Differences between Galaxy S4 and Active?

[spencetimm]

Hi all,

I am looking to get a new phone and get away from the dreaded iPhone (gasp!). My top two options right now are the Galaxy S4 and the Active version. I really like the HTC One (both M7 and M8), but I am often outside and sometimes on our boat and thus I like to have a Lifeproof case on my phone. Regardless of what I get, I will be putting a custom ROM on it, so software is not a deciding factor for me.

So my question is this: is there much of a difference between the standard Galaxy S4 and the Active? Looking at the specs, I see that the Active has Gorilla Glass 2, whereas the standard S4 has Gorilla Glass 3. Other than this, they appear to be about the same other than the hardware buttons and the waterproofing.

Thanks for any help!

 

[Rukbat]

There's no waterproofing. The Active is water resistant. Drop it in a glass of water for a few seconds and it doesn't matter which phone you have - it's ruined unless you take immediate (and I mean within one or, at the most, 2 seconds) action to remove the battery, then dry every inside part of the phone.

Water resistance means that if it's raining lightly, you can probably finish the call you're on quickly before putting the phone into an inside pocket, rather than saying "it's raining, goodbye" and shoving it into your inside pocket. Even the S5, despite the videos you may have seen, isn't waterproof at the bottom of a 5 foot tank of water. (The one on Youtube may have survived, but if it failed it wouldn't have been covered under warranty.)

If you're ever on your boat and your phone isn't inside 2 closed zip-lock plastic bags (facing in opposite directions, one inside the other), you're risking losing the phone. By the time you get it out of the water and get the battery out, enough electrolysis has probably occurred to make it not worth trying to repair the phone. (Unless you regularly sail in distilled water and steam clean your hull before putting the boat in the water.)

I usually use the "key float" trick too - I wire a large plastic bobber to the outside bag (without puncturing the bag). Recovering the phone from 20 feet down is a bit of a problem if you aren't already in the water when it goes over the side. You'd probably be surprised at how fast a little thing like a phone gets covered in the silt at the bottom of almost any large body of water. (A few seconds at most, then the swirl of silt dissipates and you can spend an hour searching for the phone.)

 

[spencetimm]

There's no waterproofing. The Active is water resistant. Drop it in a glass of water for a few seconds and it doesn't matter which phone you have - it's ruined unless you take immediate (and I mean within one or, at the most, 2 seconds) action to remove the battery, then dry every inside part of the phone.

Water resistance means that if it's raining lightly, you can probably finish the call you're on quickly before putting the phone into an inside pocket, rather than saying "it's raining, goodbye" and shoving it into your inside pocket. Even the S5, despite the videos you may have seen, isn't waterproof at the bottom of a 5 foot tank of water. (The one on Youtube may have survived, but if it failed it wouldn't have been covered under warranty.)

If you're ever on your boat and your phone isn't inside 2 closed zip-lock plastic bags (facing in opposite directions, one inside the other), you're risking losing the phone. By the time you get it out of the water and get the battery out, enough electrolysis has probably occurred to make it not worth trying to repair the phone. (Unless you regularly sail in distilled water and steam clean your hull before putting the boat in the water.)

I usually use the "key float" trick too - I wire a large plastic bobber to the outside bag (without puncturing the bag). Recovering the phone from 20 feet down is a bit of a problem if you aren't already in the water when it goes over the side. You'd probably be surprised at how fast a little thing like a phone gets covered in the silt at the bottom of almost any large body of water. (A few seconds at most, then the swirl of silt dissipates and you can spend an hour searching for the phone.)

That's great to know! I would have assumed the Active was waterproof thanks to their product materials.

Truth be told, I like the HTC One much more than the Galaxy. What do you guys think? In your experience, which one seems better? I will probably be installing Cyanogen on either of them.

 

[electricpete]

With locked boot loaders, custom roms can be challenging/limited on s4.

 

[BigRedGonzo]

Lifeproof does offer a case for the S4 and it is guaranteed waterproof for 60 minutes in 6 feet of water. The Water Resistance on the Active is so people don't worry about sweat and such while being active with their phone. I have seen an ad saying that rain doesn't bother it. I use the Lifeproof on mine and have been nothing but impressed with the size, feel and water proofness (I know its not a word.) One of the best things about the S4's Lifeproof (Nuud) case is that you actually touch the phone's glass, there is no screen protector between you and the glass. They provide one, but the literature in the box says that it is completely optional and that is adds nothing to the waterproof capability. My daughter has an iPhone and I have messed with it on many occasions and wouldn't have one for any reason. Just not interesting enough for me, my daughter doesn't care what it looks like as long as her social media stuff works.

I just checked and Lifeproof still only offers cases for the iStuff and the Galaxys. I would definitely take the Galaxy route with the Lifeproof. Looks great, works great. I haven't gotten into rooting with this phone (don't plan on it) like I did with other phones, so I can't speak to changing the ROM.