Samsung Galaxy S 4 Review - Part 1
by Brian Klug on April 24, 2013 12:01 AM ESTCPU Performance
For our CPU analysis we're left with our usual browser based benchmarks. Again this isn't an ideal list of tests but it's the best we've got for now. Where necessary we'll show results using both stock and Chrome browsers. We did notice a single case of thermal based throttling under SunSpider 0.9.1 (the benchmark alone is ine, but running it after a bunch of others caused throttling), so we're once again presenting results in our standard test environment as well as inside of a freezer to show peak performance. Although the Galaxy S 4 managed to throttle in one of our tests, the device never felt all that warm to the touch. We could be seeing some of the same aggressively set thermal governors that we saw back with the Nexus 4. It's also worth pointing out that we're simply in an era of pushing the limits of just how fast you can go at 28nm LP in many of these smartphones. The mobile SoC vendors also need to do a better job of power management, enabling controlled bursting to these high frequency states vs. sustaining the higher frequencies until there's a serious enough thermal issue that the CPU cores have to throttle themselves significantly.
Under Kraken in particular we see a measurable improvement in performance over the 1.7GHz S600 used in the HTC One. Qualcomm still can't attain the peak performance of ARM's Cortex A15, but once again we're looking at a much lower power profile.
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bmgoodman - Wednesday, April 24, 2013 - link
If you want a custom ROM, like Cyanogenmod, take a look at some of the XDA Developers forums. Samsung enthusiasts are bailing out in droves, disheartened by the increasingly secretive nature of Samsung.Gray05 - Wednesday, April 24, 2013 - link
You and I are in the same boat. I am still using my i777 and run Task650's 4.2.2 AOKP ROM.I love being able to swap batteries with my i777. It is a major plus. But, I could settle for getting a small/medium size external battery to hook up when needed. Something easily carried around like a spare battery but with a lot more capacity.
I won't make a decision until I see how the XDA world reacts to the S4 and can hold both phones in my hand at the store. But, I am leaning towards the HTC One. The stereo front facing speakers, good low light photography, and 64GB internal storage are hard to argue with. I am nervous about denting the aluminum body...
Hunt3rj2 - Wednesday, April 24, 2013 - link
The GS4 has a locked bootloader. I wish I was kidding but both Brian and Engadget have confirmed.cryosx - Wednesday, April 24, 2013 - link
h8rift has an alpha of cm10.1 up already and seeing as how team hacksung no longer supports sasmsung. . . go HTC!roltzje - Wednesday, April 24, 2013 - link
Well done article, I enjoyed it.Anyways, regarding the One vs S4. Really, its a debate between aesthetics and function. The HTC One is more aesthetic with pleasing materials and a sharp, expensive look. The S4 is far more functional, with more features that most people can use, and in general is more ergonomic to use.
So would I rather have an amazingly looking phone that functions acceptably, or an acceptable looking phone that functions amazingly? The latter, which is why I'm going for the S4.
nerd1 - Wednesday, April 24, 2013 - link
A obvious solution is attaching a metal case to the GS4.kyuu - Wednesday, April 24, 2013 - link
Uh, what functions does the S4 have that the One does not? Let me guess:1) SD card
2) Removable battery
SD card is nice for phones that ship with 16GB or less of internal NAND, but with 32 or 64GB, I personally can't see any need for it. It'd still be nice, sure, but I can certainly live without it.
Removable battery I have zero need for. Modern batteries don't suddenly turn to crap after two years (hell, even my old iPhone 4 battery was still going strong after over two years before I ditched it), and if I need some extra juice, USB chargers are ubiquitous. There's also cheap USB-powered external battery packs to charge up with on-the-road.
If I was looking at Android, I'd go with the One hands down. The camera (low-light perfomance and stabilized video are more important to me than performance in ideally-lit scenarios), speakers (One's best feature IMO), non-AMOLED screen (yeah blacks are nice, but it sucks battery and is oversaturated), and, yes, superior industrial design easily put it over the SGS4 for me.
dyc4ha - Wednesday, April 24, 2013 - link
Cant agree with you more! Why not give android a try btw? I came from the iphone 3gs and I glad I made the switch!nerd1 - Wednesday, April 24, 2013 - link
Then what functions does One have that iPhone 5 does not? Some people can argue none as they are happy with iPhone.Omiaz - Wednesday, April 24, 2013 - link
S4 is a BEAST !!!Im waiting for octa core variant . And the Anand review ;)