[RANT] Are any of you disappointed with the Galaxy S4?

[XplosiV]

Would anybody think the tv remote thing would make more sense if it were voice controlled? I can see saying "watch ESPN" being a reality. And soon. That would be convenient no?

Sammy 7k & 8k series have optional voice & motion control via built in mic and web cam

 

[FinancialWar]

I am actually disappointed with people being disappointed with the S4.

 

[EarlyMon]

I am actually disappointed with people being disappointed with the S4.

No one is really required to like what you do.

There has yet to be a perfect smartphone.

If SGS4 is perfect for you, great.

Your opinions of its superiority to all others is simply that - your opinion. Your faith in specs is simply that as well.

No one has tried one, no one knows if the radios are decent, no one knows the battery life under actual use conditions, and no one came away from last night's event with a clear statement of what processors we know we'll get with certainty in any region.

Cheers.

 

[Slug]

I am actually disappointed [...]

Why? Different people naturally have varying expectations, and the 'enthusiast community" is notoriously hard to please.

In any case, the world would be a very boring place if we all agreed about everything.

 

[sean76]

No one is really required to like what you do.

There has yet to be a perfect smartphone.

If SGS4 is perfect for you, great.

Your opinions of its superiority to all others is simply that - your opinion. Your faith in specs is simply that as well.

No one has tried one, no one knows if the radios are decent, no one knows the battery life under actual use conditions, and no one came away from last night's event with a clear statement of what processors we know we'll get with certainty in any region.

Cheers.

Couldn't have said it better ...

 

[sean76]

Why? Different people naturally have varying expectations, and the 'enthusiast community" is notoriously hard to please.

In any case, the world would be a very boring place if we all agreed about everything.

Life would basically be the same everyday!
The opinion is what makes us all different and unique in our own way.

 

[sooyong94]

Something interesting from Wikipedia:

A popular misconception is that all materials that bend are "weak" and those that don't are "strong." In reality, many materials that undergo large elastic and plastic deformations, such as steel, are able to absorb stresses that would cause brittle materials, such as glass, with minimal plastic deformation ranges, to break.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deformation_(engineering)

Yup, plastic may feel cheap, but they are much more resilient than what you think. If plastic is so cheap, then why manufacturers like Nokia still using it on their Lumias and yet everyone is giving heaps of praises upon it? The GS4 isn't a big upgrade compared to the GS3, but I'm pretty sure people with low-end or old phones are likely to upgrade to the new ones... This is what you are expecting if you are upgrading from a flagship to another flagship...

 

[Gmash]

I see a lot of people saying "Samsung hyped this phone so much and didn't come through". But did they really? Most of the hype seems to have come from the minds of the people in the Android community. Samsung really didn't say much about it at all. A few leaks here and there, but that's the norm. And they leaks turned out mostly right. The specs are outstanding. The only thing people are really complaining about is the fact that it looks like a Samsung. Not sure what they were expecting.

 

[davoid]

In any case, the world would be a very boring place if we all agreed about everything.

I... agree...

 

[lennydude]

Well...............there sure are a lot of different opinions in this thread I agree with most as others do, but have my own opinions as others do also.

First off......PLASTIC. I have owned the S3 since it came out. I am one of those peeps that use cases on my phones. I will give the average "non-phone" person $100 to tell me what color and material the back of the phone is made out of!

I wonder what the percentage of peeps is that use their phone "naked", without a case? I have a friend that has the HTC One X and he prefers using it naked. He goes around bragging about doing so however and that tells me he is just trying to be different............oh well.

Some phones that I think have awesome backs are the 4S and 5 iPhone series and the Nexus 4. Wonder what percent of these folks use the phone without putting a case on it?

I love my S3 and probably will get the HTC One or the S4 after i get to hold them and use them. If not I will just wait for the next version.

As far as sales go..............wonder why so many people buy the Apple phones? The 3G to 3GS........they sold millions. The 4 to 4S...........they sold millions. The 5 to the upcoming 5S...........they will indeed sell millions. So much for releasing new phones that are the same old same old............lol. The S4 will indeed sell well because it is a great phone. The design is 100% subjective and IMHO at least the polycarbonate body is a moot point seeing how I will cover it with a case if I do indeed choose to buy one.

The specs of the phone are great and like someone said, I use Nova Prime instead of Touch Wiz so that part of the conversation does not directly effect me. I personally only use just a few of the phones options and the S3 meets my demands 100%. Love the thing. I just like to have one of the latest phones for speed and productivity.

There is one thing that Samsung does not talk about...............using the USB features with the phone. I have the USB cable (think it is called the OTG cable?) and use a USB stick with my phone all the time for videos and pictures and programs. Nice feature for me at least. It will be a deal breaker for me if the S4 or HTC One does not have this feature.

Oh well..................enough for now. I really think Sammy will have a big hit on it's hands if the press doesn't throw it under the bus in a bad way

 

[ChiTownJim]

I think we're going to start seeing innovation on smartphones starts slowing down. How much more can they add to these pocket able devices.

I am disappointed in the processor just like last year with the gs3, if these processors aren't ready for lte markets I'd rather wait a couple months for them to come out. Or maybe they want to show the better specs on the note series.

Ohh well I'm waiting on the X phone gets at least get announced. Or maybe I'll pick up a gs4 I've got an upgraded I need burn soon.

I'm glad to see an ir blaster that's a feature I've been wanting for a long time

 

[sergey]

I think we're going to start seeing innovation on smartphones starts slowing down. How much more can they add to these pocket able devices.

I am disappointed in the processor just like last year with the gs3, if these processors aren't ready for lte markets I'd rather wait a couple months for them to come out. Or maybe they want to show the better specs on the note series.

Ohh well I'm waiting on the X phone gets at least get announced. Or maybe I'll pick up a gs4 I've got an upgraded I need burn soon.

I'm glad to see an ir blaster that's a feature I've been wanting for a long time

I agree. Innovation is slowing, but I think everybody is looking at other devices for innovation- phone, tablet, now it's glasses or watches.

 

[sean76]

I think we're going to start seeing innovation on smartphones starts slowing down. How much more can they add to these pocket able devices.

I am disappointed in the processor just like last year with the gs3, if these processors aren't ready for lte markets I'd rather wait a couple months for them to come out. Or maybe they want to show the better specs on the note series.

Ohh well I'm waiting on the X phone gets at least get announced. Or maybe I'll pick up a gs4 I've got an upgraded I need burn soon.

I'm glad to see an ir blaster that's a feature I've been wanting for a long time

Jim where u been hiding man? I thought you we're an HTC die hard , with all that love you gave to your original Droid Incredible...lol

 

[sean76]

I agree. Innovation is slowing, but I think everybody is looking at other devices for innovation- phone, tablet, now it's glasses or watches.

Yup...how much more can they pack into these phone! 1080p is like the ceiling for mobile phones, even a bit overboard honestly, 720p was fine IMO! I'd like to see more attention paid to perfecting what we have and making things better and better without jumping into new pools that are only half full. I'd also like to see attention paid to battery life, IMO if Motorolla can do it...So can the rest of these clowns like LG, HTC, Samsung, etc.

My nexus 4 is getting 15 hrs of battery life, which is fairly good considering my usage. However my dad gets like a day and half with his Droid Razr Maxx HD, and that's an LTE phone unlike my HSPA+ n4. Like I said, if moto can do it, others can also!

 

[jackdubl]

Well, the Note 2 supposedly gets, like, 2 days of battery life. I bought one for that reason bit just couldn't deal with the size. Maybe they can accomplish something similar with the S4.

 

[EarlyMon]

I'd like to see them all drop the innovation called thin.

It packs things closer together so that shock is inevitably transferred to the screen, and they could add just a little size away from thin in favor of a larger battery.

Extended or replaceable batteries, meh. Most people roll with what comes with the phone. And if doing a replaceable battery, do it right. No cover to pop off. Never used to on a lot of phones like the StarTac or the Ocean, replaceable battery also meant easy to swap.

Doesn't have to be a brick, just not all designer thin. My brother feels about his SGS3 as I do about my LTEvo - immediate reaction was the things were so thin and light we thought a breeze would make them fly out of our hands, plus obviously fragile. Boom, two cases ordered right off the bat. My wife got hers, same thing, "Honey, not carrying this until you get me a case."

Yeah, the Maxx is thin. Say it with me - huge bezel.

For the record, I like plastic, even with a fancy name to match the species of a thermoplastic polymer like polycarbonate.

Maybe it's just some of us, but that's how I feel about it.

 

[eagerbilt]

Do any of you have absolutely no desire to pick up the Galaxy S4 after watching the live stream?

I for one have been pumped up about this launch for a long time. I was excited after seeing all of these leaked specs and how it was going to be even better than HTC One.

So I tuned into the live stream and saw the Galaxy S4 for the first time. A little bit of me died inside after seeing the Galaxy S4 looked like a replica of the S3. I wanted this to be the greatest thing yet but it just isn't (for me). If the Galaxy S4 looked like the HTC One it would be without a doubt the best phone on the planet.

I feel like Samsung was very conservative making the GS4 like the GS3- I feel like they're trying to be Apple. I know all the amazing specs and stuff along with the removable battery and that there's a micro-sd card slot.

I know that I'm not the only one disappointed in Samsung and there are probably a lot of people on AFs that's also a little upset. If this thread gets out of hand then I'll definitely be open to mods closing it, but can we please have a serious discussion about how we feel about the GS4?

Yeah really...what FinancialWar said! Are you nay-sayers serious?...it's not even for sale yet. The so-called Sammy bloatware looks pretty intriguing to me...I'm interested in trying it out.
I suppose to-each-his-own which why, as an S2 user, I love this new S4 because I skipped over the S3 which I imagine is how many current S2 users will feel...and there are a lot of S2 users. The specs on this new device are top shelf. The only complaint I could have about any S device is the plastic build quality, but even if it were made of steel, I'd put a case over it anyways.
Can't believe how picky people can be. But upset?...seriously folks, get a life.

 

[eagerbilt]

I'd like to see them all drop the innovation called thin.

It packs things closer together so that shock is inevitably transferred to the screen, and they could add just a little size away from thin in favor of a larger battery.

Extended or replaceable batteries, meh. Most people roll with what comes with the phone. And if doing a replaceable battery, do it right. No cover to pop off. Never used to on a lot of phones like the StarTac or the Ocean, replaceable battery also meant easy to swap.

Doesn't have to be a brick, just not all designer thin. My brother feels about his SGS3 as I do about my LTEvo - immediate reaction was the things were so thin and light we thought a breeze would make them fly out of our hands, plus obviously fragile. Boom, two cases ordered right off the bat. My wife got hers, same thing, "Honey, not carrying this until you get me a case."

Yeah, the Maxx is thin. Say it with me - huge bezel.

For the record, I like plastic, even with a fancy name to match the species of a thermoplastic polymer like polycarbonate.

Maybe it's just some of us, but that's how I feel about it.

I agree, I prefer better build quality..I want a thicker phone that accommodates a longer lasting battery, but I'm afraid Samsung takes into consideration the cost when shipping out millions of devices to carriers.

 

[EarlyMon]

I agree, I prefer better build quality..I want a thicker phone that accommodates a longer lasting battery, but I'm afraid Samsung takes into consideration the cost when shipping out millions of devices to carriers.

Yeah, I agree, they all keep telling us it's about cost control and bang for the buck.

Which I always believe until it's been out for 6 months and costs a hundred bucks on contract, then fifty at nine months... See what they did there?

 

[sean76]

Yeah really...what FinancialWar said! Are you nay-sayers serious?...it's not even for sale yet. The so-called Sammy bloatware looks pretty intriguing to me...I'm interested in trying it out.
I suppose to-each-his-own which why, as an S2 user, I love this new S4 because I skipped over the S3 which I imagine is how many current S2 users will feel...and there are a lot of S2 users. The specs on this new device are top shelf. The only complaint I could have about any S device is the plastic build quality, but even if it were made of steel, I'd put a case over it anyways.
Can't believe how picky people can be. But upset?...seriously folks, get a life.

You my friend are a perfect candidate for the S4...And I can imagine anyone who did what you did by skipping the S3 to be equally as excited as you are.

However, for people who owned the S3 (like myself), or own the S3...There really isn't anything monumental on the device that would make them (or me) go OMG I need to get this phone as soon as it comes out. But S2 owners like yourself will absolutely love the S4...That's a given!

 

[AndroidifyMe]

I want to know what were people looking for or expecting in the S4? It has all the specs we could want that are realistic right now. Okay, the physical design didn't change but for what? They didn't need to. The design alone wasn't going to change how to phone worked. Just look and feel. But it will still perform like a beast and have the latest.

For anyone thinking the One is better, think for a sec. HTC was forced to dramatically change. If you think about it, their past phones pretty much all looked the same to me. Sensation, One X, One X+, Desire, Rezound, Thunderbolt, etc. HTC was all over the place & Sense became bloat. Their marketing sucked. They were just pushing out phones with no real distinct. All built from great hardware but what's great hardware with a bloat like skin and repetitive number of devices that all look alike which isn't working for you. HTC needed to change their identity or claim it back I should say by continuing to build a solid looking phone then tone down Sense dramatically. There are still some little things it can use but it's to a point now from what I saw that it's a solid competitor now.

Now, it really just comes down to what you personally like as far as build quality and features within the custom skin and to their own. At the end of the day the One and S4 match each other and beat each other in certain areas.

Build quality the One has that hands down. A very handsome phone indeed.

The S4 isn't ugly or bad. Just a lesser choice of design. You hear plastic and think cheap. Cheap just means it cost less but doesn't mean it sucks. If someone sold the same exact legit thing but one just cost less which one would you buy? I look at it like that. People mistake the word cheap now a days for poor quality. It is not poor quality.

The One has a weak battery in my opinion (something HTC refuses to upgrade in)

S4 has a pretty decent batt size and you can take it out

The One & S4 both have a very nice camera on front and back. HTC's favors in their own new ultra pixels and Zoe while Samsung snatched over a few Galaxy Camera features. So it's preference. Both are great looking in that department.

HTC One comes with a fixed internal storage.

S4 has 3 variants of internal storage and you can increase with an sd card.

You have your favor of skins over Android.

Other than that they pretty much match each other. 1080p screens. S4 is pentile but at that res who even cares? US versions both are quad. International may be Octa but it's not like all 8 are being used at the same time. So let's get the bigger number out of our heads. Both have the latest specs. Different positions in their business so it really caused for very different choice of path. It took HTC this long to realize what was to much and what wasn't enough. Samsung was on the right path since the original Galaxy and has had success the entire way. They did just fine. Some people compare it to what Apple did. But Apple never innovated when they kept it the same. They literally kept it all the same. Their OS would never change. They added features that it needed for a long time. Samsung adds features that are cool and sometimes gimmick like, but it's a step into the feature. All great things sometimes start as a gimmick but when they evolve and get better they make sense later on. Like 3D. We don't need it but when it get's to the point where it looks real like some futuristic movie people will be all over it. Some things are just introductions. & then yes, sometimes we really don't need that and it's a selling point.

Personally, I like the design of the One better, but I would rather have the S4 as a phone. I do wish they would give it a more alien look since it's called the Galaxy. Not some nature look. Just doesn't make sense to me.

 

[trparky]

I own a Galaxy Nexus which was released around November 17th, 2011. Personally speaking, as a person who likes Samsung phones and hasn't owned a Galaxy S2 or S3 but is familiar with TouchWiz, I'm excited about the S4 and that I will definitely buy this phone when I switch carriers.

I know, strange for a person who's running vanilla Android to go to a skinned Android such as TouchWiz. Yes, I know... strange as that may be. But, I think that there is some major innovation being done by the OEMs that stock AOSP can barely even come close to reproducing.

 

[EarlyMon]

And if you change your mind, there's always root and an AOSP rom.

Choice is an excellent thing, I like added features of manufacturers' skins and apps, and knowing that I'm never stuck when I can just root.

 

[miniSQ]

The 3 biggest dissapointments for me in order:

1. the screen is still that crappy super amoled, that on the S3 had a heavy cyan cast. The ones i saw on launch night looked like they were heavy on the magenta cast. I think the One hands down will kick the S4 on screen quality.
2. Its basically the same software as the S3 with a few already available widgets bundled.
3. Same form factor as the S3...love it or hate it...making the S4 the same as the S3 was a huge mistake. Apple made a pretty major jump from the 4 to the 5. They do this to keep people wanting the latest "look". I bet you 90% of iphone buyers are buying the "attention" they get...not the phone. To me this is where Android has the advantage, most android buyers i think are looking for a great phone, but they also want to noticed as having the latest and greatest. This is where the S4 lets people down.

But maybe samsung is onto something...its either an iphone or its not...maybe they realize that no matter what they do, its still not an iphone. So why waste money retooling every 9 months.x

 

[trparky]

Don't get me wrong, I've run third-party ROMs for quite awhile. Some of you may have heard of AOKP (Android Open Kang Project), some of you may have not. But anyways, AOKP is like many of the other third-party ROMs that take stock AOSP Android and add their own stuff to it to make very unique ROMs.

As great as some of those third-party ROMs are, I feel that even the best of them lack the polish and sophistication that the OEM Android distributions such as TouchWiz Android has.

I know... heresy, right. Yeah... heresy. I expect to be hanged at dawn.