S4 not as good as an iPhone

[DroidArmy]

For someone who has dabbled in programming you have a misconstrued opinion of optimizations. Google Now is possibly badly programmed on purpose on iOS. Same way Apple terribly installs iTunes on Windows. With a SSD, I think I can open CS5 Premiere faster than iTunes at times.
What Garublador has said is 100% correct, and what you have said is also 100% correct albeit some what misunderstood I believe.
The flagship android smartphones for the most part make little to no concessions about features, and services running in background while iOS has been heavily optimized (or one could say dumbed down) to run smoother, and conserve battery life while packing lower specs than most phones out there. This is done by reducing the workload extensively, at the price of many features which one can find handy.
If you were to take Android, cut down all the extra features, and cut down multitasking and you would have a very fluid and fast experience.

Again: A processor has a maximum throughput dictated by architecture, processor frequency, cache, etc. No amount of software optimization will make it process any faster or any more work.
All you can do is minimize, work around, or remove workloads.
No such thing as true optimization as in software programming allowing a 25 gigaflop capable processor to process 30 gigaflops of information.

Yes, I know it was probably programmed bad on purpose (and honestly I'm not surprised with the ongoing battle between apple and Google). And I do understand what you're saying, that can all be expected. And that's what I was talking about, although I might have worded it wrong. What ios has done is limit the workload, and that's great. I actually prefer that over android. Android just has way too many things running that don't need to. I really wish android would be optimized to remove the workload, because battery life and fluidness would improve. I like that android has tons more features, but a lot of them don't need to be running all the time. For an example, touchwiz. Waaaay too many things running at once to be battery conservative. I mean android is like a suv, it has more features but burns through more power. IOS on the other hand is like a hybrid, it's conservative.

 

[DroidArmy]

Ha ha ha really? Lighten up, goodness it was a joke... A general one at that- no need to become personally offended Pappy.

It was a reference to a VERY popular windows phone commercial. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-U4Yr9UNBo&feature=youtube_gdata_player

...I guess the marketing firm that created it, and the countless likes on YouTube are of immature people as well. Or, perhaps its just me, haalcyon.

Droidarmy, lol. I didn't make apple fans look like "complete brain-damaged oxygen suckers". That's a little harsh. Perhaps a little uptight... but certainly not brain-damaged.

Now breathe, you can put your torches and pitch forks down now

Sent from my HTCONE using AC Forums mobile app

Thank you for clarifying. I Remember that commercial, it made me laugh. Anyways, it's all good

 

[garublador]

I like that android has tons more features, but a lot of them don't need to be running all the time. For an example, touchwiz. Waaaay too many things running at once to be battery conservative. I mean android is like a suv, it has more features but burns through more power. IOS on the other hand is like a hybrid, it's conservative.

In many cases with Android you can shut down a lot of that stuff. You have the ability to turn stuff off to be close to iOS, it's just that sometimes it's more difficult than it really should be. It's more like an Inspector Gadget car that can be either a hybrid or an SUV, assuming you go through the trouble of learning how to work it.

 

[DroidArmy]

In many cases with Android you can shut down a lot of that stuff. You have the ability to turn stuff off to be close to iOS, it's just that sometimes it's more difficult than it really should be. It's more like an Inspector Gadget car that can be either a hybrid or an SUV, assuming you go through the trouble of learning how to work it.

You are correct, but sometimes you can't. You have to disable them, and then you can't use them at all. A lot of things are difficult with android if you haven't used it, that's just a trait that Android has. I let my friend use my Galaxy and he was clueless. All he could do was open apps, he didn't know how to get the multitasking to work or anything. It literally looked like he was trying to fly a plane with no controls.

 

[garublador]

You are correct, but sometimes you can't. You have to disable them, and then you can't use them at all.

I'm not actually asking this to be argumentative, I'm honestly curious as to what you've found, but what features are you talking about? In other words, what features exist on an iPhone that you can control the battery usage on, but can only have on or off on Android? The biggies are usually stuff like synching, Google Now and any sort of radio (NFC, Bluetooth, WiFi) and that stuff is either on or off on iOS (or non existent yet ) or controllable on Android.

 

[asanatheist]

Yes, I know it was probably programmed bad on purpose (and honestly I'm not surprised with the ongoing battle between apple and Google). And I do understand what you're saying, that can all be expected. And that's what I was talking about, although I might have worded it wrong. What ios has done is limit the workload, and that's great. I actually prefer that over android. Android just has way too many things running that don't need to. I really wish android would be optimized to remove the workload, because battery life and fluidness would improve. I like that android has tons more features, but a lot of them don't need to be running all the time. For an example, touchwiz. Waaaay too many things running at once to be battery conservative. I mean android is like a suv, it has more features but burns through more power. IOS on the other hand is like a hybrid, it's conservative.

I am getting approximately 5-6 hours of on screen time if I want on my S4 with light to medium usage, I think the best I've done was about 9 hours of on screen time on a single battery with light usage at 30% brightness (browser on wifi) (both of my batteries are OEM).
Otherwise I get 4 hrs of medium to heavy usage on my S4 with stock battery (I carry two, effectively giving me 8~ hours of onscreen time for heavy usage). gaming, streaming hd videos, bluetooth, etc.
Again as it has been said the iphone 5 doesn't have great battery life. It's pretty average. Even the S4 which is considered a battery chugger can keep up or beat the iphone 5.

I agree to some extent, android really isn't that bad. If you are willing to give HTC sense a try with the HTC One I would welcome you to, truly very iOS like in it's speed and stability without sacrificing any features.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

Alright, I see what you mean. That makes sense. Personally, I like the way ios does it because I can read the folder name and open it, but if that doesn't work for you that's fine. I'm glad you like nova

You can read the folder name in NOVA too. You can set it up with an icon, or without an icon, with a folder label, or without a label.

Android is all about choices! Which is why I prefer it to IOS.

BTW, I have a good buddy who lives with a very sharp women who is not a computer person. She may download an application or two, but generally likes to use her phone as it is as out of the box. The other day she called me and asked me if I liked my S4. I told her to go with an iPhone instead.

I don't think the S4 is for everybody. But, if you are somebody who is willing to do some modest customization, I think it is far easier to live with than an iPhone.

 

[DroidArmy]

I'm not actually asking this to be argumentative, I'm honestly curious as to what you've found, but what features are you talking about? In other words, what features exist on an iPhone that you can control the battery usage on, but can only have on or off on Android? The biggies are usually stuff like synching, Google Now and any sort of radio (NFC, Bluetooth, WiFi) and that stuff is either on or off on iOS (or non existent yet ) or controllable on Android.

The only one I've found is Facebook. Yes yes I know, that's an app. I'm talking about syncing. Yes you can turn it off, but it still runs now. All the processes still run. I had to disable the thing because it drained my battery an extra 40 percent each day (absolutely pathetic for an app made by such a huge company. Otherwise, none. That's the only one.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

Uh yeah because HP pulled the plug and the reason why is because Leo Apotheker totally screwed the pooch.

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

I have an Touchpad (call me a nerd, I have IOS, Blackberry, WebOS, and Android devices in the house). One of the most elegant and efficient operating systems I've used. Easily at the level of IOS or Android!

 

[Kilgore Trout]

Yes, I know it was probably programmed bad on purpose (and honestly I'm not surprised with the ongoing battle between apple and Google). And I do understand what you're saying, that can all be expected. And that's what I was talking about, although I might have worded it wrong. What ios has done is limit the workload, and that's great. I actually prefer that over android. Android just has way too many things running that don't need to. I really wish android would be optimized to remove the workload, because battery life and fluidness would improve. I like that android has tons more features, but a lot of them don't need to be running all the time. For an example, touchwiz. Waaaay too many things running at once to be battery conservative. I mean android is like a suv, it has more features but burns through more power. IOS on the other hand is like a hybrid, it's conservative.

Touchwhiz has nothing to do with Android. That's a Samsung issue. And, most of that crap that gets in the way can be easily disabled.

My S4 has much bettery battery life than any of the IOS devices around the house, including an iPad and a iPhone 4.

 

[garublador]

The only one I've found is Facebook. Yes yes I know, that's an app. I'm talking about syncing. Yes you can turn it off, but it still runs now. All the processes still run. I had to disable the thing because it drained my battery an extra 40 percent each day (absolutely pathetic for an app made by such a huge company. Otherwise, none. That's the only one.

I have no problem conceding that Facebook for iOS blows the pants off of Facebook for Android. It's one reason I think the Facebook phone and launcher are so hilarious. Their app is notoriously bad for Android, yet they want me to buy a phone or use a launcher based around their app?

My favorite is when you hit the back button while on your news feed and it takes you back to an outdated feed. If I reload a page in a browser and hit back it doesn't "unload" the page back to the outdated version. Why would the programmers at Facebook think their app should work like that?

All that considered, considering how popular Facebook is, I'd actually say that could be a valid point on why someone should pick an iPhone over an Android phone. It's probably a lot bigger deal than a lot of things we're talking about.

 

[Haalcyon]

I have no problem conceding that Facebook for iOS blows the pants off of Facebook for Android. It's one reason I think the Facebook phone and launcher are so hilarious. Their app is notoriously bad for Android, yet they want me to buy a phone or use a launcher based around their app?

My favorite is when you hit the back button while on your news feed and it takes you back to an outdated feed. If I reload a page in a browser and hit back it doesn't "unload" the page back to the outdated version. Why would the programmers at Facebook think their app should work like that?

All that considered, considering how popular Facebook is, I'd actually say that could be a valid point on why someone should pick an iPhone over an Android phone. It's probably a lot bigger deal than a lot of things we're talking about.

I don't do Facebook so this is a real question (all I know is that it exists)...doesn't Facebook have a website? If so, couldn't he/she access that full website from their android phone?

Sent from my humble Note 10.1/Note 8.0/S4

 

[torndownunit]

Touchwhiz has nothing to do with Android. That's a Samsung issue. And, most of that crap that gets in the way can be easily disabled.

My S4 has much bettery battery life than any of the IOS devices around the house, including an iPad and a iPhone 4.

I have owned my S4 for about a month now. I have followed every tip on this forum regarding battery life, and it has definitely improved. But, the iOS devices in the household get much better battery life. My old iPhone 4 get's great battery life comparatively. My girlfriend's iPhone 5, which probably get's the most use out of any device we own including the S4, get's much better battery life than my S4. There is a lot of things I love about my S4, but there are definitely things I miss about the iPhone as well.

 

[garublador]

I don't do Facebook so this is a real question (all I know is that it exists)...doesn't Facebook have a website? If so, couldn't he/she access that full website from their android phone?

Sent from my humble Note 10.1/Note 8.0/S4

Actually, at one point (and this might still be true) many people just used the mobile site rather than the Android app. It's not quite a polished working and the big disadvantage is you don't get notifications, but it is an alternative. One thing that used to be an issue is that Facebook used a lot of HTML5 and it was poorly supported on Android browsers until recently.

To be honest, they have made some headway in their Android app. It certainly has more functionality than before and it works better, it's just that now it uses an abnormal amount of battery for what it does and it's difficult to impossible to get it not to do that. I'm sure that they'll eventually fix it and break something else, though.

 

[torndownunit]

Actually, at one point (and this might still be true) many people just used the mobile site rather than the Android app. It's not quite a polished working and the big disadvantage is you don't get notifications, but it is an alternative. One thing that used to be an issue is that Facebook used a lot of HTML5 and it was poorly supported on Android browsers until recently.

To be honest, they have made some headway in their Android app. It certainly has more functionality than before and it works better, it's just that now it uses an abnormal amount of battery for what it does and it's difficult to impossible to get it not to do that. I'm sure that they'll eventually fix it and break something else, though.

Just an interesting point, I found the Twitter app on iPhone would drain the battery like crazy. I do find the iOS versions of some apps to be better, but there are exceptions.

 

[CrzyP]

I hate my S4. Wish I waited for the Moto X. Anyhow, I just requested a carrier unlock code. Once I get it, I'm going to give the GPE ROM a try.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[Haalcyon]

What about your S4 is causing you consternation?


Sent from my Note 10.1/Note 8.0/S4

 

[DroidArmy]

Just an interesting point, I found the Twitter app on iPhone would drain the battery like crazy. I do find the iOS versions of some apps to be better, but there are exceptions.

There are always exceptions, but generally ios apps are better. Less devices to program for, more chances to make it work right. This is totally irrelevant, but I love when the carriers try to screw with iPhones and Apple is just like "Well sure you could do that, on another platform! You want to screw with us? Fine, we won't make IPhones for you anymore" Apple and the carriers, man that never ceases to make me laugh. The carriers can't do a thing because if they did they might lose the iPhone and that would be a HUGE hit to them

 

[Kilgore Trout]

I have owned my S4 for about a month now. I have followed every tip on this forum regarding battery life, and it has definitely improved. But, the iOS devices in the household get much better battery life. My old iPhone 4 get's great battery life comparatively. My girlfriend's iPhone 5, which probably get's the most use out of any device we own including the S4, get's much better battery life than my S4. There is a lot of things I love about my S4, but there are definitely things I miss about the iPhone as well.

I can't comment on your personal expereince. I Know that quite a few posters on this forum have complained about the S4's battery life. So, I believe it is an issue for some. But, for me, I have not had a problem.

My sister has an iPhone 4 and she has to walk around with this absurdly big morphie case. Her battery life is no better than mine, and he phone is actually thicker, heavier, and has a much smaller screen.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

There are always exceptions, but generally ios apps are better. Less devices to program for, more chances to make it work right. This is totally irrelevant, but I love when the carriers try to screw with iPhones and Apple is just like "Well sure you could do that, on another platform! You want to screw with us? Fine, we won't make IPhones for you anymore" Apple and the carriers, man that never ceases to make me laugh. The carriers can't do a thing because if they did they might lose the iPhone and that would be a HUGE hit to them

I agree with your second point. IN fact, I wonder why Samsung didn't just use their marketing muscle to a similar end. "If you want to sell our phone, you must agree not to install any crapware..."

The first point is debateable. None of the applications I use day to day are superior on the iPhone and some, like Google Maps are not even easily available.