if you're used to iTunes Match and cloud music services already. Works great on my iMac to keep everything in sync, and I can still purchase music on my iMac or my wife's iPhone and it automatically adds it to Google Play.

Video content may still be an issue. I haven't tried copying anything I've bought from iTunes over to my Android devices, but I would expect it to involve some more work if it's possible at all.