From iPhone to Samsung Galaxy S4

[garublador]

Hi Everyone,

Over the last 18 months I have begun getting tried of Apple and there small updates in regards to phones (3Gs then the 4, 4S and now the 5) rumours have it that the iPhone 5S will be nothing but a small update and nothing major. Over the last month or so I have been thinking about switching to the Galaxy S4, however a couple of things consern me, 1- is the S4 as reliable as my iPhone as been? 2- How easy is it to switch over (I have a lot of content on iTunes). 3- Hows the battery life? And 4- Do you find the plastic of the S4 more durable?
I would appreciate any advice as I'm unsure if I should switch or not! I have not used Andriod before.

Thanks

1. I've only had the S4 and Jelly Bean for a week and a half now and while it's a major improvment over Gingerbread, I don't think it's as stable as iOS. If you use an SD card there's a chance you'll see some sort of issue that requires a restart from time to time and you'll get the occasional "force close" on an app, but those issues are minor. So far it's been more like a weekly orrurance rather than a daily one. What you give up in stability you'll gain many times over in customizeability (that's a word now).

2. As others have pointed out, music bought before April of 2009 and all movies/TV shows (AFAIK) have DRM that will need to be stripped. After that you just have to decide if you want to ditch iTunes altogether as your music manager of choice or if you want to get your phone to work with iTunes. If you decide to switch music managers just make sure you have a good way to get your music onto a SD card unless you buy a S4 with more than 16GB of storage. For example, Google Play Music won't let you "pin" songs to an SD card so you're stuck either streaming, not pinning that many songs or manually transferring songs to your SD card. If you're OK with iTunes or are forced to use it then there are apps like iSyncr that will allow you to synch whatever music you want from iTunes to your internal memory or SD card (assuming no DRM). Some of them will let you synch stuff like playlist updates and play counts back to iTunes from you phone. iSyncr does that, it will backwards sync Amazon MP3's you buy on your phone and you can upload photos and videos back into iTunes as well.

3. My wife has an iPhone 5 and after some tweaks (disabling the location tracking stuff) we get pretty similar battery life.

4. IMO the biggest concern is the larger screen. A bigger, thin piece of glass is just easier to break than a smaller one. So in that regard the iPhone is probably more durable, but so is just about any 4.3" screen phone. I've seen aluminum backs for the S4 for sale but I haven't seen any reviews of them.

If you want to see just how customizeable the UI is, check out:

Beautiful Android Themes, Wallpapers, and Homescreens

Nearly every function of you phone can also be replaced with an app that handles things differently. There's also an app called Tasker that will allow you to customize just about everything else. People have replicated S4 features on older phones and created their own voice activated home and A/V control systems using it. If you're a little familiar with programming and/or are willing to learn how to use it it's actually pretty easy to get about whatever you want done.

 

[JeffDenver]

If you use an SD card there's a chance you'll see some sort of issue that requires a restart from time to time and you'll get the occasional "force close" on an app, but those issues are minor.

As an aside...iOS apps also force close all the time. The reason that no one notices is that the OS does not inform you when this happens...it just re-opens the app. Do iOS Apps Crash More Than Android Apps? A Data Dive - Forbes

My experience with the Galaxy S3 was that force-closes were very rare. With the amount of RAM these new phones have nowadays, you probably will not see those anymore.

 

[dave25A]

My experience with the Galaxy S3 was that force-closes were very rare. With the amount of RAM these new phones have nowadays, you probably will not see those anymore.

Thats what i hoping for I've not owned an Android phone before so i'm unsure on its stability

 

[sooner7]

Also, JeffDenver nailed it when he said nexus devices would be best for someone transitioning from iOS to android.

Stock android will deliver the UI consistency that iOS does, it also looks really good.
Updates straight from Google, which is the equivalent of updates pushed from apple.
The hardware on the current Nexus phone, the Nexus 4, is in the same build quality bracket that the iPhones are in.

 

[dave25A]

Also, JeffDenver nailed it when he said nexus devices would be best for someone transitioning from iOS to android.

Stock android will deliver the UI consistency that iOS does, it also looks really good.
Updates straight from Google, which is the equivalent of updates pushed from apple.
The hardware on the current Nexus phone, the Nexus 4, is in the same build quality bracket that the iPhones are in.

What would be the difference between that and Samsung Galaxy S4?

 

[Ryandroid86]

Thats what i hoping for I've not owned an Android phone before so i'm unsure on its stability

The only reason why there is some unstablness is because of how much is involved.... Samsung > UI > Google > ARM chips > Linux Kernels > Android OS
But to be honest. They have come a long way and I see more unstableness on my friends Iphone5 vs his S4. The S4 is an amazing phone. But all preference.

 

[dave25A]

The only reason why there is some unstablness is because of how much is involved.... Samsung > UI > Google > ARM chips > Linux Kernels > Android OS
But to be honest. They have come a long way and I see more unstableness on my friends Iphone5 vs his S4. The S4 is an amazing phone. But all preference.

Yea the last i heard about Android Lagging and not being very good was a few years go when it had not long come out. I have seen the Samsung Galaxy S4 on the TV adverts and on Youtube videos, i do like it especially the screen size. I feel that they seem to be innovating more compared to Apple and there iPhone. The open system seems to have some good advantages, from other peoples posts and a few things i have seen online, it seems highly customisable which for me is a plus. As i have mentioned the reason i'm getting fed up with iPhone is because they are doing the same old thing, and i really feel that its getting stale. I want to be able to control my phone rather than being told "You cant do that on an iPhone" especially when spending ?529 on a phone.

 

[LegalAmerican]

3-5 hours screen time is excellent? My iPhone 5 does 10-12 hours of actual screen time usage with over 20 hours stand by. I was considering grabbing the s4 as a second phone but that battery will not last long enough for me


Sent from my iPhone 5 using Tapatalk 2

You have to understand 2 things. 1) The screen is an inch bigger on the S4. It requires more battery to power it than the tiny screen on a little iPhone 5. So you have to decide if the benefit outweighs the con.

2) Android does a lot more as an OS than iOS does. So it can tear through a battery much faster. If you're able to get 10-12 hrs of Screen On time with an iPhone 5 (which is miraculous) then I would imagine you could get closer to 7 or 8 with the S4. Everyone I know with the iPhone 5 is not getting anything close to what you're getting. So you must be a light user and that will help with the battery on the S4.

 

[LegalAmerican]

I like the fact that I don't need a spare battery at all because my battery life is excellent less to carry around .

LTE all day today from 8 am it's now 9:30 and I still have 50 percent left

And there is also cases with batteries built in if I really needed it but so far I'm not impressed in hearing how poor the battery life in the s4 is.. I'm a heavy user I want a second phone so I can have android as well


Sent from my iPhone 5 using Tapatalk 2

Something REALLY isn't adding up here. How in the world are you somehow getting absolutely unreal battery life when no one else is getting over half of what you are? What settings are you using, do you have screenshots? I'm so confused.

If the iPhone 5 was getting 10 hrs easily and that's with heavy usage, wouldn't EVERYONE be talking about it?

 

[mach1rider]

Hi Everyone,

Over the last 18 months I have begun getting tried of Apple and there small updates in regards to phones (3Gs then the 4, 4S and now the 5) rumours have it that the iPhone 5S will be nothing but a small update and nothing major. Over the last month or so I have been thinking about switching to the Galaxy S4, however a couple of things consern me, 1- is the S4 as reliable as my iPhone as been? 2- How easy is it to switch over (I have a lot of content on iTunes). 3- Hows the battery life? And 4- Do you find the plastic of the S4 more durable?
I would appreciate any advice as I'm unsure if I should switch or not! I have not used Andriod before.

Thanks

To answer the OP, I too have switched over from Apple to this S4. I knew I wanted something better then my iphone but I wasnt sure what. I usually use my wife as a test subject for phones because she doesnt care what phone she is using as long as it makes calls, sends texts and she can check facebook she is happy. I got her an S3 for 99 Cents and she then hands it back to me and says tell me how to use it.... Uh I had no idea really. So I showed her how to make a phone call and send a text. That was day 1. The following days I read about about it and played with it some more and showed her all kinds of things that made the S3 a great phone. Mind you this was just over a month ago. Playing with that phone made me a lot less nervous about wanting to get the GS4 and sell my iphone. So I did do it. It was fairly easy to get all my contacts, and music over from itunes using kies. I have been working on getting movies done (if anyone has a good itunes movie thingy pm me please). But over all the phone has been fast, the screen is great. It is SOOOOO much bigger then my iphone was. I couldnt see myself going back to a phone with that small of a screen honestly. The battery life is well. I switch out my battery once a day. I bought a double battery Anker set on amazon with some other things for like 20 dollars and it was perfect for me. I use the hell out of my phone and am usually by 30% at lunch time. However my day usually starts at 5am and I dont get home till 5pm. So the extra battery is definetly needed for me. I find the plastic just fine. It feels like a phone mini computer in my pocket. Last time I checked no one ever complained about the plasticy feel of their laptop. So why are they worried about it on their phone. It feels like a phone. I love how customizable the phone is. Lots of people complaining about being not have the Google experience that they expected or that TW sucks or that Sense is overrated. Look thats some techie crap that honestly is peoples personal opinion. There is a huge learning curve coming from iOS. Believe that. I have had my phone for a month now and I felt fully comfortable with it after a couple of weeks of tweaking how I wanted my experience to be. I use Nova launcher and just like it better then the stock one. Over all I am enjoying this phone to its fullest I believe and that is my experience so far.

 

[Ryandroid86]

Yea the last i heard about Android Lagging and not being very good was a few years go when it had not long come out. I have seen the Samsung Galaxy S4 on the TV adverts and on Youtube videos, i do like it especially the screen size. I feel that they seem to be innovating more compared to Apple and there iPhone. The open system seems to have some good advantages, from other peoples posts and a few things i have seen online, it seems highly customisable which for me is a plus. As i have mentioned the reason i'm getting fed up with iPhone is because they are doing the same old thing, and i really feel that its getting stale. I want to be able to control my phone rather than being told "You cant do that on an iPhone" especially when spending ?529 on a phone.

Which is exactly why my friend recently switched from the Iphone5 to S4. He loves it. He changes the way everything looks ever week. And always says how he couldnt do anything like that on the Iphone. He did say that he misses some things... but with the recent update to Google Music he is very happy... along with the addition of Vine... he now has everything he had on the iPhone.
(the only thing he had to change was the keyboard... He bought Swiftkey and said it was the best thing he ever bought) I dont think he is switching back anytime soon. Id take the plunge if I was you. Nothing wrong with diversity.

 

[Mr.Willie]

If security is an issue read this Samsung Galaxy S4 earns Pentagon security nod | Mobile - CNET News As far as customizing the phone, wallpapers are just scratching the surface. You can change sounds, notifications, led light notifications, etc, etc. After you are comfortable with the phone you can even change the ROMs on the phone. I really would describe the ability to customize the S4 as only limited by your imagination and preferences.

That's only with the Knox software installed. Not the average run of the mill S4. And it looks like they are now copying BB.

2 - I do not let iTunes manage my music and I recommend you don't either. Android allows you to manage files directly instead of forcing you to "sync". I still buy music on iTunes (it does have a massive library and the pricing is good), but I immediately convert them to MP3 and sever ties with iTunes. There are apps that will still sync iTunes if you can't let go; I have heard that Doubletwist is awesome. https://forums.androidcentral.com/e...oubleTwist.androidPlayer&hl=en&token=4rB54dQK

Why in the hell would you take ACC encoded audio file and downgrade it to MP3 ? Just keep it as ACC.

 

[anon(883913)]

IMO Android headsets are just as reliable as any iDevice and battery life on newer generation Android devices is almost identical. The only thing about the iTunes content is that I would suggest using DoubleTwist to sync all of your iTunes music, movies and playlists. I believe the free version of DoubleTwist uses a USB cable to transfer the content but the paid version can do it wirelessly over any Wi-Fi network.

 

[dave25A]

That's only with the Knox software installed. Not the average run of the mill S4. And it looks like they are now copying BB.

Dose that mean the S4 is not as customisable then???

Why in the hell would you take ACC encoded audio file and downgrade it to MP3 ? Just keep it as ACC.

 

[JeffDenver]

Why in the hell would you take ACC encoded audio file and downgrade it to MP3 ? Just keep it as ACC.

MP3 has wider compatibility. Virtually anything that plays digital music will support it. And I can't notice enough of a quality difference for it to matter (I only encode mine at 160 anyway). I have nothing against ACC...just more knowledgeable about MP3. I am a graphics nerd, not an audio nerd.

Also: I know for sure that MP3 has no way of supporting DRM...so I know that any MP3 will be DRM-free. And I want all DRM strings completely severed on music I own.

 

[swent1]

Yea I've been a long time Apple user, I have an iPad which I also use for University. I'm more worried about getting use to andriod, and the Samsung Galaxy S4 phone because I have never had a Samsung phone before. The reason I want to switch is because I feel Apple are not doing anything innovative at the moment, and I want more contour over my phone, more customisation of the home screen, widgets, Live wallpapers and so on. I'm willing to take the time to learn Andriod I'm just a little apprehensive with bring an Apple iPhone user since the 3GS.

I'm in the same boat, have my macbook air, iPad and iMac for university. But thats another reason I felt fine with making the switch, because at the end of the day, I can use imessage on my ipad if I want to talk to iphone users, and I can still have everything apple, just android for a phone Its not a hard switch to make trust me, a few things to get used to obviously, but the look and feel of android is just so much better (imo) over apple ios. I just bought an sd card and usb reader to plug into my macbook, dragged all my music and photos into two seperate folders on the sd and inserted into the phone. It was super easy to switch. And if you backup your contacts etc via gmail through itunes, you jsut log into it on your s4 and back up from gmail reaaaally easy. AND the best thing I have done, is bought an extra battery that I carry with me just incase the one in my phone runs out during lonnng use. Huuge plus over the iphone is the removable battery. That definitely got me lol

 

[anon(883913)]

MP3 has wider compatibility. Virtually anything that plays digital music will support it. And I can't notice enough of a quality difference for it to matter (I only encode mine at 160 anyway). I have nothing against ACC...just more knowledgeable about MP3. I am a graphics nerd, not an audio nerd.

Also: I know for sure that MP3 has no way of supporting DRM...so I know that any MP3 will be DRM-free. And I want all DRM strings completely severed on music I own.

I'm no audio nerd and even I can tell the difference between a 160kb/s and 260kb/s or 320kb/s! To me it just seems easier to encode everything at 320 because on the S4 the mSD card slot makes storage issues minimal and all in all 320 will sound much better!

 

[Mr.Willie]

I'm no audio nerd and even I can tell the difference between a 160kb/s and 260kb/s or 320kb/s! To me it just seems easier to encode everything at 320 because on the S4 the mSD card slot makes storage issues minimal and all in all 320 will sound much better!

Yea, but we're talking about re-encoding. When you buy music through iTunes, it is 256kb/s ACC non DRM. ACC was designed with multi channel capabilities and a better compression algorithm. I even rip my CDs to ACC. The only time I use MP3 is Amazon digital match. (You're entitled to a digital download of most CDs you bought in the last ten years, I don't rambler what it's called. ) That worked out great because the fat assed ex took some of my CDs that I bought after we split.

 

[dave25A]

I'm really thinking of getting the S4, over the last few days i have seen some good reviews from people that rank its as one of the best smartphones. Can anyone tell me if i go to the store and buy this phone, what kind of customisation will i be able to do with the phone? (Live wallpapers, widgets e.g.) i mean without changing the operating system or messing with anything (i haven't used Samsung or Android devices before so i wouldn't be confident enough at first to mess around with the OS and stuff like that) I just want to know what more with it i can do that i cant with my current iPhone.

 

[TomsAndroid]

I'm really thinking of getting the S4, over the last few days i have seen some good reviews from people that rank its as one of the best smartphones. Can anyone tell me if i go to the store and buy this phone, what kind of customisation will i be able to do with the phone? (Live wallpapers, widgets e.g.) i mean without changing the operating system or messing with anything (i haven't used Samsung or Android devices before so i wouldn't be confident enough at first to mess around with the OS and stuff like that) I just want to know what more with it i can do that i cant with my current iPhone.

Have you jailbroken before?