New to Android (Galaxy S4) came from Iphone 5...My 2 cents

[r2t]

I switched from iPhone 4 to Note 2 and now I am on S4. What really got me hooked to Android in general is ability to install custom ROM. I am addicted to changing my ROM all the time. I own my S4 for about 2 weeks now and I've been changing custom ROMs none stop. With those, I'm able to have a pretty smooth experience with my S4.

Sent from my GT-I9500

 

[monsieurms]

First, a general question to the S4 owners...is the "lag" really an issue with this device? I ask as a current S3 owner considering an upgrade, but I find it concerning that so many folks comment on lag within the OS, especially considering how awesomely smooth the S3 is. Seems like they've take a step backwards in that department if the S4 has lag issues..

I don't understand that complaint. Post #39 may have indicated some updates and why this originally was commented upon.

Now, I haven't played much with iPhones, so I won't comment on that comparison by the OP, but I sure haven't found much if any lag. In comparing it to the phone I just ditched (the HTC Sensation 4g), it is lightning fast. For instance, I have thousands of contacts. On the HTC, when, sometimes, I would go to pull up my address book, it would groan and sometimes more or less stall. There were times when it would take over a minute to load and populate the fields. With the S4--I press Contacts. 1 Mississippi, it's up. Similarly, Amazon Kindle would take a long while to load on Android with the Sensation, here it syncs fast and loads fast.

I've only had 2 Android phones. This is blazing fast by comparison.

Most articles that have run benchmarks say so, too. This month's PC MAG says (Dan Costa): "powered by a best-in-breed Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 quad-core processor...." The article itself says: "The Galaxy S4 is the fastest smartphone we've benchmarked so far, thanks to its 1.9GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 processor. ... The Snapdragon torched the processor -dependent AnTuTu benchmark, but it also did unusually well on Basemark OS, which launches real applications, and on the GLBenchmark graphics benchmark."...I topped off performance testing with the hideously heavy Need for Speed: Most Wanted game, which ran like butter....Spectacular speed results carried over to network testing, too."

 

[anon(829886)]

So a week ago I lost my iPhone 5, after days of recovering I decided to get a another iPhone 5. When I was in the store I played with the Galaxy S4 and I decided to get it instead of the iPhone 5 . So for those thinking of switching here is my 2 cents:
Cons:
1. I am sure is not Android OS fault but the Galaxy s4 is very Laggy, even after doing all of the suggestions around here. I really miss the IOS simplicity and smoothness.
2. Gimmick features, I have to say even at the store I disabled many of them, hover over the screen"Really" why?
3. None of the browser are even close to Safari, sorry but even chrome on the iPhone is better
4. Unusable pre-installed software, If i don't want it let me remove it...what happened to the "free to do anything"
5. Notifications - really just at the top bar? and why so many icons of the same kind. I really like the on the face here you go iPhone provides.
6. No visual voice mail...had to download third party app
7.Not sure if its the Samsung crappy GUI over the OS but apps are just not as smooth compare to the same app in IOS...Why? this things hardware specs are so powerful...
8. I cant set Gmail as exchange in the mail app...WTF? i have to use the gmail app just to get gmails...ok this one is just crappy...really google?
9 Samsung gets in the way too much i think, will prefer just vanilla android for sure

Pros:
1. Screen size: so much better for typing, no more triple letters when texting
2. Free to do "almost anything" is kind of weird but I like experimentation...we will see
3. remotely install apps from the play store on line...hell yeah!
4. Sync any music...no matter how you got it...
5. its Google so all Google software stuff works...most of the time
6. many other features for sure, still adapting...

I am sure many fandroids here will defend their choice, but again this is just my personal experience...
Is the phone a good phone...well take the lagginess away and hell yeah...we will see if any future updates can fix this.

Peace........

I'm of the belief that anyone coming from an iPhone that wants to try an Android device should opt for the HTC One. It has an IPS panel and looks very much like a larger iPhone 5 (chamfered edges, etc).

OP I had the Optimus G Pro for 3 days. Returned it and went back to my iPhone 5. The G Pro is amazing but was far too large and heavy for me in the end. To address some of your items....

* Habit browser is an amazing choice. I love iOS Safari but found Habit a very valid alternative. It's pretty new and not widely known.

* Any gimmicky feature you find on the S4 does not need to be used. Not sure that's a con. Just something you don't have to use.

* The lack of notification badges by default on Mail apps is really bizarre IMO. It's especially jarring when you are used to getting notifications badges on iOS. There is however a simple solution (Nova Launcher Prime + Telsa Unread).

* Lack of visual voicemail by default is lame for sure. There are 3rd party solutions.

* Android apps overall are not as good/smooth as iOS versions. The USA Today app for example still involved way too many taps versus the iOS version that once was like that but has been updated for a much easier experience. Weather Channel app is simply not as good on Android. Comcast app requires you to jump into the browser to look at your DVR recording (and scrolling within the app was choppy versus smooth on iOS). It's small details like that that you have to swallow at times on Android.

* Google should create a iTunes like program to manually manage music. Google Music is awesome but streaming is not an ideal solution for anybody. I personally had a nightmare experience trying to use iSyncr and DoubleTwist. Others may not have the same issues.

* Gmail app is hideous compared to native Apple Mail client.

Overall I still like Android a great deal and would be open to leaving iOS in the future. I'm curious to see what WWDC has to offer. Apple desperately needs to release a 5" iPhone. OP if you end up not liking your S4 you should consider the HTC One.

 

[jarettp]

i came from iphone 4 and really like my galaxy 3. but i am using my iphone to pick up spotify on wireless off my laptop to play on my surround sound. remember back when you had a recordplayer and lp records. Anyway i still receive sms on my simcardless iphone ( fron iphone users obviously ) but dont receive same on my galaxy. How do i overcome this. I have turned of icloud on the iphone. Thanks.
Paul

on the iphone, under message options, you can dis-associate your number. also, somewhere on apples website you can tell them to forget your info from their database. if all else fails, hop on google bro.

 

[garublador]

I'll start by saying that this is a pretty good list of differences between the two platforms. Having used both as well I'll make some comments.

1. As others have said that's likely to be fixed and doesn't appear to be universal.

2. But they can be disabled. Even if one or two are useful they're probably worth having. It's also brought up in every single review for the S4 so it shouldn't be a surprise. I'd rather have features I don't use than ones I want but can't have.

3. I was going to hold off on this until I actually got my S4 to see for myself, but I found an article suggesting that the reason for this is that Apple has done a much better job of incorporating HTML5 into Safari.

Where The iPhone 5 Still Bests The Samsung S4 - Forbes

Apparently you aren't the only one who thinks that Safari works better as a mobile browser.

4. This is annoying, too and it's been a complaint for about as long as Android has been worth talking about. I thought Verizon would drop their VZ Navagator from Android after they realized that Google Maps was better, but it's still there on my Droid X2. I'm curious as to why they thought spending time developing that was a good idea, but I digress.

5. Don't be surprised if this moves to your Pro's category. Having the OS tell you what notifications you have all in one place rather than having to search them out is generally regarded as a good thing. For apps where you mostly open them in response to some notification it's nice because you don't have to go find the app to open it. The notification shade lets you open the app from there so the most needed apps are always the easiest to get to. For example, I only rarely want to compose a fresh email on my phone but I check it often so having a shortcut to it on my home screen doesn't make much sense. I'd have to do that if the only notifications I got were from the icon itself. This way it's only quickly accessible if I need it and hidden if I don't.

6. Android tents to give you good apps for many functions but doesn't try to make super excellent apps for stuff where not everyone agrees on the best implementation. So if you don't really care, the stock apps are good or non existent. They leave the really good, but different from one another, implementations to third party developers. The visual voice mail falls into that category. It's annoying coming from iOS because it's not immediately apparent how to do it. However, if you have a specific idea of how it should work then you're more likely to find exactly what you want in Android than you are in iOS. It's a pro and a con depending on the functionality you want.

7. This sounds like it's related to 1.

8. No comment because I've never tried to do that. As I suggested earlier, I'm not a very email heavy individual.

9. This sounds more like a reason not to pick iOS. If you don't like the way Apple does it there's nothing you can do about a lot of functions in iOS. With Android there are several ways around it.

I'll only address some of the Pros:

1. Choice in hardware is one of the biggest advantages of Android over iOS. Your OS can "just work" as much as it wants, but it can't give the phone physical attributes it doesn't have. If you happen to want the physical attributes (most of which are very good) of an iPhone then you're in luck, though.

2. I've been using Android phones since a month after the Droid came to Verizon and I haven't even scratched the surface of how close to everything "almost" really means. You can adjust your phone initially to make it as close to iOS as you want or you can continually tinker. There are videos of people controlling their homes and TV's using their phones and voice commands and only like $300 worth of hardware (try pricing out similar iOS compatible systems) or emulating S4 features on older phones (wave to answer or some makeshift NFC). It's both a blessing and a curse becasue while being able to do anything is nice, it usually takes "work" (though some find it fun) to accomplish most of it.

 

[Johnny Roberts]

I'm sitting here with an s4 and a One side by side. Both devices are crazy fast and navigate everything very well. The One is a hair snappier, but not even enough to notice unless you have both devices next to each other. No lags on either phone.

Tha lag thing is now a buzz word being used to try to deter potential buyers. A shame really, because as most ACTUAL galaxy owners will tell you, the s4 is a phone you do not want to miss.

 

[madlaw1071]

I'm sitting here with an s4 and a One side by side. Both devices are crazy fast and navigate everything very well. The One is a hair snappier, but not even enough to notice unless you have both devices next to each other. No lags on either phone.

Tha lag thing is now a buzz word being used to try to deter potential buyers. A shame really, because as most ACTUAL galaxy owners will tell you, the s4 is a phone you do not want to miss.

Fortunate are the few that have both units

 

[maryjane2300]

I'll never understand how you can think sales determine a phone's quality.

So I guess, as someone else said, that by that logic, a Kia is better than a Lamborghini.

Sent from my pure Google Nexus 4 using Android Central Forums

Now your talking apples and oranges. People buy more kias because they're cheaper than a lambo. When the s4 is priced at the same or really close to every other phone and still sells way more it shoes the demand for it and like I said, sales back it.

Posted from my amazing white Galaxy S4

 

[maryjane2300]

I'm of the belief that anyone coming from an iPhone that wants to try an Android device should opt for the HTC One. It has an IPS panel and looks very much like a larger iPhone 5 (chamfered edges, etc).

OP I had the Optimus G Pro for 3 days. Returned it and went back to my iPhone 5. The G Pro is amazing but was far too large and heavy for me in the end. To address some of your items....

* Habit browser is an amazing choice. I love iOS Safari but found Habit a very valid alternative. It's pretty new and not widely known.

* Any gimmicky feature you find on the S4 does not need to be used. Not sure that's a con. Just something you don't have to use.

* The lack of notification badges by default on Mail apps is really bizarre IMO. It's especially jarring when you are used to getting notifications badges on iOS. There is however a simple solution (Nova Launcher Prime + Telsa Unread).

* Lack of visual voicemail by default is lame for sure. There are 3rd party solutions.

* Android apps overall are not as good/smooth as iOS versions. The USA Today app for example still involved way too many taps versus the iOS version that once was like that but has been updated for a much easier experience. Weather Channel app is simply not as good on Android. Comcast app requires you to jump into the browser to look at your DVR recording (and scrolling within the app was choppy versus smooth on iOS). It's small details like that that you have to swallow at times on Android.

* Google should create a iTunes like program to manually manage music. Google Music is awesome but streaming is not an ideal solution for anybody. I personally had a nightmare experience trying to use iSyncr and DoubleTwist. Others may not have the same issues.

* Gmail app is hideous compared to native Apple Mail client.

Overall I still like Android a great deal and would be open to leaving iOS in the future. I'm curious to see what WWDC has to offer. Apple desperately needs to release a 5" iPhone. OP if you end up not liking your S4 you should consider the HTC One.

Had the htc one. Didn't like it, that's why I got the s4. If I got any other phone besides the s4 it'd be an iPhone or nexus.

Posted from my amazing white Galaxy S4

 

[The WheelMan]

IOS has Google Now and Google Maps... and from what I heard their versions are better than the Android versions

I have an S3 and an iPad, for whatever reason, Google Now on the S3 is showing me cards for local weather as well as all the local events in my area. Google Now on the iPad is only showing me local weather.

 

[JeffDenver]

So a week ago I lost my iPhone 5, after days of recovering I decided to get a another iPhone 5. When I was in the store I played with the Galaxy S4 and I decided to get it instead of the iPhone 5 . So for those thinking of switching here is my 2 cents:
Cons:
1. I am sure is not Android OS fault but the Galaxy s4 is very Laggy

It is Touchwiz (the skin Samsung uses) that is doing that. Nexus devices do not lag at all. The lag is from the vendor's skin.
As for simplicity...you can regain that same simplicity by turning off options in Android. There are even launchers that will replicate the iOS UI.

2. Gimmick features, I have to say even at the store I disabled many of them, hover over the screen"Really" why?

I actually agree. That is why I went with a nexus device instead.

3. None of the browser are even close to Safari, sorry but even chrome on the iPhone is better

My main problem with the iPhone was that you cannot make any other browser your default. One of the nice things about Android is that it works like a PC...you can use any app for the default on any function. Music, Maps, Browser...pretty much anything.

4. Unusable pre-installed software, If i don't want it let me remove it...what happened to the "free to do anything"

Android does that. It is the carrier (or Vendor) that is telling you no. They have modified Android. Nexus devices (unmodified Android) let you remove anything.

5. Notifications - really just at the top bar?

What would you prefer to that? It is the best notification system I have seen so far. Also, they are persistent...they do not fade after a few seconds, so you do not miss your notifications.

7.Not sure if its the Samsung crappy GUI over the OS but apps are just not as smooth compare to the same app in IOS...Why? this things hardware specs are so powerful...

Part of it is the way iOS does multitasking. iOS gives priority to the UI, so things will always look smooth. This comes at the price of denying other stuff (like background processing). On my friend's iPhone, a web page will stop downloading if I scroll...it will resume only after I stop scrolling. On an Android browser, stuff will continue to download and render on the page even as you are scrolling.

9 Samsung gets in the way too much i think

It sure does. That is why the recent announcement of a "Google" S4 was such a big deal...you will have all the power of a Galaxy S4 without Samsung's crap getting in the way.

3. remotely install apps from the play store on line...hell yeah!

Yeah, that is awesome and really underrated.

4. Sync any music...no matter how you got it...

I still buy music from iTunes, but I never ever let iTunes touch it after that. Android basically treats music like the PC does...as files that you can move around and organize however you want.

 

[JeffDenver]

I'm sitting here with an s4 and a One side by side. Both devices are crazy fast and navigate everything very well. The One is a hair snappier, but not even enough to notice unless you have both devices next to each other. No lags on either phone.

Google Nexus 4 vs. Samsung Galaxy S4 - YouTube

Time index 3:42. Yes, the lag is there, and in some places, very noticeable IMO. The average person will probably not care. But to someone that is used to a perfect frame rate like on the iPhone, it is annoying.

 

[garublador]

I saw some choppier animation, but it wasn't really "lag." The S4 did most everything faster. I didn't watch the whole thing but the only time the S4 looked slower was starting up the camera. I'd be interested to see what the difference was after 10 tries rather than just 1. I'm guessing that's part of where the confusion comes from. It is a bit annoying, but it's cosmetic.

Also, I'm glad I'm not the only one that has problems rotating their map when they're trying to zoom in or out.

 

[jusmebabe]

Do you want a refund of your 2 cents lol
j/k.. :beer:

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Android Central Forums

 

[JeffDenver]

I saw some choppier animation, but it wasn't really "lag."

What is the difference exactly? Dropped frames = lag.
I am not complaining myself. I think the S4 is awesome. I am just saying I can see why iPhone users would turn their noses up at it.

The S4 did most everything faster.

That is to be expected since it's specs are better. The fact that the N4 beat it at all, in any area, is an example of just how big an anchor Touchwiz really is, and why it is a bad thing.

I cannot wait to see what the Google version of the S4 looks like when relieved of the Touchwiz pollution. I fully expect the Google S4 to trounce the N4 in all areas, including UI smoothness.

Also, I'm glad I'm not the only one that has problems rotating their map when they're trying to zoom in or out.

It is something they can probably fix. But who knows if they will. Samsung will fix the stuff people complain about the most first.

 

[daviddlt]

I had the same issues with the galaxy s4, I returned it for the htc one that is been eyeing before...it has been night and day difference, no lag, smooth and a better display. No regrets, came from an iPhone 5. Let's face it, iPhone users are a spoiled
Bunch when it comes to a perfect smartphone experience.
Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 2

 

[spdrcrtx]

i came from iphone 4 and really like my galaxy 3. but i am using my iphone to pick up spotify on wireless off my laptop to play on my surround sound. remember back when you had a recordplayer and lp records. Anyway i still receive sms on my simcardless iphone ( fron iphone users obviously ) but dont receive same on my galaxy. How do i overcome this. I have turned of icloud on the iphone. Thanks.
Paul

Have you turned off iMessage as well?

 

[Johnny Roberts]

I don't understand the problem here. If you like the Iphone so much, stick with it. Problem solved. I like larger screens and customizable options, so the s4 is for me. Once again, problem solved.

There isn't a perfect phone in existence which isnt going to involve some concessions. Even my HTC One which I love, has some annoying features that I just learn to deal with.

 

[JeffDenver]

I don't understand the problem here. If you like the Iphone so much, stick with it. Problem solved. I like larger screens and customizable options, so the s4 is for me. Once again, problem solved. There isn't a perfect phone in existence which isnt going to involve some concessions. Even my HTC One which I love, has some annoying features that I just learn to deal with.

Part of the reason I come to this site is to learn about the OS and other phones I don't own. It helps when researching a future purchase or giving advice to relatives.

Posting an opinion is not a problem for me. I'd like to hear what she has to say about her experience. I don't know why some people on this forum have such a problem with personal opinions. Discussion about Android and Android phones is the entire point of forums like this IMO.

 

[DioramaMaker]

In regards to whom it is applicable, let's try to keep this calm and civil. An opinion is an opinion, we're each entitled to them. That's why this is a discussion board.