Samsung Galaxy S4 - Life Companion [OUT NOW]

[Lion-Face]

It's disappointing that the design is kept similar to the GS3 with only slight changes done. I always thought the S3 is ugly, it doesn't cut that the S4 is still ugly following the footstep of the S3. The phone specs seems to be excellent, but some have already tried the device and said despite the Octa-Core processor and all, it still lags in some places. I'll reserve my judgement and see if it really lags...

The design is certainly not a strong point of Samsung in general I feel. And the comments about lagging wouldn't surprise me. Samsung generally throw power and features at their products with little thought of optimizing them.

My old Xperia Play was buttery smooth throughout the 2 years I had it. By comparison to the Galaxy S2 which came out at the same time. The Play had a single core processor compared with the S2 which was dual core. Sony had optimized the OS to run very smoothly on the hardware, where Samsung just threw power at the problem. The result? Xperia play was a smooth running phone throughout it's life. Had some friends who have S3's recently commenting on how smooth the Xperia Play navigated through the OS.

So if the S4 and the Touch Wizz overlay OS that Samsung use is anything like recent efforts, namely S3 and Galaxy Note 10.1 (haven't had experience with Galaxy Note 2) then I'm not holding my breath for a smooth running phone, no matter how impressive the benchmarks prove.

Furthermore, the massive size of this phone just puts me away. 5 freaking inches in my pocket is not ideal. My Lumia 620 feels much better honestly.

I used to think the same. After my Xperia Play, I thought 4.0" was a good size. Then 4.3" came out, followed by 4.7" and now 5.0". I always looked at the 4.7" phones and thought they looked far to big. But as I got on with my Xperia Play, I found the screen size too small for web browsing/youtubing which I primarily do.

When the 5.0" screens were announced, I thought they would be too big to be practical, but took a punt on the Xperia Z as I wanted something to be between my Xperia Play and a Tablet. I think what has made these phones manageable is the fact that they are so slim, and the bezel has been reduced dramatically so it's not much more than a 5" screen in your pocket. The thinness helps a lot and it doesn't feel out of place. This is comparing to an Xperia Play which while not the biggest phone, was quite thick due to the slide controller built into it.

 

[thelvynau]

Thats weird the comments regarding how smooth the S3 is, I never have had a problem with lagging on my S3 everything runs really well.

 

[Prince.M5]

When the 5.0" screens were announced, I thought they would be too big to be practical, but took a punt on the Xperia Z as I wanted something to be between my Xperia Play and a Tablet. I think what has made these phones manageable is the fact that they are so slim, and the bezel has been reduced dramatically so it's not much more than a 5" screen in your pocket. The thinness helps a lot and it doesn't feel out of place. This is comparing to an Xperia Play which while not the biggest phone, was quite thick due to the slide controller built into it.

My friend here has a white XPERIA Play and while it's thick and heavy, it actually feels very good in hands! What I care the most is single handed operation and while my 3.8" is good enough, anything bigger than 4.5" is just not gonna work with me. It sure is a good thing that despite the screen getting bigger, the phone is getting thinner. But getting too thin is also not gonna work well as it will be pretty uncomfortable. Yeah I know that I'm picky

Thats weird the comments regarding how smooth the S3 is, I never have had a problem with lagging on my S3 everything runs really well.

I think it really depends on certain phones and users. But my friend's S3 seems to be doing well despite some small lags when starting an app or getting into the settings for example. His phone was completely stock, no modification whatsoever. I may be a little picky since I've been using my Lumia 620 for 3 months already without any lags, tried my friend's S3 and notice a little lag and it sets me off.

 

[shmogt]

Thats weird the comments regarding how smooth the S3 is, I never have had a problem with lagging on my S3 everything runs really well.

Ya I'm with this. There is no way the S4 has any lag. Like at all. It's the fastest phone every made and it's using touchwiz which they have been optimizing for years now. My S3 has zero lag and still impresses me with speed and the S4 is literally double the speed. Any one who has tested it so far as used a prototype, even if it's a final stage one you can't judge. Sometime this month once they hit the streets that's when we will get all the true testing videos and see how it really is. I'm expecting to see every test having the people blown way.

Design is where I'll give it to you. It's not the worst ever or too big or something, but man why plastic? I just don't understand why samsung would use plastic again. This is the best phone in the world and you are fighting for market share against apple. Why not just make a higher quality looking phone and take a larger chunk of the market? That's really the only complaint and literally one of the main reasons someone would choose an iPhone over a S series phone. The HTC one I am waiting to see its sales. That phone looks awesome, definitely in the top if not the best looking android phone ever and it has its new touch UI. Should be a good contender for the S4.

 

[gtone339]

Design is where I'll give it to you. It's not the worst ever or too big or something, but man why plastic? I just don't understand why samsung would use plastic again. This is the best phone in the world and you are fighting for market share against apple. Why not just make a higher quality looking phone and take a larger chunk of the market?

The only reason Samsung to use Polycarbonate [PLASTIC] chassis material for the Galaxy S4 is because it can be mass produced. Yes it's plastic again but what's the purpose? Very durable, e.g. doesn't suffer that much scratches, drops, so props to that Samsung! 👍

 

[Azuremen]

Samsung decided to use Polycarbonate [PLASTIC] chassis material for the Galaxy S4 because it can be mass produced. Yes it's plastic because it doesn't suffer any scratches since it's very durable from drops, so props to that Samsung! 👍

Doesn't change the fact it still feels cheap when compared to the iPhone 5, or that the design feels dated and far too similar to the S3. Very few people I know thing the S3 or S4 look good in terms of design, especially when compared to the cleaner industrial style Apple and LG are using at the moment. Or HTC and Motorola.

 

[thelvynau]

Doesn't change the fact it still feels cheap when compared to the iPhone 5, or that the design feels dated and far too similar to the S3. Very few people I know thing the S3 or S4 look good in terms of design, especially when compared to the cleaner industrial style Apple and LG are using at the moment. Or HTC and Motorola.

I dont know I feel my S3 is very stylish and modern I guess it goes down to the individual tastes.

 

[McLaren]

Doesn't change the fact it still feels cheap when compared to the iPhone 5, or that the design feels dated and far too similar to the S3. Very few people I know thing the S3 or S4 look good in terms of design, especially when compared to the cleaner industrial style Apple and LG are using at the moment. Or HTC and Motorola.

How is the iPhone not guilty of this as well, though?

 

[shmogt]

I dont know I feel my S3 is very stylish and modern I guess it goes down to the individual tastes.

The S3 definitely is different compared to other phones. Can't really complain about being different from everything else. I get why they used plastic as it is strong, cheap, and light. Really everything you want to have in a product and for the user pretty good. Don't have to worry about shattering it like glass or scratching the metal. Downside is it still looks like plastic. I think if they added more grain or texture in the plastic it would change everything. I have the blue S3 and it has a fine grain in it that looks much nicer to me than just the plain white plastic one. Its still too light and in most lighting conditions you can't really see it. If they made it stand out more it would give the phone a little extra and be even more different from other phones.

 

[RTSolvalou]

There's a bit of an uproar building over the S4 not having an FM radio (it's not an April fool's joke). Pretty much 'confirmed' that the US/Qualcomm version won't (and I hear that your corrupt carriers have some control thing to force that option out, so people have to pay for and use data via any streaming app). Whether or not FM radio will be present on the International/Exynos version(s) is anyone's guess. It had better be. This is unacceptable.

 

[thelvynau]

There's a bit of an uproar building over the S4 not having an FM radio (it's not an April fool's joke). Pretty much 'confirmed' that the US/Qualcomm version won't (and I hear that your corrupt carriers have some control thing to force that option out, so people have to pay for and use data via any streaming app). Whether or not FM radio will be present on the International/Exynos version(s) is anyone's guess. It had better be. This is unacceptable.

I dont mind that because I have 3gb data with my plan I dont use much of so the data being used wouldn't bother me.

 

[shmogt]

There's a bit of an uproar building over the S4 not having an FM radio (it's not an April fool's joke). Pretty much 'confirmed' that the US/Qualcomm version won't (and I hear that your corrupt carriers have some control thing to force that option out, so people have to pay for and use data via any streaming app). Whether or not FM radio will be present on the International/Exynos version(s) is anyone's guess. It had better be. This is unacceptable.

I haven't seen a radio in a phone in years. They say just get a expensive data plan for Internet radio.

 

[gtone339]

S. Korean Variant of the Galaxy S4 to have Exynos 5 Octa, clocked at 1.8ghz

 

[RX-7_FD3S]

Doesn't change the fact it still feels cheap when compared to the iPhone 5, or that the design feels dated and far too similar to the S3. Very few people I know thing the S3 or S4 look good in terms of design, especially when compared to the cleaner industrial style Apple and LG are using at the moment. Or HTC and Motorola.

How do you know that it feel cheap, did you already hold one in your hands ?

About design, I dont feel that it feels dated but I agree that it does look similar to the S3 which looks miles better than an Iphone in my opinion. The iphone 5 design was horrible, I was very disapointed by apple who used to have crazy cool and innovative design each time. Here with the iphone 5 they just made the simpliest choice like samsung, copying the oldest model design in bigger.
Well obviously your friend dont have the same taste as mine because every single one of my friends are switching to samsung and they all had iphone before. As for LG, HTC or Motorola in my country they sell very few phones, most are Samsung or Iphone or when it's buisness, it's a blackberry.

 

[Tesla]

How do you know that it feel cheap, did you already hold one in your hands ?

About design, I dont feel that it feels dated but I agree that it does look similar to the S3 which looks miles better than an Iphone in my opinion. The iphone 5 design was horrible, I was very disapointed by apple who used to have crazy cool and innovative design each time. Here with the iphone 5 they just made the simpliest choice like samsung, copying the oldest model design in bigger.
Well obviously your friend dont have the same taste as mine because every single one of my friends are switching to samsung and they all had iphone before. As for LG, HTC or Motorola in my country they sell very few phones, most are Samsung or Iphone or when it's buisness, it's a blackberry.

You're right, Apple certainly are innovative when it comes to design.

As for me, I don't like the design of the S4. Plastic on a high end phone, really? After using an Xperia Z for a couple of days, I couldn't go back.

 

[RX-7_FD3S]

You're right, Apple certainly are innovative when it comes to design.

I guess you're beeing sarcastic there. But again you're trying to nullify my argument by showing me something I said in the post you quote. I dont get it at all.

And like it or not Apple are innovative in design.

 

[Ranman20]

Apple makes the same products over and over just different in sizes.

 

[gtone339]

Yes, apple has the overall premium build, just like HTC's One. 👍

But........the problem about the iphone is it's ageing iOS & aesthetics. 👎

I'd prefer the HTC One & the GS4 over the iphone 5.

-------------------------

Antutu Benchscores for Galaxy S4 & it's competitors:

Source

 

[Azuremen]

How do you know that it feel cheap, did you already hold one in your hands ?

Yes. It feels better than the S3 by a fair amount, but not as solid as an iPhone. The colors are a bit improved on the S3 as well, but still no true whites and saturation issues. GTone didn't link the more important image from the article on the screen, which is this...

Notice how both Samsungs display "white" with an incredibly amount of green casting.

The iphone 5 design was horrible, I was very disapointed by apple who used to have crazy cool and innovative design each time. Here with the iphone 5 they just made the simpliest choice like samsung, copying the oldest model design in bigger.

The reason Apple just made the iPhone 5 a bigger version of the iPhone 4 in terms of shape is they already have such presence in the market it isn't an issue. The design itself is quite arguable the most aesthetically pleasing, with simple lines and very little excess. The Samsungs have larger bezels and the extended rounding makes them feel a bit awkward in my opinion.

Samsung was trying to play the "well, we have it so well thought out we can just do the same thing like Apple" game despite the fact they have no where near the market presence or power of Apple. So, bad move on their part.

You're right, Apple certainly are innovative when it comes to design.

*iPhone images*

As for me, I don't like the design of the S4. Plastic on a high end phone, really? After using an Xperia Z for a couple of days, I couldn't go back.

As I mentioned above, Apple kind of gets to dictate their pace now and the market. The 3G really feels nothing like the 4 or 5 as well, due the rather dramatic difference in the contours on the back and the bezel design.

The one major marketing benefit to the Apple design language is everyone knows it, which means free advertising in a sense. Samsung wants to have a chance at that but they've done it too early and before they have enough market presence.

 

[shmogt]

The S3 has blue whites. It's only noticeable with screen not st max. It does have a problem with green being way over saturated and that's what really pops more than anything else. The new S4 has some color corrector thing to even everything out. I assume it may come to the S3 as well.

 

[gtone339]

The S3 has blue whites. It's only noticeable with screen not st max. It does have a problem with green being way over saturated and that's what really pops more than anything else. The new S4 has some color corrector thing to even everything out. I assume it may come to the S3 as well.

Bingo! 👍

Adapt Display:

 

[Azuremen]

The S3 has blue whites. It's only noticeable with screen not st max. It does have a problem with green being way over saturated and that's what really pops more than anything else. The new S4 has some color corrector thing to even everything out. I assume it may come to the S3 as well.

And you still won't get true white out of it do to the screen design.

Also, who in their right mind uses any phone at max brightness (I'm assuming that is what you mean with max)

 

[thelvynau]

And you still won't get true white out of it do to the screen design.

Also, who in their right mind uses any phone at max brightness (I'm assuming that is what you mean with max)

I do.....

 

[Prince.M5]

Also, who in their right mind uses any phone at max brightness (I'm assuming that is what you mean with max)

And I do - too....

 

[gtone339]

I use Auto-Brightness with Dynamic screen setting..

 

[Moglet]

I'm very impressed with HTC's performance there. My One X screen is crisp and clear enough for my eyes so lord knows what the One looks like with that resolution.

 

[shmogt]

And you still won't get true white out of it do to the screen design.

Also, who in their right mind uses any phone at max brightness (I'm assuming that is what you mean with max)

Ya I mean max brightness. I rarely have it at max since it uses a lot of battery but it's pretty fun when I do. At about half brightness like normal everything is pretty toned down. Just the blacks look really excellent and colors still are vibrant. Once I switch to full brightness that's where the fun begins. The colors pop against the super dark blacks, the whites practically glow, it's awesome. I know what I looking at isn't techinally real since it's too saturated but what are you looking at that's so important it has to look real? Text stands out really well because of the high contrast, Facebook pics etc really pop, games come to life, most of the time you don't need 100% accurate color. I just bought a new 10" lcd screened tablet and it's a little less fun to look at during regular activities. The facebook blue bar at the top isn't exciting anymore, it's just regular blue. Blacks aren't half as deep, etc. There is just something exciting about a super AMOLED display. In practical use it depends what you're doing, but it doesn't matter if the colors are perfect because most of the apps aren't aiming at accurate color anyway. Having a high contrast screen usually helps in a lot of situations rather than hurts it.

 

[gtone339]

Samsung Galaxy S4 shipments topping early estimates, says analyst

In order to meet massive demands, Samsung is shipping at least 10 million Galaxy S4 units per month!! They're currently mass producing the GS4 right now!!


from the analyst:

"We estimate that, while 53% of Galaxy S3 BOM [Bill of Materials] cost was internal, 58% of Galaxy S4 BOM costs should now flow through Display/Semis (Memory & S.LSI). We estimate that, while 64% of Galaxy S3 BOM cost was within the Samsung Group (i.e. SEMCO, Samsung SDI, etc.), 68% of Galaxy S4 BOM costs should now flow through the Samsung Group. Additional profits to Samsung group entities should benefit Samsung Electronics in the form of increased equity income".

 

[gtone339]

Galaxy S4: Super-sensitive touchscreen demo



Now anything can be a stylus! A+ for Samsung!! 👍

 

[shmogt]

Galaxy S4: Super-sensitive touchscreen demo

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEdLhRzGi-U">YouTube Link</a>

Now anything can be a stylus! A+ for Samsung!! 👍

I have no idea how they did this but it's awesome. I knew you could use gloves but clearly it's pretty much anything.