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The Galaxy S5
- Thread starter The Game 161
- Start date
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Swipe scanners do not work as well as sub-epidermal scanners like the one on the iPhone. Swipe scanners have existed on laptops and smartphones before. They were abandoned for a reason, they do not work more times than they do work. The iPhone scanner works 95% of the time because it is a different technology than what Samsung is using.
I have windows laptop, HP envy (can't remember the full series) and they swipe scanner works really well.
I think this might be lazy job on Samsung.
I have had that exact laptop....and the scanner did work well.....
But I agree with you. I think samsung did not implement the finger print scanner very well. Hopefully they will do better next time.....
Recent update suppose to improve the finger print scanner performance. When I tried intially, it worked everytime with index finger from second hand. But I never able to make it work with on handed use (thumb).
I was being a bit sarcastic because I do think it is a very useful feature just implemented very poorly.
Spigen electric blue slim cover arrived today ... It's *****. Has a really cheap look about it. Had it been less glossy it may have looked good in a matte finish, but as it is I don't like it.
Also got a toughened glass screen protector which actually makes the screen not only protected, but feel better to touch and provides a better glide for the finger print scanner.
Also got a toughened glass screen protector which actually makes the screen not only protected, but feel better to touch and provides a better glide for the finger print scanner.
I also got Spigen case. Except for looks, it is made from very hard plastic with slippery surface and uncomfortable to hold with shard edges. I got poetic atmosphere grey/clear case. It is very good and functional (grip, provided support for keys).
Thanks for the battery tips everyone, I seem to have better luck with turning off some apps. I'm at 45% typing this at 10:30 PM.
On another note, does anyone know why this keeps happening?
Often when I exit a Hangouts conversation and go to the homescreen the keyboard "sticks" as seen above. Anyone else have this issue on the S5? Don't have this problem on any of my other phones.
On another note, does anyone know why this keeps happening?
Often when I exit a Hangouts conversation and go to the homescreen the keyboard "sticks" as seen above. Anyone else have this issue on the S5? Don't have this problem on any of my other phones.
Still enjoying my S5. It really is a nice phone
Tweaks to get the most out your S5 (AT&T version)
Enable ART
Enable Developer Options
Disable all carrier bloat and Samsung nonsense
Change animation scale to .5
Force GPU rendering
Disable capacitive button lights. You know where to tap, even in the dark.
Set screen brightness to auto
Turn off any features you honestly don't use. Example: NFC, multi window.
Turn off auto app updates in the play store. Keeps bloatware garbage from being installed and activated automatically.
Add the active apps widget to your home and see when apps are starting to eat too many resources. When they become to much, open multi-tasking and close what you don't need.
Enjoy your device. Still not missing my iPhone 5S
Tweaks to get the most out your S5 (AT&T version)
Enable ART
Enable Developer Options
Disable all carrier bloat and Samsung nonsense
Change animation scale to .5
Force GPU rendering
Disable capacitive button lights. You know where to tap, even in the dark.
Set screen brightness to auto
Turn off any features you honestly don't use. Example: NFC, multi window.
Turn off auto app updates in the play store. Keeps bloatware garbage from being installed and activated automatically.
Add the active apps widget to your home and see when apps are starting to eat too many resources. When they become to much, open multi-tasking and close what you don't need.
Enjoy your device. Still not missing my iPhone 5S
This should be a stickied for all carrier and vendor skinned Android phones ..
Probably a TouchWiz bug, I used to get that on my Note 2 when it was new.
The Swype keyboard is handy for that situation btw - just swipe from the Swype symbol to Backspace to make the keyboard disappear.
Very good post - especially applicable to Samsung (and perhaps LG)
I'll just make 1 genuine valid point however ....
As a new flagship device, we the consumer / end user should not have to do 'any' of those things to get a device to function smoothly.
Whilst it is great we can do those things - we really shouldn't have to. The manufacturer should have optimised it's device to the point where as soon as I open it out of the box it's working at it's full potential.
We would not buy a car (or any other goods) and expect to have to tinker under the hood with the engine in order to get a smooth ride.
If some manufactures can skin android and keep it streamlined - the ability to do so has been proven - and therefore 'all' manufacturers should strive to do the same.
Clearly if we are disabling many unnecessary services to gain performance / smoothness - the preference from the end user is not for additional services we never use - its for better gui experience.
I have done all those things above, and yet my S5 still can not multi-task with the smoothness of my M8 and still has to reload apps when the M8 doesn't. It's my only real bugbear with Samsung. Just optimise your phone please... because even when those with knowledge tinker to improve performance - it still at times is hampered by a lot of services that we can not disable.
And probably why people complain about android phones lagging compared to iPhones especially when trying in store. And why people try android and go back to apple. Most android users wouldn't have a clue about or how to change those settings. I wouldn't of without checking here. I have made so many settings changes recommended here I wouldn't remember what I have done
I agree with you about TW needs to be better optimized. It could use some improvements. It could handle memory better for one think. Agree that Samsung tends to add too many features and the expense of limiting those features and making a few great features instead of too many features.
I have said it many times over and again. TW could use some improvements.
But at the end of the day....it is not that bad. I have been using TW after disabling the features i don't use and it has been great for me. But YMMV...to each his own. I don't mind tinkering with something after I buy it to make it better ( for me). Isn't that why we use Android over other OSes? Because we can tinker and customize?
I bought a new truck last year....a Toyota Tundra 4x4. First thing I did was lift it....but bigger tires on it and improve the suspension. It will go just about anywhere. It has a backup camera on the back tailgate. The camera turns on when in reverse and shows in the rearview mirror. Man i wish i could tinker with that! I wish i could turn it on anytime I want and record video with it!
My point is most people don't mind a little tinkering to make something better
I wish my S5 and TW was better at managing memory out of the box.....but its not so I can make it better myself. I wish out of the box the features i wanted or didn't want were just the way I want them. But with very little effort i can make it just the way i want it
Some of us here on forums and such perhaps, but we are certainly not representative of 95% of the android consumers out there who just use their phones as they come out of the box.
For those folks - they should have an expectation that a flagship phone should perform without any modifications.
If a manufacturer has added features they should work out of the box and not at the detriment of the users experience by hobbling its performance.
As Robster said it is why many folks coming from iOS to Android may find themselves feeling a little cheated by the performance on their device given it's 'massive' spec sheet difference to their iOS device. There's no point having all the specs if your making them buckle under the weight of your OS.
I really dig my S5, but performance wise it is slower than my S4 GPE in general use - and for a new gen phone, it should feel faster not slower. That's all down to the OS, and like I say it's a shame because Touchwiz launcher part is in itself grand, its the multitude of crap under it that no matter how much tinkering even those of us in the know do, still hold it back from 'excelling'.
It's frustrating because you know the 801 is a screamer of a chipset, and in the S5 it doesn't scream, it just hums.
I am not sure MRU...I agree with you on some great points. It should just work out of the box and it does.......could the feature set use improvements? You bet! But at the end of the day......if people had a bad experience with Samsung phones...they would not buy them. Samsung wouldn't dominate the mobile landscape the way it does. There are some great alternative smartphones out there. You brought up the M8...great phone. But the user experience must not be so bad for the normal everyday user if sales are any indicator. I think the TW complaints are mainly from the tech crowd like on forums and review sights. The everyday user does not critique tech for a living they just want a phone to work. The S5 does that. It is poised to be the best selling Android phone of the year......If it was horrible.......by word of mouth alone it would not have the sales it has. After the S3 and S4....the S5 is set to break those previous models sales records.
Not to be flippant or snide, but it's android. What do you expect? I've yet to encounter an android device that didn't need work out the box, this includes the raw android Nexus 7 I had.
It's just the way the OS is as far as I am concerned.
If someone want's good to go out user experience out the box they will go with an iPhone or Windows Phone device.
You make good points too.
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I'm not sure that is really true ... sales figures clearly indicate otherwise.
Also Samsung sells because the mass majority of people associate high-end Android devices with Samsung, due to market penetration and marketing. Just like a few years ago everyone associated Android with Droid (Verizon). It doesn't necessarily mean it was the "best", just that the general public associated the certain devices/OS to a moniker.
You also have to keep in mind that smartphones are also a fashion statement, which is why iPhones and Galaxys sell because people associate that with premium. For every smartphone enthusiast that can tell the "lag/performance" issues between each flagship device each year, the majority of buyers probably can't see a difference and purchase it because that's the newest and hottest on the market.
Great statement of facts..... I seriously do not see why other phone makers do not follow Apple and Samsung examples and advertise more. I know there are some financial concerns but really they cannot afford to not advertise.
Your examples of brand recognition is why they cannot afford to not advertise. Look at HTC...their phones have won design and build awards. And rightly so...they are great phones. But that has not translated into sales. The reason why......IMHO is advertising. They need to blast the airways more with their product. Not over the top mind you but more to the feature set and design of their phones. The current and past commercial spots.....do not do their product justice.
It's much harder at this point for other Android manufacturers to penetrate the existing market because Samsung has such a lead already. The perception of brand names is extremely evident overseas, where everything is about image and brand. Samsung is selling like hotcakes right now and telecom providers know that, which is why providers help push these devices because they know it rakes in the most money. Regardless of how much HTC, LG, and or Moto spends in marketing, it's still a small % of the amount Samsung spends each year. Couple that with the fact that Samsung is also their own component and chipset foundry they can afford to spend more to market while still keeping their overall costs down and profitable.
Walk in to any Verizon, Sprint, AT&T, and T-Mobile store and Galaxy's and iPhone's will always been at the front with their own dedicated kiosks. It's almost sacrilege and you have to fight tooth and nail sometimes to get a rep to tell you where other "smartphones" are.
That is a great point i had not thought of.....Samsung does control the end to end product. Much like Apple that has very lucrative supply chain agreements in place. I guess Samsung does not need to outsource production....they do it themselves.
Don't forget the BestBuy kiosks too......Samsung has great brand presence to the public with that kind of presentation. they might not get a lot of sales through those kiosks but they get their brand in peoples minds just by being there....