I need help deciding!

Hi guys, first thread I've started on here, but I could use some perspective/advice, as I don't seem to be getting anywhere on my own.

I live in Australia, currently own an S3, but my contract expires next week, so I have the opportunity to upgrade my handset for free.

Up until about 3 days ago, I was set on the Galaxy S4. I had the S2 for a year, and the S3 is coming up to a year, and so I was happy to stick with the S4.

But then the HTC One reared its head.

Here's my dilemma - both phones have something that I like, but at the cost of something that I don't.

HTC One
Pros
- Nice aluminium build
- One of, if not best phone display ever (according to reviews)
- No physical buttons
- Front speakers with great sound

Cons
- Aluminium build (risk of scratching/denting if dropped/bumped)
- No removable battery (+ HTC's reputation for poor battery life)
- No SD card expansion
- More difficult to root
- Not convinced Ultrapixel camera is all its cracked up to be
- Odd button configuration (home button on the right, on/off switch on top)

Galaxy S4
Pros
- Great build quality (despite it being made of polycarbonate, I felt that the S3 feels great and sturdy in the hand, while remaining light - so I'm assuming the S4 will be the same)
- 5" Display with a smaller form factor than S3
- Removable battery
- SD card expansion
- Easy to hack/root
- Some really cool camera features
- AMOLED display (I like being able to customise how saturated my display is, and I like the vibrant colours of AMOLEDs)

Cons
- Probably doesn't feel as nice as the One's aluminium
- In Australia, we only get the Snapdragon Quad-Core (which may not be an issue, but I would have preferred to have the Exynos CPU)
- Physical home button
- PenTile display (all reviews say that the weird dotty pattern present on the S3 is gone due to the new pixel arrangement, but I won't be convinced until I see it myself)

As you can see, there are far less cons on the S4 side, and truth betold I'm still leaning that way, but I'm wondering if there's anything I've missed in my considerations that you guys might shed some light on?

I still have about 2-3 weeks before both phones are available here, but I'd like to have a decision made by then.

fredaroony said:

Thought of the Xperia Z? Shouldn't be hard to get it outright here for under $600 now.

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I have given it some brief thought. A friend of mine works at JB Hi-Fi in phones and she's currently using the Z, and she changes phones a LOT.

I like almost everything about the Xperia Z, except for that goddam ugly huge power button. I dislike it so much it's almost enough to put me off the whole phone.

I'd probably almost have one already if not for that.

LIVEFRMNYC said:

Since you have the S3, the S4 will be much familiar territory.

I'm also coming from the S3 and will be choosing the S4.

Some points you missed.

The S4 is more expensive at the moment.

The One will be nearly impossible to repair on your own or through some private repair guy at a local shop/craigslist.

The S4 will come with 4.2.2 while the One comes with 4.1.2. HTC has a terrible track record with updates, Samsung did a 360 and is now one of the fastest to update. I wouldn't expect to even see the One with Key Lime Pie. The S4 has a good chance of seeing Key Lime.

The One has FM radio.

The S4 has wireless charging support.

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Some good points!

Expense isn't an issue for me, as I'll be getting it free from my carrier.
The FM radio isn't a big deal for me, I don't actually think I've ever used the one that's in my S3 - I usually just use TuneIn Radio.

The updates are a good argument as well. HTC are notoriously bad for that.

I think I'm leaning very heavily towards the S4 - I think I just want to wait and see what the verdict is on the Snapdragon model v Exynos model.

Thanks for the responses guys.

It's good to hear that HTC have fixed the battery/root issues. I had the HTC One X for about 2 weeks, and the battery annoyed me to no end - and then when I tried to root it to try and use a more battery friendly ROM, I hit brick walls in the vein of locked bootloaders.

Even with being informed of those changes though, I'm not sure the One is doing enough to draw me away from the great software experience that Samsung provides with the Galaxy S line. I'm always excited to be drawn away from what I'm currently using by something better, but I can't see the One doing it - although it did come close.

A lot people I've asked about this come back with 'why would you want a Samsung phone? It's made of cheap plastic'.
I actually find that the plastic makes the build quality seem more solid. I've dropped my S3 twice in the near-year that I've had it, and both times the back panel has popped off, but the phone itself remains undamaged whatsoever.

I've seen enough people with iPhone 5's and HTC One X's that don't do so well when dropped, due to the external casing not having anywhere to direct the shock absorption.

Anyway, I'm more or less convinced for the S4 now - The only thing that might change that is if I go into a store, hold the One and it just blows my mind.