It's become evident after seeing the S4 event and new phone that Samsung is misfocusing its efforts. It seems as it is no longer trying to be the best device for me (a more serious Android user), instead going more towards the average consumer.
First things first - the event was laughable. It was just quirky, awkward and borderline painful to watch. Just show the phone and what it can do. No need for a freakin broadway musical. More importantly, t's become clear that Samsung is going full-bore at mainstream consumers. They've gone feature-crazy. Feature after feature, most all of which just scream "gimmick". Only a few of them seemed actually useful. Any feature that relies exclusively on S4 to S4 interaction, such as the group play (or whatever it's called) will be useless in the real world. Sticking with S Voice when Google Now and Navigation exist is lulzy, and I highly, highly doubt S Translate will actually work well in real world usage. All of this effort focused solely on features and marketing takes away from focus on the actual phone hardware, which is what I care about. I've never really liked Touchwiz, and everything about it that I dislike looks to be there in force - clashing colors, chaotic design language and packed to the brim with features for the sake of ticking boxes. Samsung is clearly gonna go crazy on the marketing... But as usual, something seems off about that as well. The whole "life companion" thing almost seems like it was written by somebody looking from the outside in on American language and culture; the phrase is vague and unwieldy. And it almost seems like there are TOO many new features for the average consumer to use or even remember.
But what I care about is the hardware - camera, internals, screen and the like. I like the bigger screen and slimmer form factor. I don't like that they stuck with AMOLED. Even with the higher resolution, it looks to have the same flaws usually present in AMOLED screens. At this point in the game, the SLCD 3 and other IPS screens are way ahead and it's not close. Still don't doubt that the AMOLED will be a sharp screen with its own advantages, and I'll wait till I see it in person to pass my final judgement. The Snapdragon 600 is welcome, and in fact preferred over the Exynos Octa, imo. MicroSD and removable battery are complete non-factors for me. Anxious to see camera performance. I dig the inclusion of an IR blaster as well. The plastic is a big turn-off. I'm sure it'll be reasonably sturdy, but it definitely pales next to the iPhone and HTC One. I want to see how the speakers and mic perform.
Overall, I want to see more. After yesterday, I'm just worried that Samsung's efforts are focused in places that will result in a less appealing product for me. The HTC One looks very appealing however; I'd much rather sample the efforts of a company with their backs against the wall. That's really as much as I have to say as someone who has yet to hold it in person. I'll wait for reviews and holding it in my hands to make my call. But right now, not blown away.
First things first - the event was laughable. It was just quirky, awkward and borderline painful to watch. Just show the phone and what it can do. No need for a freakin broadway musical. More importantly, t's become clear that Samsung is going full-bore at mainstream consumers. They've gone feature-crazy. Feature after feature, most all of which just scream "gimmick". Only a few of them seemed actually useful. Any feature that relies exclusively on S4 to S4 interaction, such as the group play (or whatever it's called) will be useless in the real world. Sticking with S Voice when Google Now and Navigation exist is lulzy, and I highly, highly doubt S Translate will actually work well in real world usage. All of this effort focused solely on features and marketing takes away from focus on the actual phone hardware, which is what I care about. I've never really liked Touchwiz, and everything about it that I dislike looks to be there in force - clashing colors, chaotic design language and packed to the brim with features for the sake of ticking boxes. Samsung is clearly gonna go crazy on the marketing... But as usual, something seems off about that as well. The whole "life companion" thing almost seems like it was written by somebody looking from the outside in on American language and culture; the phrase is vague and unwieldy. And it almost seems like there are TOO many new features for the average consumer to use or even remember.
But what I care about is the hardware - camera, internals, screen and the like. I like the bigger screen and slimmer form factor. I don't like that they stuck with AMOLED. Even with the higher resolution, it looks to have the same flaws usually present in AMOLED screens. At this point in the game, the SLCD 3 and other IPS screens are way ahead and it's not close. Still don't doubt that the AMOLED will be a sharp screen with its own advantages, and I'll wait till I see it in person to pass my final judgement. The Snapdragon 600 is welcome, and in fact preferred over the Exynos Octa, imo. MicroSD and removable battery are complete non-factors for me. Anxious to see camera performance. I dig the inclusion of an IR blaster as well. The plastic is a big turn-off. I'm sure it'll be reasonably sturdy, but it definitely pales next to the iPhone and HTC One. I want to see how the speakers and mic perform.
Overall, I want to see more. After yesterday, I'm just worried that Samsung's efforts are focused in places that will result in a less appealing product for me. The HTC One looks very appealing however; I'd much rather sample the efforts of a company with their backs against the wall. That's really as much as I have to say as someone who has yet to hold it in person. I'll wait for reviews and holding it in my hands to make my call. But right now, not blown away.
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