Breaking my Silence - thoughts on the S4 and Samsung

I think it's time I broke the silence I've been holding following the Galaxy S4 launch. Before I start, I'd like to point out without question, there are a number of features and improvements Samsung have made to the device which I think are great. I want to love the Galaxy S4, but I just can't.

Source: news.com.au

Home Button and Capacitive Buttons

I've discussed at length for starters, my ongoing dislike for the hideous iPhone-like home button. I know one opinion can't change the design for one of the highest selling Android smartphones, but I'd hoped Samsung would've realised by now that they no longer needed to ride on the coattails of Apple's design. For this, I will continue to avoid any Samsung device with a physical home button. Call my reasoning stubbornness, but I am stubborn - just like Samsung. I know I could simply add on-screen buttons, or PIE control but that doesn't change the fact that physical and capacitive buttons are still on the bottom of the device.

Design and Build Quality

Concerning the overall design, Samsung did pull through on a couple of points. For one, they managed to cram a Full HD 1080p 4.99" display into a device which matches the SIII's footprint. In fact, by minimising the side bezels, they made the S4 narrower and also managed to trim some fat to make it thinner than before, despite having to accommodate a larger 2600mAh batter as opposed to the 2100mAh its predecessor had. This is probably what I love most about the S4, that Samsung kept the soap bar shape of the SIII but improved upon it in a number of ways. 

Source: digitaltrends

But most of the admiration stops there. Build quality is still appalling for a premium-grade smartphone. In a world where aluminium and anodized metal is capturing the attention of consumers looking for devices which are arguably more sturdy and well made, Samsung continue with their plastic/polycarbonate. I'm not advocating they get rid of it entirely, but pretending to put a metal banding around the sides of the device is a let down. The least Samsung could have done was incorporate finer materials for highlights such as these, but instead they've continued to use plastic.

Gimmicky Software

This is an area where Samsung usually excel in. Samsung's TouchWiz, though not entirely to my taste is one of the most polished Android skins out there. In this new release, while it maintains a similar interface, it's managed to distance itself even more from Android by including 4 category tabs in the settings menu.

Features wise, it was Smart Stay, Direct Call and to a lesser extent, Smart Alert along with other motion settings that were what elevated the SIII above and beyond its competitors last year, but the S4 tries too hard. Features like Smart Scroll have been found to be unresponsive and users still have to tilt the phone up and down, so it's rather pointless. Similarly AirView/Gestures are additional features for those who like to show-off. The only reason one would find use in it would be if their hands were grubby and greasy, in which case - wash your hands lazy smartphone owners! What's wrong with scrolling by finger or stock Jelly Bean one/two-finger pull down previews in the notifications pane?

Source: gottabemobile

Obviously, some features like Group Play can serve a purpose, provided a number of others have the S4, and the addition of Smart Pause could come in handy if you have a short attention span. Keep in mind though, Samsung have announced that a number of these features will trickle down to the SIII and likely the Note II as well, so Samsung really aren't helping their case against arguments that the S4 is merely an incremental update to the SIII.  While the internals such as the processor and RAM have been ramped up massively, the SIII should by no means be tossed aside. While its performance in benchmarks barely scrape the surface of the latest generation of flagships, the SIII is still capable of holding its own in real world use.

Concluding Remarks

I know that a large majority of individuals who don't own the SIII will surely pick up the S4. I even go so far as to say some SIII owners may even be anxious to snap one up, and I suspect it's because Samsung have clicked with the Apple crowd. I'm not suggesting this crowd love Apple devices specifically, rather the release of something new has the ability to make their current device seem irrelevant and instantly dated, even if it isn't. The S4 is a fantastic device don't get me wrong, and the SIII is still a contender, but for the direction I see Samsung headed in, I can't give myself up for them.