Gotta Be Mobile » Mobile » Galaxy S4 vs iPhone 5? Will You Switch?

Galaxy S4 vs iPhone 5? Will You Switch?

Troy Frommer —  03/14/2013

The Samsung Galaxy S4 was just announced. While feature rich, it has me less than impressed. Most of the new upgrades to the phone are interesting, but not enough to make the switch from the iPhone 5.

The S4 is more of generational upgrade than an entirely new phone. The display of the device is one of the biggest upgrades. It goes from a 4.8″ display on the S3, to a 4.99″ Full HD Super AMOLED screen on the S4. With this, the S4 has a display resolution of 1920×1080. That’s nice for watching movies, but it will definitely use a lot of battery life.

iPhone 5 vs Samsung Galaxy S4

The Samsung’s 2,600 mAh battery is needed to keep the phone running all day due to the new screen. The iPhone’s battery is only 1,400 mAh, but lasts most users all day without needing to recharge.

The camera upgrades on the S4 are fairly insignificant. With a rear camera that has 13 megapixels it may seem like it is a better camera than the one on the iPhone 5. But the best camera is not always about megapixels, but how the sensor processes the image. The photos that the S4 takes might be slightly better, but is it worth upgrading over?

Also the front facing camera of the Galaxy S4 is extremely similar to the iPhone. It is very unlikely that there will be a huge difference in photo quality over under single megapixel’s difference.

iPhone 5 vs Galaxy S4

The biggest pitch Samsung made with the S4 is a boatload of software improvements and new functionality. While some of these are unique and would be useful, many of them are underwhelming. One that did stick out to me was the “Air Gesture” feature.

Samsung Galaxy S4 Air Gesture

“Air Gesture” lets the user swipe between home screens or unlock their phone without having to touch the device. This could be handy if you are wearing gloves or have dirty hands, but using the feature on a regular basis seems unlikely.

Samsung hyped how thin and light they were able to make the new S4. In comparison to the iPhone 5, though, it is still thicker. It’s even slightly heavier! The S4 weighs in at 130 grams; the iPhone 112 grams. The difference is minor, but the thinner and lighter phone is still the iPhone.

Overall the S4 looks like a great phone. But will it really change the minds of current iPhone owners?

Troy Frommer

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Troy enjoys both using and teaching others about technology. He uses a 13" MacBook Pro, iPad "3", and iPhone 5. Follow him on Twitter at @troytechguru or send him an email at troy@notebooks.com

20 responses to Galaxy S4 vs iPhone 5? Will You Switch?

  1. The real question is will I switch from Nexus 4 ?

    Don’t know. Didn’t like physical home button. Also yes its Jelly bean now. But will it update like a Nexus Phone ?

  2. This writer is obviously bias top to bottom the s4 is a superior phone as far as functionality

    • I agree it did seem quite biased. He even made the statistics which are obviously better than the iPhone 5′s seem worse.

    • This piece reeked of Apple bias right off the hop….”The S4 is more of a generational upgrade than an entirely new phone”….I would argue that Apple is the absolute king of “generational upgrades”!

  3. Why would I switch…it still runs on Android no matter how great the phone is!

  4. You are a completely bias individual why the hell did they even let you post a article on this site is beyond me. APPLE products have some good and bad points as with android if you look at features and spec the galaxy s 4 is indeed the most powerful phone out right now. Apple for one does charge for there brand name they use parts from other companies slap a apple logo on it and charge you up a ass for the product. And don’t get me started about the new connector that was inroducrd to there new line of smart phones apple is a leader but they do need a lot of work . They barley do anything differnt with each new model but add something they should added years ago.

  5. Give me a break! The S3 is better than the iPhone 5.

  6. When saying the S4 is heavier than the iPhone 5 you do realize the S4 has an inch larger screen.. if the S4 was lighter than the iPhone 5 Apple would be doing something seriously wrong.

    • There are many guys here in conflict over phone. As if they have been given free phone or paid for support.

  7. LOL! Now it’s Samsung’s turn to feel the heat! What a joke this phone is!! … all the “new features” (some of which are nothing more than part of JB 4.2.2.) do not change the fact that this phone is really nothing more than the S III with lipstick. No thanks, I’ll stay with my iPhone 5 or the new HTC One.

    • If that’s the case you should have stayed with the iPhone 3g! Doesn’t change the fact that the iPhone 5 is really nothing more than the iPhone 4 or 4s. No thanks! Sorry you’re post makes no sense when the tables are turned.

  8. Got the brightness maxed on the s4 huh?

  9. ivan maldonado campos 03/15/2013 at 4:30 pm

    samsung is the topest and better technology of the moment ,and looks great…iphone boaring same thing

  10. No price? No battery stats? Nothing to buy? Yep. Sign me up.

  11. My wife has the iPhone 4S and I have the Galaxy S2X (two generations below the Galaxy S4). Although my wife likes her iPhone 4S she LOVES my phone. She always complains about bad typing experience on the iPhone and the fact that she cannot easily transfer all our music library and some video tutorials to her phone.

    I had all our music library and the tutorials transferred to my Galaxy. Easy as pie. Not so with the iPhone.

    Not to mention that many excellent apps that are free for android cost when it’s for the iPhone.

    Or the screen size!

    I cannot even imagine how much better the Galaxy S4 is compare to the S2X….

  12. A very bias report, Quad core, Vs Dual core, 8MP VS 13MP etc etc… So am I switching from an iPhone 5????? I would not have been stupid enough to buy one in the first place. The question is this, shall I switch from my Nokia Lumia 920??? Yes, simply as I need a bigger screen, otherwise the Lumia 920 is a perfect phone… Who ever wrote this crap, should never have beome a reporter, yes the iPhone is an ok phone…. But no where near the likes of the new Samsung!!!!!

    • DemetriusPhotography 04/18/2013 at 2:47 pm

      Assholes!!! Listen up. Why are you guys talking about mega pixels on a damn phone? If you are a photographer like myself try spending some real money on a camera like my ($5,999)Nikon D4. Just enjoy both damn phones and leave mega pixels to us photographers.

  13. I’d take the new galaxy s4 for its dazzling performance but then i’d just take the IPhone for its design and performance :)

  14. DemetriusPhotography 04/18/2013 at 2:40 pm

    Assholes!!! Listen up. Why are you guys talking about mega pixels on a damn phone? If you are a photographer like myself try spending some real money on a camera like my ($5,999)Nikon D4. Just enjoy both damn phones and leave mega pixels to us photographers.