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Who went for the Galaxy S3 instead of iPhone 5?

M

mullock87

macrumors member
Original poster
May 18, 2012
43
23
As per title, who waited for the iPhone 5 announcement before making their final decision and going with the Samsung Galaxy S3 instead?

I was using the iPhone 4 for 2 years and my contract was up and it was time for a new phone. I waited for Apple to make their official announcement before going for S3 and so far I don't regret my decision at all.

Was it worth the switch for you? And why did you switch to the S3?


Reasons for my switch...
- required a bigger screen than 4" for my needs (browsing, YouTube, photos etc.)
- bored of Apple's UI, a change is well overdue
- the phone doesn't look much different from my 2 year old iPhone 4
- didn't want to go through iTunes as it was too time consuming adding music, videos and photos.
- Samsung Galaxy S3 worked out about £350 cheaper over a 24 month contract
 
I was in the same boat as you. Had an iPhone 4 whose contract was long up. I waited for the iPhone5 announcement to see what it would bring.

I switched after iPhone 5 didn't really blow me away. I bought a Galaxy S3 that next weekend. I've had it for about a week now and I love it so much.

Reasons for switching:
-I've had iPhones since day 1, I literally stood in line for the first one. I've always had an iPhone cause it was the best phone on the market. But this time around that just wasn't the case. The galaxy s3 is a better phone from start to finish, at least in my mind.

Android ICS and Jelly Bean are light years ahead of where they were before. iOS is great for people that don't want a lot out of their phone. iOS is built to be simplistic so that its extremely easy to use. Android is not as easy to use, and I like that. Its not hard to use but at the same time i'm not confined in a box, I can make my phone what I want it to be. I like that.

Other reasons for switching, well other than the hardware and software being better for me, the price is much cheaper. Can't beat that.

The iPhone is a great phone. Its perfect for my wife, my parents, my kids. But not perfect for me. I'm a happy switcher.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Getting an S3 next week I was going to wait for the Nokia 920 but the home button on my iPhone isnt working and its doing my head in. It will work out a lot cheaper than the iPhone and I will be free to add what ever files I want onto my Phone :). The iPhone 5 just didnt do it for me and I am happy I have decided to make the switch and use a new OS for the first time in years

What kind of SD card does the S3 use?
 
I made the switch, and for a couple of reasons. My contract had been up since last Feb and was extremely anxious to get a new phone. All of the iPhone 5 rumors were so consistent with one another I felt like I already knew the iPhone 5, and truly wanted to try something different this time around. It's one thing to read, and watch reviews of a device, and play with it in the store. And it's a completely different experience to own it, and use the device as your daily driver.

Pros:
4.8" Display. Really massive, and totally awesome!

Widgets: Not really a deal breaker that iOS doesn't have these, but a quick
glance at the home screen to get the weather is pretty cool.

Customization: While I completely loath TouchWiz, the fact that I can completely customize my phone to my specific preference is pretty cool.

Google Maps: I have a new found appreciation for Google maps knowing that they might be completely blacklisted from any iOS device moving forward.

Cons:
4.8" display. While the display itself is really nice, one handed use is virtually impossible. (Swype eases the pain just a little bit)

Custom keyboards: This has to be my #1 gripe, and enough so to make me consider going back to the iPhone. Samsung with TouchWiz has removed the stock Android keyboard in place of their own. However none of the replacements in the Google Play store are good enough. And believe me, I have downloaded all of the usual suspects(Swype, SwiftKey3). I make so many typos on this phone now it's almost embarrassing to text anyone, or type on this thing. Plus the warning about third party keyboards potentially logging my keystrokes, isn't the least bit comforting.

Fluidity: For a phone with 2gigs of ram, and a 1.5GHZ Dual Core processor, I'd expect the phone to be a little smoother than this.

TouchWiz: The idea that Samsung basically picks, and choses which parts of Android go on to their device is a bit disheartening to me. I feel like their overlay on top of Android takes away from the experience as Google intended, and makes the phone a bit more of a buggier one.

Updates: I miss getting updates on time every time, as per the iPhone/iPad. Jelly Bean has been out since mid summer, and only the Nexus devices have it, which is a shame.

Honestly my switch to an Android device was a long a hard decision(That's what she said). I still have my iPad 3, and 2 Macs, Apple TV, and many iPods. However while I wasn't dissatisfied with the iPhone in anyway, I felt like after 5 years, I truly wanted to try something different. While I wouldn't say the transition has been seamless, it's been a fairly pleasant one. However, my next Phone will either be a nexus device, or more than likely the iPhone 5.
 
I did (on behalf of a relative.) He has the iPhone 4S and really missed the LED notification light that he had on his OG Droid. He had hoped Apple would have included one on the iPhone 5 but when I assured him that wouldn't be the case, I put his 4S for sale on eBay and he got an S3.
 
WRXHokie said:
I was in the same boat as you. Had an iPhone 4 whose contract was long up. I waited for the iPhone5 announcement to see what it would bring.

I switched after iPhone 5 didn't really blow me away. I bought a Galaxy S3 that next weekend. I've had it for about a week now and I love it so much.

Reasons for switching:
-I've had iPhones since day 1, I literally stood in line for the first one. I've always had an iPhone cause it was the best phone on the market. But this time around that just wasn't the case. The galaxy s3 is a better phone from start to finish, at least in my mind.

Android ICS and Jelly Bean are light years ahead of where they were before. iOS is great for people that don't want a lot out of their phone. iOS is built to be simplistic so that its extremely easy to use. Android is not as easy to use, and I like that. Its not hard to use but at the same time i'm not confined in a box, I can make my phone what I want it to be. I like that.

Other reasons for switching, well other than the hardware and software being better for me, the price is much cheaper. Can't beat that.

The iPhone is a great phone. Its perfect for my wife, my parents, my kids. But not perfect for me. I'm a happy switcher.
Click to expand...

It sounds like we both share the same thoughts on the new iPhone.

Previously, with the iPhone 3-4 the competition was at a standard where I didn't feel comfortable 'side-stepping' and using a different platform. I feel now the competition has got to a level where it is either at the same level of Apple or has exceeded them. Sure, Android has it's problems, as does iOS, and ultimately the best OS is down to what that user will actually use their phone for.

I think within the next few years we will see Android become a more perfected and well-rounded OS which will make the decision of switching even easier for others.
 
ChrisTX said:
Pros:
Custom keyboards: This has to be my #1 gripe, and enough so to make me consider going back to the iPhone. Samsung with TouchWiz has removed the stock Android keyboard in place of their own. However none of the replacements in the Google Play store are good enough. And believe me, I have downloaded all of the usual suspects(Swype, SwiftKey3). I make so many typos on this phone now it's almost embarrassing to text anyone, or type on this thing. Plus the warning about third party keyboards potentially logging my keystrokes, isn't the least bit comforting.
Click to expand...

It's quite funny you mention that, I've been using SwiftKey3 and have found it an immense improvement over the iOS keyboard and the auto-correct seems to be a lot more accurate for me.
 
For anyone who is open to rooting/ROMs, I HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY suggest installing a custom ROM.

I'm currently rocking CleanROM on my Verizon S3 and it is just amazing. Super clean, zero BS Samsung or VZW bloatware...everything works perfectly.

If anyone is interested I can post some noob-friendly instructions on how to do this.
 
mullock87 said:
It's quite funny you mention that, I've been using SwiftKey3 and have found it an immense improvement over the iOS keyboard and the auto-correct seems to be a lot more accurate for me.
Click to expand...

Wish I could say the same. The general layout of that particular keyboard is a mess really. I hate seeing all of the various characters such as punctuation marks, etc...Above every letter, it just looks really cluttered IMO.
 
ChrisTX said:
I made the switch, and for a couple of reasons. My contract had been up since last Feb and was extremely anxious to get a new phone. All of the iPhone 5 rumors were so consistent with one another I felt like I already knew the iPhone 5, and truly wanted to try something different this time around. It's one thing to read, and watch reviews of a device, and play with it in the store. And it's a completely different experience to own it, and use the device as your daily driver.

Pros:
4.8" Display. Really massive, and totally awesome!

Widgets: Not really a deal breaker that iOS doesn't have these, but a quick
glance at the home screen to get the weather is pretty cool.

Customization: While I completely loath TouchWiz, the fact that I can completely customize my phone to my specific preference is pretty cool.

Google Maps: I have a new found appreciation for Google maps knowing that they might be completely blacklisted from any iOS device moving forward.

Cons:
4.8" display. While the display itself is really nice, one handed use is virtually impossible. (Swype eases the pain just a little bit)

Custom keyboards: This has to be my #1 gripe, and enough so to make me consider going back to the iPhone. Samsung with TouchWiz has removed the stock Android keyboard in place of their own. However none of the replacements in the Google Play store are good enough. And believe me, I have downloaded all of the usual suspects(Swype, SwiftKey3). I make so many typos on this phone now it's almost embarrassing to text anyone, or type on this thing. Plus the warning about third party keyboards potentially logging my keystrokes, isn't the least bit comforting.

Fluidity: For a phone with 2gigs of ram, and a 1.5GHZ Dual Core processor, I'd expect the phone to be a little smoother than this.

TouchWiz: The idea that Samsung basically picks, and choses which parts of Android go on to their device is a bit disheartening to me. I feel like their overlay on top of Android takes away from the experience as Google intended, and makes the phone a bit more of a buggier one.

Updates: I miss getting updates on time every time, as per the iPhone/iPad. Jelly Bean has been out since mid summer, and only the Nexus devices have it, which is a shame.

Honestly my switch to an Android device was a long a hard decision(That's what she said). I still have my iPad 3, and 2 Macs, Apple TV, and many iPods. However while I wasn't dissatisfied with the iPhone in anyway, I felt like after 5 years, I truly wanted to try something different. While I wouldn't say the transition has been seamless, it's been a fairly pleasant one. However, my next Phone will either be a nexus device, or more than likely the iPhone 5.
Click to expand...

Just one question, have you tried Thumb Keyboard? It isn't as great as predicting text as Swiftkey, but I for one have small hands, and an app that takes they keyboard and splits it, pulling the keys closer to the sides of the phone was great! You can also customize the height and width of the keys/split. Currently I am using Swiftkey because although I have to stretch my otherwise stumpy thumbs, the prediction DOES lessen the amount of letters i have to type.
 
ChrisTX said:
Wish I could say the same. The general layout of that particular keyboard is a mess really. I hate seeing all of the various characters such as punctuation marks, etc...Above every letter, it just looks really cluttered IMO.
Click to expand...

I don't like the layout either, especially how the numbers are laid out but prediction with SwiftKey is amazing!
 
With the leaks that came out before the iPhone 5 and the iOS 6 announcement, I decided to go with the International S3 back in July. I love the big screen and it isn't too hard to use with one hand most of the time. I also agree with the thing about the keyboard but I'm enjoying swiftkey now (only thing I don't like about it is the layout of the numbers and other special characters). Used swype before and got annoyed after a while. I'm not too into widgets but I do like having a clean layout for my homescreen (love the app launcher). iOS is smoother and fluid than ICS (waiting for JB next month) but it's still a really fast device. Was thinking about getting a 5 but decided not to since I love the big screen since it's perfect for videos. :) Also loved the fact I could just swap an microsd card in rather than paying 200 more to upgrade from 16-64Gb. bought a 64gb ultra for $50 and works nicely.
 
I just finished 1 yr of being a month to month Verizon customer, have a 450 minute talk plan & 4GB of data that I got when they had the data doubler promotion a few months ago. plan total $69 per month.

Just got back from the Verizon store. Looked over the new iphone, then went and played with the SG3. Was told I could chose to upgrade to either phone with a 2 yr contract but if I chose the iphone my data would change.


Walked out of the store with the SG3 .. and got to keep my old plan at the same price. This is a beautiful phone, coming from the Galaxy Nexus there's no way I could switch to a phone with a 4 inch screen.
 
I had the GS3 for a month 1/2 now and couldn't be happier. I was so worried I would have buyer's remorse. I feel like I would of had remorse if I got the iP5.

I like the Playstore better than Apple's Appstore, and I'm not even comparing the horrible iOS6 Appstore upgrade. What I like is the quickness of getting around and searching. Also the Playstore's reviews are much more reliable than the AppStore. I can't speak for other devices, but I haven't come across an app that's not compatible with the GS3 yet. I'm sure some exist, but I obviously don't need them if I haven't bumped into them.

Battery life was one of my major concerns due to my past experience with the EVO and Android's reputation. To my surprise the GS3 has very good battery life and I'm the type of user who keeps screen on full brightness.

I'm running stock ICS Touchwiz AT&T branded which I did root. For me it runs as smooth and fast as iOS and in some instances even faster. Sooner or later I'll load a custom rom, but for now I'm enjoying stock.

Some of the GS3 features might seem like gimmicks and others are invaluble. I personally think picture in picture is a gimmick. Also swipe to capture can be frustrating, using home + power button is 100x easier. Smart Stay works great and IMO is something the iPhone should have ..... It seems something Apple would have implemented.

As far as the hardware goes, the size is perfect. I can use one handed with ease and it fits in my front pocket just fine. I'll admit, any bigger and it might be too much for me. Don't know how I would take to the GS4.

Without continuing to go all over the place, I'll just say I'm very impressed with the GS3 and this will be my main smartphone for at least a full year.
 
I was never tempted by the iPhone 5....or 4S, or the 4. Android for me does a lot more and now it is a real good OS and only going to get better, faster than iPhone and will always be ahead of iOS from here on out.

I love my GS3 but i am very interested in what the new Nexus has to offer. I may sell my GS3 and get one of those if i like it.
 
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I was very much on the same boat as you. Had an iPhone 4, began to be interested in the S3 and Android back in July and was all set to switch to Android early this month, just wanted to wait for the iPhone 5 announcement, after that I just went and got my Galaxy S3 that same day after I left work.

Simply put, getting the S3 and switching to Android was one of the best decisions I've made on purchasing a new device in a long time.

My reasons for switching are quite similar to yours. I really wanted a bigger screen, my iPhone 4 just felt too tiny and tedious to use most of the time and seeing the sexy big screen of the S3 after I got to test it out for a bit just made me lose interest in my iPhone and feel how limiting the small screen is. I was also completely bored with iOS and the fact that Apple has not really been doing much with it as of late, whereas I kept seeing so many cool and new stuff in Android and how many things were far easier and user friendly than in iOS, Android got my interest and I started feeling more attracted to it than I was to iOS.

One of my fears about the S3 before using it was it's size, I feared that it would be too big to use comfortably but to my surprise the size is fantastic, feels great and is comfortable to use, it can also be used quite well with one hand. Grabbing my iPhone 4 (which I did to update it to iOS 6 last night) after using the S3 feels awkward, it feels so tiny and the icons look all crammed up. Jumping from a 3.5" screen to the 4.8" of the S3 was quite a leap for me but at this point, I just can't imagine going back to even the 4" screen of the iPhone 5 anymore, the 4.8" of the S3 is perfect and the screen looks fantastic, photos and videos look very sharp and vibrant in it.

Also coming from a 32GB iPhone 4, and previously a 3GS and iPod Touch of the same storage size, I needed a phone that allowed me even more storage than this since I was starting to feel that 32GB was not enough. The S3 allowed me to do just that by being able to insert an extra microSD card. The phone came with 16GB (they don't sell the model with 32GB here) and I ordered a 64GB microSD card and now have a whopping 80GB of storage on my phone. I can now store all my music, pictures and plenty of videos and still have plenty of space available. Being able to change the microSD card is a huge plus and quite cheap compared to getting a whole new iPhone with bigger storage. If I want more storage tomorrow, it is just a matter of dropping 50 or so bucks for a bigger card.

Other things like smart stay, the led notification light, direct call, the amazing camera app, the Play Store (which provides a much better experience over Apple's offering), the way Android does notification (along with the incredibly practical toggles for Wifi, GPS, Sound, etc), among many other things...yeah I'll cut it here less I end up writing a full blown review, lead me to go with the Galaxy S3 instead of the iPhone 5.

I love Apple, and I do think the iPhone is a great and solid device, but in my opinion at this point Android has taken the lead in terms of features and flexibility over iOS, even in user-friendliness Android has the edge over iOS on many fronts and Samsung has set the bar very high with the Galaxy S3 (The Galaxy Nexus and HTC One are also worth mentioning) when it comes to what a smartphone should be and frankly I think the iPhone 5, while it closes the gap in terms of specs it still doesn't manages to top the S3.
 
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Evoken said:
I think the iPhone 5, while it closes the gap in terms of specs it still doesn't manages to top the S3.
Click to expand...

Funny that you say that. I'm not trying to come of as a troll, cause I think highly of iOS and still have my iP4 and iPad2. But for the longest, iPhone fanatics have labeled Android phones as just devices with high specs with a crappy OS and Batt life. I'll admit they did have a good point for awhile. But the way I see things is that they are now on the receiving end of their own criticism. Sure iOS is not crappy nor is the iPhone batt life, but the iP5 is a subpar upgrade for not being an "S" upgrade. iOS6 is basically exactly the same with minor addons plus app changes and a slight design change(arguably for the worst). iP5 is basically a 0.5 larger screen(not even in width), glass removed from the back, LTE and better internal specs(which is probably barely noticeable with use). IMO, the wow factor is definitely gone until iOS and/or the iPhone gets a complete revamp. I never thought I would say this as I was and still a huge iPhone fan. Just not with the iP5 / iOS6. :(
 
I was surprised that I could walk into an O2 shop in the UK, no queue, picked up a new phone on an upgrade. I have been using a Samsung Galaxy S3 for the last couple of months and love it, I will try out the iPhone for a month and sell the one I least prefer.

I have no brand loyalty to either so will give my honest opinion. I liked the S3 better than the 4S so sold the 4S, in a months time one or the other will go.

DSC00134_zps5059274e.jpg
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Ditto on your comments. For me, right now , its down to the OS and Android works for me at the moment. When IOS gets to a level where it does what I want then I might change.

BTW - whats the clock on your phone, or is it a live wallpaper?

daveathall said:
I was surprised that I could walk into an O2 shop in the UK, no queue, picked up a new phone on an upgrade. I have been using a Samsung Galaxy S3 for the last couple of months and love it, I will try out the iPhone for a month and sell the one I least prefer.

I have no brand loyalty to either so will give my honest opinion. I liked the S3 better than the 4S so sold the 4S, in a months time one or the other will go.

Image
Click to expand...
 
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