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About to buy a new cell phone. S3 or I5 ?

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Buggy Loop

Buggy Loop

Gold Member
I dont care that much about browsing benchmarks or download speed tests.. How is gaming on both platforms?
I know this has been probably debated back and forth... But since my last phone was stuck on android 2.2, was a shitty HTC legend which couldnt run basic stuffs without lagging, constant crashes even when calling sometimes...

Im a bit sour on android, but i have no idea how it improved with 4.x+ os

I dont like the idea of having black bars on iphone5 while i watch a video, but it would not limit my purchase if gaming wise it kills android.
 
I5 isn't a good abbreviation for the iPhone 5.

S3 is a great phone, iOS is becoming stale but has the power of the App Store behind it.
 
I know a lot of people stick with the platform where they have the most invested into the ecosystem. I think both are great phones though, and if you are starting from scratch you can't really go wrong with either.
 
I got tired of the fragmentation over android devices. The s4 is a few months out if rumors are to be believed. I also get an Apple discount through IBM

I went i and never looked back.
 
Android's current OS is so much more ahead of where it was in 2.2 you can't really compare it. Truth is you'll probably be happy with both, they will do mostly the same things just a few differences here and there.
 
I have an S3. I love it but it hesitates sometimes in opening apps and sometimes apps randomly crash, which is annoying. Also you pretty much need SwiftKey because the default Samsung program sucks. So in these regards i'm a bit jealous of iphones.
 
If you care about app store size and games then iPhone 5
If you care about screen size and being able to have more ability to tweak the OS then S3
 
I own both platforms

I like both for certain things

If you're coming in blind I think the better mobile experience is on iOS. Edit you have a HTC

I think it'll be good to switch, something's are intuitive with iOS I'm not seeing on Android...but either will be a solid choice
 
You get more gaming exclusives and priority if you're on iOS, so if that's one of your main concerns I would go with that.

Otherwise I'd suggest going with S3 because 4.1.2 Jellybean eclipses iOS6 as a mobile OS, imo.
 
As an owner of both, get a galaxy s3. Such a nice phone I got one for my mom and sister too.

But if gaming is priority go ios. Google play is getting better all the time though.
 
Cheebo said:
If you care about app store size and games then iPhone 5
If you care about screen size and being able to have more ability to tweak the OS then S3
Click to expand...
This. If you have any plans to own a tablet, going ipad+android phone will suit you best. At least for me, games are very tough sell on a phone. Both for what it does to your battery and control limitations. On a tablet, some of that is alleviated.
 
Both phones are good for mobile gaming. I5 probably has more games and they are guaranteed to work without hassle. But Android has many games that are paid on I5 but free on android with ads see: Angry Birds or Pudding Monsters. etc. It all depends on your personal preferences so good luck on choosing the right phone for you. :)
 
From all the GOTY podcasts and stuff it seems that iOS would be the way to go for gaming.

I have a DNA. Don't jump me android fanatics.
 
bigger screen, customization, NFC = gs3
better apps, fantastic industrial design, smooth UI, superior version of google maps = iphone 5

whichever is more important to you. i picked the iphone. gaming is pretty great on this.
 
Buggy Loop said:
I dont care that much about browsing benchmarks or download speed tests.. How is gaming on both platforms?
I know this has been probably debated back and forth... But since my last phone was stuck on android 2.2, was a shitty HTC legend which couldnt run basic stuffs without lagging, constant crashes even when calling sometimes...

Im a bit sour on android, but i have no idea how it improved with 4.x+ os

I dont like the idea of having black bars on iphone5 while i watch a video, but it would not limit my purchase if gaming wise it kills android.
Click to expand...
Android is a stronger os. Ios in my opinion has a far stronger app selection, I don't know if I can go back to android now. Also gaming is infinitely better on ios, it's not even debatable, the library is far more immense and has tonnes of exclusives. I'd say iphone 5, but I really do miss a lot of the things I was able to do on my galaxy note. That being said, my iphone 5 is my handheld of choice for gaming, the library is really that strong. I sold off both my 3ds and vita, but tbh this handheld gen has been terrible.
 
Buggy Loop said:
I dont like the idea of having black bars on iphone5 while i watch a video, but it would not limit my purchase if gaming wise it kills android.
Click to expand...
If you're taking about YouTube, please note that Google updates the YouTube app to take advantage if the whole screen. No more black bars on widescreen video content.
 
The Lamp said:
I have an S3. I love it but it hesitates sometimes in opening apps and sometimes apps randomly crash, which is annoying. Also you pretty much need SwiftKey because the default Samsung program sucks. So in these regards i'm a bit jealous of iphones.
Click to expand...

What? At least you have the option to install SwiftKey, which is miles ahead of the iOS keyboard.
 
Not much of a choice there if you want all the games, iphone.

If you don't really think games are really a major selling point, S3.
 
Isn't the S4 due to be coming soon? Why not just wait a bit. But if you have to chose between those now then I'd go with iPhone 5. Not a fan of either tbh.
 
I had the iphone 5 but then I returned it for a gs3. It depends on what needs suit you tbh. The google calendar is awesome for work and the widgets for it make my life easier. Plus the screen size makes for an overall better browsing experience and games. I also missed my customization capability as well. The thing I miss about the iphone 5 though is that I think the screen quality is better than the gs3's.
 
iOS has the best games, but I really don't like playing many on my iPhone 5. It still is just too small of a screen for any active game that uses on-screen controls.

Obviously that's my opinion, but I think it's worth something since I've owned and used varying screen-sized phones extensively.

That said, screen size doesn't do much good when the game library isn't there. It's not non-existent on Android though, just smaller.
 
criesofthepast said:
Isn't the S4 due to be coming soon? Why not just wait a bit. But if you have to chose between those now then I'd go with iPhone 5. Not a fan of either tbh.
Click to expand...

when is it expected to come out? if OP could wait a few more months, then he can check out the s4 and decide then. but then the next iphone would be out a few months after that one lol. this is why i hate tech
 
If you're heavy into gaming then you really can't go wrong with the iphone 5. IOS often gets games first and Android often just doesn't get them at all.

Lock this thread before someone gets hurt.

Edit: I'd also wait it out. The S4 is likely to be announced soon and the Sony Xperia line is nothing to ignore. I don't see why you would get an S3 at this point really.
 
black bars on video? i have an iphone 5 and haven't noticed that ever. i am enjoying video on it more than my 4s because 16:9 tv shows are the same ratio as the screen.
 
Two Samsung phones (Nexus S and Galaxy S) and two miserable experiences. Support is awful, build quality is awful although they likely all are, and their desire to put Touch Wiz on everything is a huge bummer.

Went back to Iphone 5 a few days ago and feel like I made the right choice.
 
Buggy Loop said:
I dont care that much about browsing benchmarks or download speed tests.. How is gaming on both platforms?
I know this has been probably debated back and forth... But since my last phone was stuck on android 2.2, was a shitty HTC legend which couldnt run basic stuffs without lagging, constant crashes even when calling sometimes...

Im a bit sour on android, but i have no idea how it improved with 4.x+ os

I dont like the idea of having black bars on iphone5 while i watch a video, but it would not limit my purchase if gaming wise it kills android.
Click to expand...

I have an iPhone 5 and a Nexus 7 so I'll give you my take on it since my N7 gives me a similar experience to what you'd have with the S3. I honestly like having the best of both worlds.

Apps tend to have much better design on iOS. There tend to be more games on iOS, but Android does have a lot of them as well. iOS seems to get all the top games, and Android gets most of them. There are probably a couple instances of Android getting stuff that iOS doesn't get, but I can't think of any. iOS is the opposite.

That said, Jelly Bean has a lot of nice features and the OS is more feature filled than iOS. Lot more freedom to manipulate your device with the S3, but I think the iPhone 5 is a better piece of hardware aesthetically. It comes down to personal preference ultimately and I guess I'd recommend you check each of them out.
 
brettreyu said:
Two Samsung phones (Nexus S and Galaxy S) and two miserable experiences. Support is awful, build quality is awful although they likely all are, and their desire to put Touch Wiz on everything is a huge bummer.

Went back to Iphone 5 a few days ago and feel like I made the right choice.
Click to expand...

HTC had the Android crown in those days.
 
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