Counterclockwise: the story of Galaxy S phones
- ?
- Anonymous
- LQX
- 11 Mar 2018
Kangal, 11 Mar 2018The first Galaxy S was the best Android phone of the year, ... moreAre you sure S6 is not as hot as S810 phones?
Just google this: s6 overheating
You will see how much stuff shows up. Even a pop up on home screen to warn user that phone got so hot it needs to restart.
Why do you think since S5 , the 4K recording has time limit?
- j
- jeanne
- Khs
- 11 Mar 2018
Kangal, 11 Mar 2018The first Galaxy S was the best Android phone of the year, ... moredude.. c'mon we don't need long story here lol
- Kiyasuriin
- Hxm
- 11 Mar 2018
Kangal, 11 Mar 2018The first Galaxy S was the best Android phone of the year, ... moreWoah. Quite detailed comment. Great job m8! Kudos for the effort
- x
- xXENDER FREAKXx
- sR1
- 11 Mar 2018
Imperator Neubaticus, 11 Mar 2018The s3 was awesome but i regretted purchasing the s4. Good ... moreAnd now the NOTE series is somewhat the same as the S series; just that the NOTE series offer a S-Pen, bigger screen, and more weight, which makes it feel more like a tank and more premium in my own opinion...
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- Zenodroid
- LgH
- 11 Mar 2018
The story of s series. Hmm. It went forward with the evolution from s to s5. It got more and more smart and unique. Then s6 happened and it went backwards. Quality got worse, features got less, battery lifetime got less, but the screen got bigger and more clear. The edge started and the phone got explosive and more weak.
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- Imperator Neubaticus
- 7Xk
- 11 Mar 2018
The s3 was awesome but i regretted purchasing the s4. Good thing i switched to the note line, which was for me miles ahead of the s line at that time.
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- AnonD-736924
- uNV
- 11 Mar 2018
Owned S2 S3 S3neo S7edge S8. These phones came a long way . Just to clarify, the black S2 had a textured back . The white one had a slippery plain plasticy back which made it slippery. I owned both of them . Miss them like crazy.
- D
- AnonD-658415
- rA{
- 11 Mar 2018
Still remember the high end quality I felt when I first picked up the S3, it just felt great with that curved glass. So I brought S4 and then S7 Edge, non of them ever disappointed me. Next would probably be S10. Well even before that I had Wave 2, that hardware was ahead of its time, imagine aluminium body and a 5mp camera capable of 720p, in 2010. It was probably the only Samsung smartphone that didn't lag with time, seriously!
- Kiyasuriin
- 6qW
- 11 Mar 2018
Phylyp, 11 Mar 2018Only the Qualcomm-powered S8/S8+ phones can have their FM r... moreOh. I see. Thanks for the clarification
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- Kangal
- uCX
- 11 Mar 2018
The first Galaxy S was the best Android phone of the year, though it launched towards the end of the year in many places. It was the only phone out there to make people pause to buy an iPhone 3GS or iPhone 4. A great base to start their flagship, kudos.
The SII improved the design, battery, camera, and performance... that it was the best Android phone of the year again (excluding the NOTE, by Samsung). And the best part is that it launched at the start of the year. So, the SII was the Samsung at its most competitive.
The SIII is where they got cocky. The design took a backseat. The software got bloated (and slower support). The new IPS panels were very competitive in quality. And Samsung lost their performance lead. The cameras were improved but not as much as anticipated. It also affected the NOTE 2, leading to one of the most forgettable Samsung phones out there. I think this year, HTC was better with the early released One X using a brighter screen, slightly more ergonomic and better design, combined with the new Qualcomm S4-Dual processor.
The S4 was Samsung "waking up and smelling the coffee". The design was enhanced, the new AMOLED screen didn't suck as much, and they used Qualcomm's S4-Quad processor. The cameras were improved decently. The cartoony software was polished up a bit. Where it wasn't so good was with heat and battery life. If it weren't for HTC stuffing up their next flagship, and SONY crippling theirs... Samsung would not have won so easily. In the same year, Samsung built the NOTE 3. They used the same cameras, and same software design. But they changed the physical design for the much better. They greatly enhanced the battery size and battery life. Not to mention the new-generation AMOLED display that used much less power, was brighter, and more accurate. And lastly the performance with the new Snapdragon 800. The NOTE 3 was the best phone of the year, easily, Samsung had brought out their second most competitive phone out.
The S5 as said in the article improved upon the S4, only because the S4 wasn't stellar to begin with. However, for NOTE 3 owners it wasn't an upgrade. The splashproof water resistance deserves some commendation, but it wasn't as good as people remember... with Samsung refusing to repair water damaged phones. The NOTE 4 took the NOTE 3 and improved the processor slightly QSD 800 vs QSD 805, and improved the design slightly Metal Sides vs Plastic AND microUSB 2.0 vs weird-microUSB 3.0. The cameras did get a decent upgrade though. The best phone this year was the iPhone 6 Plus, thanks to its leading 64-bit processor, TouchID, improved software design and features, decent camera, and impressive battery life. As biased as I am to Samsung, I have to commend Apple for their product at this year.
2015 was an easy victory to the Galaxy S6. It didn't bend like the Nexus 6P, nor did it heat up and thermal-throttle like the other QSD 810 devices. It was a bad year overall for Android phones, and Samsung managed an automatic win squarely due to not being worse than their previous flagship... unlike the HTC M9 (urgh). The Note5 (which really should have been called the Note6) was very different to all the previous models. Honestly, it was a step-backwards in removing the microSD card and removable battery... and personally the design too, quite slippery fragile all-glass. I would give the S6 the edge over the Note5 for being more-of-the-same but coming out at the start of the year instead of the end. Still, its not very competitive to the likes of the iPhone 6S Plus, which improved its body construction, camera, and performance.
2016 is when Qualcomm, and Android phones went back to the front-page. We saw the standout likes of the ZTE Axon 7, OnePlus 3, LG V20. The S7 Edge was the best phone of the year in my eyes (especially the Exynos version) because it launched much earlier than its competitors, had one of the best cameras out there, and proper waterproofing too. This was Samsung's third most competitive phone. Let's not mention the Note7.
The 2017 S8 again stole all the inventory of Qualcomm's chipset. It didn't make much improvement, especially over the Exynos 8890, but still fine for a QSD 835 chipset. It didn't make much difference/improvement to the screen and camera either. So for all intents and purposes, the S8 was the S7, just in a different body. If you are wealthy and into slippery, glossy stylish things... the S8 was an improvement. However, if you are modest, practical, the S8 was a step back... the fingerprint scanner position, the extra edge sides, fragile construct, and annoying aspect ratio are objectively downgrades. Still the V30 and Pixel2 launched months later and were plagued with QC issues. The OnePlus 5 was good, but its camera was mediocre at best, offered no waterproofing, and had a high asking price. This again forfeits the win to Samsung. The new iPhones got waterproofing, but bumped the price and removed the headphone jack. For these reasons, the best phone of the 2017 year, winning by default, was the Samsung S8 Plus.
2018 has only started, and it seems like Samsung is playing it safe. Apple is on a bad start with the ridiculous notch iPhone X, or the fragile iPhone 8 Plus with its big bezels. Other players are on a bad start too like Sony, LG, HTC, and Google. Here's hoping there's a decent ZTE or Razer Phone follow-up. But so far, Nokia is the only one on a good start with their better flagship phone which also promises AndroidOne support for all those Nexus-fans out there. One thing's for sure: it's too early to tell which will prove to be the "best" phone of the year.
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- Vegetaholic
- sXj
- 11 Mar 2018
Definitely one of the greatest line ups in history of smartphones, I started with S4 and still are on the series with S8. Biggest concerns are not features or hardware but insane process which are no unbearable to even think about, does not matter how good line up Is, if you charge it for full blown high end laptop, will be time to move to competition unfortunattely
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- Phylyp
- GQd
- 11 Mar 2018
Kiyasuriin, 11 Mar 2018I had the S8 and I have yet to find that radio.Only the Qualcomm-powered S8/S8+ phones can have their FM radio unlocked via firmware updates, and the same has occurred in the US, due to an FCC mandate. The Exynos ones don't have the required hardware in the first place, so there's no FM radio to enable.
- ?
- Anonymous
- yAL
- 11 Mar 2018
The first Galaxy S was a horrible phone no thanks to their filesystem. Almost wanted to throw the phone out of the window, the moment i turned on my phone went into Contacts and the phone would freeze or just simple lag so much that it's not even responding. Then i found out about custom rom and it was day and night. Almost defected to HTC but S2 had good review so i decided to give it another shot again after hearing they use the normal filesystem and since then i never touch custom rom anymore.
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- Anonymous
- tVn
- 11 Mar 2018
Galaxy s2 was the best ever.
- The Scientist Pigeon
- r@s
- 11 Mar 2018
The article's author did mistake. Why?
Popular long life brands and models must start from beginning to current, simultaneously.
When I am reading this article, I know what will be here as I know the model very well.
I won't be goofed off another times. Not ended story (differ from Open ended) is good for those TV series watcher who have free time, and those who are not familiar with the tech inside the phones.
If you consider this website as a serious tech site, then instead of waiting for illogical reason, I will finish it up by myself. How?
search the web and less than 20 minutes later, I will find all I need and next week I ignore your article: "Oh! another half baked article."
Then, GSMArena will lose more reader than catch.
As rich trustworthy tech sites are limited,
Please, don't do it with your review section. this is precaution.
- Kiyasuriin
- 6qW
- 11 Mar 2018
YalokIy, 11 Mar 2018FM radio has made a comeback starting with a software updat... moreI had the S8 and I have yet to find that radio.
- ?
- Anonymous
- akI
- 11 Mar 2018
Oppaii, 11 Mar 2018S3 is the main reason why S-Series is so overrated.No. S2 started the S craze (and with justification), in the same way the iPhone 4 started the craze for the iPhone.
- vrvly
- g5f
- 11 Mar 2018
AnonD-632062, 11 Mar 2018The S5 is probably the most underrated S-phone ever. (Water... moreI liked it but, it was heavier, thicker and with worse screen-to-body ratio. I can imagine people care more about looks, well at least we don't end up with ugly phone thx to that(at least that what I thought until apples notch came). That to say, every next S phone was different in design, unlike some others. What was and maybe even is underrated is note line with a pen. See, no competitor. Unlike their given up note tablet, that is popular(as tablet with pen) in microsoft and apple world. Though we can expect bezelless SX, it feels like besides notes and bending ones may be their next main line to show off. There is just so much you can do to bring big screen to small device thats not bending...
- ?
- Anonymous
- 043
- 11 Mar 2018
I would have liked the full story till date.