Database Users

Changing from iphone4

Hey all
Looking to change from iphone4. Had every iPhone since launch and am just bored of em now
Looking at android phone and the sgs2 caught my eye
However have seen a lot of negativity about it in here and elsewhere
So do you think it's a good move or should I hang on for the HTC sensation (which sounds brilliant)

iPhone user here.
Apps are far better on iOS. You wont find some apps on Android that are on iOS. Thats my only dislike about Android but thats down to the developer. Im missing loads of apps, first direct, sky sports, bbc and so on. You can use the brower for all these wit Flash though
The SGS2 is by far the best Android phone. If your truely bored of iOS then get this, its worth it.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App

However have seen a lot of negativity about it in here and elsewhere
Loads on negativity about IPhone all over the net .
Point is that this forum is new and not yet representative of a large number of users .
Personally i thought the SGS 1 was as good as the IPhone 4 though some users preferred the HTc interface but i did not .
You really got to try them and read the reviews on al the phones .
http://www.techradar.com/reviews/phones/mobile-phones/samsung-galaxy-s2-930907/review
I am not missing any apps that i want .
Have Sky Sports news > BBC >
jje

Hello
I got bored too
I have just done the swap to a SGS2 from a iphone 4(well still have it)
Before the ip4 I was a long time winmo user
there are good and bad points to both phones
ios is slick on ip4 and does its job well...but also so limiting even with jailbreak
I f you love tweaking then get a droid phone thats why I have now bought 1
as for the negatives how many did the ip4 have @ the start

Tbh I think the ui on sgs is poor
Much prefer HTC sense (have messed about with mates)

Garfs said:
Tbh I think the ui on sgs is poor
Much prefer HTC sense (have messed about with mates)
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Click to collapse
Got the HTC desire for a while, and now I've got a SGS2, and I really prefer TouchWiz 4.0 over HTC sense. TouchWiz is really good on this phone. HTC Sense, never really liked it.

I've just received my Galaxy S2 today, a bit of an act of faith after the first one, which was IMO at first a very flawed device (a little digging and you can find my previous postings about this).
I've just come from an iPhone 4 myself, via an HTC Incredible S, so I think I can comment on here. To me, the Samsung clearly takes design cues from the iphone, in the design of the icons, the central home button and even the design and some of the features (like the screen shot - home + power)... to me, the SGS2 is like a bastard child of the best android phone and the iphone mixed into one....
IMO this is a good thing. I was bored silly with the iphone, and was sick of how restricted it was, even when Jailbreaked. The iphone 4 is a very nice phone for sure, but really boring to use in the long term (although some like it, and I can see why).
With the SGS2 you get a similar UI, but you also get androids superior functions as well (widgets, live wallpaper, notifications, google integration etc).
As for the SGS2 versus Sense, well TBH I was going to wait for the Sensation, and in the meantime, I made a profit from selling my ip4 and swapping for an Incredible S, and I did so so that I could get a taste of Sense UI. Now, I will say that Sense UI is quite nice, but if I'm being totally honest here, the only things I feel I will miss all that much are the weather and clock widget on Sense and the facebook integration. I do quite like the design of the interface on Sense... and obviously the Sensation is going to have a lot more eye candy again...
Having said all that, there are some things I am not so keen on with Sense. For example, it can at times feel a little "clunky" in places, I am not a fan of the keyboard (I know this can be changed) what with the arrow buttons underneath (not needed IMO), and I just got a feeling that it was slowing the phone down slightly.
Now, when I got the SGS2 I did feel as though I'd probably just dump TWLauncher straight away, but you know what, I think Samsung have really done quite a good job with TW4 to the point where I'm honestly not sure that I can say I prefer Sense any longer. It feels lighter and less bloated, it has some nice touches (task manager, power toggles in the notification, resizing widgets, deleting screens (which you STILL can't do in Sense), folders in the App drawer and so on). Now I'm still not a huge fan of some of the included widgets (but the new calendar widget is superb IMO), and I don't think I'll use the hubs much.
I'm not actually sure whether the Sensation will be able to compete in pure speed and performance terms with the SGS2 which frankly seems to go like a rocket. In fact, the SGS2 seems to fix much of what was wrong with the first phone. I really like it.... BUT... I haven't tested the GPS, yet!
As for the iphone 4 versus the SGS2, once you get over the fact the apps quality isn't quite up there (especially games), you won't look back. Although the iphone 4 feels and looks a more premium product, the Samsung is actually a nicer thing to handle, feels more comfortable in the hand... but other than that, seriously, there seems to be no competition here really, the SGS2 is MUCH better than the iphone 4 really... better camera, MUCH faster, far bigger screen (trust me the iphone 4 looks REALLY tiny compared) and far less restricted.
If this phone lives up to its early promise then I can tell you now that this is one fine phone, and Samsung may have finally delivered the kind of phone everyone knew they could if they put their mind to it... but time will tell

Garfs said:
Tbh I think the ui on sgs is poor
Much prefer HTC sense (have messed about with mates)
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Click to collapse
It's really a matter of taste, if you want a perfect Sense experience, then buying this phone wouldn't be a good choice I think
I've never really have experience on Sense (people around me use either iPhone 4 or BB!), but this Touchwiz isn't that bad except for one, no alphabetical sort in grid view on the apps drawer

I've been an iPhone user for 3 years and gone from the 3g to 3gs to the iPhone 4. I have also been an Android user for 1 year, I started with the Desire and upgraded to the SGS1. Despite liking Android a lot, I couldn't really make the switch to being a full time Android user. Mainly becasue I have bought a bunch of really specialized (medical) expensive apps on the iPhone. I dont't mind the iPhone having certain limitations as I have learnt to work around them. Also by also having an Android phone with me, they don't matter.
Like you I have grown tired of the iOS UI, especially the infamous Pop Up Notifications. As a geek I really like Android, trying out custom ROMs, not having any limitations in terms of what apps to install and being able to open web sites with flash are all part of the joy...
Currently I have sold my SGS1 and am waiting for the SGS2 to become available in Slovenia. I dont't think it will full replace my iPhone 4, but it seems it will at least keep me from buying an iPhone 5. A feat Desire couldn't manage to do!
As for the HTC vs Samsung debate. Sense is widely considered the premium Android experience, which I think it also is. But HTC is still using sub par components in its phones: the awful tiny speaker, the bad camera sensor and the worst mics for audio recording. It is for these reasons I won't be buying the Sensation but the SGS2.

Me i prefer Touchwiz and dont like sense .
jje

I'd probably pick Touchwiz over Sense too, also the first SGS imo was as good as the iPhone 4. SGSII is just so gooood....

bigmo7 said:
the first SGS imo was as good as the iPhone 4.
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It would have been if it hadn't been filled with bugs.

bigmo7 said:
I'd probably pick Touchwiz over Sense too, also the first SGS imo was as good as the iPhone 4. SGSII is just so gooood....
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Gotta disagree with you there mate
Mate has a galaxy s and it's not a patch on iphone4 I'm afraid

I'm not a fan of TW or Sense, I find them both to be very simple almost condesending, like they were built for kids or blind people to use. You cannot change the screen density with them so you have to stick with 240 which I personally dont find appealing.
I much prefer a stock android framework with ADW Ex.
I am really looking forward to some custom ROM's comming out for the SGS2.
I was a WinMo user right from 1.0 to 6.5 and loved every minute of it. After my HD2 I took a jump and tried out Android, and now I'm hooked! WP7 does look very nice, but it needs to be more open before I switch to it.
I have never owned an iphone. I had a gen1 ipod touch and couldn't stand Itunes so this put me off apple for good, plus I don't like their business model.

Garfs said:
Gotta disagree with you there mate
Mate has a galaxy s and it's not a patch on iphone4 I'm afraid
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Click to collapse
It's just personal opinion, my mate has a SGS and I have to say without the bugs it had I would easily choose it over the iP4 in terms of software that is, can't stand the way the SGS looks.

Garfs said:
Gotta disagree with you there mate
Mate has a galaxy s and it's not a patch on iphone4 I'm afraid
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Click to collapse
What is better on the Iphone ???+
I tested three a few weeks ago over three days .IOS4 SGS 1 not SGS2 and Win 7 on a HTC . Hardly any difference between them all down in my opinion to user choice .
jje

First post here so go easy guys -.-
Though coming from webOS 2 on the Pre 2, then to iPhone 4 with iOS 4, and now to SGSII I'd like to think I've experience the best of Mobile UI's.
And Like you, I was bored on iPhone4, the grid of Icons just didnt cut it out for me and seemed something more akin to fisher price, Loved webOS, though the sub-part hardware and lack of Apps killed it for me.
For me the SGSII is the best of both worlds, the screen is absolutely fantastic and has to be seen to believe, the Applications arent quite iPhone but nonetheless are excellent and I have found a suitable replacement for 95% of the ones I use.
I'm also picky when It comes to butter smooth UI's, and Samsung with the implementation of Touchwiz 4 has nailed It, I'm not sure about other Android phones (This being my first) but Samsung has definately implemented GPU Acceleration into the UI, and It's butter smooth, everywhere, browsing and all, It's what really sold this device to me.
I actually hate Sense, It just looks fugly in my opinion, but to each their own, I applaud Samsung, they've done a good job on Touchwiz, I wanted iPhone style Grid Icons and not the standard App Drawer so It was perfect for me, You'll feel right at home as well with the addition of folders, pages etc
My only real Gripes are the fact It's a tad on the big side, though I have small hands and that It's a dust magnet, either that or I'm OCD which I probably am (I wipe the **** out of my screens, make sure they're speckle free ^^)
SAMOLED Plus, 1.2 GHz Blazing fast Exynos CPU, Quad Core Mali GPU, 1080p Recording, 8MP Back 2MP Front, Gingerbread with Butter Smooth Awesome UI & Customization and It's not hard to see why It's possibly the best phone yet.

Chronicles404 said:
First post here so go easy guys -.-
Though coming from webOS 2 on the Pre 2, then to iPhone 4 with iOS 4, and now to SGSII I'd like to think I've experience the best of Mobile UI's.
And Like you, I was bored on iPhone4, the grid of Icons just didnt cut it out for me and seemed something more akin to fisher price, Loved webOS, though the sub-part hardware and lack of Apps killed it for me.
For me the SGSII is the best of both worlds, the screen is absolutely fantastic and has to be seen to believe, the Applications arent quite iPhone but nonetheless are excellent and I have found a suitable replacement for 95% of the ones I use.
I'm also picky when It comes to butter smooth UI's, and Samsung with the implementation of Touchwiz 4 has nailed It, I'm not sure about other Android phones (This being my first) but Samsung has definately implemented GPU Acceleration into the UI, and It's butter smooth, everywhere, browsing and all, It's what really sold this device to me.
I actually hate Sense, It just looks fugly in my opinion, but to each their own, I applaud Samsung, they've done a good job on Touchwiz, I wanted iPhone style Grid Icons and not the standard App Drawer so It was perfect for me, You'll feel right at home as well with the addition of folders, pages etc
My only real Gripes are the fact It's a tad on the big side, though I have small hands and that It's a dust magnet, either that or I'm OCD which I probably am (I wipe the **** out of my screens, make sure they're speckle free ^^)
SAMOLED Plus, 1.2 GHz Blazing fast Exynos CPU, Quad Core Mali GPU, 1080p Recording, 8MP Back 2MP Front, Gingerbread with Butter Smooth Awesome UI & Customization and It's not hard to see why It's possibly the best phone yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you. Best response yet. This may actually have sold this to me
May have to pop Into town and check one out

Garfs said:
Thank you. Best response yet. This may actually have sold this to me
May have to pop Into town and check one out
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Anytime, and trust me you owe It to yourself
There's quite a few Customizations I've made to the Lock and Home Screen If you don't prefer the actual stock widgets so bear that in Mind, It looks pretty awesome now, mate which still has an iPhone was pretty impressed considering.
Not forgetting there's also the HSPA+ radio, In some areas (And depending on network) expect 4MB+ easily, It's also the thinnest smartphone in Class though using a case makes It to normal thin Slab size, I can't really fault It, the only niggle Is battery Life but then again I've been using it 24/7 and I'm yet to properly cycle the battery though early reports suggest you'll easily get a day's worth.

One of the very big plus points for some users but not all users is the ability to customize Android .You do not have to stick with the defaults themes roms kernels etc etc as you like .
jje

Who came from GS3?

Who came from a Galaxy S3? And how do you like the change? I'm coming over from being loyal to Samsung since the vibrant ( was HTC only before that). I Havnt liked the iterations of sense on previous HTC phones that's why I have been going with Samsung. Is the new sense 5.0 a lot better?
Those switching from s3 to one I would appreciate your opinions

my opinion is that I would never by a cheap piece of over priced plastic ever again. still holds true after holding an S4 yesterday.. software alone doesn't win me over.

me
I come from a galaxy s3....
I dont regret it a bit...
Wait till you hear the speakers....you will love it...

xdracco said:
my opinion is that I would never by a cheap piece of over priced plastic ever again. still holds true after holding an S4 yesterday.. software alone doesn't win me over.
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I always thought you buy HTC for the software and Samsung for hardware. I still have an sgs2 with jb touchwiz (almost the same as the sgs3 ) but I believe Samsung is still lightyears behind HTC software wise. When I got the sgs2 I went for its specs but in the end it's software that gives you a pleasant experience and that pleasant sense experience turned to be very hard to port to Samsung devices.

I previously had a Galaxy Nexus with a port of TouchWiz on it, does that count?
I've actually owned both HTC and Samsung phones, and to this day I still prefer HTC. I started with the Nexus One, and really loved the build quality. I remember disliking the Nexus S when it came out because of its really cheap plastic construction. Samsung did finally win me over with the Galaxy Nexus because of the 720p screen, but it didn't take long to start getting some AMOLED burn on the top and bottom of the screen, and that really annoyed me. Plus the blacks on the N1 and GN weren't really true black anyway, as you can see the "black" pixels are actually still dimly lit when viewing the phones in complete darkness. It's a moot point compared to the display quality of the new Super LCD3, which is pretty acceptably "black" for me in low light.
By going back to the HTC One, I don't have to worry about screen burn, and I get the awesome HTC build quality. Most of my friends that still prefer Samsung are rocking a Note instead, because the S-Pen is really the only unique feature that they need. All the other TouchWiz specific apps are just rehashes of existing Google and other third party apps, so there's no point in spending extra to get the Samsung experience. There's also much less bloat in Sense 5, and I actually love using the IR blaster, and I think BlinkFeed is a pretty decent alternative to Flipboard and Google Currents, at least when I don't want to spend a lot of time configuring my news feeds.
For me, Sense 5 pretty much hits the sweet spot in terms of additional functionality versus bloat. I'm still accustomed to having huge developer support on Nexus devices, but I'm more comfortable running stock Sense than I was with stock Android, and may just keep the stock ROM for a few more months, or even indefinitely.

godutch said:
I always thought you buy HTC for the software and Samsung for hardware. I still have an sgs2 with jb touchwiz (almost the same as the sgs3 ) but I believe Samsung is still lightyears behind HTC software wise. When I got the sgs2 I went for its specs but in the end it's software that gives you a pleasant experience and that pleasant sense experience turned to be very hard to port to Samsung devices.
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Click to collapse
true. very true. the software, in the end, is what end users will adapt to. personally, i don't care about the stock software as I end up customizing it anyways. however, i cannot agree that Samsung is for hardware unless you mean bleeding edge hardware and not so much the plastic. Even then, I could care less if a CPU is 200MHz faster than X as memory is a better determining factor, for me anyways.

I came from gs3 lte with 2GB of ram and I still have it. I use gs3 from time to time because I have some game on it with my data.
I have to say, WOW! The One is just so much better in every aspect, I mean every, I cannot think a single thing which it lacks of.
The screen is much clearer, sharper, lighter, it does not have the over saturated colour but still provide deep black.
The smoothness of the os is just so much better on One, even they both have 2 GB ram, s3 just lags here and there, even the basic things. When I did not get the One, I never realised the lag, but now I really can't go back to s3.
The sound, the build quality, the specs, and the camera, do I need to mention again?
Sent from my HTC One using xda app-developers app

I personally came from an HTC Desire HD, but my girlfriend has an S3 and for a while I thought I was going to go with one. Great phone and very slick. The plastic construction didn't even bother me as much as I thought it would. I really loved my DHD in the beginning but the newer Sense updates made the phone feel more sluggish IMO, so I was pretty much decided on either an S3 or Nexus 4. The way I saw it, I wasn't going to get an S4 because the improvements were pretty incremental, with a huge amount of bloatware and gimmicky features that I wasn't interested in. Considering I could get an S3 for free on a cheaper, better contract, it just didn't seem worth it.
Anyways, once I saw the phone I was tempted to go back to HTC, and trying it out in person totally cemented it. The screen, speakers and camera are fantastic, and Sense actually provides useful, and completely unique features that really appealed to me. It obliterates Touchwiz in speed and minimalism, whilst improving on the stock Android look and feel. HTC Zoe, lowlight photography and HDR microphone are killer features that I would really miss now if I was to switch to any other phone. It's the best bit of tech I've ever used, and has completely restored my faith in HTC.
To top it all off it's also cheaper than an S4, meaning I'm finally on an unlimited data plan for an extra £12 per year compared to what I was paying before. So with cloud storage I don't even need expandable memory. HTC has done so much right with this phone, and while I can see it's not perfect for everyone, it comes as close as humanly possible for my needs.

I came from S3 having owned S2 before that. Waited till S4 was released to have play with it not impressed soon as held one knew I had to get it. The speakers are awsome so is camera and features everything about it really lol
Sent from my HTC One using xda app-developers app

I came from s3 and I'm happy s3 is laggy, and TouchWiz is evil
---
DimonVideo.ru

Didn't come from a GS3 but I do respect that phone alot. Fantastic device.
However, I was heavily debating between the GS4 and the One. I must say, the One takes the cake, hands down.
Sense 5 is beautiful, fast, and functional - not nearly as bad as it used to be. I (truly) have not noticed any lag at all yet.
In my personal opinion, I don't care for the GS4 based off the design and TouchWiz.
After you hear the speakers, use the camera, and hold the One... I think you'll be sold, I was.
Just my 2 cents, friend. Let us know what you decide!

I went from a HTC Desire Z --> S3 --> One.
In fact the only reason I chose S3 over the One X last year was because I needed AWS (was on Wind mobile for a while). I actually would have bought the One X if I had the choice.
To me, the S3 is kind of ugly. The plastic (especially the flimsy battery door) really made the phone feel cheap. It's not to say that all plastic phones are cheap, only the way samsung makes them. I had a Nokia N9 for a couple of months and loved the build quality.
The screen on the One is definitely nicer. I prefer the bright, crisp look of LCD vs the pentile screen of the S3.
And the thing that really sucks on samsung devices is the touchwiz. It doesn't matter if you are running gingerbread or jellybean, it pretty much looks the same.
And coming from an desireZ I was surprised that the roms were not compatible even with the identical hardware (ie Wind S3 vs T-mobile S3). With my DZ i used to flash G2 roms all the time even though they had different hw. It seems to be the same case for the One.
The things that bug me about the One are the missing menu button (I know there are some hacks available) and the fact that NAND is write protected (until we figure out S-OFF). I also miss the quick notification menu settings but I'm sure there are apps/hacks that can add this functionality (haven't bothered looking yet).

I also came from a GS3. Its an underwhelming experience on many aspects in comparison to the One. Hated the lag when opening contacts and the dialer, evil Touchwiz. Very uninspiring.
Having said that it was an older device.
The One is just mesmerising....in all the right areas.
Sent from my HTC One using xda premium

Came from the S3 and it was a great upgrade
Sent from my HTC One using xda app-developers app

I came from the S3. I love the One. To me Sense 5 is less "cartoonish" than touchwiz.
The cool Touchwiz features like smart stay and such were cool at first but after a while a never used them. To me the incredible sound on this device trumps everything else for me. I watch YouTube and use speaker phone all the time. It makes such a different to use those things on a phone like this.
Sent from my HTC One using xda app-developers app

I still love my S3. It was my first truly fast phone and was the largest upgrade in speed, features, and screen. It always worked perfectly and I really didn't "need" an upgrade, but my wife did so I got the One and gave her my S3
The One seems nice so far. There are a few qwirks I'm hoping HTC can address soon, but I expect to like this phone just as much.
Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 2

I'm coming from an S3 as well. I'm far happier with the One than I ever was with the S3. I always found that Samsung gave their phones a ton of features that never really seemed to work. Like using the accelerometer to flip between pages and using the front facing camera to see my face so that if I'm lying down it doesn't auto rotate. These are great features on paper but in practice they never worked or didn't work very well. The HTC One is pretty much a no frills handset (compared to the S4 in terms of features) that's beautifully designed. Honestly, I hope HTC does well with this phone, it's finally an android experience that I've been happy with.

Came from the GS3. I wasn't sure I wanted the gs4 because it was so similar to the gs3. Once i held the htc one, it was over.

s4
I came from a S4,I didn't like the plastic and now with my One I'm so happy!!
I love sense,build ,sound,display etc etc..........
byebye Samsung!:fingers-crossed:

I came from the Canadian dual core galaxy s3 and I have to say that the One is at least 1000 times better. Sense isn't filled with a bunch of useless software things that clutter up your phone and the battery life is incredible. Not to mention that in games it's much quicker and have yet to experience any lag at all in any games including modern combat 4 which lagged like hell on my SGS3

So I have an HTC One AND a Galaxy S4 now...unbiased observations between the two

I just wrote this this thread to humor myself and anyone else who cares or is interested in comparisons between the two phones. I'm coming from an HTC Sensation which I've had for about 2 years, previously owned the og Galaxy S (Vibrant), and instead of the S4 I chose the HTC one, and got the GS4 for my wife instead, and use both on a regular basis.
Here are my observations since I actually have both phones and can compare them with no bias...
-A lot of the online mainstream reviews you'll read between the two hit the nail on the head. The One imo is a better "phone". It does indeed have less features then the S4 (although many of them are gimmicks like the eye scrolling/tracking, airview, and a few others) but the speakers are far superior, which obviously aids for anyone who ever uses speakerphone or plays music and videos, the call quality is also a little better, the phone is more fluid and faster than the GS4 with basic functions like scrolling screens etc, and the phone of course has a MUCH more "premium" feel. Sense 5 is MUUUUUCH better than past versions of Sense and like a lot of review say, it *DOES* improve over stock android in actual useful features. The look is subjective of course but it's flat, useful and fast, and to me that's all that matters. The camera is better than any past smartphone I've ever used (Tmobile Dash>G1>Vibrant>Sensation>One) so I like it personally, but compared to its rivals like the GS4 I guess it's not the best, but does everything I've ever asked of it VERY well so no complaints from me.
-The GS4 on the other hand has a superior camera. The camera on the One isn't bad at all, and kills the Gs4 in low light conditions and the aspect ratio and wide lense captures waaay more in each frame, but the GS4 has more camera features, packs a crapload more detail in each shot, has some pretty useful camera modes the One doesn't have, and is just generally better. The Galaxy might not be made of aluminum like the one, but it's lighter and imo actually feels better in my hand (without a case). Once you add a case in the mix, hand feel is null and void obviously but if you like to go commando the Gs4 feels better and will probably hold up to abuse better than the One due to the polycarbonate body and gorilla glass 3. The screen on the Galaxy is bigger than the One while the actual phone altogether is lighter and smaller so that's pretty nice, but it's not really THAT noticeable to be honest. One huge, huge advantage the Galaxy has over the One is removable storage and battery, which *USED* to be a deal breaker for me back in the day, but I've learned to live without them since I got my One, so either way it's a definite advantage but I guess how much so is up to the user. The Galaxy also has native quick settings built in which the one doesn't have (yet), so minor issue but another positive for the galaxy.
As far as negative for each, I'm actually on my second One already. Somehow my camera lense glass cracked even though I keep the phone in case and have never dropped it or bumped it. It just appeared one day in addition to the top speaker grill starting to separate from the body. Weird, but I got it replaced and the replacement is doing fine and actually stands up to overclocking and undervolting better than my old unit, so that made me pretty happy lol. That's really the only issue I've had with mine, but on the whole, the phone is definitely more fragile than the Galaxy WITHOUT a case. It scratches easier, dents, chips, etc...while the Galaxy doesn't.
The Galaxy feels better in hand (caseless) than the One, but it's slippery as hell and slides around easily and can be more prone to being dropped. Again, only an issue without a case, but this is my observation.
Touchwiz...personally I think it's a mess. I don't care for the look, as many have said it feels like your still running Gingerbread 2.3. The look hasn't changed much since I had a Vibrant running Touchwiz from 3 years ago, and while Touchwiz DOES have some unique features and generally does more than Sense and stock android...it's just ugly as hell while doing so lol. The Galaxy also does feel a tad slower and microstutters every so often while the One is almost always fluid and seems much smoother even tho it's running a newer version of android and has slightly better specs on hardware...it just doesn't "feel" like it. Other than that it's a fantastic phone and we haven't had any problems with it whatsoever unlike the One.
Between the two...if I just had to pick one, it's a toss up. I prefer my One honestly but I can see the advantages of the Galaxy S4 with it having more features so I'll just break it down like this...
Usefuleness as an actual phone
One>S4
Camera
GS4>One
In hand feel, portability
One=GS4
Usefulness as a multimedia device
GS4=One
Expandability
GS4>One
I will say that between the two if this even matters to anyone...I get WAAAAAY more props and questions and even jealous stares directed towards the One.........although..........people tend to ask to let them play with the Galaxy S4 quite often lol...

This is going to be TLDR post
I think now I have owned all 1080P phones from mainstream manufacturers and Oppo.
DNA, Xperia Z, SGS4 and One.
Could not live with Xperia Z, unacceptable compromises on a flagship device. Sold DNA as well and now with SGS4 and One (And Oppo find 5 as well, but that purchase was of oa curiosity purchase )
Both have their niggles to be honest at this point. But as far as one is concerned, I am not going to live with Sense 5 in its current form. I just cant. I will keep complaining about blink feed until HTC fixes it to add custom sources or more sources comparable to Pulse. The social media capabilities of blink feed are irrelevent to me as I dont use facebook much and for twitter which I do use, it does not even comes close to functionality of Falcon Pro.
Then the caveats with app drawer, lack of options to change wallpaper from home by long pressing also gets on my nerves. Having to go through 3 steps extra to change wallpaper is just silly. So I had to resort to custom launcher which has its own share of problems due to the fact that for some reason lot of launchers are not butter smooth on One with MSM DCVS governor as well as not as smooth as Note 2 or Nexus 4 even on default On demand governor. For those who have not actually experienced what butter smooth experience means on these device, it appears smooth. My sis who came from SGS2 thinks its smooth. I can feel the jitter in UI and that is really disappointing. And it has something to do with governor and / or kernel as there are issues with jitter and microstutter in 2d arcade games like Hill climb racing on One when the same game runs just fine on older Krait 200 CPU on Oppo Find 5. I got Go launcher to be most close to what I want by adjusting animation speed. But it is still not as perfect as I want it to be.
That and menu button even when mapped to long press back using custom rom does not still behave perfectly 100% of time. Sometimes it just goes back. But I have learned to live with that. But these are notable niggles.
Camera issues I had with older camera are now fixed. I am happy with One camera results now.
The only other bugs that annoys the hell out of me is the contact bug that was there is Sense 4 as well and it is there in sense 5 as well where Sense decides to save new contact to my other gmail account than my primary account even when the second gmail account is not even set to sync contacts. Every time after installing new ROM clean I have to click on Google tab and select my primary account before hitting save.
SGS4 TWUI might be visual mess but it is very functional. Everything just works as it should on Android phone. The actions are not that far away from what we get on stock android. So even with Samsung plastering entire colour spectrum all over, everything works as I am used to. No surprises, no irritating faults. I dont might extra features. I have half of them disabled and bloat removed.
The power saving features on Exynos Octa does not seem to work properly yet, or not as good as they are suppose. The product was clearly rushed, but I guess it will be SGS3 story all over again with Samsung fixing most issues with unofficial leaks over coming weeks and with final release fixing this on OTA for those who dont want to experiement. I have that much faith in Samsung now.
Hardware I leave it to the users but SGS4 does not feel like cheap plastic. Sure it does not feel as premium as HTC One, but that typical BS people on forums and even some press spreading about SGS4 feeling cheap is just plain BS. It feels good in hands, it feels as premium as Note 2 and Note 2 did not feel cheap at all. Specially not in white colour. Rest is upto end user to decide but if you get the chance, do see S4 in person. It is great device to hold and use. With right case which I always use no matter what phone, it is not going to be an issue at all.
Coming down to personal choice, I am still using One as my personal daily driver and S4 as work phone. The bigger real estate on S4 does come in handy though and I have a feeling that in the end it is going to be better overall device to use for media consumption for someone like me who do not listen to songs or watch videos without using headphones. I dont like to watch videos even at home with the Ones wonderful speakers as I dont like disturbing my family members, and specially my hyperactive dog that just wants to get its head between me and my phone to investigate what sound is coming out of this weird device if I play anything on it using loudspeaker So really I am wasting the speakers on One. But that can be big selling points to some. For me, it is nice thing to have but I like to use phone strictly for personal media consumption and not broadcast it to others, neither do I want to disturb others at night in bed when I usually check up on some youtube videos from my subscribed channels.
The bigger real estate also helps a lot in gaming.
In the end S4 has less niggles at the moment. HTC has chosen risky strategy with Sense 5. People will either love it or those like me who simply hate it. I replaced it with custom launcher. Lot of people still love it but plenty are going to be frustrated by it. I never likes less options or restrictive behaviour on any android phone. That is exactly what HTC has done on their stock sense 5 launcher.
UI functionality is as or rather more important that UI design and feel. Sense 5 feels smooth and polished but it is very restrictive in nature and feels like HTC have done some things deliberately different just for the sake of being different without thinking logically if they really needed to do those things differently.
It is case of "So close to perfection, yet so far" with One. It is wonderful device. Good enough for me to be ready to live with the cavates it has. But sometimes I feel like switching to S4 as primary personal daily driver. But the beauty of this device is what keeping me from ditching it. That is ultimate thing in favour of One. But frustrating thing is, it could have been so much better with just few changes.

Thread closed
This thread is another sad example of the reason why we do not wnat any comparison threads here. Although the OP had the best goals with posting it, some fanboy users can't refrain from using it as another battle ground. Deleted 15 posts (some of them NOT being unfair, but I treated all equal)
So thank you OP for the comparison. It stays here as it is helpful. The rest of the discussion is not.

Upgrade Galaxy S6 for Oneplus 2?

So I'm kind of in a dilemma to get a a Oneplus 2 and selling my Galaxy s6 for it.
Regarding the specs and software experience, do you think that trading my Galaxy S6 for a 64gb Oneplus 2 is a good long-term idea?

I sold my gs6 and got the oneplus 2, no regrets so far. I mainly did it because I don't like touchwiz. I like using close to stock Android software. Battery life on gs6 sucks as well, much better on op2. Build quality is definitely better on the gs6 but aside from that this phone tops it in every way for me.

dzaster89 said:
I sold my gs6 and got the oneplus 2, no regrets so far. I mainly did it because I don't like touchwiz. I like using close to stock Android software. Battery life on gs6 sucks as well, much better on op2. Build quality is definitely better on the gs6 but aside from that this phone tops it in every way for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah, even with the COI9 build of the S6, Touchwiz is shiity due to some stutterting with it's UI. If only there would be a CM build for this lol
I'm really in the verge of getting the oneplus 2, but there is also a part of me choosing between the Nexus 6P. what do you think, disregarding the price?

Go for 6P if you don't need dual sim.
Sent from Oneplus Two with Tapatalk

shigi1231 said:
So I'm kind of in a dilemma to get a a Oneplus 2 and selling my Galaxy s6 for it.
Regarding the specs and software experience, do you think that trading my Galaxy S6 for a 64gb Oneplus 2 is a good long-term idea?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
After having the S6, Note 5 and OP2 I would never leave an S6 for an OP2. The only reason I keep the OP2 is for the hope of an official CM build, that's all. If the S6 battery life is too poor for you to put up with THEN I would do it, that's the only reason. I don't like Oxygen OS particularly and after using the S6 the OP2 feels laggy to me. I would download package disabler from the app store for the S6 as it really helps improve battery life. I didn't have a problem with the S6's battery life, especially with quick charge. Obviously it may not meet your needs though since we're all different. Just my two cents.

dc82 said:
After having the S6, Note 5 and OP2 I would never leave an S6 for an OP2. The only reason I keep the OP2 is for the hope of an official CM build, that's all. If the S6 battery life is too poor for you to put up with THEN I would do it, that's the only reason. I don't like Oxygen OS particularly and after using the S6 the OP2 feels laggy to me. I would download package disabler from the app store for the S6 as it really helps improve battery life. I didn't have a problem with the S6's battery life, especially with quick charge. Obviously it may not meet your needs though since we're all different. Just my two cents.
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Click to collapse
quite unusual to see from someone that the OP2 is lagging. Anyway, I also have the same reason why I'm considering the OP2 or Nexus 6p, because of the CM or near stock experience. I've recently installed some Custom roms in the S6, that fixed the touchwiz lag but not the ram management. I'm also waiting if there would be AOSP roms for the s6.

shigi1231 said:
quite unusual to see from someone that the OP2 is lagging. Anyway, I also have the same reason why I'm considering the OP2 or Nexus 6p, because of the CM or near stock experience. I've recently installed some Custom roms in the S6, that fixed the touchwiz lag but not the ram management. I'm also waiting if there would be AOSP roms for the s6.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
its very common for oxygenos to be laggy, coming from nexus 5 6.0 update, oxygenos with all this hardware is still no match in smoothness, they have ways to go. of course just waiting for the cyanogenmod to become official then you can kiss the lagg bye bye. tested the beta, and it is fantastic. hydrogenos is currently faster and almost lag free compared to oxygen.

xtachix said:
its very common for oxygenos to be laggy, coming from nexus 5 6.0 update, oxygenos with all this hardware is still no match in smoothness, they have ways to go. of course just waiting for the cyanogenmod to become official then you can kiss the lagg bye bye. tested the beta, and it is fantastic. hydrogenos is currently faster and almost lag free compared to oxygen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the latest OOS installed + AK kernel v15, and I see no lag whatsoever. Browsing through the UI is as smooth as it can get + battery life is amazing.

I did just that ,today is my first day with the oneplus 2 .I cant get over how heavy it is !.battery life seems a little better but I am not getting 4G which might be contributing to the battery life .I have to say that the S6 feels far more polished than the OPT over all ,the OPT reminds me of the days when I used custom ROMs where you encounter a few glitches here and there (not connecting to my wifi for instance ).

shigi1231 said:
So I'm kind of in a dilemma to get a a Oneplus 2 and selling my Galaxy s6 for it.
Regarding the specs and software experience, do you think that trading my Galaxy S6 for a 64gb Oneplus 2 is a good long-term idea?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The GS6 has one of the best camera's available on any phone today, but the OP2 isn't that far behind (with some software improvements it could potentially equal it). If you hate Touchwiz as much as I do, then trade it in. If you don't, then don't.. Because the GS6 is truly a fantastic device if you like a phone that just works. It's basically the iPhone of Android devices.
zaki67 said:
I did just that ,today is my first day with the oneplus 2 .I cant get over how heavy it is !.battery life seems a little better but I am not getting 4G which might be contributing to the battery life .I have to say that the S6 feels far more polished than the OPT over all ,the OPT reminds me of the days when I used custom ROMs where you encounter a few glitches here and there (not connecting to my wifi for instance ).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you can live without a fingerprint scanner for a while you should give Exodus a try. I cannot recommend it highly enough!

shigi1231 said:
quite unusual to see from someone that the OP2 is lagging. Anyway, I also have the same reason why I'm considering the OP2 or Nexus 6p, because of the CM or near stock experience. I've recently installed some Custom roms in the S6, that fixed the touchwiz lag but not the ram management. I'm also waiting if there would be AOSP roms for the s6.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's actually not unusual at all. Use literally any other current flagship phone and then go back to the OP2. Stock vs stock it's noticeable. I'd wait till the S6 gets marshmallow to make your determination if you can. Hardware-wise I think the S6 is better and that being the case, you can update software but you can't change hardware.

I hear there was a new update for the camera of the OP2 fixing the auto laser focus with filming videos
How's the display of the device? Is the 1080P LCD display not that farfetched from SUPERAMOLED?
Considering the SoCs of both Nexus 6P and OP2, do you think that the 64gb (with 4 gb of ram) would provide more RAW power than the nexus 6p?

I went from GS6 to a oneplus 2. I originally kept the GS6 and sold the Oneplus 2, but later changed my mind and bought a new Oneplus 2. (I don't understand all the whining about not being able to buy one!)
Here is why:
My main complaint regarding the OP2 is its size. The S6 is sleek and lightweight. When it comes to having one of the two in a pocket...I much prefer the size of the S6. But, phones aren't made for sitting in our pockets, are they? Also, I find the vibrating motor on the OP2 is lower quality than the one on the S6 and so I leave it turned off because it annoys me. The vibrating seems to slow down the use of the keyboard to me as well. I also don't find the quality of accessories like cases to be as good for OP2 as the GS6.
On the other hand:
I don't mind the lack of NFC because I don't keep a phone unrooted long enough to use Android Pay anyway. I think Oneplus realized most of it's users would be in that boat. I also don't mind the lack of quickcharging because I just plug in my phone everynight and I have a 15,000mAh battery charger that bought just in case, but I have used exactly 0 times. Despite all of the horror stories on these forums, I have stock Oxygen and stock kernel and get to the end of every day with about 75% charge left.
I think the TW on GS6 is fine, but I honestly prefer the stock experience. I found the camera on the GS6 to be better, but I would ALWAYS choose my DSLR for any serious video or photo of either and I don't find it $150 dollars better (The actual price difference if you watch for deals on websites such as Slickdeals).
I hear all sorts of whining about the quality of the hardware being less on Oneplus 2, but in the past half year I have owned 3 GS6 devices and two of them had to be sent in for RMA warranty. I have owned 2 Oneplus 2's and they were both without any faults. Also, if you think that Oneplus has software issues, you should see all the whining over on the S6 forums about the software problems. Samsung is arguably the most advanced android maker out there and still regularly have software issues! Samsung does not support the Dev community and takes every action to prevent any software modification (Ever heard of a Knox?). Oneplus has limitations on what they are able to provide the community with regard to drivers, but does what it can.
I used the fancy features like heartbeat sensor and pulse ox a total of once just out of curiosity...never found a need to use it ever again. The same goes for the remote control. It is a neat feature, but I would prefer to use my regular remote.
I also can't see the point in using Android Pay because it seems like half of all retailers out there still make me pull out my wallet to show my ID. Basically, at this point the Android Pay is about the same level of novelty as a 4k screen on a 40 inch TV and I'm fine without it. I can't drive anywhere without my wallet because it has my license, so I might as well carry a card in there too. If I go to a restaurant, I'm not going to hand a $400 to $650 device to the waiter to pay for my food.... With all of it's limitations, Android Pay just isn't THAT much of a convenience. So, I will choose to root my phone and do without out it whether the device has NFC or not.
The GS6 Super OLED is beautiful, but comes with drawbacks. One main problem is that they suffer from burn-in. I had one device that I couldn't stand using because it developed a severe burn in from having a background similar to the "never settle" on the OP2 that left words visible on the back of the device. The burn in occurred after a couple days of heavy use of the device and was permanent. Samsung will not fix that problem on warranty...they see it as your fault. IPS does not have this problem. With regard to battery use I don't think that the benefits of OLED outweigh the significantly larger battery on the OP2. Also, I should mention that I have a smartwatch so I could care less about features like having alerts popup on the display, but I doubt that this really consumes a lot more energy on the IPS displays than the OLED displays. I believe that more energy is probably being consumed in the wakelock anyway from those sort of events and really don't want my screen turning on to tell me about new alerts either way. I saw a fancy graph somewhere about how OLED really doesn't use that much less energy compared to IPS with LED anyway, and can actually use more in certain cicumstances.
I find that the larger real estate of the 5.5 inch screen on the OP2 is a better size compared to the S6 in my experience and don't appreciate any decrease in quality in the 1080p vs 2k.
The S6 and Oneplus 2 are both pretty lag-free experiences. I do like having the 64gb of space compared to the 32 on my S6, but the OP2 seems to run with about 2GB or RAM free, so the 4GB or RAM is probably overkill. The S6 on the otherhand is bloated beyond belief and uses every bit of the 3GB of RAM. Anyone who has spent time on the S6 part of xda has seen tons of complaints about this. Meanwhile, OOS isn't perfect, but it does remain a bloat free experience.
Importantly, the dev support for OP2 is much better and we really owe these guys like Grarak and AK for all their hard work. Dev support for the S6 is very limited. CM will probably never be available for the S6 because it uses the Exynos.
I never had a problem with using the physical home button on the S6, but after using the home button on the OP2, I found that I was annoyed everytime I had to actually press down on that physical button on the S6. I don't know why, but it really bugged me.

dc82 said:
After having the S6, Note 5 and OP2 I would never leave an S6 for an OP2. The only reason I keep the OP2 is for the hope of an official CM build, that's all. If the S6 battery life is too poor for you to put up with THEN I would do it, that's the only reason. I don't like Oxygen OS particularly and after using the S6 the OP2 feels laggy to me. I would download package disabler from the app store for the S6 as it really helps improve battery life. I didn't have a problem with the S6's battery life, especially with quick charge. Obviously it may not meet your needs though since we're all different. Just my two cents.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was pretty much going to say the same thing said here......So I'll just +1 this.
Ok, I have to say a little more...
I like my OP2, the build is nice and it's a premium looking phone.....But I've only had it a month and have had several small, annoying bugs pop up over that time and a couple that required a full factory reset. I had my S6 for a couple months and had no real issues. I almost feel the OP2's software wasn't ready for release, but they went ahead and released it anyways. As bloated as the S6 is, it's a smooth and snappy user experience IMO. TouchWiz has really slimmed down from the S3 days too and I actually liked it as well as my go-to launcher, Nova. I hate saying that, because I generally don't like big corporate companies like Samsung, but they don't have one of the most popular phones in the world for no reason. But for the money, I was willing to take a chance on the OP2 as I'm sure development will be better in a few months and even the stock ROM will become more stable over time.

To what I see from everyone I think I can deduce like this:
Oneplus 2: DEV FRIENDLY (i cant emphasis enough how this is very important to me lol), can go toe to toe with the Exynos chip, better stock experience (Cyanogenmod is coming quickly), due to camera software updates OP2 camera is decent, build quality is premium, battery is good, better RAM
Galaxy S6: build is super premium but can be so greasy due to the glass back and front, Exynos chip is good, TouchWiz is decent, NFC, wireless charging, QHD but can be a set back due to battery
The S6 has been months out now, and it would seem there are no Developers working or at least having good progress on a AOSP rom.

tele_jas said:
I was pretty much going to say the same thing said here......So I'll just +1 this.
Ok, I have to say a little more...
I like my OP2, the build is nice and it's a premium looking phone.....But I've only had it a month and have had several small, annoying bugs pop up over that time and a couple that required a full factory reset. I had my S6 for a couple months and had no real issues. I almost feel the OP2's software wasn't ready for release, but they went ahead and released it anyways. As bloated as the S6 is, it's a smooth and snappy user experience IMO. TouchWiz has really slimmed down from the S3 days too and I actually liked it as well as my go-to launcher, Nova. I hate saying that, because I generally don't like big corporate companies like Samsung, but they don't have one of the most popular phones in the world for no reason. But for the money, I was willing to take a chance on the OP2 as I'm sure development will be better in a few months and even the stock ROM will become more stable over time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK, I like the OP2 a lot.....for the money. It's a great phone for the money. You can't spend this "little" and expect a lot more. The screen is NOWHERE near as good as any recent AMOLED. To anyone claiming burn in is still an issue, I say that's overblown. I've had more phones than I care to even admit to and I've had burn in only once. That was with the N6 and that was an older Samsung panel. The op2 screen looks nice enough with no other phone as a reference. Put it next to any recent samsung and you see how washed out the OP2 panel looks. That being said. This phone is NOT a flagship killer, its simply a really, REALLY good phone...for the money. If this phone made by Samsung ppl would be up in arms about its shortcomings. But bc its made by an obscure Chinese company that makes ridiculous marketing claims we all buy in to a degree. Again, I love the phone. It's great..for the money. Don't expect perfection and you'll be happy with it.

dc82 said:
OK, I like the OP2 a lot.....for the money. It's a great phone for the money. You can't spend this "little" and expect a lot more. The screen is NOWHERE near as good as any recent AMOLED. To anyone claiming burn in is still an issue, I say that's overblown. I've had more phones than I care to even admit to and I've had burn in only once. That was with the N6 and that was an older Samsung panel. The op2 screen looks nice enough with no other phone as a reference. Put it next to any recent samsung and you see how washed out the OP2 panel looks. That being said. This phone is NOT a flagship killer, its simply a really, REALLY good phone...for the money. If this phone made by Samsung ppl would be up in arms about its shortcomings. But bc its made by an obscure Chinese company that makes ridiculous marketing claims we all buy in to a degree. Again, I love the phone. It's great..for the money. Don't expect perfection and you'll be happy with it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just RMA'ed a S6 with burn in and got my replacement today which I plan to sell. So, it still happens and on my device it didn't take much. I hadn't had any problems with any of my prior AMOLED screens I would have agreed with you, but I used a background pic from the S6 promotional material that said "Six Appeal". After removing the background I could see the words any time I had a grey or white background... such as anytime I used XDA. Fortunately for me, the phone had a camera defect and I was able to RMA it. Regarding the burn in, they basically just said "too bad". Considering I just finished dealing with the issue, this is probably why I am so sensitive to it being a concern.
BTW, as mentioned, I have both phones and think the S6 screen is only minimally better after adjusting screen settings on the OP2. I have both of them in front of me right now. I will say, the default screen settings for the OP2 don't help the first impression and I originally thought it was very washed out comparatively.
As a point of mention just for anyone out there new to the technologies: burn in will always be a potential design risk with AMOLED technology. As any pixel is used it will wear ever so slightly. The rate of wear may improve in future generations, but the wear itself is an inherent part of the technology. The good news is that if you are careful, you can probably avoid the problem for the most part. Static parts of the screen with high contrast like the top bar are at risk because they often have the same pixels being used.
Also, "Super AMOLED" isn't actually any better than an AMOLED from the standpoint of screen quality. It is just Samsung's made up term for when they fuse a digitizer into the display vs having it as a separate layer. The underlying display is still the same.

Silvers91 said:
I have the latest OOS installed + AK kernel v15, and I see no lag whatsoever. Browsing through the UI is as smooth as it can get + battery life is amazing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the same installed, a stock nexus 5 with the official 6.0 firmware is much smoother. you'd say the UI is lag free, for the most part that's true, but once you open an app it takes a bit of time for the app to actually load, where in android 6.0 of nexus 5 you don't see that. none the less, the phone is fantastic, just needs some more working on before they can actually call it a well built stock firmware.

xtachix said:
I have the same installed, a stock nexus 5 with the official 6.0 firmware is much smoother. you'd say the UI is lag free, for the most part that's true, but once you open an app it takes a bit of time for the app to actually load, where in android 6.0 of nexus 5 you don't see that. none the less, the phone is fantastic, just needs some more working on before they can actually call it a well built stock firmware.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree with you, I had a Nexus 5 but I sold it right before Marshmallow was released for it, but even with 5.1.1 it was smooth as hell, I'm yet to see a phone that is as smooth as the Nexus 5.. OnePlus 2 just needs some time to get the right software, it was only released 3 months ago anyway.

Silvers91 said:
I agree with you, I had a Nexus 5 but I sold it right before Marshmallow was released for it, but even with 5.1.1 it was smooth as hell, I'm yet to see a phone that is as smooth as the Nexus 5.. OnePlus 2 just needs some time to get the right software, it was only released 3 months ago anyway.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
agreed, OP needs to completely debloat their software, make it completely stock, optimize it, then add extra features to it. a rom that's 1.1GB in size tells you quite a lot vs the cyanogenmod .4GB. They need to take it from ground up to even match cyanogenmod in terms of performance and UI experience. I mean look at nexus 5, no matter what rom you put in it, the stock one was always better, smoother UI, better performance, at one point installing a custom kernel made the phone unstable and killed battery life faster.
right off the bat, OP2 users started installing AK kernel to eliminate lagg issues and battery life issues. What does that tell us? the underlying software is not very good, the kernel probably does lots of wasteful debugging and 2 cores almost always offline. The idea is there, but the implementation of the idea seems like to have "workarounds" rather than actual redesigning of the code to coop with the ROM's needs. I mean no one even bothered to create a custom ROM based on the official ROM. The first things that came out for the nexus was the custom ROM based on the official sources.
I'm sorry OP2, but nexus 5 was the real flagship killer, I still have the phone (though had to replace the power button). battery life was good for me, lasted 17-20 hours. Hopefully OP can start to understand that user requests and bug reports should not be worked with using the "workaround" style, but instead to fix issues from the foundation of the ROM, optimize it then release it. Maybe they can release a lightweight version, or a stock AOSP version with everything functional. CM will probably beat them to it at this rate.

My First Sony Smartphone

Just say hello on this part of the XDA world, had my first Sony Smartphone ever yesterday the Z5...
Always used Mostly HTC and a few Samsung and my Last phone was a nexus 6...
First impressions are really good, lot of stuff by default that I used to root the other phones for 2 most useful being the battery percentage (why others don't do this baffles me) and the clear all in the recent apps i could almost live with this phone not rooted...
Its not as super zippy as the nexus 6 and the screen is a little smaller obviously but i found the Nexus just a bit too big.
Hopefully they'll be some more rooting and custom rom options soon...
Not sure about battery life yet but seems ok so far...
Biggest issue is the shape does anybody find this phone comfy to hold ?
Compared to my HTC M8 which is still have (as a spare) it feels really unnatural suppose you get used to it...

Be sure you're using the latest firmware, it made everything snappier and more responsive.
It's my first Sony phone too. Always had iPhones, Samsung and OnePlus phones before.

I highly recommend going for a third party launcher. I myself use Apex Pro for my Z1 which gives me more functions, better graphical effects/animations and overall much nicer GUI. This coupled with custom icons pack "Elun" for an elegant clean design. Pretty much always have a perfectly fluid 60fps interface and scrolling and I have lots of persistant apps that gives me various functions loaded all the time using resources. And I have compared against the S5, S6 Edge, M4 Aqua, Iphone 6S Plus and they all often fall under 60fps making for a stuttery GUI experience while looking worse and having less features running. So keyword is custom launcher to bring out the beast!