Switching from the iPhone 5 to the GS4

[shahrezsyed]

Same boat. I've had iPhones since the 3G and apart from the screen size I was quite happy.

It really depends on what you want to use your phone for.

The S4 is good, but the main selling point is the screen. Ignore all the features Samsung are trying to push because they suck.

Ultimately it will depend on whether you can live with Android. It's a flexible OS and will feel fresh at first. At times I feel like it's a level above iOS in what it can do and what it offers the user. However using it does mean either abandoning iCloud and all it offers or finding workarounds which can be a bit of a headache.

Apps wise, it will be a big change too. Generally the Play store isn't nearly as bad as some would have you believe, but generally iOS does offer more and shared apps seem to be updated first on there.

Although iOS feels stale, it gets a lot right. You just set it up and go, it takes 10 minutes at most. A week later I'm still trying to refine my Android experience to a point where it's acceptable.

My carriers given me another week to decide whether I want to keep the S4. I'm about 50:50 at the moment.

I am in EXACTLY the same boat as you are...iCloud, Siri and my app library are the only things holding me back from switching to a GS4 or a HTC one right now...
I'm waiting for WWDC '13 to see what iOS7 will be like... If it is ANYTHING like the iOS5 to iOS6 update, I'll be switching regardless of what I'll have to leave behind...

 

[Random 995K]

Well that's what alot of reviewers have stated

IMO you can't have a good gaming experience on a poor quality screen. I imagine both can run the most demanding games smoothly but the screen on the s4 is miles behind that of the iPhone 5 which is arguably (and I am not joking) one of the best displays in the world. Read this very in depth review:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/6334/iphone-5-screen-performance

" I do know that if TV and PC Monitor vendors were able to provide displays that looked like this out of the box, professional calibrators would lose a good amount of business. The new panel in the iPhone 5 is simply remarkable in quality and if it were a PC monitor, I'd give it a Gold Award on the basis of its performance."

Edit: I understand that the s4 will be able to run a few games down the road better than the i5 but for now both could run anything well

 

[The Game 161]

IMO you can't have a good gaming experience on a poor quality screen. I imagine both can run the most demanding games smoothly but the screen on the s4 is miles behind that of the iPhone 5 which is arguably (and I am not joking) one of the best displays in the world. Read this very in depth review:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/6334/iphone-5-screen-performance

" I do know that if TV and PC Monitor vendors were able to provide displays that looked like this out of the box, professional calibrators would lose a good amount of business. The new panel in the iPhone 5 is simply remarkable in quality and if it were a PC monitor, I'd give it a Gold Award on the basis of its performance."

Edit: I understand that the s4 will be able to run a few games down the road better than the i5 but for now both could run anything well

Are you seriously trying to say the S4 as a poor quailty screen? it has arguably the best screen on the market.

 

[snowcrash]

IMO you can't have a good gaming experience on a poor quality screen. I imagine both can run the most demanding games smoothly but the screen on the s4 is miles behind that of the iPhone 5 which is arguably (and I am not joking) one of the best displays in the world. Read this very in depth review:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/6334/iphone-5-screen-performance

" I do know that if TV and PC Monitor vendors were able to provide displays that looked like this out of the box, professional calibrators would lose a good amount of business. The new panel in the iPhone 5 is simply remarkable in quality and if it were a PC monitor, I'd give it a Gold Award on the basis of its performance."

Edit: I understand that the s4 will be able to run a few games down the road better than the i5 but for now both could run anything well

I don't think quoting an article from 6 months ago makes the case that the iPhone 5 screen is better then the GS4. From all reviews I've seen and from using one in the store I can say its one of the most vivid beautiful screens I've seen on a phone. Between the HTC One and GS4 Apple has a little catching up to do. Not saying the iPhone 5 is now a bad screen, it's not, it's amazing but calling the SG4 "poor quality" is just silly.

 

[Chodite]

I don't think quoting an article from 6 months ago makes the case that the iPhone 5 screen is better then the GS4. From all reviews I've seen and from using one in the store I can say its one of the most vivid beautiful screens I've seen on a phone. Between the HTC One and GS4 Apple has a little catching up to do. Not saying the iPhone 5 is now a bad screen, it's not, it's amazing but calling the SG4 "poor quality" is just silly.

What he said.

Hell, as much as there are little things pissing me off about jumping into the Android world with a GS4 from an iPhone 5, the ridiculous screen is what continues to keep me on-board with this phone. It's unmatched.

 

[Dreamer2go]

lol all "switchers" are fascinated by the "WOW" and the "new features that iphone doesn't have amazes me" feeling....... initially

sooner or later, you either will continue liking it, or like me, switch back to iPhone's eco system.

I have both s3 and iphone 5. my main phone is still the iphone 5... apps are clearly more polished in any way.

 

[Random 995K]

Are you seriously trying to say the S4 as a poor quailty screen? it has arguably the best screen on the market.

No it's not, it's colours are horrendously unrealistic and the screen can go Only 1/2 (lol fail) as bright as the 5. The colours are just so off the mark to where they should be.

 

[Fruit Cake]

No it's not, it's colours are horrendously unrealistic and the screen can go Only 1/2 (lol fail) as bright as the 5. The colours are just so off the mark to where they should be.

He did say "arguably"

The LCD on either is fine IMO. It's not like one is b/w and the other is color lol

 

[Random 995K]

He did say "arguably"

The LCD on either is fine IMO. It's not like one is b/w and the other is color lol

True, I guess it's just subjective. Colour accuracy is the biggest thing for me in terms of how good a screen is but other people might not mind that much.

 

[daveathall]

I really like the colours and vibrance of the screen on my S4, IMHO, it's superb, I have to say though, on a sunny day, as it was yesterday for 2 minutes and 23 seconds in Northern England, the iPhone 5 is much easier by far to read.

 

[Fruit Cake]

Colour accuracy is the biggest thing for me in terms of how good a screen is but other people might not mind that much.

#FirstWorldProblems

 

[jrswizzle]

I totally agree with you.


Tablet development on Android still sucks

I still run into apps that aren't as polished on my One as they are on iOS and my iP5. Some port, and those aren't necessarily that good because they don't take advantage of the extra screen real estate, some don't port and they're great, and some don't port and half-a$$ it and those are terrible.

And yes, the tablet development was what led me to give up my Nexus 7, despite the fact it was a nice device for the price.

All-in-all, IMO, you buy a GS4 if you want Samsung's TouchWiz features - those who buy a GS4 to root it and get rid of all of the Touchwiz stuff baffle me....why not simply buy a Nexus device (more customizable out of the box IMO).

I suppose the GS4 specs and camera lead people to choose the GS4 over something like the N4 or HTC One to root because of the "better screen" (larger than the One and N4, higher res than the N4) and the camera (supposedly better than both the N4 and One) and technically better specs (which I doubt anyone would notice rooted between all the phones - they are all powerhouses).

Lack of LTE on the N4 hurts too.

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Are you seriously trying to say the S4 as a poor quailty screen? it has arguably the best screen on the market.

I've read mixed reviews about the AMOLED's "color accurate" setting - some say its on par with IPS LCDs as far as accuracy, while others say it washes the color out too much.

Personally, I prefer the color accuracy and overall brightness of the LCDs (as I'm assuming the poster you quoted does) over the saturated AMOLEDs.....

Its a preference that can lead one person to think a GS4 display is "poor quality" when the truth is the color gamut/reproduction just simply doesn't meet his/her preferences.

On the other hand there are those who prefer the over-saturation. They likely think the iP5 display (and HTC One display) is inferior.

To each his/her own. The facts are there (accuracy vs. deep/bright colors), we each choose what we like best.