The Galaxy S4, they got it right and they also got it wrong. Dive into the review to discover the good, the bad, and the ugly about this great product.
THE GOOD!!!
The screen… 5′ is brilliant (any way you read this). 441 ppi packs a punch…I personally can’t see the pixels. Legibility in sunlight is good, better than that of the S3. This for me takes the day as one of the phone’s greatest features.
Sound… Adapt Sound and the bundled in headsets are the best in the market. From GSM Arena sound tests as well as individual testing this device produces premium quality sound… And the bundled headsets have two drivers, one for treble and another for base; they also finally got around to using a flat cable, hence it tangles less.
Camera: It would be a safe bet to say that this phone has the BEST CAMERA of 2013. The 13 Megapixels definitely do not disappoint.
Speed: This is expected with the Octa Core processor. There is minimal to no lag experienced with the OS, which is great.
Memory/RAM: THE 2GB RAM does you good. Actual PC like multitasking is achieved…i.e. The phone retains place holders to where you were last at in that app before you minimized.
Build: As many demonize this I’ll be 1st to praise it… Its very ‘handfriendly’, easier to hold, great to the touch, this is compared to last year’s android best seller the S3. The metallic band actually helps alot in shaping my opinion.
They could’ve done better but the phone looks good, is compact and light.
Air View/Gestures: They ACTUALLY work & precisely I must add. If only more apps supported these features.
Choice: Didn’t know how to properly convey this but all’ gimmicky’ & useful features are flexible, they can be easily turned off or on.
Frequent OS Updates: This is good as this irons out any problems with the device as well as improving performance. The XXUAMDK update is about 300MB to download… Please do this over WiFi or on PC to avoid the gratuitous costs your service provider will charge you for using their network.
Warranty: This warranty is the best I’ve ever seen/heard of… Accidental damage to the phone is covered at most twice over the 24 month warranty period. This includes liquid damage & screen damage.
THE BAD!!!
Overheating: The phone OVERHEATS… gets really HOT randomly while in use. The temperatures are worrying.
Battery Life: Not as great as you’d think. Lasts just as long as their last flagship (the S3). I strongly believe this is related to the above problem as well as too many at times unnecessary features being on.
Internal Memory: The box says 16GB what you can actually use is 8.9GB which to me, is an insult. The OS & those ‘life companion’ features eat up alot of space. BUT at least they give you the ability to increase that storage & I’ve done so with a 64GB mem card…So far the whole arrangement works WELL.
Music Skipping: This problem also plagued the Galaxy S2 (i9100g) and it really is annoying; sound is skipped occasionally on some tracks.
Data Consumption: This device can CONSUME data. This can happen as many default apps sync in the background. Resolve this by toggling 3G data or by using WiFi.
Charging: Doing this via USB, this is now a far fetched dream as the amount of power the phone requires is considerable. The cable also provided is short, 1m in length.
By this being Samsung’s flagship ‘The Ugly’ was avoided at all costs, leaving you with just the above. For one, I’m really glad that most of the problems can and will be ironed out with updates but I’m equally disappointed at some of the problems fresh off the box…but maybe that’s just me. If you own a Galaxy S4, what has been your experience? (Hit us on the comment section below).
