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Bought a Galaxy S3 and am not crazy over it. Should I get the iPhone 5 or wait?

M

mossme89

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jul 2, 2009
596
131
So I bought a Galaxy S3 a few weeks ago. I've been with Apple since iOS 1.1.1 and had just had an iPhone 4 for 2.5 years (since basically launch day 2010). I wanted to try something different and heard great things about the S3.

Well... I like it, but am just not crazy over it. I miss a lot of the little things of iOS such as viewing/responding to messages from the lock screen, easy navigation, Apple build quality, haven't been able to find a keyboard as accurate as iOS, things like that. Lots of little things that make me nostalgic for my iPhone. The fact of the matter is that Android vs Apple is like chocolate vs vanilla ice cream, both are great but it comes down to personal preference. I like Apple better.

I bought the S3 for $400 and spent $20 on an extended battery. I can probably get at least $400 back by selling it now. Then I found a good condition used iPhone 5 for $550. So an "upgrade" would cost me $150 total. So should I do it now or wait? The iPhone 5 is in the middle of it's life, maybe more so I'm wondering if I should wait for the 5S or 6 before getting that. I would be paying a $150 premium to buy a device of the same generation in the iPhone 5.
 
mossme89 said:
So I bought a Galaxy S3 a few weeks ago. I've been with Apple since iOS 1.1.1 and had just had an iPhone 4 for 2.5 years (since basically launch day 2010). I wanted to try something different and heard great things about the S3.

Well... I like it, but am just not crazy over it. I miss a lot of the little things of iOS such as viewing/responding to messages from the lock screen, easy navigation, Apple build quality, haven't been able to find a keyboard as accurate as iOS, things like that. Lots of little things that make me nostalgic for my iPhone. The fact of the matter is that Android vs Apple is like chocolate vs vanilla ice cream, both are great but it comes down to personal preference. I like Apple better.

I bought the S3 for $400 and spent $20 on an extended battery. I can probably get at least $400 back by selling it now. Then I found a good condition used iPhone 5 for $550. So an "upgrade" would cost me $150 total. So should I do it now or wait? The iPhone 5 is in the middle of it's life, maybe more so I'm wondering if I should wait for the 5S or 6 before getting that. I would be paying a $150 premium to buy a device of the same generation in the iPhone 5.
Click to expand...

The bold parts. Since that's the case, go for iPhone.
 
I would wait. The s4 is coming real soon. And besides the physical differences, you can have the s3 do everything you mentioned. Rooting and flashing roms to tweak your phone. You can actually do more with the s3 then an iPhone honestly.
 
TyPod said:
For an iPhone 5? Personally I would definitely take it!
Click to expand...

As I reach my sixth decade of life it occurs to me that sometimes, waiting and continuing to use what I do not enjoy as much, is not worth a measly $150. Losing $150 will not affect my life. But losing a half-year, or however long it will be, of my remaining time certainly will. You can always get more money, you cannot get more life.
 
I had the s3 & I just didn't love it. I love my iphone 5. Android is just boring to me & the build quality was just a joke.
 
I think you can wait, want to know why? I had the same experience as you. Had ios since the 3GS and my last iphone was the 4S. Got the s3 and didnt like it at first. Felt weird and wanted to get my iphone back. So few days later after customizjng a bit and downloading some good apps i actually loved my s3 more than i ever did an iphone. To be honest just give it a little more time it will grow on you. Then make your decision. The new iphone is coming out this summer, a few months. If you had your iphone 4 for 2 years then you can wait a little longer with the galaxy.

tip* as for the keyboard go into the playstore and download swiftkey3 that will solve all of your problems.
 
I would sell your s3 while it is their flag ship phone. Once the s4 releases the s3 price will go down dramatically.

Also I know exactly what you mean. I notice ios is much more smooth than the s3.

There is a lot of features on the s3 but mostly gimmick and stuff you will never use.
 
MR Bulk said:
As I reach my sixth decade of life it occurs to me that sometimes, waiting and continuing to use what I do not enjoy as much, is not worth a measly $150. Losing $150 will not affect my life. But losing a half-year, or however long it will be, of my remaining time certainly will. You can always get more money, you cannot get more life.
Click to expand...

Are you comparing iPhone with life?

lol
 
Now is a good time since you can jailbreak, thus you can still have all the customizations from Android on your iPhone
 
Dmaynard83 said:
I would sell your s3 while it is their flag ship phone. Once the s4 releases the s3 price will go down dramatically.

Also I know exactly what you mean. I notice ios is much more smooth than the s3.

There is a lot of features on the s3 but mostly gimmick and stuff you will never use.
Click to expand...

The only reason why iOS is perceived to be smoother than the galaxy s3 is because iOS is severely lacking on the software side. Yes it is a very strong mature and capable mobile OS and i don't hate it. But the Galaxy s3 and android in general has way more features and tweaks that slow the system down more than iOS does, this is why android OEMs have to constantly put out more powerful hardware to be able to handle it all. iOS is just an app launcher and the multi-tasking isn't real multitasking so therefore its a piece of cake for the processors.
 
I would keep the S3 for a while, explore Android and make a decision when the S4 is here and the newer generation of the iPhone.
We are already "halfway through the iPhone 5" time-wise so you could wait to purchase a newer generation for the price of an iPhone 5 right now ( I bought the 4S for almost the price of a 5 in the end of May, I should've waited )
 
Willdr1991 said:
The only reason why iOS is perceived to be smoother than the galaxy s3 is because iOS is severely lacking on the software side. Yes it is a very strong mature and capable mobile OS and i don't hate it. But the Galaxy s3 and android in general has way more features and tweaks that slow the system down more than iOS does, this is why android OEMs have to constantly put out more powerful hardware to be able to handle it all. iOS is just an app launcher and the multi-tasking isn't real multitasking so therefore its a piece of cake for the processors.
Click to expand...

Possibly but not likely. A more plausible reason ios is smoother is because all iPhones are optimized with ios. There are probably 100s of android devices and not all are optimized to the OS.
 
I say play with that S3 a little more. We don't know what will happen this year but I think it's likely that Apple will be releasing a phone on June.

But the iPhone 5 is great. I got mine last week and the jailbreak came right in time. If it wasn't for the Lumia 920 being delayed a billion times in our country, I wouldn't have gotten the iPhone 5. I was torn between the S3 and the iPhone 5 last week as well but I opted to go with the iPhone 5 since the S3s being sold here aren't LTE capable.

The 5 is an amazing phone. But I'm still a huge fan of Windows Phone. If I get fond of the iPhone after my contract expires, I might lock myself another 2 years for an iOS phone and I definitely agree with you that it all comes down to personal preference.
 
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