Thinking of switching from Nexus 4 to S4

[bearda]

As much as I've come to appreciate my Nexus 4 over the past few months I'm still considering porting from StraightTalk to T-Mobile and picking up an S4. Although I really like the stock Android interface (and love stock Android on my Nexus 7) there seem like there are a lot of sacrifices I'm not sure I'm willing to deal with in a phone. I'm still not sure, though. I feel like I could use some advice, especially from anyone who's made a similar switch (or the exact opposite one).

A couple of my issues so far that have me considering a switch:
- Android LE support. 4.3 should help this a lot, but until my Fitbit can sync with my Nexus 4 the way my previous iPhone did it doesn't do me a lot of good. Fitbit already has support for Samsung's Bluetooth stack.
- My LG headphones have aptX support, but AOSP doesn't. I've heard there's a significant improvement in sound quality, but I don't have a device (phone/tablet) that supports aptX to try it with yet.
- I've never had a device with LTE support. It don't think it's a big deal for me (it hasn't been in the past), but it might be a nice to have.
- T-mobile's Wifi calling sounds like it completely eliminates the problem I've had for years with weak signal in my condo. It would kind of be nice to be able to rely on my phone instead of having to switch back and forth between my landline (well, Vonage really) for longer calls. I've been told this will pretty much never be available on the Nexus 4.
- Coming from my iPhone with Siri I still haven't gotten over not being able to send a text message entirely by voice from the Bluetooth connection in my car. My default the god-awful Google Voice Dialer activates when hitting the Bluetooth button, which can only make voice calls. If I use Bluetooth Launcher to activate Google Now on the button press I can get ready to send a text message, but still have to hit an onscreen button to send. To top it off Bluetooth Launcher only works once in a row (it launcher Google Now, but if it's already open it doesn't start listening), so if it gets the name wrong I have to pull out the phone to try again. It sounds like S Voice does exactly what I want. This is a (surprisingly) big deal for me, since I have a pretty long commute and like to be able to update my wife when I'll be home. I refuse to look at my phone while driving.
- The Nexus 4 has always been quirky for me. It turns out a lot of the issues I had were acknowledged by Google for months and (finally) fixed in 4.3, but now I seem to be having new and equally frustrating issues. Twice now my cellular signal has gotten stuck at No Service, requiring cycling airplane mode to fix. As soon as I did I had a full signal again (and two voicemail messages). This was kind of the last straw. As far as I'm concerned support for the Nexus 4 really kind of sucks. Google will replace your handset at the drop of a hat, but if there's a software issue you'll be waiting for the next Android update (if you're lucky).

Am I crazy to be considering switching phones over this kind of stuff? Does it sound like the S4 will meet my needs, or will I be so turned off by TouchWiz that I should run the other way? Using Nova Launcher is pretty much a given. My biggest concern is that the S4 seems.... complicated. There are a lot of features I know I will never use, and if I can disable them I'll probably be in good shape but I'm more concerned about them getting in the way. Coming from an iPhone and then a stock Android device (well, a couple if you include the Nexus 7s) I appreciate the simplicity of the Nexus 4. I'm not sure how that will play out with an S4.

Any thoughts?

 

[garublador]

- Coming from my iPhone with Siri I still haven't gotten over not being able to send a text message entirely by voice from the Bluetooth connection in my car. My default the god-awful Google Voice Dialer activates when hitting the Bluetooth button, which can only make voice calls. If I use Bluetooth Launcher to activate Google Now on the button press I can get ready to send a text message, but still have to hit an onscreen button to send. To top it off Bluetooth Launcher only works once in a row (it launcher Google Now, but if it's already open it doesn't start listening), so if it gets the name wrong I have to pull out the phone to try again. It sounds like S Voice does exactly what I want. This is a (surprisingly) big deal for me, since I have a pretty long commute and like to be able to update my wife when I'll be home. I refuse to look at my phone while driving.

Have you looked into Tasker and AutoVoice? Even if you do get the S4 you may find that you can get much closer to exactly what you want that way than having to rely on Google Now or S Voice.

 

[bearda]

Have you looked into Tasker and AutoVoice? Even if you do get the S4 you may find that you can get much closer to exactly what you want that way than having to rely on Google Now or S Voice.

I have played around with Tasker (just enough to come up with a Do Not Disturb replacement, but I was impressed with the sheer functionality), but not AutoVoice.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[bearda]

Have you looked into Tasker and AutoVoice? Even if you do get the S4 you may find that you can get much closer to exactly what you want that way than having to rely on Google Now or S Voice.

I've played around with Tasker (just enough to make a Do Not Disturb replacement, but I was impressed with the functionality), but never heard of AutoVoice. I'll take a look, thanks.

I forgot to mention the Nexus 4 camera quality, though. It's not awful, but I was still a lot happier with the iPhone 4S camera. I'm told the S4 is excellent, which is a draw as well.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[Andrawer]

Probably can't answer most of your questions but I actually sold my S4 and am now on the nexus 4.

But regarding the S4, Touchwiz works just fine and as you mentions Nova launcher is a great replacement if you want gestures, different icons or different size grids on your homescreens.

I am guessing the ATT and Samsung added garbage apps will cause a lot of frustration for you. I disabled ALL the ATT apps via the settings:apps and just a few of the Samsung apps . With that done and the latest 4.3 mine ran flawless smooth.

Most of the Samsung marketing features you will not use on a regular basis. I turns mine off which is easy to do. I will say the eye feature was nice and also the hand motion for screen capture.

In my opinion the best features of the S4 are the 5" screen and newest gorilla screen. Also the temperature sensor was fun.

That's all off the top of my head.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

 

[keyzlife]

As much as I've come to appreciate my Nexus 4 over the past few months I'm still considering porting from StraightTalk to T-Mobile and picking up an S4. Although I really like the stock Android interface (and love stock Android on my Nexus 7) there seem like there are a lot of sacrifices I'm not sure I'm willing to deal with in a phone. I'm still not sure, though. I feel like I could use some advice, especially from anyone who's made a similar switch (or the exact opposite one).

A couple of my issues so far that have me considering a switch:
- Android LE support. 4.3 should help this a lot, but until my Fitbit can sync with my Nexus 4 the way my previous iPhone did it doesn't do me a lot of good. Fitbit already has support for Samsung's Bluetooth stack.
- My LG headphones have aptX support, but AOSP doesn't. I've heard there's a significant improvement in sound quality, but I don't have a device (phone/tablet) that supports aptX to try it with yet.
- I've never had a device with LTE support. It don't think it's a big deal for me (it hasn't been in the past), but it might be a nice to have.
- T-mobile's Wifi calling sounds like it completely eliminates the problem I've had for years with weak signal in my condo. It would kind of be nice to be able to rely on my phone instead of having to switch back and forth between my landline (well, Vonage really) for longer calls. I've been told this will pretty much never be available on the Nexus 4.
- Coming from my iPhone with Siri I still haven't gotten over not being able to send a text message entirely by voice from the Bluetooth connection in my car. My default the god-awful Google Voice Dialer activates when hitting the Bluetooth button, which can only make voice calls. If I use Bluetooth Launcher to activate Google Now on the button press I can get ready to send a text message, but still have to hit an onscreen button to send. To top it off Bluetooth Launcher only works once in a row (it launcher Google Now, but if it's already open it doesn't start listening), so if it gets the name wrong I have to pull out the phone to try again. It sounds like S Voice does exactly what I want. This is a (surprisingly) big deal for me, since I have a pretty long commute and like to be able to update my wife when I'll be home. I refuse to look at my phone while driving.
- The Nexus 4 has always been quirky for me. It turns out a lot of the issues I had were acknowledged by Google for months and (finally) fixed in 4.3, but now I seem to be having new and equally frustrating issues. Twice now my cellular signal has gotten stuck at No Service, requiring cycling airplane mode to fix. As soon as I did I had a full signal again (and two voicemail messages). This was kind of the last straw. As far as I'm concerned support for the Nexus 4 really kind of sucks. Google will replace your handset at the drop of a hat, but if there's a software issue you'll be waiting for the next Android update (if you're lucky).

Am I crazy to be considering switching phones over this kind of stuff? Does it sound like the S4 will meet my needs, or will I be so turned off by TouchWiz that I should run the other way? Using Nova Launcher is pretty much a given. My biggest concern is that the S4 seems.... complicated. There are a lot of features I know I will never use, and if I can disable them I'll probably be in good shape but I'm more concerned about them getting in the way. Coming from an iPhone and then a stock Android device (well, a couple if you include the Nexus 7s) I appreciate the simplicity of the Nexus 4. I'm not sure how that will play out with an S4.

Any thoughts?

The Wi-Fi calling is great. I was in the same boat. Our house must be built of lead because as soon as you go inside the signal dies with all carriers. This fixed that problem. It also covers messages too. It's great.

I've had good luck with s voice. I think it's one of those things that has a learning curve. Of course when there is a ton of background noise or other people talking it doesn't work, but for fairly quiet situations it's works well for me.

The camera on this thing is unbelievable. It's not a DSLR but it out performs my Sony point and shoot. Again practice makes this better too. Learning what settings to use for what situation.



sent from my T-Mobile Galaxy S?4 with Tapatalk 4

 

[bearda]

I'm not really worried about background noise, the only time I use voice commands is when I'm in the car and both my car and my wife's car do a pretty good job of canceling road noise. The rest of the time Google Now works great; I just don't want to mess with the touchscreen while driving. I'm OK with a bit of a learning curve as long as I can get it to reliably do what I need it to do within the return period for the phone.

 

[bearda]

Probably can't answer most of your questions but I actually sold my S4 and am now on the nexus 4.

But regarding the S4, Touchwiz works just fine and as you mentions Nova launcher is a great replacement if you want gestures, different icons or different size grids on your homescreens.

I am guessing the ATT and Samsung added garbage apps will cause a lot of frustration for you. I disabled ALL the ATT apps via the settings:apps and just a few of the Samsung apps . With that done and the latest 4.3 mine ran flawless smooth.

Most of the Samsung marketing features you will not use on a regular basis. I turns mine off which is easy to do. I will say the eye feature was nice and also the hand motion for screen capture.

In my opinion the best features of the S4 are the 5" screen and newest gorilla screen. Also the temperature sensor was fun.

That's all off the top of my head.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

Out of curiosity why did you switch to the Nexus 4? One of the things in the back of my mind is what I'd lose by switching. Google Wallet is one of the only things I could think of, and although I've used it a couple of times it really wasn't something I couldn't easily do without. If 4.3 had been a bigger update I might not be considering switching at all, but I realized all the things I cared about in the 4.3 update (fixed bluetooth+Wifi, AVRCP, BLE, better camera app, etc) were already present on the S4.

 

[Andrawer]

I switched because I got a new nexus 7 which meant I was using my S4 less.and less them found a good price for a N4 in excellent condition so figured id make a few hundred by selling s4.

N4 is serving its purpose well....used it today with garmin fit app to track a 50miler bike ride...same thing I did on my s4 buy so am happy with that.

I also realized on the S4 that I had over time turned off all the nice features...made me think whybjave this nice expensive phone? So got the N4.


Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

 

[jimbo1mcm]

Get the S4. You will be very happy with it.

 

[msavic6]

I switched from the Galaxy Nexus over to the S4 and I am 100% satisfied. The Nexus phones have plenty of corners cut in regards too the overall user experience. The one thing the nexus does have but the S4 doesn't is quick updates although that can easily be remedied by flashing the Google Play Edition software once a new worthwhile update is released.
I would get the S4, you will be conpletely satsified as the S4 is overall a better device than the nexus 4. The Camera, Screen, Battery Life and speed are all significantly better on the S4 than on the nexus 4

Sent from my SGH-I337M using Tapatalk 4

 

[garublador]

I've played around with Tasker (just enough to make a Do Not Disturb replacement, but I was impressed with the functionality), but never heard of AutoVoice. I'll take a look, thanks.

Check out AutoLocation as well. You could set up geofences so that when you get to certain points on your commute a text is automatically sent to your wife. You won't even need to mess with the phone while driving at all that way. That can be done in Tasker without AutoLocation as well, but I find that AutoLocation works way better than the built in location functions. The nice thing is this can all be done before you decide if you want to switch so you won't have to bank on S-Voice working like you want it to.