Galaxy s4 v. iphone 6?

[shmn]

I quickly scanned the replies above but didn't read them in great detail so excuse me if I repeat what others have said.

The S4 can be a better phone...if you want to work for it. The hardware is solid but the software isn't. Out of the box, the Samsung software is crappy and annoying. You need to root the phone so you can fix Samsung's software and tailor it to your needs or flash a custom ROM. So, you will need time, patience and an understanding of Android to make the S4 a usable (in my opinion) device.

If you don't want to 'mess' with the phone then get the iPhone. It's a better product out the box. Not as customizable...but better in stock mode than the S4. Also, the camera is better (marginally) as far as quality and a lot better as far as usability (even with a rooted S4). If a camera is important to you get the iPhone hands down.

In the end, if you like to tinker for the sake of tinkering then get the S4...the possibilities are endless once it's rooted. If you don't like to tinker and just want a phone that works (even though it may not be perfect) get the iPhone.

These are just a couple of issues to consider among the hundreds when comparing Apple vs. Android phones. It's a complex comparison given the numerous differences in hardware, software, eco-system, philosophies, and user needs.

 

[hansangb]

I disagree on the "you have to root it" argument. You don't have to use TouchWiz. Or you can, I know plenty of people who are happy with it. I use Nova myself. But I didn't have an overwhelming need to root this phone. Between Nova Launcher, Google Now, Handscent, and Nitrodesk Touchdown email client, I'm all set.

 

[zipred]

Not one Galaxy man wants to step up and defend the honor of the mighty S4?

I'm late to this thread, but I'd be remiss if I didn't report the stellar performance I've enjoyed from my Galaxy S4. Purchased when they were first released on the AT&T carrier, it's served me extremely well. With heavy use which at times occurred under less that ideal conditions it's been a well designed very reliable workhorse. One of the few Androids I've kept, it still sees use today.

 

[dynomot]

Choosing a phone is like dating. What you find attractive might not be my cup of tea and when you meet the right girl and *don't* marry her, you've only go yourself to blame.

Now, I feel Android *allows* me to manage and monitor when I want and need to, but i don't *have* to. I can turn on the notifications I want and turn off the ones I don't. Now if i could only figure out how to make that work with my wife.



Good, because I want' trying to impress you.



... said the man with the peanut allergy about to eat a Snickers bar.



Let's expand on your medical analogy, just for fun (I hope you're having fun. ) ....

Two men (or women), Chris and Francis, at age 75 go for a checkup. Both have a condition/disease that gives them 5 years to live with gradually worsening symptoms. Chris' doctor says "go home, you're fine" and then proceeds to try and work on an effective treatment for Chris' condition. Francis' doctors says "Francis, I'm afraid you have a condition ... 5 years to live. Keep me informed of your progress and we'll work on a treatment."

Chris has put ultimate trust in his doctor to have his best interest in mind, whether he knows or not.

Francis, on the other hand, has taken some affirmative action on his own behalf by working with his doctor.

Five years go by and ...

1. Chris' doctor tells him/her we have this treatment for a condition we found 5 years ago, but didn't tell you about. Chris lives.
   
2. Chris' doctor fails to find an effective treatment because, while he did his/her best to develop one, there wasn't enough clinical feedback or because Chris was one of 500 patients, he/she wasn't a priority. Chris dies.
   
3. Chris never has the opportunity to seek alternative treatment because Chris didn't even know there was a problem. R.I.P. Chris.

Or ....

1. Francis works with his/her doctor to develop and effective treatment in 5 years. Francis lives.
   
2. Francis works with his/her doctor to develop and effective treatment in less than 5 years. Francis lives longer, problem free.
   
3. Francis' doctor fails to find an effective treatment because, while he did his/her best to develop one, clinical feedback was not helpful or because Francis was one of 500 patients, he/she wasn't a priority. Francis dies.
   
4. Francis realizes that he/she is not a priority, or that the doctor is not making progress, so Francis seeks alternative treatment. Francis lives.
   
5. Francis seeks alternative treatment, but that proves fruitless. Francis still dies.

Now, for five years, Chris has led a happy, worry-free life while Francis has had the burden of knowing that the end might be coming. In my scenario, Francis has a better chance at survival. Some people would rather have those 5 worry-free years. Others would rather fight a possibly losing battle. But, and here's the catch, it doesn't matter.

If I prefer Francis' approach over Chris, it doesn't make me "right". And if Francis tries to persuade Chris to a more proactive approach to his/her health, it doesn't make them helpful, only obnoxious.

Now, if Chris ASKS Francis for advice and Francis offers his proactive approach, it's up to Chris what to do with it.

Coming next ... CAR ANALOGIES!

Spoiler

No, not really.

That has to be one of the best analogies I have ever read, or even heard. You have successfully nailed the stupid Android V Apple argument once and for all in a single post. Fabulous.

Can I have your permission to use it elsewhere? (Verbatim, I can't improve on it ) I shall of course not claim any credit but quote it as "A wise man once wrote."

 

[lunatic59]

That has to be one of the best analogies I have ever read, or even heard. You have successfully nailed the stupid Android V Apple argument once and for all in a single post. Fabulous.

Can I have your permission to use it elsewhere? (Verbatim, I can't improve on it ) I shall of course not claim any credit but quote it as "A wise man once wrote."

Knock yourself out.

Spoiler

... and when you come to, you may use the analogy.

 

[heycal]

Now, for five years, Chris has led a happy, worry-free life while Francis has had the burden of knowing that the end might be coming. In my scenario, Francis has a better chance at survival.

But Francis does not have a better chance of survival, if Francis is an Android in this analogy. For build quality and longevity, who would argue that Android phones have a better chance of survival than iPhones?

A more fair analogy would be to say that they will both die in 5 years, wouldn't you agree? This way, we aren't playing favorites.

And in that case, Chris's approach is far superior.

I quickly scanned the replies above but didn't read them in great detail so excuse me if I repeat what others have said.

The S4 can be a better phone...if you want to work for it. The hardware is solid but the software isn't. Out of the box, the Samsung software is crappy and annoying. You need to root the phone so you can fix Samsung's software and tailor it to your needs or flash a custom ROM. So, you will need time, patience and an understanding of Android to make the S4 a usable (in my opinion) device.

If you don't want to 'mess' with the phone then get the iPhone. It's a better product out the box. Not as customizable...but better in stock mode than the S4. Also, the camera is better (marginally) as far as quality and a lot better as far as usability (even with a rooted S4). If a camera is important to you get the iPhone hands down.

In the end, if you like to tinker for the sake of tinkering then get the S4...the possibilities are endless once it's rooted. If you don't like to tinker and just want a phone that works (even though it may not be perfect) get the iPhone.

These are just a couple of issues to consider among the hundreds when comparing Apple vs. Android phones. It's a complex comparison given the numerous differences in hardware, software, eco-system, philosophies, and user needs.

I would never root, install separate launchers, or do all these other things I don't really understand or have any interest in. The main appeal of Android to me is the notifcation light, good swiftkey,and a few more options/features out of the box. These may not seem like much to some, but they do matter to me, and android just seems to make smarter choices to me out of the box than Apple makes. (Having to press 'edit' before I adjust the alarm every single night? How stupid is that uneccesary step?) But I'm not a techie or tinker under the hood guy.

I disagree on the "you have to root it" argument. You don't have to use TouchWiz. Or you can, I know plenty of people who are happy with it. I use Nova myself. But I didn't have an overwhelming need to root this phone. Between Nova Launcher, Google Now, Handscent, and Nitrodesk Touchdown email client, I'm all set.

I haven't had much luck with replacing my text messaging and emailing with third party apps. An appeal of the s4 for me is that the text size can be made HUGE, which only Samsung and iphone seem to do. LG required me to install handcent, which was nice in some ways but troublesome in others. Had to use K9 for email, which I didn't love either.

One thing I absolutely love about the iphone 4 I'm using is that I simply slide the cursor over to set the text huge, so I can read them without my glasses, and it covers both my texting and emails. Took me two seconds to do, and I never had to go back in there. Handcent and K9, in contrast, required lots of tinkering to get the settings right, and neither worked perfectly either. (It also bugged me that using these third party apps still meant my original text and emailing apps were hanging around somewhere, in effect duplicating things.)

Speaking of text size, if you set it the s4 to "huge", does it jack up the size of your email font like it does with the SMS font?

I'm late to this thread, but I'd be remiss if I didn't report the stellar performance I've enjoyed from my Galaxy S4. Purchased when they were first released on the AT&T carrier, it's served me extremely well. With heavy use which at times occurred under less that ideal conditions it's been a well designed very reliable workhorse. One of the few Androids I've kept, it still sees use today.

Thanks, good to hear.

 

[hansangb]

HeyCal,
I use NitroDesk's touchdown email client because you can set the font size - among other critical optoins. I too need it bigger than the normal (more comfortable, anyway). As for Handscent, it does follow the Font setting in S4. I just changed it to Large and everything is larger in Handscent. (And Nitrodesk, but you can change that independently).

The built-in GMAIL and the txt Messaging client also follows the font size of the S4.

hsb

 

[lunatic59]

But Francis does not have a better chance of survival, if Francis is an Android in this analogy.

Chris has one opportunity for survival. Complete trust in the doctor. Francis has the same opportunity as Chris plus the ability to choose. While it may not double his chances of survival, it does give Francis the edge. In this extreme example where life itself is on the line, then any edge would be superior, if survival were the goal. In the case of smartphone comparisons where the goal is simple functionality, then success or failure is not as critical. The question is do you have complete trust in Apple to have your best interest in mind or would you rather provide feedback and feel as if you've participated? Again, no right answer.

For build quality and longevity, who would argue that Android phones have a better chance of survival than iPhones?

Ooh, ooh, pick me, pick me.

I certainly wouldn't argue that all Android phones are equivalent in quality and longevity to iPhones, but I would have no hesitation saying some Android phones are not only equivalent, but surpass iPhones in quality and longevity.

A more fair analogy would be to say that they will both die in 5 years, wouldn't you agree? This way, we aren't playing favorites.

And in that case, Chris's approach is far superior.

Um, no. That's not really the point of the analogy. If death in five years was inevitable and absolute, then Francis should run up a massive credit card debt with bookies and hookers, travel the world and forget about phones altogether because nothing anyone can do will help him. Chris on the other hand will still believe he's got a future and live with his means, but never completing his bucket list because his death will be a surprise. In that regard Chris's approach would be inferior.

But, "superior" and "inferior" are based on a fixed and common set of goals, which, while it makes for an interesting mental exercise, isn't reflected in the real world of technology choice. Both approaches can be thought of as both superior and inferior based on varying criteria. Let's call it Schr

 

[heycal]

HeyCal,
I use NitroDesk's touchdown email client because you can set the font size - among other critical optoins. I too need it bigger than the normal (more comfortable, anyway). As for Handscent, it does follow the Font setting in S4. I just changed it to Large and everything is larger in Handscent. (And Nitrodesk, but you can change that independently).

The built-in GMAIL and the txt Messaging client also follows the font size of the S4.

hsb

Good to know the font size changes will work for email too. Thanks.

in the real world of technology choice. Both approaches can be thought of as both superior and inferior based on varying criteria.

I like analogies as much as the next guy, in fact much more so, but yours just don't make sense to me. Chris is clearly the happier, smarter, person.

In any case, in the real world of technological choice, iPhones are generally perceived to work better than Androids, rightly or wrongly. And if iphones hides their problems so well that I don't even know they're problems, than that is the better phone in user experience.

I may choose to get an Android, but it sure won't be because I think it will perform perfectly, or as well as iphone, but because it has certain features I want that I may think are worth the risk. Just to throw out some numbers here, in my mind there's a 96% chance an iphone 6 will not cause me any major heachaches over 2 years time. I believe there's about a 65% chance a Samsung 4 won't cause me any major headaches over 2 years time.

 

[zipred]

In any case, in the real world of technological choice, iPhones are generally perceived to work better than Androids, rightly or wrongly. And if iphones hides their problems so well that I don't even know they're problems, than that is the better phone in user experience.

I may choose to get an Android, but it sure won't be because I think it will perform perfectly, or as well as iphone, but because it has certain features I want that I may think are worth the risk. Just to throw out some numbers here, in my mind there's a 96% chance an iphone 6 will not cause me any major heachaches over 2 years time. I believe there's about a 65% chance a Samsung 4 won't cause me any major headaches over 2 years time.

Fact is... based on my personal experiences and that of my friends who are multi-platform smartphone users, conducting side by side daily usage comparisons over a one year period reveals Androids are every bit as reliable as iPhone's. In addition they simply don't require any more maintenance or upkeep either.

Speaking only for myself I've owned every single new iPhone model since day one, up until and including my iPhone 6 Plus. On the Android side I've owned every years current flagship from HTC, Samsung and Google Nexus. Yes, that's a lot of phones and money but it's my passion, enjoyment and satisfaction of having personal first hand knowledge of both platforms.

I never declare a "winner" that's not the point, especially since our individual needs, usage and preferences vary widely. Instead I celebrate the differences and fun I have.

 

[heycal]

Fact is... based on my personal experiences and that of my friends who are multi-platform smartphone users, conducting side by side daily usage comparisons over a one year period reveals Androids are every bit as reliable as iPhone's. In addition they simply don't require any more maintenance or upkeep either.

Speaking only for myself I've owned every single new iPhone model since day one, up until and including my iPhone 6 Plus. On the Android side I've owned every years current flagship from HTC, Samsung and Google Nexus. Yes, that's a lot of phones and money but it's my passion, enjoyment and satisfaction of having personal first hand knowledge of both platforms.

I never declare a "winner" that's not the point, especially since our individual needs, usage and preferences vary widely. Instead I celebrate the differences and fun I have.

To a phone afficionado, I can imagine that both phone seem equally reliable/unreliable in the performance and maintenance department. But I'll never be convinced that, for the rest of us -- the people who don't know what 'root' means, use terms like "multi-platform", or know the meaning of "ram", the iphone is a more reliable phone that will peform as expected with minimal fuss.

I'm not looking to declare an overall winner either. I like and dislike each phone for various reasons. But on reliability alone, I'd definitely go with iphone.

On intelligent design choices, I prefer Android. Here's another example of how:

On iphone, there is a shortcut menu. If you want to reach the alarm clock, you slide up the short cut menu. All good, right?

Except when you click on the clock icon, it won't take you straight to the alarm clock. It will take you to the timer first. Every single time. Doesn't matter if, like most people, you rarely use the timer. Or if you use the alarm clock every day. It will take you to the timer first no matter what.

Then, to make matters worse, when you do press the clock icon and see your alarm setting, you must first press 'edit' before you press the time itself to to adjust the time. Why must you press 'edit' first? Oh, no particular reason. You just have to. Every single day.

So the process of setting the alarm takes at least two more steps than on an android. A small thing to some, a maddening annoyance to me due to the sheer stupidity and inefficiency of it. It's bad enough that you can't choose which is the default action for that shortcut, but why make the default something like timer instead of the far more important alarm clock??

 

[lunatic59]

I like analogies as much as the next guy, in fact much more so, but yours just don't make sense to me. Chris is clearly the happier, smarter, person.

There you go. That's the point exactly. Chris made his choice as did Francis. As long as both are happy with the paths they've chosen then they are both satisfied. Win-win.

In any case, in the real world of technological choice, iPhones are generally perceived to work better than Androids, rightly or wrongly. And if iphones hides their problems so well that I don't even know they're problems, than that is the better phone in user experience.

I may choose to get an Android, but it sure won't be because I think it will perform perfectly, or as well as iphone, but because it has certain features I want that I may think are worth the risk. Just to throw out some numbers here, in my mind there's a 96% chance an iphone 6 will not cause me any major heachaches over 2 years time. I believe there's about a 65% chance a Samsung 4 won't cause me any major headaches over 2 years time.

To a phone afficionado, I can imagine that both phone seem equally reliable/unreliable in the performance and maintenance department. But I'll never be convinced that, for the rest of us -- the people who don't know what 'root' means, use terms like "multi-platform", or know the meaning of "ram", the iphone is a more reliable phone that will peform as expected with minimal fuss.

I'm not looking to declare an overall winner either. I like and dislike each phone for various reasons. But on reliability alone, I'd definitely go with iphone.

Here we have to agree to disagree. I am head of IT for a logistics enterprise in the mid-Atlantic and that includes supporting mobile technologies. I also provide support for employees who bring their own devices. Besides the basics of setting up their mail clients and connecting to our public WiFi, the most problematic devices have been iPhones, specifically maintaining connectivity and dropping calls. Granted, things have improved, but we still have issues with iOS devices. Moreso than Android or Windows Phone. For me, at least, that is the definition of less reliable.

Two years ago we implemented a digital "proof of delivery" signature capture platform for our delivery fleet. There were both iOS and Android solutions from our ERP vendor so we put both into a testing phase. Over the course of 6 months 20% of the iPads failed, either through damage or defect. Only one of the Android tablets (cheap chinese clones) failed. The iPads simply were not rugged enough for daily use in the hands of a truck driver.

I have seen more iPhones sustain damage from accidents (bumps, drops and water) than Android phones. At least those that aren't in cases. I've never seen a bent one though.

The president of the company here pre-ordered an iPhone 6 and had it delivered on Launch day. He plugged it into iTunes and it proceeded to register it to his daughter's iTunes account ... not that he doesn't like Beyonce or Taylor Swift, but he had to take it to a "genius" to get it sorted out (because it was my day off, otherwise I would have had the pleasure.)

My experiences with iOS from the first iPhone to the "bigger" iPhones has been one of less reliability.

 

[heycal]

There you go. That's the point exactly. Chris made his choice as did Francis. As long as both are happy with the paths they've chosen then they are both satisfied. Win-win.

Francis might consider having to go to a doctor every few months and worrying for 5 years until his death, while Chris had no concerns at all during that same lifespan, a good thing, but then Francis would be nuts.

My experiences with iOS from the first iPhone to the "bigger" iPhones has been one of less reliability.

Perhaps. But in the world I live in, I know many people who love their reliable iphones and hated their glitchy Androids. I don't think I've ever heard anyone say something like "my iphone was nothing but headaches and problems." And my own admittedly limited experience with both devices mirrors that.

The only reason I haven't gotten an iphone yet is because I can't stand things like no notification light, no good swiftkey, extra steps required, outgoing text sound you can't turn off, etc. -- all things that most iphone users don't even seem to even notice or care about for some bizarre reason. I'll say something like "doesn't that outgoing text sound bug you?" and they'll be like "hmm. Never noticed it before. Doesn't bother me" or "notification light? Why would I want something like that?"

 

[hansangb]

I'm about as big of an Android fan as there is. But Apple makes things simpler and this is what vast majority of people like. For me, simpler equates lack of choice. But others equate it with complexity. To each his own. what I don't get about IPhone/pad is...why *not* have a back button. How hard is that? Why do I always have to hit the stupid home key??? And why does long-press on an icon to delete work, except when trying to delete an Apple Radio Station. In that app, you have to hit EDIT, then highlight, then delete. I sat there long pressing the station until my son noticed. I never saw the EDIT button off to the side.

For whatever reason, I find apple UI incredibly frustrating to use. I know, I'm in the vast minority, but it is what it is.

I do like the multiple desktop support in MacOS, however. On a PC, I had to install a program to do just that.

But ultimately, I like trying out different keyboards (swype, swiftkey and google voice are my favorites). I like Google Now's voice capabilities (far superior to Siri, I tested it myself). I like choices, and so I like Android.


One question for Lunatic59, is it possible that more IPads got broken because more people were using it? I would agree that the design philosophy of Apple (sleek, think etc.) can mean it's easier to damage. But my first gut feel was "maybe more people wanted to use it"

hsb

 

[lunatic59]

One question for Lunatic59, is it possible that more IPads got broken because more people were using it? I would agree that the design philosophy of Apple (sleek, think etc.) can mean it's easier to damage. But my first gut feel was "maybe more people wanted to use it"

hsb

Nope. We didn't give drivers a choice. They either got an iPad or an Android Tablet. Our test group consisted of equal numbers of units. We really wanted to see if there were any advantages to go with the more expensive iPads and if there was a difference in the learning/training. The durability was a bit of a surprise as we got pretty rugged cases for all of them. What we found was little to no difference in using an iPod or Android, and the ability to train the drivers was not skewed by platform.

 

[zipred]

But in the world I live in, I know many people who love their reliable iphones and hated their glitchy Androids. I don't think I've ever heard anyone say something like "my iphone was nothing but headaches and problems." And my own admittedly limited experience with both devices mirrors that.

I live, breathe and work in tech. One of my great interests is Mobile Computing and Communications. A specialty I've focused on for 15 years.

Being one that loves to learn, progress, and live on the cutting edge, I have maintained a multi-platform environment based on Windows/Unix/Linux/OS X/Android/iOS/WindowsPhone and a OS startup called OpenMoko. With a very robust NAS equipped 10 Terabyte home network I'm fortunate to have the hardware in multiples ie: Desktops, Laptops, Tablets and Smartphones to enjoy a vast variety of experiences.

To the specifics of one device or platform, brand or type being better than the rest, I'm not married to any of them.

Oh sure I have my favorites but that's irrelevant. I am the go to guy for tech advice in my circle of friends and quite frankly when asked I rarely suggest the same device twice. I listen to what they want to accomplish and then suggest what I feel will meet their needs.

Today's devices are all so good it's hard to go wrong.

Most importantly remember there isn't a perfect device no matter what you choose.

Often Android will get a bad rap due to its terrific openness. Usually the person bashing Androids have very little knowledge, it's just a fact. Anyone can do ultra simple.

 

[heycal]

In that app, you have to hit EDIT, then highlight, then delete. I sat there long pressing the station until my son noticed. I never saw the EDIT button off to the side.

For whatever reason, I find apple UI incredibly frustrating to use. I know, I'm in the vast minority, but it is what it is.

I do like the multiple desktop support in MacOS, however. On a PC, I had to install a program to do just that.

But ultimately, I like trying out different keyboards (swype, swiftkey and google voice are my favorites). I like Google Now's voice capabilities (far superior to Siri, I tested it myself). I like choices, and so I like Android.

I'm with you. iphones can be frustrating to to use (though not as much as Itunes!), and some of their design choices are idiotic.

Can one put google now voice on an iphone?

But in my experience, they do do what they are supposed to do very reliably and with no work required.

I

Today's devices are all so good it's hard to go wrong.

I wish this were true, at least where I'm coming from. I just went through two different LG G2's that both had several glitches. (I can dig out the list of problems I noted while using them if anyone is interested). Had either of them worked properly, I would have kept them. They were great -- when they worked.

As I think I said before, I may go with Android, but it sure won't be because I think it will as reliable as iphone.

One thing I learned today though, that did push me toward iphone: if I get an iphone 6, and use Yosemite on my Mac Air, I'll have all sorts of helpful integration going on, including things like reading and responding to iphone texts right from my Mac so I could use a full keyboard.

Another factor is that my daughter, the gf, and most of my friends also use iphone. It's nice to be able to help them, or get help from them, and all speak the same phone language and share chargers and so on.

If only iphone weren't so damn annoying and backwards in various ways...

 

[heycal]

Here are the various problems I encountered on one, or both, of the G2's I tried recently. To be fair, some are third party app errors, some might be things I couldn't figure out, and some are exceedingly minor. But overall, it added up to a trying user experience...

1. Handcent glitch: a mesage came in from one contact, but the pop-up displayed an older message from a different contact.

2. The wallpaper I chose for my home and lock screen mysteriously reverted to the default wallpaper a day later. (Both phones).

3. I could not add hotmail to the intergrated mailbox, only my yahoo. (Both phones).

4. The K-9 mail app I put in 'closed unexpectantly" at least once.

8.. The handcent text got buried under the (swiftkey) keyboard a few times on long texts. (It should push the text up and out of sight as you type). (Both phones)

9. There were a few notifcation light failures, and some that rarely worked at all. (I was using lightflow). (Both phones).

10. I once got a weird notification while using the kindle app saying something about an "invalid item". Also a "can't sync" message.

11. The kindle app "closed unexpectantly" a few times. (Both phones).

12. Once when I using google maps, I clicked on something on a map and the weather forecast appeared on the screen for no known reason. Several times in a row. I was like "Show me map already, stop telling me its raining out!!"

13. Once while listening to google play, a song seemed to skip, and then abruptly switched to a new song.

14. The quiet mode tab would not work sometimes. I would press it either on or off, and it would not change. Had to press it several times on more than one occasion. (both phones).

17. Suddenly, after a few days of no problems, the home screen delayed giving me the correct time. I like to use the phone in unlock mode, and every time I turned on the phone, it would display the last time the phone was on before jumping to the correct time. I'd be like "What time is it? It's 8:45 -- I mean, wait: 9:20!"

18. I got a couple of weird "voice mail error" notifications at random times.

19. The location mode switched from the "low battery" setting I had set it at to "high battery/GPS" settings once without me changing it. (I just happened to notice the change when I was in there for some other reason.)

20. This one is not really a bug, but having to agree to location services permissions everytime I toggled on the location tab was annoying, as were the seemingly endless notifications about app updates available, and the 'wi-fi network detected!" notifications I could not disable on the Verizon version of the phone.

 

[heycal1]

I posted this in a new thread, but thought I'd include it hear too for anyone following along:

So I got a s4 today with Verizon (and apparently a new username) and I'm going to try it out and see if I like. I experimented with the LG G2 before this, and while I loved much about it, it was just too glitchy. Before that I was using an iphone 4 for awhile.

So after a few hours with the phone, here are my questions so far:

1. Can one control power saving settings? On the G2, one could choose when it got activated, choose which things to put on low power,and the details of each. But I see no such settings on the s4. It just says "power saving" without detailing what exact power saving measures will be taken when you press it.

2. I don't really want sync on (or even mobile data maybe?) as a general battery saving rule, correct? But if I turn either off, I can't refresh my email. (I have it set on manual). Thoughts?

3. When I hit the little update symbol on the weather widget on the home page to get the current temperature, it suggests I turn on high accuracy mode in locations first. I I just want the current temperature without seeing this prompt every time or having to change my settings. I've never seen a request like this before on any previous phone. Can I get rid of it somehow?

4. Can I change the style of the icons? Message and email look too similar, so I might want to change them. (G2 made this very easy to swap different icons).

5. If I read a message in notifcations, can I make it so that pressing 'clear' will reset the mesage counter? It seems like I'll read it, clear it, but the indicator in the messaging app will still show there's 1 message waiting. I have to then go into the messaging app to get rid of it.

6. I have pop-up text message enabled, and text preview. Can I tap or swipe on the message itself when it appears on the lock screen and be taken directly into the messaging app to reply? That's instinctively what I want to do -- press the thing I want to respond to -- but it seems like I might have to unlock the screen first to get into messaging. I'd love to skip this step like I could on other phones.

7. in blocking mode, is there a setting that allows a repeat caller from an unknown number to bypass the block and ring if they call twice in three minutes? LG and iphone have this, and It's a feature I value in case someone is trying to reach me from an unfamilar phone.

8. I went to sleep last night with the screen off and the phone charging. I woke up in the middle of the night to see that the screen was on. Why might that be?

9. Suddenly late this morning the screen timeout is not honoring the one minute time out setting I've given it. Double checked the setting, and it's still at one minute, but the screen is staying on long past that. Why?

So those are my questions so far, and I'm sure I'll have others. Thanks for any input on these.

 

[itsallgood]

So, I’ve had my S4 since June 2013. (Did receive a replacement in Aug. 2014, because the bottom part of the screen was flickering and the power button got stuck, causing a consent boot loop.) I’ve never owned an Apple product and probably never will. (Not because their bad, just personal preference.)

This is what I love about the S4:

1) 5” screen size is perfect for one handed use. (I actually thought it would be to big at first.)

2) Super Amoled HD display @ 430 ppi.

3) 32 GB on board storage, which is really around 24 GB after all the stuff Samsung and carrier put on it.

4) 2 GB of RAM
5) Android 4.4.4 (Soon to get 5.0 Lollipop)
6) All plastic body. (I prefer plastic over metal, since I case my phones)

7) Light in weight @ only 4.59 oz
8) Light, infrared and Proximity Sensor

9) S-voice for voice commands
10) 13 MP rear camera and 2 MP front facing camera. Camera takes great night, indoor/outdoor pictures. Love the HDR, Panorama and duel camera settings.

11) Expandable storage. (I store all my music, pictures and videos on a 64 GB SD card.)

12) 2600 mAh removable battery. (Can make it thru a 14 hrs. day easily, with moderate to heavy usage.)

13) Has NFC, DNLA, S-Beam, Screen Mirroring (w/o needing a cord), Reading Mode (Tones down the screen brightness, for selected apps.) and Multi-window (having two apps open at the same time)
14) Notification light

15) Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass, Thermometer, Gesture, Humidity and Barometer.
16) It’s a really fast with its Quad core 1900 Mhz processor.

17) Smart stay, air view, air gesture, hands-free mode, blocking mode, smart pause and smart scroll. (Love that I don’t have to use them and can easily turn them off)
18) I like the settings set up, with the different tabs and how you can access everything from within the notification panel. (Long press on a quick setting to take you right to those setting.)
19) I have a lot of ram heavy games I play and have no slow down in frame rates while playing. Game play is very smooth.

20) I like Samsungs email, calendar, watch-on, S-memo, group play, video and optical reader apps.
Now, I have close to 300 apps that I’ve installed and a lot that are always running in the background. I have noticed at times some lag when just waking up my phone and in certain apps. I attribute this to TouchWize, even though I use ADW launcer, and all the apps I have that are running in the background. (Its not all the time and the lag isn’t that bad.)

 

[itsallgood]

I posted this in a new thread, but thought I'd include it hear too for anyone following along:

So I got a s4 today with Verizon (and apparently a new username) and I'm going to try it out and see if I like. I experimented with the LG G2 before this, and while I loved much about it, it was just too glitchy. Before that I was using an iphone 4 for awhile.

So after a few hours with the phone, here are my questions so far:

1. Can one control power saving settings? On the G2, one could choose when it got activated, choose which things to put on low power,and the details of each. But I see no such settings on the s4. It just says "power saving" without detailing what exact power saving measures will be taken when you press it.

2. I don't really want sync on (or even mobile data maybe?) as a general battery saving rule, correct? But if I turn either off, I can't refresh my email. (I have it set on manual). Thoughts?

3. When I hit the little update symbol on the weather widget on the home page to get the current temperature, it suggests I turn on high accuracy mode in locations first. I I just want the current temperature without seeing this prompt every time or having to change my settings. I've never seen a request like this before on any previous phone. Can I get rid of it somehow?

4. Can I change the style of the icons? Message and email look too similar, so I might want to change them. (G2 made this very easy to swap different icons).

5. If I read a message in notifcations, can I make it so that pressing 'clear' will reset the mesage counter? It seems like I'll read it, clear it, but the indicator in the messaging app will still show there's 1 message waiting. I have to then go into the messaging app to get rid of it.

6. I have pop-up text message enabled, and text preview. Can I tap or swipe on the message itself when it appears on the lock screen and be taken directly into the messaging app to reply? That's instinctively what I want to do -- press the thing I want to respond to -- but it seems like I might have to unlock the screen first to get into messaging. I'd love to skip this step like I could on other phones.

7. in blocking mode, is there a setting that allows a repeat caller from an unknown number to bypass the block and ring if they call twice in three minutes? LG and iphone have this, and It's a feature I value in case someone is trying to reach me from an unfamilar phone.

8. I went to sleep last night with the screen off and the phone charging. I woke up in the middle of the night to see that the screen was on. Why might that be?

9. Suddenly late this morning the screen timeout is not honoring the one minute time out setting I've given it. Double checked the setting, and it's still at one minute, but the screen is staying on long past that. Why?

So those are my questions so far, and I'm sure I'll have others. Thanks for any input on these.

Glade to see your giving the S4 a try. I will try and answer your questions as best I can.
1) If you long press “Power Savings Mode” you will see the power savings options. (You can only change them if power saver is turned on ) if you pick auto enabled, I believe it turns on at around 20 % battery left.
2) With the auto sync. You can leave it on always, just change the setting in each app that sync.’s to a given time. Now if you prefer, you can down load a 3rd party app. To either turn off mobile data on a schedule or for you to turn it off manually.
3) I know what you mean, but not sure if you can turn that off.

4) You might have to go with a different launcher.
5) Not sure. (I don’t use the stock SMS app.) In Handcent, if I press the X in the popup window it’s considered read, but if I clear it from within the notification bar, its not marked read. (This is most likely a safety feature to not miss any messages.)

6) With Handcent you can.

7) I didn’t see any such feature in that setting.
8) Sometimes if you received a message, phone call, etc. that might have awoken the phone. Also, there is a setting called “Smart Stay” which if it detects you looking at the screen, will keep the screen on. Also, in “Reading Mode”, I believe the screen stay on for the apps. In that list too.

9) See above and also check your other smart modes.