Galaxy S4

[3bs]

Which one of you is going to be the person to convince me to get this phone?

(Currently own a Nexus 4 I rarely use and iPhone 5 as my daily driver)

I had an S3 and I think it was my favourite android phone I had tried.

 

[MRU]

Which one of you is going to be the person to convince me to get this phone?

(Currently own a Nexus 4 I rarely use and iPhone 5 as my daily driver)

I had an S3 and I think it was my favourite android phone I had tried.

You'll probably like the S4 a heck of a lot if you thought the S3 was the best android handset.

My gripes with the device lay squarely at Touchwiz & Samsung. If you are happy with Touchwiz, the S4 is great piece of hardware.

 

[Sdahe]

Mine isn't laggy at all.

That's not what that guys said in the video

 

[MRU]

No scrolling issues what so ever. I did lower animations to 0, forgot to add that.

I did my test on XDA's site since it's very long & you need to scroll to get to the bottom.

I use Apex but didn't see any lag with TW either.

Again we all had to turn off animations or increase their speed exponentially. We shouldn't have had to do this however. That is why I feel Touchwiz is behind Sense 5 design wise. But hey ho

 

[3bs]

You'll probably like the S4 if you thought the S3 was the best android handset.

My gripes with the device lay squarely at Touchwiz & Samsung. If you are happy with Touchwiz, the S4 is great piece of hardware.

What about the milliseconds of lag you mentioned in the other thread? That would annoy me a lot. Did you also notice them on the S3?

 

[The Game 161]

seems some have had lag some havn't...guess it was like the iphone too. I had issues with lag but my friend never has.

 

[MRU]

What about the milliseconds of lag you mentioned in the other thread? That would annoy me a lot. Did you also notice them on the S3?

Never had an S3 hence I just assumed it might have suffered same...

But yeah it annoyed me a in it felt like it was making me want to check application management to check if there were apps sucking memory. It was turning me OCD and I didn't want to be that person who micromanaged their handset.

Bug as I also said for the most part it was smooth, and changing settings did improve it, though there was always the occasional little stutter or micro-delay. Samsung could possibly fix this in a software update.

What they probably would not fix is where my biggest bugbear lay. Touchwiz from a GUI design perspective felt all over the place for me, and as I design myself it was the brash clash of design ethos throughout the device that irked me. I guarantee if design wasn't my profession those design skews probably wouldn't have been so bad, but as I am - they just screamed at me every time I looked at the device and unfortunetly no launcher masks the GUI design language choices completely as they don't replace the basics such as dialer, calendar, video, music, messaging etc...

But if you like Touchwiz and don't have those hang ups about design ethos and coherency throughout a devices GUI - I'd still say it would be a solid choice.

For me it was asking too much to put 4 years in college & university training and 15 years of actual professional practice aside every time someone rang or I needed to send a text message. The GUI design language was sadly that repugnant to me.

Stock android because of its coherent design language and GUI on the device would be awesome, its a shame we as consumers aren't given this choice.

----------

seems some have had lag some havn't...guess it was like the iphone too. I had issues with lag but my friend never has.

The lag settles down into little micro stutters and delays. Those that seem to have no issues or at least less noticeable ones seem to be using alternative launchers also.

 

[The Game 161]

Well the S4 will be my first android device so will have to let you know how I get on with touchwiz..big adjustment from being with iphone since the 3G years.....looking forward to it and sort of know what to expect as my dad as the note 2.

 

[MRU]

Well the S4 will be my first android device so will have to let you know how I get on with touchwiz..big adjustment from being with iphone since the 3G years.....looking forward to it and sort of know what to expect as my dad as the note 2.

It is a great device even if its software wasn't to my taste. The camera is fab and the hardware generally is likewise fab.

If the S3 & Note 2 don't have the little stutters and micro-delays/lag then Samsung will probably be able to fix it on the S4 with an update

 

[Krimsonmyst]

It is a great device even if its software wasn't to my taste. The camera is fab and the hardware generally is likewise fab.

If the S3 & Note 2 don't have the little stutters and micro-delays/lag then Samsung will probably be able to fix it on the S4 with an update

Keep in mind that while the stutters, while a little bit frustrating, will most likely be addressed in software patches.

There are very few, if any devices that launch with perfect software out of the box. Aside from the stutter (which is minimal on my s4 anyway), everything runs great.

 

[MRU]

Keep in mind that while the stutters, while a little bit frustrating, will most likely be addressed in software patches.

There are very few, if any devices that launch with perfect software out of the box. Aside from the stutter (which is minimal on my s4 anyway), everything runs great.

Did I not say that in the text you quoted

The HTC One doesn't suffer from the micro-lag or stutters at all in fairness. Whilst certainly sense 5 isn't everyone's cup of tea, HTC did a fantastic job optimising its software so that the GUI and user experience is very smooth. (Doesn't address some of the build quality issues some folks are having though).

 

[Chodite]

After taking the plunge today, I can honestly say that coming from an iPhone 5 (and all previous iPhone releases), the S4 is not one bit laggy. Not to me at least. Though SOME issues are puzzling, like I'll be in an app, get a phone call and the screen completely goes black. Another issue seems to be battery life. Luckily I live on the road and have it plugged into the charger all day. But from an OS / Touchwiz standpoint, I really can't complain.

Though I'm still trying to figure out which apps are true Android and which apps are Samsung. They both do the same thing in most instances, but I don't know which one(s) should be my go-to! Seriously, I have no idea.

 

[MRU]

After taking the plunge today, I can honestly say that coming from an iPhone 5 (and all previous iPhone releases), the S4 is not one bit laggy. Not to me at least. Though SOME issues are puzzling, like I'll be in an app, get a phone call and the screen completely goes black. Another issue seems to be battery life. Luckily I live on the road and have it plugged into the charger all day. But from an OS / Touchwiz standpoint, I really can't complain.

Though I'm still trying to figure out which apps are true Android and which apps are Samsung. They both do the same thing in most instances, but I don't know which one(s) should be my go-to! Seriously, I have no idea.

Samsung's apps are all S-Apps and doesn't have googles name near them but everything from the basic phone dialler, contacts, messaging, email, settings, calendar, video, on the S4 is Samsung.


Enjoy the phone

 

[The Game 161]

stupid question i'm sure

what is the font type that is on safari that would be the same on the stock browser? seems when i go on this basketball forum the text seems different.

 

[RMXO]

Which one of you is going to be the person to convince me to get this phone?

(Currently own a Nexus 4 I rarely use and iPhone 5 as my daily driver)

I had an S3 and I think it was my favourite android phone I had tried.

If u can wait then wait to see what the Nexus 5 is going to be.

 

[blackhand1001]

I compared them side by side and those are facts.
The S4 with a Flip-Case which is not slippery would be too big in my opinion.
The I5 with its Flip-Case fits nicely in MY trousers and MY hand .
Android 4.2.2 on the S4 just isn't as smooth as IOS and scrolling in Chrome is laggy when you compare it to the I5.
The screen on the I5 is considerably brighter than the S4 screen and better readable when viewing from the side or in bright sunlight with Auto brightness ON.
That's just my 0.02 and I am happy with my decision.
Have fun with your S4s.

Don't use chrome. Use the regular browser. Its much smoother and faster. Chrome for android is buggy and choppy.

 

[bean dip]

I picked one of these up the other day after reading reviews and gospel on how the android lag was gone. My last android was a droid 2 so you know I dealt with some of the worst lag android has to offer. Well, the lag is still there. Not nearly as bad, but it's there. Now, everyone and their grandma knows that the lag is only going to get worse as time goes on, therefore the gs4 is going back tomorrow. I wish I wouldn't of sold my Lumia but it is what it is. Now I'm down to trying the iphone 5 or Z10. Most likely the Z10 is in my future.

 

[blackhand1001]

I picked one of these up the other day after reading reviews and gospel on how the android lag was gone. My last android was a droid 2 so you know I dealt with some of the worst lag android has to offer. Well, the lag is still there. Not nearly as bad, but it's there. Now, everyone and their grandma knows that the lag is only going to get worse as time goes on, therefore the gs4 is going back tomorrow. I wish I wouldn't of sold my Lumia but it is what it is. Now I'm down to trying the iphone 5 or Z10. Most likely the Z10 is in my future.

Go into developer options, you may need to unhide it by tapping the build number 8 times and enable force gpu rendering. That will make third party apps that don't use gpu acceleration use them.

 

[Kashsystems]

Don't use chrome. Use the regular browser. Its much smoother and faster. Chrome for android is buggy and choppy.

I had a problem with regular chrome, I switched to beta and my lag issues went away.

 

[bean dip]

Go into developer options, you may need to unhide it by tapping the build number 8 times and enable force gpu rendering. That will make third party apps that don't use gpu acceleration use them.

Thanks for the tip. I can already see a difference.

 

[Chodite]

Not happy that all of my iMessage text messages from friends/family/co-workers are going to my "old" iPhone 5 (when connected to wifi) and not to my new S4. Just found out that I missed A LOT of texts today. Especially since my de-activated iPhone 5 was in the car most of today and not connected to wifi. WTF AT&T?!

 

[Lindsford]

I had a problem with regular chrome, I switched to beta and my lag issues went away.

Am I crazy? For some reason the 2 buttons on either side of the home button don't give any haptic feedback while in silent or vibrate? It works while the sound is on but not on the others. I could have sworn it worked on all settings before

----------

Not happy that all of my iMessage text messages from friends/family/co-workers are going to my "old" iPhone 5 (when connected to wifi) and not to my new S4. Just found out that I missed A LOT of texts today. Especially since my de-activated iPhone 5 was in the car most of today and not connected to wifi. WTF AT&T?!

Disable imessage in the settings

 

[blackhand1001]

Thanks for the tip. I can already see a difference.

Yeah, google needs to enable this by default. I haven't found any apps that this breaks and I have been using this setting since november 2011 when the galaxy nexus came out.

 

[Borealis]

MRU, thanks for the comparison between the S4 and HTC One. If the S4 lags, then I have even less of an incentive to upgrade from my S3.

When you wrote that the Samsung apps ran in memory without invocation, was it even after you disabled the apps via Application Manager? On my S3, running everything stock (except for transitions and animations that are set to zero in Developer Options), disabling the S apps works as expected. They never start up and the phone is super smooth and fast with zero lag. I've attached a screenshot as an example of the apps that I disabled.

Edit :Is the S4 different in this regard?

 

[MRU]

MRU, thanks for the comparison between the S4 and HTC One. If the S4 lags, then I have even less of an incentive to upgrade from my S3.

When you wrote that the Samsung apps ran in memory without invocation, was it even after you disabled the apps via Application Manager? On my S3, running everything stock (except for transitions and animations that are set to zero in Developer Options), disabling the S apps works as expected. They never start up and the phone is super smooth and fast with zero lag. I've attached a screenshot as an example of the apps that I disabled.

Edit :Is the S4 different in this regard?

No I never disabled each of them manually. I looked for one of them but couldn't find disable option only to end process so I just didn't bother looking at the rest.

Personally if you were me and I had an S3 and its running smooth, and knowing some of the software features are going to be going ported to the S3 in due course, I would stick with the S3 for now.

The S3's camera isn't a slouch and takes decent shots, so there isn't a huge raft of benefits over the S3. Yes you could say it has a better processor but if currently the S4 is jittery and the S3 is smooth, you have to question the benefit of it .... likewise if the S3 is handling memory management better than the S4 you again ask yourself what is the benefit of the extra ram in the S4.
And if the S3 has 301 ppi and the S4 440ppi, but you cant see pixels above 300 then is the extra ppi a real benefit because app wise the extra resolution doesnt make much difference all old.

So yeah I'd stick with the S3 and see what comes out later in the year.