Are ANY of the new phones worthy of upgrading my existing phone?

Paul627g

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The following comes per suggestion of member meyerweb.


I have a Samsung Galaxy S3, it's now out of contract, so I've been looking at available "high-end" phones to replace it. And I'm wondering if it's really worth it.

Oh, yes, most the newer phones have higher res screens. Some much higher. They all have faster processors, and some (but not most) have more RAM, and some (but not all) have more storage. On the other hand, some have no SD card support, and others have no removeable battery, both of which are steps backward in my opinion.

My S3 has KitKat 4.4.2, and it works just fine. Newer phones might have 4.4.3, and a very few 4.4.4, but let's be honest, the differences are less than minor. An S5, or a G3, will do things faster than my phone, but I don't really spend a lot of time sitting around waiting for my phone to open an email or display a text message. And loading web pages is limited by the connection far more than the device.

Will a new phone really do anything my current phone won't? I don't much care about health apps, or fingerprint and heart rate sensors. I don't watch movies on my phone (seriously, on a 5 inch or smaller screen?), and I'm not a big gamer. I could even load a "stock Android" ROM if I wanted to, but I'm happy with my rooted, modified and enhanced touchwiz skin.

It's true that today's flagships will get upgraded to Android L, and my S3 won't, but if that's the only real advantage it would seem to make more sense to wait for an Android L equipped device in the first place.

The only flagship device that really seem to do MORE than my antique, as opposed to doing things faster, is the Galaxy Note, but I'm not sure I can deal with a device that large. Going to go check it out tomorrow, if I can find one that doesn't have a huge anti-theft device glued to the back.

I don't expect to see much change from one generation to the next, but the the S5 is two generations newer than my phone, and the Moto X, Sony Z3, and a few others arguably 2.5 generations newer. What benefit will I really get?
 

JeffDenver

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I have a Samsung Galaxy S3, it's now out of contract, so I've been looking at available "high-end" phones to replace it. And I'm wondering if it's really worth it.

...

I don't expect to see much change from one generation to the next, but the the S5 is two generations newer than my phone, and the Moto X, Sony Z3, and a few others arguably 2.5 generations newer. What benefit will I really get?

I use the S3 quite a bit...my BF has one, and I am responsible for maintaining it.

UI speed is dramatically better than a GS3 IMO. Especially on the Nexus 4 and 5, but really, on any 2013 or 2014 flagship. Multi-tasking is much better (faster/smoother) as well. I really hate the hardware buttons on the S3...it feels like navigating in slow motion to me. The Nexus 5 can actually react faster than I can think, which I love.

All the flagship cameras (maybe even the 2014 Moto X, which is the worst of them) will be dramatically better than the GS3. The Nexus 5 compared to the GS3 is a night and day difference, especially in low light. By modern standards, the GS3 has a pretty crappy camera.

The S5 is waterproof. The HTC One has stereo speakers. Most of their displays are better...and I don't just mean PPI. I can read the Nexus 5 in direct sunlight, and well, even with sunglasses.

Battery life is DEFINTIELY better. The GS3 has a really awful battery. And extended battery on my BF's phone allowed almost-Nexus-5-level battery life. The stock battery (which he switched back to, because he wanted an otterbox case) is his biggest complaint.

Processing speed is big. This is especially noticeable when multitasking...My Nexus 5 can literally do 2 or 3 things at once, without slowing down any of them. The GS3 slows to a crawl if I am doing more than one thing on it.

Support is the other thing. I would not hold my breath for any more updates on the S3...I think KitKat is it. And frankly, you were luck to even get that.

EDIT - To answer your basic question...IMO you should replace it with a Nexus 5, unless there is something in Touchwiz you absolutely must have. You can get Nexus 5's very cheap off contract right now...half the price (or less) of a GS5.
 
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Simwer

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If you have a good enough phone and you're satisfied with it, why would you want to change it? There are no great advantages on current phones. A bit faster, some additional features... But if you don't really need them, you can wait until there's something that will interest you.
 

Snake Griffin

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I had a GS3 until I've upgraded to a Moto X about 7 months ago. I can echo a lot of what Jeff just said. The battery life on the GS3 wasn't very good compared to my Moto, I bought the Samsung extended battery and with that the battery life was barely comparable. The screen quality on the X was sooo much better, my GS3 displayed a bluish/purple hue to the whites. It didn't bother me much until I put it next to the X side by side. I could not unsee that. The pentile display on the GS3 also just looks plain bad. The build quality on the GS3 wasn't very good, you'll do much better with any of the current flagships.

The software, oh man the software. The Moto X just feels so much more fluid than my GS3 did with Touchwiz. The Moto features are great and I don't know if I could go back. Active notifications are so much more useful than a blinking LED, flip wrist to activate camera is super handy (thought it was gimmicky at first but I use it all the time because it's so convenient) and touchless control is great in the car.

So at the end of the day if you upgrade you get better battery, better display and better camera for sure; most likely better build quality and depending on the phone you get also a better user experience. The only thing that bothered me about the GS3 was the build quality and the display but they weren't big enough deal to upgrade until the phone broke. Now that I have I wish I had done so sooner.
 

clevin

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if you are fine, save your money. Nothing earthshaking really happened in the last few years. Yeah phones are faster, bigger, last longer, but there is little change in functions, and you can always buy a few spare batteries for GS3.

if you want upgrade, I will look at big screen phones, e.g., note 4.

Personally, I love AMOLED screens, I cannot tolerate the inherit problems with LCDs, the non-black blacks, the screen unevenness, etc. AMOLED also give me an interesting opportunity to save more battery by display more dark colors.

The latest SAMSUNG phones also have very accurate color, actually, most accurate color, so don't hold old idea against it.
 

meyerweb#CB

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Thanks Guys. I'll comment on a couple of things.

I have active notifications, from a third party app (thank you Samsung for OLED screens). I like it, but also like having a multi color LED and Lightflow. The combination of the two is superior to either alone. I don't notice a hue on my S3's screen (and do have other phones to compare it to) - maybe they improved it, or maybe I'm just lucky. And my eyes are apparently no longer sharp enough to see the problems with the pentile display (I'm no spring chicken). And I don't really understand the build quality comments. Yeah, it's shiny plastic, but it still in excellent condition, with hardly a scratch, no dents or chips, the back is still tight. I've handled the HTC One that everyone raves over, and it..... felt like a phone. A cold, slippery phone. None of the phones I've used (and since I do tech support for a company of tech-challenged executives I've used a lot) feel like a bank vault or a Mercedes Benz.

I'm fine with the UI on my S3, which is rooted and pretty heavily customized. I don't see a lot of TW on a daily basis.

But the better battery life is significant. You're right, the S3 is just OK, and with a 2 year old battery not as good as it used to be. And even though I'm OK with the S3 display, but Jeff is right that it's not very usable in daylight, so if newer phones are a major improvement in that regard it's a big plus. I don't feel like my S3 is too slow, but maybe once I spend more time with a faster phone I'll appreciate the difference.

And thanks for the comment on Active Notifications. I do like having that feature, so that pushes me towards a phone with an OLED display.

Interesting that the Nexus 5 battery life is better than the S3, since battery life is generally considered a weak spot of that phone. I really prefer phones with removable batteries, but if battery life is really that much better maybe it doesn't matter as much.

Thanks guys.
 

JeffDenver

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If you have a good enough phone and you're satisfied with it, why would you want to change it?
If he thought it really was good enough, he would not be exploring these options.

If you don't care about speed or graphics, even a Droid 1 is "good enough". It will perform all the same functions that GS3 does.
 

clevin

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Thanks Guys. I'll comment on a couple of things.

I have active notifications, from a third party app (thank you Samsung for OLED screens). I like it, but also like having a multi color LED and Lightflow. The combination of the two is superior to either alone. I don't notice a hue on my S3's screen (and do have other phones to compare it to) - maybe they improved it, or maybe I'm just lucky. And my eyes are apparently no longer sharp enough to see the problems with the pentile display (I'm no spring chicken). And I don't really understand the build quality comments. Yeah, it's shiny plastic, but it still in excellent condition, with hardly a scratch, no dents or chips, the back is still tight. I've handled the HTC One that everyone raves over, and it..... felt like a phone. A cold, slippery phone. None of the phones I've used (and since I do tech support for a company of tech-challenged executives I've used a lot) feel like a bank vault or a Mercedes Benz.

I'm fine with the UI on my S3, which is rooted and pretty heavily customized. I don't see a lot of TW on a daily basis.

But the better battery life is significant. You're right, the S3 is just OK, and with a 2 year old battery not as good as it used to be. And even though I'm OK with the S3 display, but Jeff is right that it's not very usable in daylight, so if newer phones are a major improvement in that regard it's a big plus. I don't feel like my S3 is too slow, but maybe once I spend more time with a faster phone I'll appreciate the difference.

And thanks for the comment on Active Notifications. I do like having that feature, so that pushes me towards a phone with an OLED display.

Interesting that the Nexus 5 battery life is better than the S3, since battery life is generally considered a weak spot of that phone. I really prefer phones with removable batteries, but if battery life is really that much better maybe it doesn't matter as much.

Thanks guys.

N5 battery is not that significantly better than s3, if at all.

gsmarena_002.jpg
gsmarena_002.jpg
 

Ed Briggs

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There are some people that like the peace of mind that they have a nice, fast phone that will be future proof for at least a couple years. A GS3 will start to feel dated real soon. (app requirements increase over time) If all you do is talk and text, get a simple flip phone. Why even have a smartphone?
 

Farish

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In the same position.

I am sitting here with the Galaxy S4 and nothing has been exciting enough to come my way of an upgrade.

The market is hitting a saturation point is for the majority of users, because smartphones are good enough.

If your needs are basic communication (Facebook, email, text, cell), I don't see how a newer phone is going to give you a better experience.

The only problem I had with this phone was the battery which was easily fixed with a 12 dollar purchase.

Now if you are looking for a better user experience, I would play around with custom launchers first. I wanted touch less control for example and the Google Now Launcher met all my needs while driving.

There are some people that like the peace of mind that they have a nice, fast phone that will be future proof for at least a couple years. A GS3 will start to feel dated real soon. (app requirements increase over time) If all you do is talk and text, get a simple flip phone. Why even have a smartphone?

Flip phone screens are really small. He also mention email. As a person who at one point was using a Blackberry and Motorola Q to read emails, never going back to a small screen again.
 

mrsmumbles

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I agree with everyone else, lol. If your eyes are changing at all as they do at some point for many of us, you might like a larger screen like the Note you're going to check out tomorrow. If the Note feels too big, consider the OPO, it's just a tad smaller and the Cyanogenmod is really nice. It is big in the hand but it's helping me stop screwing up my eyes and (closing one to read my Nexus 5).

Everything looks better on a larger screen and it gets bright enough, as does the Nexus, to see easily in bright daylight. The battery is great and the 64 GB storage helps make up for no micro SD. The size takes getting used to but I use all my phones ("hello, I'm mrsmumbles and I'm a phone addict" "Hello mrsmumbles!" Lol!) two handed anyway since I don't seem to be very dexterous. It is much better for me to read on and I do also watch a lot of videos on my phones since I can barely get close enough to see my TV anymore. So the OPO is especially good for media consumption, gaming, and difficulties with changing vision among many other things.

All the phones mentioned are great. My picks are of course the Nexus 5 and the OPO, and the Moto X. They don't cost a fortune and they're all terrific devices. The speed and smoothness are great and the Nexus & OPO can be rooted easily (so I hear) if you wanted to do that. And they're all portable between GSM carriers and the Nexus even to Sprint, and international carriers for travel.

On the one hand I admire your practicality, but on the other I feel very enabling because if you can and would enjoy a new phone, even if the S3 is still serviceable (why not keep it as a backup?), why not? :)
 

clevin

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I know for a fact that's wrong. I've had extensive experience with both. The s3 battery is awful. I can get almost double the screen time on the Nexus.

no offense, i do believe in your personal experience, you have a different conclusion. But I personally trust more of a well designed battery test, since everybody can have different individual experiences.
 

Snake Griffin

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I don't notice a hue on my S3's screen (and do have other phones to compare it to) - maybe they improved it, or maybe I'm just lucky. And my eyes are apparently no longer sharp enough to see the problems with the pentile display (I'm no spring chicken). And I don't really understand the build quality comments. Yeah, it's shiny plastic, but it still in excellent condition, with hardly a scratch, no dents or chips, the back is still tight. I've handled the HTC One that everyone raves over, and it..... felt like a phone. A cold, slippery phone. None of the phones I've used (and since I do tech support for a company of tech-challenged executives I've used a lot) feel like a bank vault or a Mercedes Benz.

I'm fine with the UI on my S3, which is rooted and pretty heavily customized. I don't see a lot of TW on a daily basis.

But the better battery life is significant. You're right, the S3 is just OK, and with a 2 year old battery not as good as it used to be. And even though I'm OK with the S3 display, but Jeff is right that it's not very usable in daylight, so if newer phones are a major improvement in that regard it's a big plus. I don't feel like my S3 is too slow, but maybe once I spend more time with a faster phone I'll appreciate the difference.

Thanks guys.

By build quality I mean the fit and finish as well as durability. Glossy plastic back aside the fit and finish of the GS3 is fine. Durability (for me) wasn't very good. The back plate cracked over time and the phone became very rattle-y. I dropped it once which didn't help things but compared to my moto x, which I've dropped several times and onto a harder surface, it just didn't hold up as well. The moto still doesn't rattle or creak and I've been more abusive or rather clumsy with it. If you have a case on your phone all of this seems like a moot point though.

If you're running a custom rom on your phone then also never mind, that fixed my TW problems and did speed the phone up. You may not notice that big of a smoothness speed difference (if at all) coming from a fast and stable ROM.

Honestly, if you're happy or rather satisfied with your GS3 then get a bigger/extended battery for it. Keep it till the phone is no good or until you're tired of it. Unless you want the large screen of a Galaxy Note or something like that.

Posted via Android Central App
 

JeffDenver

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By build quality I mean the fit and finish as well as durability. Glossy plastic back aside the fit and finish of the GS3 is fine. Durability (for me) wasn't very good. The back plate cracked over time and the phone became very rattle-y. I dropped it once which didn't help things but compared to my moto x, which I've dropped several times and onto a harder surface, it just didn't hold up as well. The moto still doesn't rattle or creak and I've been more abusive or rather clumsy with it. If you have a case on your phone all of this seems like a moot point though.
I can confirm this. The GS3 is not terribly durable. It's not any worse than other phones of it's generation. but my BF has broken the back plate and the screen on two separate drops.

If you're running a custom rom on your phone then also never mind, that fixed my TW problems and did speed the phone up. You may not notice that big of a smoothness speed difference (if at all) coming from a fast and stable ROM.
Even with a good ROM the phone is not comparable to a modern phone. The only old phone I can say that is might be the galaxy Nexus with a KitKat ROM.

Honestly, if you're happy or rather satisfied with your GS3 then get a bigger/extended battery for it. Keep it till the phone is no good or until you're tired of it. Unless you want the large screen of a Galaxy Note or something like that.
It depends on what his priorities are. Having used a modern phone, I could never go back. The GS3 is frustratingly slow to me now. I feel like I am always waiting on it to catch up with me.
 

meyerweb#CB

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Regarding durability, build quality, etc.: I've dropped my S3 many times. Not on concrete, but on wood floors, vinyl floors, and thinly carpeted (over concrete) commercial floors. Nothing has ever broken, or even chipped. I can't complain about that aspect of the phone at all.

I went to both Sprint and T-Mobile today to check out the G3, S5, and Note 3.

The Note is out. I have fairly small hands, and it's just not comfortable for me to hold and use. Maybe I'd get used to it, but I don't think so, and I'm not going to take that chance. Too bad, as the feature set is cool. Maybe they'll eventually make a Note "mini."

It's a little hard to compare phones at these stores, because the devices are all tethered, and arranged so you can't get phones from different brands next to each other. I understand why they need to tether them, but they ought to have a second set of demo phones behind the counter for serious customers who want to compare them.

Anyway, both the LG and Samsung are noticeably quicker than the the S3. A bigger difference than I expected. I still don't find the S3 speed to be problematic, but the speed of the newwer phones is nice. And the larger, brighter screens are definitely a plus. I'm not convinced I care that about the higher resolution as much as the larger size and higher brightness, but both screens are easier to read than mine.

Functionally, I see little to choose from between the S5 and G3. Both have big bright screens, both seem equally quick, both have bloatware I'll have to get rid of. The OLED screen on the Sammy offers some real advantages (It's the brightest screen in daylight, period, and supports Active Notifications without killing the battery. OTOH, the G3 just looks so much better. Man, the back on the S5 is ugly. Fortunately, It's replaceable, probably at the expense of water resistance. But I've never ruined a phone with water, so I'm not too worried about that,

I'm leaning towards the G3, but haven't quite made up my mind. Now to decide whether to switch to T-Mobile.

Thanks to everyone for your thoughts.
 

sfitz3

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The S5 has the best display on any Android smartphone right now.

How so? I would argue the G3 and M8 both have better screens and so will both notes as well.
 

Slashyou

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The following comes per suggestion of member meyerweb.


I have a Samsung Galaxy S3, it's now out of contract, so I've been looking at available "high-end" phones to replace it. And I'm wondering if it's really worth it.

Oh, yes, most the newer phones have higher res screens. Some much higher. They all have faster processors, and some (but not most) have more RAM, and some (but not all) have more storage. On the other hand, some have no SD card support, and others have no removeable battery, both of which are steps backward in my opinion.

My S3 has KitKat 4.4.2, and it works just fine. Newer phones might have 4.4.3, and a very few 4.4.4, but let's be honest, the differences are less than minor. An S5, or a G3, will do things faster than my phone, but I don't really spend a lot of time sitting around waiting for my phone to open an email or display a text message. And loading web pages is limited by the connection far more than the device.

Will a new phone really do anything my current phone won't? I don't much care about health apps, or fingerprint and heart rate sensors. I don't watch movies on my phone (seriously, on a 5 inch or smaller screen?), and I'm not a big gamer. I could even load a "stock Android" ROM if I wanted to, but I'm happy with my rooted, modified and enhanced touchwiz skin.

It's true that today's flagships will get upgraded to Android L, and my S3 won't, but if that's the only real advantage it would seem to make more sense to wait for an Android L equipped device in the first place.

The only flagship device that really seem to do MORE than my antique, as opposed to doing things faster, is the Galaxy Note, but I'm not sure I can deal with a device that large. Going to go check it out tomorrow, if I can find one that doesn't have a huge anti-theft device glued to the back.

I don't expect to see much change from one generation to the next, but the the S5 is two generations newer than my phone, and the Moto X, Sony Z3, and a few others arguably 2.5 generations newer. What benefit will I really get?

Root it :D and get a good rom but id say moto x 2014 edition newest flagship or maybe wait for the iphone 6 or note 4 :D
 

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