Galaxy S5 way better than expected

CHANG3D said:
I wonder what the touch latency is. Evidently, the One took the crown with 45ms touch latency, but they haven't tested the GS5 or Sony Z2 yet. Another victory over Apple! Android now needs more hardware optimization.
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I was curious about that too when I saw the One's crazy 45ms response time. The iPhone 5S had already been beaten in this category by the Note 3 and Xperia Z1 Compact though. This has been my only somewhat major complaint about my Note 2; the touch latency is noticeably slow. I'd guess around 150ms and it seems considerably slower than any other newer phone I've handled. It's still enjoyable to game on though, so it doesn't bug me that much.
 
mi7chy said:
Not only fast but, more importantly, it has to be accurate.

http://blog.gsmarena.com/tests-show-iphone-5s-and-5c-touchscreens-are-inaccurate/
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I'll be honest, I totally noticed this when I got my iPhone 5. I was wondering why the touch screen felt so inaccurate, the P and Q were pretty bad(0 as well). I have gotten used to it though I think, and it isn't much of an issue anymore. The auto correct is usually good enough to fix it, but I never knew it was really this bad. I hope they fix this shit on the iPhone 6.
 
QwertyJuan said:
For the record.... the touch screen on my 4s is ABOMINABLE.
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Well didn't they do a comparison test a while ago showing that iPhone touchscreens have poor accuracy?

This is what happens when you make your smartphones in China... sorry but manufacturing QC at Foxconn factories must be terrible. Unless of course Apple intentionally made the screens lacking in accuracy (I guess to cut costs).

Study finds iPhone 5s and 5c touchscreens inaccurate

http://blog.gsmarena.com/tests-show-iphone-5s-and-5c-touchscreens-are-inaccurate/

gsmarena_003.jpg
 
Arizonian7 said:
Well didn't they do a comparison test a while ago showing that iPhone touchscreens have poor accuracy?

This is what happens when you make your smartphones in China... sorry but manufacturing QC at Foxconn factories must be terrible. Unless of course Apple intentionally made the screens lacking in accuracy (I guess to cut costs).

Study finds iPhone 5s and 5c touchscreens inaccurate

http://blog.gsmarena.com/tests-show-iphone-5s-and-5c-touchscreens-are-inaccurate/

gsmarena_003.jpg
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I am truly just shocked at how bad it is at typing. Launching apps or games with large buttons?? No issues at ALL. However... using the keyboard?? I want to throw the thing across the room at least 5 times a day.

I got this thing 1 1/2 years ago from work... ALL the Apple Zealots told me how INCREDIBLE the screen was(as far as resolution and colour accuracy it is), however, for typing accuracy?? It's atrocious.

P.S. THEN with the iOS7 autocorrect?? It's even WORSE. I've seen it take words that were spelled CORRECTLY... THEN I go and start typing the NEXT word and it will go back and change the CORRECT WORD to an INCORRECT WORD. Seriously?!?!?!? Perhaps if I was like "MOST" Apple users and NEVER used Android with Swiftkey or Swype, I wouldn't know any better and "assume" I was using the best keyboarding experience. However, I'm not like "most" Apple users and I also own a Nexus 7 and realize how poor the Apple keyboard and autocorrect actually is.
 
Friendly reminder: many of the phones you praise that aren't Apple's are made in China, too. Heck, there was a "made in China" mention on the Galaxy Note 2 box when I had it -- Samsung definitely makes some of its phones there. The issue is more a matter of part choices and screen size. I'm fine with the iP5, but I have an easier time selecting tiny things on the One M8 and Nexus 5.
 
My Note 2 along with battery are Made in South Korea. At least with non-Apple brands like Samsung you have a choice and its beneficial to those who are informed about world events and factor that into their purchasing decision. Plus, South Korean quality is better.
 
Of course US carriers have to castrate the phone a bit. I hope there's a root method of re-enabling this back on the phone. I would use the shit out of it just to spite Verizon since I'm still on unlimited data.

Kinda messed up. They should have just made Samsung disable the feature by default, giving the users an option to enable it if they want.
 
mi7chy said:
My Note 2 along with battery are Made in South Korea. At least with non-Apple brands like Samsung you have a choice and its beneficial to those who are informed about world events and factor that into their purchasing decision. Plus, South Korean quality is better.
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Wow! You do realize that Apple sources their parts from all over. The main assembly takes place in China at Foxconn and Pegatron. The screen and the SoC they got from Japan and South Korea respectively. The screen is made by JDI, and the SoC is made by Samsung. Heck, majority of all Samsung products are now Made in China.

You will also find parts from Foxconn in practically all electronics.

In an unrelated note, http://www.businessweek.com/article...-alter-south-koreas-corporate-is-king-mindset

T4rd said:
Of course US carriers have to castrate the phone a bit. I hope there's a root method of re-enabling this back on the phone. I would use the shit out of it just to spite Verizon since I'm still on unlimited data.

Kinda messed up. They should have just made Samsung disable the feature by default, giving the users an option to enable it if they want.
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I'm surprised Sprint of all carriers did this. If anything, they need this to inflate their speedtest scores...

UPDATE: Guess what three things I have on my table right now.
 
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CHANG3D said:
I'm surprised Sprint of all carriers did this. If anything, they need this to inflate their speedtest scores...
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Yeah, didn't make sense to me either. Unlimited data is really the only thing Sprint has going for them.
 
So is the implementation of "Ok Google" the same on the S5 as the moto x? M8 does not have this capability? Honestly I'm still undecided, but the HTC sounds like it may have a better software mod cummunity? If the verizon S5 is going to be more locked down than the M8 I'lll probably get the M8. Otherwise I'll be tempted to get the Samsung for the bettre camera, wireless charging, and dust-proof cover (I go camping a lot at the dusty desert so this would be a nice thing to have, and just a removable battery in general)
 
Justintoxicated said:
So is the implementation of "Ok Google" the same on the S5 as the moto x? M8 does not have this capability? Honestly I'm still undecided, but the HTC sounds like it may have a better software mod cummunity?
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Pretty sure you won't be able to say "Ok Google" on TouchWiz itself. In Search, you can. The Google Experience Launcher is also not installable from the Play Store.

You also should avoid that 16 GB version of GS5.
 
CHANG3D said:
Pretty sure you won't be able to say "Ok Google" on TouchWiz itself. In Search, you can. The Google Experience Launcher is also not installable from the Play Store.

You also should avoid that 16 GB version of GS5.
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Unless Google or Samsung actively blocks GNL from installing on TWiz 4.4...GNL is otherwise installable from Play on pretty much any 4.4+ ROM.
 
Justintoxicated said:
So is the implementation of "Ok Google" the same on the S5 as the moto x? M8 does not have this capability? Honestly I'm still undecided, but the HTC sounds like it may have a better software mod cummunity? If the verizon S5 is going to be more locked down than the M8 I'lll probably get the M8. Otherwise I'll be tempted to get the Samsung for the bettre camera, wireless charging, and dust-proof cover (I go camping a lot at the dusty desert so this would be a nice thing to have, and just a removable battery in general)
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The Moto X is unique: it has an always-on chip that listens for the "OK Google" keyword even when the phone's asleep, so you can start a task from anywhere. The Google Experience command requires that the phone be awake and looking at your home screens, because it can't count on that hardware.
 
Aurelius said:
The Moto X is unique: it has an always-on chip that listens for the "OK Google" keyword even when the phone's asleep, so you can start a task from anywhere. The Google Experience command requires that the phone be awake and looking at your home screens, because it can't count on that hardware.
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Samsung S5 is also equipped with Audience ES704 advanced voice processor that supports Always-on VoiceQ which is equivalent to what the Moto X does.

http://www.audience.com/audience-news/press-releases/item/new-audience-es700-series-enables-new-class-of-always-on-mobile-devices

http://www.chipworks.com/en/technical-competitive-analysis/resources/blog/inside-the-samsung-galaxy-s5/

Even on phones without a dedicated Always-on VoiceQ voice processor you can still mimic that functionality with OpenMic+ app but since it has a higher battery drain it's probably a good idea to only enable it on phones with strong battery life like Note 3, Droid Maxx, etc.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.RSen.OpenMic.Pheonix
 
QwertyJuan said:
Foxconn has been making PC motherboards for YEARS!
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I know they assemble motherboards as I used to work for a company that partnered with them. Assembling a motherboard and making connectors do not count as making IC or even electronic components.
 
Aurelius said:
Friendly reminder: many of the phones you praise that aren't Apple's are made in China, too. Heck, there was a "made in China" mention on the Galaxy Note 2 box when I had it -- Samsung definitely makes some of its phones there. The issue is more a matter of part choices and screen size. I'm fine with the iP5, but I have an easier time selecting tiny things on the One M8 and Nexus 5.
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Yeah but those Samsung phones that are made in China are made in Samsung factories. 90% of Samsung smartphone components are sourced internally from Samsung-made components. Even the 16MP ISOCELL camera sensor in the SGS5 is sourced from Samsung now (previous Galaxy smartphone cameras were sourced from other companies). The CPUs are split between Samsung (Exynos) and Qualcomm (Snapdragon). However the RAM, memory, display, LEDs, sensors, battery, etc are all sourced from Samsung.

Most of Apple's parts are sourced from Korean companies while its IPS display is made by a combination of Korean, Japanese and Taiwanese companies. The iPhone 5S' CPU (A7) is made by Samsung (a Korean company). The iPhone 5S' RAM is also made by Samsung/SK Hynix (another Korean company). A lot of their memory is also made by Samsung. Basically the CPU/brain of the iPhone 5S is made by Samsung. And I heard Apple is now sourcing most of their displays from AUO (a Taiwanese company) not so much from Samsung/LG/JD/Sharp. This is Apple trying to cut costs while also trying to move away from their dependence on Samsung parts.

Since AMOLED is expected to surpass LCD to the point of no return in the near future, I'm very curious to see where Apple will get their AMOLED displays from.

AUO mentioned that they will be making AMOLED displays but their capacity and yield rates are pitiful.
 
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Aurelius said:
The Moto X is unique: it has an always-on chip that listens for the "OK Google" keyword even when the phone's asleep, so you can start a task from anywhere. The Google Experience command requires that the phone be awake and looking at your home screens, because it can't count on that hardware.
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That same functionality should be built into the Snapdragon 801. It was in the Snapdragon 800, but Qualcomm only exposes that functionality to OEMs.
 
Wow... Foxconn is the world's biggest manufacturer of electronic components and you just ask me to name one? Foxconn's leading components are connectors such as USB and Ethernet connectors and printed circuit boards, such as motherboards. What makes a motherboard manufactured from Foxconn not an electronic component? Seriously, tell us, Mr. I-used-to-work-for-Samsung-a-partner-of-Foxconn.
 
FYI manufacturing a chip does not mean they came up with it. Apple develops the process for most of the components, they just don't have their own factories to actually produce them.
 
Best non-BS review so far, imho anyway Samsung’s Galaxy S5 has plenty of upgrades—so why does it feel so meh? @arstechnica

The best part is on page 3 of that review:

At any given time, you'll be jumping between apps with three different design styles. About half of Samsung's software still looks like old-style Touchwiz, and the other half is more in tune with the company's still-in-development Tizen OS. The third design style is Google's apps, which Samsung must include but isn't allowed to skin.
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and

Besides the three clashing design styles, the Galaxy S5 app selection includes multiples of everything. Samsung wants to push its own software, but the company has a contractual obligation to include all of the Google apps. As a result, the device ships with two browsers, two voice assistant apps, two galleries, two app stores, three music players, and four texting apps. We really don't understand how smartphone newbies deal with this. By default, there are so many apps in the app drawer, we're starting to wish there was a search function.
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I tried the S5 at the ATT store and I couldn't agree more. From an user experience point of view the S5 has to be one of the shittiest products ever. The hardware can probably make up for some of that, but it's a total mess on the UX side. It's truly mindboggling.
 
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Calling it a 'total mess on the UX' is nonsense and hyperbole. And Ars is well known to be Apple biased. Who cares if there is some incoherent design language in apps. Even Apple's own apps are often guilty of this. The new TouchWiz has a much flatter/cleaner look. The whole point of Android is choice, you can get your pick of gallery/camera/launchers. So what if a few are bundled in the phone? Every single OEM phone will have the same issue, its not like HTC/LG don't bundle their own gallery/music player etc.

(btw your link to the review is wrong)

In the 'Good' summary, the author fails to mention the amazing battery life, best in class display etc. 'Cheap plastic' is a totally subjective opinion, lots of people value the extra durability. Again he doesn't mention the soft touch back instead of the previous glossy backs.

IMO a very biased review.
 
Fixed the link.

MrCrispy said:
Calling it a 'total mess on the UX' is nonsense and hyperbole.
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I guess it depends on where you are coming from. I am looking to replace my Lumia 900 running WP 7.8 and from a user experience WP rocks. Sadly it doesn't have most of the apps I need for work, and it can't do EAP-TLS encrypted wireless, so I have to switch to Android or iOS.

I spent ~15 minutes monkeying with the S5 at the store and to me as someone who is technically inclined the UX was confusing a la "wtf is all this".
 
Thuleman said:
I tried the S5 at the ATT store and I couldn't agree more. From an user experience point of view the S5 has to be one of the shittiest products ever. The hardware can probably make up for some of that, but it's a total mess on the UX side. It's truly mindboggling.
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I'm not sure if it's that dire, but you can tell that Samsung bristles at having linked itself to a platform that it can't completely control. If it could, it would get rid of as many Google apps as possible (or ditch Android entirely). HTC, LG and others are more content with limiting their efforts to places where Google isn't already doing a good-enough job.
 
S5 is a fairly solid product, I call into question who states something as strong as "shittiest" anything.

Also Ars is a waste if of time, they always have an agenda, if they get a device that doesn't fit their agenda they go complete apeshit on it.
 
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