Im almost at wits end with touchwiz and really bad lag associated with the S4. I dont use any of the features like smart scroll etc. Multi window is cool but dont use it at all. The Nexus 5 is very nice and has certainly caught my attention. Anyone coming from the s4? What is your comparison review? Thanks!
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jj14x
Android Expert
I switched from S4 to N5 (on Sprint). The S4 was good - never experienced any lag, but I never used the 'features' they hyped. I switched because of KNOX. I like some root applications on my phone, and Samsung insisting on voiding my warranty because of root was not acceptable. Also, Samsung insisted on disabling lock screen widgets if my phone was pin/password protected - WTH??
N5 is great. The only feature I miss is the camera on S4 - very good features! (drama mode, animated photo, eraser - neat!)
Also, I noticed that my N5 cellular signal strength is significantly poorer than the S4 - it may be specific to Sprint - but I have horrible reception at home now (while with S4 and my other Sprint phone, signal strength was/is great at home)
I got google to replace my N5, but same signal issues.
Other than that though, I really like the N5.
I just got my Nexus 5 and compared with my S4, I think I made a mistake getting it, the S 4 display seem to be more darker and crisp,black is a solid black on the N5 it like a washed gray, and when I did a speed test with OOKLA the S4 at home does about 11 mps on LTE, but so far all I can get on the Nexus is 3 mps at home on HSPA can not even get LTE, same carrier ATT, I then brought it to work again HSPA on the first floor and LTE on the 2nd floor, halve way thru the day had to run out to my car to get a cord to charge the phone battery, it was running low, never had to do that, then I like the LED notifaction like show it charging red, and charged green, blue message, but on the N5 white blinking that it, but you can get light flow app led notifaction and the light changes color, ask about blocking call and messages, N5 no. but you can get a app, I got a 32gb phone, because I use alot of space about 16gb on the S4 SD card, but if I have to keep download app just to get the features that I like on the S4 how much memory will I have left, and you can read other post the camera sucks, but they have a upgrade coming out to fixes it, so I set both phones next to each other at home not on WI FI, I turn it off, the S4 was faster opening apps, maybe I got a bad phone I don't know, but I removed my S4 off E-Bay before it sold, and returned the N5, maybe if I had a S2 are older phone I would be impress with it, but even selling the S4 the N5 would have probably been free, but not worth the hassel
jj14x
Android Expert
Thanks for sharing your experience. Just one suggestion - next time, try breaking it up into separate lines (or even a list of issues) rather than plugging it all into one paragraph. Makes it easier for folks to read.
- The AMOLED display on the S4 will definitely give you deeper blacks - that's the main advantage of AMOLED. No questions about that. Other than the blacks, I find the display on the N5 to be pretty good. No issue with colors etc.
- Network Connectivity/Speed: I agree - on Sprint, the N5 is giving me worse connectivity than my S4.
- Battery: Hmm - I'm getting the same battery life on my N5 as my S4 gave. You may need to figure out what app is consuming most battery. Also, give your N5 a few days to settle. The first week or so will likely have more consumption - you are likely using it more (getting to play around with it), battery takes a few discharge/charge cycles to get into 'normal' state, data is being synchronized.
- LED notification: I found the S4's default notification to be too restrictive - so I was using lightflow on the S4 anyway - which works great on the N5 too.
- Camera: Yes, it is slow to focus, but is a software issue that google will fix. And since it is a Nexus phone, the update will be available quickly (without carrier delay). Other than slow focus, the picture quality is comparable to the S4.
- Speed: I disagree - in my experience the apps open faster on the N5 than on the S4 (noticeably faster)
- Storage: On the S4, the OS and Samsung stuff used up about 7GB of the available 16GB. On the N5, OS takes about half of that. Adding the lightflow and a few other apps to give me the same experience as the S4 takes far less than that.
But at the end of the day, you are the end user, and if you are happier with the S4, that is the phone that you must use!
For me, the timely updates, not having to worry about losing my warranty (KNOX) just because I root, having a unlocked phone that I can use worldwide (even in the US on other GSM carriers), and the option to install the apps that I want (rather than be forced to have Samsung's apps on my phone regardless of whether I want it or not), being able to use lockscreen widgets when password/pin locked - that was enough reason for me to switch to the N5.
* The connectivity issue bothers me - but I suspect it is a Sprint issue. Friends who are on T-Mo with the N5 are not reporting any such issues.