Worth exchanging S4 Active to S4 for better future case, battery, and root support

[LeReveur]

Hi, I have a Galaxy S4 Active, and it's my first Android smarthphone. I really enjoy it so far, and fortunately it's water-resistance seems to work fine for me unlike some. I picked it up because I like more physical buttons, and I favor the LCD screen over the AMOLED on the S4, and I don't really use the camera too much so the 8MP is plenty.


However, my main gripe is that there are no extended batteries currently available for it. I don't mind the battery life, but on all my portable electronic devices I have purchased extended batteries, and they really do make a difference in the long run. I have looked at Amazon and LemonZero. Only S4 extended batteries on Amazon, and I have asked LemonZero over Facebook, and apparently they only plan to make a 3000 mah battery where I was looking up to 5000 mah and upwards.


The phone was only recently released, and I kinda felt there will have to be a waiting period before more accessories and support for it comes out. What I didn't think of, was that it was an ATT exclusive, and there will be far few people using it as opposed to the S4. In other words other things like root support, the S4 will have priority. Based on the reviews, it appeared that the S4 and the Active had the same internals, but I've read due to a patch on the Active rooting will take longer to do, and I was looking forward to rooting my phone.


Like I said, I'm new to the Android scene, so feel free to correct any incorrect information.


Other than that, it's a great phone. But I'm planning on purchasing the ATT protection program, so the water-resistance may be redundant. I still have a couple more days to exchange it, but I wanted it get a second opinion from other S4 or S4 active users.

Thanks.

 

[joshuadjohnson22]

You will have to wait, accessories will come out but it will take time. This phone is released in other countries so they will start to pop up. It is just not as popular as the S4 for there is no rush on production. You can use extended batteries for the S4 but you will need a case or something because as of now there are no back covers.

I had the S4 and returned it, I hated the over saturated- cartooned colored- grainy whites- hard to see outside screen. Some people don't mind it but it made me want to return. Also the plastic scratches easy(a LOT easier than the active), the AMOLED screen can't take pressure and has been known for breaking in the pocket. Not to mention it was slow with the initial install and only 9 GB of free memory instead of the 11.2 the active has.

Also if you get the i337 they are starting to ship them with the update which means if you get one that is updated you will lose LOKI and be stock with just root like you currently have now with the active. If there is a unlock for the bootloader it will hopefully work on both.

You will get a better camera, more accessories, better dev support.. but it will come at the cost of all the above.

Personal pref the things that matter to me might not matter to you.

 

[LeReveur]

The reasons you didn't like the S4 are exactly why I got the Active. And if it wasn't for the fact that it's an ATT exclusive I might have not had an issue at all.

The extended battery is the priority. I know I have to be patient, but having double to triple the battery life is a dealbreaker for me to deal with all the cons of the original S4.
I mean there is just no telling if one is in production aside from LemonZero's 3000 mah. Since there will be likely far fewer Active users, there might be no incentive for one to be made. Rooting is not a big deal, but I just like have the option down the line.


I don't mind playing the waiting game for the battery, it's just that if there is not going to be one, than I only have a several more days to exchange the phone.

 

[joshuadjohnson22]

Well do what I did, I have a spare battery in my pocket that I switch to if needed. I keep them both charged and ready to roll. That pretty much doubles your battery life... You can go OEM or this cheap guy which is close to the same battery life here $6 is hard to beat

But either way, if you get the regular S4 or the active you have a great device.


If battery life is a huge deal to you why don't you check out the LG Op Pro? My buddy has that and goes about 2 days per charge if not more. Plus a beautiful IPS screen. I'm still tempted to buy one (probably not cuz my wife will get mad)

 

[LeReveur]

I actually have 2 Samsung batteries and the official spare charge, and was going to settle for that until I saw there were larger capacity batteries for the S4.

The LG OP Pro looks nice, but I'm not looking for a phablet. Unfortunately, those devices also tend to have much battery life.

You're right. Either way I have a great device, and I have to accept some trade-offs no matter what direction I go.

I think I'm sticking with the Active, and hopefully some more options for it in terms of accessories and rooting will open up.

Thanks for the input.

 

[joshuadjohnson22]

Yeah, LG is about to drop the G2 this week, we have the new iPhone, plus early next year we get the new S device and HTC... I have high hopes

Personally I'm in love with the HTC Butterfly S... a 5 inch device with 3200 MAH battery, microsd support... LCD 3. To me it might be worth losing LTE... who knows they may make a US version... I'm so tempted to make the switch... HTC Butterfly S - Full phone specifications

 

[ztmike]

I had the HTC One and while it was nice I much perfer the Active..the speakers on the One ill miss for sure..2 front speakers facing the user who would have thought thatd sound better ..

As for the OP..I'm having a hard time understanding why youd pick up a phone when you knew the S4 would get the most attention and probably already had these bricks of a battery available for it?

Not to mention the Active is a waterproof phone so im doubting a manufacturer is going to put out a big *** battery that wont be water tight. Can ya say lawsuit if a dumbass customer orders it and then their phone dies because the battery is so huge that it destorys the Actives protection rating?

As for getting root..I read on XDA that if the regular S4 gets rooted ours could to..and on the Verizon S4 theres a over $3,000 bounty to get root access to someone that puts it out to the public..and thats just on Verizons side theres bounties on AT&T side to..

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