There’s really no denying that Samsung is the biggest name in Android phones. The Korean giant’s most recent flagship, the Galaxy S4, sold 10 million units in the first month. Considering that the S III (the difference in use of Arabic and Roman numbers between phone versions is on Samsung’s part) took almost two months to do that and the S II (a slightly less than famous phone) didn’t sell as many units until 10 months after being on the market. That’s nothing to sneeze at. Even more impressive is the report from Canaccord Genuity stating that the S4 actually outsold the iPhone 5 in the month of May. True, the iPhone 5 is nine months old — an eternity in smartphone time — and the S4 did just come out, but Apple traditionally dominates sales.
What changed? Has Samsung’s reputation toppled Apple’s, or is this the surge of the new? Is it the phone itself or the company? Now that the initial hype has died down, let’s check out the Galaxy S4, specifically taking a look at the Sprint edition.
First Impressions
Remember when the iPhone 4S came out and everyone kvetched that it wasn’t a massively different body from the 4? There’s a little of that going on with the Galaxy S4. There had been a much more drastic shift in body type between the S II and S III, but that makes sense. The S III took what didn’t work in the previous model and rejected it, and the S4 continues that by refining. It’s a little narrower and the home button is a bit differently shaped, but at first glance, you could easily mistake one for the other.
The S4 is the one on the left.
A longer look reveals the stylish silver colored band around the S4, which is a pretty clear differentiation. That same silver is also around the front central button, which is flanked by two capacitive buttons — back and menu. Interestingly, back is on the right and menu on the left. This makes it awkward to switch from an Android device that has the back button on the left, which is something I believe is a bit more common (examples include the Nexus 4, Nexus S, and every single HTC phone). Beyond that, you’ve got a microUSB port on the bottom, power on the right, volume dial on the left, and a headphone jack on top. That’s the same layout as the S III and a formula Samsung is unlikely to change for some time.
There’s been a bit of sneering about Samsung’s use of plastics while HTC, Nokia, and Apple use carbon, glass, and metals. No disrespect meant, but some of us prefer a device that actually lets us swap the battery easily. The S4’s back comes off in seconds. My only quibble is that the battery cover itself feels weak and I worried about snapping it on removal. Underneath said cover you find a microSD slot, your SIM card slot, and a 2600 mAh battery. That helps power the 5″ HD screen. Remember when 5″ was huge for a phone? It still is, actually.
The Software
This is the part where I usually sit and kvetch about Samsung dumping TouchWiz all over Android 4.2.2 (Jelly Bean). It’s gotten so bad that I may be as sick of writing about it as you are of hearing it. Thing is, it’s actually gotten better. The version of TouchWiz on the S4 isn’t annoying me as much as usual. I even like the little “lens flare” effect under my fingers when unlocking. It could be familiarity, or it could be that Samsung has refined the path started with the S III. This alteration makes TouchWiz feel less like branding and more like a unique user experience. For the die-hard Android users, there’s always the $650 Developer Edition of the S4, running mostly plain Android. However, that version isn’t a Nexus device, and the DE will need tweaked updates, so you’re in Samsung’s hands. If you’re doing that, why not deal with TouchWiz and be done with it?
Because it offends me.
The Samsung experience on the S4 features a ton of custom software and new features. Here’s a dirty secret: Some vendors send us review guides, pointing out new features. Samsung had to send an honest-to-goodness manual to detail all the newness of the S4, and we didn’t get to test every single feature even then. It’s madness, but in a good way.
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