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[Q] What should I be excited about in my next Nexus device?

I've had my Nexus S since official launch day in late 2010. I still love it. I've been mildly tempted to replace it with the Galaxy Nexus a few times.
I'm somewhere in the middle between amateur and power-user. I enjoy rooting my device and installing custom roms, but I don't go beyond that. Also, once I find a rom that works well for me, I generally keep it for several months or more.
I'm trying to figure out what is potentially on the horizon that I should find exciting in the mobile device world - any thoughts? I'm asking more about things that actually improve my daily use of the phone. Right now, I have email and calendar push-sync (important for work), fast web browsing pretty much anywhere I go (typically getting 3-6Mbps anywhere I am), and can easily stream movies and music. What could I ask for that would actually improve my phone experience?
1. Bigger screen - obviously has its ups and downs - for me wouldn't make any positive impact.
2. Higher resolution - this is cool, and was one of the main reasons I was tempted by Galaxy Nexus, but again, wouldn't actually make any difference to me. I don't have any interest in gaming on my phone, beyond Angry Birds or Cut the Rope-type games.
3. Better camera - always nice, but for my use, the camera on Nexus S is more than adequate.
4. Faster data speeds - wouldn't help me at all. As long as I can stream TV and movies (which I already can), I have no need for anything faster, particularly if batter life is impacted.
5. Updated OS - this is probably what would tempt me most, due to my incessant need to always run the newest software available. Not sure what actual improvements it will have, though...
I guess my point is, I look at the latest and greatest devices out there (GS3, OneX, etc.), and I think to myself, "If I had that device, what benefits would I have compared to my Nexus S". And honestly, I can't think of a single one.
Any thoughts!
Thanks!

I think almost the same as you. Thinking about change my Nexus S, but it make almost everything I need already. If I change, it's only too see something new, hehe.

I think part of this speaks to how great the Nexus S is. In nearly 18 months of bigger screens, dual-core and quad-core, higher resolution, bigger batteries, LTE, etc., I've barely even been tempted to switch. I think that Google pushing out ICS to the Nexus S so early was a huge "lift" to my deciding to hang onto it for so long.

The nexus S has a more compact design and better audio both from speaker and headphones. The camera isnt better on the galaxy nexus, only video recording is. The screen is higher resolution but has so many horror stories about it. I personally didnt like the colors that much on the galaxy nexus especially the whites which were the worst I have ever seen on an AMOLED screen. But apparently there are good and bad screens of galaxy nexus so maybe I saw the bad one.
The most tempting thing for me is dual core CPU and 1GB ram, 2 areas where the nexus S is notably behind now and it really does enhance smartphone experience to have dual core CPU and more ram. And obviously it will get updates faster in the future provided the nexus S gets anything at all which it may not after 4.0.4.
The galaxy nexus also looks so damn epic, one of the best looking android phones for sure. And textured plastic back >>> glossy plastic anyday.
The disappointing parts of the galaxy nexus for me are,
- screen is not as good as reviews would have you believe
- speaker sound is disastrous
- Not much of an upgrade in GPU from nexus S, just higher clocks
- too big
I suppose since you are an i9020 owner it would be easier for you to switch to galaxy nexus since you are used to SAMOLED screens. I have an i9023 and just love the SC-LCD on it, the galaxy nexus screen seems like too many compromises for those infinite blacks.

same dilemma
Same issue as me, not sure whether I should upgrade or not. I've always been a "nexus behind" in that I held onto the N1 when the NS came out and only bought the NS when the GN came out. It's been cheaper for me since I had to pinch money in college.
Now that I have a job and income, I'm really tempted to finally catch up and buy the GN even though I'm extremely satisfied with my NS...

Gambler_3 said:
The most tempting thing for me is dual core CPU and 1GB ram, 2 areas where the nexus S is notably behind now and it really does enhance smartphone experience to have dual core CPU and more ram. And obviously it will get updates faster in the future provided the nexus S gets anything at all which it may not after 4.0.4.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For "daily driving" of web browsing/email/calendar/movies/music, how does dual core CPU and more RAM make a difference? Maybe faster app switching, smoother OS performance?

ddb540 said:
For "daily driving" of web browsing/email/calendar/movies/music, how does dual core CPU and more RAM make a difference? Maybe faster app switching, smoother OS performance?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Web browsing can max up nexus S ram pretty quickly which causes lag and launcher redraw on exit. Web browsing is perhaps the biggest advantage of dual core and 1GB ram especially if you like to use desktop versions.
There can be serious lag in doing anything when an app is being updated in the background I had to turn off automatic update for that and I think the single core CPU might be to blame for that.
With more ram you can run more third party apps that have background services. The ram is perhaps the biggest limitation of nexus S. It's almost impossible to play games smoothly when you are online on skype because it eats so much ram.
And lastly there are a few games now which lag on nexus S and I believe again the ram or CPU are to blame for that as we have very good GPU for our resolution.
But when it comes to screen and sound, nexus still holds its own against the new phones and provides a very satisfying multimedia experience.
I am personally still thoroughly satisfied with nexus S overall and will wait for the next nexus phone(or series of phones) to come.

happy with my nexus s, but if I had the chance and was able to afford it, I'd ditch it for the GS3 any day
why i want to upgrade:
1. more RAM, power.
---------- DEFINITELY something I found myself always wanting while watching videos on the browser.
---------- Annoying waiting for important apps such as dialer/camera to load up.
2. larger, hd screen. (especially for watching videos; something i do often)
3. camera

I also just wait for next nexus this december..
Buying galaxy nexus seem not worth it for me..
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2

I agree about waiting on the next Nexus release. I really like my NS still and I skipped out on the Galaxy Nexus. Now that we know a SERIES of Nexus's ( :what: ) are coming I'm definitely holding out. The S3 sounds great but the new Nexus line may out shine that later this year.
Sent from my Nexus S using xda premium

I'd have to agree with everyone about the NS shortcomings when compared to today's phones. To add to the list is the internal sdcard. I will NEVER get another phone without a removable sdcard. 16GB is just not enough.
Unfortunately, my NS is also sensitive to overclocking and crashes often even with raised voltage. Anyway, it's still a good phone holding it's own for 18mos.
PS: i, too, will wait for the next Nexus.
Sent from my Crespo using xda premium

I would also say ram and cpu are pretty big improvements.. Although I'm waiting for the next nexus as well. It's only a few months away and it's gonna blow the gnex out of the water for sure.
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA

Gambler_3 said:
Web browsing can max up nexus S ram pretty quickly which causes lag and launcher redraw on exit. Web browsing is perhaps the biggest advantage of dual core and 1GB ram especially if you like to use desktop versions.
There can be serious lag in doing anything when an app is being updated in the background I had to turn off automatic update for that and I think the single core CPU might be to blame for that.
With more ram you can run more third party apps that have background services. The ram is perhaps the biggest limitation of nexus S. It's almost impossible to play games smoothly when you are online on skype because it eats so much ram.
And lastly there are a few games now which lag on nexus S and I believe again the ram or CPU are to blame for that as we have very good GPU for our resolution.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good explanation, thanks! Glad to hear that the RAM and CPU improvements will make a nice difference in my next device, even for daily tasks.

LordPhong said:
To add to the list is the internal sdcard. I will NEVER get another phone without a removable sdcard. 16GB is just not enough.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What do you use to fill all this storage? I used to hold music on my phone and quickly maxed out the 16GB limit, but Google Music has completely obviated my need to hold files locally.

ddb540 said:
What do you use to fill all this storage? I used to hold music on my phone and quickly maxed out the 16GB limit, but Google Music has completely obviated my need to hold files locally.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Some people aren't lucky enough to have multi-GB or unlimited data plans, let alone decent service to begin with. I'm also weary of sound quality with many online services too - i know what's going on with my own files.

al_madd said:
I also just wait for next nexus this december..
Buying galaxy nexus seem not worth it for me..
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Couldnt agree more with this.
I think it would be wiser if waiting for the next nexus
Gnex is good but is not good enough

For some reason I've never actually been attracted to the thought of replacing my NS with GN. I'm happy with my NS and recently, I've been tempted to get the SGS3. I've been tempted but my NS does everything I need and well, I think I'll wait till the next Nexus device shows up. Long live NS!

HTC One S or Samsung Galaxy S III?

Hey guys, I'm getting a new phone in August when my contract dies. My current phone is a stock Nexus S running Jellybean. I'm trying to decide between getting the HTC One S, or the Samsung Galaxy S III. Both are priced at $400 on a 2-year contract with Virgin mobile, and I'm completely stuck on making my decision. With the One S, have any of you had considerable problems or issues with it? Would you get an SIII if you could? I believe that each of these phones are evenly matched, and each have their strengths and their weaknesses. I'm a fan of HTC Sense 4.0, and i like the overall build quality of the One S, but the S III has more ram, a removable battery and expandable memory. The HTC One X is not available with Virgin mobile, so I cannot get the HTC equivalent of the S III. Which would you recommend?
Thanks

Well. That depends. If you love trying new ROMs/kernels on your device, the s3 is going to be better in the long run. Not that the one s lacks a healthy dev community. We have many great devs with awesome Roms but the s3 has more people on board.
On the other hand, I found the one s more stylish and I like Sense 4 better.
Personally, I have no issues with my One S and with HTC promising a JB update, we know that, hopefully, all software related issues will be squished. You could look around for some common issues but nothing serious IMO but YMMV.
Sent from my HTC One S

Get he gs 3 and the free 50gbs of storage on dropbox. Return it and be happier with the one s and get another 25gbs of drop box for free. And keep the one s with 75gbs of storage space

davwman said:
Get he gs 3 and the free 50gbs of storage on dropbox. Return it and be happier with the one s and get another 25gbs of drop box for free. And keep the one s with 75gbs of storage space
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I only get 2gb
Sent from my HTC One S using xda premium

k1llacanon said:
I only get 2gb
Sent from my HTC One S using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
then you prolly didnt complete the steps to get the 25 gb. you should have gotten an email when you registered for DB or signed in which told you how to get the 25 gb.
as for your q, im more than happy with the one s. The screen is the perfect size whereas i believe the SG3 has a screen thats too big to be comfortable. Maybe if you have big hand its ok lol. The only drawback i suppose would be the 16 gb storage, but using DB and google play music, that isn't really an issue. in the end though, it all comes down to your choice. Both are amazing phones

HTC One S was my choice. I prefer Sense 4.0 over Samsung's skin as well as I think HTC is doing better with updates than Sammy.
davwman said:
Get he gs 3 and the free 50gbs of storage on dropbox. Return it and be happier with the one s and get another 25gbs of drop box for free. And keep the one s with 75gbs of storage space
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I like when the face matches the words.

You know it...

Thanks guys, also, how's the display on the one s? Its a pentile which means it could be a little jagged but my Nexus S has one and I really don't find it that bad.
Sent from my Nexus S using xda app-developers app

Display is great, obviously not as sharp as the gs 3 and x and has less screen real estate due to the 720p res that the x and gs 3 have.
I'll let anandtech finish it off
http://www.anandtech.com/show/5868/htc-one-s-review-international-and-tmobile/6

Terminator19 said:
Display is great, obviously not as sharp as the gs 3 and x and has less screen real estate due to the 720p res that the x and gs 3 have.
I'll let anandtech finish it off
http://www.anandtech.com/show/5868/htc-one-s-review-international-and-tmobile/6
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The One S does not have 720 dude, it has qhd. I have owned both devices and the GS3 is miles ahead of the One S
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium

KillaHurtz said:
The One S does not have 720 dude, it has qhd. I have owned both devices and the GS3 is miles ahead of the One S
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
emmm, I didn't say that the S has 720p res.
Terminator19 said:
Display is great, obviously not as sharp as the gs 3 and x and has less screen real estate due to the 720p res that the x and gs 3 have.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And of course you would expect the display of a device that costs about £130 more to be better.

the galaxy s3 is not miles ahead of the one s. I had it. Glad I got my money back. Its nice but it is way too big and feels like a kids toy.

I found myself in same position 3 weeks ago, and I struggled for weeks researching my choices between one s and s3. All my friends got s3 so I had a good chance to try it.
Though what s3 does is impressive as far as speed and memory goes, it seriously lags in look & feel and coolness factor. It feels like lugging around a tablet than phone and it barely fits in pocket.
Compare that to one s, which I finally ended up getting which is incredibly fast, memory though less never been a hindrance. I had 10gigs available after all system programs which I believe is plentiful when added with the online storage options.
Sure s3 beats one s in all test scores but one s Screen is unbelievable, phone is sleek and stylish and you can still reach around with one hand and fits in your pocket. Camera will put your point and shoot cameras to rest and I cannot be more happy.
And battery life is great too. I got a about 12 hours on moderate use even with couple of camera flashes and I still have 20% left.
Ultimately think of the long term impacts of having a tablet for a phone for next 2 years just because it is fast and more memory, vs. having a sleek, handy pocket able phone which is still fast with decent amount of memory.
Sent from my HTC 1S running AxiomS-Less

Does Adobe Flash still work on both devices?

gs3 = hot and plastic
main reason i switched from gs2 to one s
i tried the gs3 its just gets hot when using the phone

Actually the GS 3 doesn't even beat the S in all of the benchmark tests (both the quad and S4 version), yes the res. does have an impact but then the XL has the same hardware but also 720P res. and it still beats the GS 3 in the majority of tests.
The GS 3 international version only beats both in the tests, which uses the GPU such as quadrant etc. as the GPU is far better than the adreno 225.
Only areas that the GS 3 is better is:
screen
1080P recording
storage/SD slot
removable battery
bigger developing community
Everything else is more or less same or better on the S (IMO):
- camera is more or less the same (some photos look better on the GS 3, others look better on the S), however, the UI is better than touchwiz alternative and has way more features, which are actually cool and make taking photos more enjoyable.
- Speed/smoothness is more or less the same, only reason the GS 3 appears to be smoother is due to the animations/timing that is used, could achieve the same if you flashed those animations and had the exact same timings, besides were getting JB soon hopefully so there will be virtually no difference then (on any of the phones)
- audio is more or less the same (some say the GS 3 is better, others say the S is better)
- out of the box battery life is better (to be expected considering the S has a smaller battery and is only qHD), not by a huge amount though, however, with the GS 3 you can carry spare batteries around with you
- sense V4 is far far better in looks/UI, unified feel, the stock apps are amazing such as the gallery, calendar etc. touchwiz has loads of gestures and some cool features (but the majority of these are being ported over to every other android phone, such as the smart stay feature (iseeyou, works great on my S), Svoice, smart status bar (can drag the notification bar down when in an app full screen) etc. only a matter of time till we get things that like smart alert etc. The same can't be said with sense app/features though. IMO touchwiz is too bloated and no real unified feel across the apps/menus etc. everything just looks disorganized and the colour scheme is too kiddish/cartoonish
- and lastly the build/perceived quality of the S is miles ahead of the GS 3 and IMO looks far better compared to the GS 3 (subjective the looks though)

Do you want a phone that fits in your trouser pocket?
Get the One S
Are you a basketball player with huge hands?
Get the One X or Galaxy S3
Want to watch lots of movies?
Get a tablet.
Phones are getting far too big these days. Unfortunately there are no top spec 4" phones, so I got the One S. It's still in the mail so I can't really review it further. Manufacturers really need to learn from apple here, make it pocket sized for f&# sake. Also half the market is female and even being an average size male I find the latest phones too large.
There are some things that suck on the One S though: No MicroSD , Stupid capacitive buttons, at least samsung always have one proper button, sense UI looks like tacky plastic ****.
If you do get one s make sure it's not the old snapdragon S3 SoC which has worse battery life.

I whole heartedly agree with the above. I'm 6'0 healthy 225 pounds guy that thought the beastly oversized gs3 would fit me. I was wrong. That thing is just way to big. I found one handed operations almost impossible. The display isn't that great either, not for the price. Plus I had a amoled smear that looked like a smiley face smack in the center of the screen. The one s that uses Samsung amoled displays shows no sign of such things.

Terminator19 said:
Only areas that the GS 3 is better is:
screen
1080P recording
storage/SD slot
removable battery
bigger developing community
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
We have 1080p recording.
Sent from my HTC One S

Pheroh said:
We have 1080p recording.
Sent from my HTC One S
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I know
But the GS 3 is far better for light metering and smoothness and slightly better quality as well.

[Q] Why would you choose an HTC One S over the Samsung Galaxy S3?

Just a simple question, why would choose an HTC One S over the Samsung Galaxy S3? I'm considering buying one of those, but i don't know which aspect of the One S is better than the S3..

Because it fits in the hand like no other phone,it's not too big and not too small,simply perfect,the phone is quite fast
And if u are buying a One S,buy it with the S4 chip
Sent from my HTC One S using TrickDroid 4.0.0

Far far far far nicer looking and way better build quality and of course perceived quality, the looks of the gs3 is the main thing that puts me of it
Better chipset (s4)
IMO sense is miles better for the stock apps, ui, colour scheme
Better battery life
The camera is better overall in terms of features/options and camera ui which make photography far better

If we're talking stock, Sense >>>> Touchwiz. Touchwiz feels so sluggish.
On the One S, I keep going back to stock from custom roms because I love how it feels and the battery life is great.
Only benefit of the SGS3 IMO is NFC.

Build quality, build quality and erm.. build quality.

Fluent usage! The GS3 is not running as smooth as Sense on my HOS!
Sent by baked One S

...and even more build quality

PcFish said:
If we're talking stock, Sense >>>> Touchwiz. Touchwiz feels so sluggish.
On the One S, I keep going back to stock from custom roms because I love how it feels and the battery life is great.
Only benefit of the SGS3 IMO is NFC.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if i'm not wrong, the battery life in S3 is actually better than the One S. also, it does have the option to expand memory (up to 64GB). other than that i'd lean towards the One S.

Build quality and form factor. High end specs in a smaller package.
Sent from my HTC One S using xda app-developers app

dorezen said:
if i'm not wrong, the battery life in S3 is actually better than the One S. also, it does have the option to expand memory (up to 64GB). other than that i'd lean towards the One S.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can't really count storage as a plus or a con for either device, it's all personal preference. ~9Gb is plenty for me

dorezen said:
if i'm not wrong, the battery life in S3 is actually better than the One S. also, it does have the option to expand memory (up to 64GB). other than that i'd lean towards the One S.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There isn't a huge difference in battery life, however, i have yet to see a GS 3 get the same sort of battery life with similar usage to what i and others get, which is about 4-5 hours on screen time spread across 1-3 days with heavy usage especially for browsing (out of the box), which kills battery life on Samoled screen mobiles particularly ours.
Plus it shouldn't be to any surprise anyway as we have the smaller display with a lower res. As well as a far more power efficient CPU chipset.
As said storage is personal preference, 16gb is enough for me, even if I had a 64g SD card i doubt that i would even use 5gb of that on top of the 16gb internal storage.

Smaller
--------------
If you are new to xda please watch this video it'll help you out )
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmvCpR45LKA&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Build quality is definitely a big one. Much better build quality with htc. Also gonna have to say size, sgs3 is practically a tablet.

Terminator19 said:
There isn't a huge difference in battery life, however, i have yet to see a GS 3 get the same sort of battery life with similar usage to what i and others get, which is about 4-5 hours on screen time spread across 1-3 days with heavy usage especially for browsing (out of the box), which kills battery life on Samoled screen mobiles particularly ours.
Plus it shouldn't be to any surprise anyway as we have the smaller display with a lower res. As well as a far more power efficient CPU chipset.
As said storage is personal preference, 16gb is enough for me, even if I had a 64g SD card i doubt that i would even use 5gb of that on top of the 16gb internal storage.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I own a galaxy 3 and I get 5-6 hours screen time easily with just web browsing/text with games I get around 3-4 hours. As for build quality I don't know anybody who doesn't get a case for these higher end phones and most of them like the otter box cases make it feel as sturdy as any phone can be.
As for CPU they both have the same s4 chip if it is the lte variant and if its international it has the the quad core exynos so the better CPU argument kind of confuses me.
Expandable storage is extremely nice too have but that is just my opinion. Touchwiz 5.0 has added way to many features to list but i'd suggest you look it up its worth the watch. The camera also has a plethora of features that HTC phones do not. Also the lte variant comes with 2 gigs of ram which actually makes the CPU run more efficiently because it doesn't have to manage the memory as much.
All in all I would take a good look at the reviews on both phones before you make your decisions. One more thing before I forget is the amount of accessories available for the s3 is pretty nice.
Hope I helped
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app

pierrenp said:
I'm considering buying one of those, but i don't know which aspect of the One S is better than the S3..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Go to a shop that has both, and hold them in your hand.

pyroemaniac said:
I own a galaxy 3 and I get 5-6 hours screen time easily with just web browsing/text with games I get around 3-4 hours. As for build quality I don't know anybody who doesn't get a case for these higher end phones and most of them like the otter box cases make it feel as sturdy as any phone can be.
As for CPU they both have the same s4 chip if it is the lte variant and if its international it has the the quad core exynos so the better CPU argument kind of confuses me.
Expandable storage is extremely nice too have but that is just my opinion. Touchwiz 5.0 has added way to many features to list but i'd suggest you look it up its worth the watch. The camera also has a plethora of features that HTC phones do not. Also the lte variant comes with 2 gigs of ram which actually makes the CPU run more efficiently because it doesn't have to manage the memory as much.
All in all I would take a good look at the reviews on both phones before you make your decisions. One more thing before I forget is the amount of accessories available for the s3 is pretty nice.
Hope I helped
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
With other usage like mine below?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=27010378#post27010378
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=27665378#post27665378
Also would need to see screenshots and info. like in the above link.
Quite a lot of people don't actually use cases, I always had the intention of using one with my S (have like 4 cases) especially given that the MAO layer can chip easily, but it so good that I don't use any case at all now unless going out for the night or something, if it was any other phone like the GS 3 then I have no problem using a case) IMO the otterbox cases are butt ugly and add a stupid amount of bulk.
Yeah the USA GS 3 has the S4 chipset although touchwiz seems to be very poorly optimised with it as the XL (using this as it has the same screen res.) easily beats it. The international is quad exynos, but just because it is quad does not mean that it is better, the S4 has way more performance per core (this is far better than having an additional 2 cores as android and apps doesn't fully utilise 2 cores let alone 4, they just aren't optimised in order to properly make use of the cores), a lot more power efficient and better for heat.
Eh? What features is the HTC one series phone lacking compared to the GS 3? The GS 3 has nothing at all really, only the standard stuff like HDR, panorama etc.. With the one series/sense V4 you have a load of effects, depth of field, vintage warm and cold, aqua, distortion amongst a ton of other things as well as slow motion recording, 16.9 aspect ratio amongst other things. The touchwiz software on the note II has a lot of features that are comparable to the one series phones, not the GS 3....
2GB of RAM (only 1GB on the international GS 3 although the LTE variant for the UK has 2GB) is a nice touch but it doesn't really provide much of an advantage, only good thing that it brings is you can switch from a demanding game to the browser, which would have 3 or so tabs open without them reloading. With a chip like the S4, apps launch pretty much immediately anyway.

S III all day.
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda premium

Y.G. said:
S III all day.
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No... probably the number one reason people go for the One S over the GS3 (or One X, or Galaxy Nexus) is the form factor, and the build quality. Really, with the feature sets being similar (and unless you want to quibble), the only REAL difference is size, and there are a lot of people that think a 4.7+" phone is too big. I have the Galaxy Nexus, and am lucky enough to have a plan that lets me update my phone yearly with no penalty. I'm getting the One S - the damn thing is speedy, the perfect size and is the most comfortable phone I've ever picked up.

Just ordered a HTC One S to replace my S3. I always get the latest phones and I bought the S3 to replace my Galaxy Nexus that was stolen. I almost immediately regretted buying the S3 because of its size. I'm a big guy, have big hands but nevertheless, the S3 is just too big. 4,3 Inch is more than enough for me. A few weeks ago I helped buying a friend a new phone and he wanted to stick to HTC coming from an old HTC Desire. The moment I took the phone in my hands it instantly fell in its place and I was amazed by the difference in build quality. It's a HUGE difference! So, tomorrow my S3 will go online and I cannot wait to lay my hands on my new One S.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

Terminator19 said:
With other usage like mine below?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=27010378#post27010378
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=27665378#post27665378
Also would need to see screenshots and info. like in the above link.
Quite a lot of people don't actually use cases, I always had the intention of using one with my S (have like 4 cases) especially given that the MAO layer can chip easily, but it so good that I don't use any case at all now unless going out for the night or something, if it was any other phone like the GS 3 then I have no problem using a case) IMO the otterbox cases are butt ugly and add a stupid amount of bulk.
Yeah the USA GS 3 has the S4 chipset although touchwiz seems to be very poorly optimised with it as the XL (using this as it has the same screen res.) easily beats it. The international is quad exynos, but just because it is quad does not mean that it is better, the S4 has way more performance per core (this is far better than having an additional 2 cores as android and apps doesn't fully utilise 2 cores let alone 4, they just aren't optimised in order to properly make use of the cores), a lot more power efficient and better for heat.
Eh? What features is the HTC one series phone lacking compared to the GS 3? The GS 3 has nothing at all really, only the standard stuff like HDR, panorama etc.. With the one series/sense V4 you have a load of effects, depth of field, vintage warm and cold, aqua, distortion amongst a ton of other things as well as slow motion recording, 16.9 aspect ratio amongst other things. The touchwiz software on the note II has a lot of features that are comparable to the one series phones, not the GS 3....
2GB of RAM (only 1GB on the international GS 3 although the LTE variant for the UK has 2GB) is a nice touch but it doesn't really provide much of an advantage, only good thing that it brings is you can switch from a demanding game to the browser, which would have 3 or so tabs open without them reloading. With a chip like the S4, apps launch pretty much immediately anyway.
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Here are some comparisons of the international galaxy s3 and the HTC one s
http://smartphones.techcrunch.com/compare/245-252/Samsung-Galaxy-S3-vs-HTC-One-S
http://www.phonearena.com/phones/compare/Samsung-Galaxy-S-III,HTC-One-S/phones/6330,6579
And here are some reviews and comparisons of the USA galaxy s3 and the HTC one s.
http://www.phonearena.com/phones/compare/HTC-One-S,Samsung-Galaxy-S-III-Verizon/phones/6579,7114
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app

[Q] Is the Nexus 5 worth buying?

Slightly different point of view here: I don't need a phone. I need an Android device.
What I currently have is a Galaxy S2 GT-i9100 and a Nexus 7 (2013). What I use them both for is games (80% of the usage), music, internet, pictures, and pretty much everything that is not calling people.
I've been looking at videos of the Nexus 5 but all worthwhile ones are of the 4.4 release version, which I already know was quite terrible, so I wanted to ask - after so many updates, are the camera autofocus, battery and other major flaws fixed? What current weak points does it have (anything you think sucks)?
My budget is not that high so Nexus 6 and 9 are out of the question.

IMHO the Nexus 5 is the best possible Android experience for the money. Its butter smooth. On optipop the battery isn't amazing but its definitely reasonable. (I get 5 hours of SoT)
I've never had any issues with the camera to be honest. All things aside, no device is perfect and while the n5 has flaws, it is truly a work of art.

JayR_L said:
IMHO the Nexus 5 is the best possible Android experience for the money. Its butter smooth. On optipop the battery isn't amazing but its definitely reasonable. (I get 5 hours of SoT)
I've never had any issues with the camera to be honest. All things aside, no device is perfect and while the n5 has flaws, it is truly a work of art.
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I've never had the chance to check out a Nexus phone, but on the N7 2013, the camera's autofocus is (my own opinion) pretty terrible even compared to phones from 2010 when it comes to video...how is there any constant focusing (or lack of focusing) issues on the N5? Or frame-lag when recording in 1080p?

A year later the N5 is still one of the best phones on the market. It is still blazing fast, smooth as silk, and gaming on it is awesome. I go through Android phones like they are disposable, usually selling them to offset the cost of the new one. Every so often a phone comes around that I just can't bear to part with even though I've since upgraded. The N5 is one of those phones. I'm currently using a 2014 Moto X and an iPhone 6 as my primary devices, but there's just something about the N5 that is preventing me from selling it and I will likely keep it forever. And like JayR_L said, it's easily the best Android experience for the money.
TL;DR- Yes, it is absolutely worth buying.

You should try the Nexus5 and see what you have been missing!

The battery will drain fast when playing games also the phone heats up, don't know if anyone else is experiencing this

KingUsman said:
The battery will drain fast when playing games also the phone heats up, don't know if anyone else is experiencing this
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The same can be said about any phone.

_MetalHead_ said:
The same can be said about any phone.
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It drains faster than any other phone

KingUsman said:
It drains faster than any other phone
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That's hardly the case. Sure, there are phones with better battery life, but the N5 is certainly not the worst.
That said, any phone will drain faster and get pretty warm when playing games. You said that like it's a downside to the N5 but it's a fact of life for every smartphone on the planet.

_MetalHead_ said:
That's hardly the case. Sure, there are phones with better battery life, but the N5 is certainly not the worst.
That said, any phone will drain faster and get pretty warm when playing games. You said that like it's a downside to the N5 but it's a fact of life for every smartphone on the planet.
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Well for me, it is one of the worst battery life compared to other phones that I have used.
My nexus 5 heats up quickly when playing games, not all phones heat up this fast, my moto g doesn't heat up at all.

I would like to say the same, the nexus 5 is the best experiencie u can get from a android, Excep for the battery and about the heat playing games u guys should see the xperia z2, I'm sure that the battery will last a less twice but that if u aren't afraid of your phone became a fire ball.. I like @_MetalHead_ still having my nexus 5 even when I got the xperia z2, its just hard to sell a phone which have been so amazing and for that long.

KingUsman said:
Well for me, it is one of the worst battery life compared to other phones that I have used.
My nexus 5 heats up quickly when playing games, not all phones heat up this fast, my moto g doesn't heat up at all.
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You cant compare the Moto G to the N5. It has a much weaker processor than the N5 and as a result it won't get nearly as hot. More power generally means more heat. I've used all the major FLAGSHIPS this year and all of them heat up. The OnePlus One gets so hot you can almost boil an egg on it. Even my 2014 Moto X gets pretty warm with extended gaming sessions.
And again, everyone knows that battery life is not one of the N5's strong suits. Compromises had to be made to offer such a powerful phone at such an affordable price point. Just like compromises had to be made with the Moto G in order to sell it so cheap. If you want raw power, and just ok battery life, go with the N5. If you want a budget phone with great battery life and don't care about processing power, RAM, or screen resolution then save a little money and get the Moto G. Both are great devices for their targeted markets.

I switch from S4 and my wife switch from Note 2, both didn't look back at all.
If you compare to other phone release at that time frame N5 is just perfect, the battery does a little bit weak if compare to current generation (2300ma vs 3000ma+), but you also got OIS, which is really useful and I will say that is a must have.
Talk about heat, N5 got the snapdragon 800, you can expect it generate the same amount of heat with other phone using it, if you found other phone running cool and not as hot as N5 (such as G2, or even G3 but new cpu) that just because they clock down the CPU speed and limit it, LG G2 was known for this, and the G3 my mother using will lock the max cpu speed even when just charging using wireless charge and do nothing.
Just make sure you get the 32GB version, as the system reserve a pretty larger amount of storage.

OP, make your own decision, don't ask random people over the internet, because what you want is different to what we want.

i just bought nexus 5 and thinkimg to get nexus 6....then i watch speed comp on youtube. nexus 5 won with 6-1 check it out.

apelamod said:
i just bought nexus 5 and thinkimg to get nexus 6....then i watch speed comp on youtube. nexus 5 won with 6-1 check it out.
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That's just because data encryption is enabled by default on the N6... The latest Nexus flagship is overall better than its "predecessor" (a word that doesn't fit perfectly the N5), hardware-wise. The only weaker point is, in my opinion, its screen, with its insane resolution but disappointing brightness and color accuracy (even compared to other AMOLED screens).
BTW, our N5 is a great phone indeed. I have been using one as my daily driver for more than one year now, and still I wouldn't like to replace it with any other phone.
Display is great, all apps and the o.s. run fast and smoothly, camera is very good, partly because of the OIS, partly because the software optimizations improved its performance and speed a lot. The only flaw of this phone is its battery, which isn't terrible but just "average". What I really miss is the possibility to replace it when it gets old.

I'm thinking of replacing my N5. Is One plus one, any good? I like the slow motion camera on it.

Thinking of geting the HTC M8 (if S-Off can be achieved) or the Note 4.

JayR_L said:
IMHO the Nexus 5 is the best possible Android experience for the money. Its butter smooth. On optipop the battery isn't amazing but its definitely reasonable. (I get 5 hours of SoT)
I've never had any issues with the camera to be honest. All things aside, no device is perfect and while the n5 has flaws, it is truly a work of art.
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5 hours!?!??! How?? Tell me your ways!

DOBBY0 said:
5 hours!?!??! How?? Tell me your ways!
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4-5 hours is average.

[Q] Should I upgrade to the S6?

I have a note 4 with T-Mobile right now. I don't mind the lack of a SD slot or removable battery. I also am tired of no lollipop on my note 4. I do want to avoid bloated touch wiz lag and battery issues. Thoughts?

lol, sounds like you need a change of manafacturer.
I have an S6 pre-order but after doing more research I think I'll cancel it, the lack of removable batt and expandable storage not to mention the possible need for two screen protectors front and back(OCD)no IP rating, no USB3.0(S4), its a downgrade from S5.
Camera is same as GN4, same ram, slightly upgraded CPU, smaller screen and all glass this thing is going to be very cold to the touch like Sony device, compared to GN4. Nevertheless I'll try to hold reservations until it is in my hand.

homer285 said:
lol, sounds like you need a change of manafacturer.
I have an S6 pre-order but after doing more research I think I'll cancel it, the lack of removable batt and expandable storage not to mention the possible need for two screen protectors front and back(OCD)no IP rating, no USB3.0(S4), its a downgrade from S5.
Camera is same as GN4, same ram, slightly upgraded CPU, smaller screen and all glass this thing is going to be very cold to the touch like Sony device, compared to GN4. Nevertheless I'll try to hold reservations until it is in my hand.
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I don't mind a change in manufacturer, but I want to keep the same concepts within my next device: fingerprint scanner, high end processor, good build quality, lot of RAM. I also want timely updates too. iPhone 6+ has too little ram and a high price tag. Waiting on HTC's One Max M9 or LG G4 or Xperia Z4.

nviz22 said:
I don't mind a change in manufacturer, but I want to keep the same concepts within my next device: fingerprint scanner, high end processor, good build quality, lot of RAM. I also want timely updates too. iPhone 6+ has too little ram and a high price tag. Waiting on HTC's One Max M9 or LG G4 or Xperia Z4.
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You sound like you need a nexus 6! Z4 is questionable because if SONY does shutdown smart phone branch it may never see any future updates. HTC max may be out around the time of Note 5 announcement so you might as well wait a little longer and get that. G4 I think is the phone that might compete closest to S6 IMO, and might beat it in terms of keeping sd, and large removal battery, unless they pull a Samsung!
Sent from my SM-G900T using AllianceR(●)m

tenxo said:
You sound like you need a nexus 6! Z4 is questionable because if SONY does shutdown smart phone branch it may never see any future updates. HTC max may be out around the time of Note 5 announcement so you might as well wait a little longer and get that. G4 I think is the phone that might compete closest to S6 IMO, and might beat it in terms of keeping sd, and large removal battery, unless they pull a Samsung!
Sent from my SM-G900T using AllianceR(●)m
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I used a Nexus 6, but I didn't like the battery life as much as the Note 4. It has good, but bland software since it lacks in features if anything.

Maybe you need a s6 edge

David_freestyle said:
Maybe you need a s6 edge
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It's too expensive lol. I am looking to spend no more than $100+ Note 4 money.

I would wait to see how the TW 5.0.x Lollipop behaves on the Note 4 and it should be out soon. I have the same dilemma about upgrading from a much older device (S4) and though I really want a new gadget I just can't justify the move frankly (except for the camera quality).

Breach1337 said:
I would wait to see how the TW 5.0.x Lollipop behaves on the Note 4 and it should be out soon. I have the same dilemma about upgrading from a much older device (S4) and though I really want a new gadget I just can't justify the move frankly (except for the camera quality).
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Yes, I know that is expensive, that's why I'll get S6 regular xD

Check s6 edge

nviz22 said:
I have a note 4 with T-Mobile right now. I don't mind the lack of a SD slot or removable battery. I also am tired of no lollipop on my note 4. I do want to avoid bloated touch wiz lag and battery issues. Thoughts?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Install 'Nova Launcher' answer set as your default. It doesn't completely disable TouchWiz functionality but it has proven to be a speed increase and overall better Home Launcher. It's free on the PlayStore.
I've been using it since it was first released and will never use another app for my Android. Enjoy.

David_freestyle said:
Maybe you need a s6 edge
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legend221 said:
Install 'Nova Launcher' answer set as your default. It doesn't completely disable TouchWiz functionality but it has proven to be a speed increase and overall better Home Launcher. It's free on the PlayStore.
I've been using it since it was first released and will never use another app for my Android. Enjoy.
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I will give it a try, but for now, I am waiting for reviews and to demo the S6.

This describes me exactly. Tired of laggy touchwiz. How could a beast of a phone loke the note 4 seem less than buttery smooth?
Temporarily using a z3 and it's smooooth, but camera is mediocre at best. Gosh darn it, I just want a smooth phone with a great camera. Hope that's s6

I'm not sure how you consider the note 4 a laggy phone. Go check the note 4 vs any other phone and you ll see that it's actually faster than the iPhone 6 And many others.
Once lollipop comes out for your note.. Put your xperia and note side by side and see which is faster.

tenxo said:
You sound like you need a nexus 6! Z4 is questionable because if SONY does shutdown smart phone branch it may never see any future updates. HTC max may be out around the time of Note 5 announcement so you might as well wait a little longer and get that. G4 I think is the phone that might compete closest to S6 IMO, and might beat it in terms of keeping sd, and large removal battery, unless they pull a Samsung!
Sent from my SM-G900T using AllianceR(●)m
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Man I love the Nexus 6. If only it were 5.5", bigger battery, and better camera, it would be the perfect phone.

I have a nex 6 and I want an s6 after reading this forum and all the previews and reviews. My only issue is I had a note 4 and now the nex 6 and the s6 screen is almost a whole 1 inch smaller. Not a deal breaker but wish it was at least 5.5
90% chance I will buy it anyway