S4 vs HTC One dogfight

[johnjefferson]

Nice review but still very disappointing to see the lagging and force closing (S4 FCs Quadrant in part 2) from both devices although they have quadcore processors and running the current version of Android. After only 2 weeks on the iPhone 5, I forgot what lag and force closes were and I really appreciate that. Looks like Android still has some work to do before I switch back.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axc_646PpL8

 

[VulchR]

This thread will not go well....

 

[Peterg2]

I think they should have a separate thread - a Sticky - like they have in the AT&T HTC One forum at XDA developers. In that thread, you can do all this "X phone is better than Y phone blah blah blah".

In the HTC One General subforum rules they state:"What does not go here..."

One of them is "Device comparison threads "Which is better: iphone or this phone" (see above)".

Of course the main threads on particular phones will still be polluted by trollers and pseudo-objectivists but it might help a bit.

 

[scott craft]

I've watched the two part phone dog review on the S4 and both parts of the S4/One dogfight and they both looked pretty good to me. I was watching on a 4.3" screen so maybe that's why I didn't see the lag. I wouldn't have a problem owning either phone.

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

I watched both parts. Where's the lag OP? Cause I didn't see any. Post some exact times or your trolling.

 

[johnjefferson]

I watched both parts. Where's the lag OP? Cause I didn't see any. Post some exact times or your trolling.

LOL, ok...The S4 lags bad at 7:14 of Part 1, when he hits the home button. Then the S4 again at the 5:50 mark in Part 2 (link below) as hes trying to open the Speedtest app. Not only does it stutter badly, right after that he opens Quadrant and it goes black for a few seconds before force closing Quadrant. Completely unacceptable in brand new phones with QUADCORE processors on the current OS. If they are doing this brand new, wait until you've had one for a few months and loaded up tons of apps, games, music, movies....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESmQ_mklR9Y

 

[Assault]

LOL, ok...The S4 lags bad at 7:14 of Part 1, when he hits the home button. Then the S4 again at the 5:50 mark in Part 2 (link below) as hes trying to open the Speedtest app. Not only does it stutter badly, right after that he opens Quadrant and it goes black for a few seconds before force closing Quadrant. Completely unacceptable in brand new phones with QUADCORE processors on the current OS. If they are doing this brand new, wait until you've had one for a few months and loaded up tons of apps, games, music, movies....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESmQ_mklR9Y

And every single iPhone, iPad, atv , MBP and iMac has had FC's and lag. I guess that brand new iMac that gives me a spinning beach ball is a POS computer, right? Or when you are in an app on the iPad or iPhone and you get kicked out is just part of the OS? Just because iOS doesn't tell you what or why there was a FC, doesn't mean it didn't occur.
Every single OS, on every single type of computer will have a slow down or glitch at some point. It is simply inevitable. Just because it happened once (on a 3rd party app) while he had 20 other apps running in the background, doesn't say much. I can show you a ton of vids of brand new iPhone having worse issues than that. The question still remains, So what?

 

[johnjefferson]

And every single iPhone, iPad, atv , MBP and iMac has had FC's and lag. I guess that brand new iMac that gives me a spinning beach ball is a POS computer, right? Or when you are in an app on the iPad or iPhone and you get kicked out is just part of the OS? Just because iOS doesn't tell you what or why there was a FC, doesn't mean it didn't occur.
Every single OS, on every single type of computer will have a slow down or glitch at some point. It is simply inevitable. Just because it happened once (on a 3rd party app) while he had 20 other apps running in the background, doesn't say much. I can show you a ton of vids of brand new iPhone having worse issues than that. The question still remains, So what?

The fact is Android is still not very well put together. I can count the times on one hand I have had my iPad mini or iPhone 5 force close an app. Its always Facebook by the way, which is due to the app itself and not iOS. I would need hundreds and hundreds of hands to count how many force closes I have had on Android phones over the years, even recent ones like my Note 2. Only the biggest of Android fan boys would argue that Android is smoother, less laggy and force closes apps less than iOS.

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

LOL, ok...The S4 lags bad at 7:14 of Part 1, when he hits the home button. Then the S4 again at the 5:50 mark in Part 2 (link below) as hes trying to open the Speedtest app. Not only does it stutter badly, right after that he opens Quadrant and it goes black for a few seconds before force closing Quadrant. Completely unacceptable in brand new phones with QUADCORE processors on the current OS. If they are doing this brand new, wait until you've had one for a few months and loaded up tons of apps, games, music, movies....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESmQ_mklR9Y

On 7:14 part 1. Show me something on a continuous scale. A half second from 13 minutes is hardly any real lag. I can show you multiple iPhone 5 videos and nit pick too.

On 5:50 part 2. When Speedtest isn't recently opened. That's the way the Speedtest.net app opens on Android. It goes black for a second then to the begin test screen. On iOS they have a screen before the begin test screen.
As you can see at 7:20 the Speedtest came right back up.

 

[johnjefferson]

On 7:14 part 1. Show me something on a continuous scale. A half second from 13 minutes is hardly any real lag. I can show you multiple iPhone 5 videos and nit pick too.

On 5:50 part 2. When Speedtest isn't recently opened. That's the way the Speedtest.net app opens on Android. It goes black for a second then to the begin test screen. On iOS they have a screen before the begin test screen.
As you can see at 7:20 the Speedtest came right back up.

If you say so. What about the 3-4 seconds of black screen and the force closing of Quadrant? Unacceptable. Oh and I have had both the S3 and Note 2 and both would lag and stutter too. Not bad but certainly enough to be annoying, so dont pretend like this is something new to Android. I have used Android since the HTC Hero.

 

[jrswizzle]

On 7:14 part 1. Show me something on a continuous scale. A half second from 13 minutes is hardly any real lag. I can show you multiple iPhone 5 videos and nit pick too.

On 5:50 part 2. When Speedtest isn't recently opened. That's the way the Speedtest.net app opens on Android. It goes black for a second then to the begin test screen. On iOS they have a screen before the begin test screen.
As you can see at 7:20 the Speedtest came right back up.

The speedtest app is terrible on Android.....it may not truly be, but it feels like its lagging terribly.

 

[OceanView]

I think the lag you mention is really just the transition speed.
There is a setting that you can change to speed to make the transition faster.
I wish Samsung would just set it to the fastest speed so people would not confuse this with Lag on their phones.

On a side note, I checked out the HTC one at the AT&T store yesterday.
It feels like a great phone but the one issue that bothered me was the little buttons for power and volume.
They are too recessed and too small which make it difficult to press. Now I don't have giant hands, so I imagine people with big hands would have even harder time to press them then I did.

EDIT:
The settings on my Note II to make the transitions faster is in the settings under Developers Option, Transition Animation. Change the setting to 0.5 or lower for faster transition. This will remove any appearance of lag that a few people are mentioning.

 

[MRU]

I think the lag you mention is really just the transition speed.
There is a setting that you can change to speed to make the transition faster.
I wish Samsung would just set it to the fastest speed so people would not confuse this with Lag on their phones.

On a side note, I checked out the HTC one at the AT&T store yesterday.
It feels like a great phone but the one issue that bothered me was the little buttons for power and volume.
They are too recessed and too small which make it difficult to press. Now I don't have giant hands, so I imagine people with big hands would have even harder time to press them then I did.

You don't have to press them hard, they are very sensitive or at least should be. Perhaps the one on display had been abused

The buttons are more responsive than my iPhone 5 by a huge margin. Especially the volume rocker.



----

In other news the anandtech review surprised me. Didn't expect the HTC One to beat the S4 in some battery tests and matched it in others. Hopefully that will stop expletive bitching about the HTC ones battery life.

And the conclusion sums it up rather well

It's when you compare the Galaxy S 4 to its chief technical competitor, the HTC One, that the discussion becomes more complicated. HTC and Samsung take very different approaches to nearly every aspect of their flagship smartphones. Whether it's display (LCD vs. Super AMOLED), camera (low light vs. well lit performance), or software (subtle Sense 5 or feature filled TouchWiz), you couldn't pick two more different players in the Android space. So which is better?



It really depends on what you value more. The One's camera delivers better low light performance, while the Galaxy S 4's camera delivers better performance in well lit (e.g. outdoor) scenarios. The One's software customizations are definitely more subtle and out of your way, while Samsung's approach is much more feature overload and in your face. It's difficult to say for sure given our Sprint review unit, but HTC likely gets the slight edge in battery life based on our results here today (although these two devices can be close competitors depending on the workload). Samsung does integrate the faster SoC, despite both the Galaxy S 4 and HTC One shipping the same Snapdragon 600 platform. Samsung and HTC remain on opposite sides of the removable battery/microSD fence, if those two things matter to you then Samsung is the obvious choice. Finally there's a question of how much you value/desire an all-metal smartphone. For some, Samsung's choice in materials is going to continue to be a very big issue.

Basically both the HTC One and the S4 offer different takes, what your preference is will dictate which is better, but what is clear is that NEITHER are perfect......

But its good Samsung at least has some competition in the market, but I have no doubt the S4 will sell vastly more units than the HTC (10-1) .....

 

[Assault]

The fact is Android is still not very well put together. I can count the times on one hand I have had my iPad mini or iPhone 5 force close an app. Its always Facebook by the way, which is due to the app itself and not iOS. I would need hundreds and hundreds of hands to count how many force closes I have had on Android phones over the years, even recent ones like my Note 2. Only the biggest of Android fan boys would argue that Android is smoother, less laggy and force closes apps less than iOS.

A simple Google search can tell anyone that the number of issues go up exponentially, as sales numbers go up regarding a specific product. This very website is full of iDevice users with lots of issues from iPhone5 build quality to software glitches. Remember the pixel displacement issue on the iphone 5's virtual keyboard or the severe lag and stutter when attempting to scroll long lists or webpages? Or the Touchscreen response issues that were supposedly fixed with iOS 6.0.1?

Take a look at these screenshots. This is not an iOS, Android, Blackeberry, Symbian, WebOS or Windows specific issues. They all have the same issues. All of them.

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

You don't have to press them hard, they are very sensitive or at least should be. Perhaps the one on display had been abused

The buttons are more responsive than my iPhone 5 by a huge margin. Especially the volume rocker.



----

In other news the anandtech review surprised me. Didn't expect the HTC One to beat the S4 in some battery tests and matched it in others. Hopefully that will stop expletive bitching about the HTC ones battery life.

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I think the culprit is Sprint. Other reviewers gave the S4 a slight edge in real life usage.

 

[maxosx]

I've watched the two part phone dog review on the S4 and both parts of the S4/One dogfight and they both looked pretty good to me. I was watching on a 4.3" screen so maybe that's why I didn't see the lag. I wouldn't have a problem owning either phone.

Ah yes, I had faith that someone like you would apply common sense & point out the truth.

Differences? Of course. If they were identical something would be wrong. It's far less in real life day to day usage, but hey! the writers have to have something to criticize. Not to mention injecting their personal opinion.

It's all about choices & preferences. After all, we all use our phones quite differently.

 

[OceanView]

You don't have to press them hard, they are very sensitive or at least should be. Perhaps the one on display had been abused

The buttons are more responsive than my iPhone 5 by a huge margin. Especially the volume rocker.

I think the buttons may have been responsive but they just don't have any feedback when you press them and they are tiny.
The combination of small buttons with no feedback or clicks make it feel less responsive. Maybe it will get better with use but these are my initial observations. To some it may not be an issue, I guess I just prefer some kind of feed back and feel for that matter when I press a button.

 

[appletoandroid]

In other news the anandtech review surprised me. Didn't expect the HTC One to beat the S4 in some battery tests and matched it in others. Hopefully that will stop expletive bitching about the HTC ones battery life.

Image

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And the conclusion sums it up rather well



Basically both the HTC One and the S4 offer different takes, what your preference is will dictate which is better, but what is clear is that NEITHER are perfect......

But its good Samsung at least has some competition in the market, but I have no doubt the S4 will sell vastly more units than the HTC (10-1) .....

That can't be right, how can the iPhone 5 benchmark the best when it is dated and using technology almost a year older... I would be skeptical of Anandtech's testing, there's a lot wrong here.

Also, it was pointed out in a lot of the reviews that turning off the S features in the GS4 will noticeably bump up performance and battery, so he isn't taking that into account either! In the long run, fully optimized, I think the S4 will benchmark higher than the One.

 

[LSUtigers03]

The fact is Android is still not very well put together. I can count the times on one hand I have had my iPad mini or iPhone 5 force close an app. Its always Facebook by the way, which is due to the app itself and not iOS. I would need hundreds and hundreds of hands to count how many force closes I have had on Android phones over the years, even recent ones like my Note 2. Only the biggest of Android fan boys would argue that Android is smoother, less laggy and force closes apps less than iOS.

Well in my experience with the S3 I had less crashes than I do on my iPhone 5. Here's what I don't understand. When an app acts up on iOS its always a problem with the app and not iOS but when it happens on Android its because Android sucks. There's also the crash data in the link below and this was pre JB which is a better OS than iOS 6 and I say that as an iPhone 5 owner. Sure it's a year and a half old but the point is that Android apps don't crash more than iOS apps. Android alerts you of the crash and iOS doesn't so most iOS users probably don't know that the app crashed.

http://phandroid.com/2012/02/03/android-vs-ios-which-is-really-more-stable-new-data-may-surprise-you/

 

[cynics]

This lag thing is getting silly. I have noticeable lag at times on my iPhone. Not app lag either which can be caused from a poorly written app, I'm talking OS lag.

I took a pic of it the other day.

It just froze there. Took a screen shot and that was lagged. When it stopped the multitask scrolling hadn't scrolled it just jumped to where it was supposed to be.

Clicking on pics in group messages will hang sometimes for a fairly long time.

I tested my buddies iPhone 5 who is in a group message with me since December. If you keep hitting "Load previous messages" for long enough it gets terribly laggy. Although it didn't I thought the app or even the phone might crash.

Point being you'd have to be in complete denial to say iOS doesn't lag and even fault another device for lagging. Maybe an Android phone from back in the gingerbread days but now it's to the point where it's not bad enough to worry about.

 

[Lindsford]

You don't have to press them hard, they are very sensitive or at least should be. Perhaps the one on display had been abused

The buttons are more responsive than my iPhone 5 by a huge margin. Especially the volume rocker.



----

In other news the anandtech review surprised me. Didn't expect the HTC One to beat the S4 in some battery tests and matched it in others. Hopefully that will stop expletive bitching about the HTC ones battery life.

Image

Image

Image



And the conclusion sums it up rather well



Basically both the HTC One and the S4 offer different takes, what your preference is will dictate which is better, but what is clear is that NEITHER are perfect......

But its good Samsung at least has some competition in the market, but I have no doubt the S4 will sell vastly more units than the HTC (10-1) .....

Not sure who the hell rated iPhone 5 battery life on wifi that high. I've never gotten that much time on wifi usually it's a solid 6 or so hours when i'm browsing on wifi not even streaming video or music, strictly browsing. I don't trust it

 

[Tinmania]

The fact is Android is still not very well put together. I can count the times on one hand I have had my iPad mini or iPhone 5 force close an app. Its always Facebook by the way, which is due to the app itself and not iOS.

Contradict much? If you can count the times on one hand you have only used the facebook app 5 times.

Evernote closes every day for me, bar none. On iOS. On Android? Never. Not that that proves anything anymore than the nonsense in this troll-like thread.




Michael

 

[sviato]

And every single iPhone, iPad, atv , MBP and iMac has had FC's and lag.

Hmm you may want to qualify that sentence better. I've a Macbook Air since September and it has never had a FC or any sort of lag or stutter.

 

[fredaroony]

Hmm you may want to qualify that sentence better. I've a Macbook Air since September and it has never had a FC or any sort of lag or stutter.

I have a Retina Macbook Pro which is far faster than your Macbook Air and it occasionally FC and lags just like ANY computer.

 

[Explicitic]

Can we stop feeding threads like this and let them die out? It's obvious the OP is *trying* to spark a fight here or just doesn't understand, as seen in post #6.

The transition to the home screen is a known "issue" with Samsung's TouchWiz Nature UX. With their UX, there is a second or so delay before you land back on the home screen. It's not lag and easily rectified either through Developer Options, or a mod on XDA if you want a smoother transition. The SpeedTest app was simply loading. What's there to talk about? It wasn't lag. If it was lagging, he probably would have had a hard time exiting. Apps on iOS load too, most of the time you're just too distracted with the *pretty loading screen* they put there to realize it.

Easy Solution: Always run a damn custom ROM. Despise stock ROMs. Destory them. Run that freshly baked AOKP, or whatever AOSP ROM you can find. Just do it.

Dammit. I just fed the beast. Again.

EDIT:
The settings on my Note II to make the transitions faster is in the settings under Developers Option, Transition Animation. Change the setting to 0.5 or lower for faster transition. This will remove any appearance of lag that a few people are mentioning.

Just wanted to add that this applies to all Android devices (4.0+ at least, I don't remember about ~2.3).