yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Galaxy S 4 General] Sarcron:
Ttoally agree

I could understand if the aluminum vs plastic debate was made into the subset, lesser point of contention that it is. But multiple reviews, mainly from American websites, have put it front and center as one of the biggest issues and one of the most important if not THE most important distinction between the phones. Like, seriously? Most of these reviews skim over features, barely juggle the cameras, and no real mention of Mobeam. So they insert the classic filler argument to get page views, and no new information is shown, and no real analysis done.

The only thing "cheap" going on here is the reporting. If you're reviewing a unit and you have limited access to the phone and can't do a proper review, just say so. Don't take up paragraphs to explain this "war" that few people really care about whatsoever, and especially don't make up 1/3 the problems with the phone as "it doesn't feel premium"; there's far more concerning issues to list besides that.

And it's not like cases are rare among mainstream buyers: https://www.npd.com/wps/portal/npd/us/news/press-releases/pr_120821/

Custom cases, skins, and other phone accessories make up a multi-billion dollar industry in of itself. The idea that "naked phones" are the standard and everyone should adhere to it is asinine. I would rather put a real kick ass Breaking Bad print on the back cover of my Galaxy S4 then use the generic black mist for instance.
[Galaxy S 4 General] optimummind:
Due to all the hype, I went out the other day to check out the HTC One and I was honestly underwhelmed. Premium feel? I don't think so. Maybe I'm weird but the One actually kind of felt like plastic to me, LOL~ The aluminum isn't even very solid and dense and it felt only a bit more thicker than my can of Rockstar I drink every day. :p If HTC were gonna do aluminum, they should've at least used higher quality aluminum like the one on the iPhone 5. At least the iPhone 5 does feel a bit premium. I appreciate aluminum for my car's suspension parts but don't care for it on my phone.
[Galaxy S 4 General] msavic6:
Sure the HTC One looks premium but I would feel bad covering up that "premium" look with a case. But if I don't put it in a case, I'll feel even worse when it gets scratched. If any dust gets under you case, its going to slaughter the aluminum finish on the One.
[Galaxy S 4 General] xManMythLegend:
Because people are dumb.

Most of my previous phones were aluminum and *solid*... That's no indication of durability as screen breaks and dents are still commonplace with metal phones. Removable battery, cooler to hold, lighter, less prone to visible scratches etc.

A vast majority of smartphone users put there phones in hideous cases anyway so the entire *premium feel* argument is fluff.

Bottom line something feeling more dense doesn't means is better quality. Just pure subjective nonsense.
[Galaxy S 4 General] sohebq:
If htc, sony, and apple fanboys dont bash the design, what else they have to bring down samsung? No nothing, samsung is way beyond all of them in rest of the departments.

sent from: The New S-Pen :)
[Galaxy S 4 General] hassan89:
I'm of the view that the whole plastic thing just comes down to personal choice.For me the most lacking quality in the the s4 is the abundance of lag
[Galaxy S 4 General] wednesday13:
So are u saying u must choose Toyota instead of BMW so you wouldn't worry about scratches? :)
[Galaxy S 4 General] Sarcron:
Every time someone uses a car metaphor, it's almost always complete rubbish. Aside from the fact that it's the paint you're scratching on the car, even if it were all aluminum, the "fix" doesn't carry over to a phone. You going to use chemical treatment/sanding on your phone to help with those scratches? The alternative is you send it back for a replacement (and warranties normally don't cover tiny scratches on the phone), or cover up the scratches with a case/skin (and then what's the point?).
[Galaxy S 4 General] fernando sor:
Honestly no one is discussing the s4 in the one forums. Here all you guys do is Talk about the one. Take a deep breath and enjoy your phone. This isn't a war ffs.
[Galaxy S 4 General] barondebxl:
Thats a lie my friend, when the S4 reviews came out that is all that were being discussed at the One forum.
[Galaxy S 4 General] vapotrini:
It's just way too hard for some of them to accept that in some circles the One is being touted as the better phone.

What the SGS 4 wins at, it's a fractional win. What the One wins at, it's almost a night and day difference. IE: Speaker quality, call quality, audio capturing capability & design. And no amount of crying is going to change that.
[Galaxy S 4 General] SlimJ87D:
Removable battery, sd card, tons of more sensors, bigger screen, can be used with gloves and dozens of software features. It goes both ways.

Same could be said about all your audio stuff, it's fractional. Except for the stereo speakers.
[Galaxy S 4 General] Sarcron:
Yeah, HTC is breaking ground with those 2 million units. Samsung's shipping it's next 10 million batch soon I believe, after several carriers sold out of pre-orders. Keep telling yourself the speakers and aluminum design are all you need to have a good phone while the rest of us enjoy the aspects that "don't matter" like camera resolution, sensors, good software features, expandable memory, removable battery, screen size, headphone quality, Mobeam tech, and better hardware all around.

But you can record some really fly videos at the Slipknot concert, so there's that. :)
[Galaxy S 4 General] fernando sor:
Lol this isn't an armed conflict. I would hate to some of you guys in a real tense situation. Honestly if someone has made their decision do you really think what you just said matters? The reason I didn't go s4 because I have the note 10.1 and I just don't care for it or touchwiz. But I still follow what samsung does because THEY do matter.

Competition is good. And if Samsung put together a product I liked I would buy it.

The fanboyism in all the forums is just comical.
[Galaxy S 4 General] barondebxl:
There are two reasons why a member comes to a forum

1. He is somewhat interested in the phone of that forum ( I never visited the HTC one v forum for example cause I'm not interested in it)

2. Cause he/she wants to troll ( I wouldn't troll at a One V forum cause it doesn't compare with the S4 for example)

One of these 2 reasons brought you here, either you are secretly in love with the S4 or you're a troll which means you fear the S4. ;)

---------- Post added at 02:27 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:24 AM ----------

It is. But i m curious to know why you quoted this user post and not the one that got quoted cause he kinda was the fan or troll. After all this is a Samsung forum so obviously most folks here are pro Samsung. By any means if folks want to bash Samsung, do it in your forum ( not you in particular but in general). If you do it here, you can be certain there will be replies.
[Galaxy S 4 General] Sarcron:
I don't care to change his mind, really. Just pulling up the facts; you can nip at the heel all you want but competition usually implies near-equal standing, and last I checked, there's a 157 billion dollar difference between the two companies, and one is posting poor results this quarter while the other is gaining. You're right, you fanboys are pretty comical.
[Galaxy S 4 General] fernando sor:
Dude you were all OVER the one forums. And it's not trolling if people are respectful. And really with all due respect I'll quote who I quote.

I've worked with Samsung devs. I've taught more than a few members how to theme over here. So I've earned my opinion. The fanboyism on the one and the s4 is out of control.
[Galaxy S 4 General] barondebxl:
Yes. You know why? Cause I like the One. Have you seen me bashing the One? No. Everyone that knows me Here knows that I plan to buy it at some point but I happen to prefer the S4.

You can quote whoever you want of course but you don't seem as unbiased as you make it sound, that's my point.
[Galaxy S 4 General] fernando sor:
Well ill certainly criticize htc and I have much since their downfall so I'm not sure why your calling me a fanboy but whatever I've been called a lot worse. And yeah samsung is a juggernaut. No one is arguing that point though I'm not sure what your actual point is. If money is the source of victory than apple wins. They have more cash.

---------- Post added at 02:46 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:39 AM ----------

Have I bashed the s4? Please show me where I've done that. I'll argue a point with someone but that's fun. And yes I like a lot of things about htc but I was very close to getting the s3 because of the idiotic moves htc was making. I didn't because my dev team is htc. I am glad I stuck it out as I love the one and dna.

If I had extra money I would get the s4 but I already have two smartphones on two carriers.

I'm commenting on the comical "I'm so tied to my smartphone manufacturer it effects my self esteem" fanboyism. And it's on the one forums also.
[Galaxy S 4 General] Sarcron:
Doesn't it suck when people just say who they think you are because they don't agree with you? You love to dish out people as fanatics, but you can't really take it yourself. Apple is competition to Samsung, that is correct. Samsung still has most of the Android market and the Android market is gaining over the iOS, but yes, between all the major manufacturers only the top two are in the same league. Which is weird when one hears that HTC is just as competitive, despite drastically lower resources and pushing out far fewer units then either company. They made a good handset, but LG put out a good one as well and no one is holding them up against the top two, despite LG itself being worth more than HTC.

I wonder why that is...
[Galaxy S 4 General] fernando sor:
Dude I'm not getting your point. Are saying that the s4 isn't facing competition from the one or the xperia z? Because that doesn't make sense. Of course they are. And I own a Samsung tablet, nexus 7, three smart phones

and two Asus laptops. There isn't a pattern here.

And I'll buy the next best thing based on a lot of factors.
[Galaxy S 4 General] barondebxl:
Friend, I don't accuse you of bashing the S4, I never did, read my post again and tell me where I said that you bash the S4. I was speaking of myself when I said that I never bashed the One and I wasn't implying that you did it with the S4. It was a reply cause you said earlier that I was all over the One forum. Yes, I still am cause its a great phone, no doubt. On top of it I intend to buy it in the future but again I much prefer the S4. To each his own. And let's make one thing clear here, there are fanboys everywhere. Earlier you said that all we do here is talk about the One and nobody talks about the S4 in the One forum. That is the total opposite of the truth. That is one of the main topic of discussion over there especially since the S4 reviews came out. So fanboyism is even more noticeable there.
[Galaxy S 4 General] Sarcron:
I'm saying just because you make a good handset doesn't automatically make you highly competitive. The HTC One gets thumped up in tech blogs (mostly in the States), but does that make it competitive when the real world doesn't reflect that? According to the standard of business, no. A local burger joint isn't completely competitive with Mcdonald's just because a few people in the local community swear up and down it has the best burgers ever made. Apple not only puts out good handsets and have strong branding, but they push out millions more units and own a large market share of phones. That makes them competitive.

The whole "Big dog vs under dog" thing is played out. There is no David and Goliath; Samsung doesn't just sell well because they put out an ad, they sell well because they built up Capital and reputation, and they sell what people want (As of right now, that would be software features).
[Galaxy S 4 General] fernando sor:
I wasnt saying you were being negative on the One. I just felt the guy you were saying that could be trolling was being respectful and just offering a different opinion. I think the fanboyism is pretty bad in both forums..

Yes I did say that because it does appear to be a hot topic here. And you will get no argument from me about the the fanboyism. AndI was referring more to actual threads created about the plastic and negativity. I think the s4 was discussed a lot before the one came out. I'm just not seeing it discussed as much now.
[Galaxy S 4 General] Samer Diab:
LooooooL best thread ever by the way i am talcking physiques side energie waves transfer faster faster via plastick so if your dropp s4 and hi hits an angle the screen will be blasted to bits and it costs 340 dollars new now the good side is that you have a 8 core so it can be hot and plastic is a heat relefer so wben playing a kick ass game on one my hands get burned wich mite affect cpu and ram usage you can get logic board fried it will cost you a 370 dollars to replace so i will go woth plastic lol
[Galaxy S 4 General] fernando sor:
I dont think htc is comparatively a local burger joint to samsungs McDonald's. Htc was on top just a few years ago. And they just sell cell phones. So I have to say that argument even from a business standpoint is very flawed. It's being sold world wide on numerous carriers. It's availability minus Verizon is pretty much the same as Samsung.
[Galaxy S 4 General] Sarcron:
Was on top. Last year they flooded the market with several phones and then just snipped away support. This year they're trying to push hard on one handset in this quarter, and they still suffered, despite doubling their marketing budget. The CEO is threatening to resign if the HTC One does poor sales, so again, in what way are they as competitive compared to Apple and Samsung? If anything, the fact that they focus so heavily on phones and they still perform like this, while Apple and Samsung engage in multiple venues and still put out great flagships and still sell well, says more about HTC.

And I'll say again, right now what sells phones heavily is how the software impresses. HTC is pushing front speakers and aluminum design, while Apple and Samsung push their branding in software, and still produce good hardware.
[Galaxy S 4 General] ohraii:
Some people want plastic, some people want aluminum. Different strokes for different folks. I honestly think they're both amazing phones. HTC did wonderful with the One.

I love the design of the One. I think its beautiful, but realistically for ME a plastic phone would suit better because I know it'll be more scratch resistant to fit my lifestyle.

I don't really think there should be a "what's better war" going on between the consumers. We should be happy that we have got 2 AMAZING phones this year, and even more to come!
[Galaxy S 4 General] sohebq:
Another thread that will end in flames :-/

sent from: The New S-Pen :)
[Galaxy S 4 General] barondebxl:
I think what really sells is a good/great product backed up with strong marketing. Here is a "non tech" point of view from regular consumers, the consumers that account for 90% of sales. I'm sure you guys have seen this video:

http://www.androidcentral.com/galaxy-s4-versus-htc-one-new-york-s-central-park#comments

People buy what you tell them and push them to buy. Of course like I said, you have to have a good product otherwise it will fail. Honestly, the One having a non removable battery is not a factor to those same regular folks. However how the device feels, the camera and the software is what people really want. The android central video is awesome because it shows and proves that everything is a matter of choice and opinion. Some folks on the video prefer the feel of the S4 and how it fits in the hand despite being plastic and some prefer the One because it is more premium looking. Then some prefer the S4 cause of the screen and others prefer the One cause of its screen, same with cameras.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that both device are so good in their own way, you can't really say one is better than the other. It really is a matter of preference between these two. Aaron from phone dog has been doing dogfights for years between phones and for the first time, he called it a tie between these 2 handsets. They are so different, and so good at what they offer that it really comes down to personal choice. Folks should try to look from a different perspective and understand why others prefer the other phone.

Here is the "epic" dogfight between the 2:

http://www.phonedog.com/videos/samsung-galaxy-s-4-vs-htc-one-dogfight-part-1/
[Galaxy S 4 General] Sarcron:
Marques explained it best here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGXhG82HRX0

The galaxy S3 sold very much well because it pushed software features, and Samsung is taking a page from that. Their entire presentation of the Galaxy S4 was almost entirely based on showing off the software, they didn't even mention Android and barely touched on hardware aspects. They know you don't sell a phone by talking about quad core processors, but rather, by showing you can wave your hand and turn a page, or look away from a video and it will pause itself. In fact, their commercials have reflected that same thing, once again showing off all the software stuff and only just touching on the hardware elements.

Random samplings of people not withstanding, there is very clear market trends. If people were 100% diverse in everything they wanted in a phone, the market share would look a lot differently. But the way trends go, people focus on general traits, and the company that picks up on that is the company that rides the wave of sales. Samsung is clearly doing just that, and they're projected to outsell their Galaxy S3 unit several times over.
[Galaxy S 4 General] Jankulovski:
While I think the S4 straddles the line between being durable and just feeling cheap, I do agree with you that it doesn't have you in a state of OCD-induced worry 24/7 about scratching it.
[Galaxy S 4 General] system.img:
People are saying that build material is the deciding factor for buying a phone as if they are buying jewellery instead of phones. :rolleyes:
[Galaxy S 4 General] Hunt3r.j2:
To actually touch on some real, functional advantages of metal build, it gets better reception with the case of the One, and cooling is better (universal to all metal phones).

On the One, the cellular, WiFi, and GPS antennas are all part of the external body, which means that the antennas can be optimized and more photons are caught by the antennas. The net result is better reception in places where it is marginal. No deathgrip either, only WiFi can have the issue, and it requires that you cup the very top right/left of the phone.

NFC uses the camera as an RF window. The plastic lines help prevent odd RF effects from happening in that case. Otherwise, the plastic lines are used to insulate the antennas from each other to work properly.

The metal conducts heat better so the internal components stay cooler. Some reviewers have noted that the GS4 will throttle faster than the One for this reason.
[Galaxy S 4 General] SlimJ87D:
Proof about the antenna and metal?
[Galaxy S 4 General] BarryH_GEG:
Exactly. HTC deserves credit for using an aluminum body and delivering comperable wireless performance but "better" is really a stretch. There's a couple of people that have to turn off Wi-Fi in order to use A2DP which kind of sucks if you want/need to use both. But overall there aren't a lot of compliants about the One's wireless performance.

Here's one thread...

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2199568
[Galaxy S 4 General] Hunt3r.j2:
https://twitter.com/nerdtalker/status/326967141951737856

Brian Klug=Anandtech chief smartphone editor.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/6747/htc-one-review/15

"Never had it detune/very impressed by RF performance"

I have both tested and read information that the One hangs on to LTE better than an iPhone 5, but I can't find the source because it was nearly a month ago.
[Galaxy S 4 General] Black Dawg Down:
Wait, is this true that plastic on the S4 is more scratch resistant than the One's aluminium?

I love aluminium feel, but if it's more scratch-prone, no thanks.
[Galaxy S 4 General] :
Posting just to help with this. I think polycarbonate is more scratch-prone but more obvious on aluminum maybe? Not sure, here's two technical layouts between polycarbonate and Aluminum 6000 which is normally found on iOS devices:

Edit: Can't post links so I'll just say go to matweb and look at the data sheets for Polycarbonate and Aluminum 6000 series.
[Galaxy S 4 General] vdhawwan:
Bought the S4 in India and trust me when I say.. The looks and design is way better than what is described in most reviews.

Sent OTA via XDA Premium. XDA ROCKS!!
[Galaxy S 4 General] Terrorantula:
It's the very nature of metal and it'll dent and you'll never be able to replace it. If you get the GS4, throw it around all you like, never buy a case because you can just replace the plastic...
[Galaxy S 4 General] prodigyX:
I just received my i9500 a few hours ago, and I have to say, it is FAR more premium-looking that what has been described. The chrome-like styling around the border / edges is beautiful, and the phone is really light.

Metal is so over-rated, I have no regrets!
[Galaxy S 4 General] i9100g user:
This makes it more tempting:rolleyes:

Btw still too expensive in my country :(
[Galaxy S 4 General] timberwolf60:
It is important that we can changed battery easily. Plastic good same as my S2. Good.

Send via i9100 using XDA premium,

ROM: Stock XWLSN_DNF

Kernel: Phil XWLSN V4.93.6

superSU 1.25, exFat 64GB
[Galaxy S 4 General] rocksterraghu:
I have had Samsung phones all along. I have dropped my S3 and Note2 umpteen times. All that happened to the Note2 was a little scratch here and there. Every time it fell down the phone would disintegrate, but everything could be assembled in a few seconds. But when I had a One X+ for a week - holy, I always used to live with the fear that the screen would break because the phone cannot disintegrate. The impact I felt would always be taken by the screen. Regardless of how correct my assumption was, I am very happy to be back with Samsung as I have a lot of peace of mind with the 'plastic'.
[Galaxy S 4 General] BarryH_GEG:
So you guys in a thread discussing throttling made the leap amongst yourselves that it was because of heat dissipation because the SGS4's plastic? Kind of a stretch, no? And what about the "too hot to hold" threads in the One forum?

Uhm, OK? It did stellar on "ac" but no other device has been tested to compare it to. This is Brian's 2.4GHz Wi-Fi test and is more representative of what most mere mortals will be using. Again, it's better than the One X and they deserve credit for that. But the question on the table is whether it's "better" than the SGS4.