Years ago, people either bought an iPhone or “a Droid." Verizon’s marketing power, those insane robot ads, and maybe that just-close-enough naming convention made the carrier's Android phones virtually synonymous with their operating system.
But now I hear people every day saying "Oh, is that the new Galaxy?" or "I don't really want an iPhone. I think I'm going to get a Galaxy." Thanks to its high quality and wide availability, not to mention Samsung's sheer brute-forcing marketing effort, the Galaxy S III became the face of the Android universe. It has sold tens of millions of units, and helped Android take huge marketshare away from the iPhone. Now Samsung's back with that device’s successor, the Galaxy S4. The new handset changes little from the GS III, but it adds a lot — a bigger screen, and a laundry list of software tweaks and features. It's a variation on a theme, a safe tweak to a strategy that’s worked impossibly well for Samsung.
But the landscape has changed since the Galaxy S III came out, and good cameras, big and beautiful screens, and fast performance now come virtually standard. The Galaxy S4 comes into a fiercely competitive market, with great phones on all sides and a particularly strong showing from the HTC One — is it enough of an improvement to keep Samsung atop the Android heap? I've had one for a week or so, and I have a few thoughts on the subject.
I ended my HTC One review by saying there were two Android phones worth buying, the One and the Nexus 4. That number is now very clearly three, but I had hoped against hope that Samsung would emerge the undisputed winner. The Galaxy S4 is a very good phone in most respects — it has a stellar camera and solid battery life, blistering performance and an impressively useful complement of software features. It's a technological achievement — there's no question about that.
But part of what has me so excited about the smartphone market is that manufacturers are finally starting to step back from the relentless forward march of Moore's Law and spec races, and seek quality in other places. We’ve seen it in laptops, as companies like Toshiba finally turn away from racing to the pricing bottom and begin to build truly excellent ultrabooks; we're also seeing it in cellphones, from the HTC One and a small selection of other devices.
I don't need more cores, more gigahertz, or more software features that ostensibly help me use my phone more easily. I need a phone that feels good in my hand, looks good on my desk, does everything I expect it to, and gives me no reason to think it won't last the life of my two-year contract. I bought an iPhone 5 because last fall it was the only phone that fit that bill — now there are several Android options as well, and they’re good enough to make me want to switch back to Google’s OS.
For now, it's a choice every buyer will have to make. You can have the far better-looking phone or you can have the slightly better-performing phone — and you really can't choose wrong. If the GS III is any indication, millions upon millions will choose the GS4. Me? I think design matters. Polish matters. The Galaxy S4 is fast and impressive, but it's also noisy and complex. The One is refined, quiet, comfortable, beautiful, and above all simply pleasant. I love using that phone, in a way I haven't experienced with anything since the iPhone 5. That's why, when my contract is up in June, I'll probably be casting my lot with HTC instead of Samsung.
All photos courtesy of Michael Shane, who is a genius.
Video by John Lagomarsino and Christian Mazza, also geniuses.
Comments
So the HTC One it is.
By cdawg92 on 04.24.13 12:03am
Unless you care about having a removable battery.
By exus on 04.24.13 12:04am
And some would consider more features than you can shake a stick at to be a positive thing… and it’s not like you can’t just…ignore the features, like most people will.
By SilenceInTheLibrary on 04.24.13 12:05am
Some of those features are pure gimmicks, nothing more or less.
By ryan_socio on 04.24.13 12:09am
And yet they’re not going to be bothering anyone. As David said, the phone is extremely malleable. It’s not like more features are suddenly going to make the phone more confusing…that’s the opposite of what Samsung is going for: they cleverly hid the additional features.
So I don’t really see how that’s a negative…
By SilenceInTheLibrary on 04.24.13 12:11am
It’s called a review for a reason. You might not mind it but David does. He doesn’t like that the GS4 is overflowing with these superfluous and, quite frankly, useless features. It’s great that Samsung is doing their best to “innovate.” But to me, it comes off as a “kitchen sink” approach to just throw every feature imaginable in a phone so we have something to sell people.
By Justin Go on 04.24.13 12:16am
Yeah, but if they’re not actively getting in the way, then what’s the big deal?
By SilenceInTheLibrary on 04.24.13 12:16am
Did you see that notification shade?
By brad-t on 04.24.13 12:19am
Yes, with every single toggle option enabled, it will look like that. Good thing that’s completely customizable.
By SilenceInTheLibrary on 04.24.13 12:19am
Most people won’t customise it. For them it’s clutter.
By DJFM on 04.24.13 3:39am
Absolutely. And let me add, ‘Easy Mode’ is COMPLETELY obnoxious. Anyone using that on a GSIV has wasted their money. Funny thing is, anyone who needs ‘easy mode’ won’t be able to use it.
By nico_mach on 04.24.13 8:17am
Well, easy mode won’t be obnoxious for me to be able to give my mom this phone in 2yrs when I’m upgrading to the new latest & greatest phone. Less hassles, and possibly better than what people do with their old phones now (collect dust, or just trade in for a little cash).
By gflare on 04.24.13 9:53am
By EngadgetRefugee on 04.24.13 12:31pm
David? You need clarify some things in your review.
First you say performance is amazing yet says it stutters in weird places….???
Then you say the homescreens are smooth in transition yet there IS CLEAR LAG IN THE VIDEO @ 1:04 When sliding across the apps.
By iFandroid on 04.24.13 12:42pm
That’s what all JellyBean 4.2 notification shades look like now. Two finger swipe down to reveal that. I think it’s convient
By RySoms on 04.24.13 12:30am
No. The 4.2 quick toggles look pleasant, that looks like a monstrosity. (Yes I understand they are one in the same, but in terms of aesthetics, Samsung shit all over quick toggles).
By ErikWithNoC on 04.24.13 12:36am
Samsung does shit all over any color scheme or functional design by making everything a ton of different stupid, bright colors and making everything nice and blocky and unintuitive. Example: go to the SMS app. Look at how much wasted space there is compared to the stock Android SMS. And those toggles, GOOD LORD. MAKE IT BIG AND GREEN! YAY! Everything stands out so garishly it makes me want to vomit. I go immediately to XDA and flash the most stable stock ROM available. Check out the browser — huge bar on top, small space for the address. It’s as if they’re trying really hard to make Android look ugly. God.
By garekinokami on 04.24.13 1:02pm
Does anyone even use the preloaded launchers anymore? I’m under the impression that most ppl who actually care about UI use other launchers anyway (i.e. Go/Apex/Nova). So I guess I personally wouldn’t put all that much emphasis on software because I know I can change that with a simple re-skin and root. Also, the HTC One clearly has a superior build quality. But do people actually buy high end phones without buying cases for them? I don’t, and having to get a case for the HTC One not only compromises its elegance, but invalidates one of the key reasons I would get it in the first place.
By Individual11 on 04.28.13 8:34pm
No. Just no.
There is no way you can be serious.
That notification shade looks like a jumbled mess. Color choice. Design/spacing. All of it.
By JayM_92 on 04.24.13 11:43am
Good luck pulling it down with one hand.
IMO the older single notification shade with the settings at the top was the best.
By TiO2 on 04.24.13 6:54pm
Just like in stock, you first need to hit the toggles button to see the full list. Otherwise, it’s a small bar across the top just like the GS3.
By BulletTooth_Tony on 04.24.13 9:26am
There’s no point in implementing things that aren’t necessary. Just because my car can fit 32 cup holders doesn’t mean it should have 32 cup holders.
By Nik17 on 04.24.13 12:19am
Well certainly, when you’re talking about physical systems. But nobody complained when Microsoft updated Excel’s functionality with esoteric features that very few people will ever use.
By SilenceInTheLibrary on 04.24.13 12:20am
Most of Excel’s functionality is pretty esoteric by design, though. It’s for professionals.
By brad-t on 04.24.13 12:26am
Then I’m sure you’d enjoy Easy Mode, for those less inclined to understand smartphones.
As I’ve said before, Samsung tries their hardest to hide all those features if the user requires it. It’s really quite straightforward.
By SilenceInTheLibrary on 04.24.13 12:30am