Considering switching from iPhone 4S to Galaxy S4

[Craig9802]

I've had my iPhone 4S for almost 2 years and I am thinking of leaving the Apple fold and switching to a Samsung Galaxy S4 sometime in the next couple months. I'll probably wait to see what Apple comes out with this fall, but I'd like to try something other than iOS for awhile.

Has anyone else followed this path, or tried the new Galaxy? Will I miss any features from Apple? Any general advice?

Thanks in advance for sharing your experience.

 

[bakerbarber]

I prefer Android.

My switch was from an iPhone 3gs to a Galaxy SII. I have a Nexus 4 now. Plus a Nexus 7 tablet.

I even have an Android device plugged into my televisions.

It's a new ecosystem to learn, but the versatility in the end is worth it.

 

[Slash McCoy]

I liked my iphone 4, bought in Singapore, unlocked from the factory and jailbroken by me. I liked my 4s, bought in the U.S. through the online apple store unlocked, and jailbroken by me. I wanted to upgrade but it was taking too long for the jailbreak to come out for ios6, and they made the screen taller but not wider, so I decided not to get the iphone 5. Instead, I went with a more capable device with more screen real estate, the Samsung Galaxy Tab2 7" and I really like that. I am sort of looking at the new S4 as well as the Note. I still have and still use my 4S, mainly because the camera is really nice and it carries easily. The Tab 2 will fit in a back pocket but I have to remember to take it out when I sit down. Nobody makes a good belt or shoulder holster for it. It is nice for web surfing, though, because the battery lasts a really long time and the screen is nice and big. My Tab2 is unlocked and rooted. I have watched two full length movies without external power, and I am lucky to watch one on the iphone.

Mainly I do not like any device on which I cannot access the entire file system. If I want to install something not approved by the manufacturer, that ought to be my business. Apple wants to rigidly control your iphone experience which is a shame, because the hardware is very capable. You wouldn't believe some of the cool stuff I can do with my iphone. The thing is, apple spends umpty millions of dollars making the OS harder to hack, while the Android community encourages rooting the device. The Android Play Store even hosts apps that only run on a rooted droid. Apple can stick it. I will never buy another iphone. The Droids have it, and Samsung, IMHO, is currently making the best droid devices.

Bottom line is that while I have not actually used the S4, I think you will be quite happy with it. Maybe hold off on rooting the device until you are quite comfortable with basic operation, though, and if you don't need to do so, don't bother. Even the unhacked Android OS is very flexible and capable.

Recently I actually had Linux running on my Samsung tablet, and installed OpenCPN, though I couldn't get it to recognize the built in GPS. A big PITA to do, and not very useful without GPS but still pretty cool, and you could never hope to do that on any iphone.

 

[dieselfuel79]

Made the switch last year from blackberry to the S3...I love it. I know the S4 is pretty similar with a few new features and a slightly bigger screen. Give it a whirl.

 

[Luke49783]

I switched from an iPhone 3GS to a Motorola Droid Bionic almost two years ago for the reason of wanting to try Android. What Android gains in flexibility, it loses to inefficiency, in my opinion. I've found that things just aren't as smooth. Some people like Android for how customizable it is, which is great if you actually take advantage of that.

I really just want a phone that works without having to monkey with it, so I'll be switching back to Apple when the next update comes out.

 

[KCee]

I've been debating switching to Android as well, but still undecided. I have an iPhone 4 and Galaxy Tab 2 tablet while my wife has the iPhone 5 and Ipad. I like many things about Android better, but it (mainly the apps) just don't work as well. I'll sometimes watch stuff on Netflix while on the elliptical and it takes forever to get going on the Samsung tablet compared to my iPhone or the wife's iPad. Updating apps on the Samsung tablet is ridiculously slow as well. Maybe the new ones work better. I also think many of the new phones are almost too large as I like to throw my phone in my pocket.

 

[Craig9802]

Those are good considerations, Kevin. I tried a couple of different cases on my iPhone when I first got it, but then I got into using an Olloclip, and of course it won't work with a case. Now I've just gotten used to going without, and I like the size of the 4s as-is. As much as I might like a larger screen and faster processor, it will take some adjustment to go with a larger form-factor.

My wife has an iPhone 5 and three iPads (Gen 1, Gen 2, and Mini), and my sister has an iPhone. It makes it handy for FaceTime and sharing apps and calendar data and such. My wife and I don't make a lot of use of it now, but as our kids get older and start using calendars and other productivity software, maybe it would make more sense to stick to the same platform. It's a little scary (and amusing) to think my kids may never own a desktop or laptop in their lifetime.

 

[Haggises]

I have an S3 and an iPad, but no iPhone.
If you like a big phone, go with an S3/4 or Note 2. If not, then play with both.

Both work well. You don't need to hack at an android phone to make it work, but you can if you want to, easier than you can on an iPhone.

 

[p.m.a.]

I do wish folks would give Windows Phone a consideration. When my Galaxy Nexus broke a couple of months ago I decided to try one of the new Nokia Lumias. Great device, great OS, and a fast growing market for apps. I'm hooked, but ymmv of course.

If you use a lot of Apple devices then you may just want to stick with iPhone for compatibility sake. Good luck with your decision - there are lots of great devices out there to choose from!

 

[k2clones29]

I switched from iPhone 3 to Galaxy s3 about a year ago, and I'm never looking back. I found the iPhone to be inflexible. It worked only with Apple, and using it for personalization was next to near impossible. The Galaxy is different. You can navigate the phone like it's a computer. It interacts well with all of your other technology (whereas the iPhone only interacts well with other Apple products, and it's interaction with non-Apple technology is spotty). I love the fact that I can actually open the phone up, add memory directly, and change the battery. I have 2 batteries for the phone and added 16 gb of memory. And the personalization is much better for the Galaxy (the iPhone just lets you put 16 apps on a page; the Galaxy lets you do so much more).

As for functionality, you won't notice a difference. The two phones work virtually identically, with the exception that the Galaxy has the capability of adding widgets to the home screens (the iPhone just has the app buttons). The best I can say is it is a matter of preference. If you like simple, easy, plug and play, the iPhone is perfect. If you like more personalization options, more flexibility, then the Galaxy is the way to go. The iPhone is good for what it does, but I want something that gives me more options and that is why I switched. If that's what you're looking for, then definitely give the Galaxy a go.

 

[Acmemfg]

Came off an iPhone a few months back and went to a Galaxy S4. Certainly a more powerful device the S4 is. The learning curve is significant when leaving the Apple Corps. I do kind of miss the iCloud feature (The Samsung Kies thing I don't really get), but other than that basic features like removable memory and battery along with the fact the S4 can do just about anything other than wash your car makes it (for me) a better choice than an iPhone....but that's now. Who knows what Apple will put out there next??

 

[Slash McCoy]

Whatever apple puts out next, it will be locked up tighter than a gnat's rear end. They put more and more time and money into defeating the efforts of folks who just want to make their iphones more capable and flexible. It took MONTHS for the jailbreak to come out for ios6! What will 7 be like? And an iphone that is not jailbroken is little more than a phone and a very clunky mp3 player and GPS. A jailbroke iphone is, well, a tiny computer that you can make phone calls with. Once you have complete control over your entire file system, anyway. The caveat of course is that you can mess things up pretty good with that kind of power. And you can do stuff that your cel carrier might not want you doing.

BTW, you CAN change the battery on your iphone. You void the warranty, however. Google is your friend. I have replaced the battery on both my 4 and my 4s, and a couple others for other people. You can change the back, the screen, the home button, practically everything. It is easier to repair than some laptops. Apple does not want you doing this. They don't want you jailbreaking your phone. They don't want you unlocking, except with your carrier's blessing. They don't want you installing apps that they do not approve of. They do not want you to do anything except what they decide in their big brother way that they want to let you do. This is talking about YOUR property that you paid good money for. Apple products suit some people but not me and not most people, I don't think, who are inclined to be more independent and shrug off the paternalistic arm over the shoulder and there there, be a nice little fellow and just do as you are told.

I don't find my Samsung Tab 2 to be particularly slow at anything at all. Well, except running apps from within Linux running in a loop file. But really, that is kind of an unrealistic task to put before a phone of any kind.

 

[PDman]

Love my Mac but for phones it's Samsung for me. Love the S4.

 

[imleftyoureright]

I personally prefer the nexus devices... No bloatware... just pure Android strait from Google

 

[hawklet00]

If you're going to go to android, give the htc one a look. I think its a better made phone. Both the one and gs4 should have a good dev base if you decide to root and rom your new phone. I would also suggest the new blackberries. Ive been using the z10 since it came out and have been very pleased. If you want a bigger screen, the a10 should be coming out in a few months. Whichever you choose, good luck and dont let the sales people dissuade you from your choice.

 

[acesn8s]

In June both my wife and I traded our iPhone 4's for S4's. I love my S4. Having never used Android before, it took me a few hours (spread over a week) to configure the phone to do the things I really like about the iPhone. Once that was done I still had all the features the android offered that I found superior to Apple's ecosystem.

My wife likes her S4. She loves the SD card support and the larger screen. She prefers Apple's iMessage simplicity (we've had issues sending picture texts while on wi-fi), and she doesn't like that purchasing music from the play store while on her phone doesn't DL the mp3 file. I do have to say, there is usually a free app available that resolved whatever issue or configuration/feature issue we discovered. So a little research and you can most likely fix the issue.

There's give and take when comparing both environments.

 

[DiG3430]

I do wish folks would give Windows Phone a consideration. When my Galaxy Nexus broke a couple of months ago I decided to try one of the new Nokia Lumias. Great device, great OS, and a fast growing market for apps. I'm hooked, but ymmv of course.

If you use a lot of Apple devices then you may just want to stick with iPhone for compatibility sake. Good luck with your decision - there are lots of great devices out there to choose from!

I had a chance to play around with a couple Windows phones a while back, and the Nokia Lumia seemed like the best of them. Overall, Windows Phones struck me as having tremendous potential to replace Blackberry as the new standard in business phones. They have all the key MS programs (Word, Excel, Outlook) seamlessly integrated with surprisingly high functionality, thus making them an effective extension of your desktop computer that you can make calls with.

 

[Pebcak]

I personally prefer the nexus devices... No bloatware... just pure Android strait from Google

Another big +1 for a Nexus device.

 

[StillShaving]

I haven't used a Galaxy S4, but I do prefer Jelly Bean Android over iOS 6. It's slightly more complicated, but its more functional and easier to use once you learn a few basic things. I did not miss any iOS apps, every thing was also available on Android, but I had also avoided buying much content from the Apple app store to begin with.

After a couple of weeks I saw why Apple's stock price had fallen so much this year, as its iPhone has been overtaken in many aspects. Which is not to say that Apple is done innovating, or that they have an inferior product, but the difference is not very big currently.

 

[buffdaddy]

If you're going to go to android, give the htc one a look. I think its a better made phone. Both the one and gs4 should have a good dev base if you decide to root and rom your new phone. I would also suggest the new blackberries. Ive been using the z10 since it came out and have been very pleased. If you want a bigger screen, the a10 should be coming out in a few months. Whichever you choose, good luck and dont let the sales people dissuade you from your choice.

The HTC One is a pretty sweet phone and has pretty much gotten universal praise from the major tech blogs over the S4. Only thing I'd be worried about is HTC itself. It's had a rough time financially and it's support for updates has been less than stellar lately.

Plus it doesn't have a swappable battery or SD card slot if that's something that's important to you. But it's still a pretty nice phone, and I've seen as low as $99.00 on contract. Also Samsung should be announcing a new Galaxy Note within the next couple of months and Google will probably be announcing a new Nexus sometime this Fall.