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Post Your First Impressions

Always curious to hear.
Got mine yesterday.
It's all screen! Lighter, thinner than GS3. Feels more like a small, thin Note 2 which is a good thing to me. Not so bubbly as GS3. Screen is amazing. Bloatware is out of control. The back looks kind of like snake skin.
The speaker is much louder than GS3. So far, I love it. Haven't even tried the features yet!
Anyone else?:good:

Got mine yesterday as well. Extremely nice screen! Gorilla Glass 3 resists finger prints better then advertised in my opinion and the overall 5 inch display is incredible. Super zippy but yes, comes loaded with Samsung and AT&T Apps but this shouldn't be too surprising as Samsung did advertise there software quite a bit. Only natural they put there mark in it. On the flip side all this is easily fixable once a root is out but EVEN with this stuff the phone manages to handle it's memory well and work fast.
Overall I am glad I waited and after a couple of weeks I think there people freaking out are really gonna kick themselves for getting all worked up over stupid problems that are easily dealt with.

Got mine yesterday. see my bloatware thread.
Hardware is amazing and top notch. Software is so bloated and bogged down that, when combined with locked bootloader, I will strongly consider returning.
People might flame me for this, but even with the bloat disabled and using Nova launcher, my gs3 running slim bean is faster on everyday tasks.
Just hit 5% battery life and the phone just automatically reduced brightness to a point that I can barely use it, and phone won't let me crank it back up. Just way too much garbage.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337

WMguy said:
Always curious to hear.
Got mine yesterday.
It's all screen! Lighter, thinner than GS3. Feels more like a small, thin Note 2 which is a good thing to me. Not so bubbly as GS3. Screen is amazing. Bloatware is out of control. The back looks kind of like snake skin.
The speaker is much louder than GS3. So far, I love it. Haven't even tried the features yet!
Anyone else?:good:
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Click to collapse
screen is mind blowingly good, i had a HTC one for 3 days before i got my GS4 and honestly the one was closer to the s4 then i thought it would be. the one had less bloat and it stutter a bit less (after freezing bloat my phone has gotten ALOT better). camera is awesome love the quality and wow this phone is so small for 5 inches. coming from a note 2 and a temporary lumia 920 this thing feels tiny and light, honestly one of the major selling points of the gs4 is it's bezel less design (imo). if bootloader stays locked for long i am selling it or trading it for the one or octa core version.... its a shame that the stock rom is so bloated, i traded the one back because i thought sammy software would blow htc out the water but it didn't . One more thing, the GS4 tv remote works 10000 times better then the htc one. htc could not sync to my sound bar or u-verse box no matter what i tried, the GS4 had that working in seconds. i have 3 remotes just for my bed room and the fact that i do not need them is a huge plus.

phositadc said:
Got mine yesterday. see my bloatware thread.
Hardware is amazing and top notch. Software is so bloated and bogged down that, when combined with locked bootloader, I will strongly consider returning.
People might flame me for this, but even with the bloat disabled and using Nova launcher, my gs3 running slim bean is faster on everyday tasks.
Just hit 5% battery life and the phone just automatically reduced brightness to a point that I can barely use it, and phone won't let me crank it back up. Just way too much garbage.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You might need to play with the settings some more for the auto brightness settings. As for the lag, AOSP ROMs have always been faster (in my experience) to Touchwiz Roms. I'm going to put up with the stock Touchwiz for as long as I can before trying out the first releases of AOSP on the GS4. I'm hopeful we will see some crazy development action if it's true the Quad-core international version ROM's can easily be ported to the US versions and vice versa. The international GS3 had so much to chose from. I was perfectly happy on my GS3 using AOKP, but I'm sure I'm not going to regret moving over to the GS4. I had the same debate when switching from the GS2 to the GS3.

I dont get mine till tonight, but I found one in a best buy mobile store and was surpised at how much stuttering I saw just going through the homescreens.
Im hoping that when I disable all the eye tracking stuff that will all run better.

porkaysi said:
the GS4 tv remote works 10000 times better
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Click to collapse
I'm sold
I tried the htc one remote control feature and liked it. Only thing I really liked, glad to hear the gs4 one is better. Definitely comes in handy.
How is the camera? Especially the dual shot feature(I feel I'll be using this alot )? And the other camera features?

SysAdmNj said:
I'm sold
I tried the htc one remote control feature and liked it. Only thing I really liked, glad to hear the gs4 one is better. Definitely comes in handy.
How is the camera? Especially the dual shot feature(I feel I'll be using this alot )? And the other camera features?
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Click to collapse
just got the phone yesterday but i have not played with it a lot, studying for finals . but i did dual shot and it is cool and i could see it being fun to use. have not tried all the shooting modes but i am flying to NYC tonight and i plan on taking a bunch of photos and playing with the camera in depth over the weekend

SysAdmNj said:
I'm sold
I tried the htc one remote control feature and liked it. Only thing I really liked, glad to hear the gs4 one is better. Definitely comes in handy.
How is the camera? Especially the dual shot feature(I feel I'll be using this alot )? And the other camera features?
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Click to collapse
Here are some photos I snapped this morning in challenging conditions: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/oll6vneulv13mz6/TZcApg0pCD
Overall, better than Galaxy S3 by a decent margin. But I used to have an iPhone 5, and my initial impression is that the IP5 takes better pictures than the GS4, at least in these conditions. I feel like it was extremely rare that I got a bad photo out of that phone, even in a relatively dark room as in these pictures, but as you can see in my link, several of these are pretty bad.

porkaysi said:
just got the phone yesterday but i have not played with it a lot, studying for finals . but i did dual shot and it is cool and i could see it being fun to use. have not tried all the shooting modes but i am flying to NYC tonight and i plan on taking a bunch of photos and playing with the camera in depth over the weekend
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well good luck with that, and post some of the pics when you can
phositadc said:
Here are some photos I snapped this morning in challenging conditions: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/oll6vneulv13mz6/TZcApg0pCD
Overall, better than Galaxy S3 by a decent margin. But I used to have an iPhone 5, and my initial impression is that the IP5 takes better pictures than the GS4, at least in these conditions. I feel like it was extremely rare that I got a bad photo out of that phone, even in a relatively dark room as in these pictures, but as you can see in my link, several of these are pretty bad.
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Click to collapse
Your pics look pretty good to me. I'm viewing them on my 24" monitor at work though. Cute dog btw. I'm sure compared to the ip5 the gs4 will have better detail due to the higher resolution in normal conditions? Is there an exposure setting? Or other settings to help low light conditions?

SysAdmNj said:
Well good luck with that, and post some of the pics when you can
Your pics look pretty good to me. I'm viewing them on my 24" monitor at work though. Cute dog btw. I'm sure compared to the ip5 the gs4 will have better detail due to the higher resolution in normal conditions? Is there an exposure setting? Or other settings to help low light conditions?
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Click to collapse
Now that I've taken a second look, I guess you are right that they are pretty decent, except for one of them. I'm so used to looking at things on a small screen that when I blow it up on a big monitor I expect it to be just as sharp on a big screen as it was on a small screen!

phositadc said:
Now that I've taken a second look, I guess you are right that they are pretty decent, except for one of them. I'm so used to looking at things on a small screen that when I blow it up on a big monitor I expect it to be just as sharp on a big screen as it was on a small screen!
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Click to collapse
i agree. those pics you posted dont look that bad. that's the problem with the htc one camera (i own one) when you increase the resolution of the pic, the quality suffers due to only being 4mp. the gs4 is 13mp so it wont be as bad when you increase it's resolution (although there will still be some kind of quality drop off).

Just frickin' awesome. After having the Note this "cheap" plastic feels luxurious

Got mine today. Coming from an LG Optimus G. Here's a few thoughts.
1. I really like the keyboard. But since I've been a swiftkey user for a long time that's no surprise.
2. Screen is very good. Wish it was a little brighter when using auto brightness, but it is very good nonetheless.
3. Maybe I'm just not that picky, but I don't notice any lag. At least not anything bad enough to complain about.
4. Seems to charge pretty fast with the included 2 amp charger.
5. It might be plastic, but I can tell you I like the light weight and the feel in my hand better than my LG Optimus G...
6. I thought the 'swapped' menu and back buttons would bother me. But to be honest, I kind of like it better...
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk 2

I have a few questions,
1. Does the speaker have 'stereo sound' like the HTC one? Can you hear the base? What about hooking up to the headphone? Does it sound better than S3?
2. Anyone here uses Allshare cast? I have a Samsung LED Smart TV that I stream movies directly from my phone to the TV with a touch of a button on the S3. It does have occasional lags, however. Does the S4 do the same?
3. Does the S4 have the same amount of ringtones like the S3?

JasonJoel said:
6. I thought the 'swapped' menu and back buttons would bother me. But to be honest, I kind of like it better...
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Click to collapse
I actually really like the button setup. When I got my first smartphone like three years ago, it was a Blackberry, and it had a similar button arrangement. It went [PHONE][MENU][HOME/SELECT][BACK][END CALL]. My current Galaxy S2 is [MENU][HOME][BACK][SEARCH]. So the S4 will be the same as I am used to, and I will appreciate not having to get used to a new setup.

two issues.
1)wifi keeps on disconnecting... very annoying
i have another device on the same wifi, but it's not disconnecting at all.
2) RAM. even if i clear everything, i'm at 1.2GB ish.. i always notice the homescreen widgets refreshing themselves due to low RAM.
anyone else?
everything else is fine.
speedy, beautiful screen, good speaker, very nice camera, etc.

Speaker is very good; coming from S2
Bloat... Blah
Android without root, is like a day without sunshine.

fargonaz said:
Android without root, is like a day without sunshine.
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Click to collapse
This is a great comment! I agree 100%.

rsmolen said:
This is a great comment! I agree 100%.
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Click to collapse
I honestly dont feel a need to root with the One S4 I can see being pretty much the same. Too me stock is way more boring =/

Nexus 4 vs nexus 5, worth upgrading?

Greetings,
At the moment I have a nexus 4 and I'm quite happy about it, though some things could be better. I was wondering if the upgrade is worth it though? I can sell my nexus 4, and get a nexus 5 for 180€ extra. I know the big changes (screen, dimensions, camera, looks). But what about the little changes that matter to me. Is the speaker much better? How about microphone, call quality, wifi reception, loose hardware keys and pressability, scratch resistance of the back (do I need a bumper or not), slippery resistance of the back, touch responsiveness (nexus 4 wasn't very sensitive). Also softwareside (although nexus 4 will be getting it as well), I wondered if the google play store lost it dedicated soft key in the app drawer? And how do you place your widgets at the screen?
If some of these little irks can be solved, I'll be thankful!
Edit: I've ordered it anyway, but I would still like to have some feedback.

Pretty much the same quandary here. I ordered one but am having second thoughts. Had the Nexus 4 for almost a year and have been very happy with it. My only major complaint is that I get better cell reception on my old RAZR... especially when I am holding it.
I thought I'd try sprint via Ting to see if I get better service than T-Mobile, but now I am seeing remarks that Ting won't be able to activate it. Since it's still an lg, I am doubtful the radios will be any better, and as I am rarely in an LTE service area, no real benefit there. But if they are noticeably better that would be a big plus.
No real interest in more pixels as my eyes see the Nexus 4 screen as being just fine. I'm sure I'd appreciate the better camera, but have no real complaints about the Nexus 4 camera.
I rarely use the speaker as it is so unusable, but the HTC One is so far the only phone I've used that has usable speakers and am less than confident the Nexus 5 will be anywhere in that league.
This thread would probably be better served in the Nexus 4 forum.

That thread wouldn't be any helpful in the n4 forum. If you post here they'll say yeah because they got the n5 and if you're on the n4 they'll say stay. Either way you're going to get biased posts.
I'd say just go ahead and do it. It's a upgrade in every way. Think of it as a upgrade for your phone. I went for it because I'm a nexus fan boy and love the look of the nexus 5 so I went for it.
Plus. I'm not too much of a fan of the vibration on the nexus 4. It is severely weak for me
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

720p vs 1080p ( 318 ppi vs 445 ppi)
1.5 Ghz Quad vs 2.3 Ghz Quad
A crappy camera vs a much better version camera (same 8mp)
2100 mAh vs 2300 mAh (same sh!t IMO)
And 4.4 KitKat with fastest update from Google (main point).
Go for it, just ~$400. Or you want some kind of $600 with 4.2 Android?

It's your money what do you think

I was torn as well and i can only tell you my reasoning. I also upgraded from a 16GB to 32GB. hated running out of room so damn fast with 16GB.
-Much better camera, in tests shots it destroys the N4
-Better battery life, in tests i've seen done and the official specs it's better than the N4 with LTE on. Now the battery is not much bigger but the better battery life is due to the processor and changes in android.
-dual speakers should bring a much louder device, and better sounding
For me, from what I've seen from people who have it, it fixes all of my hates on the N4, i wish it was smaller but so be it, at least it's not insanely larger than the N4.
it's up to each individual for what you want to do. If you go for off contract phones and you want to upgrade, this is your best bet right now unless your willing to spend the $700 on a GS4 or something similar, in my opinion.

neok44 said:
I was torn as well and i can only tell you my reasoning. I also upgraded from a 16GB to 32GB. hated running out of room so damn fast with 16GB.
-Much better camera, in tests shots it destroys the N4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No need for more storage, but I did order the 32
Can you link to those test shots? Everything I've seen thus far hasn't impressed me.

Solutions Etcetera said:
No need for more storage, but I did order the 32
Can you link to those test shots? Everything I've seen thus far hasn't impressed me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah for me it's mostly just OCD of seeing less than 2GB. Plus unless it can get USBOTG i'll need that space if i ever want to put some movies or shows on it. Admittedly i don't do it often, but it's nice to know you can.
Anyway, here are the test shots i saw and i was very happy. Is it a DSLR? no, but IMO it's a lot better than the N4 and on par with most of the others, if not slightly better in some tests.
http://recombu.com/mobile/news/google-nexus-5-camera-comparison_M19696.html

Its worth upgrading if you can afford it. KitKat is running so well on my N4 so I decided to stick with it a little longer.

eksasol said:
Its worth upgrading if you can afford it. KitKat is running so well on my N4 so I decided to stick with it a little longer.
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Click to collapse
I think in general it would run quite well for most devices as they optimized it more to work for devices with less ram. But yeah for the most part, nexus 4 is pretty smooth running kit Kat. The only upgrade would be the device itself in terms of screen size and some other nice small additions.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

Someone else's 'worth it' probably isn't the same as your 'worth it'.
Seeing average prices on swappa for n4's are about $250, the n5 will be quite affordable after selling the n4.
Snapdragon 800 come to papa.
Kit Kat Nexus⁴ p)

I am jumping the gun lol

Seems Ting hasn't worked out the Nexus 5 yet, so I canceled my order.
I'll continue to use the Nexus 4 on t-mobile until that happens.

Yes, you should definitely upgrade if you have money to spare. I sold my nexus 4 last weekend and got the nexus 5 today. totally worth it!

I just upgraded my Nexus 4 to a Nexus 5 and, while I was cautious at first, I think I made the right choice.
The N5 feels much brisker, the screen's much brighter and higher quality and the camera is...an improvement, albeit a small one. The biggest issue for me was getting the Snapdragon 800, which should be reasonably future proof.

Is it worth it to upgrade? (Galaxy S4)

I wanted to know if anyone regrets his/her decision to get a Nexus 5 since im kinda stuck. My S4 is fine but i saw 2friends getting this weird break in the screen, where the gorilla glass is all fine, but the amoled behind it is broken. So I'm really scared that, that will happen to me.
I was wondering if its worth to upgrade? what do you think?
thanks in advance

I don't someone else can answer this for you. It's really all about personal preference, necessity, financial feasibility, etc.
Are you happy with your S4? Does it suit your purposes or not? Do you just want to have the latest/greatest? Are there features of your S4 that you may not be able to live without by switching to a pure Google device?
As for the break in the screen, that doesn't happen on its own. It would require pressure to break. So long as you treat your device right I wouldn't worry about it.

Toxina said:
I wanted to know if anyone regrets his/her decision to get a Nexus 5 since im kinda stuck. My S4 is fine but i saw 2friends getting this weird break in the screen, where the gorilla glass is all fine, but the amoled behind it is broken. So I'm really scared that, that will happen to me.
I was wondering if its worth to upgrade? what do you think?
thanks in advance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The S4 has far better speakers (soundquality and volume level), better camera, higher storage capacity, and some usefull TW features as well (apart from the bloatware). So i wouldn`t change personaly. The 4.4 stock UI looks awfull imo if you don`t slap a custom launcher and icons on it.

Toxina said:
I wanted to know if anyone regrets his/her decision to get a Nexus 5 since im kinda stuck. My S4 is fine but i saw 2friends getting this weird break in the screen, where the gorilla glass is all fine, but the amoled behind it is broken. So I'm really scared that, that will happen to me.
I was wondering if its worth to upgrade? what do you think?
thanks in advance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've had the S4, HTC One, Moto X and now the Nexus 5 in the past 4-5 months. I personally didn't like having a physical home button or the back button setup on the GS4 and I couldn't stand TouchWiz. I honestly wish there was a high end Moto X. I would buy that in heartbeat.
Just like Tony said, it's all based on personal preference.

I have just received my Nexus 5 as a replacement for the S4 (international) that I have had for the past nine months.
The S4 has had CM10 for as long as I have been able to, and so I can't comment on Touchwiz, which I thought was a design abomination.
The drivers for change were:
Cheap exterior on S4
Annoying placement of butttons
Poor battery/network issues due to the proprietary bits hacked into CM
Camera issues for the same reason
Slow uptake on new ROMs due to there being 72 different versions of the phone (no OmniROM for example)
Wanting the Google experience unadulterated
Samsung's stance on custom ROMs (Knox implementation and so on)
I will report back in a few days but first impressions of the Nexus are that it feels like a much higher quality device.

gee2012 said:
The S4 has far better speakers (soundquality and volume level), better camera, higher storage capacity, and some usefull TW features as well (apart from the bloatware). So i wouldn`t change personaly. The 4.4 stock UI looks awfull imo, so slap a custom launcher and icons on it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am actually liking the 4.4 look and the white status bar. I was never a fan of the blue.
As far as changing, if you like your S4 keep it. If you dont then try the N5. You have to weigh what is important to you.

gee2012 said:
The S4 has far better speakers (soundquality and volume level), better camera, higher storage capacity, and some usefull TW features as well (apart from the bloatware). So i wouldn`t change personaly. The 4.4 stock UI looks awfull imo, so slap a custom launcher and icons on it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The N5 speaker is fine for me as is the camera; I never even came close to utilizing the storage capacity on my S4 and I absolutely despise TouchWiz. I think that stock 4.4 looks absolutely fantastic and wouldn't change a thing about it as of yet.
So you see how personal preference really drives a decision like this. If you like the Google Experience and aren't keen on the crap customizations that other OEMs put on their devices, I really think that the N5 is a fantastic option and am really loving mine so far.

I own the GE S4 and did purchased the N5. The GE S4 does have ridiculous battery life and also swappable battery and a SD card. I only reason why I went back to the nexus line up is the nexus forum. I am praying the N5 does have better bettery life then the N4(one of reason why I sold it)
Sent from my GT-I9505G using xda app-developers app

In terms of usability I think that the S4 is just as good as the Nexus 5, no real point in spending money on something you don't *really* need.
Then again, if you can sell your S4 for about the same price it would cost you to get a Nexus 5, and you really dig the Nexus 5, then why the heck not?

rivlez said:
I've had the S4, HTC One, Moto X and now the Nexus 5 in the past 4-5 months. I personally didn't like having a physical home button or the back button setup on the GS4 and I couldn't stand TouchWiz. I honestly wish there was a high end Moto X. I would buy that in heartbeat.
Just like Tony said, it's all based on personal preference.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi,
my few cents, i've got my N5 today and I am really torn between it and my old SGS3 with 1 GB ram (the crappy version)!
Design and Build quality:
My first impression was that this is the coolest and sexiest mobile phone i ever held in my hands. Feels awesome and looks awesome, much better than you would imagine seeing the pics online.
Display:
N5 display is certainly sharper, but also a bit washed and kinda unimpressive compared to IP5 or HTC one. What surprised me is that the SGS3 amoled produces whiter whites unless i really crank up the brightness on N5, which makes it really annoyingly bright and hard to look at. Viewing angles are much better on amoled of course. N5 Soft keys take too much screen estate imho, but that can be fixed.
UI:
N5 is extremely responsive and fast. Feels very good. No Lag at all, but tbh the difference to TW is not that bad as 4.2.2 and some modded kernels and frameworks make TW smooth and acceptably lagfree.
Camera:
Big advantage for the SGS 3 and probably much more for the S4. Unbelievably ****ty and laggy camera app on the N5, picture quality is disappointing, much worse than S3. Video is unbearable, permanent refocusing and overreaction on bright/dark areas, massive overexposure. I really hope google fixes the software.
Speaker:
Ok, no difference for me.
Battery Life:
My crappy S3 survives more screen-on time while browsing with wifi, kinda unimpressive tbh for a new generation device. Maybe 4 hours of screenon time for N5, 4.5 to 5 on S3. Let's see what tweaking can or cannot do.
Big Letdown: Chrome. This crap browser is notably slower than the samsung browser, probably a lot slower than s4 browser. Chrome on the N5 loads faster but it is lagging and just a huge disappointment, really bad experience.
I will think about it for a few days, currently I tend to returning the N5.
Hope this helps.

Knox was the last straw so selling my s4 before the 4.3 TouchWiz releases in Canada. I don't like a device that if I root + custom recovery, I can not return to default state. No more Samsung for me.
Sent from my SGH-I337M

This crap browser is notably slower than the samsung browser, probably a lot slower than s4 browser. Chrome on the N5 loads faster but it is lagging and just a huge disappointment, really bad experience.
I will think about it for a few days, currently I tend to returning the N5
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can anyone recommend a browser similar to the AOSP/Touchwiz one? It's the only thing I miss on my N5 after switching from a Note II. Boat browser crashes, flash doesn't work in firefox...

Any regrets?

Any one coming from an S4 regrets getting the nexus 5?

None! It was my biggest worry but I defnintely don't regret it. I love not having all the bloat that the S4 had. Even with a smaller battery, I'm getting better battery results than I ever did on the S4 as well. I honestly don't see a difference in the camera either.
My absolute biggest worry was losing all the space. Coming from a phone with a 64gb external sd card worried me a lot, but I finally gave in and subscribed the the Google Music service and I couldn't be happier.
Once all the ROM's fix the Sprint data issue, this phone will be even better, but I have no regrets.

Coming from an S4 too, gods I hated that phone, the bloatware, the knox (introduced after I bought it).
The battery life i find is better on my Nexus 5, seem strange but it's true, it waste very little battery power when on stand by.
The only thing I miss of the S4 is the camera. the Nexus' one is a clear step back, but I don't mind really I don't take many photos.

now i currently have an htc one with a cracked screen and i want to replace it.. Im an att user and well can get the s4 for like $150 but can always sell it buy the nexus and still have money left.. But one of the main issues i had with the HTC one is that no one! made accessories for it... like i was never able to find a waterproof cover, etc etc.. Im a bit worry that it will be the same with the nexus 5, that because it is not as popular it wont have many accessories

The only thing I miss is the AMOLED screen from my S3. It's a far better quality of colour reproduction. The N5 is a bit washed out.... but it is far sharper. Oh... and the camera SUCKS on the N5 in anything but perfect lighting conditions. I miss the shutter speed on the Samsungs. But this should be fixed in the next update.
Battery life isn't nearly as bad as I was lead to believe.

I like my S4 better. My S4 has better reception, I stripped off the extras I did not like. I currently have a 4.4 rom on my S4 so spare me the updates line, I unlocked it and added the TMobile band. What I hate about N5 is the body. Its a nightmare. Sharp edges where the glass meets plastic, the lens mount, power button is too high, feels cheap and feels horrible in my hand. As for price, with etf+tax+1st month, my S4 was only $30 more. Not much in savings
It's not a bad device once you get past the body, seems plenty fast, takes ok pics, battery life is ok. So it's not horrible and is starting it's life with top end hardware specs unlike the N4. It's just not for me. If it came in a similar body to the N4 or would have shaped the glass like the S3, it would have been a home run.

trendiggity said:
The only thing I miss is the AMOLED screen from my S3. It's a far better quality of colour reproduction. The N5 is a bit washed out.... but it is far sharper. Oh... and the camera SUCKS on the N5 in anything but perfect lighting conditions. I miss the shutter speed on the Samsungs. But this should be fixed in the next update.
Battery life isn't nearly as bad as I was lead to believe.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From the S3? I had 2 of those and came to this. Not even comparable. The N5 destroys the S3 in EVERY way. Low light pictures, sunny day pictures, the camera is better on the N5. The S3 is supersaturated and does not reproduce color accurately at all.

I've had a n4, s4 and now have n5. Think they are all brilliant phones. I think I can certainly feel the performance on the n5 though and I really like the screen. It has such an understated no frills look about it and that really appeals to me. I loved the s4 but it was a bit blingy for my liking and I didn't feel like it was so much as a blank canvas as what the nexus 5 is if that makes sense.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

Alo also trying to get into custom room and apps development... Is there any advantages on using the nexus instead of the samsung? I

SuperMiguel said:
Any one coming from an S4 regrets getting the nexus 5?
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Click to collapse
I'm on my 2nd day with the 5 coming from an S4 running and early CM build of Kit Kat. So far, the only thing I really miss about the S4 is the screen. I guess I'm used to that super saturated AMOLED display. The Nexus display is sharper but like some others have said, a little washed out looking by comparison. The Nexus is noticeably faster and the battery life is about the same which is impressive considering I had a 3000mah battery in the S4. I think I'll be sticking with the 5 mostly for the dev community. I've always been a fan of straight AOSP and can't stand the OEM skins. The Nexus will be much more future proof than the S4. Getting new versions of Android on the Samsung will always be a bit hacky.

fallingd0wn said:
I'm on my 2nd day with the 5 coming from an S4 running and early CM build of Kit Kat. So far, the only thing I really miss about the S4 is the screen. I guess I'm used to that super saturated AMOLED display. The Nexus display is sharper but like some others have said, a little washed out looking by comparison. The Nexus is noticeably faster and the battery life is about the same which is impressive considering I had a 3000mah battery in the S4. I think I'll be sticking with the 5 mostly for the dev community. I've always been a fan of straight AOSP and can't stand the OEM skins. The Nexus will be much more future proof than the S4. Getting new versions of Android on the Samsung will always be a bit hacky.
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any issues running this phone on att? and how come only tmobile and sprint got it?

My S4 had better/stronger signal and a more HD intensive screen. I don't know how to explain it.
My N5 is faster definitely, but camera is kind of laggy though. The vibration motor is weaker, but still good.
Depends on budget, I'd go for a Note 3 over S4 for the price range.
But for $350, there is nothing better than the Nexus 5.

fallingd0wn said:
I think I'll be sticking with the 5 mostly for the dev community. I've always been a fan of straight AOSP and can't stand the OEM skins.
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I think this is a great comment. Coming from the Sprint S4, for some reason, the dev community never really sped up like I thought it would. Sure, there were some great ROM's, but it was pretty much between a couple Touchwiz ROM's and hoping that 3minit would work, or you had AOSP based ROM's where you were happy to have working data.
While working data on Sprint with some ROM's is an early challenge, it doesn't look like it will be an issue long term (there's already a flashable fix) and we already have a wide variety of ROM's available.
I definitely don't miss Touchwiz whatsoever.

dicecuber said:
My S4 had better/stronger signal and a more HD intensive screen. I don't know how to explain it.
My N5 is faster definitely, but camera is kind of laggy though. The vibration motor is weaker, but still good.
Depends on budget, I'd go for a Note 3 over S4 for the price range.
But for $350, there is nothing better than the Nexus 5.
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Im eligible with att for upgrade, so i can get the S4 for like $150, either way ill get it... Then sell it and back the rest, while i care about dev, im more worried about accessories availability, like for example a waterproof cover, i take my phone alot in my boat, and its wet alot..

I am starting to have regrets as I'm having issues with push notifications that I can't resolve. I might end up having to return the phone for a refund. If that issue can be fixed though, then I would have no regrets at all. I think the Nexus 5 is an otherwise great phone.

SuperMiguel said:
Im eligible with att for upgrade, so i can get the S4 for like $150, either way ill get it... Then sell it and back the rest, while i care about dev, im more worried about accessories availability, like for example a waterproof cover, i take my phone alot in my boat, and its wet alot..
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Funny you say that, because my first S4 was water damaged in a boating incident lol. it was deemed unrepairable by 5+ cell phone repair shops. So I purchased a Note 2 afterwards. Sold that and bought another S4. I loved that device too much. My device was then stolen so I had to use a old POS non-smartphone for 2 months. I couldn't see myself spending another $600+ to buy another S4. So I jumped on buying a nexus 5. I love the Nexus 5 now. 1080p 5inch screen quad core processor 2gb ram to name a few.

I have the n4 and s4 sitting next to me currently my s4 is on sprint while my n5 is on straight talk att. And I can tell you IMO that my n5 in ALL areas is better than both devices. One area that is extremely noticeable is the all around speed and smoothness of the n5 when compared to the other phones. Also typing and touch seems a lot more responsive on this device as well. Often times I would find typing on the s4 to be choppy and laggy and often couldn't keep up. And I am running the latest official 4.3 release from sprint all stock. Tried swapping keyboards too on it and its just not the same as the n5. I do a ton of multi tasking on my phone. And this is where the n5 really shines. I can jump between texting and surfing the web and checking emails without a single hitch. And I really love that. I have owned all the major Samsung phones and after the n4 I have been pretty much hooked on nexus devices. As for the camera I actually find it on par with my s4 a lot of people talk about shutter lag but I find the shutter speed to be about the same as it is on the s4. So not much of a difference there. And in a lot of my low light shots my n5 out performed my s4. So all around I am a pretty happy camper. Oh and service on at straight talk is so much better than sprint for me. I get consistent LTE everywhere.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using xda app-developers app

From reading the more in-depth reviews the Nexus 5 screen has some of the most accurate colours on an LCD beating out iPhone models even which are known for their calibration. It however does not have as high of a contrast ratio as even the LG G2 or the saturated colours AMOLED screens are known for. That mixed with the slightly smaller usable screen space when including the Home bar on the N5 would give the S4 the brighter and more stand out screen at first glance and on store shelves.
Myself I prefer accurate colours versus over saturated ones and only use high brightness settings when being used in direct sunlight. That being said after seeing AMOLED's "completely off" black levels (and the features it can bring such as Glance support and 24/7 Daydream) no black screen on IPS can ever look as dark.

I hated how weak the s4 would feel. I was afraid to put it in my pocket becausw it would break. And i hated the screen. You could see there were 2 0arts of the screen and the digitixer was glued under a piece of plastic. While with the nexus everything is so nice. I know in 4 months I will get bored of aosp roms and miss some tw features but whatever there is time till then.

i just found out that the S4 is at a very bad spot at the moment, if you have their latest baseband you cant use custom kernels, etc.. So that may lean me more towards the s5

Coming from the S4, thoughts?

Looking to get a Nexus 5, If I sell my s4 I can ultimately gain an extra $40 from it as well. I was using a N4 prior to my s4, only thing I hated on the N4 was the washed out display and weak camera. My reason to switch again is Stock Android which I do miss with fast updates and great community for rom development, and also if the camera is great for decent shots (indoor, outdoor) I've read reviews but there all mixed. Please share some experience if you have any

If you search you will find what you are looking for. Also the s4 sells for $300, I don't know how you will gain an extra $40

Not sure where you are from but a pentaband version has a high price where I'm from.. and thanks I shall search

My experience with the nexus 5 has been brilliant so far, of course the are some drawbacks because of the price such as the camera but unless you are demanding a good camera its fine. Performance has been excellent and the only time the phone got unbearably hot was when I was backing up the phone on twrp.
Nexus 5, CM11, Franco kernel and Xposed framework

i sold my s4 with spigen tempered glass which was perfect condition for $405. I made a good choice moving to N5. only thing that I miss is the all the gimmicks that I rarely used. (wave to answer calls and such)
this is my opinion comparing the two.
N5 screen seems washed out when brightness is on max since LCD back light bleeds through. 60 - 80% brightness can cover that and get you a good contrast ratio (to my eyes) yet still brighter than S4 display. I do miss that true black color but I prefer whiter whites than blacker blacks.
Removable battery is a nice option but frankly, I've never taken apart to swap batteries. I'd rather grab battery case to extend my current juice than swapping it out. Even with smaller N5 battery, i can go all day. I'm a heavy email user and make nearly 0 calls. so N5 battery is no problem for me.
Samsung's Android update is pretty unpredictable. you'll never know when they'll push updates and not all regions get the same update. your region might even skip that update. Carriers blame samsung and samsung blames carriers for update screw ups. you are just stuck in the middle hoping to get some sort of update.
N5 has nearly 0 function if you move from Samsung. IR controls, surround group musics, touchless motion gestures aren't avail to N5. but N5 has one thing that I use the most - NFC, which is nice so I got that going.
I could keep going with pros and cons, but when it comes to pros, N5 has more advantages in my honest opinion. we can't really make decision for you, we can only provide our thoughts. I hope you choose whats right for you instead of choosing something just because that's what everyone gets. just do what I just did, make pros and cons see which weighs more.

Coming from a S3 : the nexus camera is impressive with HDR+ enabled and also in low light conditions. I expected weak battery but it is good enough and very very low power use with the standby mode (if you keep location reporting off)
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

I came from a Samung Galaxy SIII. I notice a huge and I mean huge difference in performance all around including camera. The only thing I miss is the instant shutter on the camera on the S3. Camera quality is great in my opinion. I am on ATT with my nexus 5 and love the network speed. The screen is better in m opinion to and easier to see in direct sunlight. From my short experience with a nexus phone. I will never go back to a non nexus phone ever again
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

I made the switch from s4 as well to N5 and love it. The s4 is just gathering dust now, I should probably sell it ...

Lowkey1 said:
Looking to get a Nexus 5, If I sell my s4 I can ultimately gain an extra $40 from it as well. I was using a N4 prior to my s4, only thing I hated on the N4 was the washed out display and weak camera. My reason to switch again is Stock Android which I do miss with fast updates and great community for rom development, and also if the camera is great for decent shots (indoor, outdoor) I've read reviews but there all mixed. Please share some experience if you have any
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I went from a Galaxy Nexus, and then to a temporary Nokia Lumia 521 for a month or so until grabbed this Nexus 5.
My girlfriend has a Note 3 and I used that thing extensively, and I find my Nexus 5 to be so much better.
It feels better, looks better, and is small enough to be large but still usable with one hand (with some shimmying).
Highly suggested that you get a Nexus 5.

And what about batery life compare to s4 or s3?

layt said:
And what about batery life compare to s4 or s3?
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My wife has a s4, and I would say it's about the same as my nexus 5 if not a little better due to the bigger size.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using xda app-developers app

layt said:
And what about batery life compare to s4 or s3?
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My battery life with the N5 has been at least as good or better than the S4. I liked my S4, but the N5 is a superior phone in almost every way and I don't for a second regret making the switch.