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Hey all
Looking to change from iphone4. Had every iPhone since launch and am just bored of em now
Looking at android phone and the sgs2 caught my eye
However have seen a lot of negativity about it in here and elsewhere
So do you think it's a good move or should I hang on for the HTC sensation (which sounds brilliant)
iPhone user here.
Apps are far better on iOS. You wont find some apps on Android that are on iOS. Thats my only dislike about Android but thats down to the developer. Im missing loads of apps, first direct, sky sports, bbc and so on. You can use the brower for all these wit Flash though
The SGS2 is by far the best Android phone. If your truely bored of iOS then get this, its worth it.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App
However have seen a lot of negativity about it in here and elsewhere
Loads on negativity about IPhone all over the net .
Point is that this forum is new and not yet representative of a large number of users .
Personally i thought the SGS 1 was as good as the IPhone 4 though some users preferred the HTc interface but i did not .
You really got to try them and read the reviews on al the phones .
http://www.techradar.com/reviews/phones/mobile-phones/samsung-galaxy-s2-930907/review
I am not missing any apps that i want .
Have Sky Sports news > BBC >
jje
Hello
I got bored too
I have just done the swap to a SGS2 from a iphone 4(well still have it)
Before the ip4 I was a long time winmo user
there are good and bad points to both phones
ios is slick on ip4 and does its job well...but also so limiting even with jailbreak
I f you love tweaking then get a droid phone thats why I have now bought 1
as for the negatives how many did the ip4 have @ the start
Tbh I think the ui on sgs is poor
Much prefer HTC sense (have messed about with mates)
Garfs said:
Tbh I think the ui on sgs is poor
Much prefer HTC sense (have messed about with mates)
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Click to collapse
Got the HTC desire for a while, and now I've got a SGS2, and I really prefer TouchWiz 4.0 over HTC sense. TouchWiz is really good on this phone. HTC Sense, never really liked it.
I've just received my Galaxy S2 today, a bit of an act of faith after the first one, which was IMO at first a very flawed device (a little digging and you can find my previous postings about this).
I've just come from an iPhone 4 myself, via an HTC Incredible S, so I think I can comment on here. To me, the Samsung clearly takes design cues from the iphone, in the design of the icons, the central home button and even the design and some of the features (like the screen shot - home + power)... to me, the SGS2 is like a bastard child of the best android phone and the iphone mixed into one....
IMO this is a good thing. I was bored silly with the iphone, and was sick of how restricted it was, even when Jailbreaked. The iphone 4 is a very nice phone for sure, but really boring to use in the long term (although some like it, and I can see why).
With the SGS2 you get a similar UI, but you also get androids superior functions as well (widgets, live wallpaper, notifications, google integration etc).
As for the SGS2 versus Sense, well TBH I was going to wait for the Sensation, and in the meantime, I made a profit from selling my ip4 and swapping for an Incredible S, and I did so so that I could get a taste of Sense UI. Now, I will say that Sense UI is quite nice, but if I'm being totally honest here, the only things I feel I will miss all that much are the weather and clock widget on Sense and the facebook integration. I do quite like the design of the interface on Sense... and obviously the Sensation is going to have a lot more eye candy again...
Having said all that, there are some things I am not so keen on with Sense. For example, it can at times feel a little "clunky" in places, I am not a fan of the keyboard (I know this can be changed) what with the arrow buttons underneath (not needed IMO), and I just got a feeling that it was slowing the phone down slightly.
Now, when I got the SGS2 I did feel as though I'd probably just dump TWLauncher straight away, but you know what, I think Samsung have really done quite a good job with TW4 to the point where I'm honestly not sure that I can say I prefer Sense any longer. It feels lighter and less bloated, it has some nice touches (task manager, power toggles in the notification, resizing widgets, deleting screens (which you STILL can't do in Sense), folders in the App drawer and so on). Now I'm still not a huge fan of some of the included widgets (but the new calendar widget is superb IMO), and I don't think I'll use the hubs much.
I'm not actually sure whether the Sensation will be able to compete in pure speed and performance terms with the SGS2 which frankly seems to go like a rocket. In fact, the SGS2 seems to fix much of what was wrong with the first phone. I really like it.... BUT... I haven't tested the GPS, yet!
As for the iphone 4 versus the SGS2, once you get over the fact the apps quality isn't quite up there (especially games), you won't look back. Although the iphone 4 feels and looks a more premium product, the Samsung is actually a nicer thing to handle, feels more comfortable in the hand... but other than that, seriously, there seems to be no competition here really, the SGS2 is MUCH better than the iphone 4 really... better camera, MUCH faster, far bigger screen (trust me the iphone 4 looks REALLY tiny compared) and far less restricted.
If this phone lives up to its early promise then I can tell you now that this is one fine phone, and Samsung may have finally delivered the kind of phone everyone knew they could if they put their mind to it... but time will tell
Garfs said:
Tbh I think the ui on sgs is poor
Much prefer HTC sense (have messed about with mates)
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Click to collapse
It's really a matter of taste, if you want a perfect Sense experience, then buying this phone wouldn't be a good choice I think
I've never really have experience on Sense (people around me use either iPhone 4 or BB!), but this Touchwiz isn't that bad except for one, no alphabetical sort in grid view on the apps drawer
I've been an iPhone user for 3 years and gone from the 3g to 3gs to the iPhone 4. I have also been an Android user for 1 year, I started with the Desire and upgraded to the SGS1. Despite liking Android a lot, I couldn't really make the switch to being a full time Android user. Mainly becasue I have bought a bunch of really specialized (medical) expensive apps on the iPhone. I dont't mind the iPhone having certain limitations as I have learnt to work around them. Also by also having an Android phone with me, they don't matter.
Like you I have grown tired of the iOS UI, especially the infamous Pop Up Notifications. As a geek I really like Android, trying out custom ROMs, not having any limitations in terms of what apps to install and being able to open web sites with flash are all part of the joy...
Currently I have sold my SGS1 and am waiting for the SGS2 to become available in Slovenia. I dont't think it will full replace my iPhone 4, but it seems it will at least keep me from buying an iPhone 5. A feat Desire couldn't manage to do!
As for the HTC vs Samsung debate. Sense is widely considered the premium Android experience, which I think it also is. But HTC is still using sub par components in its phones: the awful tiny speaker, the bad camera sensor and the worst mics for audio recording. It is for these reasons I won't be buying the Sensation but the SGS2.
Me i prefer Touchwiz and dont like sense .
jje
I'd probably pick Touchwiz over Sense too, also the first SGS imo was as good as the iPhone 4. SGSII is just so gooood....
bigmo7 said:
the first SGS imo was as good as the iPhone 4.
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Click to collapse
It would have been if it hadn't been filled with bugs.
bigmo7 said:
I'd probably pick Touchwiz over Sense too, also the first SGS imo was as good as the iPhone 4. SGSII is just so gooood....
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Click to collapse
Gotta disagree with you there mate
Mate has a galaxy s and it's not a patch on iphone4 I'm afraid
I'm not a fan of TW or Sense, I find them both to be very simple almost condesending, like they were built for kids or blind people to use. You cannot change the screen density with them so you have to stick with 240 which I personally dont find appealing.
I much prefer a stock android framework with ADW Ex.
I am really looking forward to some custom ROM's comming out for the SGS2.
I was a WinMo user right from 1.0 to 6.5 and loved every minute of it. After my HD2 I took a jump and tried out Android, and now I'm hooked! WP7 does look very nice, but it needs to be more open before I switch to it.
I have never owned an iphone. I had a gen1 ipod touch and couldn't stand Itunes so this put me off apple for good, plus I don't like their business model.
Garfs said:
Gotta disagree with you there mate
Mate has a galaxy s and it's not a patch on iphone4 I'm afraid
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Click to collapse
It's just personal opinion, my mate has a SGS and I have to say without the bugs it had I would easily choose it over the iP4 in terms of software that is, can't stand the way the SGS looks.
Garfs said:
Gotta disagree with you there mate
Mate has a galaxy s and it's not a patch on iphone4 I'm afraid
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Click to collapse
What is better on the Iphone ???+
I tested three a few weeks ago over three days .IOS4 SGS 1 not SGS2 and Win 7 on a HTC . Hardly any difference between them all down in my opinion to user choice .
jje
First post here so go easy guys -.-
Though coming from webOS 2 on the Pre 2, then to iPhone 4 with iOS 4, and now to SGSII I'd like to think I've experience the best of Mobile UI's.
And Like you, I was bored on iPhone4, the grid of Icons just didnt cut it out for me and seemed something more akin to fisher price, Loved webOS, though the sub-part hardware and lack of Apps killed it for me.
For me the SGSII is the best of both worlds, the screen is absolutely fantastic and has to be seen to believe, the Applications arent quite iPhone but nonetheless are excellent and I have found a suitable replacement for 95% of the ones I use.
I'm also picky when It comes to butter smooth UI's, and Samsung with the implementation of Touchwiz 4 has nailed It, I'm not sure about other Android phones (This being my first) but Samsung has definately implemented GPU Acceleration into the UI, and It's butter smooth, everywhere, browsing and all, It's what really sold this device to me.
I actually hate Sense, It just looks fugly in my opinion, but to each their own, I applaud Samsung, they've done a good job on Touchwiz, I wanted iPhone style Grid Icons and not the standard App Drawer so It was perfect for me, You'll feel right at home as well with the addition of folders, pages etc
My only real Gripes are the fact It's a tad on the big side, though I have small hands and that It's a dust magnet, either that or I'm OCD which I probably am (I wipe the **** out of my screens, make sure they're speckle free ^^)
SAMOLED Plus, 1.2 GHz Blazing fast Exynos CPU, Quad Core Mali GPU, 1080p Recording, 8MP Back 2MP Front, Gingerbread with Butter Smooth Awesome UI & Customization and It's not hard to see why It's possibly the best phone yet.
Chronicles404 said:
First post here so go easy guys -.-
Though coming from webOS 2 on the Pre 2, then to iPhone 4 with iOS 4, and now to SGSII I'd like to think I've experience the best of Mobile UI's.
And Like you, I was bored on iPhone4, the grid of Icons just didnt cut it out for me and seemed something more akin to fisher price, Loved webOS, though the sub-part hardware and lack of Apps killed it for me.
For me the SGSII is the best of both worlds, the screen is absolutely fantastic and has to be seen to believe, the Applications arent quite iPhone but nonetheless are excellent and I have found a suitable replacement for 95% of the ones I use.
I'm also picky when It comes to butter smooth UI's, and Samsung with the implementation of Touchwiz 4 has nailed It, I'm not sure about other Android phones (This being my first) but Samsung has definately implemented GPU Acceleration into the UI, and It's butter smooth, everywhere, browsing and all, It's what really sold this device to me.
I actually hate Sense, It just looks fugly in my opinion, but to each their own, I applaud Samsung, they've done a good job on Touchwiz, I wanted iPhone style Grid Icons and not the standard App Drawer so It was perfect for me, You'll feel right at home as well with the addition of folders, pages etc
My only real Gripes are the fact It's a tad on the big side, though I have small hands and that It's a dust magnet, either that or I'm OCD which I probably am (I wipe the **** out of my screens, make sure they're speckle free ^^)
SAMOLED Plus, 1.2 GHz Blazing fast Exynos CPU, Quad Core Mali GPU, 1080p Recording, 8MP Back 2MP Front, Gingerbread with Butter Smooth Awesome UI & Customization and It's not hard to see why It's possibly the best phone yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you. Best response yet. This may actually have sold this to me
May have to pop Into town and check one out
Garfs said:
Thank you. Best response yet. This may actually have sold this to me
May have to pop Into town and check one out
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Anytime, and trust me you owe It to yourself
There's quite a few Customizations I've made to the Lock and Home Screen If you don't prefer the actual stock widgets so bear that in Mind, It looks pretty awesome now, mate which still has an iPhone was pretty impressed considering.
Not forgetting there's also the HSPA+ radio, In some areas (And depending on network) expect 4MB+ easily, It's also the thinnest smartphone in Class though using a case makes It to normal thin Slab size, I can't really fault It, the only niggle Is battery Life but then again I've been using it 24/7 and I'm yet to properly cycle the battery though early reports suggest you'll easily get a day's worth.
One of the very big plus points for some users but not all users is the ability to customize Android .You do not have to stick with the defaults themes roms kernels etc etc as you like .
jje
Finally got some play time on the HTC One, and coming from a Nexus 4, the One felt dated to me. The Sense UI just kills the One. I didn't realize how modern Jellybean 4.2.2 feels compared to Sense until I spent time with them side by side. The One's hardware fit and finish are nice but I can't say it feels any more premium than the Nexus 4. In my hands, the Nexus glass body feels more comfortable than the aluminum on the One. Speedtest results (LTE) were little below average compared to other devices I tested but not dismal.
The One has some nice features (1080p, IR remote, dual front speakers, NFC, LTE) and if it can be flashed with stock Jellybean while keeping those features working, it would be so much better.
Just wanted to share a few thoughts about the One. I went in to buy the One but came back with a renewed appreciation for the Nexus.
Go home, you're drunk.
Sent from my M7 using xda premium
g1bJ1 said:
Finally got some play time on the HTC One, and coming from a Nexus 4, the One felt dated to me. The Sense UI just kills the One. I didn't realize how modern Jellybean 4.2.2 feels compared to Sense until I spent time with them side by side. The One's hardware fit and finish are nice but I can't say it feels any more premium than the Nexus 4. In my hands, the Nexus glass body feels more comfortable than the aluminum on the One. Speedtest results (LTE) were little below average compared to other devices I tested but not dismal.
The One has some features (IR remote, dual front speakers, NFC, LTE) and if it can be flashed with stock Jellybean while keeping those features working, it would be so much better.
Just wanted to share a few thoughts about the One. I went in to buy the One but came back with a renewed appreciation for the Nexus.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sell your phone please to us....
mgxplyr said:
Go home, you're drunk.
Sent from my M7 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1
Yay apparently going to a phone with LTE is going backwards! :silly:
So LG is paying people to come on sites and say this stuff now too?
Sent from my HTC One X using xda premium
I went in to buy a new IPhone after coming from an Iphone and.........
One of the great things about Android is choice. We have Nexus devices, Sense, Touchwiz, and lots of launchers and skins.....gotta Love it. Rubin and Duarte are fans of skins and overlays as well. El goog even praised Facebook home as an example of what is possible with open source.
Sent from my GT-P7510 using Tapatalk HD
He's right about the sens UI part..
Why isn't this closed yet?
Choices are great to have, I agree. I loved my OG HTC EVO which had an older version of Sense. But with the improvements Google has made with stock Android, Sense didn't seem that great to me. For example, the stock icon layouts didn't take advantage of the nice 1080 resolution display, only 3 icons across with huge gaps between them.
Anyhow I'm just sharing my initial impression of the HTC One. After reading all the glorious reviews of the One I had higher expectations.
Good thread, would read again.
Lol sucks to have your brain.
He's just jelly, it's his friends phone lol.
Sent from my HTC One using xda app-developers app
g1bJ1 said:
Finally got some play time on the HTC One, and coming from a Nexus 4, the One felt dated to me. The Sense UI just kills the One. I didn't realize how modern Jellybean 4.2.2 feels compared to Sense until I spent time with them side by side. The One's hardware fit and finish are nice but I can't say it feels any more premium than the Nexus 4. In my hands, the Nexus glass body feels more comfortable than the aluminum on the One. Speedtest results (LTE) were little below average compared to other devices I tested but not dismal.
The One has some nice features (1080p, IR remote, dual front speakers, NFC, LTE) and if it can be flashed with stock Jellybean while keeping those features working, it would be so much better.
Just wanted to share a few thoughts about the One. I went in to buy the One but came back with a renewed appreciation for the Nexus.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't agree.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda premium
The bloke is perfectly entitled to express his personal opinion and I'm in total agreement about his views on sense vs stock - that's just my preference.
Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2
g1bJ1 said:
Finally got some play time on the HTC One, and coming from a Nexus 4, the One felt dated to me. The Sense UI just kills the One. I didn't realize how modern Jellybean 4.2.2 feels compared to Sense until I spent time with them side by side. The One's hardware fit and finish are nice but I can't say it feels any more premium than the Nexus 4. In my hands, the Nexus glass body feels more comfortable than the aluminum on the One. Speedtest results (LTE) were little below average compared to other devices I tested but not dismal.
The One has some nice features (1080p, IR remote, dual front speakers, NFC, LTE) and if it can be flashed with stock Jellybean while keeping those features working, it would be so much better.
Just wanted to share a few thoughts about the One. I went in to buy the One but came back with a renewed appreciation for the Nexus.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I buy HTC devices because of Sense. If the One came without sense I would have bought the S4. I have tried AOSP roms but I come screaming back to sense within minutes, they are just too limited, too spartan.
Stock android is so highly over rated it is unreal.
The only main thing that I love about it, is the stock android theme. Less amount of apps preinstalled is a bonus too
For me sense is superior to stock for these reasons:
- the apps kick ass especially the camera (zoe, more options and filter effects to choose from and a nicer, more functional UI), gallery (live tiles/thumbnails plus other wee things like being able to take a photo of a moment in video playback and even more effects) and browser app (text reflow when you pinch to zoom and double tap, modified quick thumb controls that are pure win, flash player, fast and smooth and most importantly it renders text and web sites correctly)
- unified feel, no skin can match sense in this area (aside from possibly motorola's newest skin), everything feels unified throughout, same colour scheme and same layout unlike stock; dialer has the black/blue theme, SMS and calendar etc. has the white theme, play music has a blue theme, clock has a grey theme, the menu button placement is either on the bottom or the top and then the settings menu has a holo theme throughout, minor things but damn annoying for me
If you really want stock android look without having to root, you can install the following:
stock android keyboard
stock Alarm clock
Stock SMS app
Dialer with this theme
Stock calendar
stock camera & Gallery
Nova launcher prime with the built in stock android icons
Lock screen (can get the stock lock screen theme/UI)
Stock (CM10) calculator
Multi-tasking window
And disable whatever you don't like about sense through the app settings.
Terminator19 said:
Stock android is so highly over rated it is unreal.
The only main thing that I love about it, is the stock android theme. Less amount of apps preinstalled is a bonus too
For me sense is superior to stock for these reasons:
- the apps kick ass especially the camera (zoe, more options and filter effects to choose from and a nicer, more functional UI), gallery (live tiles/thumbnails plus other wee things like being able to take a photo of a moment in video playback and even more effects) and browser app (text reflow when you pinch to zoom and double tap, modified quick thumb controls that are pure win, flash player, fast and smooth and most importantly it renders text and web sites correctly)
- unified feel, no skin can match sense in this area (aside from possibly motorola's newest skin), everything feels unified throughout, same colour scheme and same layout unlike stock; dialer has the black/blue theme, SMS and calendar etc. has the white theme, play music has a blue theme, clock has a grey theme, the menu button placement is either on the bottom or the top and then the settings menu has a holo theme throughout, minor things but damn annoying for me
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It really is a personal preference and so he should be able to express his own opinion thus I don't really understand why people are bashing him. It's not like the Nexus 4 is a iphone3gs or something. I feel like his opinion is reasonable. I have always liked how sense has looked and felt (smoothness scrolling compared to stock android) and all that but it definitely is something you have to get used to. I definitely prefer sense over that samsung junk they call touchwiz and all that but stock is nice! although yes it might be a little overrated, it's still nice! But I have to agree with on that three icon thing... it just doesn't really make sense. I'm not really feeling the menus but I will have to wait til I actually get the phone, whenever the preorder fiasco finally works out..
Anyways, to each their own.
Yeah stock android is great. That's why there are hundreds of replacements in Play Store for every single element of it.
I sort of agree with his post. Just picked up my One this morning and it feels dated even compared to my HTC Evo 3D in terms of UI. It seems to be less customizable than my EVO 3D running stock sense for some reason. It seems like HTC is going with Microsoft "simple is better" approach.
I already miss the physical settings button my EVO 3D had. I also don't like how the power/volume buttons are flush with the body. The buttons should protrude a bit imo... but I suppose these are things I'll get used to it in time.
A problem I've been noticing so far is I'm losing home screen settings. For example I add all 5 home screens to expand the default 3, arranged my icons, widgets etc. This is now the second time where it randomly gets reset and I've lost settings. Now I have to go back and add the additional home screens/apps/widgets etc.
When I finished setting up the phone, storage use already showed 9GB out of 32GB before I even transferred my data (apps/music/photos/etc). Why is it using 9GB of storage out of the box?
@AndrewAmazed
Yup, all personal preference the software, just to clear things up, I wasn't bashing his opinion at all , just stating that I think stock is highly over rated, I always see people saying things like "stock android is 100 times better than everything", "never buying a non-nexus device again", review sites much preferring it to the OEM skins etc. it is good but it isn't "that" good imo.
Indeed, touchwiz is just awful, nice features etc. but everything else is a joke, completely disjointed feel throughout, horrible colour scheme, overall it just feels like a 10 year old has designed it.
All HTC need to do imo is go with a nice holo/dark theme instead of mostly white and drop some of the pointless apps, widgets.
All google need to do is sort the unified feel out (most people have already done this here for them) and add more features/options plus bring the old browser back! chrome is trash imo.
I just wrote this this thread to humor myself and anyone else who cares or is interested in comparisons between the two phones. I'm coming from an HTC Sensation which I've had for about 2 years, previously owned the og Galaxy S (Vibrant), and instead of the S4 I chose the HTC one, and got the GS4 for my wife instead, and use both on a regular basis.
Here are my observations since I actually have both phones and can compare them with no bias...
-A lot of the online mainstream reviews you'll read between the two hit the nail on the head. The One imo is a better "phone". It does indeed have less features then the S4 (although many of them are gimmicks like the eye scrolling/tracking, airview, and a few others) but the speakers are far superior, which obviously aids for anyone who ever uses speakerphone or plays music and videos, the call quality is also a little better, the phone is more fluid and faster than the GS4 with basic functions like scrolling screens etc, and the phone of course has a MUCH more "premium" feel. Sense 5 is MUUUUUCH better than past versions of Sense and like a lot of review say, it *DOES* improve over stock android in actual useful features. The look is subjective of course but it's flat, useful and fast, and to me that's all that matters. The camera is better than any past smartphone I've ever used (Tmobile Dash>G1>Vibrant>Sensation>One) so I like it personally, but compared to its rivals like the GS4 I guess it's not the best, but does everything I've ever asked of it VERY well so no complaints from me.
-The GS4 on the other hand has a superior camera. The camera on the One isn't bad at all, and kills the Gs4 in low light conditions and the aspect ratio and wide lense captures waaay more in each frame, but the GS4 has more camera features, packs a crapload more detail in each shot, has some pretty useful camera modes the One doesn't have, and is just generally better. The Galaxy might not be made of aluminum like the one, but it's lighter and imo actually feels better in my hand (without a case). Once you add a case in the mix, hand feel is null and void obviously but if you like to go commando the Gs4 feels better and will probably hold up to abuse better than the One due to the polycarbonate body and gorilla glass 3. The screen on the Galaxy is bigger than the One while the actual phone altogether is lighter and smaller so that's pretty nice, but it's not really THAT noticeable to be honest. One huge, huge advantage the Galaxy has over the One is removable storage and battery, which *USED* to be a deal breaker for me back in the day, but I've learned to live without them since I got my One, so either way it's a definite advantage but I guess how much so is up to the user. The Galaxy also has native quick settings built in which the one doesn't have (yet), so minor issue but another positive for the galaxy.
As far as negative for each, I'm actually on my second One already. Somehow my camera lense glass cracked even though I keep the phone in case and have never dropped it or bumped it. It just appeared one day in addition to the top speaker grill starting to separate from the body. Weird, but I got it replaced and the replacement is doing fine and actually stands up to overclocking and undervolting better than my old unit, so that made me pretty happy lol. That's really the only issue I've had with mine, but on the whole, the phone is definitely more fragile than the Galaxy WITHOUT a case. It scratches easier, dents, chips, etc...while the Galaxy doesn't.
The Galaxy feels better in hand (caseless) than the One, but it's slippery as hell and slides around easily and can be more prone to being dropped. Again, only an issue without a case, but this is my observation.
Touchwiz...personally I think it's a mess. I don't care for the look, as many have said it feels like your still running Gingerbread 2.3. The look hasn't changed much since I had a Vibrant running Touchwiz from 3 years ago, and while Touchwiz DOES have some unique features and generally does more than Sense and stock android...it's just ugly as hell while doing so lol. The Galaxy also does feel a tad slower and microstutters every so often while the One is almost always fluid and seems much smoother even tho it's running a newer version of android and has slightly better specs on hardware...it just doesn't "feel" like it. Other than that it's a fantastic phone and we haven't had any problems with it whatsoever unlike the One.
Between the two...if I just had to pick one, it's a toss up. I prefer my One honestly but I can see the advantages of the Galaxy S4 with it having more features so I'll just break it down like this...
Usefuleness as an actual phone
One>S4
Camera
GS4>One
In hand feel, portability
One=GS4
Usefulness as a multimedia device
GS4=One
Expandability
GS4>One
I will say that between the two if this even matters to anyone...I get WAAAAAY more props and questions and even jealous stares directed towards the One.........although..........people tend to ask to let them play with the Galaxy S4 quite often lol...
This is going to be TLDR post
I think now I have owned all 1080P phones from mainstream manufacturers and Oppo.
DNA, Xperia Z, SGS4 and One.
Could not live with Xperia Z, unacceptable compromises on a flagship device. Sold DNA as well and now with SGS4 and One (And Oppo find 5 as well, but that purchase was of oa curiosity purchase )
Both have their niggles to be honest at this point. But as far as one is concerned, I am not going to live with Sense 5 in its current form. I just cant. I will keep complaining about blink feed until HTC fixes it to add custom sources or more sources comparable to Pulse. The social media capabilities of blink feed are irrelevent to me as I dont use facebook much and for twitter which I do use, it does not even comes close to functionality of Falcon Pro.
Then the caveats with app drawer, lack of options to change wallpaper from home by long pressing also gets on my nerves. Having to go through 3 steps extra to change wallpaper is just silly. So I had to resort to custom launcher which has its own share of problems due to the fact that for some reason lot of launchers are not butter smooth on One with MSM DCVS governor as well as not as smooth as Note 2 or Nexus 4 even on default On demand governor. For those who have not actually experienced what butter smooth experience means on these device, it appears smooth. My sis who came from SGS2 thinks its smooth. I can feel the jitter in UI and that is really disappointing. And it has something to do with governor and / or kernel as there are issues with jitter and microstutter in 2d arcade games like Hill climb racing on One when the same game runs just fine on older Krait 200 CPU on Oppo Find 5. I got Go launcher to be most close to what I want by adjusting animation speed. But it is still not as perfect as I want it to be.
That and menu button even when mapped to long press back using custom rom does not still behave perfectly 100% of time. Sometimes it just goes back. But I have learned to live with that. But these are notable niggles.
Camera issues I had with older camera are now fixed. I am happy with One camera results now.
The only other bugs that annoys the hell out of me is the contact bug that was there is Sense 4 as well and it is there in sense 5 as well where Sense decides to save new contact to my other gmail account than my primary account even when the second gmail account is not even set to sync contacts. Every time after installing new ROM clean I have to click on Google tab and select my primary account before hitting save.
SGS4 TWUI might be visual mess but it is very functional. Everything just works as it should on Android phone. The actions are not that far away from what we get on stock android. So even with Samsung plastering entire colour spectrum all over, everything works as I am used to. No surprises, no irritating faults. I dont might extra features. I have half of them disabled and bloat removed.
The power saving features on Exynos Octa does not seem to work properly yet, or not as good as they are suppose. The product was clearly rushed, but I guess it will be SGS3 story all over again with Samsung fixing most issues with unofficial leaks over coming weeks and with final release fixing this on OTA for those who dont want to experiement. I have that much faith in Samsung now.
Hardware I leave it to the users but SGS4 does not feel like cheap plastic. Sure it does not feel as premium as HTC One, but that typical BS people on forums and even some press spreading about SGS4 feeling cheap is just plain BS. It feels good in hands, it feels as premium as Note 2 and Note 2 did not feel cheap at all. Specially not in white colour. Rest is upto end user to decide but if you get the chance, do see S4 in person. It is great device to hold and use. With right case which I always use no matter what phone, it is not going to be an issue at all.
Coming down to personal choice, I am still using One as my personal daily driver and S4 as work phone. The bigger real estate on S4 does come in handy though and I have a feeling that in the end it is going to be better overall device to use for media consumption for someone like me who do not listen to songs or watch videos without using headphones. I dont like to watch videos even at home with the Ones wonderful speakers as I dont like disturbing my family members, and specially my hyperactive dog that just wants to get its head between me and my phone to investigate what sound is coming out of this weird device if I play anything on it using loudspeaker So really I am wasting the speakers on One. But that can be big selling points to some. For me, it is nice thing to have but I like to use phone strictly for personal media consumption and not broadcast it to others, neither do I want to disturb others at night in bed when I usually check up on some youtube videos from my subscribed channels.
The bigger real estate also helps a lot in gaming.
In the end S4 has less niggles at the moment. HTC has chosen risky strategy with Sense 5. People will either love it or those like me who simply hate it. I replaced it with custom launcher. Lot of people still love it but plenty are going to be frustrated by it. I never likes less options or restrictive behaviour on any android phone. That is exactly what HTC has done on their stock sense 5 launcher.
UI functionality is as or rather more important that UI design and feel. Sense 5 feels smooth and polished but it is very restrictive in nature and feels like HTC have done some things deliberately different just for the sake of being different without thinking logically if they really needed to do those things differently.
It is case of "So close to perfection, yet so far" with One. It is wonderful device. Good enough for me to be ready to live with the cavates it has. But sometimes I feel like switching to S4 as primary personal daily driver. But the beauty of this device is what keeping me from ditching it. That is ultimate thing in favour of One. But frustrating thing is, it could have been so much better with just few changes.
Thread closed
This thread is another sad example of the reason why we do not wnat any comparison threads here. Although the OP had the best goals with posting it, some fanboy users can't refrain from using it as another battle ground. Deleted 15 posts (some of them NOT being unfair, but I treated all equal)
So thank you OP for the comparison. It stays here as it is helpful. The rest of the discussion is not.
So with the most incredible & ultimate mobile phone you'll ever ever experience (Galaxy S6 & Edge) according to most reviews why did you opt for the M9?
Mine stems from the M8 and the experience I had with it, it was for a large part very positive, from the stunning design & build to the Audio and speedy and great looking ui.
So I now have the M9 a very solid device and yes it resembles the M8 but with that nice and subtle twist. I opted for the M9 because I knew I would continue to get the same joyful experience with some added benefits. I was right and despite the optics not being quite on par they still produce fine shots.
Sense 7 is nice and the theme manager us fantastic.
I just much prefer the HTC audio experience and having the SD card expansion. The build and feel in hand is fantastic. If you look at the M8 development it continues strongly with ROMs .
Yea there are negatives like any other device but for me it was the better choice.
Duncan1982 said:
So with the most incredible & ultimate mobile phone you'll ever ever experience (Galaxy S6 & Edge) according to most reviews why did you opt for the M9?
Mine stems from the M8 and the experience I had with it, it was for a large part very positive, from the stunning design & build to the Audio and speedy and great looking ui.
So I now have the M9 a very solid device and yes it resembles the M8 but with that nice and subtle twist. I opted for the M9 because I knew I would continue to get the same joyful experience with some added benefits. I was right and despite the optics not being quite on par they still produce fine shots.
Sense 7 is nice and the theme manager us fantastic.
I just much prefer the HTC audio experience and having the SD card expansion. The build and feel in hand is fantastic. If you look at the M8 development it continues strongly with ROMs .
Yea there are negatives like any other device but for me it was the better choice.
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Click to collapse
90% of my phones have been HTC's from the 6700,6800, touch pro, touch pro 2, Evo/3D/LTE and M7 then i decided to jumpship to t mobile and get a Nexus 5 after a year with my nexus i just missed the HTC Build and software, yes i am one of the few the prefer Sense over Vanilla. i could've haved gotten the M8 for cheaper but unlike most people i preferred to focus on the internal upgrades rather then the external design. Also the M9 will have more support then the M8 (the whole 18 month support thing). only thing that let me down was the main camera but after tweaking it a bit thanks to XDA im satisfied once again.
PhyscoAssassinx said:
90% of my phones have been HTC's from the 6700,6800, touch pro, touch pro 2, Evo/3D/LTE and M7 then i decided to jumpship to t mobile and get a Nexus 5 after a year with my nexus i just missed the HTC Build and software, yes i am one of the few the prefer Sense over Vanilla. i could've haved gotten the M8 for cheaper but unlike most people i preferred to focus on the internal upgrades rather then the external design. Also the M9 will have more support then the M8 (the whole 18 month support thing). only thing that let me down was the main camera but after tweaking it a bit thanks to XDA im satisfied once again.
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Click to collapse
That's quite the HTC Collection I have had many devices from Samsung, Sony, Lg, Apple, Now HTC so a broad range.
So the build & Ui is what drew you back?
This is understandable and one of the best skins for android and I had the Nexus 5 because at the time a song and dance was made for vanilla and I thought I would give it a shot. I liked it quite a lot as it transpires but sense has that same zip and retains some nice features.
Thanks for your input & yea with some tweaks the camera is really not that bad (just perhaps not as good as yes the S6 and it should of been better) but for everything that the M9 offers I'm happy
1. Love sense 7
2. Love the m9's design and build
3. Love boomsound
4. Will never get a samsung/iphone ever!!!
Duncan1982 said:
That's quite the HTC Collection I have had many devices from Samsung, Sony, Lg, Apple, Now HTC so a broad range.
So the build & Ui is what drew you back?
This is understandable and one of the best skins for android and I had the Nexus 5 because at the time a song and dance was made for vanilla and I thought I would give it a shot. I liked it quite a lot as it transpires but sense has that same zip and retains some nice features.
Thanks for your input & yea with some tweaks the camera is really not that bad (just perhaps not as good as yes the S6 and it should of been better) but for everything that the M9 offers I'm happy
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Click to collapse
i mean ive always loved the metal feel of the phone (LTE/M7), and a dark confession ill make is that i actually flashed blinkfeed onto my Nexus because i missed the UI lol
nazrin313 said:
1. Love sense 7
2. Love the m9's design and build
3. Love boomsound
4. Will never get a samsung/iphone ever!!!
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Click to collapse
I can understand your probable reasons for not wanting a Samsung. However what they have done with the S6 & Edge is great and best that has been produced by Samsung.
However so you take into account its glass & metal trim. I have to mention Sony here for credit as they also use Glass with metal frame, to be fair here if you look at it...
The Z2 is a early 2013 device and has even to date great specs and makes better use of that build being adopted by Samsung. The Z2 has water resistance, retains the SD card, larger battery, but thicker (not a big deal) and front firing speakers.
This is why I can see that reviews are so so good because its Samsung's first ever solid offering.
The M9 is perhaps being evolutionary in approach but what a design it is, and its been refined to a nice level.
I tend to think about the complete picture and yes sacrifices I may have to make in some area's.
But with some reading and experience with the M8 I have to only see that things are early and will get better for the M9 and its flaws. 1 year on and ROM development is strong for the M8 which I'm sure will carry over to the M9, its started already.
So I look at everything and for me, as great as the S6 & Edge are the better choice was the M9.
If you dare living with the best 2015 handheld - get m9 hima and enjoy d'TIME.. again if you're hard-coded by your karma for ****y experience you're departing to any other brand of your choice counter to accomplish what can't be avoided..
Reviews and words are of no avail.. 8)
Honestly thou, I do love the s6 edge design..its best offering from Samsung yet.
Even with the glowing reviews of the s6 and s6 edge, real world usage from actual users differ..3h SOT? Lags and stutters? Not for me
jauhien said:
If you dare living with the best 2015 handheld - get m9 hima and enjoy d'TIME.. again if you're hard-coded by your karma for ****y experience you're departing to any other brand of your choice counter to accomplish what can't be avoided..
Reviews and words are of no avail.. 8)
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Click to collapse
It seems like many are to scared to say that the M9 is a very solid device and tbh a fantastic device.
Believe me as I mentioned I have had many phones and this has by far brought me the greatest joy.
there hasn't been one stutter not even a hiccup.
I believe you mentioned about HTC and comparing the difference between it and the smartphone (which it is) but I get what you mean in differentiating between the rest.
Well been with HTC since the TYTN II, Diamond, Sensation, One S and One Mini..
Tho i was thinking hard about another brand this time, but i couldn't be without Sense. Reason why i was thinking for others is that HTC still kinda disappoints me with every phone they bring out, no logic behind some decisions.. Even tho they ask (on elevate) some things, i think they can use the advantage of having direct contact with fanbase like that into better usage.. Which they don't..
Anyway, still went with the M9 since I just couldn't think being without Sense, i'm so used to it that i cannot go with other launchers.. Plus the phones just feel so solid in the hands.. every HTC phone so far i've had, didn't feel cheap in my hands.. Plus with the extra service i can get through elevate this was basically a no-brainer in the end.
Since i've got it now for a week, i can honestly say that thus far, i haven't regret my purchase. :good:
Been needing to vent my thoughts on this phone and choosing to do it here. Maybe a little harsh, but I think objective. My feelings may change if I keep the device long enough.
Why did I opt for the M8.5?
Only reason over M8- Side power button (nothing a good volume wake mod wouldn't solve). I don't see any clear lead the M9 has over the M8 at this time. And the M8 has GPE roms, a plus for me.
Only reason over S6- Dev friendliness- able to unlock bootloader (even an ATT device) at htcdev and I want to support the company's decision to be dev friendly. Also HTC flagships always have a very popular dev community here at xda. We'll see if they're able to hack the S6 bootloader, if so the development community is sure to follow. That will surely get my attention.
Oh and a 3rd reason- I'm a sucker for new tech and I pay for it. I could head to swappa, sell M9/buy M8 and pocket around $200. Thinking about doing it but I've only had the phone for a few days and i'm going to give it at least a week before I make my decision.
Unimpressed with both camera and battery. 810 cpu doesn't feel any faster than 801 (which I've had on 2 devices), but certainly is warmer. All in all, not sure this phone was even an incremental update, but possibly even lateral.
Chronzy said:
Been needing to vent my thoughts on this phone and choosing to do it here. Maybe a little harsh, but I think objective. My feelings may change if I keep the device long enough.
Why did I opt for the M8.5?
Only reason over M8- Side power button (nothing a good volume wake mod wouldn't solve). I don't see any clear lead the M9 has over the M8 at this time. And the M8 has GPE roms, a plus for me.
Only reason over S6- Dev friendliness- able to unlock bootloader (even an ATT device) at htcdev and I want to support the company's decision to be dev friendly. Also HTC flagships always have a very popular dev community here at xda. We'll see if they're able to hack the S6 bootloader, if so the development community is sure to follow. That will surely get my attention.
Oh and a 3rd reason- I'm a sucker for new tech and I pay for it. I could head to swappa, sell M9/buy M8 and pocket around $200. Thinking about doing it but I've only had the phone for a few days and i'm going to give it at least a week before I make my decision.
Unimpressed with both camera and battery. 810 cpu doesn't feel any faster than 801 (which I've had on 2 devices), but certainly is warmer. All in all, not sure this phone was even an incremental update, but possibly even lateral.
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Click to collapse
Its cool all views welcome matey and every user will inevitably have a different spin or take on a particular product.
I don't however see it as you do though, HTC improved the camera and agree or disagree but it's far better than that of the M8 (this is just my in my experience, and my own opinion) secondly well Moore's law dictates that processors will double in speed every 18 months, this doesn't mean that with a press of a button you phone will fly you to the moon
Then there is the build and the more time I have spent the more I actually see the difference and the in hand feel is totally different.
The M9 comes now with 3 GB of ram and I have yet to see a stutter or hiccup, the battery life has been on the better side of average for me at least. As for overheating I haven't came across this (perhaps as I have mentioned in other threads, because I don't game) but I do watch a lot of video and the m9 has been fine.
This is just my honest experience, no the camera is perhaps not on par with the S6 for example and should have been better, but I haven't yet taken a photo that has the mentioned heavy grain/ noise or blur. But I no doubt will, like I have done with my Note 4 lol.
Give it time and if your still not happy then best of luck with whatever device you end up with buddy
sausje85 said:
Well been with HTC since the TYTN II, Diamond, Sensation, One S and One Mini..
Tho i was thinking hard about another brand this time, but i couldn't be without Sense. Reason why i was thinking for others is that HTC still kinda disappoints me with every phone they bring out, no logic behind some decisions.. Even tho they ask (on elevate) some things, i think they can use the advantage of having direct contact with fanbase like that into better usage.. Which they don't..
Anyway, still went with the M9 since I just couldn't think being without Sense, i'm so used to it that i cannot go with other launchers.. Plus the phones just feel so solid in the hands.. every HTC phone so far i've had, didn't feel cheap in my hands.. Plus with the extra service i can get through elevate this was basically a no-brainer in the end.
Since i've got it now for a week, i can honestly say that thus far, i haven't regret my purchase. :good:
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Unrelated.
What "extra service" do you get from being a member of Elevate?
Sent from my HTCONE using XDA Free mobile app
zaaye said:
Unrelated.
What "extra service" do you get from being a member of Elevate?
Sent from my HTCONE using XDA Free mobile app
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Click to collapse
They have giveaways. I got a free case for my m7. I also get to test software builds before the public does.
Sent from my HTC One m8
I'm a member too. Just don't know how to get in on the good stuff. How did you get to test the software. Inbox
Sent from my HTCONE using XDA Free mobile app
Duncan1982 said:
Its cool all views welcome matey and every user will inevitably have a different spin or take on a particular product.
I don't however see it as you do though, HTC improved the camera and agree or disagree but it's far better than that of the M8 (this is just my in my experience, and my own opinion) secondly well Moore's law dictates that processors will double in speed every 18 months, this doesn't mean that with a press of a button you phone will fly you to the moon
Then there is the build and the more time I have spent the more I actually see the difference and the in hand feel is totally different.
The M9 comes now with 3 GB of ram and I have yet to see a stutter or hiccup, the battery life has been on the better side of average for me at least. As for overheating I haven't came across this (perhaps as I have mentioned in other threads, because I don't game) but I do watch a lot of video and the m9 has been fine.
This is just my honest experience, no the camera is perhaps not on par with the S6 for example and should have been better, but I haven't yet taken a photo that has the mentioned heavy grain/ noise or blur. But I no doubt will, like I have done with my Note 4 lol.
Give it time and if your still not happy then best of luck with whatever device you end up with buddy
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Click to collapse
I like your enthusiasm. I'm sure HTC would appreciate your viewpoint through those rose colored glasses as well.
We've definitely had different experiences with the camera. I'm a bit of a shutterbug and if i'm going to take pictures it's probably gonna be with my Canon 6D or Gopro anyway so not really worried about it.
I'm surprised you've owned an M8. Your review seems to come from someone upgrading from an S4 or M7 (and for those of you, this is a worthy upgrade- don't get me wrong). Judged on its own merits the M9 is a great phone. But for anyone that's actually owned an M8 it surprises me that they would see this phone as a worthy successor. I think that's my main point. That's what I want to share with any M8 owners thinking about pulling the trigger on this phone- you're good where your at. Repeat, grass is not greener lol. Don't let the numbers game get you , ie 810 vs 801... 3GB vs 2GB... the user experience is about the same with certain drawbacks I and many others have mentioned.
In defense of HTC, the M7 and M8 were both huge leaps forward vs the previous model so I guess we were due an incremental update. But considering they were struggling to stay afloat not too long ago I'd say their next flagship probably shouldn't be so incremental.
But I appreciate your thoughts Duncan.. I especially have to give you credit for pulling off this statement lol:
Duncan1982 said:
HTC improved the camera and agree or disagree but it's far better than that of the M8 (this is just my in my experience, and my own opinion)
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I fell in love with the M7 and but had it stolen halfway through my contract. My contract ended last week. It was a toss-up between this and the S6 but ultimately I had to have another HTC and despite its flaws, I'm loving it so far. Just hoping HTC pull their fingers out and update the firmware to fix the battery and heat issues.
Chronzy said:
I like your enthusiasm. I'm sure HTC would appreciate your viewpoint through those rose colored glasses as well.
We've definitely had different experiences with the camera. I'm a bit of a shutterbug and if i'm going to take pictures it's probably gonna be with my Canon 6D or Gopro anyway so not really worried about it.
I'm surprised you've owned an M8. Your review seems to come from someone upgrading from an S4 or M7 (and for those of you, this is a worthy upgrade- don't get me wrong). Judged on its own merits the M9 is a great phone. But for anyone that's actually owned an M8 it surprises me that they would see this phone as a worthy successor. I think that's my main point. That's what I want to share with any M8 owners thinking about pulling the trigger on this phone- you're good where your at. Repeat, grass is not greener lol. Don't let the numbers game get you , ie 810 vs 801... 3GB vs 2GB... the user experience is about the same with certain drawbacks I and many others have mentioned.
In defense of HTC, the M7 and M8 were both huge leaps forward vs the previous model so I guess we were due an incremental update. But considering they were struggling to stay afloat not too long ago I'd say their next flagship probably shouldn't be so incremental.
But I appreciate your thoughts Duncan.. I especially have to give you credit for pulling off this statement lol:
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Click to collapse
This is a nice retort like it dude and your views are both welcome & appreciated however ultimately we are all humans with varying views and opinions.
Not in reference to you but we are now in a world dominated by sheep and a case of nod and agree seems to be to the liking of many but that kind of political so will move it back on topic.
No your right its not as huge as say the the S5-S6 for example. However Samsung had to make huge sacrifices to produce such.
The Z2 is the better option and please don't have a pop at that shooter (yes it has it flaws to) however its a 2013 device and boy oh boy have I got some amazing shots with it, and it makes better use of its all glass build.
So to the M9 should one upgrade? which the device is meant to be over the M8?
Well its a matter of each individual and their own opinion. For me the M9 is subtle in many ways like the build. I have compared the camera's and the m9 is miles ahead but behind the S6. I am no photography expert though so even someone with a basic grasp will see the M9's camera as extremely flawed. However for my eyes every picture I have taken is clear and without blur or noise.
The latter is obvious to anyone so this is my take so far. I will no doubt see this noise/distortion as I progress with the camera perhaps, like I did with the Note 4 which had amazing reviews, but I after time still got some grainy pics with that one, depends on many factors, the M9's shooter will no doubt need tweaks but for me its better than the M8's but perhaps I need to test further.
Overall I'm content with the M9 and if no one shares my views or opinions of it, you know that is perfectly fine, I under no circumstances wish or need or even want anyone to nod their head and agree with me.
All that matters is it a worthy upgrade for me, yea it is, it has a base storage of 32gb, build is refined to my liking, the camera is fine for me, audio is fantastic, sense 7 and the theme manager, its fast & fluid.
The recently announced M9+ should of perhaps been the the M9 as it has many upgrade additions like the 5.2" qhd, fingerprint scanner etc.
You would have to be a die-hard HTC fan to buy it ahead of S6 and the impending G4 and Z4.
Sachinfan said:
You would have to be a die-hard HTC fan to buy it ahead of S6 and the impending G4 and Z4.
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Click to collapse
Why should we all be like sheep though? Let's all buy the S6 or Z4 or the G4.
Can people not accept that your neither a fanboy or die hard HTC fan.
The S6 is not without compromise nor will the G4 be or the Z4.
We all like what we like and I happen to enjoy the M9 (Its far from perfect and it has its flaws that's for sure).
But can buy what we want without a label being attached, that's what makes the human race diverse "we have our own minds and therefore opinions" and able to make decisions based on these.
And if we are happy with those Decisions and freedom of choices then that's all that matters.
Hi,
Dont flame me, but i am really interested to hear from long time HTC users who have recently switched to the S8 camp and what they like since switching, but also what they miss!
Design looks great and the view from recent HTC converts will give me a better insight on joining the S8 club or hanging out for the HTC U 11?
Thanks in advance.
I am a long time HTC fan ...hero to m9 and had to make the switch....first thing I noticed with s8/s8 plus is that within a text message if you attempt to attach a picture that you are going to use the camera , you don't have any options to use flash nor will the phone detect if it's dark enough to use flash...
Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk
Im hard core android fan, so i have used all the high end models from Samsung, LG, HTC and Sony, i had a few phones from Huawei and Xiaomi too. All phones have + and -, but Samsung was always the most reliable of all. If you change your phone every 2 years with contracts, my advice is to jump on the Samsung ship, you will be happy, but you have to believe in XDA power for the software updates, i guess it wont be problem for you Forget about cameras, design, battery life and so on, all the high end phones does the same work + - some minor differences which you wont even see if you dont put all phones next to each other. The main PLUS for Samsung is the massive amount of people who buys them. XDA is full of mods, roms, kernel, themes etc. for Ss and Notes. This gives you the chance to have the lastest top notch stuff not only in the moment of buying, but in future too.
I've had the original Desire (branded Nexus One), Galaxy Nexus, One M7, One M8 and now the S8. So while I'm not exactly a hard-core fan of HTC, it's fair to say I've liked their phones in the past.
My impressions of moving from the M8 to the S8 are very positive. What kept me away from Samsung in the past was the klunky, laggy and cartoonish software and the physical buttons and their order. Also, until a few years ago, the ugly design and build.
From my point of view it's safe to say that with the S8 they've addressed all of these issues. The stock software (touchwiz, yes it's still called that is you check the default launcher in settings) looks and works great (until now) with some theme options (not nearly as many or as versatile as HTC's Sense), the design, build quality, screen (with "correct" virtual buttons) are top notch. All the gimmicky features you don't like you can turn off in the (very convoluted) settings app.
The fingerprint scanner is trash. Even though I can reach it easily (big hands) alot of the times I come from an off angle and it doesn't register correctly every time. The Iris scanner works great and makes up for it (some times).
The speaker is nice and loud, but you have no bass and it's easily muffled (way less of an issue than you might think).
And it gives you a very uneasy, fragile feeling, so you kind of need a case for peace of mind, but then you cover up the gorgeous design that is most of the reason you buy the phone in the first place.
All in all, I'm very happy with it and I would recommend it to anyone, along with a nice case probably.
Hope this helps.
I have had a ton of Htc devices. I think the first one I had, was the touch HD. I still have the Htc 10. The only thing I miss is the audio performance. Specifically the the dac and amp. But this S8 is one of the only phones I have ever owned, that I just take out of my pocket, to just look at it.
I am a hard core htc user for years, I tried the s6 for a month and returned it because I hated the front but now the s8 front is absolutely fantastic, I am waiting for the htc 11 on the 16th but if they frack out the audio with a useless usb c to 3.5mm adapter or if the price is ridiculously high, I will be tempted by the s8. I hope samsung will release red tint free batches
Sent from my HTC 10 using XDA-Developers Legacy app
Had HTC 10, came to S8. The S8 hardware is nice. The software is... Whatever. I rather have HTC/stock Android
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