Why do most people hate TouchWiz?

LegalAmerican

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Re: Why does almost everyone dislike TouchWiz? I'm just really really curious...

It's because they have heard the editors on this site and others say that they don't like it. No one has ever given me a really solid reason. They just regurgitate what they've heard everyone else say: "ugly, cartoonish, bloated, too heavy, gimmicky, outdated, etc..."

When I was with Motorola, everyone hated blur. It's just the 'cool' thing to do. SOMETHING has to be complained about, so that's the easy target. If you were a developer and had to work around it, I could see it. Otherwise there's 10+ launchers to choose from to make your phone exactly how you want it. I like TouchWiz because it offers a deeper experience which is exactly why I choose Android over iOS. There's more features, and I don't care if it's 'heavy' because I don't carry it around on my shoulders each day. I don't care if it's 'bloated' because it's not in my stomach or digestive tract. I don't care if it's 'cartoonish' because I freaking love Cartoons. I grew up on them and if it wears on my nerves I can change it how I want. I like Blur, TW, and Sense.
 

xlDeMoNiClx

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Re: Why does almost everyone dislike TouchWiz? I'm just really really curious...

Duh. "Stock" Android is the best thing ever and OEMs shouldn't be allowed to customize an open source OS.

:)

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Blasphemy!

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xlDeMoNiClx

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Re: Why does almost everyone dislike TouchWiz? I'm just really really curious...

I posted on the other thread I'm not a fan of pure android. Then again I never knew about Launchers like Nova when I had my Google nexus.

I don't mind Touchwiz (or Sense) but Nova is my favorite so at the end does it really make a difference?

SHIFT_tapatalk 2 s4 SGH-I377M

The only difference is what makes Android work for you, and that's the point. It's meant to be customized.

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nyc_rock

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Re: Why does almost everyone dislike TouchWiz? I'm just really really curious...

Funny. Those are the elements of touch whiz I love most.

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Totally fair point. Its absolutely subjective. I should have added a couple of "IMO's".
 

epik16

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Re: Why does almost everyone dislike TouchWiz? I'm just really really curious...

Here's my opinion. The vast majority of people do like TouchWiz. If they didn't, Samsung wouldn't put it on their phones. They understand some enthusiasts may prefer pure android, so I can understand them letting google put out a nexus version.

I myself like touchwiz better than stock android. No problem.
 

killadon

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Re: Why does almost everyone dislike TouchWiz? I'm just really really curious...

This complex question has a simple answer. We as human have a tendency to just want to complain. Really doesn't matter what it is we just love to do it. I sometimes feel it's part of human nature to do so. At the end of the day no one is going to be able to pin point where the hate is coming from for touch wiz or the S4 due to the simple fact that each person hate although similar will be different. Best advice I can give is don't even worry about it. If it makes you happy then keep it trucking and worry about more important things. It's just a phone....................one day people will realize this.
 

decepticlone

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Re: Why does almost everyone dislike TouchWiz? I'm just really really curious...

This complex question has a simple answer. We as human have a tendency to just want to complain. Really doesn't matter what it is we just love to do it. I sometimes feel it's part of human nature to do so. At the end of the day no one is going to be able to pin point where the hate is coming from for touch wiz or the S4 due to the simple fact that each person hate although similar will be different. Best advice I can give is don't even worry about it. If it makes you happy then keep it trucking and worry about more important things. It's just a phone....................one day people will realize this.

Yup. Touchwiz is fine as a GUI. Nothing wrong with performance or otherwise and it has lots of great little features which add up to a nice experience. However, it does not allow for the amount of information I want on a single page, so I customize. If Touchwiz's margins were much less or even better '0' and icon grid density finer, it would be perfect.
 

tohio

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Re: Why does almost everyone dislike TouchWiz? I'm just really really curious...

Ok, i'm new with the android. Only been using my phone for like a week. I've read some threads about launcher etc and i'm seeing many comments saying "I hate touchwiz etc etc." And i'm just wondering, why does so many people dislike TouchWiz? I mean for me because i'm a Nokia > BB > iPhone 2 years user. So i don't see what to dislike about it. From the point of view of the people who dislike the TouchWiz. What are the things you don't like about it?

OK, do you still believe almost everyone hates Touchwiz?
 

LegalAmerican

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Re: Why does almost everyone dislike TouchWiz? I'm just really really curious...

They are buying it because it's the new "in" thing.. to have a Galaxy phone, like in 2008 it was the "in" thing to have an iPhone.

I went to a phone kiosk here at the Irvine Spectrum mall in Southern California to buy a shell for my HTC One. I asked the guy if he had one and he said "no, don't know what that phone is.." I go "what about for the galaxy s4?" and he goes "YOU HAVE ONE? CAN I SEE?!??" I pull it out of my pocket and he was like "aww man, so awesome".. I was like wtf?

Samsung has good marketing, almost as good, if not better than Apple. THATS why people are buying these "Galaxy" phones..

That's only part of it. Marketing helps people know it exists. Then when they buy it, they like it and keep it and spread the word. Anyone who thinks Samsung has only tasted success with the Galaxy line because of marketing alone does not have the ability or desire to accept reality.

I agree a lot of the popularity has occured similarly to the iPhone, but to say it's only because of marketing is a joke. You're right that marketing is why people buy the Galaxy. But the capabilities of the Galaxy line is what makes them KEEP the device, and want the new one next year.

If HTC can treat the One as a true flagship and people can rely on them to release an upgraded model each year, it will also start seeing similar success. Good products alone will not make a company succeed. But marketing a hot piece of crap also will not keep a company on top.
 

JeffDenver

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Re: Why does almost everyone dislike TouchWiz? I'm just really really curious...

Ok, i'm new with the android. Only been using my phone for like a week. I've read some threads about launcher etc and i'm seeing many comments saying "I hate touchwiz etc etc." And i'm just wondering, why does so many people dislike TouchWiz? I mean for me because i'm a Nokia > BB > iPhone 2 years user. So i don't see what to dislike about it. From the point of view of the people who dislike the TouchWiz. What are the things you don't like about it?
It is clunky and gaudy and slows the hardware down. The reason I don't like it is because I can't turn it off.

Look at comparison video of the nexus 4 and Galaxy S4...
Google Nexus 4 vs. Samsung Galaxy S4 - YouTube
...despite much better specs, the S4 is STILL laggier than the Nexus 4. Touchwiz, like all vendor skins, is a huge resource hog.

Also, because it is baked in, you often cannot override aspects of the OS to go back to default. The dialer for example. A launcher will not re-skin all aspects of the phone.
 

Aquila

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Re: Why does almost everyone dislike TouchWiz? I'm just really really curious...

It is clunky and gaudy and slows the hardware down. The reason I don't like it is because I can't turn it off.

Look at comparison video of the nexus 4 and Galaxy S4...
Google Nexus 4 vs. Samsung Galaxy S4 - YouTube
...despite much better specs, the S4 is STILL laggier than the Nexus 4. Touchwiz, like all vendor skins, is a huge resource hog.

Also, because it is baked in, you often cannot override aspects of the OS to go back to default. The dialer for example. A launcher will not re-skin all aspects of the phone.

Those look very similar pretty much across the board. Makes you wonder what the better processor and extra clock speed are for. It can open some things quicker, but not all apps, but especially the pinch to zoom tests and smoothness of animations and page transitions were falling in favor of the nexus over and over.
 

LegalAmerican

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Re: Why does almost everyone dislike TouchWiz? I'm just really really curious...

It is clunky and gaudy and slows the hardware down. The reason I don't like it is because I can't turn it off.

Look at comparison video of the nexus 4 and Galaxy S4...
Google Nexus 4 vs. Samsung Galaxy S4 - YouTube
...despite much better specs, the S4 is STILL laggier than the Nexus 4. Touchwiz, like all vendor skins, is a huge resource hog.

Also, because it is baked in, you often cannot override aspects of the OS to go back to default. The dialer for example. A launcher will not re-skin all aspects of the phone.

There's no denying this is true, however I think fans of Apple would then show a video arguing that iOS is less laggy than stock Android. My argument to them, is iOS SHOULD be smoother because it offers half of what Android offers. It's nothing more than an app tray so why would it lag? I guess the same thing applies here. I will take slight lag over no features. I LOVE the features of TW because it's part of what makes owning a smartphone fun. I use my smartphone as a tool and a toy. The features are my toy. Stock Android is awesome if I only used it as a tool. A lot of stuff is gimmicky as heck. But I like most of it. It's always nice for me to have those things available and then I can decide if I want them or not. Instead of Google deciding for me and telling me what my experience will be. (Sounds eerily familiar.......)

By the way, I say that somewhat in jest. Obviously stock Android is freaking awesome. I'm just offering a counterpoint.
 

sergeantandroid

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Re: Why does almost everyone dislike TouchWiz? I'm just really really curious...

I don't mind TouchWiz on the gs3. I used it for almost 6 months without caring. Then I downloaded Nova launcher and it just feels better... I don't know how to explain it. But it does. :-$
 

Aquila

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Re: Why does almost everyone dislike TouchWiz? I'm just really really curious...

There's no denying this is true, however I think fans of Apple would then show a video arguing that iOS is less laggy than stock Android. My argument to them, is iOS SHOULD be smoother because it offers half of what Android offers. It's nothing more than an app tray so why would it lag? I guess the same thing applies here. I will take slight lag over no features. I LOVE the features of TW because it's part of what makes owning a smartphone fun. I use my smartphone as a tool and a toy. The features are my toy. Stock Android is awesome if I only used it as a tool. A lot of stuff is gimmicky as heck. But I like most of it. It's always nice for me to have those things available and then I can decide if I want them or not. Instead of Google deciding for me and telling me what my experience will be. (Sounds eerily familiar.......)

By the way, I say that somewhat in jest. Obviously stock Android is freaking awesome. I'm just offering a counterpoint.

So, hypothetically, if Samsung offered all of their features as apps instead of baked in (assuming they could do this without suffering too much performance difference), wouldn't that be better? Then their features could come with their devices as free apps, AND there might be a case for them to sell those features to people on other devices through the Play Store. If it's all about choice, I think I'd rather have the UI be a choice (including dialer, menus, etc) and have as much as possible be available for me to get it if I want it, but discard it if I don't.
 

tohio

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Re: Why does almost everyone dislike TouchWiz? I'm just really really curious...

So, hypothetically, if Samsung offered all of their features as apps instead of baked in (assuming they could do this without suffering too much performance difference), wouldn't that be better? Then their features could come with their devices as free apps, AND there might be a case for them to sell those features to people on other devices through the Play Store. If it's all about choice, I think I'd rather have the UI be a choice (including dialer, menus, etc) and have as much as possible be available for me to get it if I want it, but discard it if I don't.

But why go to all the trouble of offering APPS (marketing, site hosting, downloading, installation, etc.) when you can just enable or disable them right on the phone. Much more convenient IMO.
 

Aquila

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Re: Why does almost everyone dislike TouchWiz? I'm just really really curious...

But why go to all the trouble of offering APPS (marketing, site hosting, downloading, installation, etc.) when you can just enable or disable them right on the phone. Much more convenient IMO.

Mainly because of the S4 GE, upon which these features won't work because TouchWiz isn't there. If they'd been standalone apps, Samsung could still offer it's services to the customers that choose their GE device. In my mind it's the bridge between giving consumers choice in what OS/UI is on their device and maximizing feature sets available on a phone, to still be able to create a feature based value proposition.
 

Paul627g

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Re: Why does almost everyone dislike TouchWiz? I'm just really really curious...

As a previous owner of the original Galaxy S Epic 4g on Sprint and my wife having the S3 on Sprint, I can comment that I like TW but will admit with all the goodies its brought to the table as it grows and matures with each update/new device it's getting heavier and taxing the system more. Sure they can beef up the RAM and processor, etc but the fact does still remain its getting heavy.

TW does however offer some great software for camera and some of the other Samsung stand alone apps " bloatware " thrown in but I think they are far and few between at this point. I'm not going to say TW is garbage because its not and does have some nice integration between apps and device but again its getting heavy and showing.

Thankfully there is options like 3rd party launchers to help lighten the load and speed things up a bit but I think Samsung needs to slim it down a tad and look at the big picture on everything its attempting to bring to the table and what its doing to the overall experience/performance of the device.

Just my 2 cents... Maybe your opinion is different and thats fine... Were here to share and discuss our thoughts and experiences. :D
 

justinbeaird

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Re: Why does almost everyone dislike TouchWiz? I'm just really really curious...

Am I the only one who likes apex launcher?
3bng.png
 

anon5664829

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Re: Why does almost everyone dislike TouchWiz? I'm just really really curious...

I can't understand the hate either. Anytime I ask for specifics I get "it's ugly". When I ask specifically what is ugly I get no response. Mostly I think it's because of how cool it is to hate on the mainstream top dog.

Personally I like the emphasis on the green. I find the tron blue highlights in stock 4+ to be cold and sterile. TouchWiz feels more organic to me. While I would like to see TouchWiz adopt more holo type theming, I find it preferable as-is compared to AOSP, sense, LG, or Motos skins.

It's funny how people always want what they can't have. If samsung ababdoned TouchWiz and went into a full on holo theme skin just as many people would complain and say it was better before. The Internet is a good breeding ground for hipsters. Look at the HTC First. Ever since the Galaxy Nexus the majority of comments on sites like Engadget and The Verge are that the world needs an HTC built flagship running stock android with a sub 4.5" screen. When that was done everyone hates it, and it is discontinued in it's first month. Maybe Steve was right ... the market has no idea what it really wants, other than wanting what isn't available.

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I think the the whole green on black look is ugly,I think the the status bar is ugly, I think TW adds a lot of stupid stuff I also think Samsung ****ed up the settings app. I hate TW and its inconsistency. That enough for you?

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