Samsung Galaxy S 4 Review - Part 1
by Brian Klug on April 24, 2013 12:01 AM ESTFinal Words
Samsung has done a tremendous job creating a global following not only for its brand, but also for its software. In studying Samsung and its devices it becomes quite clear that although many enthusiasts yearn for pure, unadulterated Android, there are seemingly big pockets of the market who have grown used to (and maybe even desire?) Samsung's TouchWiz user experience. It really is a very clever strategy on Samsung's part. If you deliver products that your users appreciate, and deliver a uniquely different user interface at the same time, you begin to create an appreciation for that user interface as well. All of this flies in the face of what we as reviewers normally seem to prefer, but Samsung's success is proof of the fact that not everyone absolutely detests OEM customized Android.
Samsung's existing user base is likely the easiest to talk to about the Galaxy S 4. Compared to any previous Galaxy S device, the SGS4 is a clear step forward in all of the right areas. The display is higher resolution, the SoC is significantly faster, there's better WiFi (and connectivity depending on what generation of Galaxy S you're talking about) and obviously the Galaxy S 4 runs the absolute latest version of Android. Even on the camera side, Samsung has improved imaging performance over the Galaxy S 3 this generation thanks to its use of a wider aperture lens system. If you're a happy owner of a Samsung Galaxy S/S2/S3, you'll likely be a happy owner of a Galaxy S 4.
It's when you compare the Galaxy S 4 to its chief technical competitor, the HTC One, that the discussion becomes more complicated. HTC and Samsung take very different approaches to nearly every aspect of their flagship smartphones. Whether it's display (LCD vs. Super AMOLED), camera (low light vs. well lit performance), or software (subtle Sense 5 or feature filled TouchWiz), you couldn't pick two more different players in the Android space. So which is better?
It really depends on what you value more. The One's camera delivers better low light performance, while the Galaxy S 4's camera delivers better performance in well lit (e.g. outdoor) scenarios. The One's software customizations are definitely more subtle and out of your way, while Samsung's approach is much more feature overload and in your face. It's difficult to say for sure given our Sprint review unit, but HTC likely gets the slight edge in battery life based on our results here today (although these two devices can be close competitors depending on the workload). Samsung does integrate the faster SoC, despite both the Galaxy S 4 and HTC One shipping the same Snapdragon 600 platform. Samsung and HTC remain on opposite sides of the removable battery/microSD fence, if those two things matter to you then Samsung is the obvious choice. Finally there's a question of how much you value/desire an all-metal smartphone. For some, Samsung's choice in materials is going to continue to be a very big issue.
At the end of the day, the Galaxy S 4 is an evolution of the Galaxy S 3 in pretty much all of the areas you'd expect it to be. Whether or not that's what you wanted in a new Android smartphone is going to vary from one person to the next. The good news is that you at least have a choice.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
335 Comments
View All Comments
heleymartin88 - Monday, April 29, 2013 - link
</b><a href="http://is.gd/tDlFss">The bettel between android smartphone begin now.From hands-free gesture controls to a “photobomb”-erasing feature, here’s why you’ll want the Samsung Galaxy S4.6 Reasons to get the Samsung Galaxy S4.....</a></b>heleymartin88 - Monday, April 29, 2013 - link
From hands-free gesture controls to a “photobomb”-erasing feature, here’s why you’ll want the Samsung Galaxy S4.6 Reasons to get the Samsung Galaxy S4 check out..... http://is.gd/tDlFssMugur - Monday, April 29, 2013 - link
Brian, can you please have a head to head comparison between the Exinos and Qualcomm variants of the S4? I am really curios whether the Octa really means something in terms of battery and performance...1ndian - Monday, April 29, 2013 - link
I think, Samsung's design is more repairable. So, for most of the people, its design is practical, easily repairable, makes the parts cheap and longer availability of parts compared to other phones... Yes they could have offered a better hardware design. But the amount of useful customization on the software side cannot be overlooked. I think software is the way to go because the hardware by itself is basically useless. Samsung's is the most customized OS in the android market. And, that hasn't affected the device's battery life or performance is a great achievement. So, as much as I hate the look of the phone... I will have to say the cost of the phone is worth it. Just for argument sake, how much do you think iPhone or SZ would cost with as many features as S4?sAiyAnstAr - Thursday, May 2, 2013 - link
If the build quality is good, then it wouldn't need to be repaired.mandywong - Monday, April 29, 2013 - link
Galaxy S 4 is an amalgamation of various cutting-edge smartphone advancements and features of today - http://bit.ly/11vUzb3SmileyDT - Monday, April 29, 2013 - link
Soon i will have it in my hands but once more the back cover is not the best and you can't use it withaout a case.. One drop and you have to search your pockets very deep! I'am looking for S4 cases and so far i have found only http://www.caseutopia.com to order some protection cases... better be safe than sorry. I hope someday samsung will produce smartphones with stronger materials. This is the only negative i find on this phone everything else is cool!MidianSpawned - Monday, April 29, 2013 - link
Whaa Plastic... Whaa aluminum... Noooo HTC is best... Nut uh Samsung is better... Ya know what.. I have a Galaxy Note 2, am very happy with it. Get whatever phone suits you best, but before you buy, know this... Not a single phone out there tastes as good as, or, looks as good as pussy... Pussy, because any phone can order a pizza. That is all!rauelius - Monday, April 29, 2013 - link
If you compare them, please remember to mention that the Galaxy S4 only offers 9GB of storage for Apps(SD-Cards don't do anything to increase storage for most functions) where as the HTC One offers 25GB for available storage. Music and Pictures can be streamed/uploaded via the Cloud and those are the only two things that the SD-Card really will do for the Galaxy S4. With games getting bigger and bigger and Google Music streaming the minuscule amount of storage on the Galaxy S4 makes the phone feel pointless combined with the excellent underlying hardware. It's like having a Ferrari with a Lawnmower's gastank, where as the HTC One is a Lamborghini with an actual gastank.Dug - Monday, April 29, 2013 - link
I'll admit I got the One for the looks and the camera. But I've found I really like Sense5 and Blinkfeed. Before I got it I thought I would never use it, now I use it constantly. There's a lot about touchwiz I don't like. All personal preference though.