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
Related
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
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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)
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Research is a little slow moving. I'm buying a new phone. This seems to be the most complete in terms of features (removable SD and IR blaster which is a small thing but missing from other flagships I've considered.)
My only concern is my carrier AT&T. If I buy the note will I be able to flash twrp? Is there a huge difference in custom ROM/kernel options from sprint or T-Mobile? Is there a certain model I should try to get?-I'm buying it unlocked.
I think most people understand the tedious process of choosing a new phone if you're into flashing Roms. Any info that's helpful is most welcomed. Thanks.
I actually use att service also and just bought a Tmobile Note 4 in January and I have never been happie with any phone I have ever owned.. N910T is best in my opinion if you are big on root because it has way more active developement and it has all the same lte bands that att uses
The tmob variant should work fine but the 910c definitely works and I think the 910f does as well. I'd steer clear of the actual at&t variant itself unless they have solved the root/bootloader issue. I guess the question is of you are buying sim free do you want the exynos or snapdragon variant
Sent from my SM-N920C using Tapatalk
I've had ATT-variant phones up until now. All the way from a Nokia E71x, to an S2, to the S5 I have now. The S2 had the unlocked bootloader so I was able to load CM on it. S5, of course, has a locked bootloader, so I'm stuck on 5.0 unless I wanted to lose root. Since I've heard that all ATT phones will have locked bootloaders now, I'm going with an international version of the S8. I just want to make sure it'll work on ATT. So, has anyone used a G950F on ATT yet?
It should work fine. You will lose features but most probably don't use the features anyway like number sync if you have a gear S2 or 3 and wifi calling to name 2 things that won't work for sure.
I don't have a wearable. Wifi calling would be nice but it doesn't work very well on the S5 I have now.
If you are in an urban area the F model does not have ATT supplement frequency 2300 or 3000 I think and maybe 1 3G frequency.
dc5dd said:
If you are in an urban area the F model does not have ATT supplement frequency 2300 or 3000 I think and maybe 1 3G frequency.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm hearing that apparently I won't have LTE at all.
Hi folks, I browsed this forum a few times and finally decided to make an account after all the wonderful information I've read here.
I realize there's probably no simple way to answer this question. But I'd like to buy the "best of the best" S8 I possibly can. I'm interested in the S8 specifically and not the S8 Plus. It's a phone I intend on keeping for a while, so long as nothing catastrophic happens. As such, I'm open to all possibilities.
I'm based in the USA but I would like to have the one with the most available bands to get the maximum availability on networks while traveling. I read on another thread that so far there are ways to unlock the bands in the firmware after flashing the Canadian firmware to the device. (I think this was referring to the Snapdragon North American version). But features such as Wifi Calling on T-Mobile won't work after that.
Because of carrier locks, it appears that certain models of phones only have certain bands enabled depending on which provider they were released for (AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, etc). This is a bit of a problem, if for example, I wanted to use an AT&T phone on T-Mobile, or wanted to pop in a local SIM while traveling.
I'm presently on Verizon, but I'm not under contract and so I'm willing to switch to perhaps T-Mobile, AT&T, or whatever other GSM carriers are available. As such, CDMA capabilities aren't really a major issue for me. It would be nice, but not a deal breaker. I also get conflicting info where some sellers say their unlocked phones won't work for CDMA carriers; while others claim that the unlocked phones have all the CDMA capabilities unlocked as well.
I'm wondering also, if the Snapdragon or Exynos is preferable? The general consensus among developers seems to be that Exynos is preferable to Snapdragon when it comes to future mods, rootability, etc. What is the downside to Exynos?
Lastly, what do you think of the DUAL SIM version? My main reason for holding off on my purchase is debating whether I should get the dual SIM version or not. It would be a nice feature to have, for a phone I intended on setting up and keeping for a while. The only hesitation as far as this goes, is warranty coverage issues.
Would the international version have all the bands enabled? I've also read the Chinese and South Korean versions have 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage, which is pretty sweet.
Thanks!
TurboSloth said:
Hi folks, I browsed this forum a few times and finally decided to make an account after all the wonderful information I've read here.
I realize there's probably no simple way to answer this question. But I'd like to buy the "best of the best" S8 I possibly can. I'm interested in the S8 specifically and not the S8 Plus. It's a phone I intend on keeping for a while, so long as nothing catastrophic happens. As such, I'm open to all possibilities.
I'm based in the USA but I would like to have the one with the most available bands to get the maximum availability on networks while traveling. I read on another thread that so far there are ways to unlock the bands in the firmware after flashing the Canadian firmware to the device. (I think this was referring to the Snapdragon North American version). But features such as Wifi Calling on T-Mobile won't work after that.
Because of carrier locks, it appears that certain models of phones only have certain bands enabled depending on which provider they were released for (AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, etc). This is a bit of a problem, if for example, I wanted to use an AT&T phone on T-Mobile, or wanted to pop in a local SIM while traveling.
I'm presently on Verizon, but I'm not under contract and so I'm willing to switch to perhaps T-Mobile, AT&T, or whatever other GSM carriers are available. As such, CDMA capabilities aren't really a major issue for me. It would be nice, but not a deal breaker. I also get conflicting info where some sellers say their unlocked phones won't work for CDMA carriers; while others claim that the unlocked phones have all the CDMA capabilities unlocked as well.
I'm wondering also, if the Snapdragon or Exynos is preferable? The general consensus among developers seems to be that Exynos is preferable to Snapdragon when it comes to future mods, rootability, etc. What is the downside to Exynos?
Lastly, what do you think of the DUAL SIM version? My main reason for holding off on my purchase is debating whether I should get the dual SIM version or not. It would be a nice feature to have, for a phone I intended on setting up and keeping for a while. The only hesitation as far as this goes, is warranty coverage issues.
Would the international version have all the bands enabled? I've also read the Chinese and South Korean versions have 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage, which is pretty sweet.
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you get your answers? I have same don't like doubts, specially related to processor and dual chip tech.
Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk
The only "downside" to the exynos version is the lack of CDMA support. It is superior in pretty much every other regard.
If you're considering a G950U.. I believe the AT&T model covers the most LTE bands. The Verizon version lists TDD LTE bands if those are useful to you. (But lacks other important bands)
To your question, the G950F/FD is likely your best bet.
Where do I found a list of models? I saw that in Brazil we have SM-G950, but what I see is here is only SM-G950F
Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk
I guess if you go with the exynos variant you will miss near fully playable gamecube/wii emulation. The exynos does other stuff better tho.
For the dual SIM variant, they have also just released a 6gb/128gb version, model number is SM-G9550. That's the best one you can get for the dual SIM variant: http://www.samsung.com/hk_en/business/business-products/mobile-device/smartphones/SM-G9550ZKGTGY.
Only downside is no Band 66 support though if you are planning to be on T-Mobile.
Sent from my SM-N910C using Tapatalk
Hi, where can i buy the S8 Plus SM-G9550 (128GB, Snapdragon, 6GB Ram)?
thx in advance
Hi mate iv always preferred going for a G9xxF/FD version since They are Exynos in-case of Root or mods Exynos gets them first and if u get a FD added advantage of the dual sim. Good Luck
Hi codex1998, i don't need root and mods. My opinion is that the SM-G9550 is the better and most powerful phone.
Hi everyone, how about official firmware updates for different models ?
Is there any difference which models receives updates, which not ?
Some of my friends use different models and here is my statistic based on their phones:
s7 edge FD (dual sim): Android 7.0, last update August 2017,
note 8 (I believe its F model): 7.1 - August 2017,
s8 FD (dual sim) - 7.0 - Oct 2017,
2x s8+ FD (dual sim) - 7.0 Oct 2017.