S4 Features; Useful or Gimmicky?

[hitlistbombshell]

Everyone knows about the abundance of features the S4 has. But how many of them will you actually use, and which will you turn off to save battery? List what category what features you think fall under.

Here are my opinions (without having actually owned the phone, just played with for like an hour and a half):

Smart Scroll- Gimmick
Smart Pause- Useful
Dual Shot- Useful
S Translator- Useful
Watch On- SUUUUUPER Useful
S Health- Gimmick
Air View/Air Gesture- Useful
Multi Window- Useful
Camera Features- Useful

 

[Eric Kane]

Everyone knows about the abundance of features the S4 has. But how many of them will you actually use, and which will you turn off to save battery? List what category what features you think fall under.

Here are my opinions:

Smart Scroll- Gimmick
Smart Pause- Useful
Dual Shot- Useful
S Translator- Useful
Watch On- SUUUUUPER Useful
S Health- Gimmick
Air View/Air Gesture- Useful
Multi Window- Useful
Camera Features- Useful

I agree with everything but the assessment of S Health. Been using it over the weekend to test it for my review and it's actually a viable option for people who want to keep track of their food/exercising. It's easily replicated by an app in the Play Store, but they've also released (or will) accessories for it that I'm sure a lot of people will be excited about. As odd as it is, a lot of people use apps like MyFitnessPal and Calorie Counter and S Health does a good job of integrating those elements.

 

[Parafly]

My take, (not having used it yet)

Smart Scroll- Gimmick
Smart Pause- Gimmick
Dual Shot- Gimmick
S Translator- Useful, if you are a traveler I guess. I would prefer to just use Google Translate.
Watch On- Very excited about this
S Health- Haven't used it but I like the idea. I use a couple differnet apps right now for tracking so I guess it depends how it integrates / syncs
Air View/Air Gesture- I will find this useful if I can use it while skiing with gloves on.
Multi Window- Gimmick - a phone for me is not a two screen at once device. I like rapid switching but I will probably never use this feature.
Camera Features- Useful

 

[Eric Kane]

My take, (not having used it yet)

Smart Scroll- Gimmick
Smart Pause- Gimmick
Dual Shot- Gimmick
S Translator- Useful, if you are a traveler I guess. I would prefer to just use Google Translate.
Watch On- Very excited about this
S Health- Haven't used it but I like the idea. I use a couple differnet apps right now for tracking so I guess it depends how it integrates / syncs
Air View/Air Gesture- I will find this useful if I can use it while skiing with gloves on.
Multi Window- Gimmick - a phone for me is not a two screen at once device. I like rapid switching but I will probably never use this feature.
Camera Features- Useful

There's a screen sensitivity option that allows you to use the screen with gloves on.

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S4

 

[archer75]

Whether something is useful or a gimmick is entirely up to the user. I turn off almost all that stuff. I did use s-health at work to see how many miles I walk in a day. I can think of some other uses for the app.
The remote app has been a huge disappointment for me. Doesn't have my TV listed and doesn't have stereo receivers which I use to control volume. So all it does is control my Direct TV box and I already had an app for that. They should make it more like a logitech harmony.

 

[maryjane2300]

Where is the app for the remote control?

Sent from my ATT Galaxy S4

 

[archer75]

Where is the app for the remote control?

Sent from my ATT Galaxy S4

On your phone. It's called watchon.

 

[WarEagleDoc]

I can see the appeal to using smart pause, I just found it to be a little too sensitive. I also think S health is great! I love having the temperature sensor/thermometer on my phone.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[qnet]

I agree with everything but the assessment of S Health. Been using it over the weekend to test it for my review and it's actually a viable option for people who want to keep track of their food/exercising. It's easily replicated by an app in the Play Store, but they've also released (or will) accessories for it that I'm sure a lot of people will be excited about. As odd as it is, a lot of people use apps like MyFitnessPal and Calorie Counter and S Health does a good job of integrating those elements.

I agree about S Health. It's something I wanted to try out. I also like the Air gesture "quick glance" but have the others disabled.

 

[smooth4lyfe]

Heres what I think:

Smart Scroll- Gimmick but Cool!!!
Smart Pause- I can actually see the use of this! But I have it off
Dual Shot- Useful! Love it!
S Translator- Useful, and its pretty accurate, I mess with it
Watch On- LOVE IT!
S Health- Somewhat Useful to me, for the temperature and humidity
Air View/Air Gesture- Useful to me!
Multi Window- Useful
Camera Features- Useful and cool!

 

[Reformed IOS User]

have had no desire to try any of them except Watch On - and it's ok, but it's too basic and difficult to get set up correctly

 

[MikeDubC]

It all comes down to personal preference. I don't like to use the word gimmick, I'll just give it a yes or no.

Smart Scroll- No
Smart Pause- No
Dual Shot- Yes, rarely, but yes.
S Translator- Not for me
Watch On- HELL YES
S Health- No..It would be a yes if the phone was smaller.
Air View/Air Gesture- No
Multi Window- I used to think yes, but I never actually use this.
Camera Features- Yes! Always cool, but sometimes slow.

 

[Raptor007]

Heres what I think:

Smart Scroll- Gimmick but Cool!!!
Smart Pause- I can actually see the use of this! But I have it off
Dual Shot- Useful! Love it!
S Translator- Useful, and its pretty accurate, I mess with it
Watch On- LOVE IT!
S Health- Somewhat Useful to me, for the temperature and humidity
Air View/Air Gesture- Useful to me!
Multi Window- Useful
Camera Features- Useful and cool!

Sadly AT&T and Samsung were too late for me. Since it could have been days, week or months I returned my S4 accessories I had pre-ordered and instead got the LG Optimus G Pro. Pretty much the same hardware minus a couple of sensors, but since I was paying retail I saved about $150+ on the phone.

So what is Watch On? I haven't read up on that feature.

Smart Scroll - could be useful, but really I can just use my finger to move the page, its really not that tough.
Smart Pause - ok, LG has it too.
Dual Shot - ok, LG has it too.
S Translator - Not sure I would ever use it, but Google does have Google Translation
S Health - I can get pretty much the same out of Fit Bit or another app(s) so not sure I would get the S4 because of it.
Air View/Air Gesture - Not likely to use it, sounds cool but not a big deal.
Multi Window - Useful, BUT, you get so few apps unless you root, and get into the device so the vast user base won't really use more than the basic apps. Plus LG does similar enough
Camera features - Useful, but I don't do a ton of photos' on my phone so not so critical to me.

Glad to see its out, and since I didn't use my upgrade, I paid retail I can always use my upgrade later on

 

[crester]

Some of the features are gimmicky... and you may not use them all. But the Galaxy S4 is still a solid phone beyond these extra Samsung features.