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The Galaxy S5
- Thread starter The Game 161
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How is the responsiveness compared to the 5S? Lag seems to always be associated with touch wiz. I know you mentioned you can unlock the phone with one hand. What about overall? One handed use an issue?
I was playing with the Galaxy S5 at the AT&T store and felt that it was laggy, like the S4. The Note 3 (which I have owned) was much more responsive than the S5 and applications didn't launch as quick. I'm not sure if it was just the store demo but I powered it off, and back on again and it was just as slow. I think Touch Wiz needs that extra GB of RAM...
I was playing with the Galaxy S5 at the AT&T store and felt that it was laggy, like the S4. The Note 3 (which I have owned) was much more responsive than the S5 and applications didn't launch as quick. I'm not sure if it was just the store demo but I powered it off, and back on again and it was just as slow. I think Touch Wiz needs that extra GB of RAM...
My concern was as I posted a few pages back that the s5 may sail too close to the wind memory wise.
I've seen videos now where memory usage was 1.1 to 1.4gb out of 1.81gb available and that's with either no active applications or with just music active.
As I posted I would be concerned how it will run if several active applications and all the S-features enabled.
The note 3 wasn't any better at managing memory (used just as much as s4) but the extra 1gb meant it always had enough headroom spare to cope.
Hence it always felt smoother and lag free compared to the general hiccups and stutters on the S4.
As I also said whilst It seems Touchwiz seems less bloated in sense of a few apps taken out (s-hub) and aesthetically it's cleaner, there is a massive difference between something looking aesthetically cleaner and the operating system being actually more optimised memory wise.
It appears to me that whilst it has had a facelift, the amount of resources Touchwiz is consuming is still comparatively high especially compared to stock android and even sense 6.
I could have been tempted by the S5, but I don't want to feel like I have to micro manage my open applications and begin disabling features left right and centre to get a smoother experience, one which just am extra 1gb of ram would have solved.
Time will tell if my concern is played out in real usage experience by consumers.. Another flagship with a secret flaw ( HTC m8 - camera. Z2 - heat dispensation - s5 stutters micro lag? )
I was playing with the Galaxy S5 at the AT&T store and felt that it was laggy, like the S4. The Note 3 (which I have owned) was much more responsive than the S5 and applications didn't launch as quick. I'm not sure if it was just the store demo but I powered it off, and back on again and it was just as slow. I think Touch Wiz needs that extra GB of RAM...
I played around with one at an AT&T store and it had zero lag. I have seen several videos demonstrations about the S5 and it had zero lag. As MRU points out Samsung does not do a great job with memory management. My S4 does not lag at all never has. As you and others have pointed out though unused ram is wasted ram.
I get my S5 on Friday......I will post some pictures and general feedback.....
I've read a few reviews that are claiming that the S5 does stutter every once in a while. Guess that's just a flaw we need to expect and be ok with when it comes to Samsung.
Everyone's S4 stutters, including the one I had. It's a fact. I've played with the S5 -- it's not as responsive as my nexus5, and not even close to the M8. I still might get one, its got some features I want.
My current GS4 lags. I've seen some videos of the S5 lag and was even slower than the 5s.
Are you sure there's not a misunderstanding here?
With today's mobile OSes... Android or iOS... you should EXPECT the memory usage to always look nearly full.
This is so that previously used apps can restart quicker, as long as no new process needs to reclaim their memory.
This modern behavior is totally opposite of what many people expect or are used to, but is perfectly normal.
Missing my point guys.... and you are creating a bit of a fallacy.
There is a certain tipping point where if your OS is using so much memory by itself with NO active applications - (1.1 - 1.4gb of the 1.81 available) then it leaves very little remaining for those other applications you want to actually have open for quick accessing etc.
When a Galaxy S4 GE or Nexus 5 device can run its OS & cached background task with 650-700mb used (rather than 1.1-1.4gb), it then allows the device to have more user applications open and without as much re-loading or forced exiting (task killing) by the OS when it begins to run out of memory.
I spell it out again.. I'm not saying you need lots of empty ram - what I am saying is that the OS alone should not be using two-thirds to three-quarters of it - leaving the user very little left for other applications to run in the background. Doing so WILL inevitably lead to the OS having to task kill open applications far more often when there is request for further resources.
An example...
Take the HTC One 2013 against the S4 2013 for example. Both 2gb devices.
Yet on one hand we have sense 5/5.5 which being so much better optimised memory wise meant that having several applications open and flicking in and out of apps and even app drawer / widget screen and there is never a stutter or hiccup or trace of lag. You never felt the impact of the OS having to kill of a application because it was running out of memory.
Take the S4 Touchwiz version on the other hand, now open a few apps and then flick back and forth quickly in and out of apps and into the widget drawer and you will generally see some hiccups and micro stuttering as the device frees memory or task kills open applications to cope with whats currently happening/being requested of it...
So YES whilst true wasted memory is wasted if its never used, the fact remains having ALL YOUR MEMORY wasted by an over bloated OS results in a similar performance of a device with NOT ENOUGH MEMORY...
The Galaxy Note 3 is no better at management of it memory in regards to its over bloated operating system (touchwiz is as it always is) , BUT and importantly ... the extra 1GB ram it has over the S4 DOES INDEED lead to a very tangible and noticeable performance advantage with no traces of the micro stutters and hiccups that the S4 is often plagued with.
In this instance were not asking for ram to be wasted, what I'm saying is that it may be a case that the S5, like the S4 may not have 'enough' for consistent multitasking with user applications and a fluid (lag / stutter free) user operation experience.
For that reason I think 3GB would have been better, assuring the device NEVER has an issue with resource management.... In fact given the Note 3 did have 3gb, it surprises me that Samsung have opted to go with 2gb on the S5, especially as the S5 seems to be retailing off contract at a significantly higher premium than last years S4 off contract pricing.
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On the contrary... you just proved my point, and proven you don't have clue... I never said the Note 3 lags ... I had one myself for 6 flipping months.
I assume on your note 3 you had apps running, the os running and still had enough headroom and never had any lag.
Note 3 has 2.68gb memory free so if you had 300mb free on average then you were using 2.3gb
Note 3's os is just as heavy with Touchwiz as the GS4. Now imagine taking 800mb out of the memory pool leaving it the same as the S4's 1.8gb
That would with the same apps open as you currently have leave you currently a deficit of 500mb.
I can guarantee you would not be able to run the same amount of background tasks without them being task killed as your Note 3 resulting in a reduced user experience in comparison to the Note 3.
That's my point... and you proved it. Next time you have a snarky remark to a poster - actually read their entire post.
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Hardly hysteria; a legitimate concern over ram usage on the S5 coming from a Note 3 which was very smooth user experience after two s4's which did struggle at times; but not hysteria (far from it.) And for the record I never referred to it as lag... but as hiccups and micro stutters on Touchwiz S4. Ironically the GE S4 I am using right now is very fast and has none of the hiccups or stutters from my previous two Touchwiz S4's...
When I'm paying 650 ($900) I want / demand a consistent smooth experience, and don't want to be reminded by my devices performance that it could have been better optimised. That's hardly hysterical; it should be an expectation for all of us.
The split second lag, stutter, whatever, ruins it for me. Seems as if the samsung phones are fine out of the box but a month down the road it's annoying. Asking for the keyboard to fluidly appear is asking too much? My nexus 5 didn't do it. The One didn't do it. Hell, even the z1 is smoother than most galaxy phones. In the end the Note 3 was just as bad as the rest. Damn shame it is.
I just tested out the S5 at my local att. I like the phone BUT.......is it me or does the s5 icons look fuzzy? I feel the N5 icons are more sharp........it's a toss up for me. I like the hardware of the s5 but like the software of the n5. Size wasn't a big issue. Hmmmm