I'm going to buy the S4 in a few weeks, and I can't decide which one to choose, especially after google released the one running vanilla android.
The international, i9500 exynos variant is the best one, I think, as its the international version and it might get more dev support.
on the other hand, the i9505 snapdragon variant is more reliable when it comes to dev support, as qualcomm does release the source code for its SD600 processor.
The google edition, as its going to support LTE, i think will be based on the i9505, as our dear Samsung very conveniently disable the LTE radios on its exynos processors.
So I am confused which one to buy.
If i get the i9505 (snapdragon), would i be able to flash an AOSP/AOKP rom perfectly, without any issues? Like will I be able to switch between AOSP and touchwiz without any hassle? and as the google edition will have the same chipset, would i be able to run rock solid and bug free aosp roms on it? (i honestly am more inclined towards touchwiz than aosp/aokp, but i dont mind switching for some time)
Also, I heard that i9500 has a better camera sensor, and has slightly better battery life than i9505. Is that true?
And qualcomm is going to release the snapdragon 800 within a couple of months, and i dont want to buy a phone for about $800 (nearly 50k in rupees here in India) only to realize that my latest gadget is now obsolete. I have already experienced that with my iPad 3 .
I'll be moving to USA in august for college, and honestly, i dont think LTE would be much use to me as 3G is more than enough for my needs. Plus LTE is a huge battery hog.
Also, as our dear Samsung does not release source code for exynos, more CM/AOKP/PA devs will move towards the i9505, and with that logic, the i9500 should get more support from devs working on TW based roms, like salesale and :indie: (I love neatrom on my S2).
So which one should I get?
P.S. Only the i9500 version is available in India, I'll have to get the i9505 from amazon if I end up buying that.
Just be careful what bands the phone supports. I think if you in the States it would be wise to get your carrier branded version
Sent from my GT-I9505 using XDA Premium HD app
Obagleyfreer said:
Just be careful what bands the phone supports. I think if you in the States it would be wise to get your carrier branded version
Sent from my GT-I9505 using XDA Premium HD app
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as both the i9500 and i9505 are unlocked and unbranded, I think I'll go for either of them, as they will be compatible with all bands worldwide, not only US and India. Also, I prefer not to be tied to a network with a contract. (I'm more of a free bird )
But the question that remians in, which one should I go for? The i9500, the i9505, or the stock google edition?
The google edition will be based on i9505, so on one hand i'll recieve updates as soon as they are released, but would i be able to switch between AOSP roms and TW-based roms?
diwakarchopra said:
as both the i9500 and i9505 are unlocked and unbranded, I think I'll go for either of them, as they will be compatible with all bands worldwide, not only US and India. Also, I prefer not to be tied to a network with a contract. (I'm more of a free bird )
But the question that remians in, which one should I go for? The i9500, the i9505, or the stock google edition?
The google edition will be based on i9505, so on one hand i'll recieve updates as soon as they are released, but would i be able to switch between AOSP roms and TW-based roms?
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I just received my i9500 a week ago and I am lovin it! The phone is one heckuva beast and I have yet to run into any problems with it. Also a heads up, I've heard TouchWiz runs smoother on the i9500 than the i9505 as it is optimized for it better. The camera is definitely one of this phone's highlights and I can say for myself that I see the differences in camera sensors/image quality between the two.
Sorry for the late reply, I was busy with my high school finals!
And thank you all for your opinions, but im still pretty much confused on which one to go for. the i9500 or thr i9505?
As I said before, the variant needs to be GSM, and only two networks in the US offer GSM: AT&T and T-Mobile.
I'll be moving to West-Lafayette, Indiana in a couple of months, therefore, I need to know which one of the two (AT&T and TMobile) would support the GS4 properly. I dont care about 4G LTE as HSDPA+ is fast enough for me, but I've heard that some frequencies don't work properly on those networks, resulting in poor reception and slow data transfer speeds.
So, it would be really helpful is someone could point me in the right direction, should I go for i9500 or i9505? I'm a bit more inclined towards i9500.
Thanks in advance!
Go for the one with Samsung's modified version of Android. Don't wait for the Google Edition. The advantage with this one is as soon the Google Edition drops, there will be AOSP ROMs for the Samsung edition S4 but the vice-versa won't be true.
echenze said:
Go for the one with Samsung's modified version of Android. Don't wait for the Google Edition. The advantage with this one is as soon the Google Edition drops, there will be AOSP ROMs for the Samsung edition S4 but the vice-versa won't be true.
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That's all fine, but now I'm asking which one should I go for? the i9500 (Exynos) or the i9505 (snapdragon)? I'm not sure which one would work better in Lafayette Indiana on AT&T or T-Mobile (in terms of network coverage, 3G download/upload speeds etc)
Hey all! I'm looking for some advise- I play on getting the note 4 (buy it outright) when it releases but I not sure if I should get my carriers version (T-Mobile) or get the international gsm version. I hear the the international one has a better processor but I worry about support with T-Mobile. I do not plan on rooting or customizing it for at least a year, I want to wait and see what happens with android L and let all the bugs get worked out with roms, root and bootloaders. I haven't been able to find out much info on the international version either.
I am guessing it covers all LTE, aw and gsm bands???
Also I am not sure if OTA updates will work or not using tmobile on the international version??
Will it work flawlessly with tmobile ??
Any info/suggestions would be much appreciated.
Thanks!!!
bigrk said:
Hey all! I'm looking for some advise- I play on getting the note 4 (buy it outright) when it releases but I not sure if I should get my carriers version (T-Mobile) or get the international gsm version. I hear the the international one has a better processor but I worry about support with T-Mobile. I do not plan on rooting or customizing it for at least a year, I want to wait and see what happens with android L and let all the bugs get worked out with roms, root and bootloaders. I haven't been able to find out much info on the international version either.
I am guessing it covers all LTE, aw and gsm bands???
Also I am not sure if OTA updates will work or not using tmobile on the international version??
Will it work flawlessly with tmobile ??
Any info/suggestions would be much appreciated.
Thanks!!!
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Click to collapse
My personal opinion (along with many others) is the US version (snapdragon 805) has the better processor. Snapdragon is a beast of a processor. Also if you have TMobile and have the international version...you won't have wifi calling. Which is a must have for many people...including myself lol I honestly do not think you'll have issues with updates btw. Seems like OEMs are getting better and better at releasing updates in a timely manner. Good luck!
v2.2v said:
My personal opinion (along with many others) is the US version (snapdragon 805) has the better processor. Snapdragon is a beast of a processor. Also if you have TMobile and have the international version...you won't have wifi calling. Which is a must have for many people...including myself lol I honestly do not think you'll have issues with updates btw. Seems like OEMs are getting better and better at releasing updates in a timely manner. Good luck!
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Thanks a lot! I didn't know the international version wouldn't do wifi calling or even think about It. This is why I ask my questions here at xda!
v2.2v said:
My personal opinion (along with many others) is the US version (snapdragon 805) has the better processor. Snapdragon is a beast of a processor. Also if you have TMobile and have the international version...you won't have wifi calling. Which is a must have for many people...including myself lol I honestly do not think you'll have issues with updates btw. Seems like OEMs are getting better and better at releasing updates in a timely manner. Good luck!
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Do we have a source that says it will not do wifi calling? I cant find anything that says it will or will not.
I have been mulling over getting a Nexus 6 or an S5. Currently I have an AT&T S5, and I love it, but I am so over Touchwiz and the bloat of memory that I am losing my mind!
So, gonna give this phone away, and looking into getting a Unlocked bootloader S5.
My questions. What Model works best with AT&T's Network (all the frequencies etc.) and to add to that, what model also has the best support and upcoming support for Lollipop?
I've seen a few models that have a 1.9ghz quad core, and a 2.4(?) Quad core. but I am at a loss what I should pick up?
thank you
I had a galaxy note 3 and really enjoyed the s-pen, so I decided I'm going to take some tax money and trade in my current phone for a note 4. I want to buy one that the boot loader is unlocked (would like root, custom recovery) and would also need a phone that can get LTE on at&ts network. Would an unlocked T-Mobile phone do this for me? (I'm actually on cricket if that matters). I heard T-Mobile doesn't lock the boot loader like at&t does.
Snapdragon mate, depends on what you want to do with it and where you are though.
Snapdragon. The only reason being developmental status. There is more involvement with the Snapdragon variant than the Exynos model.
performance is better in the exynos, root is better in the snapdragons. if youre using the phone as a phone get a 910U. if youre using the phone as a toy get the verizon dev edition.
Well said! :good:
zurkx said:
performance is better in the exynos, root is better in the snapdragons. if youre using the phone as a phone get a 910U. if youre using the phone as a toy get the verizon dev edition.
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So months later, what's the consensus on North American vs international Galaxy S8? When the s7edge launched, the clear winner was the exynos and that's the version I got even though I'm in NA. but with the S8 I've been looking some bench marks and they seem pretty close I can't figure out which is better. The only thing I know is that right now the US version is $100 cheaper than international exynos. $574 on Amazon instead of ~$670 for the international. Thoughts ?
If you value roms and root then the international is the way to go, although the us one has root just not twrp, if you care about that then get the cheaper one.
I have to agree with peachpuff here, if you plan on using custom roms and kernels then the international version is the way to go.