Some questions about Galaxy S III speaker quality, audio capture, touchscreen - T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII

AnyoneI'm upgrading from a Galaxy S II and Galaxy Note to a Galaxy S III. Had a few questions.
1. How does the touchscreen feel? Both the S II and Note felt sort of thin and soft. I like it harder feeling. The HTC and LG phones feel harder to me. What about the S III?
2. Speaker quality? The S II had a so-so speaker. The Note had an awesome one. Clearer and fuller than most phones.
3. Does the home button get easier to push over time? IT felt pretty stiff at the store.
4. When the S III was released a few months ago, it had bad audio capture with no bass and super sharp, on all variants. Has this changed?
Thx

katamari201 said:
AnyoneI'm upgrading from a Galaxy S II and Galaxy Note to a Galaxy S III. Had a few questions.
1. How does the touchscreen feel? Both the S II and Note felt sort of thin and soft. I like it harder feeling. The HTC and LG phones feel harder to me. What about the S III?
2. Speaker quality? The S II had a so-so speaker. The Note had an awesome one. Clearer and fuller than most phones.
3. Does the home button get easier to push over time? IT felt pretty stiff at the store.
4. When the S III was released a few months ago, it had bad audio capture with no bass and super sharp, on all variants. Has this changed?
Thx
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. The touchscreen feels responsive and sturdy to me. I think what you're talking about isn't really about the touchscreen as much as it is the chasis and build. HTC phones tend to feel better because they're either from a unibody design (One X, One S) or they are made of a stronger material. Samsung uses plastic so there is some flex in the device. Of course, it depends on how hard you press on the screen as well. The feeling of the touchscreen on the Note I and the SGS3 feel fairly similar to me.
2. Speaker is great and loud. Especially for a smartphone, I haven't heard the speaker of the Note in person, but compared to the SGS2, it's a definite increase in quality. But after all, it's a phone speaker, so don't expect to use it as a boom box.
3. My home button is responsive and easy to press. The model at the store might have had a defect? Or it could possibly be due to the fact that dozens of people probably played around and messed with the phone. Like I said, my home button is great and I have had no problems with it.
4. I assume you're talking about audio capture when recording video. Just shot a sample video outside my home and I didn't really notice anything wrong with the audio quality after watching it on my computer. It seems okay, the speakers tend to pick up some sound when I tilted the phone and moved around, but that's understandable. Bear in mind, I am running CM10 and not the stock TW.

Screen is smoooth and pleasant to touch, speaker sounds like a tiny speaker but can be used for music in dire situations (I've used it in a hotel), the home button is loose and cheap feeling but oh well. Sound quality for recording isn't bad but keep your expectations low. It's a phone.

Just a side note, Speaker quality is much sexier on tw then aosp roms which is the only reason why I went back to tw. Aosp based ROMs were able to increase the volume but it doesn't come close to tw level. Overall sexier than s2 no matter which one you run.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app

Related

HTC ONE vs. S4?

Can't decide which one to buy. Storage space and removable batt doesn't matter to me. Coming from Nexus 4 since I need WiFi calling. Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks.
S4. HTC One is not nearly as good hardware wise as the S4. Samsung really did a great job on it. I too was teetering and couldn't decide, seeing since i had the S2, S3, and now the S4 i love the s4
I actually have the One and I find it at times to lag when web browsing. It feels great and looks great and the speakers are nice. The only thing making me want to switch is wireless charging and biigger screen, as definites. Possible reasons, depending if its true, are better camera (low light doesn't matter) and better battery. I have seen conflicting reports about both all over the web so I'm considering those features a draw. Hmmmm... Don't know if I should return the One or not.
S4 much nicer, I had the one its a great phone , just nothing like samsung s4 at all..
Sent from my SGH-M919 using xda app-developers app
S4 all day. I get compliments every time I pull it out
Sent from my SGH-M919 using xda app-developers app
lojak29 said:
S4 much nicer, I had the one its a great phone , just nothing like samsung s4 at all..
Sent from my SGH-M919 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
S4 is legit. HTC one was a letdown especially with all the reviews and fanaticism.
Can anyone give reasons why they like their S4 over One? Especially people who have used both for a couple of days. I don't care about removable battery or storage.
Check this thread http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2278783
Why did you go S4 over HTC? only a few threads down. And then check all the other threads everywhere else about this. Then make up your mind.
Sent from my SGH-M919 using xda app-developers app
Legaleye3000 said:
Can anyone give reasons why they like their S4 over One? Especially people who have used both for a couple of days. I don't care about removable battery or storage.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Besides having advantage of removable battery and expandable memory, S4 has a wider range of third party accessories available for customization.
Both fantastic devices. S4 will have better dev support (for multiple reasons) and comes with the latest version of Android. Greater selection of accessories, some useful gesture features, larger battery, higher res camera, and for me a more familiar button layout than the HTC One. Tons of samsung specific software, some gimmicky, others somewhat useful like split screen.
I prefer LCD screens but the AMOLED screen on the S4 is amazing. I will still say the HTC One has the better overall screen by a hair and the front facing speakers are a plus. Some also prefer the all aluminum shell of the HTC One, and I can definitely understand why.
There is no bad choice.
I actually went with the HTC One because for me the S4 may have good hardware but for my personal taste for a 2 year contract I just don't like the Touchwiz UI, to me its really not luring me in to the phone but instead holding me back from buying it. I actually just s-offed my one so flashing is easier now and well overall the aluminum body and front speakers like others are saying were something i felt were pretty cool instead of the Samsung plastic.
Edit: I also found out that the T-mobile and AT&T one's can flash the HTC One(M7) International roms since the hardware is pretty much the same.
I own the S4, Nexus 4 and One. Honestly use the S4 the most, like the camera better than the both one and N4. Better battery life than both, SD card, better accessory support. Don't like amoled, prefer the LCD on one and n4. But overall S4 is the phone I use mostly. As far as software I flash AOSP roms, so same on all of them.
I just sold my HTC One after owning for 2 weeks. Thought I would go crazy over the speakers (the S4 is louder). Thought I would love the camera (S4 is better). So then I thought I would love the feel of the device (digs into the fingures because the sides are too thin.
I also love the mult iview I can use on the S4. That alone is worth it for me to choose the S4. I love true multi tasking.
I just ordered the wireless receiver and pad for my S4 which is another HUGE plus for me. I will have a wireless charging pad on my desk and next to my bed and the convenience is way worth the price. You ever get sick of fumbling around at night to plug it in?
Hardcore73 said:
I just sold my HTC One after owning for 2 weeks. Thought I would go crazy over the speakers (the S4 is louder). Thought I would love the camera (S4 is better). So then I thought I would love the feel of the device (digs into the fingures because the sides are too thin.
I also love the mult iview I can use on the S4. That alone is worth it for me to choose the S4. I love true multi tasking.
I just ordered the wireless receiver and pad for my S4 which is another HUGE plus for me. I will have a wireless charging pad on my desk and next to my bed and the convenience is way worth the price. You ever get sick of fumbling around at night to plug it in?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the speakers on the s4 are better than the boom sound on the One? can anyone else verify this?
They are.
Sent from my SGH-M919 using xda app-developers app
most people in this thread will side with the Samsung GS4 because this is in a GS4 forum.
I've gotten both and i regret getting the S4. Overall the S4's screen looks better at room lighting but looks horrible in the sunlight or at night with no lights.
The One has a finished OS compared to the S4, which lags stock very badly and even lags when rooted. Now for the camera, they were about the same for my usage.
Also, the HTC One feels like it would hold up to use and not look bad a lot longer than the S4. I've gotten a crack in my S4's back cover for no apparent reason, scratches everywhere on the sides, chrome surrounding the camera and the speaker.
Overall, if you don't hate Sense, get the HTC One please! just make sure the one you get isn't defective..
Oh btw the S4's speaker is louder than the HTC's in certain sounds, but if you turn off the beats feature, which sucks, it will make the HTC's speakers louder than anything. Also the HTC's speakers produce a lot more refined sound that screams quality.
Haha my friend actually has the HTC One and every time we hang out he goes on about how much better my phone is and how he wishes he had my phone XD
Unfortunetly, I hate HTC Sense, which is why i traded it. But have i waited for the Nexus HTC One, i would of loved it.
I had an HTC One for two weeks. Camera is all hype. Even low light photos taken on the H1 don't look spectacular. Yes, the image is brighter in low light than images produced on the S4 in night mode. However, that doesn't make the photo any more worthwhile. You simply have an extremely grainy 4MP photo. I'd rather not take a low light shot at all with a cellphone.

Switched from GN 2 to OG Pro Love it love it love it

I bought the original Note when it released...and the Note 2 on it's release day...ATT offered me an early upgrade (Thanks retention department) and I got my OG Pro yesterday. So far I've applied root, installed 2nd init, CW Recovery, enabled tethering, removed Q slide apps and I must say...my Note 2 is going on Ebay this weekend...I have no need for it anymore.
I'm amazed at how fast this phone is...I like the slimmer profile and LOVE how I get a much better signal in my home/office with this over my Note 2. And the screen....THE SCREEN is amazing...I did NOT think I would notice such a difference between 720 and 1080 but WOW was I surprised.
If you are thinking about this phone, stop thinking and start doing. Get it.
If this phone could match my Note II's Wifi performance, I could say I have no regrets about getting it. But the Wifi is pathetic, at least with my equipment.
Other than the Wifi, the only thing I miss about my Note II is being able to bump the volume output without distortion using Perseus kernel. Everything else about the OG Pro is, hands-down, better than the Note II.
Especially how it feels in the hand. Slimmer, sturdier, denser, more solid. Feels way higher quality. I love the subtle notification light ring around the home button, vs the NII's flashlight.
I have not had and WIFI issues as of yet I wonder if it's specific to your unit?
I also like how it is slimmer, and sturdier than my GN2. The build quality really is quite awesome.
I received a slim quicksand case from Amazon (8 bucks) and it fits perfect.
The only thing I have noticed is the external speaker is not as loud as my GN2. I can handle that.
So far, hiding/deleting apps and changing the Qslide part is all I need...I am not a flash happy person, once I find something that works...I stick with it.
Im sure I will put a custom ROM on once the bootloader gets cracked though
The Wifi issues I'm having, I think are more specific to my older routers. My newest one is some 6 years old.
The volume output through the headphone jack isn't nearly loud enough. I'm going to have to tweak the gains on my amps to get the same level of volume as I had with my NII.
I just got the optimus g pro this morning but was at work so didn't get a chance to play with it. So far I absolutely love it. I Love big phones. Just came from an HTC one that I absolutely love but I also like to try different phones. Cheers!
Sent from my LG-E980 using Tapatalk 2
raduque said:
The volume output through the headphone jack isn't nearly loud enough. I'm going to have to tweak the gains on my amps to get the same level of volume as I had with my NII.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Volume is an issue for me too.
Jeez this phone is so freaking fast it's insane.
Sent from my LG-E980 using Tapatalk 2
Let keep it here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2273275&page=29

A Informal Review of the Note 3

Review
Ok, so I got New Note 3 T-Mobile version SM-N900T which is the latest version of the note. As one of the forum moderators I have always been a pretty big fan of the Samsung phones owning the Galaxy Vibrant, the Nexus, S2, S3, S4, Note 1, Note 2 various tablets and now the Note 3. That said, this is just a 1st blush review for people who might find my views helpful.
The Note 3 compared to the Note 2 is close to an ounce lighter , it is 1/16 inch narrower @ 3-1/16" versus 3-1/8" Both are just under 5 inches. My Hands are big and I am used to the size, the fact that it is lighter really makes it way easier to manipulate
The 1st impression is its lighter weight does not give the impression of feeling cheap. Gotta say I kinda like the back texture. Didn't think that I actually would but it has a nice secure feel.
The screen is remarkable, booting up faster than the Note 2 the Color is much richer than anything else I have experienced shy of a BluRay on my computer (which is a top end setup). Some new stock adjustments allow you to set the standard screen color setting e.g. dynamic, movie...etc.. Also it has a USB 3 socket on the phone for higher transfer rates and of course, it works with a USB 2 as well.
There is a on phone a search feature that is kinda novel phone though I am not sure how useful it is provides features as search last week, last 30 days.... etc
The Camera that is stock does have some nice on-board custom shooting and editing features. The Still Camera is noticeably better than the S4 camera, and the Video like most of the latest phones is excellent. One improvement on the still camera is its Infinity camera shooting. Much Much Sharper now, which was one of my common gripes the phone cameras all seem to suffer from. So this a real plus ! Like All the latest phones the Video is excellent tracks movement pretty well. Better than my Canon in fact.
The phone is pretty responsive and the new software provides custom touch sensitivity and a host of other interactive adjustments that let you make just about every custom tweak you can think of......... Remember this is a stock Rom only rooted...........
Most of the other things on it are incremental improvements compared to the Note 2. FYI the Note became the longest phone I ever have owned and consistently used--- The Note 3 Blew it off the top spot without doubt ....
For those who care Antutu got a 30394 and Quadrant was a 22580.. one thing I did notice is the fps are very consistent @ 60-65 at all vdo benches.
The Things I found I do not like that much are NO Custom Roms ...YET ☺ Battery life is not as good as the note 2 but that was a custom Rom so really not a fair comparison.
The HTC does have the 2 speakers the Note... still 1 speaker. Music on speaker the quality is a bit thin and a bit on the 2 dimensional side, but, For speakerphone calls it is just fine. With the Head phones/buds or Bluetooth speakers it really excellent. That said, if you are a headbanger for over driven bass then use Beats or something like that with this thing that would allow you to over boost the bass in a way some ppl like. This phone is really something it really rocks !
In closing, I am really glad I got this new note 3 if you need a business phones there really is not anything better than this phone.
I have included some photos to show how it takes a shot that is a long distance focal point... This was a rainbow tonight Around 7:10 pm the trees are 45-55 feet away .....
Comments welcome........
How did/do you like the S4? I love the Note 2 on 4.1.2, it's smooth and basically lag free. However I found the S4 a bit clunky and laggy. Could you perhaps comment on how they did with the Note 3? Mainly I remember on the S4 there being some stutter in the UI, and lag in the gallery and Touchwiz browser.
Thanks for any thoughts!
lmemma16 said:
How did/do you like the S4? I love the Note 2 on 4.1.2, it's smooth and basically lag free. However I found the S4 a bit clunky and laggy. Could you perhaps comment on how they did with the Note 3? Mainly I remember on the S4 there being some stutter in the UI, and lag in the gallery and Touchwiz browser.
Thanks for any thoughts!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Note 3 has enough CPU power and RAM to handle even all those additional features Samsung added to the TW without any delay or lag.
It's a super fast smartphone. :good:
ArborRes said:
Note 3 has enough CPU power and RAM to handle even all those additional features Samsung added to the TW without any delay or lag.
It's a super fast smartphone. :good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Very true, but that's what I thought about the S4, lol! Although the S4 has perhaps even more fluff and fancy features.
I'm glad to hear it runs well tho, thanks :thumbup:
oka1 said:
Gotta say I kinda like the back texture. Didn't think that I actually would but it has a nice secure feel.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So many of the early hands-on reviews have spoken ill about the new textured plastic back saying that it "doesn't feel like real leather". I've failed to understand the point they were trying to make in that statement. I don't think Samsung intended to fool a single person into thinking that the back was made of leather. They went for a new unique aesthetic that had a functionality benefit as well. In that regard, I think they succeeded greatly.
After getting my hands on one of these in store, I can say that my initial impressions from pictures and videos was reaffirmed. Aesthetically, it's great. I like the looks of the textured back a lot. The feel, however, is far better than I imagined. I expected it would feel like a cheap plastic cover. It is a cheap plastic cover, but it has a unique feel to it. It doesn't feel like leather, and I never once expected it to. It does, however, feel unbelievably better than the previous galaxy line back covers.
lmemma16 said:
How did/do you like the S4? I love the Note 2 on 4.1.2, it's smooth and basically lag free. However I found the S4 a bit clunky and laggy. Could you perhaps comment on how they did with the Note 3? Mainly I remember on the S4 there being some stutter in the UI, and lag in the gallery and Touchwiz browser.
Thanks for any thoughts!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The S4 stock was not that good but the S4 with Carbon or any other custom was equal or better than the note 2 but not enough to want to change so I gave it to one of the other employees.... I am kinda lucky I buy all the phones for the company so I get to pick which one I want and try them all out.....
Like I said the Note 3 is such an awesome phone especially for business there is nothing else like it
oka1 said:
The S4 stock was not that good but the S4 with Carbon or any other custom was equal or better than the note 2 but not enough to want to change so I gave it to one of the other employees.... I am kinda lucky I buy all the phones for the company so I get to pick which one I want and try them all out.....
Like I said the Note 3 is such an awesome phone especially for business there is nothing else like it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I would have run Carbon or Slim on the S4 all day, except for some audio issues that I don't think they have ever solved (it worked but not as well as on TW)... in the end I couldn't get happy with the S4 lol(well I also like the biggest screens now).
The Note 2 I am still using, and still love, and am glad to hear they got the Note 3 running nice and smooth. Will probably pick it up once I figure out the logistics thanks
Just traded my Tmo S4 for a Tmo Note 3 and wow, this thing is a Beauty and the Beast. It's a bit larger than my S4 but after 10 mins of setting it up, it feels like the size of my S4 and not big at all. Doing some reading tonight on the Note 3 and playing w settings tomorrow. My movies look incredible on this phone. The only thing that I have issue with, is the tiny speaker and low volume at max.
Ian B
Sounds funny but when I pick up and use the Note 3 I handle it just like all my previous phones with one hand unless using the pen of course, only when I look at it do I say holy crap this is big lol. I have regular non gargantuan hands but no struggling to reach a button as on the Htc One or mistakenly hitting power trying to lower volume on the G2. I had an S4 as well and the first thing to go was the stock launcher in favor of Nova Prime, glad to say I haven't even thought of using it with the Note 3, its just so fast and no lag whatsoever. I've even played around opening windows of other apps inside some games I play, writing a document out with the S-pen while inside Total Conquest plundering a village is mighty cool to me.
Today I flashed Darthstalker not because anything in particular was bothering me but I like the little changes he implements and some tweaks plus removing bloat is always a good thing. About that back cover, I love the way it looks and imo this phone does not look cheap at all. I never saw it in black but the white is quite elegant, my daughter thinks its not manly enough but I love my first white phone. I really liked the grip and feel of the back cover, it doesn't feel like plastic, I feel bad hiding it in a case but a phone this size is easy to lose hold of during the hand to pocket transition if you get distracted.
Flashed Darthstalker as well
This did improve the sound, and of course got rid of the bloat..... lame tmo sounds etc......
After using it a day ... I noticed battery about the same, volume is more, and there are some custom screen functions that are cool.
This phone is sizing up to be a real Rock Star

How does the G3 compare to my S5 and M8? My mini review.

So after using the G3 for about a week, I picked up an S5 also to compare it to. My G3 will be replacing my HTC One M8.
Performance initially was disappointing, seemed to microstutter everywhere which gives a perception of a laggy device. At first I was very upset but after putting all 3 devices side by side and running and opening apps ect., the G3 is just as quick, if not quicker then the S5 and M8 when opening and switching apps, the key difference here are in the animations.
The S5 and M8 are very consistent with smooth app opening, closing and switching animations. Always seems to run fluid 90-100 percent of the time, the G3 struggles to render them smoothly consistently. The animation stutters, stutters, then closes and vise versa when it opens on many occasions. Drove me insane! In-app performance are pretty much identical between the 3 with scrolling a tiny bit smoother on the S5 and M8.
Screen quality, I would have to give the win to the HTC M8 out of the box, because of the weird over sharpening high contrast setting LG decided to use, text on the G3 looks lower resolution than the HTC as a direct result. Colors on the G3 also looks a little washed out compared to the M8 and S5 out of the box, BUT...you can change the contrast ratio on the G3 in the accessibility menu and make the colors pop to your hearts desire. Very nice.. M8 also has better black levels than G3.
Don't get me started with the S5's screen, I can't believe one report actually gave it the "best display ever tested" title. Looks like garbage compared to the G3 and M8. No matter what setting I chose, adapt display, professional, cinema ect, it was way over saturated to the point where the colors look almost neon like. Everything looks lower resolution also, I blame TouchJizz mostly because once you switch to a different launcher like Nova, the icons look sharper but still not on par with the M8 or G3. The S5's display looks "Okay" once you crank the brightness past 75 percent, anything under that and the screen just looks terrible. Maybe my eyes have gotten accustomed to IPS LCD, I can't see myself going back to AMOLED. If this is the best that AMOLED can offer at the moment.. NO THANKS!
Camera, lets make this simple. The S5 takes the best pictures overall. It also records the best video with options for full 60fps in 1080p. G3 is a close second but the colors just doesn't seem to look as nice as the S5's, clarity and details are similar but the S5 exposes the picture better. HDR is also better on the S5. M8 takes very nice close up and macro shots but sucks big time when you try and take a scenery shot I really haven't tried much night time photography so I can't comment on that.
Battery life, S5 and G3 seems to be neck and neck lasting my entire work day with heavy use, the M8 trails behind and needs to be plugged in for my drive home.
Design and in hand usage. This is very subjective, I find the S5 the most comfortable to hold but it's also the most godawful looking. There's no denying it, the S5 is one ugly phone compared to the other two. Looks and feels terribly cheap, huge bezels giving the phone a very dated look. M8 looks great, build quality is nice but it's also very uncomfortable to use. It's slippery, the edges are sharp and it's just a pain (literally) to hold on to. It just doesn't give you a reassuring feel when using it especially over any hard surface. It also feels a lot heavier. The G3 is the perfect blend between the two, it looks beautiful, perfectly weighted, comfortable to hold, feels solid in the hand and has just enough "grip". Hands down I think it looks the best, just gorgeous.
Audio, as you guessed it the HTC One M8 tops it here, it sounds great with the Boom sound external speakers and with headphones plugged in. Bluetooth audio streaming also sounds very clean with the M8, the G3 matches the M8 in headphone audio output and bluetooth streaming quality but obviously gets smoked when it comes to external speaker quality. G3 still sounds very loud and pretty full for having only one rear firing mono speaker. The S5 is the worst performer here, headphone audio performance is just dismal compared to the other two even after playing with the built-in EQ. Bluetooth audio streaming on the S5 is also weak, audio tracks sound very degraded over bluetooth. Another weird issue I had with the S5 was it didn't play nicely with my Lexus Mark Levinson system, I had to crank the volume to twice the level to get the same output as the M8 and G3. (Yes, the bluetooth output volume was set to max on the S5) The S5's external speaker is also the tinniest, almost painful to listen to at higher volumes. It has piercing highs with no mids or lows. I guess when you make the phone IP67, sacrifices must be made.
Conclusion, as you can see all the phones have their pros and cons but overall I think we all made the right decision with the G3. I've been on a search for the "perfect" phone since I can remember, for me at the moment, the G3 is the closest one yet. I'm sure performance will improve with updates so I am excited for the G3's future. I'm also glad I gave it a second chance, I literally had it all boxed up with the return label slapped on it back to T-Mobile. Looks like it will be sticking with me for a little bit longer.
Woot
Here's my copy and paste from another site reviewing the same three phones. This may be a good thread for people to detail their experience with the three big players.
"Alright so I've had it a few days now and here's what I think of it. Out****ingstanding.
Hardware - The metal looking plastic back is actually pretty nice. I think it actually has some metal in it, it doesn't feel plastic and cheap in the hand like the GS5 does. It doesn't have the heft of the M8 but it's also not as slippery as the M8 either. It's just about right. It's removable so it's easy to throw a spare battery in your car or camera bag or pocket or whatever if you're going to be out all day. That being said, the battery life is surprisingly good given the resolution/size of the display. Which brings me to the display. It's also outstanding. The first G3 I got had a weird yellowish tint to the display, did a little research and it seems there's some inconsistency among the displays from manufacture, I took it back to T-Mobile and they swapped it out without any hassle. It's huge, it's bright, it's incredibly sharp. There really isn't much bad I can say about the display. The buttons on the back took a little getting used to, but after a day you're used to them and it's actually quite natural to use them. The camera is awesome, I think it's bright light capabilities are on par or better than the M8 and definitely better than the S5. Under lower light it's at least on par or slightly better than the S5 and ****s on the M8. The OIS and "frikkin laser" focus is awesome, makes it really easy to pull it out and snap a pic really quick without the fuss the other two give. Wireless charging is available with an appropriate back cover, but more on that later. The single rear speaker is similarly placed to the S5 but it's much louder and your hand doesn't muffle it in regular use. Clarity is much better than the S5 as well. The M8 destroys all comers in this area with it's front facing speakers.
Software - The LG overlay is actually quite nice. I think it's just as good as HTC's Sense and kicks Touchwhiz in the grundel. It's easy enough to disable most stock LG apps if you want to. There's a faint touch of lag to the OS, not as bad as Touchwhiz but just a hair worse than Sense. If you kick the animations down to 0.5x from 1x in developer options it goes away. There's a health app, the people on xda seem to like it a lot but I don't use it.
Daily use - This thing really shines. The size is marginally bigger than the others in one dimension or another, but the shape of the back cover makes it perfectly comfortable to use and it doesn't feel at all as big as it actually is. The M8 feels really skinny next to it and the S5 feels like a giant, rectangular brick. Easy to use one handed, especially with the rear buttons. The OIS of the camera is really quite good and it's probably the first Android phone I've used that I think has a camera comparable to the quality output from the iPhones under all scenarios. Battery life has been great, I can easily get through a whole 12 hour shift at work and have plenty of battery to spare and I use the phone quite heavily and have music playing probably 10 of those 12 hours.
Signal strength - So I originally got the AT&T version before realizing those ****s disabled Qi charging in favor of PMA so I actually have some experience with the d850 (ATT) and d851 (TMo). The modems are the same between the two, the only hardware difference between the two devices I believe is AT&T's hardware removal of Qi. Both phones were on the same rev and they picked up signal the same as the S5 and a little worse than the M8 on AT&T. I have all Qi stuff so I said **** it and switched to TMo and have been quite pleasantly surprised. Their service in my area is great (better than AT&T coverage was) and the calls/sms/mms over WiFi is actually awesome, especially at work as most of the hospital is well insulated from outside communication. I also have unlimited everything for about $40/mo less than I was paying for 4gb at AT&T.
Advanced nerdy stuff (root) - If you root the phone, which is available for all variants and most with a one click utility, then the thing outshines the other 2 on all fronts. There's a mod for camera quality that kicks the image quality above the other 2 under all lighting conditions and increases the video recording quality to 1080p/60 and increases the bitrate of the 4k recording. There's a tweakbox that lets you customize the LG overlay to your personal taste and with a couple minor tweaks it is fastest experience of the 3. You can tinker with the volume of the speaker and the volume increments which is needed (30 vs stock 15 options). Then of course you can use Titanium Backup to freeze/uninstall all the carrier bloat. Xposed Framework of course brings hundreds of mods for just about anything you'd want to do.
Overall - Out of the box within confinements of not being rooted 9/10
----------- After root 10/10"
I agree with most of what you said, except I think the S5 has a better screen overall. I came from a Note 2, so I am used to the saturated colors. But regardless of your preference of saturated vs natural colors, I think most people would agree that the S5 has better brightness and viewing angles. I also think text on the G3 is oversharpened/overprocessed.
I think LG got the "feel" of the G3 just right. The S5 is a freaking brick and looks like it was beaten with an ugly stick. The M8 is disproportionately tall, and also heavy & slippery.
As far as sound, the G3 falls in between. The S5 speaker is anemic. The M8 blows everything else out of the water. I always listen to music via headphones or my car system. But if you absolutely *must* listen to audio via speakerphone, then the M8 has no equal. I must admit, sharing videos with friends is a much more pleasant experience on the M8. The G3 speaker does a respectable job, but you still have to cup your hand around the back to hear anything (at least at my age).
Despite its flaws (which are very minor), I think the G3 is the phone to beat this year. The Note 4 will no doubt offer some serious competition, but I think the Note line targets a different demographic. People that don't want or need the Note's special features will probably find the G3 to be an almost perfect compromise of size, features and performance.
Sent from my LG-D851 using Tapatalk
Dan37tz said:
Camera, lets make this simple. The S5 takes the best pictures overall.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't have my G3 yet, but based on images I've seen online, I, ever so slightly, prefer the G3's photos as it seems to get slightly better detail. What I mean is that, at least from what I'm seeing, it looks like the S5 is trying to over-sharpen details in software instead of just using what is available through the sensor. For instance, outlines of leaves in front of the bright sky shows a tiny bit extra outlining to me.
Oddly enough, this shouldn't be the case since the S5 has a slightly larger sensor, more megapixels and a slightly wider aperture @ f/2.2. Perhaps that new isocell sensor isn't all it's cracked up to be or maybe they just haven't fine tuned the software for it. However, with the G3 you also get dual flash, which is a feature that might come in handy for macro shots, and there is that laser focus thingy the G3 has. So, I dunno, I was leaning towards the S5 myself, but after seeing test photos and reading reviews about all the other aspects of the phone itself I went with the G3.
Perhaps completely manual shooting with the S5 would render better results than the G3.
In the end though, I just wanted something that could compete with my old T-mobile 4G Slide. My Google Nexus 4 certainly didn't and I'm glad it's paid off and done with.
Dan37tz said:
Camera, lets make this simple. The S5 takes the best pictures overall.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have to disagree there, I think the G3 pictures are better. I took some pics of my car today and was actually quite impressed with how they came out compared to similar shots at the same place and same time of day and same subject matter. I do agree the HDR shots from the S5 are better, but who uses that anyway
boosting1bar said:
Have to disagree there, I think the G3 pictures are better. I took some pics of my car today and was actually quite impressed with how they came out compared to similar shots at the same place and same time of day and same subject matter. I do agree the HDR shots from the S5 are better, but who uses that anyway
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wonder if it is due to the lens itself?
Perhaps the G3 is using a better lens (Sony?) and it is of better quality than what Samsung is using on the S5. There is actually a list of people with cracked and broken S5 lenses, so I'm guessing the glass they are using isn't very good.
From what I've seen, the M8 appears to take cleaner night shots, at least with macro and no flash, However; I do not know how low the ISO settings will go with it. I think the G3 can do ISO 50, so if the image stabilization is as good as LG claims and the focus laser is really fast it should end up taking pretty good night shots in manual mode.
In the end I think all three are good cameras for a cell phone, I just feel like the G3 has more options for covering different kinds of shooting. Then again, I haven't used any of these phones personally yet.:silly:
I suspect with the XPOSED module Viper4Android, you can tweak the sound on the G3 to be on par with boomsound or even better.
Also, have you taken many pictures in low light? It's my understanding that the g3 has a much better camera for low light than the s5. It's not as good in direct sunlight, but better everywhere else making it a better "overall" camera. I don't have an s5 to compare the G3 to, so I'm just going off what I've read. It would be nice to hear from someone that has both.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
I must not be getting the same bluetooth results as you...
This is the worst I've heard in the past few years, as far as bluetooth media pairing goes..
it sounds like the bit rate of a 320 mp3 goes down to 96 or 128.
I'm quite concerned about this...
I'm pairing up to a VW/Dynaudio setup.
Iphone, GS4, lumia 925...all sound 10x better.
did you do any bluetooth tweaks?
sic0048 said:
I suspect with the XPOSED module Viper4Android, you can tweak the sound on the G3 to be on par with boomsound or even better.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The M7/M8 have front facing stereo speakers. The G3 has one small speaker on the back, facing away from the user. Sorry, but no amount of mods will make the G3 external speaker sound like the M7/M8.
Sent from my LG-D851 using Tapatalk

Question Is anyone returning the Z Fold 3?

I purchased from Samsung, big discount, extras, etc. Chose the 21 day trial option. I'm almost certain I will return the fold and keep my Galaxy Note 20 Ultra. The fold is a very nice phone but some things I just can't get past. Weight, small front screen, much more difficult to do the everyday things I need my phone for in comparison to my Note 20. The Note 20 is a gorgeous phone and everything just works. Light, easy to handle, S pen with Bluetooth so I can operate the camera wirelessly. Speaking of the camera... Wonderful zoom capabilities that the fold does not have. Really dumb to pay so much for a lesser camera, no onboard S pen and no wireless connection for the pen. A huge plus for the fold is book reading. It works great as a tablet but for the everyday stuff it will need to be much thinner and lighter for me. Just my humble opinion.
Watch the S Pen experience section - that bigger screen always trumps the Note for me!
[email protected] said:
I purchased from Samsung, big discount, extras, etc. Chose the 21 day trial option. I'm almost certain I will return the fold and keep my Galaxy Note 20 Ultra. The fold is a very nice phone but some things I just can't get past. Weight, small front screen, much more difficult to do the everyday things I need my phone for in comparison to my Note 20. The Note 20 is a gorgeous phone and everything just works. Light, easy to handle, S pen with Bluetooth so I can operate the camera wirelessly. Speaking of the camera... Wonderful zoom capabilities that the fold does not have. Really dumb to pay so much for a lesser camera, no onboard S pen and no wireless connection for the pen. A huge plus for the fold is book reading. It works great as a tablet but for the everyday stuff it will need to be much thinner and lighter for me. Just my humble opinion.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Fold is not a replacement for the Note, it simply can't be. Maybe someday, when it's half as thick, when it has a built-in stylus and a slightly larger display to use on the fly as well as a better camera.
I love big pads, at the time I even bought the QTEK 9000 (someone will remember it for sure). But I can't bring myself to replace my Note 20 Ultra 5G with the Galaxy Fold 3, it's stronger than me.
One question: is it true that the Fold 3's hands-free calls are in mono and not stereo? A curiosity of mine that no review(in my mother tongue) says.
Yes, I did returned Z Fold 3. I didn't see much improvements over my Z Fold 2. I will wait for next Fold generation or new Note - if they still make it in the future..
Hey,
I hope you doing well. If you are not interested in returning your product know About Samsung Return Policy first.
It provides only 30 days to return from the date of purchase. The product must be returned before 30 days as per the original tag mentioned on merchandise. To learn in detail about you can visit the site I have mentioned above.
Thank You!
I did only to buy another BNIB off Swappa for $400 less!
No regrets here. Having a phone that doubles as a tablet is priceless.
I went from a N20U to this Fold 3, and in all honesty, I can't think of ANY reason for me to return this.
Is the Fold 3 Perfect? No, is it overwhelmingly better than the N20U or S21? No, but for what I, personally, use it for and the reasons I had to switch, yes, it is better for ME than the N20U.
All in all, I LOVE this phone and cannot think of any reason for me to switch back from a foldable phone anytime soon. It's the screen real estate and the usage of the inner screen that clinches it for me.
While it was being weird at first i LOVE the frontscreen the most actually. when i have to use a normal smartphone they feel alot bigger and unpractical to hold.
most people use their Smartphone with 2 hands. Samsung went the right way here. using front screen 1handed and bigger screen 2handed.
Nope, best smartphone I've ever owned.
cyberz said:
question: is it true that the Fold 3's hands-free calls are in mono and not stereo? A curiosity of mine that no review(in my mother tongue) says.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Stereo phone calls don't exist
jeromepearce said:
Stereo phone calls don't exist
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Note 20 ultra 5G sounds hands-free calls from both speakers, so it is "stereo" obviously not hifi.
It is much better of only 1 speaker
Apologize my bad English
Playing from both speakers on a call is dual speaker mono.
Stereo implies a left and right (or more specifically channel 1 and channel 2) routed to corresponding speakers.
For a call to be actual stereo both mics would be used discreetly and the stereo signal encoded as stereo and sent to the recipient's speakers in the same fashion. Not exactly practical. ;-)
We
cyberz said:
Note 20 ultra 5G sounds hands-free calls from both speakers, so it is "stereo" obviously not hifi.
It is much better of only 1 speaker
Apologize my bad English
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just checked. The sound comes out of both speakers.
What's strange is that the 'bottom' speaker (if you were holding the phone as a phone) is much louder than the 'top' speaker. I suspect that this has something to do with which microphone is used, so that the speaker doesn't interfere with it. With 4 microphones it's difficult to tell.
jeromepearce said:
We
I just checked. The sound comes out of both speakers.
What's strange is that the 'bottom' speaker (if you were holding the phone as a phone) is much louder than the 'top' speaker. I suspect that this has something to do with which microphone is used, so that the speaker doesn't interfere with it. With 4 microphones it's difficult to tell.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not only that. The top speaker isn't when located straight under tiny grill. It is located further down behind screen and uses a tunnel leading up to grill and out. So that might be a reason as well that sound is lower in that speaker than what it is on bottom speaker that sits right at grill opening with no space sort off between.
My Fold 3 is better for me than my last three Notes were. Utilizing the larger screen (And larger s pen) for my daily planner and calendar and all the handwriting I like to add is just light years better. The only single thing AT ALL that I miss from the note is the availability to add a quick note on a turned off phone w/ a black screen in one quick fail swoop without having to go through messing with the phone too much. Maybe somebody knows of a Bixby routine that might do something similar? Either way, the pluses over the Note series far out weigh the (single) negative. For me, of course.
Jake.S said:
Not only that. The top speaker isn't when located straight under tiny grill. It is located further down behind screen and uses a tunnel leading up to grill and out. So that might be a reason as well that sound is lower in that speaker than what it is on bottom speaker that sits right at grill opening with no space sort off between.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Normal stereo doesn't suffer from this problem, though. If fact it's pretty amazing if you listen to a music that 'swirls' about from speaker to speaker, like some Beatles tracks.
I suspect the reason for the tunnel is the normal phone speaker and slefie camera in the way.
OJsakila said:
My Fold 3 is better for me than my last three Notes were. Utilizing the larger screen (And larger s pen) for my daily planner and calendar and all the handwriting I like to add is just light years better. The only single thing AT ALL that I miss from the note is the availability to add a quick note on a turned off phone w/ a black screen in one quick fail swoop without having to go through messing with the phone too much. Maybe somebody knows of a Bixby routine that might do something similar? Either way, the pluses over the Note series far out weigh the (single) negative. For me, of course.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The only way Id get access on a black screen is if the phone was already open, since the front screen doesn't accept spen input. My Fold is set to turn on when I open it anyway.
[email protected] said:
I purchased from Samsung, big discount, extras, etc. Chose the 21 day trial option. I'm almost certain I will return the fold and keep my Galaxy Note 20 Ultra. The fold is a very nice phone but some things I just can't get past. Weight, small front screen, much more difficult to do the everyday things I need my phone for in comparison to my Note 20. The Note 20 is a gorgeous phone and everything just works. Light, easy to handle, S pen with Bluetooth so I can operate the camera wirelessly. Speaking of the camera... Wonderful zoom capabilities that the fold does not have. Really dumb to pay so much for a lesser camera, no onboard S pen and no wireless connection for the pen. A huge plus for the fold is book reading. It works great as a tablet but for the everyday stuff it will need to be much thinner and lighter for me. Just my humble opinion.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Fold 3 is a specific device made for a specific kind of phone user. If the camera is a top priority, the Ultra phones from Samsung are for you. If you want a phone that is also a tablet, and you don't want to carry multiple devices and chargers, the Fold 3 is for you.
[email protected] said:
I purchased from Samsung, big discount, extras, etc. Chose the 21 day trial option. I'm almost certain I will return the fold and keep my Galaxy Note 20 Ultra. The fold is a very nice phone but some things I just can't get past. Weight, small front screen, much more difficult to do the everyday things I need my phone for in comparison to my Note 20. The Note 20 is a gorgeous phone and everything just works. Light, easy to handle, S pen with Bluetooth so I can operate the camera wirelessly. Speaking of the camera... Wonderful zoom capabilities that the fold does not have. Really dumb to pay so much for a lesser camera, no onboard S pen and no wireless connection for the pen. A huge plus for the fold is book reading. It works great as a tablet but for the everyday stuff it will need to be much thinner and lighter for me. Just my humble opinion.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
people dont buy the fold 3 for its cameras
I came from an S21U and actually feel that the Fold 3 is a better phone so much so that I decided to trade in the S21U. Granted the S21U has a crazy amount of zoom and takes great pictures, the Fold 3 is no slouch either. I'm a photography enthusiast and know that I need to temper my expectations with the Fold 3. Having said that, it's not really bad at taking pics unless you start looking at pics with a magnifying glass looking for noise abberations, etc. which I don't. I love the fact that I can browse websites on a bigger screen.

Categories

Resources