Goodbye 5s

[iN8ter]

The Samsung hate made a lot of the bad arguments up thread make more sense to me (not the arguments themselves, but the motivation for making them)

Apple's 1st party apps take up almost 2GB on iDevices. Not even the carriers + Samsung require that much space (do the math). iLife and iWork are absolutely massive installs. Space is not an issue on this device. It is actually somewhat better than the iPhone.

The only stock apps I considered bloat on the iPhone were junk like compass and weather.

The only issue I had were the massive amount of space their other apps required. Over 600 MB for GarageBand, for example. The iWork app install sizes are ridiculous. A 16GB iPhone would be hard to manage for me due to that, given the lack of external storage.

Samsung Hub is not preloaded on the S5 and the Note 3 only preload the Video Store and App Store (for good reason). The rest is needed in markets where Google Play isn't available and to make sure media purchases from Samsung non android platforms can be recovered and used on the Android devices.

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[mulasien]

The Samsung hate made a lot of the bad arguments up thread make more sense to me (not the arguments themselves, but the motivation for making them)

Apple's 1st party apps take up almost 2GB on iDevices. Not even the carriers + Samsung require that much space (do the math). iLife and iWork are absolutely massive installs. Space is not an issue on this device. It is actually somewhat better than the iPhone.

The only stock apps I considered bloat on the iPhone were junk like compass and weather.

The only issue I had were the massive amount of space their other apps required. Over 600 MB for GarageBand, for example. The iWork app install sizes are ridiculous. A 16GB iPhone would be hard to manage for me due to that, given the lack of external storage.

I'm not sure if you're making the statement that the iWork/iLife apps are bloat, which I would say they're not because 1. they're optional, 2. they don't come pre-loaded out of the box and 3. can be removed. If that's not what you were stating, then my apologies. Yeah, they're big apps, but you can choose whether you have them or not.

I was going to link to the articles that talk about the S5 taking up over 8GB of storage space, but then I found more recent articles stating that the demo units at MWC had extra demo software taking up space that won't be on production models. I wonder what the final units will weigh in at once they're out in the wild?

Samsung Hub is not preloaded on the S5 and the Note 3 only preload the Video Store and App Store (for good reason). The rest is needed in markets where Google Play isn't available and to make sure media purchases from Samsung non android platforms can be recovered and used on the Android devices.

Sent from my Galaxy Note 3 using Tapatalk

I was not aware that Samsung Hub was not loaded on the S5, so thanks for the clarification on that. The Samsung store being needed in non-Google Play markets as an alternate source does make sense now that you mention it. However, I would still consider it to be an unnecessary space hog on phones in countries where Google Play is available. People should be able to remove a redundant alternate market app if they don't need it.

 

[iN8ter]

I'm not sure if you're making the statement that the iWork/iLife apps are bloat, which I would say they're not because 1. they're optional, 2. they don't come pre-loaded out of the box and 3. can be removed. If that's not what you were stating, then my apologies. Yeah, they're big apps, but you can choose whether you have them or not.

I was going to link to the articles that talk about the S5 taking up over 8GB of storage space, but then I found more recent articles stating that the demo units at MWC had extra demo software taking up space that won't be on production models. I wonder what the final units will weigh in at once they're out in the wild?

10.7 GB out of the box, which is almost in line with a lot of other devices on the 16 GB model. A 16 GA device only has about 14.8 GB available out of the box after formatting.

iWork is optional but so is Polaris Office, Video Editor, ChatOn, and many others on my device. The device does not prompt me to install the the way an iPhone does, either.

I was not aware that Samsung Hub was not loaded on the S5, so thanks for the clarification on that. The Samsung store being needed in non-Google Play markets as an alternate source does make sense now that you mention it. However, I would still consider it to be an unnecessary space hog on phones in countries where Google Play is available. People should be able to remove a redundant alternate market app if they don't need it.

Samsung puts some of its own app and data updates on its own store. It makes sense.

The S4 was the last device to come with all that preloaded and the S3 didn't have nearly as much preload. The S4 is actually a bit of an outlier as the carriers/Samsung removed that stuff from every Galaxy S flagship prior to the 4.

The S didn't come with anything but Social Hub functions in the US variants. Same for the S2.

The S3 came with a store updater for Samsung apps and a Hub Stub but you didn't have to install any of it.

The 4 was the first one to come with Samsung media stores actually preloaded on the device. At least on AT&T or Verizon.

Sent from my Galaxy Note 3 using Tapatalk

 

[reeneebob]

This is not exactaly true, but then again I guess it depends on what you consider to be "bloat ware"
Edit; In the future I would appriciate if you wouldn't "fix" my quotes.

This.

I am using a gs4 as my manager phone for a while, and before I did anything I went in and disabled all the bundled samsung crap.

42 apps. 42! That's what I disabled that ran in the background, duplicated google functions already running in the background, useless touch wiz 'features'.

It's ridiculous.

 

[Speedygi]

I don't see how useful things, essential things even, like the calculator, calendar etc, can be called bloatware...

That gives new meaning to the useless carrier (and Samsung apps now that I think about it) apps some carriers (and Samsung) add on there.

Even an obese man has less bloat...


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[Haalcyon]

I thought bloatware was non-PIM software placed by the OEM and carriers that was unique to that brand or carrier?


{iRiidium} Sent from my liberated iridium rMini LTE

 

[i7guy]

I think that would be a good segue into a discussion of what one consider to be core apps, and what are bloat apps (besides the obvious ones of carrier-added junk). I live and die by my reminders and notes apps, first thing I did when I made my brief foray into Android was to find a suitable note taking app that was as good as the one I had on iPhone. Didn't have reminders on my pre-Android days iPhone, but now rely on it wholly for both timed reminders as well as acting as a shared grocery list between my wife and myself (I know you can get other apps for this, but it works perfectly in the stock reminders app for me).

I've never needed the compass app, but I can see its usefulness if you need it in a pinch.

I also don't think one can make a complete apples to apples comparison between the two platforms when it comes to bloat due to the completely different infrastructure. Apple controls the entire iOS experience, so whatever apps are on it are considered core apps with nothing else added by external sources. Android is of course a different beast. I believe that anything that is not on stock Android (i.e. Nexus devices) is usually considered to be bloat. The two different kinds of Android bloat are: 1. manufacturer-added apps (i.e., Samsung's different S-apps) and 2. ones added by different carriers.

I find the first to be less egregious for the most part as some people find some of the manufacturer ones to be useful. I know that some of the apps added for the Note serve to take better advantage of its capabilities (i.e. S-pen stuff) than stock Android. However some of the Samsung apps are duplicate layers on top of what stock Android already has in it, like their own media store, music store, etc. Those I would consider to be bloat. I haven't had much experience with other phone manufacturers so I can't reliably comment on them, but I know that people like some of the other manufacturer additions like blink feed on the newer HTC phones.

The carrier ones for the most part are useless. Most of them want to milk you for money for services that already come with stock Android, like AT&T navigation apps. That's the worst kind of bloat imaginable and I have yet to find one person who actually says they like and get good use out of carrier added apps.

One persons' bloatware is another persons' essential app. Bloatware on a phone has a different connotation than bloatware on a computer and I agree the addition of carrier added apps is annoying. You can go down the list of applications installed on the iphone and I would believe each person would have a different viewpoint as to whether it was useful or not. For the most part I've used all of the iphone core apps. I think compass and level is gimmicky but cool never the less and wouldn't consider that "bloatware". Whether apple should allow one to remove, optional apps, is another discussion.

 

[iN8ter]

This.

I am using a gs4 as my manager phone for a while, and before I did anything I went in and disabled all the bundled samsung crap.

42 apps. 42! That's what I disabled that ran in the background, duplicated google functions already running in the background, useless touch wiz 'features'.

It's ridiculous.

There are not 42 "Samsung" Apps to disable on the S4 And there are not even 42 Apps that start up and run in the background even on a Verizon GS4 with nothing disabled and probably the most bloat ware of any carrier in the world on that device. I know that for a fact, since I see & use one everyday and helped set it up for the person that got it, which included combing through "All Apps" in the Application Manager and disabling that stuff. I did disable all the redundant unneeded stuff for him, which included things like Google Play Music, Videos, Magazines, Newsstand, Chrome Mobile, Samsung Link, Samsung Music/Video/Books, etc. (it's a work phone, so yea). All of Verizon's Apps which can be disabled (which is all but very few of them), and the Amazon preloaded apps. There are still not 42 Apps disabled (and that is much more than the Average Android user will disable), and there certainly weren't 42 Apps auto running themselves on the phone, Lol.

To get to 42 Apps you have to be disabling things that simply aren't that big a deal, and I don't count features that you can toggle on and off with a slider as a disabled app. Of course I also set his phone up so that features he doesn't or probably won't use are off as well (Air View, Eye Tracking Features, Specific Motion Features like Image/Browser Zoom and Pan). Feature usage varies from person to person.

The only Samsung App that I found I *had* to disable due to Auto-Starting on my phone is Samsung Link. It was useful for Auto-Backing up Photos and/or Video to OneDrive before, but it's not needed anymore since Microsoft updated their OneDrive App with that capability, and it's Auto-Backup to PC is rendered worthless because OneDrive can sync to a PC, anyways... I guess it's still useful for pushing stuff to a Samsung TV that supports it.

I replaced iMessage and FaceTime with ChatOn. Don't knock it til you try it, especially with the Voice and Video Chat features (3-Way Calls and Video Chats @ 1080p which is actually good, without the need to sign up for a Social Network like in Hangouts) they implemented. I have been kind of impressed with it, and have been using it as my primary IM since going back. My GS3 didn't support the Voice/Video, but this phone does. Most people I know have moved to 4's and Notes so it has basically replaced FaceTime and iMessage. Only difference is instead of the Samsung users being left out, the iPhone users are left out this time. Both Services (as regards to Voice and Video Calling) are Platform Locked. ChatOn *is* still usable as an IM client on iOS, however, while iMessage is not usable on anything but an Apple device.

 

[reeneebob]

Anything labelled Samsung or preloaded games/apps that were carrier loaded got disabled. I know how to count to 42 and I know how the phone works, as you well know. And I'm now no longer using it, instead using an HTC One that I prefer greatly and only disabled 17 preloaded things I didn't want.

And Sense is so much less annoying than touchwiz.

There is no excuse for having Samsung apps doing the same thing as Google apps on the same phone except Samsung is obnoxious.

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk

 

[Haalcyon]

Disabling things was part of the phone of Android devices as was all the customizing the enthusiast has to do. ...but that gets old and that's where iOS comes in for many. A UI that is pleasant to use STOCK. While I like Android I do not like the stock android UI at all. Fortunately, with Nova, you can save and transplant your customizations to other devices.




 

[iN8ter]

Anything labelled Samsung or preloaded games/apps that were carrier loaded got disabled. I know how to count to 42 and I know how the phone works, as you well know. And I'm now no longer using it, instead using an HTC One that I prefer greatly and only disabled 17 preloaded things I didn't want.

And Sense is so much less annoying than touchwiz.

There is no excuse for having Samsung apps doing the same thing as Google apps on the same phone except Samsung is obnoxious.

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk

Or maybe the Google versions aren't good enough but they aren't privy to fix them for Google. I'm still interested in seeing those 42 apps cause the Verizon S4, which is the most loaded one, does not have that much on it... ... ...

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[reeneebob]

And if I was still using it I would. However I'm not using it anymore as it was the demo phone and I didn't like using it if something happened to it...and I hated it.

And I'm sorry, not good enough? There's no excuse to have both google play services and a Samsung App Store and a google backup service and a Samsung service...I have yet to find a good Samsung service.

They replaced it with an s3 that I threw in a drawer to avoid using.

 

[Davyo]

You'll be back they always come back

Having owned every model iPhone ever made included the 5s,,, and also owning the Galaxy S3, Note 1 and 2 and currently rockin the S4, I have tried to come back,,, hasn't worked yet.

I love my iPad Air but as far as a phone I'm pretty sure I'm guna be sticking with the Galaxy's and the Note's.

Cheers
Davyo

 

[taz323]

It's what ever works best for you, good luck with them.

 

[newsman787]

Good luck. As said above it is a personal choice. I just came from the Nexus 5 because I couldn't overcome a problem involving keeping a WiFi connection. The 5s has no such problems.


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[iN8ter]

And if I was still using it I would. However I'm not using it anymore as it was the demo phone and I didn't like using it if something happened to it...and I hated it.

And I'm sorry, not good enough? There's no excuse to have both google play services and a Samsung App Store and a google backup service and a Samsung service...I have yet to find a good Samsung service.

They replaced it with an s3 that I threw in a drawer to avoid using.

There's no excuse for apps like Google+, Hangouts, etc. to be preloaded on an Android phone other than for the fact that Google Mandates it.

Samsung puts their services on their phones, just like Microsoft, Apple, HTC, LG, Motorola, Sony, Blackberry and others do. In some cases, those services deliver better quality than Google's services. Hangouts Video Chat is absolute dog**** on mobile compared to ChatOn. It's like comparing a QVGA video stream to 1080p. It's that bad. Google ripped Talk VoIP out of Android in the move to Hangouts. Samsung Account + ChatOn basically give you a better user experience.

Samsung Synch services make sense because potentially you can have Samsung using the same or similar services across different OSes. Samsung makes Windows 8.1, Android, Windows Phone, Bada, and Tizen devices. Not having their own centralized service for this would be illogical.

Samsung hosts all of their own apps on their App Store, and some of their apps (like the Camera App) are extensible. You can augment it with Additional Modes and Filters that you get via Samsung Apps.

If you have a clue about how they leverage their services, it makes a bit more sense.

No one is talking about the S3. There were barely any Samsung Pre-Loads on that device. I just upgraded from one, and it ran marvelously.

 

[reeneebob]

I've owned as my personal phone 3 Samsung galaxy devices , the last s GS3, as well as 3 GS3 and a 4 for the manager phone. None of them ran marvelously for me. Well my personal 3 did until it got the JB update - then it took rooting and a no Samsung Rom to run marvelously again.

It's great that you like Samsung. I've had nothing but issues with multiple Samsung phones going back to my Vibrant bricking 62 days after purchase and spending the next 12 weeks at Samsung repair due to backlog from the recall for the faulty motherboards in a huge number of the I9000M devices sold. Bought my phone in July, had it until August got it back from Samsung new years eve.

Not everyone has to like Samsung. It's okay for people not to. A lot of people do like them and more power to them. It had nothing to do with not understanding how they leverage their preinstalled bloat.

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[Quis89]

You didn't yet lol

The battery life on the note would be hard to leave behind.


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[Richard Nieves]

For those that don't like Samsung. May I ask why? The Samsung product is a distant second only to Apple in the US, but a solid second in sales in the US.
View attachment 51028

- decaying hardware (after year 1)
- crappy interface (Touchwiz)
- feels/looks cheap despite pricetags being the same as iPhones, razrs, htc one.
- POOR customer service
- can be laggy even with great specs.
- seems to blantently copy others (usually badly)

I'm sure I can think of more. Never going back...



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[fabio984]

HAHA. No way. I used BlackBerry for years and then I tried Apple which is what im using now (5S).
when I was using iPhone 5, I tried samsung galaxy s3 mini, and it just s-u-c-k-s.
Didn't used it for more than 1 night.
Good luck with that, a lot of my friends prefer android, but they never tried Apple.