My S4 is finally dead, so now what?

[alyarb]

Fell off the bed this morning as I rolled over. The screen won't come on at all and I need to get the phone replaced fast. What are my strongest options?

I would consider a Galaxy S6, Nexus 5X or 6, LG G4, Droid MAXX2... probably others.

I like to have root, and I like samoled screens, but I have had this Galaxy S4 a little over two years. I am ready to hear some suggestions... thanks

 

[Artdeco]

nexus 6P

 

[dawheat]

To be helpful, you should provide a list of things that are most important to you:

- you like root, are you OK with not being able to use Android Pay or equivalent? What things do you like doing with root?
- what size phone do you prefer?
- what's the order of importance: display, battery life, camera, biometrics, build quality, fast updates, stereo speakers, mSD, removable battery, fast charging, wireless charging, etc

It's easy to throw our suggestions like the 6P as it's a great phone and value, but that's an awfully big jump in size for most people, especially as the 6P isn't the most compact phone.

 

[alyarb]

The reason I like root is because I've been running touchwiz on jellybean all this time, I won't update the phone if it breaks root or a UI mod. Verizon and Samsung really locked this phone down. I could basically only take image backups with safestrap, couldn't install non-touchwiz ROMs so in order to customize the UI I was doing most of it with nottach xposed. If I had a phone that could run other ROMs then maybe there would be less need for this.

I probably don't need the SD card slot if I have 32GB internal storage. I like the idea of front-facing stereo speakers, or a super good front-facing camera. I really don't know what the order of importance is. I think the 6P is too big but the 5X looks OK, what's wrong with the 5X? What's wrong with last year's nexus 6 (if I can get one for 200)?

 

[ControlD]

The Nexus 6 (not 6P) is a pretty compelling phone at the prices they are going for right now. I have been using one for around 6 months now and I have no desire to upgrade anytime soon (which is good because I am paying full price for it). There is some pretty solid community development for the N6 as well. It's huge though. There is no getting around that. Me, I like the size of the N6 but you have to be prepared for it.

On the plus side, running a Nexus stock feels like running a Samsung phone with a custom ROM. And should you decide to go custom, that's a pretty easy process as well.

If you want the option to root / run custom ROMs I wouldn't look at anything but a Nexus at this point.

 

[RGUN]

I've been using my 5X for a couple weeks now and aside from the lack of wireless charging have nothing significant to complain about. It's pocketable, for my purposes has excellent battery life and doesn't appear to struggle with any tasks. The camera is also surprisingly good except for a fisheye distortion effect when you get closer to the lens. My only genuine small complaint is that so far it does not allow my "OK Google" commands through the lock screen, despite the fact that trusted voice is enabled. This very much negates any benefit of having OK Google accessible with screen off, but I'm sure they're working on a fix for that.

 

[yh125d]

I just got a MAXX 2. I thought about the Turbo II, but the Maxx has the same camera, SD card, and almost exactly the same size, so i couldn't really justify $250 more for the extra res, faster SOC, and screen - especially considering my old Maxx is fast enough and high enough res to keep me happy. Although if you are worried about breaking it the Turbo II might be the better choice. I almost went for the X Style Pure Edition, but I preferred the slightly smaller and moderately better battery life of the Play/Maxx 2

 

[Strk]

The Nexus 6 (not 6P) is a pretty compelling phone at the prices they are going for right now. I have been using one for around 6 months now and I have no desire to upgrade anytime soon (which is good because I am paying full price for it). There is some pretty solid community development for the N6 as well. It's huge though. There is no getting around that. Me, I like the size of the N6 but you have to be prepared for it.

On the plus side, running a Nexus stock feels like running a Samsung phone with a custom ROM. And should you decide to go custom, that's a pretty easy process as well.

If you want the option to root / run custom ROMs I wouldn't look at anything but a Nexus at this point.

It is a good deal, but I'd probably go 6P for the 128gb version

I do like my regular Nexus 6 though.

 

[blankslate]

Maybe you can get a deal on a Galaxy s5 or Note 4...


....

 

[alyarb]

Well I just spent about $450 on a 32GB Nexus 5X lol... but now that I see the Galaxy S6 at best buy for $199 I'm not so sure.

I think I need to give myself a chance to work outside of touchwiz and see how I like it. But I really doubt that the nexus is justifiably twice the cost of the S6 at least for my use.

 

[ControlD]

Well I just spent about $450 on a 32GB Nexus 5X lol... but now that I see the Galaxy S6 at best buy for $199 I'm not so sure.

I think I need to give myself a chance to work outside of touchwiz and see how I like it. But I really doubt that the nexus is justifiably twice the cost of the S6 at least for my use.

That S6 for $199 is on contract though isn't it?

I think you will be happy with the Nexus. I went from Touchwiz (Note 2) to a Nexus and I have zero regrets.

 

[zaza]

Get a chinese ifone, they're really cheap.

 

[dawheat]

Well I just spent about $450 on a 32GB Nexus 5X lol... but now that I see the Galaxy S6 at best buy for $199 I'm not so sure.

I think I need to give myself a chance to work outside of touchwiz and see how I like it. But I really doubt that the nexus is justifiably twice the cost of the S6 at least for my use.

Pretty sure that's on contract. There have been deals on international S6s for $450 I recall - should work ok if you use AT&T or T-mobile.

Otherwise the 5X is a fine choice, though at that price I'd seriously debate between the 5X and the Moto X Pure.

The Nexus 6 deal on ebay for around $290 is also a screaming deal if you're ok with a 6 month warranty.

 

[alyarb]

sure it's on contract, but i am stuck with verizon. they lowered my bill from 200 to 170 and the size and capacity of their network is incontrovertible. I spend a lot of time on the road.

i'm definitely excited about the nexus, ordered it over 12 hours ago and haven't gotten tracking yet.

 

[Bman123]

You could of bought a nexus 6 for $290 new on eBay and used page plus, pre paid Verizon and depending on your data needs been at $40 a month with unlimited talk and text and 1.5gb of data.

Seems like you jumped the gun pretty quick here