The Samsung Galaxy S4, simply referred to as the S4, is one of the best phones that Android has to offer from its mid-range devices. The iPhone 5c on the other hand is just an outdated iPhone 5 with a heavier and larger plastic body. Even though this comparison is going to be brutal for the iPhone 5c, many consumers will want to compare these two phones.
Although phone shoppers have the possibility of upgrading to the 5s over the 5c, or the S5 over the S4, not everyone needs the features or price tags that come with higher-end phones.
The 5c is cheap (compared to the iPhone 5s) and is great for Apple users that are updating from an iPhone 4/4S. The S4 on the other hand is great for anyone willing to make the switch to Android. It’s also a worth upgrade for people using older Android devices. `
Design and Weight
Credits: Phonearea.com
The iPhone 5c has dimensions measuring 4.9 x 2.33 x 0.35 inches, while the S4 is 5.68 x 2.75 x .31 inches. It’s kind of surprising that the S4 is so large yet still thinner than the 5c. Even more surprising is that the Samsung engineers managed to make this phone weigh only 4.59oz, whereas the iPhone 5c weighs 4.66oz.
Unless you don’t want to carry around a big phone, the Galaxy S4 is the clear winner when it comes to screen and body size.
Display
The iPhone 5c has a 4-inch screen with a pixel density of 326ppi and a resolution of 1136 x 640. This pales in comparison to the S4 that features a 5-inch screen with a pixel density of 441ppi and a resolution of 1920 x 1080.
Credits: Phone Arena
At the end of the day the S4 has a superior quality display. However, the iPhone 5c’s screen is slightly brighter in outdoor and indoor situations. The S4 has vibrant colors but isn’t as accurate as the 5c in color representation.
Battery Life
These phones have similar battery lives that should both last about 5 hours with continuous use.
Apple and Samsung claim that their phones can get you up to 10 hours of battery life but that simply doesn’t stand the test of real-life scenarios. You could go the entire day with either phone if you just texted and listened to music for a bit. But using these phone for media, internet browsing, or phone calls heavily throughout the day will get you a realistic 7-9 hour battery life.
Camera
Apple iPhone 5c Image. Credits: Phonearena.com
Samsung Galaxy S4. Credits: Phonearena.com
The iPhone 5c’s camera has a bit better color representation, but it falls short when it comes to its resolution. Whereas the 5c has an 8-megapixel camera, the S4 has a 13-megapixel one. Opening the photos above in new tabs and zooming in will show you just how much more resolution the S4 camera packs.
The S4 is also the winner when it comes to video shooting. Not to mention that its front camera is 2-megapixels while the iPhone 5c only has a 1.2-megapixel one.
Processors and RAM
The S4 comes packed with a quad-core 1.9GHz processor and 2GB of RAM while the iPhone 5c has a dual-core 1.3GHz A6 processor and 1GB of RAM. Both phones perform just about the same, but it’s expected that in two years from now the Galaxy S4 will be less-outdated.
Special Perks
The S4 allows you to record audio with photos as a way to remember what was said when you took them. Another great feature of this phone is Dual Shot which allows you to take a photo with the rear and front facing cameras simultaneously.
Samsung doesn’t stop with just two great camera features though. They also provide S4 owners with “Drama Shot.” This is a feature that puts all photos of a moving object into one shot, so you can see the motion progress through time.
With the S4 you can also put together a story album with photos and text that is ready for sharing or printing.
Credits: T-mobile
The S4 even has an Air Gesture feature that lets you scroll through photos by just waving your hand over your phone. Another feature of the many that come with this phone is the ChatOn feature that lets you share your screen with friends and co-workers remotely.
We could write an entire article about the special perks that the S4 provide but we’ll limit them to one more sentence: you can use a S4 as a TV guide, as a remote for your TV or set top box, as an auto-pauser that pauses movies when your eyes look off-screen, as a display adapter that optimizes settings for media or preference, and as a sound-board that lets you control all aspects of your phone’s audio output.
The iPhone 5c has no interesting special perks worth mentioning; let alone worth comparing to the S4’s plethora of features.
Price and Storage
The iPhone 5c 16GB model costs $100 with a contract and so does the Galaxy S4 16GB model. Both 16GB phones cost $549.00 out of contract.
Conclusion
The Samsung Galaxy S4 has a lot of perks and reasons that justify switching to Android even if you’ve already invested hundreds of dollars on iOS apps and ebooks. It’s unlikely that even the biggest fan of Apple would dislike upgrading from an iPhone 4/4S to a S4. Other than not being able to use the previous apps you’ve bought on iOS with your new S4, there’s not any downsides to get the S4 which is chock-full of features.
Credits: Business Insider
In the past Android screens were larger but had less pixel density or overall quality, but that’s no longer the case. The S4’s screen is easily better than the 5c’s in all the aspects that matter: size, pixel density, and resolution. Even with the S4’s large screen it still manages to weigh less and be thinner than the iPhone 5c.
Unless someone is stuck in the Apple ecosystem because of previous investments, or they rely on iOS-only apps, most consumers would be better off with an S4 over a 5c.
The only caveat to the S4 is that is has a large screen which some people find too hard to carry in their pockets. But many phone users would rather trade off a little extra space for the power of this Android phone.
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