Database Users

[Q] Stock Android with couple of select Samsung apps, dream come true

Sorry, this is not a statement rather a wish.
Can anyone guide us noobs and un-initiated S4 owners on how to get stock android on the device and the best samsung apps like the dual camera shot etc working?
I am not a fan of the lag at all. I hate that samsung phones are so sluggish despite their claims of the fastest processors around.
NOTHING BEATS THE NEXUS 4 HANDS DOWN..
Perhaps we can achieve close to the Nexus 4 benchmarks with getting the S4 down to the bare minimum?
Any thoughts?

alitech said:
Sorry, this is not a statement rather a wish.
Can anyone guide us noobs and un-initiated S4 owners on how to get stock android on the device and the best samsung apps like the dual camera shot etc working?
I am not a fan of the lag at all. I hate that samsung phones are so sluggish despite their claims of the fastest processors around.
NOTHING BEATS THE NEXUS 4 HANDS DOWN..
Perhaps we can achieve close to the Nexus 4 benchmarks with getting the S4 down to the bare minimum?
Any thoughts?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Benchmarks dont mean jack. If your after numbers go get a Nexus 4. Either use AOSP or a very refined TouchWiz ROM. Also, I must be the only person here in XDA that doesn't have a "laggy" Galaxy S4. My "last year" Note II doesn't even lag so I should see no problem with yours. Maybe its ther user than the phone? Turn S Voice off and make the animation scales all at 0.5x.
AOSP with Samsung wont go. It requires the Samsung framework
~ Taylor_Swift
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note II GT-N7100 using XDA Premium HD

Taylor_Swift said:
Benchmarks dont mean jack. If your after numbers go get a Nexus 4. Either use AOSP or a very refined TouchWiz ROM. Also, I must be the only person here in XDA that doesn't have a "laggy" Galaxy S4. My "last year" Note II doesn't even lag so I should see no problem with yours. Maybe its ther user than the phone? Turn S Voice off and make the animation scales all at 0.5x.
AOSP with Samsung wont go. It requires the Samsung framework
~ Taylor_Swift
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note II GT-N7100 using XDA Premium HD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd like to keep the S4 thanks. The Nexus 4 benchmarks is not what I am after. What I am after is a fast OS which does not lag when moving from screen to screen or doing just the basic functions like going to the call or text app. Have you seen the time it takes to render the photos that the phone itself has taken?
Hit the home button, there is always a half a second lag no matter what.
All animations and S Voice turned off.
Yes, it seems like its the user not the phone in your case too. Have you ever owned a Nexus 4?

alitech said:
I'd like to keep the S4 thanks. The Nexus 4 benchmarks is not what I am after. What I am after is a fast OS which does not lag when moving from screen to screen or down just the basic function.
Hit the hit button, there is always a half a second lag no matter what.
All animations and S Voice turned off.
Yes, it is the user not the phone in your case!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Screenshot your animation scales . Im having trouble believing if S Voice and the scales are all about 0.5x lol.
Erm, Im a dev for the Nexus 4. So yeah, I have.
Im running stock deodexed with root. Working well and fast
~ Taylor_Swift
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note II GT-N7100 using XDA Premium HD

Taylor_Swift said:
Screenshot your animation scales . Im having trouble believing if S Voice and the scales are all about 0.5x lol.
Erm, Im a dev for the Nexus 4. So yeah, I have.
Im running stock deodexed with root. Working well and fast
~ Taylor_Swift
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note II GT-N7100 using XDA Premium HD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is set at 0.5x.
Now what?

All questions belong in the Q&A section.
Thread moved.

Taylor_Swift said:
Benchmarks dont mean jack. If your after numbers go get a Nexus 4. Either use AOSP or a very refined TouchWiz ROM. Also, I must be the only person here in XDA that doesn't have a "laggy" Galaxy S4. My "last year" Note II doesn't even lag so I should see no problem with yours. Maybe its ther user than the phone? Turn S Voice off and make the animation scales all at 0.5x.
AOSP with Samsung wont go. It requires the Samsung framework
~ Taylor_Swift
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note II GT-N7100 using XDA Premium HD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No lag for me too. Stock Rom. I normally root and start messing as soon as I get a phone but just ha dot felt the need so far, and I got it on launch day!
Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk 4 Beta

I also have no lag at all.
I have the device rooted, but I did not remove anything, actually.

I am quite surprised by the responses here.
Since no one has disputed the liquidity and smoothness of the Nexus 4, let me re-phrase my question.
How can we get the S4 to be as fast as the Nexus 4?
I would like to keep the S4 but I want to be as fast as the Nexus 4.
1. Fast fluid response to swiping home sceen
2. no lag when you press apps icon
3. no lag on swiping apps
4. no lag when you press home button
5. no lag in rendering photos in gallery (when you swipe to a new picture, it is blurry for a second or 2 while it renders and then shows full resolution)
6. no lag in phone and messaging apps
All animation fixes and S_voice already done but lag still experienced.
Please advise.

Taylor_Swift said:
Benchmarks dont mean jack. If your after numbers go get a Nexus 4.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why would he do that when the S4 has significantly higher results in all benchmarks?

Im confused as well I am sorry I do not understand why you would want the S4 to be like the Nexus when the S4 has no issues I have 3 S4s they are all smooth with no lag and run fast between screens going on the web all is well here..........I haven't even rooted my phone yet lol

jprocket45 said:
Im confused as well I am sorry I do not understand why you would want the S4 to be like the Nexus when the S4 has no issues I have 3 S4s they are all smooth with no lag and run fast between screens going on the web all is well here..........I haven't even rooted my phone yet lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think you fail to realise that there is a significant lag in all S4s, you are immune to it because you don't know any better.
Can someone respond to the points I have made above ?

[Q] S4 i9500 or i9505 ? which one has more issues?

Hi everyone, i am planing to buy an S4, but i have heard they have alot of issues, the overheating, battery drain, and others so i dont know which one to buy...
thank you

milot said:
Hi everyone, i am planing to buy an S4, but i have heard they have alot of issues, the overheating, battery drain, and others so i dont know which one to buy...
thank you
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I m using i9500 since a month and not having any issue battery is also good easily I get abt 18 hours with average use like 2 hours tt 30 mins game wifi on full time on etc
Sent from my GT-I9500 using xda premium

I have had no issues using the I9505, I got rid of any lag by minimising the animation time of transitions and stopping s voice from opening up with the home button. Battery life is pretty decent. Had full day of it running with the screen on bright.
The only difference that I think there would be is 4G LTE, and how important that is to you? I've got good coverage so I'm loving the network speed of late.
If you want to speed it up and flash it with some a ROM, CM, AOKP and some other customs are coming out with good results so far
Sent from my GT-I9505 using xda premium

123hiten said:
I m using i9500 since a month and not having any issue battery is also good easily I get abt 18 hours with average use like 2 hours tt 30 mins game wifi on full time on etc
Sent from my GT-I9500 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks, i also want to know about the speed performance,and the wifi problem which one has it?

I also have GT- 9500, everything Stock, and have NOT had any issues so far (thanks god, it came perfect from stock). I believe every phone is different even though its the same model, cuz other people have list out their issues and I have not had any of their issues.

urbanpitch said:
I have had no issues using the I9505, I got rid of any lag by minimising the animation time of transitions and stopping s voice from opening up with the home button. Battery life is pretty decent. Had full day of it running with the screen on bright.
The only difference that I think there would be is 4G LTE, and how important that is to you? I've got good coverage so I'm loving the network speed of late.
If you want to speed it up and flash it with some a ROM, CM, AOKP and some other customs are coming out with good results so far
Sent from my GT-I9505 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Extreme184X said:
I also have GT- 9500, everything Stock, and have NOT had any issues so far (thanks god, it came perfect from stock). I believe every phone is different even though its the same model, cuz other people have list out their issues and I have not had any of their issues.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you... here in my country still theres no 4G LTE, so i am going for I9500
Thanks...

The i9500 will be perfect for you then. Its a smarter too. You only need what you can actually use . That is honestly the only difference between the two phones. Both have different chipsets, exynos and Qualcomm, but they are both fast chips that get the job done. Go with what you need. I9500 is better because is a 3G phone first.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda premium

nexus 4 battery life after 4.3 update ?

so let's get to the bottom of the nexus battery life issue. How long is your nexus 4 battery life after 4.3 updated get or last , whether it set to default setting of the device itself or with a minimum setting such a display brightness level, silent profile, etc ?
and do you know how long you need to get your phone fully charged from empty using original n4 charger ? any trick or possible way to charge the phone itself faster ?
I'm just wondering and should I get nexus 4 or moto x ? but F***, I hate when that beautiful phone has been locked by carrier and has a bloatware since I'm a heavy multitask user and most of the time spend his time with browser and apps and whatsapp messenger .
sorry for my bad word but really hoping your honest review for the n4 battery life after 4.3 .
did you get 8 hours if you keep playing with it and also keep turn on and turn off your phone every 10-15 minutes while you're walking or hang out with your friends ?

banboy said:
so let's get to the bottom of the nexus battery life issue. How long is your nexus 4 battery life after 4.3 updated get or last , whether it set to default setting of the device itself or with a minimum setting such a display brightness level, silent profile, etc ?
and do you know how long you need to get your phone fully charged from empty using original n4 charger ? any trick or possible way to charge the phone itself faster ?
I'm just wondering and should I get nexus 4 or moto x ? but F***, I hate when that beautiful phone has been locked by carrier and has a bloatware since I'm a heavy multitask user and most of the time spend his time with browser and apps and whatsapp messenger .
sorry for my bad word but really hoping your honest review for the n4 battery life after 4.3 .
did you get 8 hours if you keep playing with it and also keep turn on and turn off your phone every 10-15 minutes while you're walking or hang out with your friends ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Some custom kernels like for instance Franco Kernel support fast charging if you are rooted. If i we`re you and you can i would wait for the Nexus 5 that will come out in a few months. The N4 is very cheap atm and batterylife isn`t bad at all. Also depends on user usage and installed apps/widgets and syncing.

gee2012 said:
Some custom kernels like for instance Franco Kernel support fast charging if you are rooted. If i we`re you and you can i would wait for the Nexus 5 that will come out in a few months. The N4 is very cheap atm and batterylife isn`t bad at all. Also depends on user usage and installed apps/widgets and syncing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thx Gee for the input, appreciate that, and is that the reason why google cut off nexus 4 price ? I can wait but in my head now nexus 4 or N5 or moto x ? but moto x sucks I hate because it's bundled and belong to carrier. that's really really sucks don't you think,

banboy said:
thx Gee for the input, appreciate that, and is that the reason why google cut off nexus 4 price ? I can wait but in my head now nexus 4 or N5 or moto x ? but moto x sucks I hate because it's bundled and belong to carrier. that's really really sucks don't you think,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Nexus 4 is a great phone, you will not regret buying it. Sold my Galaxy S4 because of the lags and stuttering software. Also the N4 will get KLP Android 5.0 soon also after the release of the Nexus 5.

gee2012 said:
Some custom kernels like for instance Franco Kernel support fast charging if you are rooted. If i we`re you and you can i would wait for the Nexus 5 that will come out in a few months. The N4 is very cheap atm and batterylife isn`t bad at all. Also depends on user usage and installed apps/widgets and syncing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
gee2012 said:
The Nexus 4 is a great phone, you will not regret buying it. Sold my Galaxy S4 because of the lags and stuttering software. Also the N4 will get KLP Android 5.0 soon also after the release of the Nexus 5.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
whatttt ? you sold your s4 ? how come? I mean and I thought it's great phone, and the time when you feel lagging is the phone is rooted or factory default ?
thank you for your honest opinion cause I know nexus 4 is not great like high end phone such as like htc one but the reason is I wanna get n4 because it has no bloatware and it's the pure android and I'm so happy the carrier didn't put any their apps into that phone.
anyway, nexus 5 will be using LG again? my friend told me will be similar like LG G2

You might start laughing but I just ordered a Nexus 4 to get a feel. If I like it, it might replace my HTC One and when the 5 comes out, it might replace my Note 2.
I'm a plain vanilla user (plain Android no rooting or nothing) and slowly am getting sick of the Wifi, lag and other problems all other phones have.
I got this idea since I switched to the Nexus 10 and noticed that there's maybe less bells and whistles but the thing works very well.
Let's see...
Sent from my GT-N7100 using xda app-developers app

banboy said:
whatttt ? you sold your s4 ? how come? I mean and I thought it's great phone, and the time when you feel lagging is the phone is rooted or factory default ?
thank you for your honest opinion cause I know nexus 4 is not great like high end phone such as like htc one but the reason is I wanna get n4 because it has no bloatware and it's the pure android and I'm so happy the carrier didn't put any their apps into that phone.
anyway, nexus 5 will be using LG again? my friend told me will be similar like LG G2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You say nexus 4 is not high end? Dafuq
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app

Thibaultvw said:
You say nexus 4 is not high end? Dafuq
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
aww, sorry about that, but I'm curious , how nexus 5 will be look like ? and bigger screen ?

Thibaultvw said:
You say nexus 4 is not high end? Dafuq
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tonio78370 said:
You might start laughing but I just ordered a Nexus 4 to get a feel. If I like it, it might replace my HTC One and when the 5 comes out, it might replace my Note 2.
I'm a plain vanilla user (plain Android no rooting or nothing) and slowly am getting sick of the Wifi, lag and other problems all other phones have.
I got this idea since I switched to the Nexus 10 and noticed that there's maybe less bells and whistles but the thing works very well.
Let's see...
Sent from my GT-N7100 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you replace your htc one with nexus 4 ? how come ? is your htc one is google play edition ?

If you think about it the Nexus 4 has the same CPU settings as the S4 and HTC One the only category that it loses in is screen resolution.
Of course the other two phones have more better technology but when it comes to software wise the Nexus 4 will be right up there with them
Sent from my W100 using xda app-developers app

banboy said:
you replace your htc one with nexus 4 ? how come ? is your htc one is google play edition ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I seriously think about it. It's not a Google Edition and I'm fed up with all the little things that just don't work. I have the impression that all these overlays (touchwiz and whatever they're called) only cause malfunctioning. My HTC is my business phone so changing it for the Nexus, I'll quickly know what pure android is worth.
Sent from my GT-N7100 using xda app-developers app

talking about pure android that coming from nexus , do we have to clean cache or apps cache from the setting itself every once a week ? such a browser cache , and any other apps cache that we can found from settings-apps-(click random apps icon)- clean cache , ?
I'm confuse and I'm sorry to bring this up such an iPhone we don't have to worry about this cache thing or cache that coming from apps and there's no feature in iPhone like clean cache apps that we need to worry about . (and once again sorry comparing this with apple stuff )
so back to the problem since I'm only talking about google product should we be worry about apps cache ? maybe that's also the reason why the phone can be lagging because too many cache from the apps itself that we didn't notice or care enough to clean it up every once a week ? or by the system default is there any feature that the system will clean the cache that coming from 3rd party apps, background apps (all apps that running in the background). Cause I got paranoid and confuse what should I do , that's why I also install advanced task killer and always set them to high priority and every 30 minutes kill all apps to make sure this phone will always have a room for RAM.
but please correct me if I'm wrong , thank you

Using PA 3.99 and faux enhanced stock kernel I still have ~80% battery left after over 8 hours of use (using the phone every 10-15 mins or so). I always use automatic brightness set to medium. Not too sure what "battery life issue" you are trying to get to the bottom of.
As for the task killers/ cache cleaners, there's really no point. All you are really doing is making your phone work harder to do nothing at all. You should be thinking of unused RAM as wasted RAM. If your phone needs more RAM to run something it will free some up as needed. The task killers are really just using more RAM and battery.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app

cameron3200 said:
Using PA 3.99 and faux enhanced stock kernel I still have ~80% battery left after over 8 hours of use (using the phone every 10-15 mins or so). I always use automatic brightness set to medium. Not too sure what "battery life issue" you are trying to get to the bottom of.
As for the task killers/ cache cleaners, there's really no point. All you are really doing is making your phone work harder to do nothing at all. You should be thinking of unused RAM as wasted RAM. If your phone needs more RAM to run something it will free some up as needed. The task killers are really just using more RAM and battery.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thank you for enlighten me .

cameron3200 said:
Using PA 3.99 and faux enhanced stock kernel I still have ~80% battery left after over 8 hours of use (using the phone every 10-15 mins or so). I always use automatic brightness set to medium. Not too sure what "battery life issue" you are trying to get to the bottom of.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sorry, but what do you mean by PA 3.99 ? and faux ? is it hard to change the kernel for a beginner or a person didn't know how to rooted or modified any kernel ? and also modified kernel or changing the kernel, is that gonna affected to the device to become unstable ? and I believe changing the kernel is coming from unofficial google, am I right ?

..
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

[Q] Lag issues

Hi there I'm an owner of a 10 months used galaxy nexus and i've been thinking of buying a new phone as i kinda got bored of stock android and want something different.
I first narrowed my choices down to 2 devices which are considered at one of the best, HTC One, Galaxy S4. I continued searching and asking people about their experiences, and no i'm not an average user i hate lags i don't want them as much as anybody. At first i thought i could live with 4.7 inch screen on htc one for the absent of lags but i just don't think that way anymore.
I even think that 5 inches is small so i actually thought about buying note 3 but since it's a little bit more expensive than s4 in the country i live at, I might have to go for S4.
But my main concern is lag and i read that a lot of people were actually complaining about them. My nexus is rooted so my S4(if i buy one) will be rooted as well and i was wondering if there was actually a way(s) to eliminate all and any lag from that device since that is kinda the main reason i'm switching from GNEX.
Thanks.

battle1 said:
Hi there I'm an owner of a 10 months used galaxy nexus and i've been thinking of buying a new phone as i kinda got bored of stock android and want something different.
I first narrowed my choices down to 2 devices which are considered at one of the best, HTC One, Galaxy S4. I continued searching and asking people about their experiences, and no i'm not an average user i hate lags i don't want them as much as anybody. At first i thought i could live with 4.7 inch screen on htc one for the absent of lags but i just don't think that way anymore.
I even think that 5 inches is small so i actually thought about buying note 3 but since it's a little bit more expensive than s4 in the country i live at, I might have to go for S4.
But my main concern is lag and i read that a lot of people were actually complaining about them. My nexus is rooted so my S4(if i buy one) will be rooted as well and i was wondering if there was actually a way(s) to eliminate all and any lag from that device since that is kinda the main reason i'm switching from GNEX.
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Remove all bloatware and preinstalled apps u don't use etc etc ... since u were rooted u should know the drill to lighten the load ...
If you buy the i9505 u can also install stock android rom just as the i9505g(google edition) has
But if you want touchwiz or any of the samsung features, to my experience and we are talking about stock ... the i9500 seem to have fewer lagging issues ...

I bought my S4 to replace a nexus 4. Had the same boredom feeling about vanilla android experience so I ended up using this i9505. It's a great device IF you manage somehow to deal with lag and stutters all over the place (speaking of Tw stock roms ofc). I really can't understand why a hardware beast like this has to lag more than my very old S2. So, in terms of lag (that was your Q) you'll be disappointed... in all other terms it's still one of the best.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

battle1 said:
Hi there I'm an owner of a 10 months used galaxy nexus and i've been thinking of buying a new phone as i kinda got bored of stock android and want something different.
I first narrowed my choices down to 2 devices which are considered at one of the best, HTC One, Galaxy S4. I continued searching and asking people about their experiences, and no i'm not an average user i hate lags i don't want them as much as anybody. At first i thought i could live with 4.7 inch screen on htc one for the absent of lags but i just don't think that way anymore.
I even think that 5 inches is small so i actually thought about buying note 3 but since it's a little bit more expensive than s4 in the country i live at, I might have to go for S4.
But my main concern is lag and i read that a lot of people were actually complaining about them. My nexus is rooted so my S4(if i buy one) will be rooted as well and i was wondering if there was actually a way(s) to eliminate all and any lag from that device since that is kinda the main reason i'm switching from GNEX.
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I considered the HTC one and nexus 4 also, but the S4 screen just looks stunning (even though the HTC's is supposedly better in direct sunlight). The screen looks huge (although its become normal to me now) and even though its not that much bigger than the HTC's, it still looks a lot bigger when side by side.
Its certainly not a slow device and is actually very smooth but you can definitely do plenty to improve things. As mentioned above, I removed a lot of bloat apps that I dont use/won't miss. I also started using greenify to hibernate apps running in the background. Another simple thing is change the animation speeds to 0.5x, I also do this on my nexus 7 as it makes it feel snappier as well (not that its slow). There are also the options of a lot of custom ROMs, some that are simply stock look with touchwiz, but tweaked/optimised for speed/battery life.
There is also the option of AOSP/CM/Google Edition ROMs if you want something leaner. Plus there are a couple of methods of dual booting if you want the best of both worlds. The speed and simplicity of stock android is great, but its also great to enjoy all of the bells and whistle features that Samsung added (that you paid for!).

So are those roms you mentioned that are based on touchwiz lag-free?

battle1 said:
So are those roms you mentioned that are based on touchwiz lag-free?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There will definitely be a lot less lag than the standard stock ROM, although you'd really need to test yourself to see how they perform for you. There's usually plenty of comments in the ROM threads on how people find them, so they're worth a read.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app

To be honest I have a lot less lags with stock rom than with any custom rom (apart from aosp)... I just use rooted stock rom with xposed framework... fast and snappy.. can't complain...
Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk 4

Teio said:
To be honest I have a lot less lags with stock rom than with any custom rom (apart from aosp)... I just use rooted stock rom with xposed framework... fast and snappy.. can't complain...
Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk 4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm currently on rooted stock also and it's great, if its laggy then its certainly not laggy enough for me to want to keep switching ROMs or even change phone. As much as people say how great sense is on the HTC one, it looks so dull and unfinished to me. And I know it's a real improvement as I've had htcs and seen it go from a rich ui to a bloated clunky mess. But you hand someone your s4 and you usually see how impressed they are with the stunning colourful display.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app

Stock rom with Nova Launcher installed has no lag. Touchwhiz launcher is the issue

pwnyu said:
Stock rom with Nova Launcher installed has no lag. Touchwhiz launcher is the issue
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep, as always Nova is like butter, its a great launcher.

I dont want nova, ive used it with.many other skins and i just dont want to use it. I dont care if people get impressed by it, i want a phone that will keep me for at least a year and a half and i know note 3 seems a abetter solution but without lags, i can still be happy with s4 for a while. What about kernels? Franco kernel for gnex helps a lot as ive used it. What about s4?

Opening contacts lag.

Hey everyone, I've always been a fan of HTC and sense UI but few days ago I got the Note III to try Samsung for the first time.
Its been a great experience so far but touchwiz seems to be laggy at times especially when performing the simplest of tasks. Opening contacts is sometimes disgusting on the Note III. It takes a few seconds to open and for a phone packed with the S800 clocked at 2.3Ghz, 3GB of RAM its quite disappointing.
I posted this just to see if I'm the only one experiencing this if not I hope I can get a solution plus I've already downloaded the 27MB stabilisation update.
Thanks in advance.
Sent from my SM-N900 using xda app-developers app

Hey there... I've never had a HTC phone so I can't comment on their sense launcher but yes Touchwiz isn't all that great in some areas.
Like you said the contacts can take a couple of seconds to come up, does speed up if you've opened it recently but that's beside the point. The hardware on the Note 3 is blistering fast and Samsung should really hold up on their feature list and work on their launcher more.
It's funny with new Samsung phones you hear so many people say the thing they did was install another launcher. Listen up Samsung.

Olues said:
Hey everyone, I've always been a fan of HTC and sense UI but few days ago I got the Note III to try Samsung for the first time.
Its been a great experience so far but touchwiz seems to be laggy at times especially when performing the simplest of tasks. Opening contacts is sometimes disgusting on the Note III. It takes a few seconds to open and for a phone packed with the S800 clocked at 2.3Ghz, 3GB of RAM its quite disappointing.
I posted this just to see if I'm the only one experiencing this if not I hope I can get a solution plus I've already downloaded the 27MB stabilisation update.
Thanks in advance.
Sent from my SM-N900 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hi ,
al i can say i had many htc device's ( htc desire hd, htc one x and a few others )
i then( for various reasons ...eg ,mainly battery life ..heat ,bad customer service etc ) switched to note 2 and now note 3.(Very happy overall ).
first of all ,i never use Touchwiz ,been using Nova premuin all along and very happy with Nova.!...
I do not have any noticeable lag, on my n9005 ( as you summed it up .." S800 clocked at 2.3Ghz, 3GB of RAM " and I say its just the opposite of " disappointing. " )
My contacts etc opens fast,smooth .. ,No problems .
battery i get, + - 3 % drain overnight re 10//12 hours etc .etc
i am still on original stock ,not rooted and have done no updates,and i am enjoying my Spen features !!!!
i feel i have " tweaked " my phone just right !
So my advice is not hoping on some update ,but start looking at ways in how you can identify lag etc .(reading, searching, worked for me )
I will give you one tweak ,that worked for me( previous note 2 and 3 ) ..pressing home button normally resulted in a slight lag .,
I disabled Svoice( i dont use it ) my lag on phone home button is no more !
good luck

willcor said:
hi ,
I will give you one tweak ,that worked for me( previous note 2 and 3 ) ..pressing home button normally resulted in a slight lag .,
I disabled Svoice( i dont use it ) my lag on phone home button is no more !
good luck
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Hey thanks man, this fixed the lag I'v been getting with my Note 3 all I did was go into S-Voice and unchecked the "Open via home key" box.
This fixed the lag when pushing the home key, and also the lag when turning on the phone screen via power button or home screen.

Exactly, couldn't have said it better. I love the hardware but touchwiz is a let down. I'm currently running Nova Launcher which makes the OS look more premium and not cartoonish.
Sent from my SM-N900 using xda app-developers app

Olues said:
Hey everyone, I've always been a fan of HTC and sense UI but few days ago I got the Note III to try Samsung for the first time.
Its been a great experience so far but touchwiz seems to be laggy at times especially when performing the simplest of tasks. Opening contacts is sometimes disgusting on the Note III. It takes a few seconds to open and for a phone packed with the S800 clocked at 2.3Ghz, 3GB of RAM its quite disappointing.
I posted this just to see if I'm the only one experiencing this if not I hope I can get a solution plus I've already downloaded the 27MB stabilisation update.
Thanks in advance.
Sent from my SM-N900 using xda app-developers app
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Don't let Barry hear you say that