Using the Galaxy S4, 8 years later - Review

The Samsung Galaxy S4 might look like the typical Samsung one would expect from 2013, but it's also the best selling Android smartphone of all time. How does it hold up in 2021, 8 years later?

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0:00​​​​ - Introduction
0:50 - Best Selling Android
7:20 - Design & Display
12:20 - Hardware, Camera, Features
17:50 - Conclusion

Music:

[Tech]

The Galaxy S4 is the best selling Android ever with about 80 million units sold, thanks to the gorgeous large display at a time where more and more people were beginning to upgrade to the latest and greatest phones. Fun to look at 8 years later, and I'll make sure to get a Galaxy S3 video done soon!

[purplegill]

"It's not 2013 anymore"
Me, watching this on my s4: Wait really?

[darryllmcgee]

Out of all of the Samsung Galaxy Devices that I have owned, the Galaxy S4 was my all-time favorite. I sure wish that I could use it today.

[diablow]

This phone used to be the envy, the talk of the town back when I started high school.

[wton]

I had almost every Galaxy S (2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9) but my sweet spot as always been the S4. Those 1920x1080 pixels in 2013 were awesome.

[XMguy]

The S4 was my first Samsung Android smartphone. I had other android phones, and other smartphones. This is also one of the few to have TWO modem radios. So you could use data and call on 3G!

[SukhwinderKaur-tynf]

My uncle still uses a Samsung Galaxy S4 in 2021 and he does not want to upgrade because he likes his Samsung Galaxy S4 so much in 2021 and it still going strong

[themightyavenger]

Maybe I’m just weird, but I still don’t understand this whole obsession with “it feels premium” when it comes to phones in the last 5 years or so. By now, pretty much everyone phone feels ridiculously uncomfortable to hold in the hand due to being huge slabs of metal and glass. I remember phones like the Moto X and Nexus 5 getting praised for their builds because they were actually comfortable to hold and companies/reviewers cared about ergonomics. I’d personally much rather have a phone that’s comfortable to hold and well build even if it isn’t metal. I feel like the conversation has shifted from “feels good in the hand” to “feels expensive” which I personally think is kinda dumb since you’re meant to hold these things, but that’s just me lol I’m probably the only one who feels that way

[vladislavzbb]

Oh, I remember how I read about Samsung Galaxy S4 in some smartphone magazine and was so obsessed with getting one. I compared it with HTC One by specs in the same magazine and thought Samsung was clearly the winner: it had more Megapixels, more cores, better Antutu score... In the end, I never got one, but memories live till this day.

[平和-vz]

IDC what others say.
Here is my list of stuff I miss and want to see again:

- Expandable Storage
- IR Blaster
- Removable Battery
- Compact devices
- No Notches or Punch holes
- Headphone Jacks

[lasarousi]

I remember the S3 being the peak technological device.

It blew my mind that it's competitors were able to play gta 3, a game that 10 years before needed a dedicated computing unit.


And now I'm playing 3ds games on my s8.

[PCJesus]

My Dad used it so hard that the motherboard burnt out

[dscott]

I still use mine. The reception is still good, as good as newer phones AFAIK. The camera is not "horrible". The pictures are good enough for casual use. Bloatware is of no consequence, use the useful and ignore the rest. Phone batteries generally don't last long but in my S4 are easily replaced. The rule about upgrades is "Unless an upgrade ENABLES a key function that could not be done before, don't! ". Newer phones, at best, only provide incremental improvements. I'm happy with mine. Cheers.

[Mirra-fs]

Loved this era of smartphones, i still have my S4 in it's original box in like new condition.The only downside to this and the S3 and S5 is that the shiny plastic frame would start to peel without a case and sometimes even with a case if it was a cheaper one

[bruh-uyvn]

the air gestures were pretty gimmicky but I ABSOLUTELY LOVED how you could pick up phone calls with them. It was very useful when you were eating and had the phone lying on the table. Someone would call and you'd just do the motion gesture thingy and you could either reject the call or pick it up and it would automatically turn it on speaker. genuinely a cool feature.

I also love how you could hover your hand over the device when it was turned off and it would light up and show you the time and notifications for a moment, much like how always-on displays work now.

Some of the air gesture features were really cool!

[DeyanIliev-mizq]

The S4 was the first smartphone my grandmother accepted and used until recently (the phone died) and she still tells me how kuch she loved it. It truly was a legend of a device

[MazharHuq]

And it's still one of my favorite phones ever.

[KING_]

14:10 crazy how they brought that back lol

[SportbikerNZ]

Still rocking my S4 from 2013 as my only phone. This thing has been a boss. The IR blaster has came in handy for old TV's where the remote was lost. I've even controlled heat pumps with it.
Have only replaced the battery once this whole time.
Screen still mint without any burn in that I can see. Have been through a few screen protectors.

More apps are now starting to drop Android 5, but 90% still support it surprisingly. Facebook, all the messaging and banking apps, youtube, netflix google maps and most everything are still supported and working fine. I'll probably install LineageOS when more apps ditch Android 5.

Its performance still beats the heck out of the real cheap phones.

[s.j.lattuf]

I'm glad you kept the music for 91 Tech intro.