# Samsung’s Mediocre S4 Reviews Are Bad News for Apple



## Kid_Eternity (Apr 30, 2013)

More doom and gloom for Apple because Samsung's huge marketing spend isn't bringing home the bacon?



> *Samsung*’s (NASDAQOTH: SSNLF) latest flagship phone, the Galaxy S4, is starting to roll out on carriers around the world. Unfortunately for the Korean tech giant, most of the reviews have not been particularly favorable.
> 
> But while most might see this as good news for *Apple* (NASDAQ: AAPL), it’s actually quite troublesome, since the reviews are evidence of a devastating new trend in the smartphone market.


 
Devastating?


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## Fingers (Apr 30, 2013)

Most of the reviews I have read have been favourable.  The only negative things I have read have mainly been centered around the plastic cover.  

Most have said it is a great phone and I agree, I have one.


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## thriller (Apr 30, 2013)

....


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## Kid_Eternity (Apr 30, 2013)

Fingers said:


> Most of the reviews I have read have been favourable. The only negative things I have read have mainly been centered around the plastic cover.
> 
> Most have said it is a great phone and I agree, I have one.


 
I've heard, not a fan of plastic myself but that screen size is pretty nice!


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## butchersapron (Apr 30, 2013)

Kid_Eternity said:


> More doom and gloom for Apple because Samsung's huge marketing spend isn't bringing home the bacon?
> 
> 
> 
> Devastating?


Fuck me, i thought i was sad.


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## Fingers (Apr 30, 2013)

Kid_Eternity said:


> I've heard, not a fan of plastic myself but that screen size is pretty nice!


 
I have compared the S3 and S4 plastic covers and a huge improvement has been made on the S4.  regarding the screen, it got passed around the pub on sunday and people were impressed with it.  I have just come from an S2 and the difference in quality and size is massive


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## mauvais (May 1, 2013)

I don't know why I'm humouring the wide-eyed RSS feed that the OP spews forth, but the reason the S4 is such bad news for Apple is because it marks the point of diminishing returns. The smartphone as a product is done and there's nothing interesting left to add to it. When the height of innovation is adding a fucking _barometer_, you've got serious problems.


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## pesh (May 1, 2013)

yep, Samsung added a barometer and thermometer, Sony made theirs waterproof. 1-0 to Sony there.


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## mauvais (May 2, 2013)

O, glorious waterproof phone, you grab such firm hold of the state of the art and advance it so bravely into the toilet bowl. If only there were a piss resistant screen then we would truly know beauty.


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## xenon (May 2, 2013)

Fingers said:


> Most of the reviews I have read have been favourable.  The only negative things I have read have mainly been centered around the plastic cover.
> 
> Most have said it is a great phone and I agree, I have one.



Didn't go down that well in the PC Pro podcast. Plasticy feel and the Samsung gimmicky junkware. Not that it's rubbish of course. Still a high end smart phone. Peple expect real improvements to new models. Even if the improvements are simple things like stirdier quality feel, cleaner interface. (and the obligatory faster processor.)


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## FridgeMagnet (May 2, 2013)

I was actually talking about this in the pub last night and I mentioned that the S4 had a barometer. Then I thought "no wait I must be misremembering, I know it has a humidity sensor but even Samsung wouldn't put a fucking barometer in a phone" so I shut up about that. But it does though doesn't it?


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## mauvais (May 2, 2013)

Humidity plus pressure sensors give a barometer, I think, and it's really Google leading the way, rather than Samsung doing something weird on their own.

This thrilling piece describes everything but why: http://developer.android.com/guide/topics/sensors/sensors_environment.html


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## mauvais (May 2, 2013)

I suppose that actually my cynicism is somewhat uncalled for, because it _is_ a little bit exciting, presenting one as it does with a great opportunity to get venture capital backing for one's new crowdsourced '_what's the weather in nearby geeks' trousers_' app.


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## Fez909 (May 2, 2013)

xenon said:


> Didn't go down that well in the PC Pro podcast. Plasticy feel and the Samsung gimmicky junkware. Not that it's rubbish of course. Still a high end smart phone. Peple expect real improvements to new models. Even if the improvements are simple things like stirdier quality feel, cleaner interface. (and the obligatory faster processor.)


 
There's a vast gulf between what people who post on forums like this expect/want and what the general public wants. I'm becoming more and more aware of my tech bubble. The majority of the customers are not people like us.

My mam has a Samsung phone and she doesn't even realise its Android (she was shocked when my non-Samsung charger fit her phone ) . She's actually OK and computer stuff in general, but with phones it's like another world to her. She loves all the little widgets and bloat that Samsung include and got really excited when I did a system update for her recently because she got a whole load of new bloaty widgets to play with. Samsung are like the ITV of phone makers to me: full of populist flashy crap that people continue to lap up.

She has never once complained about the 'feel' of the phone, the bloatware or the muddled interface. All she wants is FAST, pretty lights and a big screen. I suspect more people are like her than like me.


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## Fez909 (May 2, 2013)

mauvais said:


> Humidity plus pressure sensors give a barometer, I think, and it's really Google leading the way, rather than Samsung doing something weird on their own.
> 
> This thrilling piece describes everything but why: http://developer.android.com/guide/topics/sensors/sensors_environment.html


 
I think it is in preparation for the 'smart home'. One device controlling everything from lighting, to heating, to your fridge's streaming radio station. In my opinion, the smart home is this decade's video calling: No one wants it, but they keep on pushing it in the tech news.


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## mauvais (May 2, 2013)

If you look at it in the most benevolent light, then it makes sense (ho ho) to have it in the API, because Android is on all sorts of devices like embedded bits of weirdness. It sort of makes sense for Samsung to build in the actual sensors, because Android is a geeky sandbox at its core, and someone might make something cool out of it. I do think it's fair to use it as an example of the rapidly decelerating rate of change though.

Connected home (this year the industry demolished their showhome and is pushing connected _city_) is a fair point but is an idea that has been around for 10+ years without really gaining traction.


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## xenon (May 2, 2013)

Fez909 said:


> There's a vast gulf between what people who post on forums like this expect/want and what the general public wants. I'm becoming more and more aware of my tech bubble. The majority of the customers are not people like us.
> 
> My mam has a Samsung phone and she doesn't even realise its Android (she was shocked when my non-Samsung charger fit her phone ) . She's actually OK and computer stuff in general, but with phones it's like another world to her. She loves all the little widgets and bloat that Samsung include and got really excited when I did a system update for her recently because she got a whole load of new bloaty widgets to play with. Samsung are like the ITV of phone makers to me: full of populist flashy crap that people continue to lap up.
> 
> She has never once complained about the 'feel' of the phone, the bloatware or the muddled interface. All she wants is FAST, pretty lights and a big screen. I suspect more people are like her than like me.



Is it her first smart phone? Maybe it's as much to do with the excitement of just seeing a feature packed new piece of technology. I take your point though.


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## Fez909 (May 2, 2013)

xenon said:


> Is it her first smart phone? Maybe it's as much to do with the excitement of just seeing a feature packed new piece of technology. I take your point though.


 
It's not, no. It's her second. Second Android phone, actually - although to her that just means second Samsung phone. She didn't realise her old charger would work on her S2


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## FridgeMagnet (May 2, 2013)

My dad was on about having everything in the house run by the BBC B back in the 80s. Strangely enough he never quite got round to that.


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## Kid_Eternity (May 2, 2013)

FridgeMagnet said:


> I was actually talking about this in the pub last night and I mentioned that the S4 had a barometer. Then I thought "no wait I must be misremembering, I know it has a humidity sensor but even Samsung wouldn't put a fucking barometer in a phone" so I shut up about that. But it does though doesn't it?


 
That's the price you pay for innovation.


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## skyscraper101 (May 2, 2013)

mauvais said:


> I don't know why I'm humouring the wide-eyed RSS feed that the OP spews forth, but the reason the S4 is such bad news for Apple is because it marks the point of diminishing returns. The smartphone as a product is done and there's nothing interesting left to add to it. When the height of innovation is adding a fucking _barometer_, you've got serious problems.


 
^ this. I'm sure very few people give a hoot about the added bells on the S4. It's a great phone true but surely not that much greater than the S2 or S3 just a bit quicker. The only interesting direction in smartphones is going in is cheaper handsets like the Nexus 4. £500+ for an Android phone is ridiculous. I'd sooner put much of that towards a good laptop with more functionality.


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## skyscraper101 (May 2, 2013)

Actually for £529 I'd sooner buy an iphone 5 which at least will hold its resale value better in 24 months than any of the Galaxy phones on the market.

As of now, I'm more interested in the rumoured budget iphone. For me it's between whatever that has to offer for the price, and the Nexus 4 (or the next incarnation thereof).


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## skyscraper101 (May 2, 2013)

Why the fuck am I contributing to a KE troll thread


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## bi0boy (May 2, 2013)

It's got a barometer? WANT!

It will be fun on planes, and mountains, and in hurricanes and shit.


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## editor (May 2, 2013)

skyscraper101 said:


> Actually for £529 I'd sooner buy an iphone 5 which at least will hold its resale value better in 24 months than any of the Galaxy phones on the market.


I wouldn't bank on that as an absolute. Things can change quickly in the smartphone market.


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## ChrisFilter (May 2, 2013)

skyscraper101 said:


> Actually for £529 I'd sooner buy an iphone 5 which at least will hold its resale value better in 24 months than any of the Galaxy phones on the market.
> 
> As of now, I'm more interested in the rumoured budget iphone. For me it's between whatever that has to offer for the price, and the Nexus 4 (or the next incarnation thereof).



Unless you're really old or already have an iPhone/iTunes account, it'd be very silly jumping on the bandwagon now.


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## mauvais (May 2, 2013)

bi0boy said:


> It's got a barometer? WANT!
> 
> It will be fun on planes, and mountains, and in hurricanes and shit.


And the humidity sensor can notify you of the exact moment at which you should have bought a waterproof one.


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## Kid_Eternity (May 2, 2013)

skyscraper101 said:


> ^ this. I'm sure very few people give a hoot about the added bells on the S4. It's a great phone true but surely not that much greater than the S2 or S3 just a bit quicker. The only interesting direction in smartphones is going in is cheaper handsets like the Nexus 4. £500+ for an Android phone is ridiculous. I'd sooner put much of that towards a good laptop with more functionality.


 
For me the big thing that smartphone have left is battery. Get that up to the levels of feature phones please. Ok yeah better camera would be nice too..


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## Kid_Eternity (May 2, 2013)

skyscraper101 said:


> Actually for £529 I'd sooner buy an iphone 5 which at least will hold its resale value better in 24 months than any of the Galaxy phones on the market.
> 
> As of now, I'm more interested in the rumoured budget iphone. For me it's between whatever that has to offer for the price, and the Nexus 4 (or the next incarnation thereof).


 
Yup, Apple products hold their value far better than their competitors. It's a sure thing.


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## skyscraper101 (May 2, 2013)

ChrisFilter said:


> Unless you're really old or already have an iPhone/iTunes account, it'd be very silly jumping on the bandwagon now.


 
But if a budget iphone came out that was pound for pound as good or better than a Nexus 4, I'd seriously consider jumping ship. There's very little holding me to Android in terms of paid for apps and I'd continue to use gmail as always. It's price, speed and reliability that I want. Most other marked up stuff I'm not interested in.


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## EastEnder (May 2, 2013)

skyscraper101 said:


> Why the fuck am I contributing to a KE troll thread


I quite like the new approach. Obfuscate an anti-AnythingThatsNotApple thread by citing an article that knocks Samsung but also mentions a spurious claim of "bad news for Apple". If nothing else, it shows a scintilla of originality.


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## editor (May 2, 2013)

skyscraper101 said:


> But if a budget iphone came out that was pound for pound as good or better than a Nexus 4, I'd seriously consider jumping ship.


Good luck with that wish.


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## editor (May 2, 2013)

EastEnder said:


> I quite like the new approach. Obfuscate an anti-AnythingThatsNotApple thread by citing an article that knocks Samsung but also mentions a spurious claim of "bad news for Apple". If nothing else, it shows a scintilla of originality.


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## mauvais (May 2, 2013)

Here's some more you can run with:

Google's Fundamental Scourge Upon The Earth Raises Cupertino Cafeteria Prices
Samsung's Ritualistic Child Sacrifice Scheme Prolongs Apple's Difficulty Maintaining Office Kitchen Paper Towel Stocks
Microsoft's Villainous Talks With Skeletor Are Mixed News For Tim Cook's Closed Platform He-Man Costumed Wanking Frenzy
Something Else In Uninteresting Technology Industry Articles Is Of No Real Significance To Anyone


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## skyscraper101 (May 2, 2013)

editor said:


> Good luck with that wish.


 
The Nexus 4 seems the obvious competitor. I'd like to see what Apple do next in regards of a budget phone before I decide one way or another. They're losing out big time in the budget smartphone market and there's enough rumour going round to suggest its only a matter of time.


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## editor (May 2, 2013)

skyscraper101 said:


> The Nexus 4 seems the obvious competitor. I'd like to see what Apple do next in regards of a budget phone before I decide one way or another. They're losing out big time in the budget smartphone market and there's enough rumour going round to suggest its only a matter of time.


But then that super-cheapo iPhone won't run half of the graphics-intensive games that give the iPhone one of the few advantages it retains, nor would it be likely to run the OS as super-slickly as the iPhone 5.

Cue: much gnashing of teeth.


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## skyscraper101 (May 2, 2013)

editor said:


> But then that super-cheapo iPhone won't run half of the graphics-intensive games that give the iPhone one of the few advantages it retains, nor would it be likely to run the OS as super-slickly as the iPhone 5.


 
Well I'm not much interested in games but I'm certainly not making any decisions on anything yet. I'm just keeping options open.


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## mauvais (May 2, 2013)

Think of the fragmentation! It's almost worthy of a thread.


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## editor (May 3, 2013)

mauvais said:


> Think of the fragmentation! It's almost worthy of a thread.


As an Android user for the past three years I can't even begin to tell you how many nano-seconds I've spent fretting and worrying over the issue of fragmentation. It's such an issue that no one I know with an Android phone can ever bear to bring themselves to talk about it.

Well, it's either that or they don't give a flying fuck because it's a complete and total non-issue to them.


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## Fez909 (May 3, 2013)

editor said:


> As an Android user for the past three years I can't even begin to tell you how many nano-seconds I've spent fretting and worrying over the issue of fragmentation. It's such an issue that no one I know with an Android phone can ever bear to bring themselves to talk about it.
> 
> Well, it's either that or they don't give a flying fuck because it's a complete and total non-issue to them.


 
You're just saying that because you're an evil Android fan boy. Think of the developers! No ecosystem could possibly exist where the developers have to code their apps to work on multiple resolutions and aspect ratios and chip sets and still remain successful. It's definitely never happened before. Never


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## Kid_Eternity (May 3, 2013)

EastEnder said:


> I quite like the new approach. Obfuscate an anti-AnythingThatsNotApple thread by citing an article that knocks Samsung but also mentions a spurious claim of "bad news for Apple". If nothing else, it shows a scintilla of originality.


 
Nah I'm not that original, if I was actually trolling I'd simply do what the Editor does is show up on every Android thread and derail like a wanker.


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## Kid_Eternity (May 3, 2013)

mauvais said:


> Think of the fragmentation! It's almost worthy of a thread.


 
True but then the Fandroid massive would shriek hysterically about it being a troll thread. It's a serious issue for developers and that means consumers...it's also a big issue for Google who now have a dominant platform in units installed but a minority share of web traffic and profits made from app sales. Not the best outcome really for an operating system.


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## editor (May 3, 2013)

Kid_Eternity said:


> Nah I'm not that original, if I was actually trolling I'd simply do what the Editor does is show up on every Android thread and derail like a wanker.


Don't drag me into this please, and there's no need for the abuse either. Thanks.


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## elbows (May 7, 2013)

There is zero doubt that fragmentation os several different kinds remains an issue for android. Users who are entirely happy with the range & quality of apps for android are quite right not to be concerned by it at all. For many but probably not all developers and others it remains an issue to varying degrees. As the years fly by there will be certain specific implications of fragmentation that vanish, for example when there are relatively few pre android 4 devices left in widespread use. Other aspects simply go with the territory, some of the strengths of android stemming from the diversity of hardware make it inevitable.


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## editor (May 8, 2013)

Those "mediocre" reviews keep on rolling in:


> In most respects the S4 has secured its spot at the top of the smart phone ladder. Its 5-inch screen is the best in the business and its quad-core processor delivers absolutely outstanding performance. Couple that with a host of interesting -- if not exactly groundbreaking -- Samsung software nuggets and you've got yourself an absolute beast of a phone.
> 
> It's a shame Samsung hasn't updated the design much from the S3. It's difficult to brag about having the latest kit if you can't tell it apart from old hardware, and the plastic construction does feel quite cheap. If you don't mind the Playmobil stylings though, the S4 is a superb phone to plonk in your pocket.
> http://reviews.cnet.co.uk/mobile-phones/samsung-galaxy-s4-review-50010650/2/





> The Galaxy S4 is easily the most impressive smartphone Samsung has ever released. It’s one of the most impressive smartphones any company has ever released. Tens of millions of people will buy it and love it.
> http://bgr.com/2013/05/08/samsung-galaxy-s4-review-redux-software-services/





> Samsung’s flagship is a real beauty. It feels good, looks smart and does more than previous smartphones have. On the other hand, just as most people only scratch the surface of the capabilities of their home computers, settling for email, word processing and a little light gaming, there are going to be a lot of customers who barely dig into the features here.
> 
> Many are gimmicky, some are decidedly niche, but it all still adds up to a phone with so many capabilities, it’s likely there’ll be lots to delight you. There are innovations to show off down the pub and genuinely useful features. Even if you don’t use them, this phone’s performance is so slick it is an appealing combination.
> 
> ...


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