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rockitdog

macrumors 68030
Original poster
Mar 25, 2013
2,724
1,241
I'm stuck between these two devices. Both can be had at VZW for $99. I love the 32GB storage and 3500mAh battery and near stock Android on the Droid maxx but I also love the near full 5Inch 1080 display and camera modes on the Galaxy S4. I'm stuck, I love both for different reasons but I guess what I'm worried about is how will they perform over the long term (the next 2 years). Especially now that Motorola has been sold to Lenovo, will it be kept current with updates?
 

jamezr

macrumors P6
Aug 7, 2011
16,080
19,080
US
Depends..... The Droid Maxx has a better battery. But the S4 has better Dev support if you root and flash ROMs. I liked the always listening feature on the droid ultra maxx. I liked the S4 for the SD card up to 64GB. I liked the form factor if the S4 better in the long run.
 

blackhand1001

macrumors 68030
Jan 6, 2009
2,600
37
Droid Maxx. No question. It performs better now and is way less glitchy. It also has significantly better battery life and much better reception.

Stock android is so much better than touchwiz as well, and Lenovo has no plans to remove the current motorola management. Also the effects of their acquisition won't be felt in motorola at the earliest a year or two from now.
 
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Fernandez21

macrumors 601
Jun 16, 2010
4,840
3,183
I'd get the Moto, but then again I'm not a fan of touchwiz or Samsung in general.
 

TacticalDesire

macrumors 68020
Mar 19, 2012
2,286
23
Michigan
Droid Maxx: Better battery, OEM support, and software (my opinion), more reliable and better performance despite an inferior SOC (S4 Pro vs s600)

S4: Better dev support if you can get the bootloader unlocked, and better camera
 

blackhand1001

macrumors 68030
Jan 6, 2009
2,600
37
Get the droid maxx. You'll be much happier especially in the long run. Samsungs software is awful. Motorola's on the other hand is some of the best. I have the Moto X and am very happy with it.
 

gotluck

macrumors 603
Dec 8, 2011
5,717
1,260
East Central Florida
I fail to see why the maxx wouldn't be a good choice on VZW. Moto has the best software of the phones on VZW IMO.

Note 3 is likely faster, maybe lg g2? Gotta go play with them in th store too
 

Dontazemebro

macrumors 68020
Jul 23, 2010
2,173
0
I dunno, somewhere in West Texas

For one you get the IR sensor so you can control anything from your fan to your Xbox. You have much better multi tasking with multi-window which gives you 2 apps on the screen at once. Then whether you deem it a necessity or not, you have a ton of Smart features like air gesture, Smart pause, Smart scroll, air view etc.

If any of these features interest you, you'll be much better off with the S4. Now it does come with a price because there is some lag with the overloaded features but IMO the feature set of touchwiz vastly outweighs the bland android experience you'll get with the Droid Maxx.

Almost forgot, you have micro SD card support and a removable battery. Something you won't find in many other Android devices.
 
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bearda

macrumors 6502a
Dec 2, 2005
507
176
Roanoke, VA
I'd say the Droid Maxx. I just switched from an S4 to a Moto X and have been nothing but pleased. I can't tell the difference between 720 and 1080, and the extra battery life is great. I haven't used the Maxx myself, but if everyone's right about it being very close to the Moto X software wise that's a big selling point, as well. Samsung has added a lot of "stuff" that is more of an annoyance than anything else (launch icons added in the notification tray whenever headphones are plugged in that you can't change, S-Voice voice control which will only control the Samsung Music app and not Google Play Music, etc).
 

rockitdog

macrumors 68030
Original poster
Mar 25, 2013
2,724
1,241
I'd say the Droid Maxx. I just switched from an S4 to a Moto X and have been nothing but pleased. I can't tell the difference between 720 and 1080, and the extra battery life is great. I haven't used the Maxx myself, but if everyone's right about it being very close to the Moto X software wise that's a big selling point, as well. Samsung has added a lot of "stuff" that is more of an annoyance than anything else (launch icons added in the notification tray whenever headphones are plugged in that you can't change, S-Voice voice control which will only control the Samsung Music app and not Google Play Music, etc).

I ended up with the Droid Maxx. So far, so good. Except for the fact that the USB cord or the adapter that came with it doesn't work. One nice thing about Androids is that Micro USB charging cables are easy to come by. :)
 

rockitdog

macrumors 68030
Original poster
Mar 25, 2013
2,724
1,241
How is the battery life on the Maxx?

So far it's not super. Then again, I'm on my first day of a full charge and I'm sure it will take a while for the battery to break in. Took off charger at 6AM and now at 10:14 it's at 78%. I doubt it'll ever last 48 hours but as long as it gets me from sun up to sundown with my heavy usage I'm satisfied.
 

blackhand1001

macrumors 68030
Jan 6, 2009
2,600
37
So far it's not super. Then again, I'm on my first day of a full charge and I'm sure it will take a while for the battery to break in. Took off charger at 6AM and now at 10:14 it's at 78%. I doubt it'll ever last 48 hours but as long as it gets me from sun up to sundown with my heavy usage I'm satisfied.

Something is wrong? My moto x would still easily be in the 90s at time. Do you have an exchange account added. There is a battery drain bug in exchange on 4.4.0 that is fixed in 4.4.2.
 
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