All about Samsung Galaxy S4

[s44]

Really? The quick setting color scheme in TW is more objectionable than quick settings that don't actually, you know, set in AOSP?

 

[ChronoReverse]

Really? The quick setting color scheme in TW is more objectionable than quick settings that don't actually, you know, set in AOSP?

What do you mean? 4.2 is kinda weird with the flippy thing but it functions.

There's also the option of CyanogenMod style settings that at least look Holo.

 

[lothar]

Really? The quick setting color scheme in TW is more objectionable than quick settings that don't actually, you know, set in AOSP?

Quick settings on CyanogenMod looks much better than the one in TouchWiz.

 

[saratoga172]

Well tried to like it and I've given it a few chances but I think I'll be returning the s4 and sticking with my ip5. The screen is great and I can adjust to the size of the phone. But there is noticeable lag when jumping between applications which I do frequently. None on the iphone.

Here are some pros/cons that maybe there are some fixes for.

Pros:
Beautiful screen
Lightweight
It blaster
802.11ac
Call clarity
Can run custom roms and easy to root
Very good battery life. Best in an android phone I've personally used

Cons:
Large size (less con as I can adjust and knew when i picked it up but I prefer smaller phones)
Back gets warm during use
Touchwiz
Apps aren't smooth and lag when going back and forth. Very smooth and fluid on iOS. (Probably an os thing and not s4)


The biggest killer for me was the lack of smoothness and lazyiness on the phone/os. More inclined to say the os is poorly optimized to utilize the hardware it's got. Either way they need to workout the slowdowns and work together it up

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

Quick settings on CyanogenMod looks much better than the one in TouchWiz.

I thought QS in CM is the equivalent of QS in AOSP? The difference is only in functionality with CM that has an inverted short press/long press that AOSP finally implemented in 4.2.2.

 

[Apex]

Well tried to like it and I've given it a few chances but I think I'll be returning the s4 and sticking with my ip5. The screen is great and I can adjust to the size of the phone. But there is noticeable lag when jumping between applications which I do frequently. None on the iphone.

Here are some pros/cons that maybe there are some fixes for.

Pros:
Beautiful screen
Lightweight
It blaster
802.11ac
Call clarity
Can run custom roms and easy to root
Very good battery life. Best in an android phone I've personally used

Cons:
Large size (less con as I can adjust and knew when i picked it up but I prefer smaller phones)
Back gets warm during use
Touchwiz
Apps aren't smooth and lag when going back and forth. Very smooth and fluid on iOS. (Probably an os thing and not s4)


The biggest killer for me was the lack of smoothness and lazyiness on the phone/os. More inclined to say the os is poorly optimized to utilize the hardware it's got. Either way they need to workout the slowdowns and work together it up

Sprint released an update (MDC was release, MDL was the update) that fixed the lag issue for those who had that on their S4. I'm not positive about the other networks, but it's worth looking into.

 

[lopri]

I remember seeing a list of "safe-to-disable" bloats for the S4 (AT&T) somewhere, can someone link to it?

 

[olds]

TOTALLY agree.

Every time someone says "Touchwiz is closer to AOSP than Sense" I want to smack them upside the head.

At least I made them smaller by adjusting the System UI DPI but ugh.

I might have to do the same.
Since Verizon removed the Wireless switch, I downloaded an app that does it. But the icon is way larger than the rest. It looks odd on the screen. It's probably the same size as the others, it just doesn't have text.

Yes, my screen is boring...

 

[WelshBloke]

... Yes, my screen is boring...

I'm more impressed that you have an icon to open your clock rather than just having a clock.

 

[olds]

I'm more impressed that you have an icon to open your clock rather than just having a clock.

LOL
It's for the alarm function.

 

[pakotlar]

yes TouchWiz is horrendously ugly, so ugly that its almost fashionable. Android lag/animation jankiness in general when multitasking is quite bothersome, not solely a tw issue.

 

[WelshBloke]

LOL
It's for the alarm function.

Yeah I guessed that, I was just being a bit of an arse. :awe:

HDwidgets have some nice 1x1 widgets that can turn wifi on and off if you want something that looks a bit better. (yoy get toggle widgets for about everything with hdwidgets)

You get a nice looking clock that you can click on to get to the alarm as well. :biggrin:

 

[poofyhairguy]

yes TouchWiz is horrendously ugly, so ugly that its almost fashionable. Android lag/animation jankiness in general when multitasking is quite bothersome, not solely a tw issue.

For multi-tasking most of it is the Touchwiz ROM. That bugged the crap out of me too, but with my AOKP ROM multi-tasking transitions are smooth like intended.

Touchwiz is just bad across the board- an ugly Ancient interface (Gingerbread), tons of software bloat, huge icons, and screwed up transitions.

With that said, some people like it:

http://www.androidauthority.com/touchwiz-better-than-stock-android-215634/

Only thing I agree with on that list is number 2.

 

[Oyeve]

For multi-tasking most of it is the Touchwiz ROM. That bugged the crap out of me too, but with my AOKP ROM multi-tasking transitions are smooth like intended.

Touchwiz is just bad across the board- an ugly Ancient interface (Gingerbread), tons of software bloat, huge icons, and screwed up transitions.

With that said, some people like it:

http://www.androidauthority.com/touchwiz-better-than-stock-android-215634/

Only thing I agree with on that list is number 2.

And 5. i use it all the time.

 

[lopri]

Got my parents the S4s today. I was going to take them to the store last week but the store didn't have 32 GB versions so I waited. They seem happy with the new toys but I'm kind of dreadful because there is no way they're going to learn all the gimmicks, let alone Android basics. I showed them the "Easy Mode" and they didn't like it. lol.

There now are 4 people (5 including myself) who have switched from iOS to Android among my friends/family this year. ^^

Oh, and

I remember seeing a list of "safe-to-disable" bloats for the S4 (AT&T) somewhere, can someone link to it?

I'm pretty sure I saw it somewhere, but I can't remember where..

 

[WelshBloke]

Got my parents the S4s today. I was going to take them to the store last week but the store didn't have 32 GB versions so I waited. They seem happy with the new toys but I'm kind of dreadful because there is no way they're going to learn all the gimmicks, let alone Android basics. I showed them the "Easy Mode" and they didn't like it. lol.

There now are 4 people (5 including myself) who have switched from iOS to Android among my friends/family this year. ^^

Oh, and



I'm pretty sure I saw it somewhere, but I can't remember where..

If you get your parents to install teamviewer quicksupport you can remote into their phones to fix any problems or change anything they want doing.


This is a list for the S3 (or a link to the thread anyway), the S4 shouldnt be too different.

 

[s44]

Got my parents the S4s today.

Hope you remembered to disable iMessage first...

I'm pretty sure I saw it somewhere, but I can't remember where..

This won't cover *all* of it, but definitely disable everything that says "AT&T".

My mom accidentally enabled Navigator when the OTA I had her take made the bloat pop up again. Many lulz were had.

 

[poofyhairguy]

I remember seeing a list of "safe-to-disable" bloats for the S4 (AT&T) somewhere, can someone link to it?

Here is an automated de-bloater:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2258904

 

[waggy]

I got the S4 today.

holly shit the amount of bloat is amazing. i hate the VZ shit. tripadvisor is the same as google "local", the IMDB shit? what the fuck.

 

[ChronoReverse]

The bloat is astounding indeed. The Canadian versions have less bloat than the ATT and Verizon models but I still removed over 700MB of bloat.

No Samsung, I don't really care for your separate syncing system for my contacts, bookmarks and what not. It's already handled smoothly, without huge battery drain and without bloat by Google services.

I also don't want all your S-crap making my rather fast phone laggy.


If it weren't for Multi-Window, the IR and the camera, I'd be back on AOSP already ><

 

[olds]

Verizon bloatware
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2254143
I am not sure it's working. On some apps, I select disable and it never changes to enable.

Worked on all but Kindle.

 

[waggy]

hmm

i just noticed the 4G symbol is on even though its connected to my home wireless. it wouldnt do that with the galaxy 3.

does this mean i'm still useing 4g? and why?

 

[Germanic]

Hey guys I can't buy anything from PlayStore using my debit card. I think this is a problem for Android, not Samsung.

It seems like this is a problem for a lot of people.

I tried clearing cache/data and stopping from Play Store on Application settings but it still didn't work. I also tried removing my Google account and then adding it back on again and that didn't work either.

 

[trmiv]

hmm

i just noticed the 4G symbol is on even though its connected to my home wireless. it wouldnt do that with the galaxy 3.

does this mean i'm still useing 4g? and why?

Disable the caller Id name app it will fix that problem.

 

[olds]

Disable the caller Id name app it will fix that problem.

Is it using 4G?