Samsung Galaxy S4 or HTC One?

[Millerad1651]

I am getting a new phone in the future. Through work I have an iPhone 4 on ATT. I moved a few months ago and have absolutely no service at home. I am switching carriers, and want to get away from the iPhone (want to try something new).

I am split between the S4 and the One. I've read tons of reviews and haven't read of a clear winner. Does anyone have experience with these phones?

I am leaning towards the One. I can get it for $50 cheaper with double the memory. The S4 can be used with SD Cards for more memory, but that seems like a bit of a hassle for me.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

 

[4runnerocks]

Go check it out in person. The battery life on the S4 is bad. I had an iphone5 and the battery rocks....cause the screen is smaller I guess. and the iphone5 is so so much faster than the iphone4. check it out yourself

 

[Millerad1651]

I should have mentioned...

I've got friends with both the iPhone 5 and an S4. I've messed around a bit with both. I'm just not a huge Apple fan. They make great stuff, but I want to move on.

I liked the S4, but was wondering if someone has a One, or has used both and can give some advise.

 

[puppetz007]

I've had my HTC one for about 3 weeks now and I really like it. The biggest complaint I have is the stock messaging app severely compresses any picture I try and message (may also be a network problem). I downloaded a 3rd party messaging app and it seems to have fixed the problem.

Ask away on what you want to know about it and I'll do my best to answer.

 

[MtnT4R]

^ how is the battery life on the HTC One? my iphone's battery blows. I have to charge it halfway through the day, every day, and i want to throw it out the window

 

[puppetz007]

I've never had any trouble/complaints with the battery life. I make it through my average day with about 60-70% charge remaining. That being said, I'm not on my phone nearly as much as some people.

 

[Thai]

I am switching carriers, and want to get away from the iPhone (want to try something new).

I am leaning towards the One. I can get it for $50 cheaper with double the memory. The S4 can be used with SD Cards for more memory, but that seems like a bit of a hassle for me.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

Who is your new carrier???

SD card is very over-rated!! Currently, Android software 4.0-up do NOT allow you to put apps on SD card. Therefore, SD card is mainly to store pictures taken by camera and your pirated movies.

Samsung has said that they will software update S4 in the future to have "App-to-SD" functionality. In other words, you can put "certain" apps on your SD card IF the developer of the app allows it. So, even after the update, you may find that you still cannot move many apps to SD card.

I've had my HTC one for about 3 weeks now and I really like it. The biggest complaint I have is the stock messaging app severely compresses any picture I try and message (may also be a network problem).

Same for Samsung Touchwiz. It compresses everything when texting pics. This is where Apple's iMessage is superior. In addition, iMessage sends texts thru Wi-Fi and/or cell signal. With Android, you have to sign up to Google+ or something to get this feature. Standard messaging relies solely on cell signal.

^ how is the battery life on the HTC One? my iphone's battery blows. I have to charge it halfway through the day, every day, and i want to throw it out the window

Either your battery is worn out or you need to deep cycle your battery or you are a power user. If it is the latter, then i doubt that you will be much happier with any Android phone, not named Maxx. My Note 2 has excellent battery life among all Androids (not named Maxx)...and it is equivalent to my iPhone 5.

 

[Millerad1651]

Who is your new carrier???

SD card is very over-rated!! Currently, Android software 4.0-up do NOT allow you to put apps on SD card. Therefore, SD card is mainly to store pictures taken by camera and your pirated movies.

Samsung has said that they will software update S4 in the future to have "App-to-SD" functionality. In other words, you can put "certain" apps on your SD card IF the developer of the app allows it. So, even after the update, you may find that you still cannot move many apps to SD card.

I will be using T Mobile. ATT and Sprint are both out, as they have no signal in my area. T Mobile has a decent signal with 3G, pretty good 4G, and they have WIFI calling, which is the main reason I'd go with them. Plus they have the new JUMP plan where you can trade in your phone 2x a year for an upgrade, without extra charges.

I had read about the apps not transferring to the SD card. With 32 GB on the ONE, I figured it can handle all I need to put on it...I have an 8GB now.

 

[Thai]

I will be using T Mobile. ATT and Sprint are both out, as they have no signal in my area. T Mobile has a decent signal with 3G, pretty good 4G, and they have WIFI calling, which is the main reason I'd go with them. Plus they have the new JUMP plan where you can trade in your phone 2x a year for an upgrade, without extra charges.

I had read about the apps not transferring to the SD card. With 32 GB on the ONE, I figured it can handle all I need to put on it...I have an 8GB now.

Personally, i would wait...unless you need a phone now. GS4 and HTC One processors (Qualcomm S600) is good, but nothing spectacular (esp in GPU department). LG G2 is coming out August 7. That thing is world-class! LG G2 is what i am waiting for (on Sprint). Its S800 processor is top-notch (both CPU and GPU)...this thing will blow away S600 phones! In addition, LG G2 has a brand new 5.2" LCD display that is very very bright which is great when you're outside in the sun...a major weakness of today's smartphone screens. And if you wait a little longer (September), then you can buy the Galaxy Note 3, if you want something with a big screen.

But, if you had to choose b/w S4 and One, then i would pick S4. Samsung is bigger and has tons of money (a la Apple). (LG is also very well-funded and determined to fight Samsung for Android crown.) Why does this matter? Because, this means that you will get software updates more often and you will have more features to play with. HTC is a slowly dying company...executives have been jumping ship. They are an "integrator" rather than a producer. Basically, they rely on everyone else for their parts. They only do the software modification to stock Android. And because they are relatively short-staffed and low funded, you got to wonder about future support of your device. In addition, i am not buying into the Ultra-pixel camera. HTC build quality, music player, and speakers are excellent however. But then again, i don't play music on my phone thru the phone speakers...i have headphones.

Hope this helps.

 

[MtnT4R]

^ My 4S is almost two years old. I deep cycle the battery roughly twice a week; it helps for the first charge immediately after, and then tanks from there. The phone has been slow and glitchy, but the memory isnt nearly full? When this thing finally craps out I would love to check out one of those Sony Xperia ZRs if they ever make it out here...

 

[Thai]

^ My 4S is almost two years old. I deep cycle the battery roughly twice a week; it helps for the first charge immediately after, and then tanks from there. The phone has been slow and glitchy, but the memory isnt nearly full? When this thing finally craps out I would love to check out one of those Sony Xperia ZRs if they ever make it out here...

Yeah, your battery is dead (or dying). Maybe you need to do a restore from backup, or even a full restore.

Sony phones always have nice specs, but never live up to expectations esp their software. I would stick to Samsung, LG, HTC, and maybe Motorola. The latter is still a big question, but since Moto is now a Google branch, maybe it will be better. Sony needs to prove itself by making reliable, live-up-to-expectation software, and aftersale support before i would jump for it.

 

[Thai]

I will be using T Mobile.

I had read about the apps not transferring to the SD card. With 32 GB on the ONE, I figured it can handle all I need to put on it...I have an 8GB now.

Ok. Verizon? I don't know. TMo has very limited coverage nationwide. If you don't use a lot of memory, then i would not buy HTC One simply because it has 32GB internal memory. But, to be honest, i would wait for August 7 and see if you like LG G2. LG G2 will blow both S4 and HTC One out of the water in terms of sheer speed/smoothness and "future-proof." Remember, smartphone software and features are evolving everyday...see Samsung's features. The fancy features will be very taxing on the processor. What is fancy today will be old news 6 months from now, archaic 1 year from now. So, having a top-notch processor (such as S800) now helps with future-proofing your phone.

For example, when S4 first came out, Samsung unleashed tons of features. Guess what? The S4 S600 processor showed signs of stuttering at times when it was asked to do too many things at once. It was only subsequent updates and fine-tuning of the software that i think help smooth out the experience. But, this proves that the current features are already at the limit of S600 processor's capability. Can you imagine what will happen in 6 months? Can you imagine how much lag/stuttering in one year?

So, for me, i am DEFINITELY getting S800-phone. At the very minimal, i would consider getting Galaxy Note 3 with Exynos 5 Octa 2nd edition.

 

[Thai]

^ My 4S is almost two years old. I deep cycle the battery roughly twice a week; it helps for the first charge immediately after, and then tanks from there. The phone has been slow and glitchy, but the memory isnt nearly full? When this thing finally craps out I would love to check out one of those Sony Xperia ZRs if they ever make it out here...

Another thought...i read somewhere recently that Apple Store will (or currently) fix your phone for you for a fee. If you're happy with your 4S, then maybe ask Apple to replace your battery if possible. That would be a simple fix (i think) and probably economical (i think).

 

[MtnT4R]

Another thought...i read somewhere recently that Apple Store will (or currently) fix your phone for you for a fee. If you're happy with your 4S, then maybe ask Apple to replace your battery if possible. That would be a simple fix (i think) and probably economical (i think).

Thanks for the info. I might go that route if its not too expensive, but I'm kinda with the OP, kind of getting sick of the same ol iphone. The new HTC One mini looks promising, but I will be keeping in mind what you said about the other top choices. More updates, better features

 

[Thai]

Thanks for the info. I might go that route if its not too expensive, but I'm kinda with the OP, kind of getting sick of the same ol iphone. The new HTC One mini looks promising, but I will be keeping in mind what you said about the other top choices. More updates, better features

If you like features, then you do NOT want to get any mini version of anything (HTC or Galaxy)! Mini version = cheap processor, cheap display = not worth it, certainly not worth 2 year contract!

If you're gonna sign a 2 year contract, then you better get a phone that will last that long! A phone that is crippled by software is as useless as poop-flavored lollipop!

 

[Thai]

Nexus 5: http://www.toyota-4runner.org/1473119-post37.html