How far have smartphones come in 2+ years?

[Maverick2002]

I've had a Samsung Droid Charge (my first and only smartphone) for a bit over 2 years now. I've recently had it replaced with the same thing (didn't cost me anything) due to a couple buttons malfunctioning and it working extremely slow. The 'new' one - while having functional buttons - is still dragging, even after multiple factory resets. It seems like Go Keyboard and Go SMS just bog the system down. I can't get Go Launcher to install, but it's not that big a deal. Even Facebook lags the phone and sometimes even answering phone calls is slow. What gives? Why would it slow so much over time?

At any rate, I'm due for an upgrade. The lack of seamless compatibility with instant messaging for example - despite the 10 million+ downloads of Go SMS has left a bit of a sour taste in my mouth. Maybe I just haven't customized it correctly, but I don't require much. A good, fast, clean looking SMS interface, fast phone calls, basic apps that don't lag (Facebook, Youtube, browser, etc) and good GPS is all I really want.

After playing around with iPhones, I'm considering waiting for the next upgrade cycle and switching to Apple. I realize you can't customize as much, but I never customized much to begin with. I'm not really a smartphone 'power user'. I text, call, check Facebook, check email, internet (Google search), and use the GPS almost exclusively.

So, my question is twofold:

1) How far have smartphones come along in the past couple years? 2x faster? 5x faster? An order of magnitude? Battery life? Features? I am still rolling with the first 4G phone after all (alongside the HTC Thunderbolt).

2) What are the pros/cons of moving to an iPhone for the next upgrade vs. upgrading to a newer Samsung?

TIA

 

[Strk]

I'd start with not locking yourself into a Samsung. It's not that they're bad, but there are plenty of great options.

As far as advantages to going with an iphone, at least on Verizon, you aren't stuck waiting for updates. Personally, I think the display is tiny and prefer something in the 4.5"-5" size.

 

[dguy6789]

A Galaxy S4(the best Android phone) is over six or seven times more powerful than the Droid Charge. Battery life and the camera are also massively better than those first gen LTE phones. It's a night and day difference overall between any modern Android phone and a Charge.

Move to an iPhone if you want a tiny screen and an extremely basic user experience. They aren't immune to anything people think they are immune to. The Droid Charge comes from the iPhone 4 era. An iPhone 4 running the latest iOS that it can run and trying to run recent apps is a laggy disaster.

 

[cheezy321]

You sound like the perfect person for an iPhone. Android is for those who want a very nuanced level of customization (and the hours required to get it exactly how you want). iPhone does all the basic things you want and requires little to no customization out of the box. Battery life is especially great on iPhones. I prefer the size of it as well. A phone like the S4 simply is not comfortable using with one hand.

Either way I would wait until the new iPhone comes out. If you don't like it you can easily sell it for double the price of a used Galaxy S4. Pocket $300 and you are back on android if you dont like the iOS experience. Everyone wins if that happens.

 

[rcpratt]

I'm not going to go into an inordinate amount of detail, but...

I owned a HTC Thunderbolt. It was my first smartphone. It was largely unpleasant. Battery life and choppiness in particular were nearly unbearable.

I have owned a GS3 and a GS4 (current) since. Beyond the improvements to battery life (evolutionary) and choppiness (very, very little now), there have also been massive and noticeable improvements to the screen (size and pixel density, most notably), camera, features, etc...

TLDR - I wouldn't base your next phone choice too much on your initial Android experience. Very little is the same. That said, you do sound like more of an iPhone person.

 

[Maverick2002]

Thanks for the feedback so far. Can you elaborate on what 'more of an android' user is, e.g. the difference in usage?

 

[Thegonagle]

What gives is you have an obsolete OS, 512 MB of RAM, and a 2 1/2 year old single core processor trying to run modern apps.

Android has come a long way, and Android hardware has come even farther.

Android 4.3 (heck, even 4.0--but 4.1 really started to get good) is unbelievably better than 2.3.

It's definitely worth upgrading. It's smoother, quicker, and more user-friendly than ever.

iPhone and iOS is still fine, but it's not evolving as quickly. You don't have a wide selection of hardware either. The choice is up to you in the end.

Samsung isn't everyone's favorite. Samsung loads up on the features and specs, making the S4 "the best" if you're making a checklist, but other manufacturers offer likeable products. HTC and Motorola shouldn't be overlooked.

The HTC One offers great speakers (important if you use your phone as a portable streaming radio like I do) and a good low-light camera, and the Motorola X offers great real-world battery life and "always on" voice recognition.

Do you have unlimited data? Be prepared to either say hello to a new limit (2GB for the same $30 you were paying), or pay the "no contract" full retail price (~$600). Pick your poison. Either way, Verizon wins.

If you don't have unlimited, it's likely that you at least have the double-data promo which they Verizon ran after they took away unlimited. You should be able to keep that promo--just don't let the salespeople talk you into changing your plan.

 

[MrX8503]

If you don't customize and you care about speed then it sounds like you would be an iPhone user.

1. A lot faster and battery life for LTE has improved greatly.

2. iPhone, pros: fast, simple, reliable, cohesive ecosystem. Cons: Little customization, small screen
Android, pros: customizable, drag n drop file system, flexible ecosystem. Cons: Requires tweaks to get most out of the device, not as simple, a lil bit laggier.

 

[weeber]

I'll chime in with everyone else. In the past few months I upgraded from a nearly 3-yr old Samsung captivate to an LG Optimus G (great phone going for cheap now). From a spec standpoint, your droid charge seems equivalent to my Captivate and I'll say the upgrade to a current phone has been incredible. Everything has improved: screen lag, GPS, battery life, screen quality. It's what my smart phone experience should have been.

It's been pointed out, but don't be afraid to look outside of Samsung phones. HTC has great phones, and LG has been stepping up their game lately (though they have had some missteps). I decided to stay away from Samsung this round because of the Captivate (Galaxy S in general) broken GPS, which should never have happened IMO.

 

[Ksyder]

I'm not the best person to answer this compared to some around here, but isn't the Droid Charge on Android 2.3 still? Android 4.2 and up is worlds better. Not to mention dual core cpu and 2gb ram phones.

Edit- I missed it, but the thegonagle said it better than I could have.

 

[FearoftheNight]

Short list.. (not in order)
IPhone
HTC one
moto x
Galaxy s4

Done..

 

[biostud]

If you're not a app'oholic you can also consider Nokias range of windows phones. Offline maps are really great with the GPS, and the interface is really smooth.

Personally I like mine a lot, and I also just use it for basic stuff and don't really have a need for tons of apps and games.

 

[tvdang7]

I do not think battery life changed a whole lot just a tad better. Cameras are much better.

 

[toughtrasher]

I do not think battery life changed a whole lot just a tad better. Cameras are much better.

I agree, I think I saw a 40+ megapixel camera on a Lumia phone or something like that once