Samsung has cemented themselves as the premiere Android handset maker. Their Galaxy S line has proven that a high end device can run Android software and go head to head with the Apple iPhone.
Last year, Samsung launched the Galaxy S3 and took the mobile tech world by storm. The Galaxy S4 has ridden the coattails of the S3’s success and sold more than 10 million units in the first month alone. So is the GS4 a worth successor to the GS3?
Design
The design of the Galaxy S4 is not exactly that much different than that of the GS3 at first glance. Put the 2 together and you start to see what Samsung did differently. For starters, the GS4 is slightly thinner and lighter than the GS3. The display is also .2 inches bigger and the outside bezel has gotten thinner. The GS4 also has a metallic outer strip, which makes the GS4 look even sleaker.
It’s still made of plastic though. The back may look slightly more high end than the GS3, but it’s still a cheap plastic battery cover that doesn’t seal in heat very well (more on that later). At first glance it doesn’t look like anything special, but as I used the phone more, it started to actually feel more premium. This may have been a side effect of me getting used to such a visual and technical upgrade over my Galaxy Nexus.
Touchwiz
Love it or hate it, Touchwiz is all over this phone. Any remnants of stock Android have been completely swept away. You either have to love Touchwiz or you hate it. I for the most part loved it, which I wasn’t expecting too.
It’s no doubt that Samsung has taken a cue from Apple and made sure that their newest flagship device was loaded with as much spit and polish as they could. Little animations from the homescreen scrolling, opening the app drawer and even text messaging, make the GS4 a real pleasure to use.
They’ve also loaded TW with as many new features as they could fit. This is one of the things that Samsung has to slow down on. It’s as if they are just throwing gimmicks at the consumers and seeing which ones would stick.
Features like eye tracking for web browsing may have sounded good on paper, but it’s implementation was terrible. Often times I would be reading an article when all of a sudden the screen would start moving, causing me to lose my place. I used this feature for about 20 minutes to give it a fair try and in the end it made me want to throw my phone against the wall.
Smart pause on the other hand worked great every time. It was simple, look away from a youtube video and it paused. It wasn’t just tracking your eyes, rather your whole head. Not once did it pause when I didn’t want it too, it just works.
Hand gestures was a nice surprise, most of the time. Waving your hand in front of you phone might seem stupid at first, but try living in Buffalo, NY. We have snow or cold weather more than half the year, that means gloves. Theres nothing worse than taking your gloves off and having to answer your phone in the cold. Now you can just wave your hand it front of it.
The camera is truly a standout feature on this phone. It’s the best I have ever seen. Pictures and videos comes out very crisp, with only the slightest oversaturation. The number of options you get in the camera app is extraordinary and while I don’t think many people will use all of them, I would hardly call them gimmicky.
Performance
Performance wise, the GS4 is a powerhouse. While I was able to get it to stutter here or there, the overall experience was very pleasurable. Games ran smooth and apps opened very quickly. One of the biggest disappointments I had with it’s performance was when an app used Google Maps. For whatever reason, apps like My Tracks lagged when I opened the map to see my route. I actually got better performance out of my GNex. The battery life is superb and easily lasted me all day with moderate to heavy use.
The Bad
Unfortunately the GS4 isn’t all rainbows and unicorns. For one, the Verizon version is loaded with an immense amount of bloatware. I counted 62 apps preinstalled, thats ridiculous. None of the apps can be uninstalled which means the user would have to go in and disable and hide each one they didn’t want to use or see. The number of apps also added to another problem, storage. Between the apps and Touchwiz, the user is only left with 8.5GB out of the 16GB version. Now I realize that adding a micro SD card can alleviate this problem, but is it fair (or even legal) to call this a 16GB phone when you have just over half the space to use? Space that you paid for? My problem isn’t so much of technical one but rather an ethical one. Why is it so hard for mobile device manufacturers to add a seperate hard drive specifically for the OS and system applications?
The other big issue I have is the heat that it gives off. While playing a demanding game or watching a prolonged video or phone call, the phone got very hot. I mean very. It got to a point when I had to put the phone down and let it cool off because it was uncomfortable to hold. I thought maybe I had a defective phone, but when I talked to other GS4 owners, they said the same thing. I’m hoping that this could be fixed with a software patch, if not then I could never own the phone.
Conclusion
The Galaxy S4 is an amazing device. It runs smooth, has plenty of eye candy and overall is a solid upgrade from its famous older sibling. It’s loaded with both great and gimmicky features for you to play with. If you already use expandable storage and Samsung addresses the heat issue, then this phone maybe for you.
