Would you upgrade from an S3 or S4 for this?

[Don S]

I would say that if you took any like of phones and asked the same question, you'd get about the same answer. Users with 2 year old phones should upgrade since things are much improved, users with last year's phone maybe not. I think that is just about always the case with modern flagship phones, unless there is some critical new feature on the newest version.

That said, I have the S4 and I am getting the S5. I love that they added water resistance, I am looking forward to the faster processor, faster and better camera (if it proves out to be so in real world tests), better screen, improved battery life, etc. There are many improvements that I will appreciate, and since I have a upgrade avail, I will definitely be using it for the S5. I think there are plenty of improvements here and to expect massive "innovation" every year is probably not realistic. My GS4 runs well, I like it. I can't wait for the GS5 now.

 

[Don S]

From an S3? maybe.

From an S4? no.

The S5 is noticablily bigger than the S3/S4, personally I think it's too big.

S3 - 136.6 x 70.6 x 8.6 mm
S4 - 136.6 x 69.8 x 7.9 mm
S5 - 142 x 72.5 x 8.1 mm

Yes, the S5 dimensions look almost identical to the Droid DNA which I had prior to the GS4. I did feel the DNA was just a little too tall, but I liked it, and it was perfectly usable. I do feel smartphones are becoming too big for one-handed use. If you can use 2 hands all the time, then Note-like phones are fine. But for me, I would appreciate a little restraint in the size going forward.

 

[Shocky]

Yes, the S5 dimensions look almost identical to the Droid DNA which I had prior to the GS4. I did feel the DNA was just a little too tall, but I liked it, and it was perfectly usable. I do feel smartphones are becoming too big for one-handed use. If you can use 2 hands all the time, then Note-like phones are fine. But for me, I would appreciate a little restraint in the size going forward.

Galaxy S3/S4 size is as big as I'm going, they already feel uncomfortable in my pocket so any larger just isn't going to work for me.

I can use the Galaxy S4 with one hand for basic functions but it can be a bit of the struggle sometimes.

I'm also annoyed they are keeping the buttons, with the addition of the fullscreen exclusive mode the buttons can just disappear now, we don't need them anymore.

 

[Sandroidfan]

That said, I have the S4 and I am getting the S5. I love that they added water resistance, I am looking forward to the faster processor, faster and better camera (if it proves out to be so in real world tests), better screen, improved battery life, etc. There are many improvements that I will appreciate, and since I have a upgrade avail, I will definitely be using it for the S5. I think there are plenty of improvements here and to expect massive "innovation" every year is probably not realistic. My GS4 runs well, I like it. I can't wait for the GS5 now.

Like you I appreciate those improvements in S5. I like water-resistance, fast camera with good HDR mode, adaptive contrast screen, ultra power saving mode, etc. It all adds up for much better usability.

I am coming from Razr HD, so it's going to be big jump anyway. Last year when some S4 owners complained about lags, I felt like they don't know what the real lag is. S4 feels incredibly smoother than RHD and S5 should be even better. And the camera on RHD is probably one of the worsts. So I'm expecting better camera experience as well.

 

[Don S]

Like you I appreciate those improvements in S5. I like water-resistance, fast camera with good HDR mode, adaptive contrast screen, ultra power saving mode, etc. It all adds up for much better usability.

I am coming from Razr HD, so it's going to be big jump anyway. Last year when some S4 owners complained about lags, I felt like they don't know what the real lag is. S4 feels incredibly smoother than RHD and S5 should be even better. And the camera on RHD is probably one of the worsts. So I'm expecting better camera experience as well.

I am sure you'll love the GS5 then. Good luck ! I got my GS4 around July or so, so I think some of the "lag" was removed by firmware updates (if there was any to start with). My GS4 runs beautifully. I never see any lag and I am quite happy with it.

My wife has the Original Droid Razr MAxx and THAT lags ..

 

[silentwitness]

currently using a s4 and i dont think the new phone is good enough to warrant an upgrade and i normally change my phone every year. I was very disappointed with the s5. It needed more ram 2gb just does not cut it now days. The only upgrade that is worth it would be the waterproof but im very careful with my phones so i dont see this being worth it for me. In all probability knowing how bad samung has got in the last sometime i wont get the s5 which they announced will probably get some other version with exynosys processor.

 

[Don S]

currently using a s4 ... I was very disappointed with the s5. It needed more ram 2gb just does not cut it now days. ...

I want to understand this because I see a few of these posts and I just don't get it. My GS4 is smooth as butter, and 2GB is perfect for me. What is happening on your phone that needs more than 2GB or RAM? It must be some apps or games I don't use maybe ...

 

[rushmore]

One thing though that is cool IMO on the S5 is the 1989 Gameboy mode. That is what I call it anyway. Monochrome is so retro

A great idea and surprised nobody tried this already for saving power when you need to.

 

[mpavlansky]

I'm curious about the rumors about a "prime" version. If such an animal exists, I'd be well served waiting a little longer in hopes of a bigger battery, more RAM and/or slightly larger screen. I'm going to collect the feedback from initial S5 users on its speed, bloatware, screen size, battery life, etc. then I'll decide whether to jump in or hold off for the next big thing.

 

[Shocky]

Just going through the specs and realized something, the Galaxy S5's camera has no optical image stabilization. :stupido2:

I know it can focus really fast but why miss out something which is proving to be very beneficial to devices like the HTC One, Galaxy Note 3, LG G2 and Nexus 5.

 

[ec34500]

I currently have the s3 and still to this day in love with it (after about two years)! But it's starting to get old and laggy with time, so I definitely plan to switch to the s5!

Does anyone know what size sim it takes? micro or nano sim?

 

[jackdubl]

Still on my pre-ordered S3, running a lean stock rom. It's faster today than when I bought it. I feel Samsung has been going downhill ever since the S3. I wish they would focus on speed and battery instead of more sensors and more bloated gimmicks. And build quality has decreased every year since the S3/Note 2. Each subsequent phone has felt cheaper and more flimsy than the last.

I'll wait to hold/use an S5 to decide, but I'm definitely not where I was when the S3 came out. I was selling that phone to whoever would listen, long before it was actually released in my carrier.

 

[webby62]

Yep S2>S5 what sold it to me was the removable bat and sdcard,i like the fingerprint also ,contract runs out 1st march so seems the right thing to do.

 

[Sandroidfan]

Just going through the specs and realized something, the Galaxy S5's camera has no optical image stabilization. :stupido2:

I know it can focus really fast but why miss out something which is proving to be very beneficial to devices like the HTC One, Galaxy Note 3, LG G2 and Nexus 5.

I read Note 3 only has digital image stabilization (bumping up ISO), not optical. Didn't know One has that (seems it has). But the general consensus seems S4 camera is better than One's camera despite not having OIS.

OIS is most useful in long telephoto zoom where it's hard to avoid shake blur. But in phone camera with fixed focal lens at wide angle, there is not so much benefit especially if focus/shutter speed is fast.

 

[Shocky]

I read Note 3 only has digital image stabilization (bumping up ISO), not optical. Didn't know One has that (seems it has). But the general consensus seems S4 camera is better than One's camera despite not having OIS.

OIS is most useful in long telephoto zoom where it's hard to avoid shake blur. But in phone camera with fixed focal lens at wide angle, there is not so much benefit especially if focus/shutter speed is fast.

That's weird, I've read reviews which said it has OIS, but yes it appears to lack this feature also, silly Samsung.

Anyway, the Galaxy S4 camera is better if you have good lighting otherwise the quality drops very quickly as the lighting level lowers. The HTC One captures less detail but is very good when it comes to low lighting and moving objects, so in that regard it's more consistent.

Also one of the main things that ruin photos from smartphones is camera shaking, having optical image stabilization will help you take clearer photos, it also helps you capture better shots with lower light levels.

It's also great to have when recording video, no more shaky cam and a clearer image.

The benefits are not just for zoomed video recording.

 

[Lennatron]

Faster focus is nice. The fingerprint worries me because, well what if it decides to not like your fingerprint anymore? We have a safe that decided it doesn't like my wife's, barely works for her.

I don't know if it's worth the upgrade for S4 folks, but S3 I would suggest. If they don't mind going a little larger.

Maybe the S5 has an option to enter a Pin/Password if the finger print scan fails? I know Swipe to Unlock and Face Unlock required a Pin as a backup.

 

[silentwitness]

I want to understand this because I see a few of these posts and I just don't get it. My GS4 is smooth as butter, and 2GB is perfect for me. What is happening on your phone that needs more than 2GB or RAM? It must be some apps or games I don't use maybe ...

Im rooted and currently have about 300mb free in my ram my point is in future the way the apps and games are getting more ram will always be better and coudnt hurt, they gave 3gb in the note3 and this is a later phone so i dont see why this one does not have more.

 

[Don S]

Im rooted and currently have about 300mb free in my ram my point is in future the way the apps and games are getting more ram will always be better and coudnt hurt, they gave 3gb in the note3 and this is a later phone so i dont see why this one does not have more.

I agree that 3GB of Ram couldn't hurt. I was just wondering if your 2GB GS4 was running slow or lagging or something because mine has no issues at all. I don't see any need for more RAM yet, so it wouldn't be a current worry or concern of mine.

Now internal storage space? That's another story ...

 

[Primevyl]

I will probably get this for my wife, the update on her s3 is giving her fits

 

[Sandroidfan]

Anyway, the Galaxy S4 camera is better if you have good lighting otherwise the quality drops very quickly as the lighting level lowers. The HTC One captures less detail but is very good when it comes to low lighting and moving objects, so in that regard it's more consistent.

Theoretically One camera should do better than GS4 in low light with lower pixel count. But I haven't seen any real test results that clearly supports this. In fact S4 did better even in moderate light indoors according to many reviews. Only in very low light One camera does slightly better or still very close to S4 images. This is probably due to other factors like lens quality, image processing engine.

Also having OIS is nice, but lack of it doesn't bother me much in phone cameras with no optical zoom. Phone camera lens is optically fixed at wide angle where effect of shake is minimal. Fast shot also helps avoiding blur.

 

[Sandroidfan]

Im rooted and currently have about 300mb free in my ram my point is in future the way the apps and games are getting more ram will always be better and coudnt hurt, they gave 3gb in the note3 and this is a later phone so i dont see why this one does not have more.

I agree 3Gb would be nicer in S5. But I think Note 3 needs 3Gb more than GS series phone in order to support its S-pen features. GS phones don't have S-pen and it probably does fine with 2Gb. Also KitKat is better optimized for efficient memory usage which helps. I have been living with even 1Gb phones so far.

 

[Shocky]

Theoretically One camera should do better than GS4 in low light with lower pixel count. But I haven't seen any real test results that clearly supports this. In fact S4 did better even in moderate light indoors according to many reviews. Only in very low light One camera does slightly better or still very close to S4 images. This is probably due to other factors like lens quality, image processing engine.

Also having OIS is nice, but lack of it doesn't bother me much in phone cameras with no optical zoom. Phone camera lens is optically fixed at wide angle where effect of shake is minimal. Fast shot also helps avoiding blur.

I've taken allot of blurry images with my Galaxy S4 at party's to know it doesn't cope that well, optical image stabilization is a very desirable feature to have on a camera phone.

I usually use the burst modes as usually one them is good, pain in the butt to sort through them the day after.

 

[Sandroidfan]

I've taken allot of blurry images with my Galaxy S4 at party's to know it doesn't cope that well, optical image stabilization is a very desirable feature to have on a camera phone.

I usually use the burst modes as usually one them is good, pain in the butt to sort through them the day after.

Blurry shots at party is more likely due to objects, people moving rather than shakes on camera. Having OIS doesn't matter much here as it can't do anything on the moving objects.

Anyway let's stop here on camera issue. GS5 camera seems more than decent to me and if it doesn't meet my expectation I report back here.

 

[Shocky]

Blurry shots at party is more likely due to objects, people moving rather than shakes on camera. Having OIS doesn't matter much here as it can't do anything on the moving objects.

Anyway let's stop here on camera issue. GS5 camera seems more than decent to me and if it doesn't meet my expectation I report back here.

Reviewers will put it through it's paces long before most users get a hold of them.

Looking forward to reviews, in some of the early hands on from the event you can hear the disappointed from people testing it so I don't expect reviews to be very kind.

 

[Sandroidfan]

Reviewers will put it through it's paces long before most users get a hold of them.

Looking forward to reviews, in some of the early hands on from the event you can hear the disappointed from people testing it so I don't expect reviews to be very kind.

Well, sample photos here look very nice to me for pre-production unit. Will see with production unit in my hand but I'm not worried on camera in S5.

Putting the Galaxy S5's camera to the test - Shooting with the Samsung Galaxy S5's 16-megapixel camera (pictures) - CNET Reviews

MWC 2014: Samsung Galaxy S5, Gear 2, Gear 2 Neo, Fit hands-on - GSMArena.com