Flagships 3 years later - S3 vs 4S - which held up better?

[Aniallation]

So recently, I've been looking for a phone of the around $100 price range where I am, and I came across two options from two of my friends, both of which let me borrow for a while so I can try them out and see which is a keeper. The Samsung Galaxy S3, and the iPhone 4S. So which shall it be?
 

 

 

Now, consideration needs to be taken into how these phones are costing me $100. These are by no means power user phones by today's standards, and my main usage for them is just browsing Facebook, taking a few pictures every now and then, Snapchat, Kik, some web browsing, some YouTube, and most of all a lot of music listening, both locally and over Spotify.
 
Both are running the latest OS versions, iOS 8.3 on the iPhone and Android 5.1.1 on the Samsung. Both were used on Bell Canada. This is the Canadian SGH-I747 (dual-core Snapdragon) version of the S3, not the international I9300.
 
Display and form factor: Samsung Galaxy S3
 
The iPhone 4S's screen may be nice, but I just can't see myself seeing it as acceptable in today's usage compared to the S3 and other, larger smartphones that people have grown accustomed to. Sure, some people may prefer the smaller size of the iPhone, but you'll want at least an iPhone 5 for it to be usable.
 
In modern apps like Facebook Messenger and Kik, you'll only see at most 3 single-line messages between the top of the top of the entry field and the bottom of the title bar when the keyboard is present. When the messages get long you'd be hard pressed to see one full message on the screen at once and it really starts to get on your nerves. The S3's much larger screen is just far less cramped to read off of, and Android often hides the title bar in favor of using the hardware menu and back keys (vs menu and back included as part of the title bar on iOS), giving you even more screen real estate. 
 
Sure the 4S's screen has more accurate colors then oversaturated Super AMOLED, but that alone is not enough to make up for the poor usability experience. The S3 has a larger footprint in the hand and in your pocket, so it's harder to grip the whole thing, however the flat back and edges on the iPhone make it not the best ergonomically to hold, either. 
 
Camera: Draw
 
The S3's camera seems to take the sharper shots (without oversharpening), and takes much better photos in the dark, even if the viewfinder frame rate does noticeably dip compared to the iPhone. However the iPhone often has better exposure in very bright situations which can cause the S3 to become overexposed and too bright or washed out. It also seems to be better for close-up shots. Either is fine for causal social media pictures. 
 
Front camera however, the S3's 720p front-facing selfie camera wins hands down over the iPhone's VGA front camera.
 
Battery: Samsung Galaxy S3
 
Both phones are on their original batteries, I've used both phones plenty today, and actually used the S3 more heavily then the 4S. The S3 is at 79%, the 4S is at 52%. Nuff said. As usual with iPhones, standby time is better, but really either of these at this point in their battery age will require charging every night anyways. For people who aren't satisfied with one charge, the S3 allows for easily swappable batteries to get you right back up to 100% in seconds, whereas the iPhone has to be plugged in, and although it charges fast, it's still not 0-100 as real quick as just swapping batteries. 
 
Connectivity: Samsung Galaxy S3
 
The S3 with it's LTE cellular connectivity, dual-band Wireless N and NFC definitely win over the 4S's 3G cellular connectivity, single-band Wireless N and lack of NFC. Even on 3G, the S3 is still faster, being capable of 21Mbps network speeds compared to the 4S's 14Mbps. 
 
OS: iPhone 4S
 
Let's be realistic, if I was comparing the two as-is I'd give it to the S3 as I use it with AOSP 5.1 Lollipop. However to the masses, they'll be using 4.4.2 KitKat with TouchWiz on top. Not only does this add more bloatware and cause for slower feeling UI navigation, there's just some features that Android took from iOS and added to Lollipop that make life so much easier, like notifications on the lockscreen. The S3 will not be updated officially past KitKat, while the iPhone 4S is confirmed to receive the upcoming iOS 9.
 
Many people do prefer the customization and more open access of Android, but it's just not worth it over iOS for TouchWiz. However on the other hand with a custom ROM updated to the latest version of stock Android, there are many reasons why the S3 would be the winner instead. 

 

But even with iOS's victory, two words have to be said: FUCK ITUNES
 

Performance: Samsung Galaxy S3

 

Although I said that there wasn't going to be too much performance-oriented comparisons, some people still want to play some casual games on their phones and for this the S3 definitely wins. Even in simple games like Crossy Road, ZigZag and Jelly Jump there was noticeable lag on the 4S that wasn't present on the S3. And in games like CSR Racing and Nitro Nation online, the stuttering was to the point where I didn't even want to play it on the 4S, while I could definitely live with what was there on the S3. 

 

Little things: Samsung Galaxy S3

 

There's just those few little things that are present on the Galaxy S3 that I can't help but realize make a big difference when switching over to the iPhone. The LED notification light, MicroSD expansion slot, open file system access, easily accessible SIM card that doesn't need a paper clip... just little things that make life easier with the S3.

 

Conclusion:

 

So which phone is more worth your ~$100? Definitely the Samsung S3. Sure it might not be fancy all-metal-and-glass or have an Apple logo on it, but it's just an overall much better experience if you're looking for something cheap that gets the job done. Especially if you're able to install a custom ROM on it and rid yourself of TouchWiz. And it seems like iPhone 4S sell for slightly more then S3 do where I am, so with a deal you might actually save yourself a decent amount going for the S3 as well.

[Kyuubixchidori]

Its interesting. I agree 100%. but simply one year later, the s4 and iphone 5, I have both devices and been a android fanboy since forever, but im seriously going to switch over to the iphone. 

 

edit: good write up

[Clyne]

You also got to factor in the WiFi problem on the 4S....hardware/software mixed.

WiFi haven't been working on my 4S for 2 years.

[flibberdipper]

Man the SIII would be baller with Lollipop and a new TouchWiz version.

[Aniallation]

You also got to factor in the WiFi problem on the 4S....hardware/software mixed.

WiFi haven't been working on my 4S for 2 years.

Mine doesn't have this problem but my uncle's did I think... where the WiFi is just grayed out?

[Clyne]

Mine doesn't have this problem but my uncle's did I think... where the WiFi is just grayed out?

Yep, i heard you can fix it by heating the iPhone up and let the phone cool down, similar a way how baking a GPU would bring it back to life(reflow solder). Too lazy to do it atm as i need to jailbreak my 4S first to unlock(was used on Verizon). 

[Aniallation]

Man the SIII would be baller with Lollipop and a new TouchWiz version.

Did someone say Lollipop

 

[Peter Vaughan Truslow]

very imformative write up. I'll be replacing my S4 in a few months, but with a custom ROM on it, it has been a very useful phone, and I'll probably sell it to a friend. luckily mine still has the stock baseband, and can therefore be loki'd. I'm on verizon in the US, so the bootloader is locked, but the loki hack allowed me to enjoy most of the benifit of an unlocked bootloader anyways

[dizmo]

Nice write up!

I have to disagree about the OS though. While the 4S might get the update to iOs 9, the older devices rarely get everything, and it often results in a much slower experience with a slough of issues.

My friend has updated his last two iPhones to newer operating systems and both times it's made the devices sluggish, and introduced numerous bugs.

[stconquest]

I still use my SIII with a custom ROM that might beat out the Apple OS. 

[Suika]

The only redeeming factor to the S3 IMO is the ability to flash ROMs, if it weren't for that I would say the 4S is better.

[flibberdipper]

Did someone say Lollipop

 

Factory Lollipop.

[Aniallation]

Nice write up!

I have to disagree about the OS though. While the 4S might get the update to iOs 9, the older devices rarely get everything, and it often results in a much slower experience with a slough of issues.

My friend has updated his last two iPhones to newer operating systems and both times it's made the devices sluggish, and introduced numerous bugs.

This is just as it stands. We'll have to see how well optimized iOS 9 is for it I guess. iOS 6 was optimized really well for the 3GS, but iOS 7 was shit on the 4.

 

 

The only redeeming factor to the S3 IMO is the ability to flash ROMs, if it weren't for that I would say the 4S is better.

I'd still take the S3 with the stock ROM

 

 

I still use my SIII with a custom ROM that might beat out the Apple OS. 

Lollipop is definitely better then iOS 8 IMO

[stconquest]

--

 

--

 

Lollipop is definitely better then iOS 8 IMO

 

lol, I am still on a jelly bean mod...LiquidSmooth (cyanogen)... very cut down... keeps things as responsive and snappy as it was 2.5 years ago.

 

I got a question, is there official flash support for phones yet?  I remember doing some sh*t to get flash to work on my phone.

[Yoinkerman]

My sister has a 4s, I have a s3, all of my buttons work still, and only her home button works.

[Dietrichw]

Nice write up!

I have to disagree about the OS though. While the 4S might get the update to iOs 9, the older devices rarely get everything, and it often results in a much slower experience with a slough of issues.

My friend has updated his last two iPhones to newer operating systems and both times it's made the devices sluggish, and introduced numerous bugs.

iOS 9 is much more efficient for me. It's not very often where beta software improves battery life. iOS 9 beta 1 is better than the public release versions of iOS 7 & 8.

Hint, I'm am typing this on a device with iOS 9 if it wasn't obvious enough

[henrizzle]

If we're choosing 3 year old flagships, I would go Nexus 4. Still gets updates to lollipop and runs super smooth. Only issue I have is the battery. I downgraded from the Nexus 5 for a while since I'm using it as a project

[stconquest]

If we're choosing 3 year old flagships, I would go Nexus 4. Still gets updates to lollipop and runs super smooth. Only issue I have is the battery. I downgraded from the Nexus 5 for a while since I'm using it as a project

 

I rooted my phone within two weeks of purchase.  Updating is a complete turnoff for me.  I want my phone to work, and I want control over it's functions.  I can add software as I choose from that point.

[Ptopman]

Im still running the s3 and its holding up ok, im going on 3 years with it and I have an 7000mAh battery that lasts me the week.

[step1041]

Very nice write up. 

 

I upgraded to an S3 from an iPhone 4 in 2012, and it was worlds better (then replaced that with a OnePlus One in 2014). The only issue I see here is the time frame. Apple announces phones in September and Samsung announces phones in around March if memory serves me correct. Which means that yes, the S3 would have beaten an iPhone 4s if you had bought one in April when after the S3 came out, but before the iPhone 5. But if you waited until September when the iPhone 5 came out, then yes, it might have beaten the pants off an S3. Same also goes if you look a year earlier. The September the iPhone 4s came out, but still before the S3 announcement. An iPhone 4s would have probably beaten a Galaxy S2. So realistically it still depended on the time you bought these phones in the era of their release.

 

But that's not the point of this post. I agree that in 2015 I would have taken an S3. The iPhone 4s screen would be just too small for me now plus some other factors. I also didn't realize that Cyanogenmod 12.1 was out for the Bell S3, I'll definitely be downloading that tomorrow. 

[ApolloX75]

My S3 died after just over a year (bought it brand new) of constant use. Was awesome while it lasted but definitely developed some strange behavior near the end. Replaced it with a Nexus 5 and haven't looked back. Only real gripe with the Nexus is the constant bugginess of the camera and battery. Cyanogen takes care of most of that though.

 

I also have an S4 through work, and while the TouchWiz makes it sluggish, it's definitely a very capable phone as well.

[ApolloX75]

EDIT

 

Double post.

 

Damn you faulty network cable.

[connorpiper]

My Moto Razr M lasted 6 months before it became too slow to use, died before 2pm, and pixels started dying. 

My Z1 though lasted 1.75 years no problem. (Though the water proofing became hit or miss at the end)

[Caesar Rex]

The only redeeming factor to the S3 IMO is the ability to flash ROMs, if it weren't for that I would say the 4S is better.

 

 

You may say that. But it's clearly not even remotely the case.

[Terminashunator]

Funny story. My daily driver that i've owned since 2013 is an iPhone 4 vanilla.

 

Not really needing to upgrade now, either. Besides, new phones are huge.