Samsung Galaxy S4 Or iPhone 4S ?

Which Is Right For You – The Samsung Galaxy S4 Or iPhone 4S ?

Increasingly, device manufacturers are keeping previous hero releases in their ranges and dropping the price over time. It creates a de facto range of products to cover the price / functionality spectrum. It also lets phone makers like Apple and Samsung sweat the R&D investments they’ve made in their product developments without having to constantly reinvent their range at every price point. It’s a clever system and it benefits both Australian phone shoppers and the phone manufacturers’ shareholders. The latest releases pose the question, which is best – the Samsung Galaxy S4 Or iPhone 4S

Apple started the trend. You can still get online offers in Australia for the iPhone 4. As of now, the Apple brand is still seen by some as a premium product so pricing for the iPhone 4S, what we’re comparing to the Samsung Galaxy S3, here, are relatively high.

Essentially, this means that it’s not uncommon for people to be comparing very similar price points at the different operators when they’re weighing up a decision on the Samsung Galaxy S4 Or iPhone 4S. Which is strange. Because it’s no competition at all. The Samsung Galaxy S4 is likely to be the better phone for almost everyone.

Samsung Galaxy S4 vs iPhone 4S Specifications and Features

The Samsung Galaxy S4 Or iPhone 4S – Looks & Size

The iPhone 4S has been around 2 years now but it’s not totally out of date. The sheer number of the products in market, added to Apple’s design flare mean the 4S still looks are still current. The S4 looks decidedly similar to it’s predecessor, the Samsung Galaxy S3. Build quality of the Apple product is better than the Samsung Galaxy S4’s plastic body although I’d rather avoid dropping either. The iPhone 4S weighs 10 grams more ( the iPhone is 140 grams ) than the Samsung Galaxy S4 ( 130 grams. ) But the relatively small size of the Apple unit means it’s substantially more dense.

After the size and looks of a new phone, most people consider the screen. The trend to larger screen sizes since it launched leaves the iPhone 4S lacking in this department. It has a 3.5 inch, 640 x 960 screen which, next to the Samsung Galaxy S4 ( true high definition, 1080 x 1920 ) is tiny. PPIs on both exceed the capabilities of the human eye so the quality difference is not experienced in one looking 8 bit or, what most people would call blocky / pixelated. Neither suffer that problem. The major difference in screen size is just the amount of real estate the S4 has that the iPhone 4S doesn’t.

An extra 1.5 inches across the diagonal means the screen on the S4 is nearly 50% larger. Add to that the Super AMOLED screen type, exclusive to Samsung and you can see why use of the screen on the Samsung Galaxy S4 is just so much more fun. The iPhone 4S has a Super LCD screen which works better in daylight but performs less well than Samsung’s Super AMOLED more generally.

Colours on the S4 are beautifully bright. Watching videos or, more often, flicking through pictures is a pleasure. The S4’s ‘Adapt Display’ drops screen brightness according to the ambient conditions too. Since every feature which sets a modern smart mobile phone apart from what we carried in our pockets 10 years ago, requires the screen, it has a huge influence on how much you like your phone. And the iPhone 4S is just outclassed in every way.

The Samsung Galaxy S4 Vs iPhone 4S – Processor Speed

Similarly, Apple’s Dual Core 1.0 GHz processors are no match for the latest Quad Core 1.6 GHz upgrade that the Samsung Galaxy S4 has. Side by side, the day to day operations you’ll conduct, swiping between screens, opening apps, getting directions, playing music are all much faster to find, initiate and use on the S4.

The Samsung Galaxy S4 Vs iPhone 4S – Camera and Camera Software

The camera on the S4 is a ridiculous 14 MP, up from the 8MP which has been the accepted norm in phones since the iPhone 4S set the standard back in October 2011. For most happy snapping, 8 MP is more than enough so, in the opinion of Whatphone, this feature alone should probably not sway you.

However, Samsung’s camera software is a cut above the iPhone 4Ss. Samsung have reused the camera interface software from their ill fated ‘connected camera’ ( ill fated because it sold so few. ) With the S4, you can insert yourself in to a picture ( snap an image of yourself, using the front facing 2MP camera and add it like a postage stamp super imposed on the picture you took with the camera on the back. ) It’s just one example of a number of somewhat gimmicky, somewhat useful camera software features the S4 has. Others include ‘Drama’ which keeps a common background, behind multiple captures of a moving component to generate a single image with multiple frames of what’s moving shown. Sound and shot captures more of what’s actually happening when you take your picture by recording the sound happening at the moment.

The Samsung Galaxy S4’s camera software is an example of significant investments Samsung have made in to enhancing the users experience on their phones since the iPhone 4S was launched.

The Samsung Galaxy S4 Vs iPhone 4S – Other Software Differences

Android, the core operating system behind the Samsung Galaxy S4 has evolved twice since late 2011. The S4 runs Jelleybean at launch and will be upgradable to Key Lime Pie, the 2013 release version of the Android OS. For those that haven’t used Android, the discussion of the right software for you is probably one which goes beyond the limitations of this article. It’s such a fundamental consideration that we’ve covered it in some depth in a number of articles. The most popular is Android vs IOS.

Android is, generally, more flexible and personalizable than Apple’s software. It also exposes the information you need without requiring you to enter an application, using a feature called Widgets.

Additionally, on top of the core Operating System, different manufacturers add their own unique software features. Samsung’s value add software layer is called TouchWiz. With the Samsung Galaxy S4, you’ll get health monitoring software, an industry leading video player, a summary of all the missed messages you’ve had while you were away from your phone when you return to it and a host of other capabilities. IOS is considered by many easy to learn and familiar. Simply as a result of their own success, most people know Apple’s software and find it easy and reliable to operate.

The Samsung Galaxy S4 Or iPhone 4S – 3G vs 4G

Virgin Mobile, Optus and Telstra all have 4G / LTE coverage in most of Australia’s big cities now. Population coverage is increasing week on week as the operators work through the process of covering the country. Vodafone will launch their 4G / LTE network in mid 2013.

The difference, when you’re out and about, using your phone, is palpable. The faster processors and 4G capability on the Samsung Galaxy S4 mean any network data related task – watching Youtube, downloading maps and directions, surfing the web are all insanely fast on the S4. Especially compared to the iPhone 4S’s standard capabilities in those areas.