Samsung is already on its fourth iteration of its highly popular and successful Galaxy S line. It is now pretty obvious that the Galaxy line made Samsung the No. 1 smartphone brand worldwide. With competition inching closer, the question remains if Samsung can maintain the wide lead. Read our Samsung Galaxy S4 review to find out.
The Galaxy S4 comes in a number of variant combinations — White Frost and Black Mist colors as well as Exynos or Snapdragon chip with either 3G/HSPA+ or LTE, depending on the region.
For the Philippines, we are expecting both the Exynos and Snapdragon variant with LTE but for the purpose of this review we are using the Snapdragon 600 model in White Frost.
Design and Construction.
The Galaxy S4 did not depart much from the design of its predecessor, the Galaxy S3. There were a lot of refinements introduced but the basic size and form factor remained almost the same.
Side by side: Galaxy S4 and Galaxy S3
In order to add that 0.199 inches of display (diagonally), Samsung tried to narrow down the size of the bezel. There’s probably a millimeter or two shaved off from the side and about half a centimeter extension towards the home button at the bottom end.
This approach allowed the Galaxy S4 to have a smaller foot-print compared to the other 5-inch, full HD smartphones that have been released earlier (i.e., HTC Butterfly, Sony Xperia Z). In some instances, because of the relatively smaller body, it might give people the impression that it has a smaller display size. That impression could either work for or against the Galaxy S4, depending on who’s looking for what.
In hindsight, by retaining the body size, the Galaxy S4 ended up being more comfortable on the hands. It fits right well and does not overwhelm on prolonged use. Compared to the HTC Butterfly or the Xperia Z, we can still hold and type an SMS with one hand instead of two, effortlessly. Again, this is subjective as it will depend on the size of your hands and the comfort level of using one or both hands.
The finish has a unique texture design that reminds us of the patterns used in the Nexus 4 and Optimus G (with the S4, though, the pattern is both at the back and front). The pattern beneath the polished exterior is more subtle and will only be prominent at a certain angle.
The power button is found in the right side of the device while the volume rocker is on the left. The 3.5mm headphone jack is on the top side along with a noise-canceling microphone and an IR Blaster. At the front is the physical home button flanked by two soft buttons for Menu and Back. The 2.1-megapixel front-facing camera is on the top corner and paraded by 3 more sensors.
At the rear are the 13-megapixel camera with the LED flash just below it as well as the speaker grills at the bottom left corner.
The device less plasticky compared to the Galaxy S3 despite the fact that they use the same polycarbonate materials. The silver trimming around the corners look and feels metallic but it’s also polycarbonate as well. The S4 feels more compact and has that premium feel to it. The glossy body can be slippery especially if you have sweaty or oily palm.
Display.
Samsung’s makes their own display and they’ve fully invested in AMOLED/PLS technology so it is no surprise that they’ll employ a full HD 1080p Super AMOLED display on the Galaxy S4. This display type has been used for a long time already so it’s nothing new except for the fact that Samsung packed it with a twice more pixels.
With a pixel density of 441ppi, the Galaxy S4 stands side-by-side the HTC Butterfly and the Xperia Z with the highest resolution in any smartphone we’ve ever tested and reviewed.
Without a doubt, the S4 has one of the most impressive smartphone displays — rich and vibrant colors, wide viewing angles, high contrast and color saturation.
BB Z10, Galaxy S4, One X+, iPhone 5: Notice the bluish tint when the Galaxy S4 display is turned off.
Unfortunately, the only thing that we noticed though is displaying white color tends become a bit greenish/yellowish. This is evident once you place it side by side another display that uses an IPS panel (just launch a browser and set to a white blank page). Even in the off state, the screen has a bluish tinge to it. This is a characteristic that all other AMOLED displays have.
OS, Apps and UI.
Samsung has obviously placed a lot of focus on making their TouchWiz UI more palatable to the growing sophistication of Android users. The Galaxy S4 comes with Android 4.2.2 Jellybean right out of the box but Samsung made sure that their UI layer and the accompanying features can do so much more.
They highlighted four experiences and created apps to cater to them (Fun, Relationship, Life Task, Life Care). To some, it might just look like bloatware but there are instances that it could be useful or fun to use.
Of course, there are 3rd-party apps that function similarly which you can install in any Android smartphone. Samsung made sure that there are hardware sensors that go along with it so the features are more functional and accurate.
The built-in features might have equivalent 3rd-party apps in the Play Store but it’s nice to know that Samsung is doing way more than what a regular Android licensee is doing on the software front. Maybe, it is also Samsung’s way to diminish the brand value that Google is heavily imposing on the platform.
Usability seems to be getting a lot of attention with Samsung and as such, features like Smart Scroll, Smart Pause, S Translator, and Air Gestures might come in handy in some rare cases. It’s a neat trick but we could not definitively point if it’s a genius stroke of modern usability or just a complex gesture of gimmickry.
For the usual texting and calling, the virtual keyboard and keypad of the S4 works well, although we wish the qwerty keys were wider. We we’re thoroughly impressed that Samsung manages to kick in Android 4.2.2 Jellybean right out of the box when most other handsets struggle at getting 4.1 at launch.
Multimedia & Camera.
Perhaps one of the most comprehensive developments Samsung has ever made for the Galaxy S4 was its multimedia features. It is the very first flagship smartphone from Sammy to sport an IR blaster (following the likes of the Galaxy Note 10.1, Note 8.0, Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus). If you have a nice Samsung LED TV at home, the IR Blaster (Samsung WatchON) could get very handy. In some cases, it can also control certain cable boxes and DVD players.
[fancygallery id=”8″ album=”8″]
The 13-megapixel shooter does not add anything optically superior to other Galaxy phones like the S3 or the Note 2, except obviously for the bump in the megapixels. What makes it more exciting for regular customers though is the plethora of camera tricks it can do — Sound & Shot, Dual Camera, Drama Shot, Story Album. Our favorite is the anti-photobombing feature.
Same goes with the video recording. It’s the first time we’ve seen the rear and front-facing camera capture video at the same time, and at 1080p resolution.
The rear and front camera of the S4 are already very good but if you’ve been using the S3 or the Note for sometime, don’t expect any more improvement that what you’ve been getting.
Group Play, a feature that allows you to share and play music from one S4 to multiple other S4 devices all at the same time, is also something we wanted to test out but that requires several Galaxy S4 to demonstrate.
Performance and Benchmarks.
The Galaxy S4 performs really well, navigation and transitions are smooth, has efficient multi-tasking while running all other sensors at the background.
Our Quadrant benchmark places the S4 i9505 at the top of the heap with a score of 12,413. For Antutu Benchmark, the S4 i9505 got a whooping 28,444, the highest score we’ve ever seen anywhere. We did expect the NenaMark 2 score of 60.2fps so nothing surprising there.
The Galaxy S4 manages to cut thru anything we throw at it, from graphics-intensive games to full HD movies even while a dozen other apps are running on the background. The split screen function allows for two active windows to simultaneously work and even if both apps are resource-intensive, we didn’t see the unit choked for even a second.
Call Quality, Connectivity and Battery Life.
After about two weeks of using the Galaxy S4, we’ve never had a single problem with calls or SMS although that’s really dependent on the location and network (we used a Globe LTE nano-SIM from our iPhone 5). Calls are clear and crisp, same as with sending and receiving SMS. The old Samsung call features such as Direct Call does work its wonders (especially when you’re driving).
As for connectivity, we’re pretty satisfied with the speed the LTE network gave us — our highest downlink speed was 26Mbps and highest uplink speed was 17Mbps (using Globe LTE). NFC has made it more convenient to pair and transfer files on the go, although we sometimes hit a bump when doing the tap-dance with other brands/OS (like in the case of the BB Z10).
As for battery life, the 2600mAh Li-Ion battery does a good job at getting us a full day of moderate to heavy use; a little over a day for casual to moderate use; and a total of about 4-5 hours when used solely as WiFi hotspot running on LTE.
What we did to standardize our battery bench was to run a 1 hour & 45-minute movie (1080p MP4) in a loop at 50% brightness and 0% audio volume (to simulate usage when on headphones). The battery stress test gave us an average of 11.5 hours of movie playback.
For mobile connectivity, we are able to register a high of 26Mbps downlink and 17Mbps for uplink using the LTE nano-SIM from Globe. We believe the S4 is also the first handset to have the WiFi 802.11ac standard that offers high-bandwidth speeds on the 5GHz band. This will prove useful when streaming content to other devices, like a TV, over WiFi network.
Conclusion.
It’s pretty obvious Samsung is putting more focus now on the software aside from the hardware. This is evident with the new TouchWiz UI, the loaded Camera App, the multitude of environmental sensors (barometer, temperature, humidity), and the polishing of the ecosystem and user-experience.
It would have been easy to conclude that the Galaxy S4 is merely a more polished and well-designed version of the Galaxy S3, and in some aspects, it holds true. However, we think Samsung has moved on to the next layer of perfecting their handsets while competitors are just starting to catch up on the hardware front.
Nevertheless, we think the Galaxy S4 has almost everything any customer would expect from a flagship device — an impressive set of hardware, a more refined design, a polished user-interface, a great camera plus all the bells and whistles that Samsung can think of (yes, we see a hint of Apple-envy here).
With a suggested retail price of Php30,990USD 528INR 44,768EUR 503CNY 3,846, we believe Samsung will continue to sell a gazillion of these babies this year.
Samsung Galaxy S4 i9505 specs:
4.99-inch display full HD Super AMOLED @ 1920x1080p, 441ppi
Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 1.9GHz quad-core
Adreno 320 Graphics
2GB LP-DDR3 RAM
16, 32GB, 64GB
Up to 64GB microSD
HSPA+, LTE 100Mbps (6 bands)
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n/ac, dual-band WiFi Direct
Bluetooth 4.0
GPS w/ aGPS support
NFC
IR Blaster
13MP autofocus, rear camera with LED flash
1080p video recording @ 30fps
2MP front-facing camera
1080p video recording @ 30fps
7.9mm
Li-Ion Battery 2600mAh
Android 4.2.2 Jellybean
What we liked about it:
* Top-notch performance
* Very high display resolution
* Great camera performance and features
* High-speed LTE connectivity
* NFC functions and features
* IR Blaster
* Good battery life
What we did not like:
* More gimmicky features and bloatware
YugaTech.com is the largest and longest-running technology site in the Philippines. Originally established in October 2002, the site was transformed into a full-fledged technology platform in 2005.
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Kenneth says:
it’s the first review i have seen for the Galaxy S4. I must say, great review as always.
John says:
First review? Gsmarena already has a Galaxy S4 review for almost a month now! It is also much more thorough and comprehensive than this review.
“As for battery life, the 2600mAh Li-Ion battery does a good job at getting us a full day of moderate to heavy use; a little over a day for casual to moderate use; and a total of about 4-5 hours when used solely as WiFi hotspot running on LTE.”
Ugh. Amateur. Or lazy. Or both.
Yugatech is clearly the best Filipino tech blog, but they still spew subpar reviews. Same lang ng mga walang kwentang review ng mga iba’t ibang Pinoy tech blogs dyan. Maka-blog lang. Sus.
John John John says:
HIndi lahat nagbabasa ng GSM arena, yung iba dito nalang tumitingin kaya huwag mong ilagay ang sarili mo sa iba dahil may iba pang pinagkaka abalahan hindi lang ang magbasa ng review.
wala din perfect blog. pa share nga ng blog mo please? thanks :-)
Optimus G2 says:
never trust GsmArena they are BIAS AND FAVORITISM.
http://www.engadget.com
IS MORE RELIABLE SITE AND FAIR SITE.
Grammar Nazi says:
Optimus G2, you meant “biased and practices favoritism”? :)
JustAThought says:
hmm..
how about not liking the finish of the phone..
the bluish tint you mentioned with the screen etc..
shoulda plugged a head phone instead of using 0% volume..
Hello says:
Well he did mention that the finish felt more premium than the S3 and I believe that would mostly be subjective although I do agree that if it is compared with other flagships the design falls flat. As for the bluish tint, that’s a problem that all AMOLEDs have. Samsung also gives options whether you want the screen to have a more saturized look or a more natural one.
Ivan Fernan says:
Samsung Galaxy S4 i9505 specs:
4.99-inch display full HD Super AMOLED @ 1920x1080p, 441ppi
Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 1.9GHz quad-core
Adreno 320 Graphics
2GB LP-DDR3 RAM
16, 32GB, 64GB
Up to 64GB microSD
HSPA+, LTE 100Mbps (6 bands)
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n/ac, dual-band WiFi Direct
Bluetooth 4.0
GPS w/ aGPS support
NFC
IR Blaster
13MP autofocus, rear camera with LED flash
1080p video recording @ 30fps
2MP front-facing camera
1080p video recording @ 30fps
7.9mm
Li-Ion Battery 2600mAh
Android 4.2.2 Jellybean
its only Quad Core only?? not Octa Core?
Brian says:
Yes. The i9505 is only Quad core. The i9500 is the octa-core. There are two variants. It’s explained up there.
garz says:
It’s not really octa-core. It’s more like a dual quad-core.
Justin says:
@Ivan: The octa-core CPU is from Samsung’s own Exynos chip. As stated by the author, the review they did was of the Snapdragon 600 variant.
Josh says:
Great review, as always. Full and comprehensive. You are one lucky man to hold an S4! Thanks Sir Abe!
yogs says:
excellent review, abe!
htc one pa rin though! =P
chinitoguy says:
Wow! The first Filipino tech blog site with the review of Samsung Galaxy S4! I must agree with Abe here. There are so many gimmicky features that makes it more complicated for some users. Its still the same old Samsung UI but its getting cluttered with bloatware. I hope Samsung could come up with UI that’s simple to use but not boring just like the iPhone 5 or Windows Phone.
johnonline says:
tempted… but must resist… dami pang dapat bayaran eh.. :-)
sana mura na xa by September or mas okay kung may Note 3 at X Phone na nun para mas may choices…
silencio says:
basically nothing new.
since wala pang bago naiisip ang Apple, wala pa sila magaya.
Justin says:
@silencio: I love your comment, bro. It makes you sound like a complete imbecile.
…. ‘silencio’ ka na lang. :)
silencio says:
justin,
atleast i don’t go around calling other people, especially someone i do not know, “imbecile”.
The review itself gives the idea that there’s nothing new… just “improved stuff”. nothing ground-breaking.
that’s my opinion. and i’m free to voice it out.
dudetastic says:
Parang namang may pagbabago sa Apple. Di ba ganon naman din sila puro “improved stuff”
aaron says:
kapag nagbabasa ako ng blog, tapos nacompare ang android sa IOS, bakit kaya laging may masasakit na salita galing sa android user, tulad dito imbecile kagad daw…
(nakakahawa ba yan kapag nag-android ako?)
pero sa mga IOS user, comment lang, may respeto kung magsalita…
buti na lang naka5110 pa ko…
hays, ano kaya ang kauna-unahang bibilhin kong smartphone?
may kasabihan nga:
“i may not agree with what you are saying, but i will defend your right to say it”
mang kanor says:
bakit ano na ba nagawa nang apple na kagaya-gaya nitong mga nakaraang release nila?? sige nga… ano??? ung pagiging boring ng iphone?? wag ka na panot…
silencio says:
ivan,
i kinda noticed that also. “imbecile” at “panot”.
sige na nga, ang ganda-ganda ng S4 at Touchwhiz UI.
pero added knowledge for you mang kanor.
1. Apple revolutionized the mobile “smartphone” handset category.
2. invented the iOS system (which is now being emulated by Touchwhiz UI and other proprietary systems by other companies)
3. Samsung officers have already admitted owning Apple devices to further “understand” the environment so that they can “improve” their own environment.
mang kanor says:
panay ka revolutionized of mobile chorva.. saang kuweba ka ba nagtago?? 2013 na ngayon.. yan sinasabi mo eh nung 2007 pa.. tignan mo ang current na release ang iphone5 at gs4. tanga ka kung sasabihin mong mas maganda overall ang iphone5.
raffi says:
mang kanor, oo 2007 pa yung sinasabi ni silencio pero 2013 na di pa rin maachive ng samsung mo yung ecosystem ng iOS. and please, paki-ayos naman yung mga comment mo. ang barbaric eh.
Yusuf says:
It’s so beautiful. Shit.
Cipher says:
“With a pixel density of 441ppi, the Galaxy S4 stands side-by-side the HTC Butterfly and the Xperia Z with the highest resolution in any smartphone.”
fail! HTC One has 468 ppi FYI
Abe Olandres says:
Sorry, the sentence was not completed. It’s supposed to be “any smartphone we’ve ever tested or reviewed”.
Newman says:
Any inside news if globe will release the Exynos variant?
Abe Olandres says:
I’ve just confirmed with Globe that they will release the Snapdragon variant since that’s the one that’s compatible with their LTE network.
Newman says:
Does this mean that they will not release the Exynos variant?
Abe Olandres says:
Not with the telco but Samsung PH might sell on retail an Exynos Octa with 3G.
Brian says:
Sir Abe. How sure that they’re gonna sell the Exynos Octa version of this here in the Philippines especially on the first day of selling. Planning to buy on the release date.
Brian says:
And will they sell a 32 and 64 GB variants or only 16 GB? THANKS!
Abe Olandres says:
No word yet on the Exynos Octa.
iphone s4 says:
exynos octa sana para more powerful…mura lang dito sa dubai hehe around 28k pesos and its exynos octa chip not snapdragon :)
zarne says:
SIR YUGA, I read somewhere that the “Octacores” which is a set of 2 quad cores, do not and can not run all the 8 cores simultaneously. One quad cores assigned to lighter tasks and the other quad assigned to work for heavier tasks. If this is the case, then I would say that the “Octa core” do not run any faster than its sibling’s quad core snap dragon CPU’s since the former is limited to running only 4 cores at at time. Sir Yuga, Please correct me if I am wrong. I think Samsung did an overkill on the Specs like putting an 8 cylinder engine in the car, then put a cap in the speedometer. Brilliant Marketing ploy.
Andy says:
Sa mga haters ng Apple. They are the one who did revolutionize mobile phones and siguro kaya mo hate ang iPhone kasi you can’t afford one. Ganon maman talaga di ba.
Potato says:
afford naman, mas pinili lang talaga namin ung android OS , bulok kasi yung IOS
skipper says:
@Andy: Kudos to you for the having dumbest comment here. Your ability to reason reflects your choice of device.
isklamowsyon says:
@andy,sir can afford naman ako sadyang ayaw ko lang ng apple product lalo na yang iphone para sa kin pag lalake iphone ang hawak eh BAKLA ganon lang kasimple.
mowshon iskla says:
@isklamowsyon: kung mag comment ka para kang nagger na housewife na may rollers at makapal ang make up
isklamowsyon says:
^
bakit yan ba itsura mo ngayon? mukhang nadale ka bading ah,hahaha ouch!
mang kanor says:
iphone? ung boring na phone na gamit ng mga feeling mayaman na di na tumutulong sa mga magulang makabili lang ng iphone??
CompactAndroid says:
In terms of ease of handling, how does it fare against the Xperia ZL?
Abe Olandres says:
The S4 is much thinner so even if they have the same width, S4 is more comfortable.
Optimus G2 says:
pangit talaga ang design ng mga samung phones.
kaya di ko talag magustuhan mga samsung phones kasi ang design ay kasama sa top-4 hanap ko sa smartphone.
top-4 hanap hanap ko sa smartphone;
1 design/hardware
2 battery
3 camera/video
4 FRIENDLY PRICE
it’s LG!
Jimer says:
waaaaaa… ano na gagawin ko sa old smarthphone ko.. bakit ba kayo ganyan.. tama na, please… marami pa akong babayaran… ngayon e2 n naman.. nakaka addict na kayo talaga..
roycearellano says:
IMO, iPhone5 looks the ugliest (design) side by side in that photo above. But I can’t just hide or deny the fact that the Blackberry Flow and Hub of the Z10 is something Blackberry nailed, setting aside the other downside of it. I wish my Android and iOS devices have flow.
zarne says:
So many beautiful phones to choose from. The Samsung S4 is excellent, but for a telecommunication devise, the phone for me is the BB Q10. Read the reviews, the keyboard shortcuts are amazing. Just my personal preference for a phone. I have Ios and android devices for Apps. and games.
Mark says:
does the S4 come with the Photosphere feature? or will they release this with the note 3/ android 5.0?
Mark says:
sir Yuga, does the S4 come with the Photosphere feature? or will they release this with the note 3/ android 5.0?
any news on when they might release the s4? :)
tarush says:
The timing of the release of the Samsung flagship phones is not that good.
This is the time when the expenses are at the highest level
Enrollment is just around the corner
They could have chosen a December release
But wait, iPhones sell like hot cakes during that time.
Albert says:
I want one, but I’m also waiting for Google/Motorola, let’s see what they can come up with.
abuzalzal says:
Boss yuga…anong klaseng video codec at anong resolution yung video file na na play?
You should’ve tested both 720p and 1080p para okey
Abe Olandres says:
1080p MP4, added that to the line above.
AvidReader says:
Nice review sir abe.
May I suggest that you add playback performance of 720p and 1080p Hi10p (10-bit) files in your video test to see how much newer handsets can handle.
dj says:
Who has better display? Htc butterfly or samsung s4? Coz between butterfly and experia z I find the butterfly display more stunning, so wondering if s4 can beat the butterfly’s display?
abuzalzal says:
Samsung Amoleds are not for everybody, may pros and cons yan…like hindi “paper white” ang pag render ng white web pages kundi warm yellow/ish… too contrasty din sa HD videos (which is bad) dahil natatabunan yung mga details kung minsan
That being said, when viewing pictures off the web or reading pdf magazines, I prefer the warm look and deep jet blacks of of Amoleds
Horses for courses, kanya kanyang specialty lang yan
Kel101 says:
@abuzalzal, agree with that statement regarding to the AMOLED screen, but I think there is now an option to tune down the contrast to a more realistic color.
Jesicca says:
Most of celebs are using iPhone. So bading si Bradd Pitt. What a conclusion guys. Ang dami palang bading. JT, Dingdong Dantes nako look at teitter sino nagtwrtweet using their iPhone. Hala halos lahat bading.
Optimus G2 says:
NO QUESTION SA I-PHONE5 its okay, pewede sa lalaki, at pwede sa babae at bading pero ang probelama OVER PRICING lng ksi binabawi nila ang billion na pera na ginagastos sa world wide advertisement…
maganda ang i-phones kasi LG ‘s true hd ips + display ang gamitn nila na tinawag nilang “RETINA DISPLAY” its actually made by LG-DISPLAY…
AT IN FAIRNESS MAGANDA RIN DESIGN NG I-PHONE5.
PARANG inspired by LG’S PRADA lng ah…
i love LG & APPLE
I LOVE OPTIMUS G & I-PHONE5.
isklamowsyon says:
@jessica,ang sabi ko “pata sa kin” opinyon ko yun baka naman babae ka na mukhang bading? hahaha palagay ko pag foreigner ok lang iphone carry nya,pero pag pinoy? trying hard eh,bakla sa panigin ko,yun lang.
sago says:
Bading ho yan na nagpapanggap na macho para masabing lalaki.
Yewyew says:
Grabe yung ganda ng specs nito… Sa specs talagang taob si iPhone5 dito, pero sa itsura mas gusto ko BBZ10. Para naman sa nagsasabing boring ang iphone/iOS siguro di pa kayo nakagamit ng jailbroken iOS device, tons of tweaks pra mamaximize paggamit (thinking of “activator, springtomize, bbsetting”), alam yan ng mga naka iphone na nagjailbreak at marunong gumamit ng cydia hahaha. Ung iba kc ang alam kaya lng nagjailbreak para ung paid apps libre, boring talaga yun. Pero pag alam mo na gamitin ang cydia sobrang daming pedeng gawin sa iOS.. Kailangan mo nga lng i-jailbreak hahaha… Btw i have both android and iOS device.
dj says:
Merun n kaya mga demo units we can play with at samsung mobile stores? Best to see this in person and see if it really lives up to the hype.:-). When kaya?
Glenn says:
punta ka sa globe store, me naka display na silang s4 dun, ive tried one super smooth sya pero wala pang mga games na pwede mong i test since walang account na naka setup :D
Samsungot says:
Mas maganda pa din ang iPhone 5 ko jan. Plastic lang yan, eh yun iPhone 5 ko aluminium. Mas magaganda pa ang apps sa iOS. Gaya gaya pa lagi ang Samsung sa Apple.
Brian says:
Gaya-gaya? Di mo alam na ang ginagamit na screen ng iPhone ay gawa ng Samsung? Haha!
brun: says:
Burn!!!!!!!!!!! some of your iphone components is made by samsung so Iphone is a Samsung adapted child hahaha
SamsungAllTheWay says:
d mo alam ung chip ng iphone mo gawa ng Samsung hahahaha. eh kasi, mas superior tlaga ang samsung.
Pendong says:
Pinagmamalaki mo aluminum na iPhone 5? lahat ng bagay kahit bakal pa yan nasa gumagamit lang minsan factory defect talaga… Heto aluminum mo nag bend wahahahhaha…. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7_AS_9z0IU&feature=player_embedded
jayson says:
Hi, alam mo bang nilampaso ng S4 ko ang iphone5 mo sa lahat ng benchmark apps sa market. ows sorry, ip5 cant even beat htc one and z10 when it comes to performance. pero I’ll agree with you in one thing, maganda talaga ang built ng ip5 kasi aluminum sya. pero casing lang yan anung magagawa nyan? hahaha. solid s4 user!!! super satisfied ako sa octacore version!!!!
Mae says:
lol funny comments. :D I had an iphone 5 before yung aluminum bilis magfade at magka dents. i switched to S4 :)
red says:
sa omega hd ako… can’t afford the g4. :)
Samsungot says:
Mas maganda pa din ang iPhone ko jan. Plastic lang yan, eh yun sa akin aluminium. Mas magaganda pa ang apps sa iOS. Gaya gaya pa lagi ang Samsung sa Apple.
Pendong says:
Aluminum aluminum kapa dyan nag bebend naman wahahahah… Try mo Google iPhone 5 bend… Heto pa video mo… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7_AS_9z0IU&feature=player_embedded
CoolerTHANcool says:
Congratulation for yugatech team,., its been 5 months since mag start ako na yugatech nalang binabrowse ko website for info of whats new in our technology today,., xempre meron ding iba but different interest like motorcyclephilippines, mga groups for civil engr, etc,., this is my first comment here,., im currently using iphone 4s, (sa mga nagcocomment po jan pls dont hate me :) ) since sgs4 topic, and from ur review, i think its an outstanding phone if not the best,., if compare to my iphone, its already a fact that tech improvements are taking a great leap in innovations,., so il expect in coming months maluluma din ito,., ganun din nangyari sa iphone 4s, haha,., as for me, my iphone serves me well, everything is simple, and it still a phone nonetheless,.,
More power to yugattech and congrats,.,
Marc says:
For me, HTC One over this.
Mitee says:
HTC One > Xperia Z > S4
Yusuf says:
Xperia Z? Why?
Mitee says:
somehow i feel like s4 was just an annual release. just for the sake of releasing something
at least with the xperia z you could see they were trying for something(water proof, camera, music).
Name: jayson says:
hi mitee, have you compared experia z and gs4 side by side? coz speaking about the camera yes they are both 13mp but the z has some issues about the camera. i cant feel it is a 13mp and besides comapre to s4 it has a yellowish tint/filter when camera is turn on.
Yusuf says:
I’m getting this just because it has LTE.
Essy says:
I’m so sorry for this silly question… Could I use my iPhone 5’s nano sim on the S4? Does the S4 use the same sim size as the iPhone 5? Thanks!
Kim says:
iPhone 5 uses Nanosim while S4 uses Microsim, you can use and microsim adapter for your nanosim so it will fit on your S4. :)
Mikaela says:
Good review from Yuga as always.
fat internet guy says:
brb gonna sell my iphone 5
myphone says:
Haha why u no love for myphone!!!!!!! haha only show love to foreign made devicessss!!!
paul e. says:
ummm… myphone isn’t locally made. rebranded lang po.
so sorry to burst your bubble. ;)
raffi says:
bakit kaya ang barbaric mag-comment ng mga android users dito at ang babaw mag-rason ng mga iOS users. pwede bang gamitin nyo nalang yung OS na kung saan kayo mas comfortable? ganun lang naman kasimple eh, bakit kailangan pa mag away away? be mature! respect others opinions.
Jimmy says:
Usually, iSheeps start the squabble. They become VERY insecure when new Android phones come with better features than their beloved iPhone.
JohnRoyCruz says:
I just wanna say that the specs is not the only thing that would matter when it comes to experience. I have used apple 4 4s and 5. But i am currently using note 2. Only because it’s battery lasts for a day on heavy use. Samsung has to invest on powerful hardware specs to have a more seamless connection with the OS which Apple doesnt need. I honestly think the touch experience in apple devices is way better than samsung despite running on a more conservative hardware than samsung’s android devices.
JP says:
As a user of both GN2 and iPhone 4s. I must admit both have certain strengths and weaknesses.
A jailbroken ios device trumps a stock android. But a rooted android device tops a jailbroken ios device. A jailbroken ios device hasa lot to offer especially if you maximize its potential by adding specific tweaks from various repositories. You just have to know their uses and capacities. Ios is fluid better than the jellybean 4.2’s project butter. But sometimes apps crash on ios due to the small ram. Gn2 on the other hand is fluid but not as, compared to the ios’, but apps running don’t crash that very often.
You must experience both devices before you can say one is the better device. Maximize the potentials of both devices and use it according to your specific needs.
SamsungAllTheWay says:
Imma buy this one bahala na almost similar to the S3 ang design but for performance’ sake! haha. Android is truly better than any other platforms and will continue being the best, i guess :)
Mokong says:
Sige magpatayan kayo para kayong mga ewan dahil sa specs ng mga phone napaghahalataan kayo. Puro mga kayabangan.
Amit says:
Had an S3 6 months back and it gave me problems from teh day i opened it. Wi-fi wouldnt work unless u r in the same room as the router. The Samsung service people say its a software error!!!! Then comes a display problem with a pink spot on the corner of the screen. I handled the phone like its a part of my life after shelling out almost 32k but the service ppl say its user damage!!! So since the service centre is just sitting there to provide reasons and actually not provide service i decided to discard off the phone for abt 15k.
Mln says:
I have read that even if it says 16gb, only about 9gb is actually usable for apps. The rest is used by the pre installed samsung apps. Is there any way to get rid of the apps that we do not want?
TriadWarfare says:
I’m an owner of a Samsung Galaxy Note II. Everything is great except for the internal memory. You can’t put apps in the microSD card unless you root it. I don’t want to take that path ever since what happened to my sister’s Note I (w/c had the brick bug)
Hopefully, I wanted to replace my Note II for a higher capacity SGS4. But Samsung Philippines seem to be lazy in releasing higher capacity models in the Philippine market, prompting buyers to go to the grey market and buy a unit that has no NTC seal. (Most of the online resellers sell the ‘imported’ version.)
Hopefully, Samsung will release a local version here that’s higher than 16GB.
jj says:
Nothing still beats the toughness of xperia z (water res,dust res,snow res)
Specs plus toughness = priceless
-> wait till honami comes out,it will blow evryrthing away
james says:
iPhone 5 is a cool phone, when your more into looks or trying to boast to other people that you have an iPhone
HTC one for me is the perfect phone. I can say nga good competitor ito ng iphone at samsung. But what sucks the most is their costumer service. Nagsisisi ako nung bumili ako ng phone nila.
Sa samsung s4 naman, ito ang napili ko sa lahat.. fast processor. Some features might be useless but depending nadin sa use nyo. Ako kasi mas gusto ko gamitin lahat ng features.
Sa xperia, wala akong masabi . Wala akong nababasang review eh and i think.i find it uncool.
In the end. It is urself who will decide what phone u will choose..
Ryt now im using htc sensation xe. They suck at costumer service. Want to have an s4 someday. Walang budget. Sana may magsponsor :)
jayson says:
hi james, you should get one. promise hindi ka magsisisi. at first super saya kasi sabi nila hindi maganda yung built ng phone but i disagree. kanya kanyang preference lang yan. the phone probably is the thinnest smartphone int the market. medyo hindi ako naing happy sa first 3 days kasi mabilis malowbatt tapos madrain ang battery. but last may 7 nakareceive ako ng firmware update and it solves those issues. in 15-20 mins meron ka na agad full charge battery tapos good for 2 days un depende sa gamit. best phone so far for me.
PS. Apple user as well.
Carlos says:
I hope the 32 gb variant would be released this month…
gj says:
hi! can you please (or already if i’m not browsing thoroughly) have a review for the octacore version of S4? i’m confused if i’ll buy a quadcore or the octacore. thanks!
alvin rubio says:
where can i buy prepaid samsung s4 with 64gb internal memory
StalkerMode says:
SHIT!!! i shit bricksss after seeing this and peeing silver after i read It Damn this device make me cum so much:)
montano abarico JR says:
i am montano abarico Jr i want dat samsung S4
Alec Chua says:
Samsung Galaxy S4 lags, when I tried, I press the wake button, it opened and when I swiped from left to right on the screen, it took a while. Camera takes a while to focus. My HTC Butterfly does not lag like that and mine is only 1.5ghz (quad-core). But Samsung has 1.9ghz (quad-core). That’s I don’t like Samsung, it lags a lot.
Tim Chung says:
I have an HTC and after a month the battery bloats, and the service center is asking for 20k for a damage MB, that Taiwanese product is cheap. and HTC after sales service sx
Chad says:
can you use the battery of samsung s3 to the s4?
leonardo lategan says:
No offense meant but my experience with sam has noticeable lag or lag in response. Sam s4 is nice though, but un lang may kunting lag.
In fairness wlang smooth sa implementation ng xperia sa android bukod sa sexy tlaga ang z at ultra. Maybe more sa z1. Ang bb nman mganda xa in her own right. Ok din ang ios sa mundo at confinemment ng andaming limitations nia.
What i am saying is, ang cellphone ay cellphone nagkataon lang n ang smartphone ay mad added features, but if gusto mo maglaro eh asan kapa kundi toshiba x series nka wireless kabit sa toshiba 3d tv may nkasaksak sa tenga mo na pioneer 3d headphones at wireless controls at hindi sa kaliit n smartphone.
unknown account says:
what about made in vietnam what do you think fake or original..
hizoka says:
galaxy s4 best smartphone ever
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BV1NKCW?_encoding=UTF8&camp=15041&creative=373501&linkCode=as3&tag=baesofamazon-20
Mae says:
I got the Samsung S4 in twilight pink. Bought it at SM cyberzone and the seller told me that it’s octacore pero walang LTE. May S4 ba talaga na ganun?
gamaguchi S says:
The Galaxy S4 did not depart much from the design of its predecessor, the Galaxy S3. There were a lot of refinements introduced but the basic size and form factor remained almost the same.
marsbahis says:
marsbahis tv