Samsung Galaxy S5

[faniebraai]

The average consumers keeps the same phone for roughly 2 years.
Providing 3 GB of ram would allow the phone to be "future proof" .
Yes Kit Kat doesnt neet 3 GB of ram but look at the S3 now. It cannot be upgraded to the official Kit Kat due to its measley 1 GB ram.

But it has been 2 years since its release, so.... what am i missing?

 

[genetic]

2) Some level of colour calibration. iPhone has it, Nexus7 has it, now the Z2 has it and it looks like they've put a huge amount of work into getting an exceptional gamut, but the S5 is presumably still going to be plagued by off-white, badly skewed 'vivid' colours.

Eh?

The S4 has some of the most accurate calibration available in 'movie' mode. When coupled by the AMOLED's pure black, it's one of the most accurate mobile display's out there. No doubt the S5 will be the same.

The Galaxy S4 Movie Mode delivers the closest Color and White Point calibration to the standard sRGB/Rec.709 consumer content that is used for digital camera, HDTV, internet, and computer content, including virtually all photos and videos.

http://www.displaymate.com/Galaxy_S4_ShootOut_1.htm

As to why Samsung don't set this as the default option baffles me.

 

[faniebraai]

I was hoping for a few very obvious and achievable improvements from the S4:
1) Industrial hardware design. Some indication that they have hired designers with taste. Premium feeling and looking materials. On this count they fell on their noses.
2) Some level of colour calibration. iPhone has it, Nexus7 has it, now the Z2 has it and it looks like they've put a huge amount of work into getting an exceptional gamut, but the S5 is presumably still going to be plagued by off-white, badly skewed 'vivid' colours.
3) A rethinking of Touchwiz. It looks like they actually began to do this in the Settings; and the promo material was strongly indicative of it; but then they did a bait-and-switch, and it turned out to be the same old bog-ugly UI design. The homescreen is identical.

1) Yeh, design was disappointing. Samsung needs to come up with a new form from here on out. 3 phones in a row looks much to similar.
2) Can't comment. Not a colour expert, but I don't see anything wrong with my Note 3 screen.
3) They say it has been enhanced a little, but honestly, who still uses TouchWiz as a launcher. Settings is not part of TW, is it?

 

[OGroteKoning]

I was hoping for a few very obvious and achievable improvements from the S4:
1) Industrial hardware design. Some indication that they have hired designers with taste. Premium feeling and looking materials. On this count they fell on their noses.

Have to agree - a new look and redesign would be welcomed, but who will sue them next?

2) Some level of colour calibration. iPhone has it, Nexus7 has it, now the Z2 has it and it looks like they've put a huge amount of work into getting an exceptional gamut, but the S5 is presumably still going to be plagued by off-white, badly skewed 'vivid' colours.

I would also like to see Gamma 2.2 across the range, but in all fairness, does this really have such a big impact?

3) A rethinking of Touchwiz. It looks like they actually began to do this in the Settings; and the promo material was strongly indicative of it; but then they did a bait-and-switch, and it turned out to be the same old bog-ugly UI design. The homescreen is identical.

Meh - all the android UI's look similar and is easily changed with apps to your liking.

 

[cerebus]

Have to agree - a new look and redesign would be welcomed, but who will sue them next?

Ah that must be why they don't improve their build quality, they're afraid of Apple's lawsuits. Good answer.

I would also like to see Gamma 2.2 across the range, but in all fairness, does this really have such a big impact?

It seems like the S4 does have good calibration in another mode according to Genetic, which I hadn't realised. Z2's is crazy though.

Meh - all the android UI's look similar and is easily changed with apps to your liking.

Everybody I know who owns a Samsung phone leaves it on stock. I don't know one person who customises it apart from this forum.

 

[OrbitalDawn]

I really like the look of the z2. I'm really tempted to get it, but will probably end up with the s5 with a gear 2 and save my other contract upgrade for the note4

Why do you want the Gear so badly? And why do you have 4 contracts?

 

[genetic]

Everybody I know who owns a Samsung phone leaves it on stock. I don't know one person who customises it apart from this forum.

This is true with the colour settings as well. People seem to like the over-saturated colour circus which Samsung leave as their default setting.

 

[OGroteKoning]

/snip
Everybody I know who owns a Samsung phone leaves it on stock. I don't know one person who customises it apart from this forum.

Do they also complain about Touchwiz? My wife got the S4 mini recently and she has not complained about it at all - all she wanted to know is how it works and where to get settings etc. She came from iPhone so this was very reasonable (but I still made her pay for the lessons). She is fiddling about but no complaints. The point is that if you don't know any better, then you would probably not complain about Touchwiz. Non-tech savvy people just want to text, facebook and phone

 

[CraZee]

But it has been 2 years since its release, so.... what am i missing?

The S3 was releases in June 2012. Almost 2 years but not quite - thats not the point.
The S3 was actually the best phone of its time whereas the S5 is quite behind in this regard.
The new phones launching this year are all aiming for at least 3 GB ram, better battery life and 64 bit processing.
The S5 fails in all these areas so in 1 years time will more than likely be inhibited in its upgrade potential due to its hardware limitations

 

[Rocket-Boy]

Im sorely disappointed with the S5, I was really hoping the rumours of a premium feel metal handset would be true.
I have an S3 and I see no point in getting the S5.
Im going to see what happens with the next HTC or even the iphone6.

 

[Crowley]

Ah that must be why they don't improve their build quality, they're afraid of Apple's lawsuits. Good answer.

There is nothing wrong with their build quality. You just don't like plasctic for some reason. It's light, tough and more scratch resistant than the iPhone. If I want to give my phone a "industrial" feel I will use one of these.

Everybody I know who owns a Samsung phone leaves it on stock. I don't know one person who customises it apart from this forum.

I've customized my home screen the way I like it so I honestly don't get the hate for TW.

 

[genetic]

The S3 was actually the best phone of its time whereas the S5 is quite behind in this regard.

The S5 is exactly on par with all other flagships on the moment, so this statement isn't true.

The new phones launching this year are all aiming for at least 3 GB ram, better battery life and 64 bit processing.

Which Android phones are coming out that are 64bit?

You're arguments are weak to say the least.

 

[faniebraai]

Why do you want the Gear so badly? And why do you have 4 contracts?

I want the gear because i'm a gadget addict. Was really tough for me to not get the first one.

4 contracts = 1 for me, 1 for wife, 1 for 1 daughter, 1 for another daughter. hand me downs very everyone!

 

[cerebus]

There is nothing wrong with their build quality. You just don't like plasctic for some reason. It's light, tough and more scratch resistant than the iPhone. If I want to give my phone a "industrial" feel I will use one of these.

Plastic I don't mind at all if it's done well. There are some great examples of high-grade plastics in phones atm. But the S5 isn't doing it well. The colours are garish and the dimpling gives it the textural effect of a nightclub sofa.

I've customized my home screen the way I like it so I honestly don't get the hate for TW.

You've customised Android so you don't get the hate for TW? I'm guessing you stripped away any evidence of TW's awful iconography, so why are you defending it? Why did you need to customise it? I'd like to be able to get a phone and have it be attractive from the outset.

 

[faniebraai]

Plastic I don't mind at all if it's done well. There are some great examples of high-grade plastics in phones atm. But the S5 isn't doing it well. The colours are garish and the dimpling gives it the textural effect of a nightclub sofa.


You've customised Android so you don't get the hate for TW? I'm guessing you stripped away any evidence of TW's awful iconography, so why are you defending it? Why did you need to customise it? I'd like to be able to get a phone and have it be attractive from the outset.

So, if i understand you correctly, don't want the option to customise to your own personal needs, you would rather take something generic that you can't change at all?

 

[genetic]

So, if i understand you correctly, don't want the option to customise to your own personal needs, you would rather take something generic that you can't change at all?

That's why an iPhone is perfect for him.

 

[OrbitalDawn]

I want the gear because i'm a gadget addict. Was really tough for me to not get the first one.

lol. So do you think you'll actually use it?

4 contracts = 1 for me, 1 for wife, 1 for 1 daughter, 1 for another daughter. hand me downs very everyone!

Ah, okay.

 

[Maverick Jester]

This is true with the colour settings as well. People seem to like the over-saturated colour circus which Samsung leave as their default setting.

One of the reasons that I moved away from Samsung. As excellent as the S4 screen actually is, I found the Nexus 5 screen to be considerably better in all aspects.

 

[cerebus]

So, if i understand you correctly, don't want the option to customise to your own personal needs, you would rather take something generic that you can't change at all?

No, what I'm saying is being able to customise it to my needs is less important than having it be beautiful and operational from the outset, since my willingness to customise has dropped to almost none. And also what I'm saying is that Android's customisability isn't an excuse for the stagnation of Touchwiz that we see in the S5. Don't you think people would have appreciated them to have done some redesign work?

 

[Maverick Jester]

There is nothing wrong with their build quality. You just don't like plasctic for some reason. It's light, tough and more scratch resistant than the iPhone. If I want to give my phone a "industrial" feel I will use one of these.

Tactile feel, fit and finish of the device is actually important to some (including myself).

And while the S4 does not have bad build quality at all, it just does not have that premium finish and fit that you get with the iPhone, or even the HTC One or Nexus 5.