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.
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emkei - Tuesday, April 30, 2013 - link
It's funny when article was about cpu/gpu performance and people comment on looks/cover...I guess people cannot read....indtail - Tuesday, April 30, 2013 - link
I'm buying the iPhone the nest time for sure. Enough of no battery and bad cameras for me. I respect Android and have and still will be a loyal fan and even develop some. But my daily phone to be used is definitely the iPhone.In the Android world I'd pick the One simply because of it's premium feel, better camera, and smaller screen. Bigger isn't always better and HTC has realized that. Might as well buy a tablet if you think screen size is so important?
Also, the true spirit of Android is the custom ROMS and once your phone is ROM-ed the only thing that counts is hardware which is better on the ONE. And yes, the S4 is faster but not ver(compared to the S4).
And a good review nonetheless.
indtail - Tuesday, April 30, 2013 - link
This is coming from a year long S3 owner by the way.kgh00007 - Thursday, May 2, 2013 - link
Are you going to stick with this new headache inducing site layout? I just realised that I haven't visited Anand since about 2 weeks after the new site went live and I'm disappointed that you are still sticking with this layout. Why is the text so small?Such a pity, one bad decision has forced me to use the site less and less, there was a time when I checked it a few times a week. Ah well, bye bye Anand, I wonder how many other people you have lost with this terrible new layout? You expect technology to progress, but your site is going backwards in terms of readability and is a lesson in how not to do web design, it hurts to read.
Good luck
Oo凸 - Friday, May 3, 2013 - link
Camera sensor is not IMX135?Latzara - Sunday, May 5, 2013 - link
the plastic is easier to scratch, break and so on - and it's also, and that is absolutely a crime to ignore, much cheaper and easier to replace, as is the case with the battery, the SD card which I for the life of me can't understand some manufacturers not using as it limits the user, but hey the can charge a kings ransom for a few chips that cost way less than the difference in price between let's say an 8GB device and a 16 GB device ... and so on and so onAs someone said earlier it's a matter of choice and tastes and absolutely nothing more -- the real differences are the durability, repairability, customizability as well as what's in my opinion the most important, the inner workings, the CPU, GPU, memory speeds and so on --- you're arguing about a shell which is a simple covering and nothing more...
When i hear about someone judging a device by how it 'feels in my hand' i can't do anything but smirk ...
unbible - Wednesday, May 8, 2013 - link
iphone 5 battery hours seems opposite between 3G/LTE in Web Browsing Battery life test. Shouldn't be 3G 8.19 hrs and LTE 4.55 hrs??Omiaz - Wednesday, May 8, 2013 - link
Im still waiting part 2Quorbach - Saturday, May 11, 2013 - link
Same here. Where the fuck is it ?lilmoe - Thursday, May 9, 2013 - link
Seeing that the Note 2 gets a lower battery score than the iPhone 5, i'm seriously questioning your battery life benchmark Brian...Also, my Galaxy S4 charges from 15% to 100% in 1:40 to 2:00 hours (depends on whether I'm using it while charging, personal experience really). Are you sure you used the official charger?
Guess the best reviewer to any device is myself.........