Samsung Galaxy S5. Is it worth the upgrade from the Galaxy S4?

Overmind One

GateFans Gatemaster
Staff member
s5-vs-s4-promo.jpg


I just left the T-Mobile store in my area, and I had gone there to check out the new Galaxy S5 and test drive it. Its nice...but IMO, not worth the upgrade this time. :( Dont get me wrong, this is a much more powerful device, and has many more features. But how many of them will I use? Here is a complete review of all aspects in detail here:

http://www.trustedreviews.com/opinions/samsung-galaxy-s5-vs-galaxy-s4

So, why didnt I go gaga over it? I really wanted that 16mp camera. I take lots of pictures and video, and I thought that maybe this new 16mp camera on the GS5 would sway me, but it just was not all that different. It now has it's native sensor at 16:9, instead of the native 4:3 of the GS4 (which crops it for 16:9 when you shoot video or take a pic). It shoots in 4K video now, which is orders above 1080p HD. But where am I going to see this improvement? My HDTV does not play back at 4K, and neither does the phone itself.

They are touting the Heart Rate Sensor, but I already have a bluetooth heart rate monitor I am using with my GS4. With a third party app in the Play store, you can easily emulate the Heart Rate Sensor on the GS5. No sale there.

Its a tiny bit bigger in the screen, 5.1 over 5.0 of the GS3. Im still not sold. The case is much nicer, with rubberized soft touch on the back. It also has a fingerprint sensor in the home button, but I will not ever use something like that. I prefer the pattern lock. The USB port is covered now, and the entire phone is water resistant and certified. You could drop it in a pool and let it sink to the bottom and retrieve it to make a phone call. You could conceivably make the call whilst the phone is immersed! Neat trick, but not a deal clincher.

Anybody have this phone yet? Im not gonna use my Jump at T-Mobile for it unless it is worth it. I only spent 10 minutes with the phone, so I do not know if that was enough?
 
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Joelist

What ship is this?
Staff member
You're not alone - the S5 really hasn't gone over that big. And the biggest complaint has been that it just is not that big a difference from the S4. At least not different enough to use an upgrade on.
 

Overmind One

GateFans Gatemaster
Staff member
You're not alone - the S5 really hasn't gone over that big. And the biggest complaint has been that it just is not that big a difference from the S4. At least not different enough to use an upgrade on.

Interesting. I am now finding reviews which say just that.

http://www.cnet.com/news/is-the-samsung-galaxy-s5-really-worth-the-extra-cash/

And this video:


Hands on, this phone does not wow you. The jump from the Galaxy S2 to the Galaxy S3 is a huge difference, but between the GS3 and GS4 not so much. The jump from GS4 to GS5 does not seem worth it to me. Even with the faster processor and 6 more megapixels in the camera that I might use, the other new features mean nothing of value to me: the fingerprint sensor, the heart rate monitor, the waterproofing and the 0.01 bigger screen. A jump from the GS3 to the GS5 might be worth it. I think I will wait for the GS6 unless it is more than a year away.

Samsung needs to stop growing this phone's size. It is now almost right on top of the Note 3's market at this size.
 
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Joelist

What ship is this?
Staff member
They should look instead at improving the materials and the build, and ditching TouchWiz and all the Google bits.

Then again, it's only a matter of time before they ditch Android altogether and go to Tizen. It's no coincidence that Samsung is heavily involved in the Tizen project and now that they represent the huge majority of Android sales their need for Google gets less and less. All they have to do is put their own app market in with better terms than Google gives and the developers will all flock to Tizen (especially as app development is done in HTML5).
 

Overmind One

GateFans Gatemaster
Staff member
They should look instead at improving the materials and the build, and ditching TouchWiz and all the Google bits.

Then again, it's only a matter of time before they ditch Android altogether and go to Tizen. It's no coincidence that Samsung is heavily involved in the Tizen project and now that they represent the huge majority of Android sales their need for Google gets less and less. All they have to do is put their own app market in with better terms than Google gives and the developers will all flock to Tizen (especially as app development is done in HTML5).

I dont want Tizen.

Every Galaxy phone I have had (Galaxy 1, GS2, GS4), I have dumped the TouchWiz within an hour after purchasing the phone. Samsung may want to dump Google, but I dont and I do not think many Android users are going to want that. I happen to like the Google Play store. I like Google Maps, Google Now and Google Maps with Navigation. I like the fact that Android is cross platform, cross hardware software. I like the fact that the same Google I use for my PC is syncing with the Google on my phone and tablet. I like shopping on Google Play on my computer, and when I select an app, I can install it to all my devices with a mouse click.

If they do decide to go with Tizen and dump Android, and they do not offer a choice, I will stop buying Samsung phones. I think you are mistaken about the forecasted popularity of Tizen. Developers are not going to "flock" to it at all, unless it somehow becomes a rival to Android, and that is unlikely. Google will trump Tizen wherever it approaches a competitive level.
 

Overmind One

GateFans Gatemaster
Staff member
The US is not going to be part of the Tizen launch:

http://pocketnow.com/2014/01/10/tizen-us-launch

If Samsung tries to copy Apple's walled garden approach, they will fail in the US markets. Already, I think they feel that their TouchWiz interface is awesome, and the Samsung bloatware they install on Galaxy phones is great. It isnt. I replaced WatchOn with the IR Database app which has remotes for my TVs and BluRay player. I never wanted a Samsung Account, or Kies or anything Samsung. Why? I have Google for all of that. My launcher is the far superior NextLauncher 3D. I dont care if the phone has uniquely Samsung software on it, I only am interested in the hardware, the capabilities and the screen size and the camera. But I prefer Android to be running on my phone. Or Windows.
 

Joelist

What ship is this?
Staff member
Actually Developers will go where the market share is. Samsung sells 70% of all Android devices.

All Samsung needs to do is have its own app store and cloud based sync, and it already has the building blocks for those components. Tizen also runs Android apps (it has the needed abstraction layer) plus building in HTML5 makes for rapid app building. Google needs to do more to help the other Android OEMs because the more it becomes a Samsung market the bigger the chip Samsung holds over Google.
 

Joelist

What ship is this?
Staff member
The US is not going to be part of the Tizen launch:

http://pocketnow.com/2014/01/10/tizen-us-launch

If Samsung tries to copy Apple's walled garden approach, they will fail in the US markets. Already, I think they feel that their TouchWiz interface is awesome, and the Samsung bloatware they install on Galaxy phones is great. It isnt. I replaced WatchOn with the IR Database app which has remotes for my TVs and BluRay player. I never wanted a Samsung Account, or Kies or anything Samsung. Why? I have Google for all of that. My launcher is the far superior NextLauncher 3D. I dont care if the phone has uniquely Samsung software on it, I only am interested in the hardware, the capabilities and the screen size and the camera. But I prefer Android to be running on my phone. Or Windows.

For now......

I don't want Tizen either, and I will not allow Google and its spyware on anything I use. But the reality is the situation is developing where Google needs Samsung more than Samsung needs Google.
 

Overmind One

GateFans Gatemaster
Staff member
For now......

I don't want Tizen either, and I will not allow Google and its spyware on anything I use. But the reality is the situation is developing where Google needs Samsung more than Samsung needs Google.

:) I dont think so! Samsung has exploded BECAUSE OF Google, not the other way around. If it werent for Android paired with the technologically advanced Samsung phones, Samsung would not be a rival to Apple today. If Samsung gambles on Tizen and does not offer a choice of Android, then Google will move to HTC or LG and those companies will explode like Samsung did. Betting on Tizen is really a bad move unless they allow a choice. If I could not root my Galaxy phones, and I was stuck with TouchWiz and the dumb Samsung bloatware, I would have a different phone today. Tizen represents a way for Samsung to wall in a garden, and I am not interested.

But Samsung faces more than introducing this unfamiliar, untested (in the US) product. The mobile carriers. The way phones are sold in the US is going to cripple the Tizen launch when it happens. Without subsidies, the phones will be expensive. Samsung would have done better to fork off Android like Amazon did. IMO.
 

Overmind One

GateFans Gatemaster
Staff member
For now......

I don't want Tizen either, and I will not allow Google and its spyware on anything I use. But the reality is the situation is developing where Google needs Samsung more than Samsung needs Google.

You can remove most of Google's software, and you can "castrate" the active Google Apps. I no longer use any of Google's cloud based apps like Google Apps, Gmail, or anything which Google wants access to. My rule of thumb is, if Google asks permission for access to an app, I deny it. If it keeps asking, I remove the app it wants permission for (like Picasa and Dropbox). I do not have Facebook or Twitter on my phone, and GPS is always off unless I need it for navigation. :) But I do like the Google Play store, and it's syncing.
 

Overmind One

GateFans Gatemaster
Staff member
Actually Developers will go where the market share is. Samsung sells 70% of all Android devices.

All Samsung needs to do is have its own app store and cloud based sync, and it already has the building blocks for those components. Tizen also runs Android apps (it has the needed abstraction layer) plus building in HTML5 makes for rapid app building. Google needs to do more to help the other Android OEMs because the more it becomes a Samsung market the bigger the chip Samsung holds over Google.

You are looking at the chicken and not the egg. :). If Samsung had not been the darling of Android users, it would not have that 70% market share. If it goes to Tizen without the choice of Android (or the ability to run Android apps fully), it will lose that 70% share. It isnt a "Samsung market", it is an Android market. Android is fueling the growth, not cell phone manufacturers.
 
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Overmind One

GateFans Gatemaster
Staff member
You got me curious about Tizen now. I am wondering why Samsung would even THINK of dropping Android with the relationship they have with that OS. I see that it is a flavor of Linux closest to Fedora, and I am currently converting an image of .bz2 to a VMware image so I can actually run Tizen and explore it. :)

Im converting the image as I type this. I will try and create some sort of video if I can, to demonstrate it's features.
 

Overmind One

GateFans Gatemaster
Staff member
Ok, I am withdrawing my initial objections to Tizen (due to my ignorance and lack of experience with it). It actually might be a GREAT alternative to Android, provided it can continue to run Google Play apps on the device fully without compromize. I see Google ignoring it until it gets some interest, then they could pull licensing shenanigans for apps or block them on Tizen devices. That wont be a good thing for Tizen, since it lacks the vast data resources of Google in the way of mapping technologies (for navigation), infrastructure on the web, and a decent developer SDK package with proper emulators.

To address this, Tizen is also developing a browser. The browser will be able to sync with devices over the internet and wifi and bluetooth, as well as using NFC to exchange bookmarks or other data. Tizen will be able to run TV set boxes too, and play Netflix, Amazon Prime and all the others. Tizen in the auto will be able to communicate with wearables and phones running Tizen.

I am more concerned that Samsung will be just as intrusive as Google and just as controlling as Apple. Im also wondering if root access to Tizen will be allowed.
 
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Bluce Ree

Tech Admin / Council Member
Root access won't be prohibited on any open source OS. I can't see any developer trying to close that up. Technically, rooting isn't really "allowed" by any of the handset manufacturers, hence the voiding of warranties if rooted.

Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk
 

Joelist

What ship is this?
Staff member
Tizen's danger to Google is that once Samsung matures it some more they can switch to it. With roughly 70% of all Android sales being Samsungs and the reality that the VAST majority of smartphone users could care less what OS a phone has, a Samsung switch to Tizen's would gut Android's market share and badly hurt Google (since Tizen's has no Google spyware and in fact blocks stuff like that). So the more mature Tizen's gets the more Google will become alarmed.
 

Overmind One

GateFans Gatemaster
Staff member
Tizen's danger to Google is that once Samsung matures it some more they can switch to it. With roughly 70% of all Android sales being Samsungs and the reality that the VAST majority of smartphone users could care less what OS a phone has, a Samsung switch to Tizen's would gut Android's market share and badly hurt Google (since Tizen's has no Google spyware and in fact blocks stuff like that). So the more mature Tizen's gets the more Google will become alarmed.

I agree with this, now that I am more familiar with Tizen. :) And yeah, Samsung will most likely switch to it within the next 5 years (the new Samsung Gear is running a bare bones Tizen kernel now instead of Android). There are already working prototypes for Tizen Smart TVs, Infotainment consoles in cars, netbooks and tablets: https://developer.tizen.org/forums/sdk-ide/windows-8-64-bit-emulator-manager-issues

The key in this is the ability to run Android apps in it. I do not yet know how they are going to handle Android apps which have the licensing permission codes for checking licenses for paid apps which require them (com.android.vending.CHECK_LICENSE). The code is:

<uses-permission android:name="com.android.vending.CHECK_LICENSE" />

How will Tizen pass this to the Android .apk? How will it handle in-app purchases for Android apps running in it? We shall see. Still, I would still consider switching even if a few of my paid apps dont work as well.
 

Overmind One

GateFans Gatemaster
Staff member
Root access won't be prohibited on any open source OS. I can't see any developer trying to close that up. Technically, rooting isn't really "allowed" by any of the handset manufacturers, hence the voiding of warranties if rooted.

Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk

Okay, I have confirmed that Tizen is not actually a fully Open Source OS even though the Linux Foundation is backing it. Some discussion from grumbling developers and Open Source pundits here:

http://www.reddit.com/r/linux/comments/1dqj24/tizen_sdk_licensing_makes_whole_tizen_not_open/

and here at Tizen:

https://developer.tizen.org/forums/sdk-ide/tizen-sdk-licensing-makes-whole-tizen-not-open-source

This is actually not surprising to me because I have been seeing how Samsung rolls. I have now had exclusively Samsung Galaxy phones for 5 years straight. Starting with the considerable investment in TouchWiz, and then moving forward with it's own special SDK and now Tizen, Samsung is definitely moving towards an Apple-like existence, with a closed source OS, a closed SDK and eventually, devices which can no longer be expanded with microSD cards. HTC has started moving in this direction as well. I can see them switching to Tizen as well.

The question is, will enough people not care if it goes closed source? If they do go closed source, will we lose the Android cross compatibility? Possibly. They are getting around the GPL by leaving Tizen source open, but licensing the SDK. Sneaky sneaky! Google, with all of it's hydra-like resources and ecosystem is a huge fan of open source, and they always have been. Samsung has always been a huge fan of Apple, and that is who they wannabe.
 

Overmind One

GateFans Gatemaster
Staff member
Yeah, it is a definite no go on the GS5 for me at this time. I had a chance to play with one for an entire day, setting it up, getting root access, working with the camera and video. Its a very very nice phone and is awesome. But as a current Galaxy S4 user, I am not seeing it as a "must have". Many of the new features of the GS5 are not really useful for me. I do not like the lame fingerprint sensor because it just does not work nearly as easily as a pattern lock or PIN code. You have to swipe your finger several times just to get it to work. And after a day of use or drinking something from a glass, moisture can collect and you get this smeary spot near the button.

The camera rivals the best 35mm SLR digital cameras out there. Truly amazing and crisp. It has video stabilization and autofocus in all modes, plus some great post-picture processing tricks. But you can do a lot of that without having to upgrade the phone. It is larger and heavier than the GS4, but not by much. Its a great phone but I just don't need the upgrade right now. :)
 
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Overmind One

GateFans Gatemaster
Staff member
I have the iphone 4s . Once the old contract is up I'm getting the Samsung :icon10::icon10::icon10:

Any Galaxy starting with the GS2 is light years ahead of any iPhone. I think for you, go with the Galaxy S5 since it will most likely be free with your new contract (who are you with?). The Samsung Galaxy S line of phones are the most successful phones in the smartphone market for a reason. :) They spoil you. It is like having a real tricorder in your pocket. You will never go back to Apple.
 
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