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The Samsung Galaxy S4 Review
One month later, what do I think of the Samsung Galaxy S4? I’ve been reviewing the South Korean company’s flagship Android handset during May and June as a narrative review. You can read about my first moments with the handset, the built-in applications, the imaging capabilities, and Samsung’s additional applications in the linked articles. Now it’s time to look at the Galaxy S4 as a whole and decide just how good a smartphone it actually is.
No discussion about an Android device can be complete without talking about the third party application scene. It’s one of the biggest justifications that many people use about Android… if your smartphone doesn’t do a certain task, then you’ll be able to download that function from a third party developer.
I don’t fully buy into this argument, because I don’t think that the key strength of Android is being able to download countless apps. The key is downloading the three or four apps that are vital for an individual’s use of a smartphone. The sort of people who need hundreds of applications on a smartphone do not make up a huge percentage of the S4′s target market. The app-addicts are very vocal online, but once a regular user downloads a few extra functions, be it a social network tools, a conversion application, or something specific for their job, they’ll be happy with those apps alongside the competent built in core apps provided by Android (or their Samsung coded equivalents).
The trick is that everyone has a different selection of ‘vital’ applications, and it is here where the depth of Android’s ecosystem comes into play. The chances are an app that comes close to what you need is already out there, you just need to search for it in the Google Play store. Or the Samsung Apps store. Or the Amazon store if you install that. The issue is less about if the app is out there, it’s more about finding the app. Discovery is still an issue for Android.
While it is subjective, once I browse outside of the top third party apps on Android, the quality feels a little lower than on iOS, with more Android apps relying on intrusive in-app advertising than being available for a small purchase price. Personally I prefer the purchase model of apps with no ads on display.
Apple owners also have a slight advantage in terms of release schedules in terms of utility applications. When a start-up does not do a simultaneous release of a mobile client, they will bias towards iOS. If you’re looking to experience cutting edge mobile ideas, I still think that iOS is the platform to be on.
The third party scene on the Galaxy S4 is almost identical to other leading Android handsets, so while you can easily say that Android is ahead of Windows Phone and BlackBerry 10, and is equal in most respects to iOS, you can’t use this as a differentiator between the HTC One or the Sony Xperia Z. SamsungTouchWiz copes with the UI elements that many third party apps demand, and I’ve not found any compatibility issues in the last month.
The one area that earns the Galaxy S4 the gold medal for specs is with gaming. Not the countless variants of Bejewelled on offer, but the power that the S4′s hardware offers developers is immense. 2 GB of memory, the full HD screen, a generous and accessible 2600 mAh battery, and a strong CPU/GPU configuration (either the Exynos 5 Octa CPU paired with the PowerVR SGX 544 GPU, or a Snapdragon 600 CPU with an Adreno 320. I’ve been reviewing the latter) are the sort of specs that can make gaming really work on the handset.
For day to day use most Android handsets are fantastically over-powered, but If you’re looking for your Android device to be a portable gaming machine, the hardware of the S4, paired with the ergonomics and lightness of the device give it the edge over others on the market.
Samsung’s flagship takes very few risks, and they have delivered a handset with very few mistakes. In the short and medium term, I’m not surprised that the S4 is one of the best-selling Android handsets. But there are some warning signs over Samsung’s continued success in the smartphone market.
Putting aside the hardware, Samsung’s value-add to Android in the Galaxy S4 is poor. The ‘S’ applications lack a focus and unified vision in terms of UI and interaction. The apps that duplicate the functionality of the core Android apps (notably the Browser and S Planner calendar) are not as powerful or easy to use as the Google equivalent. And the tricks with the sensors, allowing eye tracking for scrolling and gestures in the air to help with scrolling are cute ideas to show off Samsung’s technical prowess, but are not universally implemented. In the real world I found it was quicker and easier to simply touch the screen or a button to do the same action.
I’ve little doubt in my mind that the Samsung Galaxy S4 would win any Top Trumps style comparison of specifications. There is no handset that can match all the hardware elements of the S4 at the same time. If you’re looking for the powerhouse handset with the biggest numbers on offer, then the S4 is the handset to go for.
But a handset is more than the specifications.
Samsung have been in this game a long time, and it shows. The Galaxy S4 is the result of a deliberate evolution process, which you can see as you step back through the S3, S3, and S models. There’s no sense that the flagship S handsets have ever taken any risks with the design and implementation. From a corporate point of view this is a good place to be. You have a reliable brand name that you can heavily market without upsetting anyone; you build up a sense of trust around the name so people will be comfortable being recommended a ‘Galaxy’; and for the vast majority of the user base the core applications (with one or two additions) will deliver them a solid experience.
If there is one thing I would say about the Galaxy S4 it is this. While it delivers functionally, it doesn’t deliver emotionally. The construction is solid but uninspiring, and there are areas where it is clear that Samsung have made the choice to maximise profit rather than the user experience – the plastic bump and air gap around the rear speaker being one area where this is noticeable.
I’m happy with the battery life on the S4. It gets me through a working day, and with careful use of internet connections I can make it through the evening as well. But start to put any serious demands on the handset, being a half hour session of online browsing or an extended gaming session, and the rear of the handset starts to get uncomfortably warm. The demands on the battery, be it CPU, GPU, or LTE 4G, are starting to show. You can’t get around the physics of how the battery works, but I’m surprised the construction does not do more to remove the excess heat.
Are these compromises acceptable on a handset that costs around $600 to buy outright? For me I don’t think so. At that price I would want a well constructed phone with few compromises in materials, a handset that could hold without worrying about the temperature, and the ability to delete many of the apps bundled with the handset that I would never use.
But that’s not how the majority of people buy a handset. They buy on a monthly contract with a long commitment that dilutes the true cost of a handset over two years. If the monthly contract cost is simply regarded as the running cost of a handset, then the Galaxy S4 is a $99 handset in the US (and free on many deals in the UK). That changes the value proposition of the handset.
As a pay monthly handset, I think the average user would look at the minimal upfront cost of the handset and be happy with the trade-offs made by Samsung in the construction of the Galaxy S4. It delivers slightly more on the expected hardware, features, and functionality of a smartphone in 2013.
To adapt a phrase from IT departments of old, ‘nobody is going to be fired for buying a Galaxy S4′. It’s a safe choice to make, and that means that it’s an easy handset to sell. It does everything a modern smartphone should do, and it’s relatively easy to understand and use. While there may be some edge case power users that will find flaws with the Samsung flagship, I think there would be very few customers who would be disappointed with a Galaxy S4.
No discussion about an Android device can be complete without talking about the third party application scene. It’s one of the biggest justifications that many people use about Android… if your smartphone doesn’t do a certain task, then you’ll be able to download that function from a third party developer.
I don’t fully buy into this argument, because I don’t think that the key strength of Android is being able to download countless apps. The key is downloading the three or four apps that are vital for an individual’s use of a smartphone. The sort of people who need hundreds of applications on a smartphone do not make up a huge percentage of the S4′s target market. The app-addicts are very vocal online, but once a regular user downloads a few extra functions, be it a social network tools, a conversion application, or something specific for their job, they’ll be happy with those apps alongside the competent built in core apps provided by Android (or their Samsung coded equivalents).
The trick is that everyone has a different selection of ‘vital’ applications, and it is here where the depth of Android’s ecosystem comes into play. The chances are an app that comes close to what you need is already out there, you just need to search for it in the Google Play store. Or the Samsung Apps store. Or the Amazon store if you install that. The issue is less about if the app is out there, it’s more about finding the app. Discovery is still an issue for Android.
While it is subjective, once I browse outside of the top third party apps on Android, the quality feels a little lower than on iOS, with more Android apps relying on intrusive in-app advertising than being available for a small purchase price. Personally I prefer the purchase model of apps with no ads on display.
Apple owners also have a slight advantage in terms of release schedules in terms of utility applications. When a start-up does not do a simultaneous release of a mobile client, they will bias towards iOS. If you’re looking to experience cutting edge mobile ideas, I still think that iOS is the platform to be on.
The third party scene on the Galaxy S4 is almost identical to other leading Android handsets, so while you can easily say that Android is ahead of Windows Phone and BlackBerry 10, and is equal in most respects to iOS, you can’t use this as a differentiator between the HTC One or the Sony Xperia Z. SamsungTouchWiz copes with the UI elements that many third party apps demand, and I’ve not found any compatibility issues in the last month.
The one area that earns the Galaxy S4 the gold medal for specs is with gaming. Not the countless variants of Bejewelled on offer, but the power that the S4′s hardware offers developers is immense. 2 GB of memory, the full HD screen, a generous and accessible 2600 mAh battery, and a strong CPU/GPU configuration (either the Exynos 5 Octa CPU paired with the PowerVR SGX 544 GPU, or a Snapdragon 600 CPU with an Adreno 320. I’ve been reviewing the latter) are the sort of specs that can make gaming really work on the handset.
For day to day use most Android handsets are fantastically over-powered, but If you’re looking for your Android device to be a portable gaming machine, the hardware of the S4, paired with the ergonomics and lightness of the device give it the edge over others on the market.
Samsung’s flagship takes very few risks, and they have delivered a handset with very few mistakes. In the short and medium term, I’m not surprised that the S4 is one of the best-selling Android handsets. But there are some warning signs over Samsung’s continued success in the smartphone market.
Putting aside the hardware, Samsung’s value-add to Android in the Galaxy S4 is poor. The ‘S’ applications lack a focus and unified vision in terms of UI and interaction. The apps that duplicate the functionality of the core Android apps (notably the Browser and S Planner calendar) are not as powerful or easy to use as the Google equivalent. And the tricks with the sensors, allowing eye tracking for scrolling and gestures in the air to help with scrolling are cute ideas to show off Samsung’s technical prowess, but are not universally implemented. In the real world I found it was quicker and easier to simply touch the screen or a button to do the same action.
I’ve little doubt in my mind that the Samsung Galaxy S4 would win any Top Trumps style comparison of specifications. There is no handset that can match all the hardware elements of the S4 at the same time. If you’re looking for the powerhouse handset with the biggest numbers on offer, then the S4 is the handset to go for.
But a handset is more than the specifications.
Samsung have been in this game a long time, and it shows. The Galaxy S4 is the result of a deliberate evolution process, which you can see as you step back through the S3, S3, and S models. There’s no sense that the flagship S handsets have ever taken any risks with the design and implementation. From a corporate point of view this is a good place to be. You have a reliable brand name that you can heavily market without upsetting anyone; you build up a sense of trust around the name so people will be comfortable being recommended a ‘Galaxy’; and for the vast majority of the user base the core applications (with one or two additions) will deliver them a solid experience.
If there is one thing I would say about the Galaxy S4 it is this. While it delivers functionally, it doesn’t deliver emotionally. The construction is solid but uninspiring, and there are areas where it is clear that Samsung have made the choice to maximise profit rather than the user experience – the plastic bump and air gap around the rear speaker being one area where this is noticeable.
I’m happy with the battery life on the S4. It gets me through a working day, and with careful use of internet connections I can make it through the evening as well. But start to put any serious demands on the handset, being a half hour session of online browsing or an extended gaming session, and the rear of the handset starts to get uncomfortably warm. The demands on the battery, be it CPU, GPU, or LTE 4G, are starting to show. You can’t get around the physics of how the battery works, but I’m surprised the construction does not do more to remove the excess heat.
Are these compromises acceptable on a handset that costs around $600 to buy outright? For me I don’t think so. At that price I would want a well constructed phone with few compromises in materials, a handset that could hold without worrying about the temperature, and the ability to delete many of the apps bundled with the handset that I would never use.
But that’s not how the majority of people buy a handset. They buy on a monthly contract with a long commitment that dilutes the true cost of a handset over two years. If the monthly contract cost is simply regarded as the running cost of a handset, then the Galaxy S4 is a $99 handset in the US (and free on many deals in the UK). That changes the value proposition of the handset.
As a pay monthly handset, I think the average user would look at the minimal upfront cost of the handset and be happy with the trade-offs made by Samsung in the construction of the Galaxy S4. It delivers slightly more on the expected hardware, features, and functionality of a smartphone in 2013.
To adapt a phrase from IT departments of old, ‘nobody is going to be fired for buying a Galaxy S4′. It’s a safe choice to make, and that means that it’s an easy handset to sell. It does everything a modern smartphone should do, and it’s relatively easy to understand and use. While there may be some edge case power users that will find flaws with the Samsung flagship, I think there would be very few customers who would be disappointed with a Galaxy S4.
Source http://goo.gl/vhDIQ
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