Serious doubts about S5

[prlundberg]

I was one of the people that posted about the answer swipe, and it was user error, I was doing it wrong.

It seems to me, that 90% or more of the problems people encounter are user error.

Had the phone going on 2 months now, have not had lag or anything..cross my fingers lol.

Just for funsies, just went and opened the camera to take a shot. Took two seconds using the one thousand one, one thousand two....if they get that down to one second that would be nice.

Oh yes, I forgot, we are expected to hold it down for a second and then swipe over. How intuitive, just like every other phone I've ever had. /s

That particular issue may not be responsiveness I guess, but if not it is poor design. It still could be responsiveness as well in that it is not the hold that is proper, but rather gives it enough time to respond to the touch. That seems more likely to me, given the other unresponsiveness I've seen on this phone and the fact that it usually will respond without the hold. But I could be wrong.

I just tried my camera from the lock screen, almost 6 seconds from the swipe to the picture snapping. If I try again it is faster like yours, but that first time when the camera is not loaded in memory it's pretty slow. And there never seems to be more than 3 or 4 programs active, no doubt because TouchWiz is such a resource hog. They may show active in the app switcher, but when you select them it is clear they are restarting.

 

[Jon Jackson]

One of the reasons I hardly ever clear cache, every app I use is in memory, so everything loads in under one second, camera two seconds.

 

[prlundberg]

To me Samsung has become the new Apple. They are marketed so hard, and have become so popular that for the techy, (for instance a large part of these foruma) they have to be different and can't stand that every joesmoe has the same phone as them. So they start to Nick pick at anything and piggy back on other devices that are less popular.

No. I am complaining because the flaws affect the functionality of the phone and lead to frustration and a poor user experience.

You may think I am nitpicking. That's fine. I am starting to think the people who claim the S5 is flawless have low expectations.

 

[prlundberg]

One of the reasons I hardly ever clear cache, every app I use is in memory, so everything loads in under one second, camera two seconds.

But what I'm saying is that not everything that shows up on the multitask screen is actually active. I never closed my camera out before trying it again. I evidently ran out of memory and it closed, yet TouchWiz acts as though it is open. Right now when I look at the multitask screen it shows 11 apps. Yet when I go to task manager only 5 are active. And three of those aren't on the multitask screen. So the multitask button shows recent apps and not open apps. I'm actually not sure if other phones are like this or not, my old one with an old version of Sense wasn't.

 

[Jon Jackson]

No. I am complaining because the flaws affect the functionality of the phone and lead to frustration and a poor user experience.

You may think I am nitpicking. That's fine. I am starting to think the people who claim the S5 is flawless have low expectations.

Low expectations? Hardly. With all the hype, I expected the S5 to open a portal to another dimension.

Coming from the S3, this is a HUGE improvement in smart phones.

as far as the answer phone thing, I was referring to air gesture, I was doing that wrong.

Physically answering the phone though is just fine on my phone...not sure what you mean hold down and then swipe or whatever...I just kinda flick with my finger(s) and answer the call...there is no delay or whatever....

Is the S5 a perfect phone? Hell no. Nothing is....my Mercedes isn't a perfect car, My Nike shoes are not perfect shoes etc ect.

 

[Netherscourge]

I am due to upgrade my phone later this month, but after reading these threads over the last two weeks I think I will wait.
There seems too many faults on the phone, and Samsung do not seem to care.
Pity because I was really looking forward to getting the S5.

The S5 is a great phone.

However, if I were you, I'd go for the HTC One E8.

It's everything the M8 SHOULD have been. (Specifically the camera)

A metal body is completely overrated - the plastic shell should keep the price down and can prevent more damage to the phone than a metal case would. And you can always slap it into an aluminum 3rd party case if you desperately want a metal shell.

 

[kingsley404]

No problem with the s5. Even with battery saving mode on which limits cpu performance. Everything loads instantly battery life is awesome. Features are nice, and I use nova launcher so no problems. I was skeptical because I couldn't root it but it hasn't made me miss root one bit. Well except for changing the dpi maybe

 

[prlundberg]

Is the S5 a perfect phone? Hell no. Nothing is....my Mercedes isn't a perfect car, My Nike shoes are not perfect shoes etc ect.

I'm not complaining because it's not perfect. I don't expect perfection. I do expect the UI smoothness and responsiveness to be on par with or at least close to the other phones in its class. But it's not close in my experience. It's like it's still 2012 except stuff opens faster and it's more stable. I'm sure it's great compared to an S3. Compared to my EVO3D it's great. But compared to an M8, Icon, MotoX, G2, Nexus, iPhone? I don't think it is. Like I mentioned earlier even my old Surface RT easily bests it in smoothness. That just shouldn't happen, the hardware is too good. Maybe spending so much time with Windows simply lowered my tolerance for lag, I don't know.

The reasons I kept it are because of the overall package of size, water resistance, Android ecosystem, and camera quality. TouchWiz is a huge compromise, one that should no longer be necessary.

Again though, maybe it's a Verizon bloatware thing. At least the problems I take greatest issue with.

 

[prlundberg]

A metal body is completely overrated - the plastic shell should keep the price down and can prevent more damage to the phone than a metal case would. And you can always slap it into an aluminum 3rd party case if you desperately want a metal shell.

I agree completely with that...metal phones are for preening. Slippery, easily dinged and scratched. Why bother? I'm a man, I don't use my phone as a fashion accessory. I use it as a tool.

That said...I don't like the plastic chrome strip on the S5 either.

 

[monicakm]

I am starting to think the people who claim the S5 is flawless have low expectations.

HA!!!

 

[Drunder40]

I am due to upgrade my phone later this month, but after reading these threads over the last two weeks I think I will wait.
There seems too many faults on the phone, and Samsung do not seem to care.
Pity because I was really looking forward to getting the S5.

I have upgraded all 4 of our phones to the S5 (Me, my wife, my daughter and her fiance) and have had absolutely no issues with any of them. Been about 3 weeks now and we are very happy with our choice. Battery life is by far the biggest plus for me. I can't believe how much longer this battery lasts.

Doesn't matter which forum you go to or phone you look for, there are always a ton of folks complaining about it. But like someone posted here, tons of folks don't even post how much they like a phone

So yea some folks have actual issues and some are user imposed. Just get the S5.. you have 14 days to smoke test it. Don't like it return it and then you have lots more to chose from.

 

[sparker04]

I'm currently shopping and researching for new phones as well. I have an S5 right now but I'm just kind of getting fed up with all the little problems its been having. And since my upgrade is coming up the patience I have for it is really low. I read an article that in Korea the G3 sold 3 times more than the S5 did upon release. I've also heard wonderful things about the M8 which I wasn't really considering until recently.

 

[Drunder40]

I'm currently shopping and researching for new phones as well. I have an S5 right now but I'm just kind of getting fed up with all the little problems its been having. And since my upgrade is coming up the patience I have for it is really low. I read an article that in Korea the G3 sold 3 times more than the S5 did upon release. I've also heard wonderful things about the M8 which I wasn't really considering until recently.

Just because a phone sold 3 times more at release doesn't make it any better than any other one. Wait a week after release then read the forums on it. If there is a phone I want I get it.. I have 14 days (verizon) to replace it for another model.

 

[Kilroy13]

No. I am complaining because the flaws affect the functionality of the phone and lead to frustration and a poor user experience.

You may think I am nitpicking. That's fine. I am starting to think the people who claim the S5 is flawless have low expectations.

Or they own Samsung stock, and are employed by Samsung!

SENT VIA MY LG G-FLEX ON SPRINT, POSTED BY ANDROID CENTRALS APP....LIFE IS GOOD✌

 

[smooth4lyfe]

I am due to upgrade my phone later this month, but after reading these threads over the last two weeks I think I will wait.
There seems too many faults on the phone, and Samsung do not seem to care.
Pity because I was really looking forward to getting the S5.

I think you are focusing on the faults on this forum...the majority of users I bet are not having problems....people come on this forum for questions and resolutions of their problems, but thats miniscule to the number of people who actually own the phone

 

[wookiee2cu]

I've had my phone since 4-22 with AT&T and not a single problem. I'm coming from using iPhones for the last 5 years and I thought it might take me a while to get used to the Android system but I had it figured out in a matter of hours for the most part. The thing with forums is people usually tend to post when there is a problem or upset, people who are happy typically don't bother.

 

[Jon Jackson]

I think you are focusing on the faults on this forum...the majority of users I bet are not having problems....people come on this forum for questions and resolutions of their problems, but thats miniscule to the number of people who actually own the phone

I totally agree! This phone rocks, very few people are having issues. The S5 is the best phone I have ever had my hands on.

 

[neiljay6]

I have said it in another thread, and I'll say it again. I really do not understand the issues with lag some people are having . Six seconds to open the camera app as one poster said is crazy! Not that I don't believe what he said, but something clearly must be wrong there. My phone takes exactly 2 seconds to open from the home screen and 3 from the lock screen which is acceptable to me, but maybe not to someone else I suppose. I'm also wondering if these lag problems are to do with carrier bloatware or something else that carriers are installing as I have the unlocked international model. But I have absolutely no issue with the performance of the phone. Its not the fastest, but its dam fast. Maybe we can start a poll to kind of localize which phones are having these problems. I don't think that these issues represent the majority of people with the phone. I have read many reviews and not one have complained about lag. Some reviewers complain about the aesthetics of TW, or some say they would have preferred different build materials which to me are all just opinions. But none about lag. I only see forum posters complain about lag. If someone can point me to one i'll gladly admit I'm wrong. At the end of the day you should really go check out the phone at the store.

 

[Almeuit]

While looking on these forums helps people you have to remember.. Not many people are going to come here and just make a thread about how issue free their phone is .

You mainly see the issues because this is a good place to discuss these issues and also to have people help to resolve them.

Sent from my Verizon HTC One M8 using AC Forums.

 

[Jon Jackson]

I have said it in another thread, and I'll say it again. I really do not understand the issues with lag some people are having . Six seconds to open the camera app as one poster said is crazy! Not that I don't believe what he said, but something clearly must be wrong there. My phone takes exactly 2 seconds to open from the home screen and 3 from the lock screen which is acceptable to me, but maybe not to someone else I suppose. I'm also wondering if these lag problems are to do with carrier bloatware or something else that carriers are installing as I have the unlocked international model. But I have absolutely no issue with the performance of the phone. Its not the fastest, but its dam fast. Maybe we can start a poll to kind of localize which phones are having these problems. I don't think that these issues represent the majority of people with the phone. I have read many reviews and not one have complained about lag. Some reviewers complain about the aesthetics of TW, or some say they would have preferred different build materials which to me are all just opinions. But none about lag. I only see forum posters complain about lag. If someone can point me to one i'll gladly admit I'm wrong.

Most of these people are clearing cache, using an app killer etc. If the program is in memory, it cuts the time in half or more. All of my apps open in under one second, I just tried a dozen or so, I use one thousand one to equal one second. I can't finish thousand before the app opens, so I would say my apps open in 1/3 of a second. The camera is a hefty program and take a bit more.