Anandtech: Galaxy S4 doesn't use Snapdragon 600

[maverick96]

I have both the One and the S4 and have the same live wallpaper running on both. The One doesn't stutter AT ALL. Flipping through the app drawer, opening/closing apps, switching screens, not a single stutter what so ever. Installing apps, no lag..

The SG4 however, sometimes as I flip through the app drawer it'll pause, and then catch up all quick-life. Sometimes flipping the homescreens it'll pause and catch up. As I install apps, the phone will pause after it's installed. I'm blown away that the S4 is doing this.

I feel exactly the same. I think I'm returning gs4 and keeping One. Plus the One's screen looks a hundred times better

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk 2

 

[return_0]

Everyone is going crazy and getting upset at Kevin because he's expressing his own opinion. Sure, he may be a little harsh or biased, but he (and all other users, mods included) is free to express his opinion because, as dmmarck said, mods are people too.

Secondly, the other argument going on here is about the difference between the S4's processor and the S600. Including speed and actual chipset contents. As a regular user, I'll say that I think this kind of discussion should be encouraged. After all, what are we here for? To discuss phones and tablets, of course. But I don't think it should get to the level where people are literally throwing insults at each other, questioning others' maturity, honesty, and responsibility, among other things.

Just my take on things going on here.

 

[Serial Fordicator]

Well, the s3 has been the best phone I've ever owned...period. No peter envy here. I buy the best phone that suits me. I am not brand loyal as the only phones I've yet to own is lg and sony.

I don't understand is all of the f ing cheerleading that goes on in any of these threads. For instance, I despise at&t but I don't go into at&t threads and smash them every chance I get. Who gives a blue f... What you like or don't like. Why the hell are y'all even talking about the htc one? This is a thread about the processor. Why would I bring up the RAZR maxx HD? Or better yet length of my junk?

ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ

 

[LoganK]

No, that's wrong. You may prefer a menu button to a multitasking button, but anything more or less than a back button, a home button, and a multitasking button is wrong. Period. Because that's what Google specifies in their Android design spec.

Do you have a link to their hardware guidelines / design spec? I can't seem to find one. The best I can find is a comment in their SDK and a blog post specifying that menu buttons are no longer required, not that they are deprecated. (Note that a large part of the reason the menu buttons aren't required is because they don't fit well with 10 inch tablets, not because they aren't useful.)

So far, Google has taken the approach of developing their applications to use the action bar when a menu button isn't present and to utilize the menu button (instead of the action bar) when present. It isn't as though they are completely against their use.

It's kind of like slamming manufacturers for including a dedicated camera button, isn't it? (Or even, though you don't see them anymore, a 5-way navigation tool.) Manufacturers meet the minimum support and then add on extra. I'm not going to tell HTC or Samsung they are wrong because they included more than the required minimum.

 

[Kevin OQuinn]

http://developer.android.com/guide/topics/ui/menus.html

On Android 3.0 and higher, items from the options menu are presented by the action bar as a combination of on-screen action items and overflow options. Beginning with Android 3.0, the Menu button is deprecated (some devices don't have one), so you should migrate toward using the action bar to provide access to actions and other options.



A link to the article with the applicable section pasted.

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 2

 

[neiljay6]

Why must this ridiculous argument have to happen at every release for these two manufacturers flagship phones. I remember the same thing last year and its as stupid now as is was then. Buy what ya want people and don't let the know it alls deter you from what suits you. And as for the the home button thing I don't hear Google complaining. I don't give a dam and the millions of happy galaxy phone owners don't either. sheeeh!!

 

[FrostyGTA]

I have had 4 galaxy3s my g/f has one as well as her niece. these phones are junk. over hyped!! I have a few friends that have htcs they walk all over the galaxy3. it seems like ever galaxy owner has ***** envy, if they think another phone might actually be better.
the ads all said this is the phone we all been waiting for. well I'm still waiting and the phone is the htc1

Fail troll will always fail.

Anyway, this thread that had some good info got railroaded. It's a shame.

 

[dmmarck]

So by "being honest" you mean agrees with your opinion. Got it.

I really dislike the types of 'discussions' that the One and S4 have brought out of the community. They remind me of a couple years ago when people would argue the same points for and/or against Apple and Android in general. I have always loved reading android forums because of the insightful posts and discussions people would have. Lately though things seem to have really gone down hill. I have always been more of a lurker and just enjoy reading as you can tell by my post count. I just hope that this isn't the future of Android.

If he agreed with everyone else's opinion does the debate get this far?

Nope.

 

[Gator352]

For you to call me out like that takes guts. I own the One. It's not a secret. I love the One, but I don't hate the S4. It'll sell like hotcakes I'm sure.

If samsung is using some type of one-off chip that qualcomm made specifically for them and yet are still calling it an S600 then that's shady. That being said, it WOULD account for the performance issues some reviews have noticed.
So now that you've called me out I will no longer ignore your trolling. Since nowhere in the rules of being a Moderator does it say that I can't voice my opinion and participate in discussions.

Just because they are using a "form" of S600 that is different from others doesn't make it shady....it just makes it a modified S600. Think of this: The "S" stands for "snapdragon" and 600 is the model number of it's Krait cores. As long as it is still using those same cores (in this case it is 4 of them) no matter the speed even if tweaked...it's still an S600 by QUALCOMM. Now if the proc was re-engineered in a different design than that of actual S600's but still uses the same Krait cores, then ya, a valid point could be made that it is a different proc and using S600 would be misleading.
Intel for example, has core i3, i5, and i7 procs but they use the moniker Sandy Bridge, Haswell, and etc. Each iteration is a little different including clock speed but use the same internals keeping the name "core" i3, i5, i7.

My point is is that it doesn't matter the clock speed, if the internals are the same, then it still can be called an S600.

FWIW, I'm about to pi** off the wife (because of money) and use an upgrade for the "one". Don't get me wrong, I love my S3. and I like what I see in the S4 but I want to give HTC another try.

 

[return_0]

Do you have a link to their hardware guidelines / design spec? I can't seem to find one. The best I can find is a comment in their SDK and a blog post specifying that menu buttons are no longer required, not that they are deprecated. (Note that a large part of the reason the menu buttons aren't required is because they don't fit well with 10 inch tablets, not because they aren't useful.)

Read Kevin's post above.

So far, Google has taken the approach of developing their applications to use the action bar when a menu button isn't present and to utilize the menu button (instead of the action bar) when present. It isn't as though they are completely against their use.

You can't possibly expect them to not include any sort of workaround when an app doesn't meet the spec and to simply leave users to have to function without extra tools.

It's kind of like slamming manufacturers for including a dedicated camera button, isn't it? (Or even, though you don't see them anymore, a 5-way navigation tool.) Manufacturers meet the minimum support and then add on extra. I'm not going to tell HTC or Samsung they are wrong because they included more than the required minimum.

Um, what? They didn't include more than the required minimum. Samsung (and LG) removed the multitasking button (part of the required minimum) and added a menu button. HTC is even worse in a sense, removing the multitasking button and doing nothing to try and replace it. Though this is good in that they (HTC) are encouraging developers to follow Google's action bar spec.

Of course, both manufacturers could have avoided this completely by simply using on-screen buttons. Motorola and Sony could do it. Why can't the other three?

 

[Targon]

After reading through this PAINFUL thread, I feel the need to chime in about a number of issues here. As a disclaimer, I do not review phones for a living, though as a part of what I do for a living, I do help my customers with phone related issues, and have more than a passing knowledge about them.

So, build quality. The HTC One vs. the S4. The One has a smaller screen, and as a result, even with the higher PPI, it still uses LCD, so may very well be cheaper to manufacture. The One also has Gorilla Glass 2, not 3, so the glass is smaller, and cheaper. The One has some other costs due to more expensive materials, but the S4 has the advantage when it comes to some other components. It is all a tradeoff, but if you tend to drop your phone on a regular basis, you WILL have your phone in a case, and if you are paranoid about dropping a $650 phone(off contract price), then you will be more careful, and build materials and such won't be that big of an issue, because you should know yourself, and how careful you need to be, or you get proper protection. How it feels in the hand is one of those things that is subjective, but my Galaxy S3 without a case is comfortable for me to hold and use, and a thicker device, or one made out of different materials won't matter when it comes to using the device.

Now, there MAY be some issues people have had as far as QUALITY, and problems COULD introduce performance issues, meaning if you are encountering stuttering, don't assume it is by design right now because it MAY be a manufacturing defect. Everyone assumes that their brand new device MUST be perfect, but when there are so few device owners around that have received their phones, don't assume your experience represents what others are encountering. Some S3 owners have run into issues that no one else did, and some performance issues show up from select apps that get installed that may cause issues. I am not saying the S4 by design may not have problems, but on the flip side, don't go on your own problems and assume everyone has them. It is like the iPhone 4 antenna issue that not everyone encountered, and other situations where SOME units had problems and others did not. So, I simply suggest you try getting a replacement before assuming any pausing issues reflect the design, and for now, treat it like a defective unit that you should get replaced.

The whole on-screen/off screen for buttons is a messy subject. I personally HATE the on-screen menu bar, and the fact that it shows up in screen shots is a horrible concept. Don't reduce SCREEN space for a software menu bar, and Samsung is right for NOT wanting that, since it actually makes the experience of using the device WORSE. Google should have gone with the idea of a dedicated gesture area the way Palm went with the webOS phones, and that eliminates physical buttons, and would allow manufacturers to define certain things about the gesture area that could be different, without breaking overall device use or compatibility. Google will HOPEFULLY address this at Google I/O, and with any luck, the issue will be laid to rest in a few weeks for future devices at least.

And finally, the whole moderator "thing". Moderators have a difficult job of having to police the forums, and deal with troublemakers, calm frayed nerves, and hopefully keep the peace. It isn't easy, that's for sure. On a LARGE site like this one, where you have people who are passionate about their preferred devices and manufacturers, things CAN get a bit messy. So, moderators try to step in, and their own personal preferences come out. You know what though, they ARE people, and WILL make some mistakes. Accept the fact, treat them with respect for doing a JOB that you probably would hate doing after a few weeks, and then POLITELY steer the discussion in a positive direction. No one enjoys these stressful discussions, so when you see them spiraling out of control, try to help the moderators by not feeding trolls.

And yes, I can be a bit of a know-it-all *** from time to time(or more often than that), but I've been around the 'net for a LONG time, have done most types of admin work at some point, so know where a lot of people are coming from. We all have our opinions, and want them heard, yet should ALWAYS understand that others have the same rights and desires.

 

[Wilbur]

This has turned into an old time Ford vs Chevy debate. Good grief. Time to lock this one down and get over it .... just enjoy the phones !!! Jeez...

 

[The Real X Dawg]

This has turned into an old time Ford vs Chevy debate. Good grief. Time to lock this one down and get over it .... just enjoy the phones !!! Jeez...

At least those debates are fun to listen to, this is just nitpicking over things I doubt many people would give a damn about.


Sent from my Jelly Bean chomping Infuse 4G!

 

[LoganK]

On Android 3.0 and higher, items from the options menu are presented by the action bar as a combination of on-screen action items and overflow options. Beginning with Android 3.0, the Menu button is deprecated (some devices don't have one), so you should migrate toward using the action bar to provide access to actions and other options.

Thanks. Sure enough, they use the word deprecated.

You can't possibly expect them to not include any sort of workaround when an app doesn't meet the spec and to simply leave users to have to function without extra tools.

It's not a workaround. The action bar always works. It doesn't require any special hardware support. Google could have chosen to use the action bar all the time (for a consistent experience) and support the menu button (because users still expect it). Instead, they support one or the other. That's more work for them to do, and they chose to do it.

Um, what? They didn't include more than the required minimum. Samsung (and LG) removed the multitasking button (part of the required minimum) and added a menu button. HTC is even worse in a sense, removing the multitasking button and doing nothing to try and replace it.

Sure they did. They included the required buttons plus extra. How do you feel about the camera button? Should manufacturers avoid including one because the Nexus doesn't include one?

Also, to be fair to HTC, they did replace it: a double-tap of the home button functions as the multitasking button. This is similar to Samsung and their long-press of the home button as the multitasking button.

Of course, both manufacturers could have avoided this completely by simply using on-screen buttons. Motorola and Sony could do it. Why can't the other three?

As you've seen in this thread, it's not that they can't do it. The problem is (likely) that customers don't want them to do it. If customers want buttons that disappear, they have a few choices, and they aren't really buying them. (Although Sony isn't really available in the U.S. and Motorola is largely tied to only one of the carriers.)

 

[Eric Kane]

It's common to want to defend whatever choice you've made as far as phones go. No one likes to hear that the phone they paid hundreds of dollars for is inferior. You're seeing that all over this thread, other threads, and in comments all over the net. In fact, I wrote a post in the HTC One forum when I got the phone stating why I chose it over the S4. After using it for over a week, I'm ready to get the S4 on Saturday. No choice is wrong, but I will say I've seen more people crapping on the S4 in favor of the One as if that will validate their choice. I was almost guilty of that myself.

If you've got the One and it feels better to hold to you because it's aluminum, that's great. If you've got the S4 and you like that it's lighter/thinner, that's also great. I've made my choice and most of you have, as well. My opinion shouldn't make you feel bad about your choice nor should yours make me feel bad about mine. That said, I'll gladly debate anyone on the S4 and the One because its part of the fun of owning either or both. It just doesn't need to degrade into a crapfest.

Sent from my HTC One using Android Central Forums

 

[gollum18]

Well, the s3 has been the best phone I've ever owned...period. No peter envy here. I buy the best phone that suits me. I am not brand loyal as the only phones I've yet to own is lg and sony.

I don't understand is all of the f ing cheerleading that goes on in any of these threads. For instance, I despise at&t but I don't go into at&t threads and smash them every chance I get. Who gives a blue f... What you like or don't like. Why the hell are y'all even talking about the htc one? This is a thread about the processor. Why would I bring up the RAZR maxx HD? Or better yet length of my junk?

ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ

+1 I feel no pressure to upgrade my s3 serves all of my needs, and really the s4 just has marginal upgrades compared to the s4 anyway. I hope samsung doesn't follow down apples business model, of releasing shoddy products and fooling people into believing their good.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2

 

[thebizz]

I find it odd that the sgs4 doesn't use a 600 cpu but man it shows you the pull Samsung has if Qualcomm makes a one off cpu for this one device. As far as the HTC one versus the s4 who gives a Crap get what you want they will both be great phones and serve their owners well. I'm actually happy that both of these phones are so great because it just makes the android ecosystem better. As far as the menu button non menu button HTC just needs to reimplement their hacked menu button the way they did with the one x.
Oh and in closing
LOUD NOISES. peace I'm out

 

[chris2k5]

And if they sell 70-100 million of these suckas I'd have to say they made the right choices. Marketing only gets you so far.

The S3 with all of it's success barely hit 50 million in sales. The S4 won't touch 2/3 of what the S3 sold.

 

[anon5664829]

+1 I feel no pressure to upgrade my s3 serves all of my needs, and really the s4 just has marginal upgrades compared to the s4 anyway. I hope samsung doesn't follow down apples business model, of releasing shoddy products and fooling people into believing their good.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2

Apple product are really awesome, don't under stand this fan boyish statement.

 

[JHBThree]

I don't understand the confusion in this thread? Doesn't Anandtech's guess sound reasonable? A slightly newer version of the part that got called "Snapdragon 600" but not enough newer that marketing bothered coming up with a new name?

Anandtech:
"Digging through the Galaxy S 4 kernel source we see references to an APQ8064AB part. As a recap, APQ8064 was the first quad-core Krait 200 SoC with no integrated modem, more commonly referred to as Snapdragon S4 Pro. APQ8064T was supposed to be its higher clocked/Krait 300 based successor that ended up with the marketing name Snapdragon 600. APQ8064AB however is, at this point, unique to the Galaxy S 4 but still carries the Snapdragon 600 marketing name.

If we had to guess, we might be looking at an actual respin of the APQ8064 silicon in APQ8064AB. Assuming Qualcomm isn't playing any funny games here, APQ8064AB may simply be a respin capable of hitting higher frequencies. We'll have to keep a close eye on this going forward, but it's clear to me that the Galaxy S 4 is shipping with something different than everyone else who has a Snapdragon 600 at this point."

AB is bigger (newer?) than T.

Not quite. What he's saying is that the version the S4 uses may be just a higher clocked version of the s4 pro. That would mean it doesn't use the Krait 300 cores. He also says he doesn't know. It may be a processor that's halfway between the two, or could just be a custom part for Samsung.