S4 not as good as an iPhone

[DroidArmy]

My Galaxy S4 never had lag!
Of course it will get all the bells and whistles from the new TW!

And yes, I heard something, my phone said: "Tell all these people the truth, tell them how awesome I am!"
:thumbup:

Sent From a Galaxy S4 Away!

I'm glad Samsung finally got it right with the s4, because you wouldn't believe the amount of work I had to do to get my s3 in working condition for my needs. This thing is as custom as it can get. The hilarious thing I found was that I could remove the headphone hiss and still keep the volume when Samsung couldn't with the s3. That's pretty sad when that was a substantial flagship phone for them. I'm just glad they hired some professionals for the s4

 

[Shanicenicolle]

The only lag I really see is opening folders on stock touchwiz

Sent from my *PURPLE* Galaxy S4

 

[DroidArmy]

The only lag I really see is opening folders on stock touchwiz

Sent from my *PURPLE* Galaxy S4

I hate touchwiz, the first thing I did when I got my s3 is root it and throw an aosp ROM on it. I did that within an hour of owning it. I love the phone but I hate the software. Why doesn't Samsung just buy the rights to the switch project that British developer built and make everyone happy? They would become unstoppable (well more unstoppable than they are now)!

 

[Kilgore Trout]

I hate touchwiz, the first thing I did when I got my s3 is root it and throw an aosp ROM on it. I did that within an hour of owning it. I love the phone but I hate the software. Why doesn't Samsung just buy the rights to the switch project that British developer built and make everyone happy? They would become unstoppable (well more unstoppable than they are now)!

I wish Samsung would tale the Moto approach, mostly stock with some useful extras.

 

[festinator]

I wish Samsung would tale the Moto approach, mostly stock with some useful extras.

They are doing that. They just haven't come to terms with the "some" part ;P

Sent from my Nexus 4 using AC Forums mobile app

 

[Daniel Crispin]

I feel the same. For me the major issues are:

- Voice recognition is very flawed. If there is any noise or Wind or anything it doesn't work. When it does work it will do all sorts of stupid things.
- Battery life is a joke. I rarelly use the phone, maybe once or twice a day and the battery is dead before the day is over despite the fact I have it set to low battery consumption and even added the defender app to reduce usage. Now what I do is I turn everything off (GPS, Wifi, ect) so that I can end the day with about 10% power. That is totally unaceptable. My iPhone 3gs which is 4 years old lasted 2 days with much higher usage. I am scared to do anything on the phone because I know it will die on me before the day is over.

- Only 8 gb of usable memory on the phone? OMG! Then you buy an SD card to find out the phone can't really use it. Won't let you use it for Apps and if you put media on it you need to find work around to play them because the Music app won't recognize it.

- And my lastest issue, after about a week of having the SD card in the phone, my Galaxy S4 thinks the card is empty. My PC can see all the files but the phone can't.

I have never seen such a bad product. I purchased it because my friends are Android fans and they convinced me that Apple was outdated. After looking at the specs of the S4 I was convinced they were right. Well, you know what, this phone might have 2 quad core processors, but it's slower than the iPhone 5. It lags on pretty much everything it does, you simply don't feel the speed. Those processors are very good at one thing though: Killing you battery.

Once my contract is over I will go back to Apple and NEVER purchase an other Android phone again. The user experience is aweful.

 

[Daniel Crispin]

Re: s4 not as good as an iPhone

Dang forgot to quote LOL... Was a post regarding not being able to find 3rd party chargers...

Agreed on this. One of the only things I like about my S4 (that and the 5 inch screen).

I purchased 5 cables for this phone on eBay, they cost me 1$ each. That's something you can't do with Apple products.

And to charge it, well USB ports are everywhere. You can use Apple USB charger if you want as far as I know, USB is USB.

 

[poisonivy66]

I just sold my iPhone 5 and chose HTC one, i considered Galaxy s4 too but the fact that you end up with only about 8gb of memory and that apps can't go on the sd card as Daniel just mentioned put me off, i am happy with my Android phone so far.

 

[Daniel Crispin]

Re: s4 not as good as an iPhone

I had iPhones for years. Finally made the switch to the S4 back in May and couldn't be happier. My whole household is pure Apple. Phones, desktops, laptops, apple tv, you name it, apple. Except for mine and my boyfriends new S4s. I find that people switching over complain about issues that they should've researched a bit before first. I knew about the bit of lag, the fact that it isn't like iTunes for syncing, and other stuff, so there was no expectation or let down after the switch. It's all about finding what is right for you, with your settings, apps and software to manage the phone. I find that Apple users are just very accustomed to always having the answer in front of them. And thats not a bad thing, just Android doesn't make one way to do something and thats it like Apple. If you don't like that idea, then maybe Android isn't for you. Bothers me when people bash Android over things they should have researched before since iOS and Android are so completely different.

And my phone had a tiny bit of lag, but that was easily fixed with developer options and a launcher. So I agree with you. Just because something is well documented doesn't mean its on every phone. Apple users seem to be a bit more defensive these days since Android is becoming so popular lol ..

I can't disagree with you more.

You should not have to research how to get your phone to work properly out of the box. Having a battery that dies before the day is over is unaceptable. Lag on a phone that has twice the processing power of the fastest Apple phone is also unaceptable. Having to root (what ever the hell that is) so that the phone works is also unaceptable... if it's needed why the hell doesn't Android do it by default?

Having a storage on a phone that is reduced by 50% by the OS, do you think that is something people should have looked into as well? They advertise 16 gb of storage for the S4... in reality it's only 8. That is false advertising right there. Then you purchase extra memory and not only is it not supported by the OS but the phones stop using it after only a few days.

I am sorry, but fanboys make me sick defending things that should not be defended. I am no Apple fan. I would never buy a computer from them, I hate the elitist culture around Apple products but when it comes to phones, I have owned one for 4 years and never had a single bad comment to make about it. I switch to Android and it's nothing but grief. Then when you try to talk about the issues the fanboys go defensive and say you should have done research, there are work arounds... It's a consumer product, it should not take a masters degree to use it.

 

[Daniel Crispin]

Re: s4 not as good as an iPhone

A couple of points to address as I read through the thread:

-If you don't like the cloud thing, don't use it. Get the MP3 and put it on your phone. Now your music is offline with you. I don't know why people need to make things more difficult than they have to be.
-Great input OhAlfie. The adults are talking, so you hush.
-Android is not "laggy" as of 4.1 when they introduced "Project Butter" (as in the phone is meant to run butter smooth all the time.) That "well documented" stuff is years old, when it actually had merit. Now it doesn't. At least, well-done Android devices don't. Samsung seems to be too intent on shoving as much superfluous crap into their stuff as they can instead of addressing actual issues. This is not someone with an HTC One talking, this is someone who did a lot of research before dropping $730 (bought it outright) on a device.
-iOS is a good system if you want to get the phone out of the box and get up and running with it. Android is good if you're an endless tinkerer who needs to customize everything to your exact specifications. They're both good in their own right, depending on what you need them for. At the end of the day, they both get email, internet, play games and make calls. Pick what you like and then worry about you and not what everyone else picked. However...
-Don't lie. You cannot "customize the hell out of an iPhone" by jailbreaking it. That is ridiculous. You can customize it some more than usual. If you really want to customize, just get an android. Much less painful that way.
-If you want to tether, you need to pay for that. If you think the phone companies don't know what goes on on their own network, there is no hope for you. They will find out, thy will change your contract to include tethering and bill you for it, and when they do, don't get pissed off that they did it.

Hum... here is some of the lag I still experience...

Using S-Voice: "Call (name of person)"... 5 seconds delay.... There are multiple entries for (name of person) do you want to call home or work? ... "Home"... 5 seconds delay.... Calling ... My Apple 3gs does it in about 1 second.

Using S-Voice again: "What time is it"... 5 seconds delay before it answers. My Apple 3gs does it instantly.

There is lag opening any app. Delay is too small to evaluate but it feels like there is hesitation on the phone. Not really an issue but it's there.

 

[Daniel Crispin]

Re: s4 not as good as an iPhone

Not enough magic that it should need twice the battery to be equal in battery life.

Actually I have a friend who uses the iPhone 5. He uses his phone a lot more than me. He is always taking and making calls for his work and he is the type of person who is constantly doing stuff on the phone (internet/apps). His battery lasts all day. Sometimes it dies before the day is over. Me, I use my phone maybe 2 or 3 times a day to make a phone call or run an app. My battery NEVER lasts the day. I have every service off on the phone but by the time I get home at night the battery is at around 20% despite the fact I pretty much did not use it all day. So it uses 80% of the charge in 12 hours being pretty much on standby.

 

[Daniel Crispin]

Re: s4 not as good as an iPhone

Well having had used both now myself. I can say I prefer Android over IOS without a doubt.

Had a S4 and it ended up breaking (long story). And was without a phone for a while until I could afford a new one and a friend of mine convinced me to try an IPhone 5.
I tried to like the IPhone, I really did. I gave it 3 months, but I just cannot do it anymore; so I ordered a S4 Google Edition.

I miss Android, I miss the customization. I miss being able to easily download and play music from a webpage. Downloading something other than pictures and allowing the phone to save it along with being able to easily access it. Not having to deal with Itunes whenever I want to put music on or get new ringtones. That and Siri.. I can't stand her anymore.. I even told her and she didn't seem to care..

What's wrong with Siri? I my iPhone was too old to have it but all my friends how have iPhones that use it love that service. As far as I know Siri is the best AI on any phone. I really don't like S-Voice, it really sucks big time. I often have to take the phone out of my Pocket and do a manual search because S-Voice won't do what I want. My friends don't have that problem at all. This is a big issue for me because I drive for a living so being able to control the phone though my Bluetooth headset is really important to me.

 

[STARGATE]

Whats your theme? old TouchWiz or?

I use the regular TouchWhiz that came on the phone.
Only customized things on it are the wallpaper, the notification sound and the ringtone.

Sent From a Galaxy S4 Away!

 

[STARGATE]

I just sold my iPhone 5 and chose HTC one, i considered Galaxy s4 too but the fact that you end up with only about 8gb of memory and that apps can't go on the sd card as Daniel just mentioned put me off, i am happy with my Android phone so far.

Since a long time ago, from the last update we received, the GS4 is able to move apps to the SD card. Whoever said it doesn't is lying.

Sent From a Galaxy S4 Away!

 

[Daniel Crispin]

Since a long time ago, from the last update we received, the GS4 is able to move apps to the SD card. Whoever said it doesn't is lying.

Sent From a Galaxy S4 Away!

Well, I don't know about that. I tried to install a game called Bard's Tales 2 weeks ago. It would not install because my memory was full.

So I ordered a Samsung 64 Gb memory card (that is when I learned I screwed by Samsung by having only 8 gb of usable ram).

When I received the sd card I placed it on the phone and tried to install Bard's Tales again. It would not do it. Could not install it anywhere else than built in memory.

I then copied all my media files to the sd card to make room. And the game finally installed.

Today I decided to listen to some music on the phone (had not tried it since last week, I pretty much never listen to music on the phone). Music program could not find any of my music... So I came here trying to understand what I did wrong because there is option in the music program to specify where your music is. There is a search function but it could not find anything. Anyways, I learned that Music can't use files on SD card but hey! There is a work around... Really great OS really ;( Before I could try the work around I went to my phone to check the files and it can't find them... after trying for several minutes to find them in the OS I removed the sd card and put back in. Phone recognises it and tells me it's ready to be removed safelly. Still no files. I take the card out and put it in my PC... all the files are there. Great. I have had this Samsung SD card for about 6 days and I can't use it on the phone. It's not lost I have plenty of other devices that can use SD cards but this pisses me off to no end.

 

[STARGATE]

@ Daniel Crispin.

I'm a first time Samsung phone buyer, never had any TouchWhiz experience, but I do like my Galaxy S4 a lot.

I normally have all the S features on but the S Voice. GPS and Bluetooth are off if I'm not using them. My battery lasts from 8-10 hours. And I use my phone a lot during the day; many phone calls and text messages (made and received), Facebook, twitter, Android Central, weather, web browsing and if I have to go from one place to another, Google maps and navigation.

Sorry you don't get that much out of yours. Are you in a place with very low signal?
Because that kills battery like crazy!

Anyway, I'm not a fanboy, of Samsung or Android. I actually love WebOS, and always will. But I have use android phones since 2009 and have owned and use full time Android since September 2011.
I've also used iPhones for work since 2010, I can't stand them!
Now at work they are not getting iPhones anymore, but I'm glad.

Sent From a Galaxy S4 Away!

 

[Shanicenicolle]

Well, I don't know about that. I tried to install a game called Bard's Tales 2 weeks ago. It would not install because my memory was full.

So I ordered a Samsung 64 Gb memory card (that is when I learned I screwed by Samsung by having only 8 gb of usable ram).

When I received the sd card I placed it on the phone and tried to install Bard's Tales again. It would not do it. Could not install it anywhere else than built in memory.

I then copied all my media files to the sd card to make room. And the game finally installed.

Today I decided to listen to some music on the phone (had not tried it since last week, I pretty much never listen to music on the phone). Music program could not find any of my music... So I came here trying to understand what I did wrong because there is option in the music program to specify where your music is. There is a search function but it could not find anything. Anyways, I learned that Music can't use files on SD card but hey! There is a work around... Really great OS really ;( Before I could try the work around I went to my phone to check the files and it can't find them... after trying for several minutes to find them in the OS I removed the sd card and put back in. Phone recognises it and tells me it's ready to be removed safelly. Still no files. I take the card out and put it in my PC... all the files are there. Great. I have had this Samsung SD card for about 6 days and I can't use it on the phone. It's not lost I have plenty of other devices that can use SD cards but this pisses me off to no end.

Idk what's going on with your phone but mine definitely detects music on my SD card. That's very strange. Also did you format it in the phone before putting your media on it and using it? That's standard for mobile devices.

Sent from my *PURPLE* Galaxy S4

 

[The Hustleman]

Re: s4 not as good as an iPhone

As someone with an iPhone 5 and a Galaxy S4.... I wish I never would have spent money on this ip5, o well :-(. Different needs I suppose.

GS4/iPhone5

Same here, anything you can do on an iphone5 you can do on a GS4, but the opposite isn't true.

 

[nancybout]

Theres just way too many apps to DL music straight to the card. I left iPhone for the opposite reason. It amazes me how different we all are
I will say the iPhone 5s Is FAST.
that is the one thing I would switch if I did and I miss an app I love.
But.. I didn't buy the new iPhone.. I ordered the HTC one and have the note 2
I am wanting a smaller screen...not size of the iPhone but not the note 3....BUT am tempted lol that phone is awesome so is my note 2.
I'll try the one...if I have issues I'll bring it back.
I have a feeling its meant for me...its been calling me since day I seen it first time lol
The s4 is nice but I really want better construction phone in my hand.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Tapatalk 2

 

[FishenFool]

Re: s4 not as good as an iPhone

What's wrong with Siri? I my iPhone was too old to have it but all my friends how have iPhones that use it love that service. As far as I know Siri is the best AI on any phone. I really don't like S-Voice, it really sucks big time. I often have to take the phone out of my Pocket and do a manual search because S-Voice won't do what I want. My friends don't have that problem at all. This is a big issue for me because I drive for a living so being able to control the phone though my Bluetooth headset is really important to me.

I hate S-Voice also. That is why I disabled the double tap in S-Voice settings, disabled S-Voice and now use Dragon. Since I use Nova Prime for my launcher I set the swipe up gesture to load Dragon.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using AC Forums mobile app