Bought the S4 aprox. 1 month ago. Here's why I'm selling it.

[BlackFalcon448]

So, about a month ago i walked into my local verizon store hoping to get an issue fixed with my iPhone 5. Due to some hard salesmanship, I walked out of the store with a brand new Galaxy S4.

At first, during the "honeymoon" period, the phone seemed great. It felt reasonably fast, and the new larger screen was amazing to get used to. However, as the days went on, and my return window closed, I started to realize that maybe the S4 wasn't for me.

Let me start with why I was convinced to buy the S4 in the first place. I have always looked at android in interest and always stayed away from it due to the fact that it always felt a step behind the iPhone in terms of speed and smoothness. The S4 made a valiant effort to fix this in my eyes, but it fell short. An in-store demo does not equal how the phone will act on a day to day basis. It it really hard to judge how a phone will fit into your life in a mere 14 days.

To start off, the S4 has better hardware then the iP5, plain and simple. however, android is so un-optimized that the phone feels noticeably slower. Things take longer to open. Animations for opening apps or the keyboard stutter often. The phone randomly freezes for no reason. etc.

One of my biggest issues is with how unstable the camera software is. The camera on the S4 is physically brilliant, but the software controlling it is absolute garbage. The camera would unmount the SD card (a SanDisk Ultra class 10 micro sd card) pretty regularly for no apparent reason and the photos would get saved into the laughable excuse that the internal storage is.

Im sure I don't need to go into any of the issues with bloatware or lack of apps here as they are common complaints. What I would like to do however, is talk about what the S4 did right.

First off, the AMOLED screen is fantastic, albeit a bit dimmer then the iPhone at comparable levels. The fact that black color made the screen literally turn off in that area is fantastic for night viewing. Also, the camera takes some absolutely amazing pictures, when it is actually working.


A few years ago I think i would have been fine with these issues because i was more interested in the openness of android as an operating system. But now, I realize that I want a phone that just works consistently and well, and the iPhone is the only phone that I've used that can do that for me.

 

[Southernboyj]

To start off, the S4 has better hardware then the iP5, plain and simple. however, android is so un-optimized that the phone feels noticeably slower. Things take longer to open.

You mean TouchWiz is un-optimized.

One of my biggest issues is with how unstable the camera software is. The camera on the S4 is physically brilliant, but the software controlling it is absolute garbage. The camera would unmount the SD card (a SanDisk Ultra class 10 micro sd card) pretty regularly for no apparent reason and the photos would get saved into the laughable excuse that the internal storage is.

Never experienced this on any of my Android devices.

Im sure I don't need to go into any of the issues with bloatware or lack of apps here as they are common complaints.

Bloatware, sure. You can disable those apps however. No idea what you mean by lack of apps. If you're referring to the Play Store, it has more apps than Apple's App Store.

But now, I realize that I want a phone that just works consistently and well, and the iPhone is the only phone that I've used that can do that for me.

If you want consistency, stay away from TouchWiz atm. Vanilla Android and HTC Sense 5 are both extremely smooth. The HTC One has a TFT LCD panel that is brighter than the iPhone's display. It's also just as accurate.

I'm using a Galaxy S4 atm with the Google Play Edition ROM, it's running perfectly.

If you judge Android completely based on a manufacturers skin.. you are missing a HUGE portion of what Android is.

 

[2298754]

To start off, the S4 has better hardware then the iP5, plain and simple. however, android is so un-optimized that the phone feels noticeably slower. Things take longer to open. Animations for opening apps or the keyboard stutter often. The phone randomly freezes for no reason. etc.

Don't run a bunch of random apps all the time. Both my One and S4 are smooth as silk, even on stock ROMs. Rooting plus uninstalling all that bloat will do wonders for performance.

One of my biggest issues is with how unstable the camera software is. The camera on the S4 is physically brilliant, but the software controlling it is absolute garbage. The camera would unmount the SD card (a SanDisk Ultra class 10 micro sd card) pretty regularly for no apparent reason and the photos would get saved into the laughable excuse that the internal storage is.

If you did a simple search on XDA, you'd realize that this is a very common issue. It's not the TW camera software at fault, it's Sandisk's SD cards. They don't play nice with Samsung devices. This has been documented for a while now. Go out and get a Samsung, Kingston, etc card. Problem solved.

Internal storage issue can be solved with a simple root and debloat. It doesn't take long and improves the phone tremendously. (go look on XDA again for this)

The moral of this post is that you are complaining for no reason. All easily fixed problems, if you could take the time to do so.

 

[MRU]

Fair points. I find the animations in Touchwiz exasperating, but you can go into developer options and disable animation and its a lot snappier

But the point is that its not the right phone for you, and that's ok. We are all allowed to choose a preference.

I personally just wish Apple gets its head out the sand and releases a 4.7" iPhone. I thought the HTC One and S4 were massive when I got them after my iPhone 5, but a few months later and messing around with my Z10 and its 4.3" screen - it feels tiny and yet it is still bigger than the iPhone.

Certainly iOS is very well optimised to its hardware when what is essentially mid range CPU (albeit with great GPU) effectively keeps up to speed (perceptionally wise for the end user - not synthetic benchmarks) with quad core machines on Android in day to day usage.

Its good that you tried other hardware, hope you enjoy the iPhone again. Though I would have held off and used the device until the iPhone 5S came out if you wanted to go back to iOS....

Enjoy what ever rocks your boat

 

[BlackFalcon448]

Don't run a bunch of random apps all the time. Both my One and S4 are smooth as silk, even on stock ROMs. Rooting plus uninstalling all that bloat will do wonders for performance.



If you did a simple search on XDA, you'd realize that this is a very common issue. It's not the TW camera software at fault, it's Sandisk's SD cards. They don't play nice with Samsung devices. This has been documented for a while now. Go out and get a Samsung, Kingston, etc card. Problem solved.

Internal storage issue can be solved with a simple root and debloat. It doesn't take long and improves the phone tremendously. (go look on XDA again for this)

The moral of this post is that you are complaining for no reason. All easily fixed problems, if you could take the time to do so.

You really shouldn't have to root a phone to remove preinstalled bloatware. Disabling something doesn't delete it so the space issue is still valid. And if the S4 has issues with the easily most popular brand of SD cards, why is Verizon selling them with the intention of you using them with the phone? If it really is that big of an issue why don't they mention it in the store or offer alternative brands?

 

[IFRIT]

Lack of apps?! less Games sure but general apps then no no really.

 

[srkmish]

This is the same complaint repeated in another fashion- Android is laggy. If you aren't willing to and looking forward to experiment to get the snappiest performance, maybe you shouldn't own the device in the first place.

 

[THE JUICEMAN]

I think a Nexus fixes a lot of the issues you described here. Once they get LTE and better battery life I don't see many compromises with it. The nexus experience is the closest you can get to the iPhone experience.

 

[Southernboyj]

You really shouldn't have to root a phone to remove preinstalled bloatware. Disabling something doesn't delete it so the space issue is still valid. And if the S4 has issues with the easily most popular brand of SD cards, why is Verizon selling them with the intention of you using them with the phone? If it really is that big of an issue why don't they mention it in the store or offer alternative brands?

I don't see how space is that much of an issue. You can add up to 64GB of storage for cheaper than you can upgrade a 16 to 32gb iPhone.

 

[MRU]

This is the same complaint repeated in another fashion- Android is laggy. If you aren't willing to and looking forward to experiment to get the snappiest performance, maybe you shouldn't own the device in the first place.

In fairness no-one should have to experiment to get best performance on a $600+ device.

It should be blazing fast and trouble free from the outset, sadly we don't live in a perfect world however - and I can understand why that would annoy folks coming from iOS where the OS is seemingly much more optimised.

Its great that the S4 can be made blazingly fast and smooth with a little know how and tinkering, but generally the consumer should have an expectation that it would come like that from the outset and that manufacturer additions would not impact on that.

I still look forward to a day when we get stock android as default with manufactuers additions as optional extras.

 

[Explicitic]

You really shouldn't have to root a phone to remove preinstalled bloatware.

The carriers and manufacturers want you to use their services and this is one way they do it (especially for most consumers). iOS doesn't allow uninstallation at all and even jailbroken devices can't do it, albeit the stock apps aren't completely useless like most bloatware on Android (except that damn Newsstand...).

Rooting is a simple USB plug into the computer and press of a button with the "one-click" tools available out there. It's safe and easy. It opens you up to a completely new world of useful apps and tweaks. Android is an operating system you have to modify to your liking. If you don't like bothering with things like that, iOS is what's right for you and that's fine.

 

[Southernboyj]

(except that damn Newsstand...).

At least you can hide Newsstand in a folder now in iOS 7 without some kid of weird tricks.

 

[MegamanX]

You really shouldn't have to root a phone to remove preinstalled bloatware. Disabling something doesn't delete it so the space issue is still valid. And if the S4 has issues with the easily most popular brand of SD cards, why is Verizon selling them with the intention of you using them with the phone? If it really is that big of an issue why don't they mention it in the store or offer alternative brands?

chances are because they might be getting kick backs from sandisk or they get the most profit off of sandisk cards. Also if you think the sell guys no anything then you have a lot to learn. It if very rare that the sells guys at an electronic store know more than I do.
Sandisk I have found are hit more miss across the board with anything. They generally are the cheapest (and least reliable)

 

[BlackFalcon448]

In fairness no-one should have to experiment to get best performance on a $600+ device.

It should be blazing fast and trouble free from the outset, sadly we don't live in a perfect world however - and I can understand why that would annoy folks coming from iOS where the OS is seemingly much more optimised.

Its great that the S4 can be made blazingly fast and smooth with a little know how and tinkering, but generally the consumer should have an expectation that it would come like that from the outset and that manufacturer additions would not impact on that.

I still look forward to a day when we get stock android as default with manufactuers additions as optional extras.

Pretty much exactly this.

 

[TacticalDesire]

I blame lagwiz, errr I mean touchwiz for your problems. I've been smooth sailing on my nexus 4 for 7 months now. And by smooth I do mean smooth. Rock solid stable and stock software and kernel. Still stupid fast. Camera is meh and there's no LTE but I'm more than happy with H+.

 

[Dr McKay]

I flashed the Google Edition ROM onto my S4, its a match made in Heaven, I swear the photos even look better.

 

[Assault]

You really shouldn't have to root a phone to remove preinstalled bloatware.

You mean like Newsstand, Safari, Reminders, Stocks, Voice Memos, Calculator, Game Center, iTunes, Calculator and Reminders?

And if the S4 has issues with the easily most popular brand of SD cards, why is Verizon selling them with the intention of you using them with the phone? If it really is that big of an issue why don't they mention it in the store or offer alternative brands?

Why do they sell Radar Detectors in Virginia, if they are illegal in the State? Why is medicinal pot allowed to be sold in California if it violates Federal Law? The answer to your query is simpler to explain. Answer = Because Verizon sales reps are idiots.

 

[Dontazemebro]

I've never experienced any sort of lag or slowdown on my S4 like you're describing and I've been running stock (w/root of course) from day 1 with just a couple of minor cosmetic modifications. The S4 is definitely not for everybody but that's why we have choice, enjoy your iPhone.

 

[mib1800]

Putting aside quirks of both phones (like bloatware, sd card issue or in s4 - lock down, slow scrolling or need for workarounds in ip5), it is hard to imagine someone going back to the tiny screen of the iPhone.

The thing is those quirks in s4 can be easily overcomed but those in ip5 cannot. Maybe s4/non-iPhone is not for someone who is very willing to put up with all the quirks and idiosyncrasies of iPhone and yet can't do the same for any non iPhone.

 

[3bs]

Putting aside quirks of both phones (like bloatware, sd card issue or in s4 - lock down, slow scrolling or need for workarounds in ip5), it is hard to imagine someone going back to the tiny screen of the iPhone.

The thing is those quirks in s4 can be easily overcomed but those in ip5 cannot. Maybe s4/non-iPhone is not for someone who is very willing to put up with all the quirks and idiosyncrasies of iPhone and yet can't do the same for any non iPhone.

I have an S4 and yesterday I went back to my iPhone 5 because I missed it's small size but then I missed Android and popped my sim back in my S4 after a few hours.

It's why I'm interested in the One Mini provided it has decent battery life.

 

[onthecouchagain]

The thing is those quirks in s4 can be easily overcomed but those in ip5 cannot.

This really nails it.

Android isn't perfect, but its shortcomings are acceptable.

iPhone/iOS' shortcomings simply aren't. Just to use one example, there's just no going back to the iOS keyboard after using the likes of Swiftkey and/or Kii keyboards.

 

[maxosx]

So, about a month ago i walked into my local verizon store hoping to get an issue fixed with my iPhone 5. Due to some hard salesmanship, I walked out of the store with a brand new Galaxy S4.

At first, during the "honeymoon" period, the phone seemed great. It felt reasonably fast, and the new larger screen was amazing to get used to. However, as the days went on, and my return window closed, I started to realize that maybe the S4 wasn't for me.

Let me start with why I was convinced to buy the S4 in the first place. I have always looked at android in interest and always stayed away from it due to the fact that it always felt a step behind the iPhone in terms of speed and smoothness. The S4 made a valiant effort to fix this in my eyes, but it fell short. An in-store demo does not equal how the phone will act on a day to day basis. It it really hard to judge how a phone will fit into your life in a mere 14 days.

To start off, the S4 has better hardware then the iP5, plain and simple. however, android is so un-optimized that the phone feels noticeably slower. Things take longer to open. Animations for opening apps or the keyboard stutter often. The phone randomly freezes for no reason. etc.

One of my biggest issues is with how unstable the camera software is. The camera on the S4 is physically brilliant, but the software controlling it is absolute garbage. The camera would unmount the SD card (a SanDisk Ultra class 10 micro sd card) pretty regularly for no apparent reason and the photos would get saved into the laughable excuse that the internal storage is.

Im sure I don't need to go into any of the issues with bloatware or lack of apps here as they are common complaints. What I would like to do however, is talk about what the S4 did right.

First off, the AMOLED screen is fantastic, albeit a bit dimmer then the iPhone at comparable levels. The fact that black color made the screen literally turn off in that area is fantastic for night viewing. Also, the camera takes some absolutely amazing pictures, when it is actually working.


A few years ago I think i would have been fine with these issues because i was more interested in the openness of android as an operating system. But now, I realize that I want a phone that just works consistently and well, and the iPhone is the only phone that I've used that can do that for me.

These claims are either exaggerated or you had a defective phone. End of story.


Via my fast smooth and stutter free Galaxy S4.

 

[slu]

Lack of apps?! less Games sure but general apps then no no really.

I agree with this for everything but music creation. iOS is the clear winner in that arena. But that is what I have an iPad for.

 

[appleisking]

You mean like Newsstand, Safari, Reminders, Stocks, Voice Memos, Calculator, Game Center, iTunes, Calculator and Reminders?

Why do they sell Radar Detectors in Virginia, if they are illegal in the State? Why is medicinal pot allowed to be sold in California if it violates Federal Law? The answer to your query is simpler to explain. Answer = Because Verizon sales reps are idiots.

lol wth? come on. I agree with vm, gc, newsstand, why did u mention calculator twice and why is that bloatware? But reminders plenty of people use, easy access to a stocks app is also def not bloatware, and safari? Seriously. Far better than chrome on mobile. Everybody with an android device complains about chrome.*
Now, the sales reps part I agree with

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This really nails it.

Android isn't perfect, but its shortcomings are acceptable.

iPhone/iOS' shortcomings simply aren't. Just to use one example, there's just no going back to the iOS keyboard after using the likes of Swiftkey and/or Kii keyboards.

This. It drives me nuts. I simply can't type on it. My friend somehow types 1000000 words a min on it tho. Freak of nature?

 

[3bs]

lol wth? come on. I agree with vm, gc, newsstand, why did u mention calculator twice and why is that bloatware? But reminders plenty of people use, easy access to a stocks app is also def not bloatware, and safari? Seriously. Far better than chrome on mobile. Everybody with an android device complains about chrome.*
Now, the sales reps part I agree with

----------



This. It drives me nuts. I simply can't type on it. My friend somehow types 1000000 words a min on it tho. Freak of nature?

When I switch between iOS and Android it'll take me some time (a few days maybe) for me to relearn how to type fast on it but it definitely comes back.

Oh and I actually think Chrome on iOS is much better than on Android.