Huh....I was assuming it would be the same as the US GS4 from Sammy, just minus TouchWiz and unlocked.
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GS4 with stock Android
- Thread starter paulsalter
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Huh....I was assuming it would be the same as the US GS4 from Sammy, just minus TouchWiz and unlocked.
Ahh crap.... http://www.tmonews.com/2013/05/galaxy-s4-with-stock-android-is-this-the-next-great-tech-superphone/
"The dev edition packs identical hardware to the carrier versions (with the exception of radio variations available across the globe), very much making this device a Samsung device."
Wonder if this means its a US only device.....
EDIT: Woops......from same article
"Along with pure Android and an unlocked bootloader, Google and Samsung are following in the footsteps of Nexus devices by offering this device as a GSM-unlocked handset with a pentaband radio. The S4 dev edition’s radio will support virtually every GSM carrier, at least up to HSPA+, including T-Mobile. Also on board, we find… wait for it… LTE support! While the technical details are scant, we do know that the S4 with stock Android will support at least T-Mobile and AT&T’s LTE bands, and possibly more global-friendly bands, though the frequency bands haven’t been released and that’s just speculation."
Lol.....I'm jumping the gun a little today....
Samsung is listening to its users and you can now bet money the note 3 and gs5 will cone with nexus android and touchwiz.
So much for tizan lol
Samsung is teaming with Google because apple just added the gs4 to the lawsuit and now that it has pure android Google with its 17000 patents can join the fun in the court rooms as this is pure Google on it and apple just dragged Google into its lawsuit mess
So much for tizan lol
Samsung is teaming with Google because apple just added the gs4 to the lawsuit and now that it has pure android Google with its 17000 patents can join the fun in the court rooms as this is pure Google on it and apple just dragged Google into its lawsuit mess
Ahh crap.... http://www.tmonews.com/2013/05/galaxy-s4-with-stock-android-is-this-the-next-great-tech-superphone/
"The dev edition packs identical hardware to the carrier versions (with the exception of radio variations available across the globe), very much making this device a Samsung device."
Wonder if this means its a US only device.....
EDIT: Woops......from same article
"Along with pure Android and an unlocked bootloader, Google and Samsung are following in the footsteps of Nexus devices by offering this device as a GSM-unlocked handset with a pentaband radio. The S4 dev editions radio will support virtually every GSM carrier, at least up to HSPA+, including T-Mobile. Also on board, we find wait for it LTE support! While the technical details are scant, we do know that the S4 with stock Android will support at least T-Mobile and AT&Ts LTE bands, and possibly more global-friendly bands, though the frequency bands havent been released and thats just speculation."
Lol.....I'm jumping the gun a little today....
Just have to keep fingers x'd. Though like I say Google at the moment have no plans to sell this themselves outside of US (well that's what Google told me on the phone today) but I'll keep my fingers crossed. I wouldn't buy one of eBay simply because of the sting of import duties and warranty / service should anything go wrong.
This is the phone that could make me jump ship back to Android. I always would install custom ROMS to avoid Touchwiz, but that came with its own set of issues usually. Plus I never fully liked the idea of installing a full OS on my phone from some random guy on the internet.
Stock GS4 address every concern I had with Android. A stock phone with high end specs (camera being the most important) and timely updates.
Luckily this comes out after WWDC so I can make up my mind based on iOS7.
Stock GS4 address every concern I had with Android. A stock phone with high end specs (camera being the most important) and timely updates.
Luckily this comes out after WWDC so I can make up my mind based on iOS7.
I wonder if they will just test the waters in the US, but that does seem a little backwards. I think the nexus sells a lot more overseas than it does in the US. At least that is the way it seems to me.
I can't help but think in the back of my mind that this comes off as some sort of olive branch from Google to Samsung. This device will only help Samsung's GS4 sales. And I'm speaking only on the rumors of a tiff between Samsung and Google Android.
This post makes no sense whatsoever. Tizen is still lurking in the background and potentially dangerous for Google. And the partnership would not be able to protect, arguably, the more popular version of the GS4.
This post makes no sense whatsoever. Tizen is still lurking in the background and potentially dangerous for Google. And the partnership would not be able to protect, arguably, the more popular version of the GS4.
I think that Google realized that if they didn't do something about Samsung then Samsung would in essence control the future of Android as the galaxy line is by far the biggest exposure of Android to the public at large. Better an olive branch in business than take on a growing giant.
Outside of the US, GSM is universal standard. Even if it doesn't work on non-US LTE bands it's pretty much guaranteed to work with 3G, HSPDA, HSPDA+, and DC-HSPDA.
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A fair point. And if I'm honest most networks in the UK are **** at covering rural areas. But I'm willing to put up with that for the sake of cheapness
If they made this cheaper than the normal S4, Sammy would be devaluing their flagship device. And they'd be charging a premium for TouchWiz to boot. Obviously not good for them.
But you're right that as soon as the phone is shipped some xda hackers will port it to the normal S4 in a matter of minutes anyway, that's the magic of Android and the fact that the standard S4 has an unlocked bootloader anyway
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A fair point. And if I'm honest most networks in the UK are **** at covering rural areas. But I'm willing to put up with that for the sake of cheapness
Google gave us a taste of "affordable" (we can say cheap or inexpensive too, if we want) tablets and phones. For all intents and purposes, this is the Nexus 4 successor. At twice the retail, it's a bit of a bite. What's especially odd is that, in theory, this phone should cost less for Samsung to put into our hands as there should have been significantly less R&D up to this point, and should be virtually none continued once the phone is launched (since updates will be handled by Google). I see your point though. On one hand we are getting exactly what we wanted (and all Google device with flagship quality hardware). On the other hand, this likely will not come with a subsidy, and with most US carriers, not using a subsidy means wasting your upgrade as your monthly rates won't drop, regardless, so people might feel that it's best to just wait for rom dumps and install it on their subsidized phones. In short, we want to have our cake and eat it too!
If they made this cheaper than the normal S4, Sammy would be devaluing their flagship device. And they'd be charging a premium for TouchWiz to boot. Obviously not good for them.
But you're right that as soon as the phone is shipped some xda hackers will port it to the normal S4 in a matter of minutes anyway, that's the magic of Android and the fact that the standard S4 has an unlocked bootloader anyway
A fair point. And if I'm honest most networks in the UK are **** at covering rural areas. But I'm willing to put up with that for the sake of cheapness
If they made this cheaper than the normal S4, Sammy would be devaluing their flagship device. And they'd be charging a premium for TouchWiz to boot. Obviously not good for them.
But you're right that as soon as the phone is shipped some xda hackers will port it to the normal S4 in a matter of minutes anyway, that's the magic of Android and the fact that the standard S4 has an unlocked bootloader anyway
I am very aware. It was asked why people are disappointed and I answered. Consumers don't give a rip about the carrier's or manufacturer's bottom line. They care about what the phone costs them. Pretty simple. Just like you mentioning you want cheaper service, I'll take service everywhere for what I pay (since I obviously travel) with a cheaper handset. Personal preference is all. I am sure we will see used handsets for a couple hundred under market value a few months out anyway. I will probably wait for that. Don't need to be the first to grab this thing.
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Let me understand this correctly. S4 with stock Android does not come with Samsung stuff like eye ball scrolling, smart stay, etc? So temperature sensor and extra front facing cameras have been removed?
The gimmicky TouchWiz features have been removed, but I'm sure the hardware, sensors,and all is the same.
I do understand that the excellent Samsung camera UI will be gone. That is a minus point.
That, I totally agree on. The Camera features in TouchWiz on the regular GS4 are excellent!
It's bootloader unlocked and it's the same hardware, sideloading Samsung's camera app will be trivial.
I wonder if it would be possible to just load only the camera app though? Surely it's only a matter of time though.
Of course it is, you just pull the apk from the normal S4 and put it on the AOSP one. Since the hardware is identical there's no reason that shouldn't work. Installing it like a normal apk might not work (sometimes happens for system apps) but if that's the case you just use a root file explorer app.
Although pure android was and is optimized for on screen buttons. I just hope this GS4 doesn't push back any Nexus 5.
When you connect to Kies for a complete firmware restore, it asks for the Model name and S/N. My take is the Model name will be the same and you'll probably only need the right S/N to install Touchwiz. It won't be a "pure" Touchwiz rom as your hoping for, but you can permanently disable all carrier and Samsung stuff if you wanted under App manager.
Now I'm wondering if somehow I'll be able to preform the opposite, restore the TW S4 to stock Android Firmware. I would love to at least give stock Android a try on the S4 without rooting or loading custom roms. But I doubt I can do this via Kies.
That's really interesting. Thanks for that tip. That will come in handy if I decide to go GS4.
WWDC is just over 3 weeks away, and that will play a big part in my decision making.
Wow I can't believe Samsung did this. This will just show people how bloated and laggy Touchwiz is. But seriously to have those sorts of specs running stock Android is pretty special.
It's a shame this wont be available through carriers as a subsidy otherwise this could be extremely popular.
It's a shame this wont be available through carriers as a subsidy otherwise this could be extremely popular.
