I think TouchWiz is in need of an overhaul. It just seems way too bloated when compared to stock android and Sense. IMO it's kinda reminiscent of Sense 3.5 before it was greatly improved. I'd just like my phone to be speedy and lag free without having to mod it
Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk 4
fredrick1213 said:
I think TouchWiz is in need of an overhaul. It just seems way too bloated when compared to stock android and Sense. IMO it's kinda reminiscent of Sense 3.5 before it was greatly improved. I'd just like my phone to be speedy and lag free without having to mod it
Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk 4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the last overhaul was the galaxy s3, it wasnt so long ago....
Meh. I really like TouchWiz for what it is. When I was toying with the One before I got my S4, and I thought Sense 5 was still pretty heavily integrated, just as much as TouchWiz is on the S4. I would imagine an overhaul of both stock Android and TouchWiz will come with Key Lime Pie, whenever that is released.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using xda app-developers app
+1 thats what makes it what it is...tw...runs good...and I have ran every launcher out there....
I have personally thought that although there are tons of bloats, it does its job fairly well. Pretty snappy and responsive. I have looked at sense ui and realized that touchwiz isn't too bad at all.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk 4
I think that on modern phones, if people are running into lag, they don't know how to use their device properly. Disable animations, don't overload it with apps you rarely use, turn off settings you rarely use until you need them. Root helps. Freeze/uninstall bloat. I have no issues at all with both my E4GT and my S4. Why? Because I know how to make the best of it.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
I say TW is simply scratched and something new is born. Stock TW is garbage.
Sent from my GT-I9505G using xda app-developers app
Why is it garbage?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
fredrick1213 said:
I think TouchWiz is in need of an overhaul. It just seems way too bloated when compared to stock android and Sense. IMO it's kinda reminiscent of Sense 3.5 before it was greatly improved. I'd just like my phone to be speedy and lag free without having to mod it
Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk 4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Funny I think stock android needs an overhaul. Its too plain and lacks of features. I mean it doesnt even have a quick toggle in the dropdown or brightness control. The simplest features.
I agree with all of you, but compared to some launchers...TW works perfect everytime.....it has NEVER locked up on me, like nova and apex..
as far as an overhaul of the stock, again, at least everything works compared to aosp roms that I ran for a couple years with continuous problems one after the other....
naaaaw. tw rocks.....
charge port
TheAxman said:
I agree with all of you, but compared to some launchers...TW works perfect everytime.....it has NEVER locked up on me, like nova and apex..
as far as an overhaul of the stock, again, at least everything works compared to aosp roms that I ran for a couple years with continuous problems one after the other....
naaaaw. tw rocks.....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was fan of CyanogenMod for years now, and didn't care that bluetooth FC or something was wonky in the camera, but because of the TV remote?!**^ the first ROM I flashed was GoldenEye with no add ons, and it's my very first TW instead of AOSP.
I used to be a purist too, but TWRP is too easy, those hard button operations I used to have to do in CWM, don't miss it one bit. And this ROM has cool features as is, flashed it with a simple swipe of a slider bar. Mind numbing easy. I even ditched the original nandoid and moved it to the desktop computer to save 3.56 GB of room on my SD card. I used TWRP to make a backup of my presently pleased state of GoldenEye perfection and checked every available box, and only it's 2.47 GB. Big difference!
I flashed my 2.47 GB backup of my GoldenEye, with no add ons, and found no issues. Flawless. Everything works. No bugs. Not one instance of lag or a force close. Call log and texts messages did not go away. I checked every box when I made my backup. Unbelievable perfection in image reflection!
Last week I dropped it in the toilet with the charge port door open on it's otterbox.
When I was no longer able to charge it, I replaced the charging port myself, just to keep MDL and free from having to endure what everyone with MF3 suffers. It wasn't too hard peeling apart the S4 just to replace the charging port. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5e3r_2N15c You don't have to get this deep into it, only one connector up top instead of all five. I bought my replacement charge port from his YouTube link: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...veASIN=B00DHZ2KZ8&linkCode=as2&tag=three04-20
It cost me $14.99 delivered in in two days flat. It arrived yesterday on Saturday and I was able to have the desktop recognize it and it charges like new and I am BOASTING!
Sign that petition that's floating around and get the bootloader unlocked. And say nice things about the whiz kids who are trying to find an exploit for all the MF3 borked users. Amen.
Different Strokes for Different Folks--Not much new here--
rugmankc said:
Different Strokes for Different Folks--Not much new here--
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see a new thread that looks far more exciting than dropping in a toilet. Right behind you!
fukenbiker said:
I see a new thread that looks far more exciting than dropping in a toilet. Right behind you!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lol, yeah
we posted at same time never read yours before i posted
I loved Cyanogenmod for years on my S1 and S2. Next AOKP on my S2 was the ****e. Then when ShoStock came to be I tried out Touchwiz based Roms. Sammy did it right with TW this time around. Next was my S3 and TW was real nice with LoserRom and his later creations. Yes the bloat ATT adds is crappy and some of Sammy apps as well. But it is fast and smooth and everything works. Run a custom ROM without the bloat, add in what most CM has for mods to it and it is awesome. Now with my S4 I went straight to ShoStock on its very first bootup.
Did I say I hate ATT yet. Last phone I buy from them though with f'd up bootloaders.
Sent From RockRatts Work Phone
Maybe I was a bit too harsh. TW has just been frustrating me. I expect a device with these specs to run almost flawlessly. I'm not new to rooting or android so of course I know how to speed the device up. It does get faster when I do this, but still not where it should be
Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk 4
Curious...if people don't like Touchwiz...why buy a Touchwiz phone? Because of proprietary drivers it is difficult to make a bug free AOSP of any kind on it. It is easier to get Touchwiz like features on a Google phone, so maybe you should look for the next one of those.
kennyglass123 said:
Curious...if people don't like Touchwiz...why buy a Touchwiz phone? Because of proprietary drivers it is difficult to make a bug free AOSP of any kind on it. It is easier to get Touchwiz like features on a Google phone, so maybe you should look for the next one of those.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Correct, there are many more choices out there, that doesn't have tw as stock launcher.
I dunno, with a few tweaks, tw is super fast.
I actually like TW on the S4 as well. No issue so far here. Smooth and no freezes.
I don't think most people realize it's not tw that's the issue. It's the bloat at&t and Samsung put on the phone. Without that most would love tw. It works!
Related
I just want to be sure I am not missing anything - there are not any Epic roms out yet right? to put it a different way, every single epic owner on the planet is currently using the Sprint/Samsung factory version of Android 2.1, yes?
Have spent a number of hours on xda and google, but wanted to be sure I was correct on this one.
Just really anxious to get away from Touchwiz, it doesn't even really feel like Android.
dockular said:
I just want to be sure I am not missing anything - there are not any Epic roms out yet right? to put it a different way, every single epic owner on the planet is currently using the Sprint/Samsung factory version of Android 2.1, yes?
Have spent a number of hours on xda and google, but wanted to be sure I was correct on this one.
Just really anxious to get away from Touchwiz, it doesn't even really feel like Android.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're correct, no custom roms yet. In the meantime you could install a different launcher such as launcher pro and adw launcher to give your phone a more aosp look
Sent from the future...
Honestly, after I installed ADW Launcher, Beautiful Widgets, rooted the phone, and uninstalled all the Sprint crap with Root Manager / Titanium Backup, I'm actually happy with what's left of Touch Wiz. The dialer / contacts / integration etc is actually pretty nice. My phone looks like stock 2.2 now, but has a few nice improvements.
legacydevice said:
Honestly, after I installed ADW Launcher, Beautiful Widgets, rooted the phone, and uninstalled all the Sprint crap with Root Manager / Titanium Backup, I'm actually happy with what's left of Touch Wiz. The dialer / contacts / integration etc is actually pretty nice. My phone looks like stock 2.2 now, but has a few nice improvements.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed. I think touchwiz is like a double edgd sword. One the one hand it has a ton of features and usability improvements, on thbe other hand it looks horrible. Launcher pro gets rid of the ugly and adds even more features.
I wouldn't want stock android even if it were available.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using Tapatalk
drizek said:
Agreed. I think touchwiz is like a double edgd sword. One the one hand it has a ton of features and usability improvements, on thbe other hand it looks horrible. Launcher pro gets rid of the ugly and adds even more features.
I wouldn't want stock android even if it were available.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is good info, thanks guys. maybe we'll get a chef who knows how to keep the good and eliminate the useless/ugly... and hopefully froyo to boot
I'm pretty happy with the stock ROM. I just use LauncherPro instead of Samsung's launcher and it's fantastic.
drizek said:
I wouldn't want stock android even if it were available.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree 110%, there are some nice improvements once you remove all the crap
To switch to a stock vanilla launcher -- How To: Disable TouchWiz Epic 4G
Although it only has three screens, I've found it to be really really responsive and reliable. It always works very fast.
dockular said:
This is good info, thanks guys. maybe we'll get a chef who knows how to keep the good and eliminate the useless/ugly... and hopefully froyo to boot
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if we get good devs for the epic i may buy one. looks as there isn't as much interest as the evo has.
I can't wait to see some roms start to pop up, gonna be nice to have a working hotspot without paying 30 dollars a month
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App
Sooty305 said:
I can't wait to see some roms start to pop up, gonna be nice to have a working hotspot without paying 30 dollars a month
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I already got wifi tethering.....I'm rooted, so I installed the app. I'm now putting out a hotspot on 3 laptops in my home.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App
Rooted, unlocked, and backed up my imei and ready to flash. I'm backing up all my apps using Titanium Backup. What system apps do I back up if I want to restore call history, contacts, and text messages? Can these easily be restored after flashing the cm10 daily rom? Also, is it okay to backup systemui.apk using TiBackup? I have a custom one that was offered in the dev section.
And just another dumb question, but data on sdcard and ext_sdcard won't get wiped?
You don't really want to restore system app because they change from rom to rom. So that includes your system ui. I personally use sms backup from pay sure for texts and call history, it seems to not do pictures messages so save any pics you want. Finally your contacts i hope are saved to your Google account....if not use backup assistant or export to sd card.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app
What exact is IMEI and why does it matter for root stuff
s.a.shannon4 said:
What exact is IMEI and why does it matter for root stuff
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's basically how Verizon recognizes your phone if it gets needed up you won't be able to make calls or use data
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app
So I flashed CM10. I really really don't get the big deal haha. I guess I'll play around with Google Now.
The only things I kind of miss so far is S-memo that I actually did use a lot. Anyone have suggestions for a good handwritten-note alternative?
Also missing a lot of widgets from the pull down notifications.
It does seem speedier and I'll see how my battery goes.
This was my first time doing this so it took me like almost an hour to restore everything from Titanium Backup. I like how my Apex Launcher goes back to almost exactly as it was, except the widgets have to be readded.
But overall if I'm not seeing a big difference as a daily driver, I might just go back to stock rooted as I was pretty happy with that anyways.
dunderball said:
Also missing a lot of widgets from the pull down notifications.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't remember exactly where it is, but look around in the settings. I know there is somewhere where you can customize the "Power Widgets" as I believe they are called. Add/remove, reorder, I actually like it a lot better than touchwiz's quick buttons.
Although I don't blame you if you go back. As much as I loved CM10, (I know I will get my head ripped off for saying this but...) I actually kinda missed Touchwiz's apps. I hated the new contacts app, and I missed the camera, calculator, calendar, and dialer. But if you do go back, might I suggest trying a custom TW based rom. I'm running synergy and I love it!
CM is all about clean look, speed, no crap, straight android. The theme engine allows for some pretty awesome customizations using downloaded themes from the play store.
If it's not flashy enough for you, you want to stick with a touchwiz based rom-stock, cleanrom, synergy, jellywiz (jb), etc.
But before you do that, throw a theme like dustinb's cobalt line of themes. These make cyanogen rom's very tempting. I personally am just waiting for that stable release cm10 release.
Sent from my VZW GS3 running Synergy/Trinity/Dark Horse Rises
annoyingduck said:
CM is all about clean look, speed, no crap, straight android. The theme engine allows for some pretty awesome customizations using downloaded themes from the play store.
If it's not flashy enough for you, you want to stick with a touchwiz based rom-stock, cleanrom, synergy, jellywiz (jb), etc.
But before you do that, throw a theme like dustinb's cobalt line of themes. These make cyanogen rom's very tempting. I personally am just waiting for that stable release cm10 release.
Sent from my VZW GS3 running Synergy/Trinity/Dark Horse Rises
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm running CM10 M1...and I only have one problem alarm sound won't work!
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app
annoyingduck said:
CM is all about clean look, speed, no crap, straight android.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For me at least, my choice to stick with TW wasn't about the theme, it was about features. I absolutely can't stand the layout of the contacts app, that's the big thing stopping me from switching. The dialer in CM10 doesn't let you spell out contact names like the TW one. Admittedly I like the theme of the calculator and calendar on TW better, but it's nothing that would stop me from enjoying wonderful AOSP.
CM10 - a quick review
I agree with noingwhat here... I missed a lot of the apps in TouchWiz in a mere three hours straight of playing with CM10.
I seriously find the camera to be embarrassingly bad, at least in terms of look & feel compared to the tw camera.
The same goes for the calculator. I'm sure it does what it needs to, but it just doesn't look very polished. These are two apps that I use on a really frequent basis. Are these what the stock apps look like on a Nexus?
I also was not a fan of the Contacts app, and for whatever reason, couldn't find a way to explicitly link each contact to their Facebook profile.
One other small nitpick, I think the slide to unlock in TW was done very well. You simply swipe in any direction. Having to swipe in a specific direction on a 4.8 inch screen is just asking for your phone to fall out of your hand. Also, I can't see the clock on the lockscreen due to my wallpaper being a lighter color. I refuse to change my kate upton wallpaper lol.
I liked how the text message threads looked in JB over tw. TW looks plain silly sometimes.
My APW widgets look a lot better in JB than in TW, especially when using the ICS skin for apw.
I really loved the transition animations in CM10 overall. I also liked the little animation you get when the screen turns off. Very very cool.
Anyway, since I was using Apex launcher already, it had the same look and feel on CM10 as I did on stock-rooted (although I admit CM10 was a bit zippier). I really think I just missed the apps too much but I did enjoy the modern, clean, and sleek look and feel in straight JB.
But!! On the plus side, I was able to get to recovery, perform backups, restore my apps and text messages, all on my first try without bricking my phone. I was able to return to my Nandroid without any problems either.
I appreciate all the work done by the CM team but I'm hoping it comes along a bit further in the near future. All my opinions are obviously subjective, so I hope it's all taken with a grain of salt. I'm a long-time lurker here so I'm just glad to see that someone new can eventually get the hang of all this.
I have to say after playing around with CM10 for about week I have to agree.
There was a time when AOSPs like CyanogenMod was far better than any of the Manufacturer Skinned android variants. HTC Sense on my OG Droid Incredible was considered by many to be the best OEM skinned Android variant and CM6 left it in the dust. It was more stable, faster and had more features.
However, TouchWiz is pretty damn good. The Samsung apps are strong(with the exception of S-Voice). Its pretty fast(once you turn off S-Voice). Its still needs a little project butter and Google Now but other than that imo its pretty solid.
Now of course there are specialty thing like overclocking or drastic UI changes that require custom roms but 90% of users have no desire to do any of that stuff.
I still love AOSP roms and I'll probably keep tinkering with them, but staying with TouchWiz isn't the worst decision in the world.
dunderball said:
I liked how the text message threads looked in JB over tw. TW looks plain silly sometimes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I forgot about the messenger too. I actually prefer the messenger in TW over JB, but as far as the settings and overall UI, I prefer JB. If only I could get the apps, that's all I want.
Yes I love Cyanogen and it would be nice to have a recovery but what about all the great things from TouchWiz.
If Dan does have an unlock and does release it then yes I probably will unlock but I don't think I can part from TouchWiz. Yet...
Since I bought my wife an S4 also we use S-Beam for sharing pictures of the kids a LOT! That brings me to my next point, the camera is ridiculously good. I don't need to mention how handy the multi-window is...
Will probably run modified stock Roms. Comments?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using xda premium
So far the mods to TW have been quite impressive, Nottach's Framework for example and P-ROM. Still would very much like a true pure Android experience that I can play with and mod myself. Can't do that without the bootloader unlock though but I can definitely live with what we got for quite a while if I had too
ZPaul2Fresh8 said:
Yes I love Cyanogen and it would be nice to have a recovery but what about all the great things from TouchWiz.
If Dan does have an unlock and does release it then yes I probably will unlock but I don't think I can part from TouchWiz. Yet...
Will probably run modified stock Roms. Comments?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is a perfect example of not reading the threads. Do you even know what to do with the fix when you see it? will you know how to apply it? Not bashing you, but sir, I think before you even see a fix, you need to read way more, what is Cyanogen? is it some kind of recovery method? answer to your question is yes, it allows to run other modified TW roms also. This ain't no damn iPhone.
TheAxman said:
This is a perfect example of not reading the threads. Do you even know what to do with the fix when you see it? will you know how to apply it? Not bashing you, but sir, I think before you even see a fix, you need to read way more, what is Cyanogen? is it some kind of recovery method? answer to your question is yes, it allows to run other modified TW roms also. This ain't no damn iPhone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Uh, I'd listen to your own advice there, chief.
He didn't even have a question, and from the way it sounds he is plenty aware of the difference between a custom ROM and a recovery. What are you talking about?
And OP, I think I'm having the same dilemma...the mods that have come out for TW have been amazing - and honestly I don't know of any specific features on AOSP ROMs that I DON'T have right now.
And let's be real, I enjoy it when people were are like, "ooh, is that an S4?" And I respond by turning off a random TV in the area, or by scrolling through my gallery just by waving my hand. I'd miss that I think
So yeah I'll definitely unlock once available, but I'll most likely stick with stock-based ROMs too.
CPA Poke said:
Uh, I'd listen to your own advice there, chief.
He didn't even have a question, and from the way it sounds he is plenty aware of the difference between a custom ROM and a recovery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your right, I was actually commenting on his TW opinion, it is a comment. And I prefer TW roms also. more stable.
Choice is always a good thing, just because you have a unlocked bootloader doesn't mean you have to get rid of tw.
For me I always like to just fix what ever I feel is wrong or missing or locked out from a stock rom.
At the end of the day people have to use what makes then happy.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk 2
TheAxman said:
This is a perfect example of not reading the threads. Do you even know what to do with the fix when you see it? will you know how to apply it? Not bashing you, but sir, I think before you even see a fix, you need to read way more, what is Cyanogen? is it some kind of recovery method? answer to your question is yes, it allows to run other modified TW roms also. This ain't no damn iPhone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think you're on crack. LMAO. It hurts to ponder what you THOUGHT you read.
And I did forget to mention the IR blaster. But they're is finally an alternative to SmartON. Try SmartRemote made specifically for the S4 but it is $9.99. It does allow you to make custom remotes so you can place buttons from any device all onto just 1 remote. Also allows custom commands through Pronto HEX codes.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using xda premium
ZPaul2Fresh8 said:
I think you're on crack. LMAO. It hurts to ponder what you THOUGHT you read.
And I did forget to mention the IR blaster. But they're is finally an alternative to SmartON. Try SmartRemote made specifically for the S4 but it is $9.99. It does allow you to make custom remotes so you can place buttons from any device all onto just 1 remote. Also allows custom commands through Pronto HEX codes.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually, I should not have added bourbon to my coffee.
TheAxman said:
Actually, I should not have added bourbon to my coffee.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's all good. I've woken up a few times still half asleep having that same problem.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using xda premium
ZPaul2Fresh8 said:
Yes I love Cyanogen and it would be nice to have a recovery but what about all the great things from TouchWiz.
If Dan does have an unlock and does release it then yes I probably will unlock but I don't think I can part from TouchWiz. Yet...
Since I bought my wife an S4 also we use S-Beam for sharing pictures of the kids a LOT! That brings me to my next point, the camera is ridiculously good. I don't need to mention how handy the multi-window is...
Will probably run modified stock Roms. Comments?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am surprised to find I am starting to feel the same way. I've modified, configured and optimized the stock ROM quite a bit now and it is running very nicely. Looking forward to flashing a custom recovery so I can backup and restore and experiment with what's out there, but it's going to be a tough decision to run modified stock versus CM. I have also found battery life to be excellent with the Stock ROM.
Been trying out the new Samsung features for a while. To me they're nothing more than gimmicks. They're great for making a cool looking commercial, but mostly useless in real life. Air gestures? Please....I'm an adult, how often are my fingers too filthy to touch my phone? The eye tracking features worked sporadically, at best. And not at all in a dimly lit room. Can't wait to unlock this bootloader, flash a ROM, and get rid the mountain of Samsung bloat apps...not to mention AT&T's contribution to that mountain...
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk 2
ZPaul2Fresh8 said:
Yes I love Cyanogen and it would be nice to have a recovery but what about all the great things from TouchWiz.
If Dan does have an unlock and does release it then yes I probably will unlock but I don't think I can part from TouchWiz. Yet...
Since I bought my wife an S4 also we use S-Beam for sharing pictures of the kids a LOT! That brings me to my next point, the camera is ridiculously good. I don't need to mention how handy the multi-window is...
Will probably run modified stock Roms. Comments?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
BlastTyrantKM said:
Been trying out the new Samsung features for a while. To me they're nothing more than gimmicks. They're great for making a cool looking commercial, but mostly useless in real life. Air gestures? Please....I'm an adult, how often are my fingers too filthy to touch my phone? The eye tracking features worked sporadically, at best. And not at all in a dimly lit room. Can't wait to unlock this bootloader, flash a ROM, and get rid the mountain of Samsung bloat apps...not to mention AT&T's contribution to that mountain...
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I jump back and forth between these two ends of the opinion spectrum in regards to TW and Samsung's (AT&T's) stock ROM. This is probably the first android phone that I could honestly be okay with never flashing a custom rom on. I will still unlock the bootloader when it becomes available. I will still flash a custom recovery (nandroid backups are a really nice thing to have, and I'm disappointed that carriers don't include this) when it becomes available as well. I *might* flash a custom rom based on the stock rom, but I think I'd rather stick to stock as much as possible, at least for some time.
As for the gimmicky features it comes with, I sort of agree, yet it's fun to show off to friends. I normally keep the gestures and eye scrolling turned off, and I keep the NFC turned off when not in use. I did buy the $9.99 remote app, and I'm surprisingly content with it. I need to offer some feedback about being able to actually drag/drop to change the order of the buttons on the other screen, but otherwise it's so much better than the WatchOn stuff that I have recently frozen using TiBu.
And on to speaking of freezing apps. With root, I'm pretty content. I can use TiBu Pro (to anyone reading this, go buy the Pro version - it's completely worth it!!) to freeze all the bloatware that I don't like. Every few days since I got my phone, I re-evaluate the list in TiBu and check into any blaotware I haven't frozen yet. "Do I need this? Have I used this? Nope! Frozen." I've done this for nearly all of the "Samsung ____" apps, including the Samsung store and all the associated apps (Samsung account, etc.). Did the same for every "AT&T ___" app that it came with - they're all garbage to me. Next on my list to evaluate and possibly freeze is all the printing services - do I really need to print from my phone? Maybe if it were my work phone...
I suppose one good reason I would want to flash a customized stock-based rom would be to free up some space. Having a 16gb version is no different than my S2 was... but I definitely had a few more GB's of room to store all the cool photos. And with larger picture files, and a faster camera, the storage is suddenly a bit more important to me.
And finally, the camera, and its associated apps/modes. I see a lot of people freezing some of the apps that allow some of the cool modes this camera can use. I'm not a professional photographer, but I love taking awesome pictures with this phone. It rival's my wife's Nikon 9300 point-and-shoot, with the exception of the Nikon's zoom lens. But as far as features and quality are concerned, it's possibly better.
This thing has been pretty smooth since day negative-one for me. Even better when we got root and the bloatware was frozen. Even snappier and better on battery once that first OTA dropped. I'm pretty impressed, and it certainly is a huge step up from my S2 running CM10.1.
TL;DR: I really like the stock rom and all the cool things it offers. The performance is great. I do like some of the gimmicky things, even if I rarely use them. With the root ability to freeze things I don't use, I could definitely see keeping this thing "stock" for this device's lifetime.
PS: It's also nice to see the "Official" status, as though I haven't violated the phone too badly...
Couldn't agree more. As you all mentioned, the security of having a custom recovery + Nandroid really opens up a lot of ground for flashing new mods and having the comfort of that fallback instead of only being able to Odin back to stock if I jack something up (which has NEVER happened or anything...lol).
@Aou I too use a Titanium Backup Pro and freeze the bloat. But I kept the Samsung Apps because it had some that you can't find on Google like the Video Editor app.
Let me remind you that the Xposed framework adds new functionality without the need to flash roms. As you can see from the screen shot I was able to mod the screen without touching the framework. Easy and reversible.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using xda premium
I don't unlock and root my devices to get rid of the stock interface (Touchwiz, Sense etc) i simply do it for a better rom with tweaks that makes it faster and battery life better..
and when i finally get sick of my stock interface ill flash a AOSP rom
i know some people disagree but i think the stock rom on this phone is laggy.. even after disabling S Voice and Smart stay/Air view
Wierd I couldn't add the image.
There we go lol
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ZPaul2Fresh8 said:
Yes I love Cyanogen and it would be nice to have a recovery but what about all the great things from TouchWiz.
If Dan does have an unlock and does release it then yes I probably will unlock but I don't think I can part from TouchWiz. Yet...
Since I bought my wife an S4 also we use S-Beam for sharing pictures of the kids a LOT! That brings me to my next point, the camera is ridiculously good. I don't need to mention how handy the multi-window is...
Will probably run modified stock Roms. Comments?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
dunno if anyone else pointed this out to you yet, but even without s beam, non touchwiz phones still all have Android Beam (you know.. the concept S Beam was based off of?)
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using xda app-developers app
BlastTyrantKM said:
Air gestures? Please....I'm an adult, how often are my fingers too filthy to touch my phone?
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Click to collapse
O you must be working in an extra clean environment. I know I don't. My hands get dirty often and these air gestures work for me.
Aside from that, what I am looking forward to is being able to have a pattern unlock And lock screen widgets at the same time. Unless Samsung releases an update for that.
Already a thread on this a few threads away
I've tried and I go back to Omega v9. Are there any other 4.3 type of roms anyone can recommend?
SysAdmNj said:
I've tried and I go back to Omega v9. Are there any other 4.3 type of roms anyone can recommend?
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Click to collapse
its stock android, its not supposed to have all the fancy mods of custom roms or manufacturer bloat
However its fully functional and has the best speed and battery life of any single rom i've tried, i'll take that over being able to centre my status bar clock any day lol
Thats pure aosp for you
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk 2
kylecore said:
its stock android, its not supposed to have all the fancy mods of customer roms or manufacturer bloat
However its fully functional and has the best speed and battery life of any single rom i've tried, i'll take that over being able to centre my status bar clock any day lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
mg2195 said:
Thats pure aosp for you
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk 2
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Click to collapse
Which one are you guys using?
SysAdmNj said:
Which one are you guys using?
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Click to collapse
I've been using this one : 4.3 deodex
Its deodexed and zipaligned so it feels just slighty faster then the actual stock 4.3 not to mention he's thrown a few tweaks in for centre clock and 4 way reboot. if you flash the 2 extra files.
kylecore said:
its stock android, its not supposed to have all the fancy mods of customer roms or manufacturer bloat
However its fully functional and has the best speed and battery life of any single rom i've tried, i'll take that over being able to centre my status bar clock any day lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What he said. :thumbup:
Carried by a Raven
---------- Post added at 05:23 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:20 PM ----------
SysAdmNj said:
Which one are you guys using?
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Click to collapse
Kangabean son! To be honest there are a lot of tw features I miss but that rom is so dam snappy. Zero lag. Once Paul O'Brien makes that dual boot app for the s4 I might consider tw again.
Carried by a Raven
It is a bit bland, but I've gotten used to it. As much fun as it'd be to have all the bells and whistles of Cyanogenmod, PA, AOKP, and others, having a rock solid phone is just priceless. Everything works, and there are very rarely any random inexplicable issues. I use my Nexus 7 2013 for goofing around, so I still have something to be crackflashy with when I get in the mood.
SysAdmNj said:
I've tried and I go back to Omega v9. Are there any other 4.3 type of roms anyone can recommend?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Bland is not the only word for it....basic is another.
TheAxman said:
Bland is not the only word for it....basic is another.
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Click to collapse
Correcto Mundo Ax!
I ran them on other phones, not here yet. But, once flashed they get boring quickly imho. I like the many features TW offers. Also read TiBu not working on 4.3. I'm not sure I can do without that. From a psychological standpoint anyway--
I still will try one at some point after they are a little more polished. Can't resist new roms--
Still on Wicked and waiting to see what evil does with that thread. There is a v6 in works. But, not sure it will appear on XDA. Hope so. I follow him on Twitter--
Usually there's an app comparable to whatever feature you're missing from the carrier version of Android or a mod if your phone is rooted.
Imo it's better that way to pick and choose what you want instead of a big ol block of bloat that you prob. only use 25% of and choke the CPU, memory and battery of your phone.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using xda premium
kylecore said:
I've been using this one : 4.3 deodex
Its deodexed and zipaligned so it feels just slighty faster then the actual stock 4.3 not to mention he's thrown a few tweaks in for centre clock and 4 way reboot. if you flash the 2 extra files.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In my experience odex roms run faster than deodex.
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SkizzMcNizz said:
In my experience odex roms run faster than deodex.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using xda premium
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Click to collapse
I've never really noticed a difference. I have a feeling it's one of those things that really doesn't make a huge difference on high-end phones.
I've tried to download omega about 10 times and it's times out or just won't install. I've tried a GE3 rom and agree it's to basic for me. The camera and the amount of debloated TW roms keep me quite happy for now. Customizing is the whole point of android and open source.
Sent from Alpha S4 courtesy of Jamison904, mrimpossible, gharrington, tunasty and other great devs.
I'm not impressed with GE edition ,it looks a lot like cyanogenmod 10.1/10.2
I've not been a fan of cyanogenmod since cyanogenmod 7 when I had my LG thrill 4g .sucks to bash cause I know cyanogenmod runs good,just plain.
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ThePerson98 said:
It is a bit bland, but I've gotten used to it. As much fun as it'd be to have all the bells and whistles of Cyanogenmod, PA, AOKP, and others, having a rock solid phone is just priceless. Everything works, and there are very rarely any random inexplicable issues. I use my Nexus 7 2013 for goofing around, so I still have something to be crackflashy with when I get in the mood.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If everything works is your goal, then 4.2.2 is the best time for you.
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angle409 said:
If everything works is your goal, then 4.2.2 is the best time for you.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I found that the battery life on these GE ROMs aren't that great. That's why I came back to TW, and for the Apps2SD support, as well as TW camera.
I was using the 4.2.2 GE I customized myself, and although it worked really good, I have an issue in at my house where I live on the fringe of LTE coverage and needed to switch it to HSPA only when home. On TW based ROMs you can just use the *#*#4636#*#* and go into Device Information and switch it to "WCDMA Preferred", which works great. Unfortunately that code doesn't work on the GE ROMs. If someone knows how to do get into that menu with a code that works on a GE ROM I would love to know.
So I went back to a MF3 ROM that I customized and debloated myself. It runs really good, but I would much rather be using a GE ROM.
What I like about the GE ROMs is that it is the way Google intended it to be, but I will agree that it can be a bit bland. But being that Android is highly customizable, you can change it to whatever you wish.
If anyone wants to check out my Debloat list for MF3, here is the thread I made.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2398845
I was trying to get rid of the majority of the Samsung crap and make it as close to GE as I could and still maintain the TW backbone.
I find Touchwiz to be slow. No matter what ROM I try or how tweaked the tom may be, its always slow. Every time I switch from a GE ROM to w TWrROM, I always find myself switching back to the GE ROM after a few days. You just can't beat the speed!
rugmankc said:
Correcto Mundo Ax!
I ran them on other phones, not here yet. But, once flashed they get boring quickly imho. I like the many features TW offers. Also read TiBu not working on 4.3. I'm not sure I can do without that. From a psychological standpoint anyway--
I still will try one at some point after they are a little more polished. Can't resist new roms--
Still on Wicked and waiting to see what evil does with that thread. There is a v6 in works. But, not sure it will appear on XDA. Hope so. I follow him on Twitter--
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you use the updated SuperSu 1.51 zip (I believe 1.51 is the latest) then TiBu works. Used it on 4.3 slim bean yesterday
Sent from my AT&T Galaxy S4 I337
Mike said:
If you use the updated SuperSu 1.51 zip (I believe 1.51 is the latest) then TiBu works. Used it on 4.3 slim bean yesterday
Sent from my AT&T Galaxy S4 I337
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, found that out. Was just running Kangabean and TB worked fine--
Having recently bought my wife a Moto G two things immediately stood out. One was how good the hardware was for £100. I could easily live with one if my Galaxy S3 broke. Mainly it would be just the extra screen size I would miss. The other thing that stood out for me was how basic the software was. I had to spend hours researching and installing different apps and widgets whereas my S3 just worked out of the box. Without a launcher you can't even scroll through the screens without having to go back and forwards. I spent ages looking for a free clock/weather widget but never did find one as good as the Samsung. I do like the fact that with android you can change your phone to how you like but I ended up wondering why people love the stripped down version so much?
Now....you say stripped down. But its quite the opposite. This is android. This is how it was meant to be. The skins that manufacturers put over android such as touchwiz or sense or even Motorola's blur skin back in the day is a bloated and horrible thing to do to android. Granted android used to look a LOT worse than it does now, I always very much preferred android without any kind of skin over the interface. I was so happy when I was able to root my droid eris and use the stock launcher/interface years ago.
Sent from my XT1034 using Tapatalk
jmoore4294 said:
Now....you say stripped down. But its quite the opposite. This is android. This is how it was meant to be. The skins that manufacturers put over android such as touchwiz or sense or even Motorola's blur skin back in the day is a bloated and horrible thing to do to android. Granted android used to look a LOT worse than it does now, I always very much preferred android without any kind of skin over the interface. I was so happy when I was able to root my droid eris and use the stock launcher/interface years ago.
Sent from my XT1034 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are right, I shouldn't have said "stripped down". It doesn't apply to the Moto G.
The trouble is that after spending hours getting her phone to where it is a pleasure to use I still don't think it works as well as touchwiz. Apart from the clock/weather I mentioned there is for instance the text app. I still haven't found one that shows the number of unread texts on the home screen icon and shows a contact photo next to a contacts text. With touchwiz everything just seems to work.
I like the more elegant look of the stock android more than the horrible cartoony look of TW
Sent from my XT1032 using xda app-developers app
ahardie said:
With touchwiz everything just seems to work.
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Click to collapse
...at half the speed
shaftenberg said:
...at half the speed
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Click to collapse
Is it half the speed though shaftenberg? My S3 doesn't seem to be laggy at all. I suppose touchwiz would run slower on a budget phone though.
I would rather spend hours getting my phone to have the features I truly want, than to have a phone bloated with features I will never use.
Sent from my XT1034 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
ahardie said:
My S3 doesn't seem to be laggy at all.
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Click to collapse
I owned an S3, so don't tell me...
Moto G even outperformes my Note 2.