Samsung Galaxy S4 Users - Feedback?

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We've been on an old expired Verizon Family plan for quite some time (700 minutes-4 people, no text, no data) and plan to upgrade soon to an actual smart phone plan.

It's been 4-5 years since I've shopped phones, and my criteria was typically free and decent reviews in hopes of durability for the 22 month contract period, as it's always been a phone only. That said, I'm way behind in following phones, features, etc. and will likely need some catchup time to get acclimated. Looking for some feedback before we get ourselves wrapped up in a 2 year contract.

Anyway - we've been messing with some phones in store and seem to like the S4s. Any criticism of these, or should we keep away for any reason. I know they are ~1.5 years old at this point so I'm asking about old technology. Reviews seem pretty good (some negatives here and there) but I know the tech ownership here is high in many cases, so I thought I would ask.
 
LOVE the phone.

- Great battery life, especially considering how powerful it is! Unless I'm in an area with low cell reception or using it heavily, it can easily go a day or two without a charge if needed

- Powerful, believe it's a quad core

- Reliable ... it's not buggy in the least bit (unlike the LG I had).

I've had 4 or 5 smartphones. This is the first smart phone that I still like after 6 months. I have no desire to get rid of it!
 
I had a work supplied S4 and had over-heating issues, random restarts, and the screen was way to fragile(even in a case). My firm has recently switched to iPhone 6 because cost of upkeep was getting to be too much on the Galaxys for our small IT shop to handle.
 
I also really like mine. +1 to all the reasons as noted above. I've probably had 15 smart phones since their introduction, S4 is my favorite so far. I've experienced no over-heat issues or anything else the previous poster described. My only complaint is that on some Netgear wireless routers/access points using WPA2 encryption sometimes results in annoying seemingly random disconnections/reconnections.
 
I have had a Galaxy S2, S3, S4, and currently an S5. I have not had any issues with them. I left a love-hate relationship with Apple for the Android and I have never looked back. In my opinion, they are the best phones out there. We recently consolidated plans under one carrier at work and the Androids are free (with a new plan) whereas Apple continues to charge for them. We have yet to have anyone who chooses a Galaxy bring it back and ask for a a different phone. They simply work, but they can be "gadgety", meaning as an IT person, it appeals to me. Of course, YMMV, but I have nothing but good to say about them.
 
I have an S4 mini which is not the same phone (dual core CPU etc) but it has been great to me. I have had it over a year now, no complaints with it. The camera is even pretty good for a 5MP compared to something like 12 or 13 on the S4.

Would buy again.
 
Another thing to consider is residual value after your contract is up. If you trade in a 18 month old Galaxy S4 you will get $42 vs a 24 month old iPhone 5 which will get you $300. I am by no means a fanboy but fiscally the iPhones win out because you can usually trade in a 2 or 3 year old iPhone for more than the purchase price of the newest iPhone. My wife and I have been doing that with her phone. She started with a 3GS which we were able to trade in and it paid for her 4S fully(excluding tax) which in turn paid for her 6 in full as well. $200 for 7 years of phone hardware is not too shabby in my book.
 
Originally Posted By: IveBeenRued
I had a work supplied S4 and had over-heating issues, random restarts, and the screen was way to fragile(even in a case). My firm has recently switched to iPhone 6 because cost of upkeep was getting to be too much on the Galaxys for our small IT shop to handle.


Mine hasn't overheated. But it has had quite a few drops ... no broken screen yet, knock on wood.
 
I have an S3, it's almost 2.5 years old and has been rock solid. It's taken quite a beating and still works great. It still is pretty fast and does everything I ask of it.

Over the last month or two I think the battery hasn't been lasting as long as it used to, I used to still have 35% or so around bedtime and now I find I need to plug it in around 5PM. I'm not sure if I am using it more or if the battery is just old.
 
S4 user here. Very nice with no issues except that it is work supplied and we use Sprint which is horrible service.
 
My first samsung phone (Google Nexus S) had an issue with the 3G antenna overheating and triggering the search button in rapid fire mode. So when I was on the fringe of 3G service the phone was useless unless I switched to 2G. Samsung refused to acknowledge the issue even though it was well documented online. They sent it back and told me I had to pay $400 for a new main board. The Telus store was nice enough to sell me a used Nexus S cheap which did not have the issue, which unfortunately bricked itself 2 months later with no recoverable option.

As a result of that experience I went with a iPhone 4S next which has been very reliable, and now we're an iphone family.

Too bad Samsung couldn't see past their own cheap noses... because I was a HUGE android fan (and still am) but can't get myself to give them my business again.... yet.
 
Out of our ~300 S4s our shop replaced over 70 screens in under one year of service. Prior to that we were issued the iPhone 4S for two years and they replaced under 40 screens. I just use whatever they give me and only broken screens (2) that I have experienced were on the S4. One time it was excusable as I had forgotten it on top of my car and drove away so it dropped about 5' but the second time it was just in my pocket and when I pulled it out to check the time it was shattered.
 
Wife has one and she's hard on phones 10 months and going strong. I have the note 3 and love it as well.
 
Why not just get the S5? The Target black friday ad just came out and they will have the S5 on sale for 1 cent.
 
I just recently jumped into the NOTE 4 from a S4.

I got the NOTE 4 as a gift but otherwise i would still be using the S4 or possibly get the S5.

Battery life on the S5/Note 4 is INSANE if you use the power saving mode.

Overall i was very happy with my S4, no issues with it and it was the most problem free phone i had to date. Well i'm hoping this NOTE4 will take over.


Great camera, gets me 8-10 battery life. Smooth, loud enough speakers. Fits great in the hand. I had a TMOBILE one.
 
I have had my S4 for almost a year now. It works great and has more functions than I will ever use. I also have a blue tooth radio in my truck and wife's car which makes it a lot easier and safer to use the phone while driving, especially since my truck is a manual. I have my phone in an otter box case. I have dropped it a few times but it is still ok. Battery life is excellent. I can go about two days before it needs a charge.
 
Originally Posted By: Wolf359
Why not just get the S5? The Target black friday ad just came out and they will have the S5 on sale for 1 cent.

Didn't know that but looking at the ad it looks like this deal at Target is AT&T only? Edit - maybe not, the popout details on the S5 seems to say AT&T but I see it lists AT&T, Verizon and Sprint on the ad.(I would be pretty likely to stay with Verizon unless there is a screaming good deal with AT&T).

I'll still check one out (there are probably other good deals coming up on phones in general). We definitely looked at some nicer (newer & more expensive) phones then the S4 but didn't like them as much for one reason or another as the S4 we played on. Its possible that I might not have been paying attention to it the last time I was looking around a store given the everyday price tag too.
 
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I have owned the S4 for about 18 months now. This has been the first cell I have owned that I have not had to use the Insurance to get fixed. I have dropped it, got it wet, had it in the sun, had it in the cold, I use it everyday, I use it more than my laptop most of the time, and not one issue.

I did have some lag with some updates, but I did some adjustments on the cell and its faster now then ever.

Its a great phone, the camera is decent, but not great, its fast, reliable, you can replace your battery easily and upgrade memory easily and is fairly easy to use. What else could you ask for in a "phone"? haha

Jeff
 
Love mine, have had it 18 months. Use it without a case pretty often, haven't had any issues with broken screens or otherwise. Have replaced about 20 iphone and tablet screens and this seems the same as any as far as fixability.

Very comparable to apple products quality wise. Compared to my wife's Iphones Samsung is usually a year ahead, though with the iphone 6 they're pretty close for the first time.

Galaxy s4 vs iphone 5 would be ridiculously in Samsung's favor.
 
Originally Posted By: Wolf359
Why not just get the S5? The Target black friday ad just came out and they will have the S5 on sale for 1 cent.

Agreed; speaking from the enterprise side of mobility, we obtain Android phones for $0 with a new plan, but Apple consistently charges at least $199 (or more depending on the model). For one phone $200 may not be that big of a deal, but we have more than 2000 so using Android saves us at least $160K in equipment costs alone (plans cost the same). We are currently 60/40 Android versus Apple with Android flipping from 40/60 in the last year.
 
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