Database Users

Nexus vs Galaxy S, can't believe this is even a thought...

I, like most of you, think Samsungs Android attempts have been horrible. The Behold 2 was an awful device, touchwiz was even worse. When I heard news of the Galaxy S I shrugged and didn't think twice about it. Now that I've had the opportunity to really play with one though, I have to say I'm VERY impressed.
You see, there are a couple of things I want out of my Android device.
1. Screen quality.
2. Battery Life
3. Reception/Signal
4. XDA Community Support
5. Performance
In no particular order, I can say that this Galaxy S definitely is giving the Nexus a run for its money. It clearly has a better screen (and bigger). One would think the battery life would be much better given the fact that its Super Amoled. (I think the claims were 30% better than standard AMOLED?)
We all know about the finnicky signal of the Nexus. I'm curious how the signal will be on the Galaxy S.
XDA support is the big one. We all love HTC here. Will the Samsung be rootable, romable, will there be a good following of developers for it? You would think, since this phone is world wide, including all 4 major carriers in the U.S. that it will have a lot of support. Maybe some of you can speak a bit more to that subject?
Lastly, performance. We've all seen the tests. We've all heard about Hummingbird. When looking at the live wallpapers on the Galaxy vs Nexus (specifically the water pond wallpaper) there is a very noticiable different in the speed of the water vibrations etc... Now will that translate to performance elsewhere, perhaps. Hard to say, but based on benchmarks, it seems like it.
All of that said, really the only downside to the S is that it doesn't have a flash on the camera. For me, its not that big of a deal. I can understand if it is to some people.
All of that said, are you guys not giving this phone some serious consideration? It's definitely more intriguing that I initially thought it would be.

But you're forgetting the most important part. HTC supports and upgrades their phones. Samsung ALWAYS screws the customer by making them get the new phone.
Ala, the behold2. Higher specs than the MYTouch3g, but the 3g is getting 2.1, AND 2.2. The Behold will never even see 2.0. Plus, visit any samsung forum and they're trying to get 'Vanilla' android because they hate touchwiz.
Fastest upgrades
Dependable care provider
System straight from google.
N1 Wins.

Cuda1337 said:
I, like most of you, think Samsungs Android attempts have been horrible. The Behold 2 was an awful device, touchwiz was even worse. When I heard news of the Galaxy S I shrugged and didn't think twice about it. Now that I've had the opportunity to really play with one though, I have to say I'm VERY impressed.
You see, there are a couple of things I want out of my Android device.
1. Screen quality.
2. Battery Life
3. Reception/Signal
4. XDA Community Support
5. Performance
In no particular order, I can say that this Galaxy S definitely is giving the Nexus a run for its money. It clearly has a better screen (and bigger). One would think the battery life would be much better given the fact that its Super Amoled. (I think the claims were 30% better than standard AMOLED?)
We all know about the finnicky signal of the Nexus. I'm curious how the signal will be on the Galaxy S.
XDA support is the big one. We all love HTC here. Will the Samsung be rootable, romable, will there be a good following of developers for it? You would think, since this phone is world wide, including all 4 major carriers in the U.S. that it will have a lot of support. Maybe some of you can speak a bit more to that subject?
Lastly, performance. We've all seen the tests. We've all heard about Hummingbird. When looking at the live wallpapers on the Galaxy vs Nexus (specifically the water pond wallpaper) there is a very noticiable different in the speed of the water vibrations etc... Now will that translate to performance elsewhere, perhaps. Hard to say, but based on benchmarks, it seems like it.
All of that said, really the only downside to the S is that it doesn't have a flash on the camera. For me, its not that big of a deal. I can understand if it is to some people.
All of that said, are you guys not giving this phone some serious consideration? It's definitely more intriguing that I initially thought it would be.
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Click to collapse
+1 for all of this. Although I also used to be the guy that said I didn't care about the camera flash, I find myself taking pics with the flash a good bit, and using it for a flashlight.
I've been with HTC for so many years I'm scared to try someone else, but the Galaxy does look pretty awesome. Its the screen size that does it for me. I like the larger screen on the Evo, but it looks like poop next to the N1.
FishFan does make a perfect point. I wouldn't even consider trading my N1 for the Galaxy unless I could unlock/root/load a vanilla ROM.
I wanna see an in depth N1 vs Galaxy S review done by a reputable reviewer.
I'm still gonna check it out when AT&T gets a demo...

Well see that's the thing, if the Galaxy can be rooted, what really does it matter if Samsung supports it? I'm going to root it and put a custom rom on there anyway. The only thing Im concerned about is future updates of Android. If I'm not mistaken Samsung does not release the source to their drivers, so although you can put vanilla Android on the S, you won't be able to put, for instance, Froyo on there? Would that be accurate?

Just fyi, amoled is The same as super amoled, just the touch later has been combined into one. So battery life is The same.
Unless Samsung is claiming otherwise, I haven't heard.

Cuda1337 said:
Well see that's the thing, if the Galaxy can be rooted, what really does it matter if Samsung supports it? I'm going to root it and put a custom rom on there anyway. The only thing Im concerned about is future updates of Android. If I'm not mistaken Samsung does not release the source to their drivers, so although you can put vanilla Android on the S, you won't be able to put, for instance, Froyo on there? Would that be accurate?
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Well I'm pretty sure they claim to be getting froyo on all the models this year, so that solves that.

BoostedSR20 said:
Well I'm pretty sure they claim to be getting froyo on all the models this year, so that solves that.
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Click to collapse
Froyo isn't a concern, but Gingerbread will be. Without support from Samsung, are we going to be able to count on the developers to get Gingerbread or whatever else running on it?

Cuda1337 said:
Froyo isn't a concern, but Gingerbread will be. Without support from Samsung, are we going to be able to count on the developers to get Gingerbread or whatever else running on it?
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Click to collapse
lol at today's pace, you'll be buying a new phone by the time Gingerbread comes out.

I'm also with the same doubts as the original poster.
On the Galaxy S forum, according to a post from someone involved with Modaco's rom, so far there can only be a custom rom for the Galaxy S if Samsung provides (or leaks) the base rom. So, it won't be possible to get Froyo, Gingerbread, Sense Ui, Timescape or anything else unless Samsung releases it.
Custom roms for the Galaxy S will only be able to modify the Samsung roms.

@Cuda1337 (OP) +1 to everything you said. That's exactly what I always say when comparing the two phones. I was compelled to sell my Nexus One now that it still has a good price, especially here in my area.
However, I'm not compelled enough to change yet, because it's more expensive and the expense may not justify the potential benefits, given there are risks (like it may not have a good enough dev community). I suggest that we wait for a short while. A superphone should have no compromise.
I'll wait for 4-8 months. By then, I'll expect more than 1Ghz CPU with all necessary superphone specs (camera flash, front-facing camera, etc.) and even a physical keyboard.

If they could stick the Nexus One inside my Gphone I would be the happiest man on earth. It doesn't even have to be pretty.

Cuda1337 said:
Well see that's the thing, if the Galaxy can be rooted, what really does it matter if Samsung supports it? I'm going to root it and put a custom rom on there anyway. The only thing Im concerned about is future updates of Android. If I'm not mistaken Samsung does not release the source to their drivers, so although you can put vanilla Android on the S, you won't be able to put, for instance, Froyo on there? Would that be accurate?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just because you root your Samsung Galaxy S, it doesn't mean you can just put any custom ROM on there. A custom ROM has to be specifically designed for the Galaxy S. For instance, people with a rooted Incredible have no decent custom ROMs to flash at the moment, and it is debatable if it is even worth rooting the Incredible. The N1 will always have the latest and greatest stock and custom ROMs. If you don't really tinker too much with your phone then the Galaxy S might be fine for you. For me, there is no question, N1 all the way, and when the next developer phone comes around, that will be my next phone (unfortunately there will not be an Nexus 2).

irishrally said:
Just because you root your Samsung galaxy, it doesn't mean you can just put any custom ROM on there. A custom ROM has to be specifically designed for the Galaxy S. For instance, people with a rooted Incredible have no decent custom ROMs to flash at the moment and it is debatable if it is even worth rooting the Incredible. The N1 ROM will always have the latest and greatest stock and custom ROMs. If you don't really tinker too much with your phone then the Galaxy S might be fine for you. For me, there is no question, N1 all the way, and when the next developer phone comes around, that will be my next phone (unfortunately there will not be an Nexus 2).
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Click to collapse
I agree entirely here! I am spoiled by the support from the G1 and Nexus! I can't go without flashing a ROM, a new theme, a new mod, SOMETHING new every other day or week that other phones aren't fortunate to have~

i used to think that camera flash wasn't a big deal and never really used my video camera. but a few days ago a few of my friends were taking videos with their droids and evo's and only my n1 got to turn on its light being able to record in the dark!

RogerPodacter said:
Just fyi, amoled is The same as super amoled, just the touch later has been combined into one. So battery life is The same.
Unless Samsung is claiming otherwise, I haven't heard.
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Click to collapse
No. Do your research Roger..
Samsung has claimed that Super Amoled has a 20% brighter screen, 80% less sunlight reflection and at least 20% reduced power consumption - plus the fact that it has a 180degree viewing angle!
(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_AMOLED)
And I tend to agree. I get 3 days easy out of my SGS, where as I was only getting 1-2 days from the N1. Mind you, the Hummingbird CPU/GPU package has other refinements such as being lower voltage than the Snapdragon, plus sporting a 45nm SOC (vs 65nm)

BoostedSR20 said:
lol at today's pace, you'll be buying a new phone by the time Gingerbread comes out.
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Click to collapse
Gingerbread is due at the end of the year. Not everybody can afford to change phones every six months you know...

having a screen that's bigger than 3.9" is an instant loss for me.
i need a phone not a tablet.
but just to humor you,
Support on XDA for nexus is better than samsung (+1 nexus)
Screen better (+1 Sam, resolution wise not battery conserving wise
even if it was the 30% is a comparison between Apple's IPS and
Samsungs SAMOLED not between AMOLED AND SAMOLED)
Battery life (+1 Nexus, standard use 30+ hours unplugged "my use" no way in hell a bigger screen and better processor will give me more)
Google Support (it sucks all over but you get updates directly to your phone the second it's out +1)
Performance (if you take everything into consideration, I don't really have a clear cut winner here)
by your own criteria Galaxy S definitely "Doesn't" give the Nexus a run for its money.

anthro said:
@Cuda1337 (OP) +1 to everything you said. That's exactly what I always say when comparing the two phones. I was compelled to sell my Nexus One now that it still has a good price, especially here in my area.
However, I'm not compelled enough to change yet, because it's more expensive and the expense may not justify the potential benefits, given there are risks (like it may not have a good enough dev community). I suggest that we wait for a short while. A superphone should have no compromise.
I'll wait for 4-8 months. By then, I'll expect more than 1Ghz CPU with all necessary superphone specs (camera flash, front-facing camera, etc.) and even a physical keyboard.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm with you. The nexus will be a year old after the holidays and ill be ready to upgrade. Ill hang on to this beauty but ill want 2ghz or dual core, 1080p recording, 8-10mp, a screen i can see during the day, 1ghz ram. the Samsung S just isn't a big enough upgrade over the nexus plus samsungs mobile reputation is pitiful count me out. I'm HTC or possibly but doubtfully Motorola .

Not saying the Galaxy S will be the best device out there, especially with samsung's reputation but some of your arguments seem a little biased
kindiboy said:
Support on XDA for nexus is better than samsung (+1 nexus)
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You don't know how both devices will be supported in a few months, OP has a point when he says the Galaxy will be widely available on all carriers. But I do agree it will probably never be as well supported as the G1 or N1.
Screen better (+1 Sam, resolution wise not battery conserving wise
even if it was the 30% is a comparison between Apple's IPS and
Samsungs SAMOLED not between AMOLED AND SAMOLED)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm pretty sure the 30 percents was compared to older samsung AMOLED display
Battery life (+1 Nexus, standard use 30+ hours unplugged "my use" no way in hell a bigger screen and better processor will give me more)
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Click to collapse
Well unless you use a galaxy S you can't really compare. I didn't even check how much time galaxy S users get out of their phones, but if one of them say his/her phone works 15 hours with one charge I might conclude that the battery life is better than on the Nexus since I typically get around 12 hours of battery life with MY use. SO you can't really compare unfortunately.
And the better screen (with better sunlight visibility) allows you to lower the brightness, thus saving some battery.
Same goes for the faster CPU : first it may use less power altogether since it uses 45nm carving (do you say "carving" in English ?), and secondly if it's faster it will be used less to perform the same task, thus saving some battery.
Google Support (it sucks all over but you get updates directly to your phone the second it's out +1)
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Click to collapse
Can't argue with that, definitely the main pro of the N1
Performance (if you take everything into consideration, I don't really have a clear cut winner here)
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errr... on this point EVERY benchmark and user feedback I read said the Galaxy S performed way better than the N1 (and it's not even on Froyo yet),
IMHO the Galaxy S is definitely better than the N1 as far as hardware is concerned, and a better choice for people who just use there phone as it is out of the box.
But it will probably have less support from developpers, and less frequent updates from samsung, so for people like us the N1 might still be a better choice.
besides, I don't see the point in upgrading from a N1 to any other phone right now. I'll wait for at least the next gen (before christmas maybe ?) before I consider replacing my N1.

I'm so damn tempted by the Samsung Captivate (Galaxy S on AT&T July 18).
It has 16gigs of internal storage space!! 4" Super AMOLED.
The only thing I don't like is the glossy plastic casing, makes holding it feel cheap, although it looks like it's just a bit of that.

[Q]Biggest.Decision! Please help..

Hey y'all S4 folks. So umm, yeah. To all the experts out there who own an S4, please do help me what S4 should I buy. I'm about to receive my blue's and threeheads(Philippine money that is. xD) Should I go for the Quadcore or the Octacore?
I'm the kind of guy who likes flashing ROM's and when I heard or rather saw the Octacore forum, it was like a ghost town. I mean, will the Octacore ever have any sort of AOSP's? Please do convince me why the <INSERT S4 VERSION HERE> is better than its counter part. Its really hard to choose between the two. If ever I choose the Quadcore, do I have to worry that maybe next year it'll loose its value. Futureproof I mean. Please please convince me. Thanks y'all!
:victory::highfive::victory:

Get the Quad core. You won't get a fully stable ROM on the octa as Samsung won't release all the necessary drives for AOSP to work as well as it could
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

from a fellow filipino,
Get the Qualcomm Snapdragon I9505
Why?
- Philippines has NO OFFICIAL OCTA-CORE RELEASED FIRMWARE (I9500)
- Samsung Philippines DOES NOT SERVICE/REPAIR DAMAGED I9500 MODELS (so you have to make sure you don't break your device)
- the Qualcomm (I9505) has more roms/mods/kernels than I9500 will ever ever have. Period
This device (I9505) is already considered "overkill" for the next 2 years.
Look at the SGS2, it's still faster than most latest mid-range devices out there, and it's almost 3 years old!
Same will go with the S4

I9505 hands down if you're into rom flashing. The platform is more open and it's what the Google Edition is based off. Octa core isn't as good as it's supposed to be and gsm arena tests show the Snapdragon actually has better battery life than the octal.
Sent from my GT-I9505

I9505, with LTE also helping future proof it, I don't see why they didn't include it ina £500+ phone (i9500) love my i9505, even if it is in for repair for the well know 'button cracking' issue
Sent from my GT-I9000 using xda premium

Jhayzt said:
Hey y'all S4 folks. So umm, yeah. To all the experts out there who own an S4, please do help me what S4 should I buy. I'm about to receive my blue's and threeheads(Philippine money that is. xD) Should I go for the Quadcore or the Octacore?
:victory::highfive::victory:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First of all, you shall go to the Q&A thread with your QUESTION... anything else, I'm afraid, may be too complicated if you cannot place your question in the propoer thread....

I see everyone suggested the quad version. I think Samsung rushed the octa and for some reason they don't wanna release their drivers. Alright, time this seal this up. I'm going for the Quad core version. Expect me to be active in the forums! And again, thanks to everyone who posted!
Sir Deathnotice! "Salamat po!"

i9505 - hands down.
Pros:
LTE (!)
More dev-ROM friendly
Better battery life
Better support
Cons:
GPU isn't as good as i9500, but still amazing
The camera is a bit more "noisy" than i9500

GoblinSandwich said:
i9505 - hands down.
Pros:
LTE (!)
More dev-ROM friendly
Better battery life
Better support
Cons:
GPU isn't as good as i9500, but still amazing
The camera is a bit more "noisy" than i9500
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree with most of your points, though not the battery life.
I don't really understand GSMArena's test on that, because if you follow the battery life thread of both devices, you'll see the i9500 often lasts more than 5-6 hours screen time over a 24+ hours period, while the i9505 is closer to 4-5 hours screen time in average.
Of course, it depends a lot on what you do.
If you like to play heavy games a lot, then i9505 will clearly last longer, since the A15 CPU will be used, and that one loves eating battery
However, for most tasks (lighter tasks, or if you don't use your device that much - background tasks use the A7 CPU), the i9500 will last longer.
Also, the CPU is faster on the i9500 (the A15).
A good example is probably when you record slow motion videos.
The i9505 can record slow motion up to 1/8 at 15 FPS and 800x450 resolution.
The i9500 can record slow motion up to 1/8 at 15 FPS and 1280*720 resolution.
On another thread, people tried installing the camera software from the i9500 on the i9505 to see if they could also record in 720p.
It worked, but it also showed the reason why Samsung downgraded the resolution of slow motion videos on the i9505 : the video is a lot more choppy on the i9505 (barely useable).
And since it still worked (even if it's slow), I don't think this is due to the camera sensor difference between the variants.
Anyway, if you want to install AOSP roms, the i9505 is most likely the better choice.
I think we will get CM10.1 roms on i9500 too, but it can take a while, and they probably won't be perfect either.
I, for one, am still happy I got the i9500 (I had to import it), mostly because of the camera.
The Exmor RS is really amazing.
I also have a DSLR, but most of the pictures I take are with my phone, since I got a 9 months daughter, and she won't really wait for me to grab my Nikon to capture what she's doing
EDIT : forgot there's also a difference in the sound chip : i9500 uses a new Wolfson chip

Mithrandir007 said:
I agree with most of your points, though not the battery life.
I don't really understand GSMArena's test on that, because if you follow the battery life thread of both devices, you'll see the i9500 often lasts more than 5-6 hours screen time over a 24+ hours period, while the i9505 is closer to 4-5 hours screen time in average.
Of course, it depends a lot on what you do.
If you like to play heavy games a lot, then i9505 will clearly last longer, since the A15 CPU will be used, and that one loves eating battery
However, for most tasks (lighter tasks, or if you don't use your device that much - background tasks use the A7 CPU), the i9500 will last longer.
Also, the CPU is faster on the i9500 (the A15).
A good example is probably when you record slow motion videos.
The i9505 can record slow motion up to 1/8 at 15 FPS and 800x450 resolution.
The i9500 can record slow motion up to 1/8 at 15 FPS and 1280*720 resolution.
On another thread, people tried installing the camera software from the i9500 on the i9505 to see if they could also record in 720p.
It worked, but it also showed the reason why Samsung downgraded the resolution of slow motion videos on the i9505 : the video is a lot more choppy on the i9505 (barely useable).
And since it still worked (even if it's slow), I don't think this is due to the camera sensor difference between the variants.
Anyway, if you want to install AOSP roms, the i9505 is most likely the better choice.
I think we will get CM10.1 roms on i9500 too, but it can take a while, and they probably won't be perfect either.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I didn't know that about the battery, interesting
About the slow-mo... I'm pretty sure it's related to the camera sensor. Sounds more logical to me that this is the bottleneck and not the CPU. I read here somewhere that it's possible to record in 60FPS in real time as well on the i9509, and that wasn't possible on stock ROM

The snapdragon one. I won't touch another exynos with a ten foot pole.
The i9505 has LTE, a dev friendly SoC, a an overall more active developer community, both aosp wise and stock wise.
Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk 4 Beta

I have to admit, I really do want the Octa but, no LTE(Why o why Samsung?!), and almost no custom ROM's(besides the stock-customed ones) is a deal breaker for me. It was almost perfect but Sammy didn't pinch enough salt for the Octa version. If they could had stayed with 1 variant then maybe I can consider the Octa. The Quad is seriously getting love by the devs while the octa, facepalm. I think I'll have to give my blues to my sis, bet it all out and see what she picks up. xD Just kidding.

GoblinSandwich said:
I didn't know that about the battery, interesting
About the slow-mo... I'm pretty sure it's related to the camera sensor. Sounds more logical to me that this is the bottleneck and not the CPU. I read here somewhere that it's possible to record in 60FPS in real time as well on the i9509, and that wasn't possible on stock ROM
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You might be right about the camera sensor, although I would have thought it wouldn't record slow motion in 720p at all if it was the sensor.
Where have you seen the possibility of recording in 60FPS on the i9505? I'm interested.. especially since this would prove it might also be done on the i9500 at some point
---------- Post added at 03:52 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:46 PM ----------
Jhayzt said:
I have to admit, I really do want the Octa but, no LTE(Why o why Samsung?!), and almost no custom ROM's(besides the stock-customed ones) is a deal breaker for me. It was almost perfect but Sammy didn't pinch enough salt for the Octa version. If they could had stayed with 1 variant then maybe I can consider the Octa. The Quad is seriously getting love by the devs while the octa, facepalm. I think I'll have to give my blues to my sis, bet it all out and see what she picks up. xD Just kidding.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For LTE, it really depends on where you live.
In Belgium, it'll be almost useless for another year or 2 (it's only available in 8 cities, and costs a bit more now).
The i9500 doesn't have LTE, but has 42Mbit HSDPA, which is already very fast, especially since I don't download that much from my phone, given the 1Gb/month limit with my subscription (I can got over, but it'll cost extra then).
For the Roms though, it's a bit sad indeed that Samsung doesn't release the sources for the Exynos...
If you really want AOSP roms, it's kind of a deal breaker.
I still got that one because on my S3, I had dual boot Paranoid Android + very modded TouchWiz, and I used the TW rom most of the time (the camera software is one of the reasons).

The Exynos has tiny bit better performance but vastly inferior battery life than the Snapdragon S4. Also, no LTE on the i9500.
For me, i9505 every time.
Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk 2

Mithrandir007 said:
You might be right about the camera sensor, although I would have thought it wouldn't record slow motion in 720p at all if it was the sensor.
Where have you seen the possibility of recording in 60FPS on the i9505? I'm interested.. especially since this would prove it might also be done on the i9500 at some point
---------- Post added at 03:52 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:46 PM ----------
For LTE, it really depends on where you live.
In Belgium, it'll be almost useless for another year or 2 (it's only available in 8 cities, and costs a bit more now).
The i9500 doesn't have LTE, but has 42Mbit HSDPA, which is already very fast, especially since I don't download that much from my phone, given the 1Gb/month limit with my subscription (I can got over, but it'll cost extra then).
For the Roms though, it's a bit sad indeed that Samsung doesn't release the sources for the Exynos...
If you really want AOSP roms, it's kind of a deal breaker.
I still got that one because on my S3, I had dual boot Paranoid Android + very modded TouchWiz, and I used the TW rom most of the time (the camera software is one of the reasons).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm actually here in the Philippines and to be honest, only a few areas here are covered with LTE. You do have a point. The LTE kicks at 50mbps while the 3G+ is at 42. If you were to compare, its not really a big deal. My friend uses an S3 and I asked him why doesn't he use AOSP/CM ROM's. His main reason was he wanted to stay stockish as possible due to the features of the phone. If I were to ask you sir @Mithrandir007, if ever you own an I9505, would you go custom too? if not, why?

Jhayzt said:
I'm actually here in the Philippines and to be honest, only a few areas here are covered with LTE. You do have a point. The LTE kicks at 50mbps while the 3G+ is at 42. If you were to compare, its not really a big deal. My friend uses an S3 and I asked him why doesn't he use AOSP/CM ROM's. His main reason was he wanted to stay stockish as possible due to the features of the phone. If I were to ask you sir @Mithrandir007, if ever you own an I9505, would you go custom too? if not, why?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I always install custom Roms, but still modded TouchWiz.
I'm guessing your question was if I would go AOSP, then I'd probably only use AOSP if I can dual boot, so I still have the possibility of going back to TouchWiz.
There are a lot of features on TouchWiz, some of which are gimmicks (although gimmicks for some can be very useful to others, and the other way around as well), but others are hard to let go
On the S4, those are the TouchWiz features I use most :
- Quickglance (wave your hand above the handset to display quick information (date-time, notifications, ...) for a few seconds)
- Airview : for me this is both a gimmick in some places though still fun to use (gallery, lockscreen) and very useful in others : preview when hovering your finger above the "progress" bar while playing a video, or see full sms text when hovering over a sms in the list, see full appointment when hovering over it in S Planner, ...
- Turn phone face down to mute (or put hand on the face of the phone)
- Put the phone to your ear while looking at messages or contacts to call automatically
- Smart alert : phone vibrates when you pick it up from the table or pockets when there are notifications (missed call, sms, ...)
- MultiWindow : handy when typing a mail when you need to copy/paste or read content from a webpage for example.
There are others I use sometimes, but not as much.
Besides the features, there are also Samsung apps that are great, like the camera and S Planner.
Most of the others I use can be replaced though.
I do like AOSP roms like Paranoid Android for example, but I would really miss some TouchWiz features if I just replaced TW with AOSP (no dual boot).

Flashaholic = i9505

I'm facing a similar situation except- I don't have a problem with TW....
I posted here a for some help with my decision
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=43412201
Still on the fence here...

Mithrandir007 said:
I always install custom Roms, but still modded TouchWiz.
I'm guessing your question was if I would go AOSP, then I'd probably only use AOSP if I can dual boot, so I still have the possibility of going back to TouchWiz.
There are a lot of features on TouchWiz, some of which are gimmicks (although gimmicks for some can be very useful to others, and the other way around as well), but others are hard to let go
On the S4, those are the TouchWiz features I use most :
- Quickglance (wave your hand above the handset to display quick information (date-time, notifications, ...) for a few seconds)
- Airview : for me this is both a gimmick in some places though still fun to use (gallery, lockscreen) and very useful in others : preview when hovering your finger above the "progress" bar while playing a video, or see full sms text when hovering over a sms in the list, see full appointment when hovering over it in S Planner, ...
- Turn phone face down to mute (or put hand on the face of the phone)
- Put the phone to your ear while looking at messages or contacts to call automatically
- Smart alert : phone vibrates when you pick it up from the table or pockets when there are notifications (missed call, sms, ...)
- MultiWindow : handy when typing a mail when you need to copy/paste or read content from a webpage for example.
There are others I use sometimes, but not as much.
Besides the features, there are also Samsung apps that are great, like the camera and S Planner.
Most of the others I use can be replaced though.
I do like AOSP roms like Paranoid Android for example, but I would really miss some TouchWiz features if I just replaced TW with AOSP (no dual boot).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm. Those are pretty darn features. I do tell myself that if ever I'm going for the Octa, I need to convince myself to stay stockish as ever and forget AOSP/CM/AOKP ROM's. By the way, I do love me some hardcore 3D games. How's the GPU on both devices? I heard that the Octa swarms through benchmarks. Hayahaiihaii. The dilemma of choosing between stock-customed(I9500) vs the pure-customizable(I9505). :silly:

Jhayzt said:
Hmm. Those are pretty darn features. I do tell myself that if ever I'm going for the Octa, I need to convince myself to stay stockish as ever and forget AOSP/CM/AOKP ROM's. By the way, I do love me some hardcore 3D games. How's the GPU on both devices? I heard that the Octa swarms through benchmarks. Hayahaiihaii. The dilemma of choosing between stock-customed(I9500) vs the pure-customizable(I9505). :silly:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For hardcore 3D games I've tried, they all run perfectly smooth, from what I've read, they are smoother on the i9500 than the i9505 but I've read that early after the release of the S4, so the firmware updates might have changed things for the i9505.
At least, I can confirm the i9500 has no trouble at all.
But, one thing you should know is that while the i9500 will have a better battery in most cases (most things don't need to use the A15 CPU), if you play heavy 3D games for a long time, the battery will probably not last as long as the i9505 would while gaming, since the A15 CPU will be in use, and that one uses a lot more battery than the A7, and also more than the Snapdragon 600.
The i9500 will probably have AOSP roms in the future (some are working on it), but they probably won't be as perfect as those on the i9505, at least not for a while (like what happened on the S3, some features didn't work for a long time in AOSP).

If you're thinking about the S6 Edge...

I'm going to throw out a few brief observations here for those who are thinking about the S6 Edge which I picked up at Tmo. I'm currently running that device along with the Moto Maxx.
I missed that bigger battery the day after I bought the Edge and it died. It took me a second to figure out what had happened, I had kinda forgot to pay much attention to the battery symbol... Long story short I've become accustomed to making two days with the Maxx and the Edge will give you one if you don't turn it on, otherwise it will be less. lol No, I'm not kidding. Buy into the Edge and you will likely need to plug in during the day. And yes I've read the reports of people who are doing much better than that but don't by in. My guess is lighter users will make the day most days, medium users will need to plug in somewhere for a few (thank you fast charging) or barely scrape by, heavy users will hang themselves.
The S6 display just flat looks better. I've had the phone since release which is only a week but in that time I've had 3 people comment on the display and no one has ever said one word about the display on the max to me and I've had it since they rolled it out in Brazil. It isn't just the curve, the display is stellar. Easily the best I have seen on a smartphone.
Another thing that flat works better is the camera. Pictures pretty much turn out on the S6 without any effort whatsoever. The camera opens up instantly and can take pictures faster than a person can click. Those pictures stand a ridiculously high chance of being in focus with reasonable color balance and the like. Just excellent, if it wasn't nearly as good as it is it will still be a big improvement over the Maxx.
The performance in the GUI during daily use is very similar to the Maxx. In fact despite what you might read the S6 will hiccup occasionally in the GUI, more so than the Maxx. Yes, I'm saying the Maxx is the smoother device as I type this. I don't believe this will hold out over time as I've owned all but the S5 among the Galaxy devices and they all hugely benefited from getting on the debloated roms.
They say Touchwiz has been slimmed down and it turns out this means that TW has 4 more installed applications than it did on the S5. When you're using the word hundreds to quantify the total number of system apps it cant be good and so it is here, the whole slimmed down Touchwiz thing Sammy has been selling, ummm, nah. It is improved and I actually left it on my phone for 45 minutes or so but honestly the only reason TW doesn't get kicked to the curb by a user is they don't know better.
If you made it this far you've likely read about the nice build quality and this is no lie, sitting next to a cool-aid device it looks to be the more expensive piece of hardware. Sitting next to our phone it evokes a different response to me because they don't appear to be on the same mission. The Edge is like a beautiful woman that you want to get your hands on but you may not want to live with her every day. She is pretty as can be but a little fragile and she has some traits like sides which are so thin they can make your fingers sore before a youtube video is finished which detract from her beauty. The Maxx on the other hand isn't as pretty but she is not so bad either and a lot easier to live with. You might describe it as the woman you want to marry.
So those are my impressions of what stands out enough to mention after a week, obviously this is a lot of subjective information and I think that's the most important thing that comes to my mind when I think of these devices. I still have the device before the Maxx sitting here and it is exactly a year old. Going through the motions of doing its thing in an average day it performs subjectivly every bit as good as the Maxx does. Or the S6. I'm thinking the days of getting a new phone and thinking "Wow! OMG!! This is so much better!" are over. I'm a pathetic old man now and I can afford to play because I don't have debt and almost no bills. I'm thinking the younger version of myself that couldn't say the same would skip the S6.
I'm on the fence on the Edge, I have a few days left to either turn it in and move forward with the Maxx until the fall releases or keep it. I have to give cred to Motorola for producing a device which can stand in and punch with Sammy on their next gen device.

krabman said:
I'm going to throw out a few brief observations here for those who are thinking about the S6 Edge which I picked up at Tmo. I'm currently running that device along with the Moto Maxx.
I missed that bigger battery the day after I bought the Edge and it died. It took me a second to figure out what had happened, I had kinda forgot to pay much attention to the battery symbol... Long story short I've become accustomed to making two days with the Maxx and the Edge will give you one if you don't turn it on, otherwise it will be less. lol No, I'm not kidding. Buy into the Edge and you will likely need to plug in during the day. And yes I've read the reports of people who are doing much better than that but don't by in. My guess is lighter users will make the day most days, medium users will need to plug in somewhere for a few (thank you fast charging) or barely scrape by, heavy users will hang themselves.
The S6 display just flat looks better. I've had the phone since release which is only a week but in that time I've had 3 people comment on the display and no one has ever said one word about the display on the max to me and I've had it since they rolled it out in Brazil. It isn't just the curve, the display is stellar. Easily the best I have seen on a smartphone.
Another thing that flat works better is the camera. Pictures pretty much turn out on the S6 without any effort whatsoever. The camera opens up instantly and can take pictures faster than a person can click. Those pictures stand a ridiculously high chance of being in focus with reasonable color balance and the like. Just excellent, if it wasn't nearly as good as it is it will still be a big improvement over the Maxx.
The performance in the GUI during daily use is very similar to the Maxx. In fact despite what you might read the S6 will hiccup occasionally in the GUI, more so than the Maxx. Yes, I'm saying the Maxx is the smoother device as I type this. I don't believe this will hold out over time as I've owned all but the S5 among the Galaxy devices and they all hugely benefited from getting on the debloated roms.
They say Touchwiz has been slimmed down and it turns out this means that TW has 4 more installed applications than it did on the S5. When you're using the word hundreds to quantify the total number of system apps it cant be good and so it is here, the whole slimmed down Touchwiz thing Sammy has been selling, ummm, nah. It is improved and I actually left it on my phone for 45 minutes or so but honestly the only reason TW doesn't get kicked to the curb by a user is they don't know better.
If you made it this far you've likely read about the nice build quality and this is no lie, sitting next to a cool-aid device it looks to be the more expensive piece of hardware. Sitting next to our phone it evokes a different response to me because they don't appear to be on the same mission. The Edge is like a beautiful woman that you want to get your hands on but you may not want to live with her every day. She is pretty as can be but a little fragile and she has some traits like sides which are so thin they can make your fingers sore before a youtube video is finished which detract from her beauty. The Maxx on the other hand isn't as pretty but she is not so bad either and a lot easier to live with. You might describe it as the woman you want to marry.
So those are my impressions of what stands out enough to mention after a week, obviously this is a lot of subjective information and I think that's the most important thing that comes to my mind when I think of these devices. I still have the device before the Maxx sitting here and it is exactly a year old. Going through the motions of doing its thing in an average day it performs subjectivly every bit as good as the Maxx does. Or the S6. I'm thinking the days of getting a new phone and thinking "Wow! OMG!! This is so much better!" are over. I'm a pathetic old man now and I can afford to play because I don't have debt and almost no bills. I'm thinking the younger version of myself that couldn't say the same would skip the S6.
I'm on the fence on the Edge, I have a few days left to either turn it in and move forward with the Maxx until the fall releases or keep it. I have to give cred to Motorola for producing a device which can stand in and punch with Sammy on their next gen device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the write up. I've been curious about this phone. I too think I am too used to the battery. My only two complaints about the Turbo is the wifi and the camera. I don't think they are big enough to go back to TW though.

Thank you for your feedback, I personally don't envy anything on s6, specs wise, but i like the glass back, like you said, there are for different kind of audience.

Tldr;
I have both the Turbo and and S6 Edge. They are very different phones.
It is silly comparing them, as it is very subjective and depends on your individual needs...
Turbo has much better battery.
The S6 has a better screen (by far), better camera, and is definitely faster. But has TW and MUCH shorter battery life.
No right / wrong answer.

So here's why I'm going with the s6 over the turbo. And it might sound silly but the ecosystem is one of my top reasons. If I want a, let's say case for my turbo. You will find a few. Most from cheap company's and it might be some what attractive. If you want it for the s6. Skys the limit. Walk in to best buy and have a whole section of the store just for the s6. I don't even think you could find something for the turbo at best buy. There are other reasons of course but this is one no one addresses.
And honestly. The build quality of the turbo is not that good. The cheap painted plastic around the rim. The loss power and volume buttons. The moto symbol that is just held in by some weak adhesive. The creaking back cover. I WANTED to love that phone. I just couldn't =(

I was not trying to compare the phones per se, just offering some observations for those holding one in the hand and thinking about making a move to the other. I find these things interesting because these kinds of thoughts from an ordinary user about the things that stand out are a different angle than that from a pro review.
I didn't mention the ecosystem because I think most people who surf this site and are considering trading a fairly new phone for the next thing are probably sluts when it comes to phones (yes, count me in) and they already know that the S6 will have a lot of available accessories and developer support.

krabman said:
I was not trying to compare the phones per se, just offering some observations for those holding one in the hand and thinking about making a move to the other. I find these things interesting because these kinds of thoughts from an ordinary user about the things that stand out are a different angle than that from a pro review.
I didn't mention the ecosystem because I think most people who surf this site and are considering trading a fairly new phone for the next thing are probably sluts when it comes to phones (yes, count me in) and they already know that the S6 will have a lot of available accessories and developer support.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Id you buy Verizon version no, and you never have a aosp rom in exynos device, be aware of that.

No, an ASOP rom may come, one did for the exynos S4 variant as an example, it just wont be very good lol This is one of the good things about having a phone like the S6, Sammy sells so many that the user base is huge and the development for the galaxy line has been very solid for each of the iterations. I don't think there is any reason to expect otherwise here? Still I agree with your point anyways, AOSP if it comes at all will be a long ways out and probably not as good as the stock based roms when not on snapdragon.
I'm not sure what you're asking or saying about Verizon? If you're asking if I am using them, no. I'm on Tmo, I own the Maxx and was using it on both AT&T and Tmo. Its unlikely I would use Verizon and certainly I would not buy one of their locked bootloader devices. I think the folks that read here are for the most part already aware that Verizon and AT&T S6s have locked bootloaders.

always same, no change, samsung no change

Pika71 said:
always same, no change, samsung no change
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Parroting.
Even I recognize the changes and I dislike Samsung.

krabman said:
No, an ASOP rom may come, one did for the exynos S4 variant as an example, it just wont be very good lol This is one of the good things about having a phone like the S6, Sammy sells so many that the user base is huge and the development for the galaxy line has been very solid for each of the iterations. I don't think there is any reason to expect otherwise here? Still I agree with your point anyways, AOSP if it comes at all will be a long ways out and probably not as good as the stock based roms when not on snapdragon.
I'm not sure what you're asking or saying about Verizon? If you're asking if I am using them, no. I'm on Tmo, I own the Maxx and was using it on both AT&T and Tmo. Its unlikely I would use Verizon and certainly I would not buy one of their locked bootloader devices. I think the folks that read here are for the most part already aware that Verizon and AT&T S6s have locked bootloaders.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
cm oficial drop support of exynos variants, never have fully working rom, s5 exynos dont have, note 4 exynos dont have too, i doubt s6 exynos will have a full working aosp

matheus_sc said:
cm oficial drop support of exynos variants, never have fully working rom, s5 exynos dont have, note 4 exynos dont have too, i doubt s6 exynos will have a full working aosp
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
CM isn't the only game out there. Don't get confused with CM vs. AOSP.

I don't get the hype for S6 or S6 Edge with the internet people when some of my customers brought their 3-4 days old s6 edge to trade with Droid Turbo just because of its good battery life and high end specs. We don't actually need to use cases for the Droid Turbo as we need it for any samsung or htc flagship. Our phones are for everyday usage, not made to put gently on the table.
ps : any phone with its manufacturer software will run miles better than any Cyanogenmod release official and unofficial.

matheus_sc said:
cm oficial drop support of exynos variants, never have fully working rom, s5 exynos dont have, note 4 exynos dont have too, i doubt s6 exynos will have a full working aosp
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't been on Exynos since an S4 I imported in from South America to give an octa core a try. No question the Snapdragon variants of the S4 had an easier row to hoe and we on the Exynos saw much less development although more than the average phone. I did not say it will, I said "it may" and you could be right. It isn't really meaningful to this conversation but I doubt I would install an AOSP rom if it were available. I always had far better luck with stock based roms on the Galaxy devices. Faster, more stable, less bugs, etc.

krabman said:
I'm going to throw out a few brief observations here for those who are thinking about the S6 Edge which I picked up at Tmo. I'm currently running that device along with the Moto Maxx.
I missed that bigger battery the day after I bought the Edge and it died. It took me a second to figure out what had happened, I had kinda forgot to pay much attention to the battery symbol... Long story short I've become accustomed to making two days with the Maxx and the Edge will give you one if you don't turn it on, otherwise it will be less. lol No, I'm not kidding. Buy into the Edge and you will likely need to plug in during the day. And yes I've read the reports of people who are doing much better than that but don't by in. My guess is lighter users will make the day most days, medium users will need to plug in somewhere for a few (thank you fast charging) or barely scrape by, heavy users will hang themselves.
The S6 display just flat looks better. I've had the phone since release which is only a week but in that time I've had 3 people comment on the display and no one has ever said one word about the display on the max to me and I've had it since they rolled it out in Brazil. It isn't just the curve, the display is stellar. Easily the best I have seen on a smartphone.
Another thing that flat works better is the camera. Pictures pretty much turn out on the S6 without any effort whatsoever. The camera opens up instantly and can take pictures faster than a person can click. Those pictures stand a ridiculously high chance of being in focus with reasonable color balance and the like. Just excellent, if it wasn't nearly as good as it is it will still be a big improvement over the Maxx.
The performance in the GUI during daily use is very similar to the Maxx. In fact despite what you might read the S6 will hiccup occasionally in the GUI, more so than the Maxx. Yes, I'm saying the Maxx is the smoother device as I type this. I don't believe this will hold out over time as I've owned all but the S5 among the Galaxy devices and they all hugely benefited from getting on the debloated roms.
They say Touchwiz has been slimmed down and it turns out this means that TW has 4 more installed applications than it did on the S5. When you're using the word hundreds to quantify the total number of system apps it cant be good and so it is here, the whole slimmed down Touchwiz thing Sammy has been selling, ummm, nah. It is improved and I actually left it on my phone for 45 minutes or so but honestly the only reason TW doesn't get kicked to the curb by a user is they don't know better.
If you made it this far you've likely read about the nice build quality and this is no lie, sitting next to a cool-aid device it looks to be the more expensive piece of hardware. Sitting next to our phone it evokes a different response to me because they don't appear to be on the same mission. The Edge is like a beautiful woman that you want to get your hands on but you may not want to live with her every day. She is pretty as can be but a little fragile and she has some traits like sides which are so thin they can make your fingers sore before a youtube video is finished which detract from her beauty. The Maxx on the other hand isn't as pretty but she is not so bad either and a lot easier to live with. You might describe it as the woman you want to marry.
So those are my impressions of what stands out enough to mention after a week, obviously this is a lot of subjective information and I think that's the most important thing that comes to my mind when I think of these devices. I still have the device before the Maxx sitting here and it is exactly a year old. Going through the motions of doing its thing in an average day it performs subjectivly every bit as good as the Maxx does. Or the S6. I'm thinking the days of getting a new phone and thinking "Wow! OMG!! This is so much better!" are over. I'm a pathetic old man now and I can afford to play because I don't have debt and almost no bills. I'm thinking the younger version of myself that couldn't say the same would skip the S6.
I'm on the fence on the Edge, I have a few days left to either turn it in and move forward with the Maxx until the fall releases or keep it. I have to give cred to Motorola for producing a device which can stand in and punch with Sammy on their next gen device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Honestly iI will stay with turbo until 2nd gen of turbo comes out. I have faith Motorola will make it much better than galaxy s6 and the ffirst gen. Also the s6 and s6 edge both use Samsung's own cpu which is not as supported as a Snapdragon.

motodeveloper3800 said:
Honestly iI will stay with turbo until 2nd gen of turbo comes out. I have faith Motorola will make it much better than galaxy s6 and the ffirst gen. Also the s6 and s6 edge both use Samsung's own cpu which is not as supported as a Snapdragon.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not supported as a Snapdragon means little on Verizon. It doesn't make a difference if you cannot root and unlock the bootloader.

adrynalyne said:
Not supported as a Snapdragon means little on Verizon. It doesn't make a difference if you cannot root and unlock the bootloader.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I should've been more specific. What I was saying is that most app developers develop for qualcomm snapdragon line of processors. The s6 should face the same problem as the nexus 9 because they use lesser used chip which gives limited apps. GTA won't play on nexus 9 because of chip and either developers will have to put effort into making exynos versions of their apps(which is their choice and if they will benefit will decide this)or stay in the snapdragon highway and not risk/waste anyhting.

motodeveloper3800 said:
I should've been more specific. What I was saying is that most app developers develop for qualcomm snapdragon line of processors. The s6 should face the same problem as the nexus 9 because they use lesser used chip which gives limited apps. GTA won't play on nexus 9 because of chip and either developers will have to put effort into making exynos versions of their apps(which is their choice and if they will benefit will decide this)or stay in the snapdragon highway and not risk/waste anyhting.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Most app developers don't target a specific CPU unless its a root app, and then that just refers back to my original comment.
I doubt there is anything specific stopping GTA from working on the Nexus9. Did you try sideloading it?
Or are you referring to something like this?
http://androidforums.com/threads/nexus-9-bugs-app-compatibility-issues-discussion.879365/
http://www.reddit.com/r/Nexus5/comments/2mmz66/question_gta_vice_city_and_lollipop/
That appears to be more of a Lollipop issue to me, considering that the Nexus 7 was also reported not to work in that thread and a couple other snapdragon devices were mentioned in the second.

adrynalyne said:
Most app developers don't target a specific CPU unless its a root app, and then that just refers back to my original comment.
I doubt there is anything specific stopping GTA from working on the Nexus9. Did you try sideloading it?
Or are you referring to something like this?
That appears to be more of a Lollipop issue to me, considering that the Nexus 7 was also reported not to work in that thread and a couple other snapdragon devices were
mentioned in the second.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No vice city does work for me but San Andrea's doesn't and many reviews on either the s6 or n9 state that app compatibility is ok but a few won't work because of different processors. Most app developers develop for snapdragon cpus as exynos has only reached certain areas and is not the default cpu in the galaxy line.. You can search reviews and many users experience this problem.

I feel like we will never agree on this, but I will drop this off here for your perusal:
https://www.google.com/webhp?source...&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=youtube exynos san andreas

Exynos vs Snapdragon - latest thoughts?

Hi guys looks like I'll be going for the Note 4 as I defect from Apple. What's confusing me however are the the options 910C or 910F i.e.e Exynos or Snapdragon. I'm in the UK on O2.
I've done LOTS of google searching on various forums and reviews, and read most forum posts in English as well as other languages translated and if there's one thing I've learnt is that there doesn't seem to be a consensus. I've learnt some swear that C (exynos) is better, others say F (snapdragon). I've heard it suggested that one of them is better for sound quality (can't remember which). I've read that C is better in benchmarks but not in the real world (and I've read the opposite!). I've read that F is better for games due to the better GPU but C better for multitasking. I've heard that now C is better as lollipop uses 64bit, but I've read people say that's not true. I've also read that F is better for custom ROMs (but again I've also read the opposite!) Basically I've heard opposing views for everything and am putting it down to (as ever with internet searches) older posts perhaps before lollipop and people not being able to compare.
So today, 22nd April 2015, when more people have been using these and lollipop is now mainstream can anyone shed light on the latest opinion?
I'm paritcularly interested in:
General speed
Support for custom ROMs etc
Any opinions appreciated!!! I know you guys are mainly developers (and I apologise if I'm wasting your time - I've read some threads on here already on 910c v 910f) but you're the best as you understand the benefits of the extra cores more than anyone else and are more likely to have tried both!
Thanks in advance guys

I previously owned the F and I saw a little lag when scrolling. It also overheated and stopped charging in my car when I used it for navigation. I am not sure if it was a faulty unit but my N version has no lag and very cool even when I run 2 navigation apps at the same time in split view.
I'll let the others answer your question.

@applehater00
Snapdragon have more support for custom roms, a bit faster then exynos, overheating a bit(depends on which chipset and your usage)
Exynos are a bit cheaper, a bit less perfomance, more battery friendly, no overheating at all

I had the n910c exynos. Experienced minor lag only when using the app switcher / previous apps button. Was a lot slower to open apps than the nexus 6 I sold it for. Didn't like the poor signal strength, which is ultimately why I sold the phone, however, I can't say whether any of that was related to the exynos chip. Lack of choice in custom ROMs bothered me slightly, however, with the wanam lite ROM, I didn't really need any other.... Even on my nexus 6 I keep it stock and just change the kernel.
Nexus 6 has much stronger signal strength and is by far my favourite phone I've ever owned. Note 4 has put the nail in the coffin for Samsung for me until they can ditch touchwiz and leave android the f%&£ alone.
No overheating issues with the exynos note at all.
Nexus 6 has the same snapdragon chip as the snapdragon note 4, and I'd choose this phone every time over the note 4, however, if I did go back to a note 4, it would still be the exynos version

Thanks guys for the replies but this illustrates the problem
One of you suggests snapdragon may be relatively laggy, one of you suggests that actually exynos is slower and one of you suggests that although in your experience and exynos chipped device was slower than a snapdragon chipped device you used, you'd still go exynos.
Really appreciate all replies so far thanks! Good to know it's still as muddy as my reading suggested!

It all boils down to whether you want to install custom AOSP roms or not.
If you like Samsung software then get either of them, the performance differences are negligible either way. You have a detailed benchmark at phonearena, but all they show is that Exynos is a bit faster cpu, while Snapdragon is a faster GPU.
On the other hand, if you like Android as Google designed it and want to use AOSP or CM, the Snapdragon version is currently your only choice. Exynos has CM development, but they have a hard time of getting the radio working.

Cheers I think you've probably hit the nail on the head.
I don't know anything about romming as I've only ever been an iOS man. I jailbreaked a lot there but jailbreaking is different I imagine. Jailbreaking is something I did partly for 'free' apps initially (but I soon realised apps aren't very expensive anyway and buy them anyway) but mainly because iOS is extremely limited and basically junk unless you free it up. I'm tired of havign to JB iphones all the time just to bring them up to Android's standard.
So with Android why would I want to ROM? Wouldn't I lose all the S-pen and other features?
Ok, I realise now this is veering off the original topic somewhat so feel free to flame me for hijacking my own thread and deviating it, but it is relevant, because it seems that if I want to do this then I'll go with the snapdragon, otherwise I'll go Exynos.
As a techy type guy who loves control I suspect I'd love to rom it (or whatever) but not quite so sure about it yet....

applehater00 said:
Thanks guys for the replies but this illustrates the problem
One of you suggests snapdragon may be relatively laggy, one of you suggests that actually exynos is slower and one of you suggests that although in your experience and exynos chipped device was slower than a snapdragon chipped device you used, you'd still go exynos.
Really appreciate all replies so far thanks! Good to know it's still as muddy as my reading suggested!
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Click to collapse
You can thank Samsung for much of the lag, like the Recents Button.I can only recommend our SimplRom collection for the C and the F, we managed to increase the speed and new builds with tons of enhancements are coming very soon too. Both chips are similarly capable and it really comes down to custom rom support in my personal opinion. Which is better for Snap, no doubt. I'm developing SimplKernel for the C and F at the moment and there is just more there for Snapdragon than for Exy. Its easy and fun making stuff for F and a huge pain with weird stuff everywhere with C.
I can only recommend you the F, both for installing Custom stuff and also if you should ever want to develop for it. Kernel-wise at least

Need some help chosing

Hi guys
Don't know if this is the right spot to post this but, I need some help chosing a smartphone. Since I'm upgrading from a note 3 SM-9005 I would like to upgrade to something similar. So what brings me here to this forum? I love galaxy s7 edge and I would love to get it. But... since I can only buy the international version and from my experience with an galaxy S2 and sammsung 0 suport over the cpu source code, I am afraid the phone dosent get custom rom suport in the future. I've been browsing around and reading a lot, but tbh I'm not totally convinced I should spend money on this since theres a lot of diferent opinions on the device.
Several other things concern me:
The adreno performance is something I like, even though exynos has better batery life (comparing adreno and mali in terms of gaming and everyday usage)
the diference in the camera sensors
Future custom ROM suport
Overal Fragility of the device (I've been browsing around this forum, and saw several complaints about screen cracks, burned out micro USB amongst other problems)
Is the diference between 2k and 1080p displays noticeable?
So guys, I want to known your opinion about this phone. From both exynos and snapdragon users of what makes this phone worth over other brands .
Also, I encourage sugestions of other brands since I want something future proof.
Sorry if my english sucks, but Its not my main language.
Sincerely
Shade

Shadeftw said:
Hi guys
Don't know if this is the right spot to post this but, I need some help chosing a smartphone. Since I'm upgrading from a note 3 SM-9005 I would like to upgrade to something similar. So what brings me here to this forum? I love galaxy s7 edge and I would love to get it. But... since I can only buy the international version and from my experience with an galaxy S2 and sammsung 0 suport over the cpu source code, I am afraid the phone dosent get custom rom suport in the future. I've been browsing around and reading a lot, but tbh I'm not totally convinced I should spend money on this since theres a lot of diferent opinions on the device.
Several other things concern me:
The adreno performance is something I like, even though exynos has better batery life (comparing adreno and mali in terms of gaming and everyday usage)
the diference in the camera sensors
Future custom ROM suport
Overal Fragility of the device (I've been browsing around this forum, and saw several complaints about screen cracks, burned out micro USB amongst other problems)
Is the diference between 2k and 1080p displays noticeable?
So guys, I want to known your opinion about this phone. From both exynos and snapdragon users of what makes this phone worth over other brands .
Also, I encourage sugestions of other brands since I want something future proof.
Sorry if my english sucks, but Its not my main language.
Sincerely
Shade
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Click to collapse
Hi shade,
I can answer a few of those questions for you.
Difference in cam sensors, is negligible from what I can tell.
Custom ROMs? Nope. It's all just stock based ROMs with a few tweaks, CM does exist but it's far from stable and plenty of stuff doesn't work yet.
If you're an idiot, it'll break. Be careful, use a thin case, and original cables, and you can't go wrong.
Yes it is, and once you get used to it, 1080p seems a bit... well... boring. Just kidding, the difference is noticeable, but unless you use your phone to watch HD movies, it makes no difference in normal usage like roasting a friend in a group chat or using Snapchat.
I don't have the Snapdragon one, but just know, if you do get one, the chances of getting Custom ROMs goes from 'a bit' to 'none at all' since the SD 820 variants all have locked bootloaders.
If you're really looking for something future proof? How about a OnePlus 3T? You'd save a ton of money, get some more internal storage, 2 extra gigs of RAM and a ton of custom ROM support.

I'll sell you mine with two cases (unicorn beetle pro, clear speck candyshell) and a 2 year square trade warranty! All can be yours, make me an offer I can't refuse!

moSess said:
I'll sell you mine with two cases (unicorn beetle pro, clear speck candyshell) and a 2 year square trade warranty! All can be yours, make me an offer I can't refuse!
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This was pure genius xD
murtaza02 said:
Hi shade,
I can answer a few of those questions for you.
Difference in cam sensors, is negligible from what I can tell.
Custom ROMs? Nope. It's all just stock based ROMs with a few tweaks, CM does exist but it's far from stable and plenty of stuff doesn't work yet.
If you're an idiot, it'll break. Be careful, use a thin case, and original cables, and you can't go wrong.
Yes it is, and once you get used to it, 1080p seems a bit... well... boring. Just kidding, the difference is noticeable, but unless you use your phone to watch HD movies, it makes no difference in normal usage like roasting a friend in a group chat or using Snapchat.
I don't have the Snapdragon one, but just know, if you do get one, the chances of getting Custom ROMs goes from 'a bit' to 'none at all' since the SD 820 variants all have locked bootloaders.
If you're really looking for something future proof? How about a OnePlus 3T? You'd save a ton of money, get some more internal storage, 2 extra gigs of RAM and a ton of custom ROM support.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for awsering
So the 820 has a locked bootloader? That sucks a lot. Well, I guess with the news that cyanogenmod is dead it isen't relevant anymore. I have a good deal for a S7E Gold for 400€ so I'm going to get it.
Thanks for your help! Merry Christmas

smg9350 is all unlocked and smacks exynos around in the benchmark area. Dont give the guy bad info.

Shadeftw said:
This was pure genius xD
Thanks for awsering
So the 820 has a locked bootloader? That sucks a lot. Well, I guess with the news that cyanogenmod is dead it isen't relevant anymore. I have a good deal for a S7E Gold for 400€ so I'm going to get it.
Thanks for your help! Merry Christmas
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Click to collapse
Well travis82 just mentioned that the SM-G9350 which is the Chinese variant has the Snapdragon 820, and an unlocked bootloader.
Just check what bands your carrier uses for 3G and LTE and make sure the phone supports them, if you're interesting in buying the chinese variant.
travis82 said:
smg9350 is all unlocked and smacks exynos around in the benchmark area. Dont give the guy bad info.
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Jeez, okay, no need to get so hostile.
You gotta admit that the Exynos has way better battery life though.

nah i seem to get better battery than exynos varients. more cores doesnt mean better overal. ie: amd vs intel. is one example. but really the op should wait for next years flagships, they will be much better, and a die shrink to boot.

Well I went ahead and bought the phone. So now I am suprised that it has the xsg csc. Do you guys known if I can flash my country's original stock rom without tripping knox?