Phones Ah, Android. Faster software now but now behind iOS 7 on the Note 3

[Jinzen]

Having become tired of the 5S's absurdly small screen and general unresponsive animation heavy operation of iOS 7, I decided to try out a Note 3.

After some debate, there wasn't really anything better out there. The LG G2 was a possibility but the build quality and rear buttons were just horrendous. The Moto X is a like a slightly larger iPhone 5S that doesn't really offer much benefit over it.

So after a few days:

- Touch Wiz is so horrible I had to Nova Launcher it back to stock JB look and feel. Widget Locker emulates some of the lock screen functionality of iOS. I needed a notification replacement via NiLS to get lock screen notifications.
- I needed Lux so the system can do Auto Brightness right.
- I needed Textra so I would kill myself looking at the built in text software
- I needed DoubleTwist so I could have a decently functioning music player
- Do Not Disturb ("Blocking Mode") isn't as well implemented.


After like $25 later, I have the basic functions of iOS 7 down.

Now, what I don't get with the Note 3 is:

- Camera is significantly worse than the 5s.
- iOS App quality (but everything I use is mostly there already, exception being some good games, I will have an iPad Mini 2 or iPad 5 for that).
- Facetime, iMessage, iCloud, Find my Iphone etc
- No Apple Care

What the Note 3 does give me is:

- Much faster operation (no more gratuitous laggy animations from iOS 7)
- Much larger display (nearly twice the area?)
- Notification light
- Longer battery life


In any case, I will be waiting for the iPhone 6 to give me at least a 5" display and the promise speed improvements (of which there is non tangibly going from the 5 to 5s).

 

[maflynn]

Now, what I don't get with the Note 3 is:

- Camera is significantly worse than the 5s.
- iOS App quality (but everything I use is mostly there already, exception being some good games, I will have an iPad Mini 2 or iPad 5 for that).
- Facetime, iMessage, iCloud, Find my Iphone etc
- No Apple Care

I can't comment on the camera, but for the app quality, I have to disagree. There are plenty of great apps that are as good as their iOS counterpart and some that exceed what we see in iOS. That is there are great apps on both platforms and some real stinkers on both as well.

Going to android you give up apple's iCloud offerings so yeah facetime, iMessage etc are not available but there are alternatives, like skype and Whatsapp

Why would you want applecare for an android phone?
You have extended warranties available from the reseller that offer similar type of coverage.

 

[Jinzen]

I can't comment on the camera, but for the app quality, I have to disagree. There are plenty of great apps that are as good as their iOS counterpart and some that exceed what we see in iOS. That is there are great apps on both platforms and some real stinkers on both as well.

Going to android you give up apple's iCloud offerings so yeah facetime, iMessage etc are not available but there are alternatives, like skype and Whatsapp

Why would you want applecare for an android phone?
You have extended warranties available from the reseller that offer similar type of coverage.

There is nothing like breaking your phone, walking in an Apple store and having a new one in your hand in 30 minutes though.

I will have to get SquareTrade or something for my Note 3.

 

[Jesla]

Have had my 5s for three weeks now and I haven't noticed the lag or any lag…..

….how are you getting yours to lag enough that you felt the need to change brands?

 

[maflynn]

There is nothing like breaking your phone, walking in an Apple store and having a new one in your hand in 30 minutes though.

I will have to get SquareTrade or something for my Note 3.

If you bought your phone at bestbuy you could do the same thing, squaretrade is a good alternative as well. Just to play the devil's advocate, you can't really walk right into an apple store and get it replaced. You need to make a genius appointment which needs to be done hours in advance.

My wife had her phone replaced by apple and it was a fantastic experience, I'm not knocking it, but it did require an appointment (yeah I'm splitting hairs)

 

[KentuckyHouse]

Have had my 5s for three weeks now and I haven't noticed the lag or any lag…..

….how are you getting yours to lag enough that you felt the need to change brands?

I believe what he's referring to when he says lag is the slow animations when unlocking, when opening a folder, closing a folder, etc. The "fly in" and "fly out" animations make the phone appear slower or "laggy".

Part of the problem people gripe about is when you unlock the phone and have to wait for the animation to finish before you can open an app. Sure, it's just a second or so, but I've run into it many times and had to basically tap the icon twice in order to open the app I'm wanting.

Is it a deal breaker? Not for me...but I can understand people's frustration with it.

 

[MRU]

With Samsung touchwiz the best thing you can do is go into settings and turn off or turn to x.5 speed for animations. That makes it as speedy as stock android.

 

[kenknotts]

Having become tired of the 5S's absurdly small screen and general unresponsive animation heavy operation of iOS 7, I decided to try out a Note 3.

After some debate, there wasn't really anything better out there. The LG G2 was a possibility but the build quality and rear buttons were just horrendous. The Moto X is a like a slightly larger iPhone 5S that doesn't really offer much benefit over it.

So after a few days:

- Touch Wiz is so horrible I had to Nova Launcher it back to stock JB look and feel. Widget Locker emulates some of the lock screen functionality of iOS. I needed a notification replacement via NiLS to get lock screen notifications.
- I needed Lux so the system can do Auto Brightness right.
- I needed Textra so I would kill myself looking at the built in text software
- I needed DoubleTwist so I could have a decently functioning music player
- Do Not Disturb ("Blocking Mode") isn't as well implemented.


After like $25 later, I have the basic functions of iOS 7 down.

Now, what I don't get with the Note 3 is:

- Camera is significantly worse than the 5s.
- iOS App quality (but everything I use is mostly there already, exception being some good games, I will have an iPad Mini 2 or iPad 5 for that).
- Facetime, iMessage, iCloud, Find my Iphone etc
- No Apple Care

What the Note 3 does give me is:

- Much faster operation (no more gratuitous laggy animations from iOS 7)
- Much larger display (nearly twice the area?)
- Notification light
- Longer battery life


In any case, I will be waiting for the iPhone 6 to give me at least a 5" display and the promise speed improvements (of which there is non tangibly going from the 5 to 5s).

There will always be a tradeoff. I decided having a notification light and a larger screen wasnt enough to look past all the cons of Android and Samsung's and LGs phones

 

[Assault]

There is nothing like breaking your phone, walking in an Apple store and having a new one in your hand in 30 minutes though.

I will have to get SquareTrade or something for my Note 3.

Yeah, it is nice. But for the 6.5 billion people that live no where near an Apple store, this isn't much of a benefit anyway.

----------

In any case, I will be waiting for the iPhone 6 to give me at least a 5" display and the promise speed improvements (of which there is non tangibly going from the 5 to 5s).

Good luck with the wait. People said the same thing since the 3GS and Apple still hasn't made a phone the is even in the 4" category.

 

[kenknotts]

Good luck with the wait. People said the same thing since the 3GS and Apple still hasn't made a phone the is even in the 4" category.

People also said in the very recent past that Apple will never make an iPhone bigger than 3.5 inches or make a smaller iPad...

 

[Quantus]

The LG G2 was a possibility but the build quality and rear buttons were just horrendous.

What's wrong with the build quality? Most reviewers agree that the rear buttons are a bad design. However, they also generally agree that it is solidly constructed, at least on par with the N3.

 

[Assault]

So after a few days:

- Touch Wiz is so horrible I had to Nova Launcher it back to stock JB look and feel. Widget Locker emulates some of the lock screen functionality of iOS. I needed a notification replacement via NiLS to get lock screen notifications.
- I needed Lux so the system can do Auto Brightness right.
- I needed Textra so I would kill myself looking at the built in text software
- I needed DoubleTwist so I could have a decently functioning music player
- Do Not Disturb ("Blocking Mode") isn't as well implemented.

Touchwiz is garbage. You buy Samsung you deal with it or root/ROM the phone.
Lux? Haven't heard that apps name in years. Surprised people still use it.
Double twist. Another old app name I haven't heard in a while.

After like $25 later, I have the basic functions of iOS 7 down.

Now, what I don't get with the Note 3 is:

- Camera is significantly worse than the 5s.
- iOS App quality (but everything I use is mostly there already, exception being some good games, I will have an iPad Mini 2 or iPad 5 for that).
- Facetime, iMessage, iCloud, Find my Iphone etc
- No Apple Care.

Camera significantly worse? Experts in the field of photography and tech bloggers paint a very different picture. But whatever.
App quality is a personal opinion. Ability to use apps is more important to me than if they are pretty. Android trumps iOS in nearly every way when it comes to accessing you data, manipulating that data and sharing that data. Form over function is Apple's motto and it is a fundamentally flawed approach.
face time, I message, icloud, find my phone - you do realize Google services does all this, right? It is all built in to your Google apps and is on every Android device running OS 2.3 and higher.

----------

People also said in the very recent past that Apple will never make an iPhone bigger than 3.5 inches or make a smaller iPad...

Uhh, Steve Jobs said those things, not people. And when thy lord Jobs spoketh, the masses were smyted with his glory and his word. Jobs 12:3

 

[nooaah]

Have had my 5s for three weeks now and I haven't noticed the lag or any lag…..

….how are you getting yours to lag enough that you felt the need to change brands?

It's not lag. It's a stupid animation delay. It's pretty annoying but not enough for me to ditch my 5s.

 

[ReallyBigFeet]

With Samsung touchwiz the best thing you can do is go into settings and turn off or turn to x.5 speed for animations. That makes it as speedy as stock android.

This actually makes Touchwiz quite peppy. Highly recommended.

 

[MasterTick]

Touchwiz is garbage. You buy Samsung you deal with it or root/ROM the phone.
Lux? Haven't heard that apps name in years. Surprised people still use it.
Double twist. Another old app name I haven't heard in a while.

What? I'm not sure what point you're trying to make. You're surprised people still use a certain app that has more functionality than what's built into the phone? Oook.

face time, I message, icloud, find my phone - you do realize Google services does all this, right? It is all built in to your Google apps and is on every Android device running OS 2.3 and higher.

Hangouts is good for iMessage like chatting and video calls, but in it's current state is still fragmented because it doesn't integrate with the default SMS app, but this is rumoured to be added in KitKat.

As for iCloud and Find my iPhone, uh, just no. Call me when I can back up my entire device do my Google account and restore it to a brand new device. And Find my iPhone? No such Google service exists.

If you're going to call other users out it's probably best you actually know what you're talking about.

 

[kevinof]

maybe you should search before claiming something doesn't exist. Google device manager - finds your phone on a map, remote ring, remote lock and remote wipe.

... And Find my iPhone? No such Google service exists.

If you're going to call other users out it's probably best you actually know what you're talking about.

 

[Assault]

What? I'm not sure what point you're trying to make. You're surprised people still use a certain app that has more functionality than what's built into the phone? Oook.

Actually, I haven't used those apps in years, because the ROMs I use provide more functionality than the apps.

As for iCloud and Find my iPhone, uh, just no. Call me when I can back up my entire device do my Google account and restore it to a brand new device. And Find my iPhone? No such Google service exists.

If you're going to call other users out it's probably best you actually know what you're talking about.

Really? Haven't used Android in a while, have you? Thanks for playing. And in case you are to dazzeled by the capability provided by Google, here is my current location using my Nexus 7, travelling at 65mph in a convoy. Accuracy is to within 21feet. Not bad, considering the metal and aluminum above my head right now. And coords would be perfect for a gbu-12 strike. LOL

 

[Stuntman06]

- Touch Wiz is so horrible I had to Nova Launcher it back to stock JB look and feel. Widget Locker emulates some of the lock screen functionality of iOS. I needed a notification replacement via NiLS to get lock screen notifications.

I don't mind TouchWiz. I do use Nova Launcher as it gives me additional functionality that TW doesn't. For instance, I got rid of that annoying dock on the bottom of every home screen and configure my home screens to be 6 rows by 4 columns.

- Facetime, iMessage, iCloud, Find my Iphone etc

You won't find Apple proprietary software on non-iOS devices. If you are referring to similar functionality, Hangouts provide multi-party video calling and messaging to people with Google accounts across multiple platforms. Various Google services do have some cloud-based services. Google device manager allows you to locate your device.

 

[maximus96]

there is a bug in the Note3 that makes the transition animation revert back to 1x after you launch the camera even if you set it to 0 or .5x...

 

[Southernboyj]

- Camera is significantly worse than the 5s.

The Note 3's camera is much better in daylight and it records 4k video.

And if you're using Nova launcher and Widget locker.. Why not get a Google Edition S4?

I hate TouchWiz but I love the Google Edition S4. I own one.

 

[Cnasty]

This actually makes Touchwiz quite peppy. Highly recommended.

I did this on my s3, forgot to on my Note 3.

Where in settings is it again?

 

[Assault]

I did this on my s3, forgot to on my Note 3.

Where in settings is it again?

It's in the developer portion. You need to click settings-> about device -> then poke your phone 7 times on the build number. ;-) Back out and developer options will now be available. It's in there/

 

[Cnasty]

I feel like I am being punked.

Poke 7 times??

Do I have to rub my tummy and pat my head at the same time? lol

BTW, it worked as you stated so thank you for pointing me in the right direction.

 

[ReallyBigFeet]

there is a bug in the Note3 that makes the transition animation revert back to 1x after you launch the camera even if you set it to 0 or .5x...

I'm not using this crappy camera anyways so not an issue.

 

[Assault]

I feel like I am being punked.

Poke 7 times??

Do I have to rub my tummy and pat my head at the same time? lol

BTW, it worked as you stated so thank you for pointing me in the right direction.

I like to poke, more than click or tap.