iPhone 4S or Galaxy Nexus?

F

Fall3n13

macrumors newbie
I'm currently at an impasse.

I'm currently with Verizon and i am using a Thunderbolt. This is my third android phone (Epic 4G, G2, TBolt).

I'm currently frustrated with Android and this phone's problems. I'm running with the huge extended battery to try to last me a day and i'm usually dealing with some sort of FC or just general performance slow down. I'm rooted and i've ran multiple custom roms to stock ones.

I'm considering an iPhone 4S. I've owned every iPhone and i've found them to be great phones just felt like trying something different and went to Android. My only worry is i might be unhappy with just 3G. The only good purpose my phone serves is as a hotspot where i connect it to my iPad to stream Netflix or general usage. I love how quick LTE is.

I'm also considering the Galaxy Nexus. The phone looks great and i am interested in ICS to see if alot of inconsistencies and problems with Android are being addressed. I'm just worried I'm going to run into some of the same problems and i know with 4G I'm going to take a battery hit, I'm just wondering how bad of one this one would give me.

I'm not trying to start a flame war. I'm just looking for some different opinions other than my own to maybe give me some direction towards a decision.
 
I sold my Atrix to get some cash together for the Galaxy Nexus after I see some reviews. I'm hoping ICS takes a big step forward for Android. I liked what I saw when it was officially announced but I want to see what reviewers think. The hardware and software usually work better with Nexus phones since Google makes the software and they are involved in creating the hardware. Also you'll get updates first.
 
LSUtigers03 said:
I sold my Atrix to get some cash together for the Galaxy Nexus after I see some reviews. I'm hoping ICS takes a big step forward for Android. I liked what I saw when it was officially announced but I want to see what reviewers think. The hardware and software usually work better with Nexus phones since Google makes the software and they are involved in creating the hardware. Also you'll get updates first.
Click to expand...

I totally agree with you.
 
Android is like a stuttering cousin that you have to slap on the back of the head to spit out the words.

I have tried several android phones Evo, Nexus S, Captivate, Bionic. I have rooted and tried multiple ROMS, but nothing is as good as iOS or Apple's hardware. Each and every time I come back to iOS. Save your money, save your time and stick with what works.
 
HiDEF said:
Does anyone own a Samsung Galaxy S II? If so, how do you like it?
Click to expand...

It's a good phone. Android is pretty simple to use. I thought it was going to be difficult, as I kept reading stuff like you need to be a techie to understand. It's fairly simple. The screen is nice and the colors are vibrant. I thought it would be hard to hold, but I still use one hand like with my iPhone.

Battery life seems decent, I've had my phone off the charger since about 8:30 and it's at 40% with texting, gchat, and tweeting all day. If I decide to keep the phone I'll buy another battery for long days. Call quality is great. I haven't had any lag with the UI. The phone is super fast and smooth. The speaker is good for a cell phone.

Overall, it's a good phone. I've no complaints.
 
shadrap said:
Android is like a stuttering cousin that you have to slap on the back of the head to spit out the words.

I have tried several android phones Evo, Nexus S, Captivate, Bionic. I have rooted and tried multiple ROMS, but nothing is as good as iOS or Apple's hardware. Each and every time I come back to iOS. Save your money, save your time and stick with what works.
Click to expand...

This. Although Android may be more customisable and arguably more capable, iOS has the better user experience, more streamlined/smooth UI, better battery life and greater reliability.

That's speaking from experience as well.
 
HiDEF said:
Does anyone own a Samsung Galaxy S II? If so, how do you like it?
Click to expand...

The SGS2 is the best Android phone out there bar none and is the only phone I would recommend anyone as an alternative to an iPhone.

- Amazing screen
- No lag (personal experience)
- Best web browsing experience of any phone (in my opinion)
- Very good battery life
- The best looking Android phone by a mile, that is including the coming soon Galaxy Nexus


My brother has the iPhone 4, and for me, the screen is just way too small now that I'm used to my SGS2. Web browsing on the iPhone feels so restrictive in comparison.

Although I have many Apple products, I will be skipping the 4S to see what Apple do with the next model.
 
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HiDEF said:
Does anyone own a Samsung Galaxy S II? If so, how do you like it?
Click to expand...

I love it. I've had all 5 iPhones and now I use the S2. It is probably the second best phone, with the iPhone 4s being number 1. The S2 can complete with the Galaxy Nexus.

----------
GWagon said:
The SGS2 is the best Android phone out there bar none and is the only phone I would recommend anyone as an alternative to an iPhone.

- Amazing screen
- No lag (personal experience)
- Best web browsing experience of any phone (in my opinion)
- Very good battery life


My brother has the iPhone 4, and for me, the screen is just way too small now that I'm used to my SGS2. Web browsing on the iPhone feels so restrictive in comparison.

Although I have many Apple products, I will be skipping the 4S to see what Apple do with the next model.
Click to expand...
I agree! Its either iPhone or S2. I love both. Netflix on the S2 is amazing.
 
Well, I'm not sure. I have seen some prices with contracts of the Galaxy Nexus and it's not that much cheaper than the iPhone 4s. Might as well spend a little bit more and get the iPhone 4S 64 gb version. :confused:

But on the other hand, i'm a bit worried how easy those iPhone break. So maybe I'll do an Android experiment and see how it is, since I have only used iOS till now.
 
If you're looking for an Android phone right now, SGS2 is basically the best Android phone. However no one knows how long it'll take to get ICS on it.

Nexus Prime (as I like to call it) is a great phone. It has a 720p screen with high pixel density, allowing text to be readable on portrait mode without zooming in when web browsing like on the iPhone 4/4S.
 
Simple.

G Nexus November.... 4.0 Android looks AMAZING! And LTE is a plus!

iPhone 5 next year.... New body style and LTE.

With those two phones you'll have the best of both worlds.
 
The 4S is my first iPhone coming from EVO. I went to the Sprint store the other day to compare my iPhone to the SGS2 and while the screen size is nice the phone felt cheap in my hand. I'm not saying that it's junk but it didn't feel like the quality you get with an iPhone.

Since I had a larger screen I was afraid that I was going to miss the extra real estate, but in all honesty I found I prefer the smaller size of the phone over the larger screen.

I am very interested to see and touch the Nexus Prime to see if it's built any better. I have read a couple articles that said the pentile screen may not be as good as advertised. Apparently other phones that used pentile screens had poor performance where text was concerned. To be fair both articles said its too early to tell as no one has seen the phone yet.

My biggest hesitation would be Android though. My first two Android phones left me with a less than good feeling about it. Rebooting, FC'ing, crashes, lag etc etc. I had also tried rooting and almost all the different ROMs but never found one where everything worked 100% at the same time.

I would have to see what reviewers have to say about ICS before even thinking about going back to Android and then I'd probably wait until a couple updates. I definitely think Android is on the right track and will eventually be as stable and smooth as iOS but not quite yet.

I would recommend you go to a store that has a working demo and play around with it before making a decision.
 
I have the Galaxy S II and I love it. I've flirted with returning it only because I wanted Siri. After playing with Siri, it wasn't enough to leave. Siri, in MY opinion is just a feature ill use because its new and then stop.

MIUI just got released for the AT&T Galaxy S Ii and its amazing. I love it. Matter of fact I'm typing this from it, lol.

The galaxy nexus doesn't really impress me though. 4.65 inch screen is just way too big for me because of my tiny hands. I had the Infuse at 4.5 and I thought that felt pretty good until I returned that for the GS II and this phone is a perfect fit for me.

Regarding battery life on the Nexus, I believe it will be great. Samsung batteries aren't really bad. I haven't charged since last night and I've got 48% left. From my experience with high end Android phones, HTC struggles with battery life as well as Craporola I mean Motorola.
 
Got nothing but good things to say about the SGS2. Used to have an iP4 before.

Battery is good, screen is great, really fast and I can configure Android however I want.

For me, the Nexus is simply a bit too big. An ideal screen size for me personally is between 4-4.3 inches, anything smaller is cramped, anything bigger is hard to fit in a pocket.

Can't wait for ICS, looking great atm.
 
Your asking people to opine on a phone and an OS that isn't even released. Its not even worth reading any of the opinions until its released. For example, did you know at the Nexus unveiling their were 6 different firmware versions of ICS going around? The one shown on stage for the face unlock was a special version that had many features cut out because of the bugs - and it still had problems. Google still has much work to do on ICS and i think we are now in the days where every major mobile OS release is going to be quite buggy. Has been on iOS5, Gingerbread and even Mango. I know as I have used/currently use all three. And while the Nexus hands on you can read about online are nice, there are things you cannot determine until you hold it - i.e. is size ok, is screen comparatively as good/better/worse, does Android still suffer from the lack of smoothness in scrolling or has it been fixed in ICS, is zero shutter lag really zero shutter lag or does it slow down with OS use? Case in point, the 4S camera. Its muuucch faster than the 4 and is very quick to start up. But not as quick as was shown on stage and certainly some moderate increased lag when the phone is loaded up with software and content.

As a very experienced mobile user, nothing will convince you like playing around with it and giving it a few weeks for the real benefits/issues to surface.

My suggestion is play around with the 4S a lot and read up. Then when ICS and Nexus are released do the same for a few weeks. Then plan on making your decision late Nov, early Dec. You should not have any buyers remorse at that point.
 
Picka said:
Got nothing but good things to say about the SGS2. Used to have an iP4 before.

Battery is good, screen is great, really fast and I can configure Android however I want.

For me, the Nexus is simply a bit too big. An ideal screen size for me personally is between 4-4.3 inches, anything smaller is cramped, anything bigger is hard to fit in a pocket.

Can't wait for ICS, looking great atm.
Click to expand...

Actually, if you look at it, the way they have the soft buttons set up along the bottom of the screen, you probably won't realize that it's bigger than 4.3" unless you play full screen movies or constantly have the phone in landscape.
 
I would really love to give an Android phone a good few months of use. I just do not want to sign a contract, or pay one large chunk to do it.
 
oshia86 said:
I would really love to give an Android phone a good few months of use. I just do not want to sign a contract, or pay one large chunk to do it.
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Prepaid AT&T LG Thrive $179. Not the full Android experience(still runs on 2.2.1), but Android nonetheless.
 
For those with the SGS2 and complaining that the Nexus Prime is 'too big,' how do you feel about the Galaxy Nexus only being slightly larger than your phone despite having a much larger screen?
 
Abyssgh0st said:
For those with the SGS2 and complaining that the Nexus Prime is 'too big,' how do you feel about the Galaxy Nexus only being slightly larger than your phone despite having a much larger screen?
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The nexus prime and galaxy nexus are the same thing. 4.3 vs 4.65 isn't slightly larger.. its a lot. Even 4.5 to 4.3 was way bigger IMO. I spoke of it being to big because of my small hands. I owned the Infuse prior to the GS II and it was much wider than the gs II making it harder to grip with one hand.
 
Best possible Apple experience vs. best possible Android experience. That would totally come down being to personal preference and or based on existing investments.

SGS2 is the phone of the moment for Android. Nexus devices enjoy the added feature of actually being supported beyond the first few weeks or months following release.
 
This is a tough call. In my opinion, the Galaxy Nexus will be the better device from a hardware perspective. From a software perspective, ICS is likely to be a stunner, however for somebody with loads of Apple products, you'll never be able to enjoy the same level of integration (iTunes Store, Apps, Airplay, Remote Control, etc.) as you would with an iPhone. If those things aren't an issue, I would go with the Galaxy Nexus.
 
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