• After 15+ years, we've made a big change: Android Forums is now Early Bird Club. Learn more here.

They Made the S4 Too Good

rushmore

Extreme Android User
Nov 13, 2008
8,256
1,355
Kentucky
At least that is my feeling and see no compelling reason to upgrade to the S5. Yep, it is faster and some battery life tweaks and the neat Gameboy 1989 power save mode, but not seeing a reason to update like I did with every phone before it, including the S3. Seems diminished returns are hitting, IMO. My points that make me not want to bother this time around:

1. Even more perverse bloat. Yeah, perhaps you can root and kill it, but I am not a SS rom loading fan (you know it will be locked) and simple root only fixes part of the issue.

2. Games already play smooth with S4 and the CPU is not much faster, so game emulators will not see much improvement either.

3. The S4 is already the max size limit for me, so a slightly bigger device is not my preference for a "phone". No offense to Note users :)

4. It will probably take VZW the usual long time to have a 32GB version- if they do offer one. Seems this time around the S5 should have had a 64GB version option as well. The 16GB is an insult considering the bloat and apparently Samsung is not offering apps2sd- IF they followed Google's partnership request for device roms.

5. The touted camera features seem nice, but I am happy with the S4 camera already.

The S4 is the first device I have been this content with. Heck, I stopped posting here for a long time since content. The only way I would consider the S5 is if the radio reception is a lot better, runs cooler in stress and a lot better battery life. Or if my S4 stopped working or was lost.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Shocky
I agree, the Galaxy S4 didn't need much improving. The camera is already pretty good, would have benefited allot from optical image stabilization but otherwise it's not bad.

There is already a Galaxy S4 using Snapdragon 800 so Snapdragon 801 isn't groundbreaking, it needed a better battery cover but you can buy replacements so it was never a big deal.

More storage would have been nice, but the Galaxy S5 has the same problem and it certainly didn't need to get any bigger, it was pushing the limit as it was.

Samsung say they listened to customers, what a load of crap. :boring:
 
Upvote 0
A lot of people felt this way about the S3 when the S4 came out. I'd even go so far to say that a lot of them may feel the same way about the S5.

Smart phones are maturing, so that means they have a longer life.

But that was mostly because they looked the same, the guts of the Galaxy S4 were a huge improvement over the Galaxy S3 and so was the display.

That's not the case the Galaxy S5, it looks the same and performance wise it's just not quite the improvement people were expecting. I know Samsung can't do anything about Snapdragon availability but they can do something about Exynos.
 
Upvote 0
I usually skip a generation anyway so my last phone was the S2 not the S3. However I really see very little reason to upgrade, particularly as I have rooted my S4 without blowing the Knox fuse but I very much doubt that will be possible with the S5.

I am really annoyed about the whole Knox thing but otherwise, I have been as happy with my S4 as I have with any phone I have owned so I shall be sticking with it for the foreseeable future.
 
Upvote 0
I usually skip a generation anyway so my last phone was the S2 not the S3. However I really see very little reason to upgrade, particularly as I have rooted my S4 without blowing the Knox fuse but I very much doubt that will be possible with the S5.

I am really annoyed about the whole Knox thing but otherwise, I have been as happy with my S4 as I have with any phone I have owned so I shall be sticking with it for the foreseeable future.

The Galaxy S2 and the Galaxy S4 are their best Galaxy S devices so good job avoiding the other two.

I'm still using the old bootloader for now and using Google Edition roms, knox is a pain.
 
Upvote 0
The only way I would upgrade to something else:

1. Better radio chip reception in weak signal areas.
2. Significantly better battery life.
3. 64GB internal storage and micro sd (yeah, like this will happen)
4. Cooler running chipset (next nM chip size reduction).

Very doubtful on the 64GB happening even next year. By next year, the S6 will have about 3GB free on the 16GB model, due to all the "really cool stuff" Samsung (in their minds) likes to bloat the device with.

Considering how Samsung likes to keep putting a stick in the eye of Apple, does anybody think they will be any different with Google? ;) Samsung likes being trouble makers.

Added:

BTW, the more I use my Note 2014, the more it reminds me of a faster, giant S4. Like the device a lot and love how like the S4 and other Sammy devices, does not take display space up with a navigation bar.
 
Upvote 0
BTW, the more I use my Note 2014, the more it reminds me of a faster, giant S4. Like the device a lot and love how like the S4 and other Sammy devices, does not take display space up with a navigation bar.

That's not a big deal anymore, with Android 4.4 apps can use exclusive fullscreen mode which hides the task bar and on screen buttons.

It's only some apps using it at the moment but with root you can force full screen mode whenever you want, it's fantastic for browsing as it frees up so much extra space on the Nexus 10 and Nexus 7, sadly browsers don't have back buttons though which can be annoying. :)

I agree the Note 2014 is a great device, but I don't see much point in the hardware buttons anymore.
 
Upvote 0
I've had my S4 since June 2013 and haven't grown tired of it. The size is just perfect. I actually like the plastic and have an Outterbox Commuter case on it. (I'm more concerned about functionality, then appearance.) Love the camera with all its features. (I've retired my point and shoot camera.) The screen is gorgeous and sharp. I like the IR blaster. (Comes in handy when traveling or when the kids don't put the remote back where it belongs.) I have the 32 GB version with a 32 GB SD card. So no issues with storage. I like the battery life per charge. I can get 14 hrs.+ with around 3 hrs on screen time using auto brightness. I like the hardware buttons. (I guess I'm used to having them.) My phone is fast, which I like. Every now and then, there is some lag, but I think that's from Touchwiz.

I haven't out grown my S4, like I have previous phones. So I plan on keeping it until it dies or giving me problems.
 
Upvote 0
A lot of people felt this way about the S3 when the S4 came out. I'd even go so far to say that a lot of them may feel the same way about the S5.

Smart phones are maturing, so that means they have a longer life.
Agreed. I was very interested to see if any major changes were coming out in the S5 as far as size or new screens. I'd have been surprised if they had changed much there. IMO, if you go much bigger than the 5" screen, you're into the Note 3/Phablet space, which they already have well covered. And the screen is still top notch. Just comes with the maturing of this product space.

My wife continues to be happy with her S3 and I continue to be happy with my S4, although the last couple of updates have been crappy, which is very disappointing.

Bottom line, the new S5 does not "wow" me and certainly does not make me want to upgrade early. Not putting it down, I'm sure it's a great device. Just not much wow factor compared to the S4.
 
Upvote 0
Well they got something right I guess, but what would you prefer, a 16GB phone with an sdcard slot or a 32GB phone without an sdcard slot?

I guess it depends if you want storage or apps or something else.

Not sure what you mean by that question. I think Samsung should dump 16 Gb and make 32 Gb the entry level version... and keep the SD card option.

I traded in my 16Gb GS4 for the 32GB GS4 as soon as it was possible to do so. AT&T accomodated me and only charged me the difference.

I am not planning to upgrade to the GS5 unless some calamity befalls my beloved GS4. The main thing I find appealing on the GS5 is the water/dust proof function.

I continue to prefer the plastic construction of the case over metal construction. I simply see no benefit from aesthetics or otherwise to claim that metal is superior to plastic. Besides, I keep the GS4 in a case anyway. I don't care what's it made of... if you drop it, it will likely break (unprotected). And while I hope I don't have to replace my battery, I am very happy to have the ability to do so by simply removing the back cover and putting a new one in myself. And I love the SD card option. (I'm curious how the GS5 retains the removeable SD card and battery option with the waterproof feature).

Here's the most common iPhone feature I've seen:
ZgE2y4Y.jpg


Gotta love that "superior" construction. :D
 
Upvote 0
Not sure what you mean by that question. I think Samsung should dump 16 Gb and make 32 Gb the entry level version... and keep the SD card option.

Usually all that's available on launch is the 16GB version, it can take months for the 32G version to surface and then you have to pay a premium for it.

So most users will have to face that question when buying a Galaxy S phone, should they go for one of the phones with no sdcard slot like the HTC M8 or Nexus 5 that come with 32GB or a 16GB Galaxy S5?

Considering how cheap flash memory is it's an odd decision to go with 16GB again, it's just another reason for users to look elsewhere and something they could have easily fixed.
 
Upvote 0

BEST TECH IN 2023

We've been tracking upcoming products and ranking the best tech since 2007. Thanks for trusting our opinion: we get rewarded through affiliate links that earn us a commission and we invite you to learn more about us.

Smartphones