Samsung Galaxy S 4 - After The Buzz, Episode 24 | Pocketnow

Most new device launches go the same way: usually the press gets review units before they're widely available, and we get to use them for a few days -or a week if we're lucky- as we work on our review.

Then press day arrives. The embargo on media coverage lifts, and everyone posts their reviews and videos at the same time. It's a huge frenzy, commenters go nuts, and it's a giant explosion of frantic opinion-sharing activity.

For about ... a day. And then it all goes away. Sure, there's followup coverage as people find bugs and hidden features, but after that initial blast, not many people revisit the device to see how it feels a few months later, because everyone's already focused on the next big deal coming down the pipe.

So let's do something about that. Let's see how we feel about devices when they're not shiny and new anymore. This is After The Buzz.

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Love it or hate it, the Samsung Galaxy S 4 is still the king of smartphone land. You've heard many of us tech-heads complain about it for its construction materials, or because it brings a lot of non-usable gimmicks to the software front, and still, the world is full of people using them.

We know a lot of you are still wondering why this phone is so hot, and after more than three months in the market, it still is one of the devices to consider for your holiday smartphone refresh. With new devices like the iPhone 5S and Nokia Lumia 1020, it's clear that the competition is out to win, so make sure you watch our 24th episode of After The Buzz, as we re-visit Samsung's existing "New Galaxy".

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Pocketnow has been a key source of mobile technology news and reviews since its establishment in 2000. With offices on three continents, Pocketnow offers round-the-clock coverage of the mobile technology landscape, from smartphones to tablets to wearables. We aim to be your number-one source for mobile tech news, reviews, comparisons, and commentary. If you love mobile as much as we do, be sure to subscribe!

Samsung Galaxy S 4 - After The Buzz, Episode 24 | Pocketnow

PocketNow

[Pocketnow]

Hi Charles. We already have one. I can't link you from here, but within the playlist you'll find it in Episode 15. Just let this video play to the end and you'll find a link to the full playlist. ^JR

[Pocketnow]

I did complain about how it lags at times over TouchWiz. ^JR

[Pocketnow]

The BlackBerry Z10, iPhone 5 and every single Motorola phone in the market are great devices for call quality.

[sideswipe]

Really enjoy the series, there's always people excited for the device when it first comes out and everyone taks about how good it is without thinking twice. This really gives us a great insight.

[grmancool]

Jaime's pronunciation and accentuation are just perfect and better than a lot of reviewers out there.
You really should review more devices.
Respect.

[DonnKnee]

I remember when I first joined Pocketnow, a lot of 'Pocketnowers' hated this guy. I never understood why.

He's extremely honest, and thorough. Honestly, Very few tech reviewers tell us about call quality. I think that's stupid but this 'After The Buzz' was one of the best I've seen.

[fabianofcarlos]

Awesome review/revisiting. I bought the S3 last year and you just showed me I was right not to update to the S4.
Thank you so much!

[Pocketnow]

Interesting. Four of us have iPhones and Galaxy phones and we've all noticed superior quality on the iPhone. Obviously that's just our opinion.

Now that said, I will admit - Motorola is the king of call quality. It's like talking on a land-line. I still hold an Atrix HD just because of that. ^JR

[JakubDyszkiewicz]

After the buzz is the best idea of pocketnow videos. Great as always

[AjitPawar]

Perfect...just a perfect review. i purchased an s4 in june and i liked it...you said exactly whats on my mind....thats exactly what i think about the s4...word to word! I dont usually comment on youtube videos but your review compelled me to as you deserve a huge thank you....thanks a lot Jaime

[cdogz]

J'aime is by far my favorite tech reviewer on the PocketNow team .. dude's sounds intelligent but most importantly he's LOGICAL with his reviews without being biased so really.. I only subscribe to PN off the strength of J'aime, keep up the good work man!

[TremendousTechChannel]

I've been using this phone as my daily driver for almost 4 years now. Here are my pros and cons after using it for such a long time:

1. The screen is awesome (deep blacks, lots of details & the colour really pops which is great for watching movies). Although I'd have to admit that it's a little over saturated and the whites are a bit yellowish. But the screen is darn STRONG. I've been using it without any case till now and dropped it hundreds of times yet there's only minor cracks and scratches.
2. Lots of future-proof features such as NFC, air view & gesture, smart stay/pause/scroll. These features sometimes are really handy and you could really show it off to ur friends! Despite all that lots of people aren't even aware of these features = bloatwares.
3. The camera is very good especially for videos! The details are awesome and I don't know why but this phone produce more accurate colors when recording videos instead of taking photos. Also when recording videos we could really hear the clear and bassy stereo audio quality. What I love about the camera is its front shooter, it's very consistent and I think it's better than iPhone 5s's front cam. You could get crisp selfies and there's also a night mode.The main camera is also really high in terms of detail and faster + less shakier than S5's camera. Well, the downside in this department is its main camera color accuracy, white balance, auto focus and HDR. The colors are sometimes too washed out and people's faces tend to be darker despite of using the HDR. Also the auto focus isn't that fast and it couldn't focus on objects about 10cm away.
4. When we're talking about the S4's storage it only comes in with 16GB. But we could add a micro SD card which is really practical. I'm currently using a 32GB Samsung Class 10 micro sd card I could easily tell that it's damn fast. It's even faster for moving files compared to the internal storage! In terms of storage my only complaint is that it only comes in with 16GB of storage yet the bloatwares are taking half of it already fresh out of the box.
5. Now lets talk about the software. I could easily confirm that the kitkat version in the S4 is the most stable software yet. The problem with lollipop is that the battery would drain much faster because it's not taking advantage of the amoled screen (shutting down individual pixels if the screen is black) because the kitkat version is more themed towards black and the lollipop version looks bright & white. Although I'd have to admit that the lollipop looks more pleasing in the eyes with better animations, but what's the point of that when opening the notifications panel lags? The next problem with the software is its Wi-Fi. The connection strength and range really degrades through time which makes me really think of buying other phones.
6. Battery. Yes, smarthpone's no. 1 problem. Honestly the S4's battery is good compared to the iPhone 5s or 6/6s or even the S6. But when we compare it with the note 2-5 or even the iPhone 6+/6s+ it DOES NOT STAND A CHANCE. On moderate use like browsing, listening to music and messaging, this phone could go from 7am till 4pm and that's it. When gaming expect around 2.5 hours of battery. But the interesting part here is that although this phone does not support fast charging, when ur using a fast charger it could charge REALLY FAST but makes the phone hot. And yes this phone gets hot really easily.
7. Last but not least is the hardware. Let me just be straight forward: The S4 looks and feels cheap on our eyes and hands. The back plastic just scratch easily and the plastic chrome bezels just peels off too easily. Also the button aren't that tactile at all and the volume button could easily disfunction (it's happening ti my phone).

To sum it up, the Samsung Galaxy S4 is a really AWESOME phone that could be used even until today. But for today there are better options out there that is a lot snappier, looks better and with less problems.

[stefanprietz]

Which wallpaper is that it is very nice.. fo you have the name or a link of the wallpaper from your S4?!

[ucheucheuche]

How did you keep the phone in focus during this 2:02 shot?? Canon 70D? Or pure skills. :)

[thegangstadr]

Are you using a screen protector? or do you use it? I had one but im without it right cuz i like pixels and i found the take half of the phone pixel density

[iDevicer]

Pocketnow
What is the name of the HTC widget on your home screen Jaime?

[marblebone]

Can I know what's the app you used for your clock on your home screen? :)

[ThusalHettiarachchi]

Can you post an episode of after the buzz of the galaxy S4 octa core version???

[marblebone]

Can I know what's the app for the clock widget at the home screen?

[SiyathWidyaratne]

Great video! But what is that watch/weather widget?