iPhone 4S vs Samsung Galaxy S III - Which One Is Best

One online comparison website says iphone 4s is best, and I want to get it for doing facetime with family overseas. But I hate the texting with touchphones, and I struggle to text with iphones. Half my family are on Iphones and the other half own Nokias and Galaxies.

Poll Options

  • 1
    iPhone 4S
  • 48
    Samsung Galaxy S III

Comments

  • Obviously the Samsung, it's almost 1 year newer.

    • Actually it's only 7 months newer, it is however a generation newer :P

  • Which is more user friendly? Im a little tech challenged. Does the Galazy have a function like Facetime on IPhones? Thanks for your feedback everybody.

    • +2

      tech challenged, then definitely go for an iphone 4s.

    • Does the Galazy have a function like Facetime on IPhones?

      Google Talk + a zillion other video call programs.

    • +2

      Personally I think my Galaxy S2 is better than the iPhone4s :-P

      I gave my old iPhone to my wife (3GS) but I would never buy a S2 for her. Similarly I told my sister to buy an iphone.

      Face time is very simple to use. If you can only talk to 1/2 your family because they aren't interoperable go for the iPhone as it will be very easy to chat to them.

      Keyboard size guess you just have to live with it as I hate the small screen size but you aren't in a position to get everything you want.

      Horses for courses, Galaxy for me but I think an iPhone for you so you can talk to your Gran :-)

    • +2

      Forgot to say Swype on Android is is awsome hated the mistypes on small keyboards (though IOS autocorrect is pretty good) but Swypre is by far the best entry system I have used. Faster and just as accurate as any other I have had…so try it on a mates phone as that may make your decision for you..

  • +3

    if your check challenged then get the iphone =) no questions asked

  • +1

    Galaxy s3 for sure man. You can't be thatttt technologically challenged you can't even use a phone. YouTube some galaxy s3 features guarantee you'll love it

  • +2

    I struggle to text with iphones

    Clear indication that you need a bigger screen. Hence, you should get the Galaxy S3. The software keyboard is customizable as well.

  • +1

    I think it comes down to 3 considerations.

    1. Do you hate itunes?
    2. The samsung doesnt do facetime so your family and friends who own iphones need to install something else like fring or skype to be able to do video calls.
    3. The Samsung is the latest and greatest phone right now, however the iphone5 will no doubt be special, can you wait a few months for the new iphone?
    • Do you hate itunes?

      You can actually go without iTunes now.

  • No, I dont use ITunes. I think for now I'll go for the IPhone 4s since the extra features on Galaxy are a little intimidating for me :D. It took me a year to get used to my old Nokia N97 and I still havent accessed all the features.

    Thanks everybody for your patience and useful advice.

    • +1

      What sort of features are exactly intimidating? Feature wise the iPhone has plenty as well.

      Again, iPhone is good for non savvy users who just one a working phone out of the box, with no tinkering required… but you might get a case of Android envy once you see the screen size of the S3 up close and it's customisation options. :-)

  • Galaxy S3 100%

  • +3

    Depends on what you need. The war between iOS and Android can easily be split between "Easy to use" and "Tinkering heaven". (Yes these are relatively mutually exclusive, although Android can be easy to use, the iOS interface is so simple that Android seems complex compared to it)

    If you want something simple, easy to use and just works straight out of the box, then the iP4S hands down.

    If you're willing to get your hands into it and tinker with your phone then the SGS3 is the way to go.

    There are other factors to consider as well like camera quality, sound quality or screen quality, but for those who need that sort of thing aren't faced with choosing one or the other because they already know what they want (not to mention they're only chasing after the technologically "best" phone for their esteem/epeen/or whatever that floats their boat).

    A word of advice (I've been down this road before iOS v Android) ignore those who say one is better than the other without a reason, the majority of the time they are just fanboys and will dis any competition because it's competition to their product. Besides, saying one is better than another without reason doesn't help anyone to understand the product and why it's superior/better.
    (For those who are gonna flame me for saying ^that^, then go ahead, I don't care. At the end of the day I accept that the Galaxy is the better phone in terms of freedom, but I still went with the iP4S because it suited my needs.)

    For your situation, I'd recommend the iPhone because it seems like you want something simple and just works. In regards to texting, you're going to find problems on both. They're both touchscreens and the technology behind it to register keystrokes are similar (it's got more to do with getting used to typing with a touchscreen than what phone you've got). The only reason why texting on the SGS3 might be easier is because of the screen size, the keyboard will be bigger and hence easier to hit the right key, however that being said if you turn the iPhone sideways they keyboard should be sufficiently large to text adequately (albeit with a sacrifice of seeing what you're actually writting), I have the same problem with my chubby fingers.

    • +2

      The war between iOS and Android can easily be split between "Easy to use" and "Tinkering heaven".

      The thing is, I can see the Android camp working hard towards "ease of use" with every new release and manufacturers' own software. I don't see Apple working towards "tinkering heaven" though — not in terms of becoming an option galore, but allowing rooting, installing different bootloader, flashing different ROM, etc.

      I have to say that iPhone has a much bigger eco-system. Not just apps (there are still many iOS-only apps), but also the peripherals and accessories. There seems to be endless cheap iPhone case being advertised here on OzBargain. iPhone docks/speakers. iPhone accessories. All kinds of weird iPhone gadgets, etc. SGS3 would be a popular phone so there will be a market for accessories. However for some Android phones it is almost impossible to buy decent case for them. It's something to think about if you decide to stick to a platform.

    • +2

      I think you've got to consider what your requirements are.

      1) do you want the phone as a fashion statement, or to be cool? Do you already feel the urge to buy one over the other, because you think it will make you special??! Well just buy it then. Don't worry about trying to justify it to yourself.

      2) do you want better hardware, more functionality and more freedom to play around with how things work? go with the SGS

      3) do you want a phone that is simple and "just works" - get the iphone.

      For me at least, the iphone looks crap next to SGS1 to 3 and the note. The iphone screen is just too small and doesn't look that great.

  • Facetime… there's a thing called video calling that's been around for ages, but apparantly "Facetime over 3g" is a great new feature!

    If it's really important, I don't think the videocalling/facetime is intercompatible between iphones and non-apple devices, so you might want to keep that in mind (without making them install 3rd party apps on an iphone)

  • My wife has the iPhone 4S, and i just got the Samsung Galaxy S3 (after having an iphone 3s). Within one day or setting it up it was easily noticable how much better the Galaxy s3 was over the iphone. The voice command works flawlessly, larger screen with loads of customisation.
    For free video chat over the internet, Skype is an easy option, as there is several other programs that do the same thing as facetime etc..
    Samsung Galaxy S3 9.8/10, iPhone 4S 9.2/10
    Both great phones but samsung is better in my opinion.

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