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I don't think anyone has ever doubted Samsung's ability to make a stellar display (or any other component). What anyone has doubted has been Samsung's ability

I don't think anyone has ever doubted Samsung's ability to make a stellar display (or any other component). What anyone has doubted has been Samsung's ability to take these displays and components and integrate them into a whole that doesn't look and feel like cheap plasticky junk that is less than the sum of its parts. Samsung has yet to give us reason to stop doubting that. Of course it clearly hasn't stopped the world's population from snapping them up...

dmix 13y ago
Bingo. After having an S3 and now an S4, I'm done with Samsung's cheap build quality. With S5 the phone is getting uglier and more cheap plasticy-looking than previous builds. Now I need to find another phone where I can swap batteries out instead of having to plug it in to charge.
- toomuchtodo 13y ago
  > Now I need to find another phone where I can swap batteries out instead of having to plug it in to charge. Is wireless charging not an option?
  - Jtsummers 13y ago
    I think dmix wants to be able to get extended battery life without charging at all. Wireless charging still tethers you to a wall, and based on the wireless charges I've seen leaves the device in an essentially unusable state due to the requirement that it lie on the charging surface.
  - mikestew 13y ago
    I can't speak for parent's use case, but wireless charging isn't going to do me much good at 35K feet on an airplane. A possible solution to parent's needs, depending on the use case, is a LimeFuel battery pack [0]. US$40, keeps my wife and I watching movies on the Galaxy Note and an iPad on cross-country flights with plenty to spare. I don't need a spare, swappable battery all that often, so something versatile like the LimeFuel (which can charge anything that uses a USB port) suits my needs better. As a sidenote, I haven't found wireless charging to be all that anyway. It makes the phone thicker (either built-in or with a wireless charging case), and all it does is save me the two seconds it takes to put a plug in the end of the phone. I've got the wireless charging case for the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 and seldom use it. [0] http://www.amazon.com/External-Battery-Pack-Limefuel-L130X/dp/B00BZD6QCW http://www.amazon.com/External-Battery-Pack-Limefuel-L130X/d...
    - toomuchtodo 13y ago
      > and all it does is save me the two seconds it takes to put a plug in the end of the phone. I prefer wireless charging, as I've had to replace the USB port (Galaxy Nexus) due to the number of insertions/removals over ~2 years.
- artmageddon 13y ago
  > Now I need to find another phone where I can swap batteries out instead of having to plug it in to charge. I thought you could already do this with the Samsung S-series phones?
  - dnissley 13y ago
    You can. He specifies that he wants a non-Samsung phone that can do this.
ditoax 13y ago
I had a Galaxy S4 for a while last year and never had a problem with the plastic back like others. I cracked an iPhone 4 back with a small drop which really annoyed me. At least with the Samsung phone if I scuff the back I can just a new one or even buy a nicer one to just replace it. The band around the S4 is metal at the screen is pretty tough (Gorilla Glass I believe?). Never understand all the hate of the Samsung designs. If you don't like plastic just buy a different back. That is one of the benefits of it being removable.
- soperj 13y ago
  I love the removable plastic back. Lets me change the battery, sim or sd card in a snap. Also I've used my S3 for a couple of years now, and dropped it a bunch of times, including on concrete, and there is barely any damage. I don't use a case.
  - mikestew 13y ago
    I find the lack of SIM tray annoying. To swap SIMs I have to remove the back, remove the battery, remove the SD card, and then I can finally get to the SIM. Then I have to be careful because SIM slots can break. Lame.
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]
mikestew 13y ago
I gave up my iPhone 5 to switch to a Samsung Galaxy Note 3. Bought it for the stylus, and I love the display (first AMOLED I've seen that wasn't cartoonish in its saturation), fast CPU, long battery life. But it's the first phone I've had that I don't mind putting a case on because I won't be covering up any beautiful design aesthetics. For US$700 that sure is some tasteless crap they wrapped those lovely parts in. It wouldn't be so bad if it weren't the fakery of it all. Fake genuine faux leather stitching on the back. Fake metallic look on the sides. If you're going to make phones out of plastic, own it. Make the best genuine Corinthian polycarbonate phone you know how without trying to make it look like something else.
- commandar 13y ago
  > If you're going to make phones out of plastic, own it. Make the best genuine Corinthian polycarbonate phone you know how without trying to make it look like something else. I think great examples of this are the Nexus 5/7 and the Moto X. They're completely plastic construction, but they look and feel much nicer than the Galaxy line.
electic 13y ago
To your point. One of the things I did not find was the benchmarks on tap response times. Maybe that was not tested but the screen plus the digitizer is really important.
justin66 13y ago
> feel like cheap plasticky junk that is less than the sum of its parts The vast majority of people put their phones in protective cases anyway, even their beautiful iPhones. Putting a lot of effort into the feel of the case is something you have to do if you're Apple, it's something everyone else can afford to make a much lesser priority. edit: it'd be interesting to see on which point the downvoters disagree. you guys could actually RESPOND.
- thedrbrian 13y ago
  Vast majority? Got any numbers for that?
  - omonra 13y ago
    http://www.tomsguide.com/us/smartphone-owners-spurn-cases,news-18024.html http://www.tomsguide.com/us/smartphone-owners-spurn-cases,ne... 75% use a case
bookwormAT 13y ago
The Galaxy S2 had very high build quality. It was all plastic, but felt and looked great. It extremely light and higly durable, and a removable back is very useful. I think it's fair to say that the build of S2 was cheaper than the competition, but the quality was also much better than any of the metal or glass(!) designs. In later models they switched from elegant to ugly IMHO.
kaonashi 13y ago
After going from a SIII to a iPhone 5s recently, I wholeheartedly agree.

dmix 13y ago

Bingo. After having an S3 and now an S4, I'm done with Samsung's cheap build quality. With S5 the phone is getting uglier and more cheap plasticy-looking than previous builds. Now I need to find another phone where I can swap batteries out instead of having to plug it in to charge.

toomuchtodo 13y ago
> Now I need to find another phone where I can swap batteries out instead of having to plug it in to charge. Is wireless charging not an option?
- Jtsummers 13y ago
  I think dmix wants to be able to get extended battery life without charging at all. Wireless charging still tethers you to a wall, and based on the wireless charges I've seen leaves the device in an essentially unusable state due to the requirement that it lie on the charging surface.
- mikestew 13y ago
  I can't speak for parent's use case, but wireless charging isn't going to do me much good at 35K feet on an airplane. A possible solution to parent's needs, depending on the use case, is a LimeFuel battery pack [0]. US$40, keeps my wife and I watching movies on the Galaxy Note and an iPad on cross-country flights with plenty to spare. I don't need a spare, swappable battery all that often, so something versatile like the LimeFuel (which can charge anything that uses a USB port) suits my needs better. As a sidenote, I haven't found wireless charging to be all that anyway. It makes the phone thicker (either built-in or with a wireless charging case), and all it does is save me the two seconds it takes to put a plug in the end of the phone. I've got the wireless charging case for the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 and seldom use it. [0] http://www.amazon.com/External-Battery-Pack-Limefuel-L130X/dp/B00BZD6QCW http://www.amazon.com/External-Battery-Pack-Limefuel-L130X/d...
  - toomuchtodo 13y ago
    > and all it does is save me the two seconds it takes to put a plug in the end of the phone. I prefer wireless charging, as I've had to replace the USB port (Galaxy Nexus) due to the number of insertions/removals over ~2 years.
artmageddon 13y ago
> Now I need to find another phone where I can swap batteries out instead of having to plug it in to charge. I thought you could already do this with the Samsung S-series phones?
- dnissley 13y ago
  You can. He specifies that he wants a non-Samsung phone that can do this.

ditoax 13y ago

I had a Galaxy S4 for a while last year and never had a problem with the plastic back like others. I cracked an iPhone 4 back with a small drop which really annoyed me. At least with the Samsung phone if I scuff the back I can just a new one or even buy a nicer one to just replace it. The band around the S4 is metal at the screen is pretty tough (Gorilla Glass I believe?). Never understand all the hate of the Samsung designs. If you don't like plastic just buy a different back. That is one of the benefits of it being removable.

soperj 13y ago
I love the removable plastic back. Lets me change the battery, sim or sd card in a snap. Also I've used my S3 for a couple of years now, and dropped it a bunch of times, including on concrete, and there is barely any damage. I don't use a case.
- mikestew 13y ago
  I find the lack of SIM tray annoying. To swap SIMs I have to remove the back, remove the battery, remove the SD card, and then I can finally get to the SIM. Then I have to be careful because SIM slots can break. Lame.
deleted 13y ago
[deleted]

mikestew 13y ago

I gave up my iPhone 5 to switch to a Samsung Galaxy Note 3. Bought it for the stylus, and I love the display (first AMOLED I've seen that wasn't cartoonish in its saturation), fast CPU, long battery life. But it's the first phone I've had that I don't mind putting a case on because I won't be covering up any beautiful design aesthetics. For US$700 that sure is some tasteless crap they wrapped those lovely parts in. It wouldn't be so bad if it weren't the fakery of it all. Fake genuine faux leather stitching on the back. Fake metallic look on the sides. If you're going to make phones out of plastic, own it. Make the best genuine Corinthian polycarbonate phone you know how without trying to make it look like something else.

commandar 13y ago
> If you're going to make phones out of plastic, own it. Make the best genuine Corinthian polycarbonate phone you know how without trying to make it look like something else. I think great examples of this are the Nexus 5/7 and the Moto X. They're completely plastic construction, but they look and feel much nicer than the Galaxy line.

electic 13y ago

To your point. One of the things I did not find was the benchmarks on tap response times. Maybe that was not tested but the screen plus the digitizer is really important.

justin66 13y ago

> feel like cheap plasticky junk that is less than the sum of its parts The vast majority of people put their phones in protective cases anyway, even their beautiful iPhones. Putting a lot of effort into the feel of the case is something you have to do if you're Apple, it's something everyone else can afford to make a much lesser priority. edit: it'd be interesting to see on which point the downvoters disagree. you guys could actually RESPOND.

thedrbrian 13y ago
Vast majority? Got any numbers for that?
- omonra 13y ago
  http://www.tomsguide.com/us/smartphone-owners-spurn-cases,news-18024.html http://www.tomsguide.com/us/smartphone-owners-spurn-cases,ne... 75% use a case

bookwormAT 13y ago

The Galaxy S2 had very high build quality. It was all plastic, but felt and looked great. It extremely light and higly durable, and a removable back is very useful. I think it's fair to say that the build of S2 was cheaper than the competition, but the quality was also much better than any of the metal or glass(!) designs. In later models they switched from elegant to ugly IMHO.

kaonashi 13y ago

After going from a SIII to a iPhone 5s recently, I wholeheartedly agree.