*** The Official Samsung Galaxy S4 Thread ***

[Jono8]

Just managed to pick up a brand new Simfree Black S4 for £519.30 , couldn't resist at this price.

Now just under a month ago i got myself a S3 simfree from Tesco's can i retun this phone while it still under the 28 day period for my money back or do they not give refunds on mobiles?

S3 itself still in brand new condition.

Why are people still buying it for this sort of money when you can get it for £430 from O2 and get them to unlock it for free

http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/samsung-galaxy-s4-429-o2-1546082?page=10#post17999258

 

[james.miller]

I was going through the forums and it seems that the S4 suffers from distortion when playing music above sound levels of 11 on certain headphones? That's a bit disheartening and to me it seems that Samsung may have rushed the phone out, but I'm sure that a software update will iron out many of the problems in the near future, but I'm not too sure if the headphone issue is software or hardware related and will keep a very close eye on the problem.

Very likely hardware and not something they can fix with a software update without majorly clamping down on the output. Looking around, it looks like they s4's are really not happy with 16ohm loads and the clipping increase severely below that. Disappointing really but the solution is to stick with high impedance 'phones. Not all that suprising considering Samsung borked S2's output and the s3 (non-int. version) wasnt very good either. There's a nice analysis here: http://www.jensign.com/S4Distortion/ but NOTE: he says 16ohms is fine but bare in mind that drivers rated at a nominal 16ohms will often dip well below that at certain frequencies, which is why i think 16ohm-rated are best avoided for use with the S4

 

[Allnamestaken]

Not the best image I rushed it but and applied colors LOL but the clarity! you can see the entire room in the reflection of my eye!

 

[stoosh]

Very likely hardware and not something they can fix with a software update without majorly clamping down on the output. Looking around, it looks like they s4's are really not happy with 16ohm loads and the clipping increase severely below that. Disappointing really but the solution is to stick with high impedance 'phones. Not all that suprising considering Samsung borked S2's output and the s3 (non-int. version) wasnt very good either.

That's not good news at all. So at the end of the day it's down to the consumer to find and use high impedance headphones to avoid the distortion issue!

The sound problem is a deal breaker for me, didn't the S2 use a DAC that wasn't Wolfson and the S3 (non international version) used Qualcomm DAC right?

I wonder if the Exynos S4 suffers from the same problem, it'll be interesting to see if it's down to Qualcomm's chipset or Samsung messing up on their side of things.

For now I'll have to cross the S4 off the list.

It doesn't leave too many phones to look at this year, I just hope the Nexus 5 will be the saviour for 2013

 

[james.miller]

I wouldn't see it as a reason to rule any media player out, to be honest. I'm not up to date on specific models these days but i am sure there are plenty of 20+ ohm earphones out there that would work just fine, like most of the shure range for example. However, that said, previously i would have just said meh, buy an mp3 player instead - I never used my s2 for music, instead I stuck with my sony x1050 - but it's not so easy these days with these all-you-can-eat data plans and things like internet radio/spotify/google play music. In my opinion it's bit too much to give up this time around.

I will be watching as this unfolds and the s4's get tested with more earphones.

 

[Nexus18]

@stoosh

I think you will end up keeping the GS 4 You loved the GS 3 LTE and the GS 4 has many nice improvements overall, however, touchwiz will ruin it for you, so until you can root and flash a stock ROM or whatever, you might still prefer the N4.


The m4 "could" be an excellent device, however, it "has" to be priced correctly, any more than £350 (if the specs are true) then it will be a fail in my eyes. And yup, I am quite excited about it, only main downside for me is that the screen will be the same size, do want bigger If they use a SLCD 3 or the newer SAMOLED panel then battery life should be better than the one S, so it should be very good then


Indeed, I think a lot of people are going to be underwhelmed/annoyed come the announcement of the X phone.....


Another issue Haven't been following the GS 4 lately so that is the first I have heard of that! The GS 4 will be using qualcomms S4 audio stuff and pretty much every phone that uses it from the last year has very good audio, haven't noticed any issues with my S, audio quality is great, both loudspeaker (for a phone) and earphones, although I am no audiophile


Pretty much, the only thing that "really" sets the one/GS 4 apart from last years flagships is the one's speakers and the screen of the GS 4 and one (more of a difference between the GS 3 and GS 4 screen than there is between the one X and one screen) imo, sure the cameras amongst other wee things have improved, but it isn't exactly a "worthwhile" upgrade "overall", OIS is superb though and the benefit of the one camera i.e. low light conditions etc. are great and hopefully has forced OEM's to put more serious thought into their cameras rather than just solely concentrating on the MP number now.

 

[james.miller]

oh don't forget airview I love airview, it's just a shame that it's only samsung apps and select few others (flipboard for example) that support it. I'd love to see it rolled out to other apps, launchers for example. I'm looking at you, nova!

 

[stoosh]

I wouldn't see it as a reason to rule any media player out, to be honest. I'm not up to date on specific models these days but i am sure there are plenty of 20+ ohm earphones out there that would work just fine, like most of the shure range for example. However, that said, previously i would have just said meh, buy an mp3 player instead - I never used my s2 for music, instead I stuck with my sony x1050 - but it's not so easy these days with these all-you-can-eat data plans and things like internet radio/spotify/google play music. In my opinion it's bit too much to give up this time around.

I will be watching as this unfolds and the s4's get tested with more earphones.

I'll have to shop around for new headphones if I were to get the S4. I use my N4 and any phone I have for pretty much everything, watching videos, listening to music although I have a Sony walkman too. It's the convenience of having a phone that does everything and I agree with you with the all you can eat data and everything else that a phone can do it is a bit too much to give up, as the playback on the S4 is supposed to be tremendous.

I'll be watching too and keep looking for earphones that do not exhibit the problem when plugged into a S4.

 

[Nexus18]

oh don't forget airview I love airview, it's just a shame that it's only samsung apps and select few others (flipboard for example) that support it. I'd love to see it rolled out to other apps, launchers for example. I'm looking at you, nova!

Yeah airview is great and definitely has a lot of potential but as you said, we have to trust/rely upon the app developers to actually implement the features and well they aren't exactly the best at this especially when it only applies to a very small number of handsets i.e. look at how long it has taken them to update to the ICS guidelines and then half of them still haven't bothered properly tweaking their app to hide/remove the 3 dot menu button for the one series/one phone.

 

[kona786]

For now I'll have to cross the S4 off the list.

It doesn't leave too many phones to look at this year, I just hope the Nexus 5 will be the saviour for 2013

stoosh - you have to try it for yourself mate, there's no point listening to the weirdo's down at XDA and basing a decision off that.

Buy it, have a proper play and fiddle yourself, then return it if you don't like it.

 

[Nexus18]

weirdo's down at XDA

hehe So true

 

[Robbo]

I was surprised how good the S4 was to be fair, get one (if you haven't already?) stoosh. I don't think you'll regret it.

 

[Brackish]

I spent a day playing with a HTC One that my mate has and have to say I really did not like it. Spent 30 mins playing with the S4 and got on with it instantly.

Sounds odd but I found the beats audio on the One a complete joke, not only did it put too much bass it killed the high and midrange which maybe is good for dance or bass music but for music like classical it just did not work. I came from a Nexus S with Poweramp and Denon in ears to the S4 and have to say the S4 is spot on for my eq settings with the Denons and all my music is FLAC too.

Just my mini experiences

 

[james.miller]

Bracish, what denons are you using? have you noticed any distortion at all?

 

[matt100]

Why are people still buying it for this sort of money when you can get it for £430 from O2 and get them to unlock it for free

http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/samsung-galaxy-s4-429-o2-1546082?page=10#post17999258

numerous reasons spring to mind

1) Its still an O2 phone full of any O2 bloatware they feel like putting on there
2) I expect they'll make a fuss about unlocking it free, they may well still do it but it might not be immediate
3) Even unlocked I believe you're still at the whim of whether O2 want to send you updates (unless you want to root and flash which I do pretty much out of the box but for some reason thats a big issue for some people)
4) The terms and conditions on this could easily change, this still looks very much like a loophole that O2 may close

But the main reason to my mind would be you still have to go through the whole business of being credit checked, having proofs of ID, calling O2 and cancelling at the right time and having them be fine with that, again this seems very much like a loophole, whilst you can infer from their terms that you can cancel immediately and some people have certainly managed it I really don't think it would be a big deal for O2 to change that aspect and make you wait a month for example, or 3 months, or make a certain number of phone calls etc, they're not advertising this as CANCEL ON DAY ONE GET CHEAP PHONE!!!

Plus every credit check you do makes your file worse, pass or fail so you go to all this fuss and potentially get yourself into a situation where you can't get credit for something you really need to perhaps save yourself £100.

No thanks!

 

[stoosh]

stoosh - you have to try it for yourself mate, there's no point listening to the weirdo's down at XDA and basing a decision off that.

Buy it, have a proper play and fiddle yourself, then return it if you don't like it.

hehe So true

I was surprised how good the S4 was to be fair, get one (if you haven't already?) stoosh. I don't think you'll regret it.

Thanks fellas, you are all the voice of reason and I'll take on board your advice. The S4 is back on the list again. I really appreciate your comments.

I really must stop visiting XDA, it scares me....

 

[Ryan-3]

Don't base your opinions on the majority of reviews as most of them had early software (1.29 brought very nice improvements overall) and/or pre-production units.

It certainly isn't sub-par

I personally havn't got the 1.29 update yet, but after getting familiar with the way the camera works, you can take some very good shots in all light conditions with the One's camera. The wide-angle front camera is also a very good feature, you get 5 people into the screen at once with ease. So neither are sub-par

 

[Ixon]

£519.30 with staff discount , it actually cheaper than i paid for the S3 last year by about £10, because at the time work didn't have the Pebble blue , also this is the second batch to be shipped into the UK, so finger crossed it isn't as bad as the first shipment build quality wise, can live with the software bugs till they get sorted.

 

[Brackish]

Bracish, what denons are you using? have you noticed any distortion at all?

They are ACH260. Paid about £25 in an emergency purchase as my old ones at the time has failed lol but they have been solid and stood up to the abuse really well.

Hmm might just shop around for some new ones again!

I have not noticed any distortion but I will use them in work tonight and see if they do or do not. (Oh the S4 has a drastically higher volume than the Nexus S but I do not listen to it on full whack.

 

[Matteysan]

That's not good news at all. So at the end of the day it's down to the consumer to find and use high impedance headphones to avoid the distortion issue!

The sound problem is a deal breaker for me, didn't the S2 use a DAC that wasn't Wolfson and the S3 (non international version) used Qualcomm DAC right?

I wonder if the Exynos S4 suffers from the same problem, it'll be interesting to see if it's down to Qualcomm's chipset or Samsung messing up on their side of things.

For now I'll have to cross the S4 off the list.

It doesn't leave too many phones to look at this year, I just hope the Nexus 5 will be the saviour for 2013

Yeah the S2 used a Yahama DAC which was awful! Even more so that it was completely closed source too. One of the reasons that made me get rid of the phone.