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samsung galaxy s6 Pros & Con

samsung galaxy s6
Samsung recently launched the much awaited S6 and S6 Edge at its press conference at the Mobile World Congress. However the new S6 will not be available worldwide before April 10, 2015. The new flagship phone of Samsung will certainly compete heavily with Apple's iPhone 6.
The new S6 has a more premium look as it is made up of a mixture of glass and metal. Unfortunately for Samsung, the design of the Galaxy S6 was spilled out on the web before its launch, so this does not come as news to many enthusiasts.
There is no change in the display as the S6 sports a Super AMOLED display which has been Samsung favorite for the past few years. The resolution of S6 is the same as Note 4 i.e. 2560 x 1440 pixel QHD resolution (557 Pixels per inch).
The new S6 comes with a 16/5 MP rear/front camera along with the auto-HDR feature to automatically control the white balance and smart Optical Image Stabilization to keep the shake away.
The main negative aspect in the new S6 is its battery which is only 2550mAh as compared to the 2800mAh of S5. But with the new faster charging system it takes only 10 minutes charge for a 2 hour video playback.
The other specs of S6 include Gorilla Glass 4 Exynos 7420 processor, Android 5.0 Lollipop OS, LPDDR 3 3GB RAM and heart rate monitor.
Pros:
The new S6 features a resolution of 557 ppi, the highest ever for a smartphone. The other positive features of the S6 are: Gorilla Glass 4, latest version of Android (lollipop), 16 MP camera.
Cons:
The 2550mAh non-removable battery is a major drawback in S6. The other downside of the S6 is its absence of a microSD card slot. Some also believe that the absence of waterproofing which was available in S5 will also have its consequences.
Apart from its certain drawbacks, the S6 is a really extraordinary smartphone. It is certainly one of the best of its kind and a real treat for mobile fanatics.

thanks, can't wait to try it out

So everyone knows by now the two biggest cons to the S6/edge is going to be losing the removable battery and the micro SD card storage. Let me address these 2 with my own very personal but I feel most righteous beliefs.
1. The SD card loss: Absolutely will not miss it even though I have a 64GB one SD for my S4. I even bought the official OEM Samsung card, in hopes that it would play nice with the phone and not get burned out like what I hear many Kingston and Sandisk cards have been doing. And I was right for a long time, until 3 weeks ago my Samsung card finally got trashed. Phone says card is blank and/or has unsupported files and REALLY wants to format it. This is after about 1 year8 months of usage, but I am extrmely disappointed in this. Makes me want to never ever buy another removable SD card phone ever again, and if Samsung had come out with removable storage for the S6 I was most definitely going to go with the HTC M9. So there's that. Removable storage is stupid. Apple was right to never offer it in their phones. SD card storage was never going to be as reliable as on board storage. When it comes to storage, you best believe we want reliable. I was fortunate the data, pictures, apps I had on the corrupted SD were either backed or irrelevant to me now.
2. Removable Battery: This one is the real only con I can see in the phone. But, and this is a big BUT, you lose the removable battery because you gain the super duper quality phone you've wanted, I wanted, EVERYONE wanted from Samsung. Do not tell me you liked the cheap plastic backplates. Or the squeaky loose feel like it needs some WD40 in the joints. No, we wanted a solid phone made of glass and metal and that doesn't bend or feel cheap. In order to get this we had to sacrifice the removable battery, there was no way around that. No design known to man could ever have incorporated the removable battery feature into the the S6. I will miss being able to swap out my battery when its 0% because I play Clash of Clans a lot. But what I get in return an Android phone that feels good in my hands is worth losing the battery. I'll just have to always keep a charging cable in my car, my car has a USB charging port built in.
Now, what i really want to know is, will we be able to root and sim unlock to have access to free wifi tethering and use with another carrier ie. Internationally? My wifi tethering is very important to me on my S4 although I was never able to sim unlock it correctly. My phone is still on 4.2.2 the original MDL. It's rooted but I fear updating it and losing my wifi tether.

whilst the non removable battery is annoying, just look at the battery pack they'll release with the phone.
http://www.sammobile.com/2015/03/02...-pack-and-new-colors-for-level-on-headphones/

I hope the people understand that the SD card loss is more good then negative..people with phones that have SD card..did you ever wondered that the phone says no storage available..you look on the SD card and there is many place on it free..it's because the most apps or the data of it goes to the internal card..and that will be fast full..as the phones with SD card most have not much internal space....in the past there are much init.d scripts that change that..a2SD or change internal with external scripts..having a phone with much internal make all those tings Abundance...Android is no more external SD friendly.. in original soap roms even the pictures goes to internal..I ordered the s6 edge with 128 GB.. and I was always HTC fanboy..

Pretty much true. It's not really a Con for me the phone not having an SD Card slot though many are complaining about it. I guess we are just used to that kind of thing that it's hard to move on b

Hmm, that battery pack actually looks pretty damn good if you ask me.

eww as much as i like the look.. the no sd card and especially non-removable battery is a huge drawback
i'll wait till LG G4 come out and then decide on whether s6 edge, HTC M9 or LG G4..

I never changed the battery in 2 years..and off course..there will be a way ..

Buying Advice - Galaxy s5 or Galaxy s6

I want to buy a flagship mobile. But can't really decide what to get between S5 or S6(simple version).
My preference and daily usage detail is summed up below:
18 hours of daily use. (6 hours of screen on time)
I need internet access 4G LTE is preferable but a 3G will work too.
I don't use voice services that much. (don't get much calls, i mostly interact on SMS or other social media apps.)
Should have a good camera.
Memory is a must 16GB or plus.
Should be snappy and No lags or glitches (needless to mention that of course no one like lags and glitches lol)
Should have a good custom ROM and Kernel support on XDA forums. (for example the Galaxy S3 has a huge XDA support as compared to Galaxy S4)
I Live in Pakistan.
Please suggest me a device (with the variant number)

Go for the S5 international version (SM-G900F).
The battery is bigger than the one on the SGS6 and the screen resolution is lower so from start you will get a better battery life.
Both have 4G even if the GS6 has a faster download speed.
The SG6 has limited space (32GB, 64GB, 128GB) and no sd-card option. If you record videos at 4k the 32GB version is almost useless.
At the same time the SGS5 has 16GB internal (the base version) and has micro-sd slot card so you can add cards up to 128GB, plus you can carry 2 or 3 and swap them as they fill.
The latest LP ROMs are working fine, no lag and now an official MM ROM was leaked which improves battery life and gives a smoother interface.
The support from the community is OK and you can find plenty of ROMs and kernels, both TW-based and CM-based.
I don't even mention the fact that the GS5 is dust and water proof and that you can keep a spare battery with you and just replace it when you need to.
And the last argument pro GS5 is the price. At this moment you can find the GS5 at a perfect price for its performance.
As for the GS6 I can say that it has a beautiful design, but it's very hard to repair anything in it, almost impossibile.
It's more slippery than the GS5, it isn't water-proof, no sd-card and the battery is a joke.
So I would gladly recommend the SG5.
Wish you the best!

@AlexVat thanks for the inside info mate, so far from your feedback and some of my personal findings the S5 SM-G900F seems to be the best fit. Since i have a couple of more days to finally decide/get the device lets hear more from the community what there say is in it.

double post.

upgrade ?? confused

Hi all,
I'm confused and very hesitant about upgrading , I have a note 4 and I love it but like I said I'm very hesitant and reluctant to upgrade because I don't want to be a slave to a charger.....this is the number one reasons I hate Iphones besides not being able to expand the memory you can't switch out the battery, and you become as I stated a slave to a charger. Also I want to know if you are rooted & running the latest software does it make a difference what device you have? I know a friend of mine who has an s6 and I know one who has a note 5&6 their constantly charging it because the battery is constantly dying. can anyone tell me why I should upgrade to a note 5 if I cant expand the memory?
Can anyone tell me weather I'm doing the right thing, Or can anyone tell me anything to rest aside my fears concerning upgrading. ......thanks

I think best upgrade from note 4 is now s7 edge.
S8 is not anymore samsung phone becaus there`s no HW buttons and screen look ... WTF? WTF? ... pain in eyes so no thanks.
Still note 4 is amazing device but I think only exynos version becaus on Snapdragon if u have screen time 3 hours u can be happy of Exynos 6 hours sot.
I have 910F with snapdragon and low SOT is reason why i want to upgrade. (OR i need replace mainboard for 910C)

I did not upgrade my Note4 until the Note7 came out. Then it go recalled so went back to the Note4. I can swap the battery around when I want and I have a 256gb microSD card installed. It's still a great phone I say keep it.
I have rooted my Note4 and have a Note7 rom installed. It works really well.
Sent from my SM-N910G using Tapatalk

There's really not a lot of good phones to upgrade to with as much features as the Note 4. Closest by far is the LG V20 and Huawei Mate 9.
I'm actually aiming for the BlackBerry KeyOne cuz how good the battery life will be, I'll wait for a full review though.

Im sad of 910F (snapdragon) battery life. I looking for 910C (Exynos) but in my country is quite imposible

Short Answer: The Note 4 won't be beaten by new phones. Only if you are willing to sacrifice 2 features. The pen, and the removable battery. But for the next 2 to 3 years, it will stand alone on the throne.
Swapped the battery in the beginning of the year, because it died down with some shutdowns after 2 years of usage. No Shutdown since then, I have low SOT but still got 3 days instead of 2 before (910F). Just imagine having a phone with a fixed battery, you would either have to live unhappy with it or buy a new phone. The display is absolutely fine, no AMOLED aging problems yet.
It got a fine camera, 4k video, QHD Display, fast processing power and UI, good battery life, and a pen. That's so far stuff the note 4 has, and isn't worse than recent phones in a considerable amount in any of the things it does.
I crave for an even bigger display (something like 6 - 6,4 inch with 16:9), dual sim (with the bands I need), small bezels, and durable design on the edges (no bent display). I mean man, i dropped the note 4 so many times. The metal frame got damaged like it should, and the display hasn't broken yet.
Future Galaxy Notes won't get bigger in my opinion (Samsung using 2:1 ratio, only good for movies), and even after the note 7 disaster, removable batteries are going to be even less common (like no flagship phones have them anymore).
My only hope are smaller asian companies. But even Xiaomi (who are not small in any way, but they show to have the guts and put money into development of innovative phones like the Mi Mix), won't introduce an integrated pen and removable battery design just like that. Who knows, maybe in 5 years it may be different. When phones are just a display at the front, and you have to be different because they all have become the same concerning the design (lg g6 = s8 design, or like all the sharp aquos and the mi mix).
By the way, I use the dr. Ketan rom. Main Reason: With UC Browser (you can use a custom background, like a black picture. Bugless black browsing experience), and the official samsung theme manager, I got a close to complete black UI.

Vybramo said:
I think best upgrade from note 4 is now s7 edge.
S8 is not anymore samsung phone becaus there`s no HW buttons and screen look ... WTF? WTF? ... pain in eyes so no thanks.
Still note 4 is amazing device but I think only exynos version becaus on Snapdragon if u have screen time 3 hours u can be happy of Exynos 6 hours sot.
I have 910F with snapdragon and low SOT is reason why i want to upgrade. (OR i need replace mainboard for 910C)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
on s8 you can set the navigation bar to be static and black and you will get the same as hardware buttons with the plus of the force touch home button.
nobody used to the hardware button will get any difference in using them.
to understand what i'm saying just give a look at the antutu benchmark ... you will see the black bar.just imagine the black bar with buttons.no difference
you can adjust even the ratio to be 16/9 so...if you want you can get advantages from the infinity display otherwise not

Still its amoled. After half year of using u will have different collors on display on Button spot. But i dont understand why samsung use just only 4gb of ram on latest CPU ... Most of application eat around 700mb and 8gb will be nice to have on flagship.
I using my note 4 as navigation but s8 rly sux with screen ratio + edges for it.
I thinking about upgrade to oneplus 3t but night shots its imported for me alot + battery life where is samgung s7 edge for now best choice.

Even by current standards the Note 4 is still a very good device. Especially if you have the Exynos variant.

If the Note 4 had the S7 Edge Camera, fingerprint scanner and Ip68 resistance, it would be Samsung King.
Sent from my SM-G935V using XDA-Developers Legacy app

What is your Next smartphone? (Mention what u bought or planning to buy)

Hi guys! Just thought about creating a new thread about what would be our next device. This is 2017 and i thought it was time to move on and put my SAMSUNG GALAXY MINI(GT-9192)(2013)to rest. Although it is still working well and I might keep it for a few months before giving it away to my friend or family,but as said could not resist the temptation for a new device (Bigger-better-sharper display, bigger battery,fast charging, notification led, fingerprint sensor, updated android( had enough of custom roms)good build quality etc.).
So I choose..............LENOVO P2. Yup, after reading/watching hundreds of reviews i thought it is best Value for money device at the moment. Anyways................ share your stories. Thanks for reading.
UPDATE: SOLD my LENOVO P2.......primary reason....too big for my small hands. Second: I just hate dull stock like ui. Otherwise the device is very good.
UPDATE 2: Bought , used for a week and sold Lenovo Z2 plus/ZUK Z2(4/64). Reason for selling: LCD display. I will never buy a phone with LCD again. Reason 2: Device is compact but too thick. So it fails the purpose(ergonomics).
UPDATE 3: Finally(I hope so ) settled on GALAXY A5 2017(BLACK). Got it for around $250 from Amazon deal. So far enjoying the device. Its bigger and heavier compared to S4 MINI, but compact days are over i guess!!

I have no idea what could be the successor of my s4 mini, specially in terms of dimensions and cost.......

Went for the Sony Xperia X Compact, mainly for following reasons
- smallest form factor for modern mobile I could find, in combination with below
- acceptable price
- open source program (open device program gives you complete binaries and manual to build aosp)
- enough features for me (fingerprint, NFC, enough power for encryption, etc.)
So far I am happy with it. Running a 6.0.1 AOSP on it (no N, due to XPosed); completely removed google, hence microg.

I remember coming to a conclusion about a year ago when i thought about replacing my s4 mini. I realized at that time, I cannot replace my s4 mini.
So bought a Nexus 5X and have been using it alongside my S4 Mini. Any apps that I dont use on my main phone (5X) are installed on s4 mini. It was also
my backup device and I my parents used it occasionally when their phones were out for repair. I am so proud of my "serrano", I will never give up on it.
I will use it till it no longer functions. Awesome phone, phenomenal custom rom support. I would like to take this opportunity to thank @arco68 for putting
an amazing effort to keep this 2013 midrange phone more than relevant in 2017. Thanks for your work man. Cheers.

replacing with what?
for my usecase there is no option available.
- size
- replaceable battery
- sd-card
- hardware-home-button
- KK rom
these are the hardware facts. i also use an amami and it is quite comparable.
unfortunately no battery swap possible, though water-resistant
if i go to the OS features there is no option even close to the KK rom.
batterylife, customization, xposed, BLN (mandatory!). all worse or even
not possible on newer roms.
lucky me has two unboxed serranos, so it will work for the next years

I have a Nexus 5X

You want small (& cheap)?
https://www.xda-developers.com/jelly-is-a-2-45-smartphone-that-runs-android-nougat/

I cannot replace my s4 mini. So I bought another one, just in case of the "Vietnamese phone death" as that happening very often.

IronRoo said:
You want small (& cheap)?
https://www.xda-developers.com/jelly-is-a-2-45-smartphone-that-runs-android-nougat/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
good idea, but the resolution si quite embarrassing
It's one step back respect to the s4mini

I got my Honor 8 a few months ago

I just bought my first (brand new) I9505 a couple of weeks ago, to replace an old I9100. Previously I had experimented with a Jolla phone from 2014-2016, but Sailfish didn't quite cut it for me in terms of its versatility and the device wasn't as ergonomic as I would like. Last year I also picked up a mint Nokia 6310i, which I will use as a phone for as long as the GSM networks in the UK aren't shut down.
The GS4 Mini is unique for having one of the last full RGB matrix AMOLED displays, which at a pixel density of below 300 is a big deal. The combination of the size and a removable battery makes the device a perfect fit for me, I even bought a couple of genuine spare batteries, a Casemate tough case and Mediadevil screen protectors, this should allow the phone to last me a heck of a long time. LineageOS 13 will suffice until 14.1 builds become stable.

I do not want to replace S4 Mini. Only if absolutely necessary. Size, RAM, Screen, etc. Are perfect for my use. I would continue to use KK if there were security patches. But AOKP 7 works perfectly. AOSP ROMS just does not have the same quality in the camera and audio recordings. I used a lot of camera and audio recordings (in stereo) in KK. But I still do not want to replace. Only when this new battery is gone. Maybe until that happens Samsung returns with compact and quality versions. S5 Mini was a very bad one. He would be the replacement at the time. But camera, audio recording, etc. Were bad when I compared my S4 Mini.

Just ordered a Doogee s60, but I am holding on to the mighty 257 just in case. Arco68 has been instrumental in keeping mine going and I can't thank him enough. Now I just have to gain his mad skills and start hacking away at the Doogee.

I have 3 phones: s4 mini I9195I, Moto E 2015 and a Galaxy Young GT-S6310N. Next phones probably gonna be an s6 if I can get hold of one.

I bought a Xiaomi Mi 5S Plus

Probably i would buy a galaxy A3 for the actual size very similar to S4mini and for a respectful hw components. Sony Xperia X compact the second choiche or maybe the first one..

I upgraded to a Galaxy A310f(£100 special offer) when it was released in 2016, from the S4 Mini i9195. The adequate A3 lasted several months before something gave up inside and the (non-removable) battery decided to pretend it was constantly charging, even when unplugged, while the power continued to fall until it was empty.
A void warranty due to customisations etc. has rendered it a glass-slab paper-weight until I might decide to get it fixed myself.
In the meantime as a replacement, I found a second hand old, trusty i9195 in a local shop and, to be honest, I'm going to be disappointed if/when it becomes time to replace it again. Lovely little phone with loads of bug-free ROM options(unlike the A3, for now, unless you like Touchwiz, I don't), removable battery, perfect size, the only thing I actually miss from my A3 is the USB-OTG capability but I can live without it.
Long live the S4 Mini! ???

I think i would buy a galaxy A3 2017

Maybe the S9 mini, if this rumor is true.

still nothing comparable
untill today i am not aware of an successor of my GT-i9195 pack
regarding:
- size
- OLED display
- KK 2 O CustomRoms stable and unstable ofcorse
- removable battery (using this app. 2times a month!)
- sdCard slot

is the S5 still a good choice today?

Hello folks.
I'm looking to replace my current cell phone. It needs to be an unlocked CDMA (Sprint) phone. Things that are important to me:
high quality screen
processing power
decent storage
Things that aren't that important to me:
camera
I have a price limit of $150. Given the above, I am looking at:
Moto E4
Galaxy S5 (refurbished)
Galaxy J3 Emerge
Moto G4 Play
All of them have 5" screens, but the S5 has the highest resolution (the rest are 1280x720). The S5 also has the highest clock rate.
My concern is that the S5 is using technology from 4 years ago, while the rest are more recent. Should that be a concern, or is the S5 the best option here?
Thanks!

mrfeh said:
Hello folks. I'm looking to replace my current cell phone. It needs to be an unlocked CDMA (Sprint) phone...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your best bet is to post this question within one of the following threads that is specific to your question.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1846277
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1620179
Good Luck!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I DO NOT provide support via PM unless asked/requested by myself. PLEASE keep it in the threads where everyone can share.

yes
mrfeh said:
Hello folks.
I'm looking to replace my current cell phone. It needs to be an unlocked CDMA (Sprint) phone. Things that are important to me:
high quality screen
processing power
decent storage
Things that aren't that important to me:
camera
I have a price limit of $150. Given the above, I am looking at:
Moto E4
Galaxy S5 (refurbished)
Galaxy J3 Emerge
Moto G4 Play
All of them have 5" screens, but the S5 has the highest resolution (the rest are 1280x720). The S5 also has the highest clock rate.
My concern is that the S5 is using technology from 4 years ago, while the rest are more recent. Should that be a concern, or is the S5 the best option here?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
in my opinion, for this expense and one of the best!

I use a Samsung Galaxy S5 Neo and everything works fine.
2 weeks ago there was an update for the S5 over OTA. It is still alive and good.
In USA the normal S5 is still a smartphone that is one of the bestsellers.
I have no need to get another phone.
And the original S5 is better than my neo.
Gesendet von meinem SM-G903F mit Tapatalk

I would go with the S5...
Amoled screen, wireless charging, fingerscan...16mp cam..
Put LOS or RR and youll get the best deal...
Or try a xiaomi mia1

Hello, had a galaxy s5 for around 3 years. My unit had a bit of a network issue, which sullied my experience, so be careful when buying a refurb!
Also, if processing power is important to you, you should note that it has constant slowdowns/stutters and, though not as often, crashes. It also heats up pretty quick and has mediocre battery life, draining pretty fast with any decent usage. The chipset really does not hold up compared to mid range chipsets now imo. Near the time I upgraded, it became nearly unusable for a bit whenever i turned the wifi on, though a factory reset and a sparser app library has alleviated the worst aspects of using the phone. It might be powerful specwise, but in irl use I find newer midrange chips outperform it in day to day use.
I recently upgraded to a redmi note 5 (china) and it was an upgrade in every way. From build to smoothness to battery life (and both cameras but you don't care about that). It also has the 6' display while retaining the same width as my s5, thanks to the 18:9 display. The aspect ratio is great in all apps that aren't games and in general UI use. It also has oreo out of the box and will get updates in the future, unlike the s5.
The redmi 5 plus(china) could also be a replacement that's cheaper, but I can't vouch for the screen on that one. The redmi note 5 has a bright lcd that looks really good. It's not amoled, but the transition hasn't bothered me at all, it's quite excellent! I've gotten compliments on the screen from many friends who have seen it in person as well.
So, yeah, look into the phone and see if your budget can be adjusted. Shoot for the 3/32 GB which is a steal imo. Oh, and it has a micro sd card slot, just like the s5, so storage won't be an issue. Another plus with these phones is that they actually have a fingerprint scanner that's not trash - another thing from the past that does not hold up.
I looked up the prices for these phones and they seem to be out of the 150$ budget, so, if the budget is rigid you might want to look into the redmi note 4, which can be found for 160$ and has all the same internals as the redmi 5 plus. I cannot vouch for how good the screen is, but it's 1080P IPS LCD. I would personally consider it a better phone to buy than the Galaxy S5 as well (working fingerprint scanner, larger screen, equivalent if not better chipset usability wise).
Anyway, I'm not really as knowledgable as most people in xda but I am a s5 owner, so I figured I'd chip in and try to help.

While S5 is still a nice phone, it is not worth buying one at this time. The best option would be to get current/last year mid end phone. Look at the local market websites, maybe there are good deals. Xiaomi redmi 5 plus is nice phone for low price, also redmi note 4 is nice phone too, you will get better peformance than S5, or at very least the same, more ram, much better battery life due to bigger battery and better chipset, you will get android updates.

S5 is still a great phone.. Do not buy refurbished.. you can find great deals on Ebay.. My cost $110 no dings, or dents or scratches.. Phone actually had very little call time on it.. Moto's IMOP are junk.

Hi ,
I personally think you should go for a newer phone like Honor 8. The main problem i would have with an S5 is the fact that it only has 16GB internal memory. Apart from that it is still a great phone.
With those 16 GB you will always struggle if you want to install many applications and keep Whatsapp data on your phone.

loomax12 said:
Hi ,
I personally think you should go for a newer phone like Honor 8. The main problem i would have with an S5 is the fact that it only has 16GB internal memory. Apart from that it is still a great phone.
With those 16 GB you will always struggle if you want to install many applications and keep Whatsapp data on your phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It does support SD Cards up to 128 GB though. I'm a kinda heavy user and never had problems with storage, always around 3-4 GB free in internal. Though I did put my games on my card obviosly (there was some app that does this, I forgot name).

i picked mine up monday for 45$. cracked rear camera glass. still takes photos fine.
anyway, i love the thing. i went from an s7 to an iphone 7 then to and old moto then to this. i love the effing thing. i get 2 days in low power mode with the original battery. im hunting for a parts phone now.
the s5 has issues from what ive heard but so far, im running fine.

After 2 weeks using the S5 of my wife I have to reverse my opinion. I installed latest lineageos 14.1 on it and it works like a charm. With lineageos there is still a lot of internal memory left for apps. Bluetooth which is often a problem for custom roms seems to work pretty well.

I've actually recently bought an S5, and although it is not the best option, the support for it has been huge over time and its still going on with amazing roms like AEX or CrDroid.
The only part I dislike is the storage, because yea 16GB are little to me. And the fact that it is refurbished is good contrary to what people assume, because, then that means its already fixed, you wont have to go through that pain as you would with a new one waiting to fail, that's how it is, you have more chances of a new one having issues than a refurbished one because that one already had them and its already fixed. On the other hand, "refurbished" doesnt always mean "it broke and we fixed it", usually its because people return it to the store, the package is open, they cant sell them as new, even if theres nothing wrong with it, it automatically falls to the "refurbished" category and not many people think of that.
Now, the Moto G4 is actually a better option, it has a good performance, but you should opt for the Plus version with 32GB internal
So, I'd recommend the G4 Plus, if you cant buy that, then the S5 is the way to go

S5 is still going strong.
I would not change it, but I need a dual SIM phone now.
So if you can get one, go for it.
However, I am not aware of CDMA capabilities or tested it, sorry. I have European model...

My uncle gave me his old S5 back in January to replace my dying S4 LTE-A, and with LineageOS 15.1, it feels like a brand new phone

im now rooted and running the latest lineage 14.1 and its awesome.
12 hours of battery, 4 hours of SOT and no issues. these nougat kernels are pretty nice. lol
people talking about storage, flash Lineage, have a clean sd card in and use the SD card as adptive storage. it shows it as all internal storage and works like a charm.

Bodisson said:
S5 is still going strong.
I would not change it, but I need a dual SIM phone now.
So if you can get one, go for it.
However, I am not aware of CDMA capabilities or tested it, sorry. I have European model...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
would you recommend the S5 as a backup to the Note 4?

I still have an S5 as a backup phone. Main phone Xiaomei Redmi Note 4x which I bought due to its superior battery life. The S5 imo is still good as backup phone and has an excellent camera (if you stick to TouchWiz based roms).

mrfeh said:
Hello folks.
I'm looking to replace my current cell phone. It needs to be an unlocked CDMA (Sprint) phone. Things that are important to me:
high quality screen
processing power
decent storage
Things that aren't that important to me:
camera
I have a price limit of $150. Given the above, I am looking at:
Moto E4
Galaxy S5 (refurbished)
Galaxy J3 Emerge
Moto G4 Play
All of them have 5" screens, but the S5 has the highest resolution (the rest are 1280x720). The S5 also has the highest clock rate.
My concern is that the S5 is using technology from 4 years ago, while the rest are more recent. Should that be a concern, or is the S5 the best option here?
Thanks!
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Hello!
I can definately assure you that:
A. Off the phones you have listed AND
B. Your stated price range
The S5 is your choice!!
It is amazing!! You will not be dissapointed! Unlimited battery life (multiple batteries), screen resolution, clock speed etc etc.
I am currently typing from one! Lol, I have the OnePlus 3 and my good ol' trusty S5! Some tips:
You stated about being older firmware (S5 is marshmallow) whilst others are nougat..... The S5 is one of the most developed phones ever! even still!!! In literally 5 minutes and little knowledge you can flash a custom recovery and then a custom ROM, no root needed. I have used the S5 since the early days and have used pretty much EVERY rom, honestly!
I can suggest resurrection remix as THE most customisable, they have features beyond any other! They have 100% stable nougat build and Oreo also, I use them both. In fact we have multiboot so can run 2 ROMs at once just choose at boot!
We have lots of kernels if you choose to root like myself, this way you can have 2.1 amp quick charge, boot windows or Linux on PC from phone, double battery time, gaming performance and over clocking to 2.84 GHz!!!! The phone is a beast!! It is reliable as hell too! I have had mine rooted for 4 years, overclocked and its given me no worries....And waterproof with a removable battery!!!!!!
Hope this helps, any questions at all please ask, happy to help

ErbDroid said:
Hello!
I can definately assure you that:
A. Off the phones you have listed AND
B. Your stated price range
The S5 is your choice!!
It is amazing!! You will not be dissapointed! Unlimited battery life (multiple batteries), screen resolution, clock speed etc etc.
I am currently typing from one! Lol, I have the OnePlus 3 and my good ol' trusty S5! Some tips:
You stated about being older firmware (S5 is marshmallow) whilst others are nougat..... The S5 is one of the most developed phones ever! even still!!! In literally 5 minutes and little knowledge you can flash a custom recovery and then a custom ROM, no root needed. I have used the S5 since the early days and have used pretty much EVERY rom, honestly!
I can suggest resurrection remix as THE most customisable, they have features beyond any other! They have 100% stable nougat build and Oreo also, I use them both. In fact we have multiboot so can run 2 ROMs at once just choose at boot!
We have lots of kernels if you choose to root like myself, this way you can have 2.1 amp quick charge, boot windows or Linux on PC from phone, double battery time, gaming performance and over clocking to 2.84 GHz!!!! The phone is a beast!! It is reliable as hell too! I have had mine rooted for 4 years, overclocked and its given me no worries....And waterproof with a removable battery!!!!!!
Hope this helps, any questions at all please ask, happy to help
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello.
Please make recomendation for Nougat and Oreo firmwares