About a month ago my wife dropped my iphone 5 and the screen shattered. Although I was relatively happy with the iPhone (jailbroken) I started to realize my i5 was the same as my i4 with LTE and a marginally bigger screen. I will admit I have have been an apple fanboy in the past and have openly mocked andriod for its clunky UI, poor design, and oversized screens. I just started getting bored with IOS (and i'm not alone) Having said that all that, I love the GS4!
Here are a few tips from my personal experience for you iPhone users who are wondering if the switch is worth it.
1. If you just want a phone to make calls on, group text your friends, and look something up on the internet every once in a while, maybe stick with the iPhone. It is simpler (although boring), and you don't need a big screen if you don't care to use it very often. If tech interests you AT ALL and you like to tinker, run away from iPhone as fast as you can. The GS4 will feed your nerdy soul.
2. The first 3-4 days with the GS4 i thought i had made a mistake. I got really used to the flow of my iPhone (jailbroken or not) and it took me longer to figure out what I was doing and how to get there. For most people their phone is their connection to everything so when that portal become new and foreign, it threw me off a little. I really dislike a lot of the stock apps so I had to download alternatives to everything which took a while. I learned had to accept that there are new ways to do things. For example, I forced myself to use swype texting which was awkward at first but now I love it. When you get your new phone, wipe your brain and be open to trying new things. The time you invest in customizing your device is completely worth it. After about a week any regret of switching had melted away, but it was a funky first week.
3. I thought I would come away from this experience saying "iPhone is better," or "Andriod is better." I actually have more respect for both, andriod is more smooth and refined than I expected. Things typically work how I expect them to and the level of customization and computing ability are incredible. I actually feel like i have a computer in my hand as opposed to an extension of my mac through itunes. If there is something you don't like on andriod, you can almost* always fix it with software. Having said that, iPhone is completely seamless. The iphone5 never glitches and is slightly faster than the GS4 (despite having a much slower processor), the iphone is not full of bloat crap that I never use, and the iPhone's touch screen is just a hair better which I can't really explain, but i find myself tapping things twice because i miss the mark or something on the GS4. The iphone also never warns me that listening to music above a certain volume is bad for my ears (which i HATE about the gs4). I ride a motorcycle and adjust my music by pushing the voulme through my jeans and every 30 minutes or so it wont go above 10 and I can barely hear it. I have to pull over and click ok on the screen before I can turn it up. Whoever thought up that feature should be... im not sure how violent I can be on this forum but it really bugs me haha.
4. If you are scared the screen on the GS4 is too big, you are probably wrong. If you don't want a big screen thats one thing, but if you would prefer a big screen and are just scared it is hard to use or carry around, you are wrong
I have a few tweaks on the phone that enable me to do everything up in that upper left hand corner that is hard to reach. Tweaks to drop the notification bar without reaching up are easy to come by, and of course the back button at the bottom of the screen helps a lot. I rarely find myself straining to reach to the top or using my other hand when I don't want to.
Ok, I have to go back to work. I have been a lurker here for a long time and in the past few days decided to contribute. I hope this helps somebody out there on the interwebs.
Here are a few tips from my personal experience for you iPhone users who are wondering if the switch is worth it.
1. If you just want a phone to make calls on, group text your friends, and look something up on the internet every once in a while, maybe stick with the iPhone. It is simpler (although boring), and you don't need a big screen if you don't care to use it very often. If tech interests you AT ALL and you like to tinker, run away from iPhone as fast as you can. The GS4 will feed your nerdy soul.
2. The first 3-4 days with the GS4 i thought i had made a mistake. I got really used to the flow of my iPhone (jailbroken or not) and it took me longer to figure out what I was doing and how to get there. For most people their phone is their connection to everything so when that portal become new and foreign, it threw me off a little. I really dislike a lot of the stock apps so I had to download alternatives to everything which took a while. I learned had to accept that there are new ways to do things. For example, I forced myself to use swype texting which was awkward at first but now I love it. When you get your new phone, wipe your brain and be open to trying new things. The time you invest in customizing your device is completely worth it. After about a week any regret of switching had melted away, but it was a funky first week.
3. I thought I would come away from this experience saying "iPhone is better," or "Andriod is better." I actually have more respect for both, andriod is more smooth and refined than I expected. Things typically work how I expect them to and the level of customization and computing ability are incredible. I actually feel like i have a computer in my hand as opposed to an extension of my mac through itunes. If there is something you don't like on andriod, you can almost* always fix it with software. Having said that, iPhone is completely seamless. The iphone5 never glitches and is slightly faster than the GS4 (despite having a much slower processor), the iphone is not full of bloat crap that I never use, and the iPhone's touch screen is just a hair better which I can't really explain, but i find myself tapping things twice because i miss the mark or something on the GS4. The iphone also never warns me that listening to music above a certain volume is bad for my ears (which i HATE about the gs4). I ride a motorcycle and adjust my music by pushing the voulme through my jeans and every 30 minutes or so it wont go above 10 and I can barely hear it. I have to pull over and click ok on the screen before I can turn it up. Whoever thought up that feature should be... im not sure how violent I can be on this forum but it really bugs me haha.
4. If you are scared the screen on the GS4 is too big, you are probably wrong. If you don't want a big screen thats one thing, but if you would prefer a big screen and are just scared it is hard to use or carry around, you are wrong
I have a few tweaks on the phone that enable me to do everything up in that upper left hand corner that is hard to reach. Tweaks to drop the notification bar without reaching up are easy to come by, and of course the back button at the bottom of the screen helps a lot. I rarely find myself straining to reach to the top or using my other hand when I don't want to. Ok, I have to go back to work. I have been a lurker here for a long time and in the past few days decided to contribute. I hope this helps somebody out there on the interwebs.
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