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Galaxy S4

KentuckyHouse

KentuckyHouse

macrumors 68030
Jan 29, 2010
2,723
998
Lexington, KY.
tbayrgs said:
FWIW, I moved from the Nexus 4 to a Note 2 and am very pleased with the change--addressed nearly all of the problems I had with the N4.
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I had a Note 2 for a couple weeks right after it was released, but I couldn't justify keeping it since I already had the S3 (and I bought off contract). I'll have to give it a second look now.

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onthecouchagain said:
If you can afford it, I'd get something else, for sure.
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Yeah, money isn't the issue, really. I'll probably take another look at the Note 2 now.
 
T

tjl3

macrumors 6502a
Mar 8, 2012
595
4
onthecouchagain said:
No. No. No.

Read the post again. Really. I'll even help highlight a few key points, but you should really read the whole thing more thoroughly:


There's a reason why people respond to Samsung's [if true] minor S3-to-S4 upgrade differently than they do to Apple's minor upgrades.

Samsung's smartphone lineup is so much more versatile than Apple's. Samsung has a wide range of phones to cover different sizes and price levels, many of them are current generation, and offer different experiences but still remain smartphones.

With Apple, there is only one screen size that is of current generation. The smaller option is over a year old, and there's no larger screen size at all.

Also, just taking their phones at face value, the S3 offers so much more packed into it than the iPhone 5 -- in other words, it truly is hard for Samsung to introduce many hardware changes (and again, they have other lineups to cover other ground in the smartphone world). Apple, on the other hand, intentionally withholds hardware changes (they don't believe wireless charging is worth it, nor in screen size options, nor NFC, nor notification lights, nor expandable memory, etc.).

Likewise, Samsung doesn't recycle their design for two years, as Apple has been doing, and will likely continue to do with the 5S.

So, is the S3-to-S4 upgrade small? Sure -- as small as the 4S-to-5 upgrade, if you want to really compare. But does Samsung take two years to do it? No.


Samsung simply offers a larger profile of devices that cover a range of different needs. Apple doesn't. That's why when Apple releases that one upgraded iPhone, and it doesn't match up to what people want, they are criticized more harshly for it.

Whereas if Samsung releases that one upgraded Galaxy S, and people don't like it, those people can (if they insist on having a Samsung/TouchWiz device) can go to the Note, the S-Mini. It's this wonderful thing called options.

Even if Samsung only offered the Galaxy S as their only smartphone, people would still have a perfectly legitimate reason to react more favorably to their modest upgrades than to Apple's upgrades. And that's because the Galaxy S already has and does so much more than what an iPhone can do. It genuinely is harder for them to keep adding new things each year.

But of course, that isn't even the case.[
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I do like reading your opinions on this board, so don't get too offended. I think your bias against iPhone (despite the fact you said you're now seriously considering it) is showing. It is as close to an S upgrade as you can come. Argue all you want about the iPhone 5 just stretching the screen, but it does wonder for media. And as far as a versatile phone lineup, it really is just the S3 and Note, all others are not created equal and for all intents and purposes never will be. I applaud Samsung for giving us consumers the option, but there really is no point in looking beyond those two.

The reason people are so quick to judge Apple about their S updates is because they are so capable of coming up with these different and unique designs (3GS > 4, 4S > 5) yet they don't. But I don't fault them nor Samsung for sticking w/ a design that wows and sells well.

I applaud Samsung for all that they've put into the GS4. No doubt it will be one of the top selling smartphones this year. Will I get it? No. I personally hated the design of the GS3, and that the GS4 is so similar I definitely will not buy one. Most high end smartphones are more than capable of meeting my needs, so it is all about case at this point for me. If Sony ever brought the XZ to Verizon, or an unlocked CDMA-LTE to the US I would quickly jump ship.

End rant.
 
E

Explicitic

macrumors 6502
Oct 26, 2012
455
11
Undecided
My next device will be either the One or S4. I'm fine with Samsung's plastic designs so that really isn't a problem for me. What my deciding factor will be is developer support and "openness" of the phone.

Samsung Galaxy S (at least since the S2) and Note series devices have always had great developer support on sites like XDA but will developers flock to the One? I personally think the S4 was underwhelming and Samsung could have done much more. This may turn a few developers off. The big advantage of Samsung devices is they are almost never locked down (bootloader), something I can't exactly say about HTC devices.

HTC devices have always been....well, inconsistent in terms of "openness." HTC's CEO said they would unlock all their bootloaders a while ago but that doesn't seem to be true. Especially, with S-OFF. I've owned four HTC devices and only one had S-OFF (my current phone; Droid DNA). I'm sure with the popularity of the device, it will be hacked very soon but I'm still concerned.

The reason developer support is the biggest thing of any device for me is because I NEVER run stock firmware or use custom overlays. Not even TouchWiz. I'm not interested in any of Samsung's new features, or HTC with Sense 5 and BlinkFeed. All that matters is that the phone receives stock Android ROMs such as CM, AOKP or just a plain AOSP ROM.

At the moment, I'm leaning towards the S4....but that may change.
 
onthecouchagain

onthecouchagain

macrumors 604
Mar 29, 2011
7,382
2
tjl3 said:
I do like reading your opinions on this board, so don't get too offended. I think your bias against iPhone (despite the fact you said you're now seriously considering it) is showing. It is as close to an S upgrade as you can come. Argue all you want about the iPhone 5 just stretching the screen, but it does wonder for media. And as far as a versatile phone lineup, it really is just the S3 and Note, all others are not created equal and for all intents and purposes never will be. I applaud Samsung for giving us consumers the option, but there really is no point in looking beyond those two.

The reason people are so quick to judge Apple about their S updates is because they are so capable of coming up with these different and unique designs (3GS > 4, 4S > 5) yet they don't. But I don't fault them nor Samsung for sticking w/ a design that wows and sells well.

I applaud Samsung for all that they've put into the GS4. No doubt it will be one of the top selling smartphones this year. Will I get it? No. I personally hated the design of the GS3, and that the GS4 is so similar I definitely will not buy one. Most high end smartphones are more than capable of meeting my needs, so it is all about case at this point for me. If Sony ever brought the XZ to Verizon, or an unlocked CDMA-LTE to the US I would quickly jump ship.

End rant.
Click to expand...


Fair enough.

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F123D said:
I think I read on Engadget its plastic. Samsung should have really stepped it up and used metal.

What I really want to know is Exynos or Qualcomm for the US version.
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100% agree. I think Samsung really missed the opportunity to take off.

I don't think they anticipated such a strong offering from HTC this year. I think they really underestimated their competition on the Android landscape.

It's a real damn shame. And is why the S4 rubs me the wrong way.

There isn't a single clear Android choice this year (and I don't mean that in a good way).
 
E

Explicitic

macrumors 6502
Oct 26, 2012
455
11
Undecided
F123D said:
I think I read on Engadget its plastic. Samsung should have really stepped it up and used metal.

What I really want to know is Exynos or Qualcomm for the US version.
Click to expand...

The Exynos 5 Octa lacks an LTE modem, therefore it's safe to say that the US will get a Snapdragon 600/800.
 
E

Explicitic

macrumors 6502
Oct 26, 2012
455
11
Undecided
onthecouchagain said:
My god... I am still seeing it lag in people's preview videos. What the heck?

It's cool that there are so many features. I keep reading something new each time I read about the device. Go Samsung. Also, kudos to them for getting 4.2.2 (pay attention HTC!)

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Wow, look at these S4 iphone5 comparisons: http://www.phonearena.com/news/Samsung-Galaxy-S-4-vs-Apple-iPhone-5-first-look_id40848#7-

The S4 is insanely thin!
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Shouldn't the iPhone (7.6mm) be thinner than the S4 (7.9mm)?
 
daneoni

daneoni

macrumors G4
Mar 24, 2006
11,844
1,579
onthecouchagain said:
Then the Verge says:

TICK: GALAXY S III, TOCK: GALAXY S4

So, okay. Nice try.

By the way, why did you not respond to anything I wrote to you before?
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Because i don't necessarily agree that because the screen size is different the S-type classification doesn't apply. Little has changed externally from the predecessor no matter how much you want to spin it. To me its just a Galaxy S3 with 2013 specs and i'm not alone in this impression. It occasionally will be confused for its predecessor.

I also don't believe just because Samsung makes other phones or because the previous phone was already good enough they're automatically excused. Samsung has ONE flagship product which is updated annually. Full stop. Everything else is either mid-range or low end or a completely different category. Whether they made an already good phone in the previous generation depends on who you ask...to some yes...to others not so much. And whatever other phones they make is irrelevant to the discussion.

As a geek my market segment is the high end flagship of which Samsung's is the Galaxy S4. If i don't like said S4 i have to look elsewhere. I won't be looking at a Galaxy Mini, Galaxy Ace or a Note because they're not flagships or the same device-type. Hence my eyes will move on to flagships from other manufacturers like LG, Sony HTC etc.

No free pass. Each flagship is judged against the others. It doesn't matter how many other devices you make nor how good your previous phone was. Incremental, S, or Tock is just that.

Thats just the way i see it.
 
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onthecouchagain

onthecouchagain

macrumors 604
Mar 29, 2011
7,382
2
daneoni said:
Because i don't necessarily agree that because the screen size is different the S-type classification doesn't apply. Little has changed externally from the predecessor no matter how much you want to spin it. To me its just a Galaxy S3 with 2013 specs and i'm not alone in this impression

I also don't believe just because Samsung makes other phones or because the previous phone was already good enough they're automatically excused. Samsung has ONE flagship product which is updated annually. Full stop. Everything else is either mid-range or low end or a completely different category. Whether they made an already good phone in the previous generation depends on who you ask...to some yes...to others not so much. And whatever other phones they make is irrelevant to the discussion.

As a geek my market segment is the high end flagship of which Samsung's is the Galaxy S4. If i don't like said S4 i have to look elsewhere. I won't be looking at a Galaxy Mini, Galaxy Ace or a Note because they're not flagships nor the same category. Hence my eyes will move on to flagships from other manufacturers like LG, Sony HTC etc.
Click to expand...

Fair enough.

Ironically, I'm looking at the possibility of going back to the iPhone.
 
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daneoni

daneoni

macrumors G4
Mar 24, 2006
11,844
1,579
onthecouchagain said:
Fair enough.

Ironically, I'm looking at the possibility of going back to the iPhone.
Click to expand...

HTC One or iPhone 5 are the phones to get IMHO. Unless you're not an S3 user in which case throw the S4 to the mix.

Sony blew the Xperia Z by not flooding the market and by using a funky screen.

HTC made a great phone but again question marks on battery life and how good that camera is prevail again

S4...more of the previous S3.

iPhone 5 you know what you're getting into. For better or worse.


onthecouchagain said:
I think this comparison picture should really put things into perspective. Doesn't sound anything like an S upgrade to me. Note the change in screen size, resolution, battery size, thinness (no S phone ever got thinner nor offered a larger battery), the addition of an IR blaster, less weight (no S phone ever got lighter), different dimensions (do I have to say it again? No S phone ever was sized differently), and etc.

Image
Click to expand...

Yes there is a difference between the S4 and the S3 (to be fair there were differences between the 4S/4 too albeit lesser) but not enough to jump into my wallet for. The changes aren't huge by any stretch and changes in dimension/weight numbers are so small to begin with).

Plus all those specs are expected for a 2013 Android flagship and i'm grateful for them but there are simply no surprises. The screen was the standout until i found out it was still good ol' PenTile not SAMOLED+

4S got a slightly bigger battery btw. As did the 3GS.
 
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onthecouchagain

onthecouchagain

macrumors 604
Mar 29, 2011
7,382
2
daneoni said:
HTC One or iPhone 5 are the phones to get IMHO. Unless you're not an S3 user in which case throw that to the mix.

Sony blew the Xperia Z by not glooding the market with and by using a funky screen.

HTC made a great phone but again question marks on battery life and how good that camera is prevail again

S4...more of the same S3.

iPhone 5 you know what you're getting. For better or worse.
Click to expand...

Yup. I'm at a crossroads.

Really not sure what to do... It's a damn shame the Nexus 4 didn't work out.

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I don't want to belabor my point, so this will be my last stab for all to read.

I think this comparison picture should really put things into perspective. Doesn't sound anything like an S upgrade to me.

Note the change in screen size, resolution, significantly larger battery size, thinness (no S phone ever got thinner nor offered a larger battery), the addition of an IR blaster, less weight (no S phone ever got lighter), different dimensions (Again, no S phone ever was sized differently), new colors, and etc.

Note also the whopping jump up in higher PPI. Not even the 4S-to-5 improved the PPI count.

Vww0bQ5.png
 
quagmire

quagmire

macrumors 604
Apr 19, 2004
6,986
2,493
Explicitic said:
SoCs can have an embedded modem/radio. Snapdragon come to mind.
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True. I just remembered the rumor of the low cost iPhone using a snapdragon for that reason. But, it doesn't rule out the Exynos 5 for the US market. I'm betting on the US version having the snapdragon, but the Exynos 5 not having LTE built in is not a sign of us not getting it.
 
M

mib1800

Suspended
Sep 16, 2012
2,859
1,250
eventhough there's a slight disappointment the design didn't change much but S4 still packs a punch. what I like is the dimensions and weight are a little bit better than S3 eventhough S4 has a larger 5in screen.

I have no complaints about material used. Personally I prefer polycarbonate over metal since aluminium dents and scratches easily and decolorize/oxidize over time if you dont protect it.

htc one looks a bit better in design but 0.3in smaller screen is too much to overlook. Same with xperiaz since it uses android soft key which slices 0.3in from the 5 inch usable screen area.
 
Sylon

Sylon

macrumors 68020
Feb 26, 2012
2,032
80
Michigan/Ohio, USA
With all these features crammed into this phone, I'm surprised they remembered put in the "phone" part, lol.

This went to the top of my list of what phone I'll be upgrading to this Fall.
 
roxxette

roxxette

macrumors 68000
Aug 9, 2011
1,507
0
Damm those pictures the S4 looks really really thin, mind playing tricks lol but wow not much phone to hold if itd thinner than iphone 5
 
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