Time To Upgrade: Need advice. S5 vs Note 4 vs LG G3 vs Moto Turbo

[HiddenTalent]

Hi All,

As the title states, I'm due to upgrade. I've always owned Motorola handsets, dating back to flip phones... Sprint, Nextel, Alltel, and now Verizon.

I started in smartphones with the OG Moto QWERTY Droid 1, Moto Droid X2, and my now Moto Razr Maxx.

My Maxx is truly on its last leg... battery is deteriorated, it struggles to hold a wifi connection, struggles to re-establish 3G connection after a phone call, rarely gets into 4G automatically, and the overall function is struggling bad (laggy and force closes).

I've been doing a lot of research, and I know October is a big Android release month. I'm just so stuck between all these great options.

My needs: productivity (I use my phone for work regularly), photos (I take tons of photos and quality matters), and light app usage (FB, IG, Tapatalk, Ohub, etc.).

I don't play a lot of games, or watch movies. I'm shy of the Note 4 size, nor am I sure about the S pen. I'm very hard on my phones... I drop them regularly on hard surfaces, I NEED durability. Otterbox is a must! (commuter series)

I've kind of ruled out the G3 and have been stuck between the Note 4 and S5, until today when I learned about the Turbo. I'm not a big HTC fan so I'm very leary of the M8.

Help!

TIA

 

[Jeffrey]

Wondering why you ruled out the G3

 

[FoxKat]

Of those, I'd have to go Turbo. Build quality, radio performances, monster camera (21MP - Set video recording mode to HD (1080p), SloMo (slow motion video), or Ultra HD (4K) (2160p)), monster display resolution UHD 1440 x 2560 pixels, 5.2 inches (~565 ppi pixel density), large battery, nearly no bloat, Moto Actions, Moto Assist, Moto Connect , Active Display, Moto Migrate, Revised Circles Widget, Turbo Charge, so many other reasons.

 

[cr6]

You really can't go wrong with any of today's flagship models. It all boils down to personal preference at this point. I have the S5 and its definitely the best device I've ever owned, so my recommendation would be that one.
The camera and battery life are absolutely amazing.
Your best bet would be to visit your local carrier and spend some time with each device before making your decision. Good luck & let us know how you make out.

tap'n on my S5

 

[droidprincess]

I would say Note 4....but I'm a Samsung junkie......since your a moto fan the turbo may be better.

 

[94lt1]

The g3 is a great phone.. It has multi task capabilities.. The screen is great but sucks battery like a kid with a can of coke, if the brightness is above 25%. Also the vzw variant needs a back to qi(pronounced chee) charge. In the end.. I couldn't take its short battery life. It's radios are great though.

I would suggest the turbo.. It will have motos radios, build quality, and great specs... With vanilla Android..

 

[FoxKat]

My Maxx is truly on its last leg... battery is deteriorated, it struggles to hold a wifi connection, struggles to re-establish 3G connection after a phone call, rarely gets into 4G automatically, and the overall function is struggling bad (laggy and force closes).

My needs: productivity (I use my phone for work regularly), photos (I take tons of photos and quality matters), and light app usage (FB, IG, Tapatalk, Ohub, etc.).

I'm very hard on my phones... I drop them regularly on hard surfaces, I NEED durability. Otterbox is a must! (commuter series)

I've kind of ruled out the G3 and have been stuck between the Note 4 and S5, until today when I learned about the Turbo. I'm not a big HTC fan so I'm very leary of the M8.

Help!

TIA

Hey Tia,

The issues you mention regarding the MAXX, mainly the ones about WIFI, 3G and 4G, as well as lag and force closes may all be resolved with one fell swoop. A Factory Data Restore should put the phone back to the performance levels you saw when you initially fell in love with it. The battery may also be resolved that way, or with a full 2-cycle battery meter training (Charge to 100% with phone powered off, use to 15%, power off and charge again to 100%).

The radio issues are highly likely to be either a combination of an outdated wireless router firmware, and/or corrupted firmware in the phone itself. Again, I'd try the FDR first and then also do a firmware update on the router.

 

[UrbanBounca]

Why rule out the G3? I have a G2, and it's easily the best phone I've ever had.

Sent from my LG-VS980 using Tapatalk 2

 

[droidprincess]

I have several friends who have the G3...... it is a nice device but I'm a slave to the S-pen *blush*

 

[Erikbal]

Why rule out the G3? I have a G2, and it's easily the best phone I've ever had.

Sent from my LG-VS980 using Tapatalk 2

I also have a g2 and love it. The g3 would be even better I'd imagine.

Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk

 

[FoxKat]

...I'm a slave to the S-pen *blush*

Is that all?

 

[cr6]

It's been reported on a number of sites that review battery life that the G3 wasn't as good as the G2 due to the 4k display, so you might take that into consideration. (If I recall correctly it isn't a huge difference... about an hour less screen on time)

tap'n on my S5

 

[HiddenTalent]

Wondering why you ruled out the G3

I may have been too quick to do so. I'll be revisiting through research. I'm a bit interested in the RF, Speaker performance, QHD (battery life losses may be ok), and 3GB RAM.

Of those, I'd have to go Turbo. Build quality, radio performances, monster camera (21MP - Set video recording mode to HD (1080p), SloMo (slow motion video), or Ultra HD (4K) (2160p)), monster display resolution UHD 1440 x 2560 pixels, 5.2 inches (~565 ppi pixel density), large battery, nearly no bloat, Moto Actions, Moto Assist, Moto Connect , Active Display, Moto Migrate, Revised Circles Widget, Turbo Charge, so many other reasons.

This is a tough call. It is a bummer we don't know when it is coming out! I have been a Moto fanboy but I've been disappointed with my Razr Maxx.

Hey Tia,

The issues you mention regarding the MAXX, mainly the ones about WIFI, 3G and 4G, as well as lag and force closes may all be resolved with one fell swoop. A Factory Data Restore should put the phone back to the performance levels you saw when you initially fell in love with it. The battery may also be resolved that way, or with a full 2-cycle battery meter training (Charge to 100% with phone powered off, use to 15%, power off and charge again to 100%).

The radio issues are highly likely to be either a combination of an outdated wireless router firmware, and/or corrupted firmware in the phone itself. Again, I'd try the FDR first and then also do a firmware update on the router.

I have done the factory reset. It worked better for a couple days then fell on its face again, and has honestly almost been worse. I do drop it a lot so I'm sure I've damaged something over the last two years. I'm not mad at motorola, but disappointed with the phone.

 

[Jeffrey]

Take a hard look at the Turbo.. Great specs...

 

[Ollie]

Note 4 ftw. Productivity is its middle name. Otterbox has the case for it as well:

Galaxy Note 4 Cases Covers from OtterBox