The new Samsung Galaxy S4 is finally arriving in the United States within the next week, and its release is sure to have millions of customers itching to get their hands on the device. Reviews for the highly anticipated phone are now starting to pour in from all over the Internet, and since the surprisingly impressive HTC One debut, the question on everyone's minds is: Is the Galaxy S4 the best Android phone out there?
At this point, it would have been extremely surprising if the Galaxy S4 wasn't a quality handset. In that respect, Samsung doesn't disappoint. Most every review acknowledges that the Galaxy S4 is one of Samsung's finest creations. But the HTC One has made an unexpected impression on many writers, leaving them praising the S4 overall, but also noting that it doesn't blow away the competition as many expected.
At The Verge, David Pierce declared the phone fast, powerful, and full of features — some a lot more useful than others. The battery life seemed better to him than the HTC One and the iPhone 5, but the Galaxy S4's lackluster design and kitchen-sink approach to software bordered on gimmickry. All in all, Samsung made a great phone, but arguably not as great as the HTC One.
"The Galaxy S4 is fast and impressive, but it's also noisy and complex," Pierce wrote. "The One is refined, quiet, comfortable, beautiful, and above all simply pleasant. I love using that phone, in a way I haven't experienced with anything since the iPhone 5. That's why, when my contract is up in June, I'll probably be casting my lot with HTC instead of Samsung."
Meanwhile, Gizmodo rated Galaxy S4 favorably as well, but said to only choose it over the HTC One if you really love having a replaceable battery/expandable memory, or want that extra battery life.
"The S4 is far from a bad phone," Gizmodo reads. "In fact, were it not for the HTC One, it would be the best Android phone you can buy. And one can't help but think that had Samsung poured all of its innovation into maximizing the practical user experience-instead of highly ignorable gimmicks-it might have taken the crown."
Finally, CNET also gave the Galaxy S4 a more than positive review, saying that along with the HTC One, it's in the top two of Android phones. The extensive new software features are great for anyone really interested in digging into their phone, but that may not be great for everyone.
"A darn long feature list doesn't make it better for everyone ... As cool as some of the Galaxy S4's add-ons seem, their multitude makes them easy to miss, and there's a good chance most people will only use a fraction of them," CNET's review reads. "When it comes down to core features, the Galaxy S4 still mightily handles all the essentials, and I really enjoyed using the phone. However, without all the armor of its feature minions, it might not necessarily be your top pick."
According to these reviews, and others, too, the Galaxy S4 is clearly a great, quality phone. Whether or not its flood of features is a positive or negative, though, seems to depend on your own personal preferences.
