Is there a need to upgrade from a Galaxy S3

[JimKiler]

My wife has a Samsung Galaxy S3 which she has had for a year and I was just wondering if anyone who has hit the 2 year mark on there S3 is upgrading or sticking with this phone. I think my wife's phone still runs fine and I don't see anything hardware wise justifying an upgrade. Now that Andriod is maturing i expect less and less releases and currently the S3 is only missing Kit Kat which is not a deal breaker to me.

 

[Oyeve]

As long as its an LTE model and shes happy with it I see no reason to upgrade at all. My GF is plenty happy with her 2yr old S3.

 

[s44]

If it's US, it's actually getting official KitKat.

At some point you might want to swap out her battery for a fresh one. Besides that (and generally improving battery life from larger cells and better power-sipping hardware), there's no big change in new devices.

 

[tHa ShIzNiT]

I'm still stickin with my S3, see no reason to upgrade...yet. However I played with a note 3 the other day and got a serious case of the envies. But I also like to keep my money. I'm currently looking for a new ROM for mine though...may just see what cyanogen has to offer lately, havent tried it in over a year...was having a bluetooth music playing problem with it back then. /blog

 

[poofyhairguy]

To me the only thing a newer S model offers is if you are an AOSP lover like me the stability of GPe ROMs are simply on another planet compared to hacked up CM based ROMs.

 

[gmaster456]

If you're on a contract and can upgrade I don't really see why not. But if you aren't and you're perfectly happy with it I don't really see a reason to. Smartphones haven't really changed much since the GS3 came out. They all still have 720P+ screens, 2gb RAM, 16gb storage etc. and as long as the performance is acceptable I would just stick with it until it no longer does what she needs it to do.

 

[ibex333]

I'm still stickin with my S3, see no reason to upgrade...yet. However I played with a note 3 the other day and got a serious case of the envies. But I also like to keep my money. I'm currently looking for a new ROM for mine though...may just see what cyanogen has to offer lately, havent tried it in over a year...was having a bluetooth music playing problem with it back then. /blog

That's before you actually start using it everyday. The Note 3 is awesome as a phablet, but not as a phone. The headpiece sound quality is horrible and the speaker is abysmal.
The Galaxy S3 was actually BETTER in that regard. I was doubting myself until I found a decibel comparison between most popular phones, and apparently both the Galaxy S3 and the iPhone have better sound than the Note 3. It looks like Samsung poured all the effort into the technical specs, but forgot it still needs to be a phone.

I am selling my Note 3, and will keep using my old Galaxy S3 until S5, HTC One TWO or Note 4 come out.

Oh and by the way, I used to post on these forums how much I love my Note 3 and how amazing the battery life it, but guess what... With LESS than average use, the battery now hardly lasts a day after only 6 months. In the beginning I'd still have around 40% late at night and continued use uncharged into the next day. Now, I am lucky if I have 19% at 10pm. : (

 

[cmdrdredd]

I have an S3 and don't find a reason to upgrade. I may upgrade only to get a Note 3 and replace the aging GNexus with the S3 on line 2, but I'm not dead set on that. I may wait for the note 4 or some real world usage info on the S5.

I'm still stickin with my S3, see no reason to upgrade...yet. However I played with a note 3 the other day and got a serious case of the envies. But I also like to keep my money. I'm currently looking for a new ROM for mine though...may just see what cyanogen has to offer lately, havent tried it in over a year...was having a bluetooth music playing problem with it back then. /blog

Try the AOSB(Android Open Source Bam Project) rom http://probam.net/. It is based on the latest CyanogenMod and is running KitKat 4.4.2. I use it on my Verizon S3 and it's great so far. Battery life is fine, lots of customization options, it's fast as far as I can tell. I thought it was worth a shot so I tried it and ended up liking it quite a bit.

 

[bearxor]

If you're on a contract and can upgrade I don't really see why not.

This, pretty much. Remember that, unless you're on TMobile or one of the newer AT&T plans, the price of your monthly bill includes your subsidy. Not upgrading when you're eligible is just throwing money away, IMO.

 

[Lil Frier]

This, pretty much. Remember that, unless you're on TMobile or one of the newer AT&T plans, the price of your monthly bill includes your subsidy. Not upgrading when you're eligible is just throwing money away, IMO.

At the same time, if you buy a phone you don't need just to use the upgrade, you're throwing money away. If you don't feel a need to upgrade, saving the upgrade for when the current device breaks is preferential to upgrading, then keeping the old device as a backup, IMO.

 

[bearxor]

At the same time, if you buy a phone you don't need just to use the upgrade, you're throwing money away. If you don't feel a need to upgrade, saving the upgrade for when the current device breaks is preferential to upgrading, then keeping the old device as a backup, IMO.

I disagree. If you're that worried about it, you should just buy the mobile insurance because, if you don't upgrade, that's essentially what you're paying for. $15-20/mo "insurance" in case you break your phone or something.

 

[melchoir]

I just upgraded from an S3 to an LG G2 and I will say it's a significant update. Better screen, camera, speed, and battery life is fantastic!

 

[Raduque]

That's before you actually start using it everyday. The Note 3 is awesome as a phablet, but not as a phone. The headpiece sound quality is horrible and the speaker is abysmal.
The Galaxy S3 was actually BETTER in that regard. I was doubting myself until I found a decibel comparison between most popular phones, and apparently both the Galaxy S3 and the iPhone have better sound than the Note 3. It looks like Samsung poured all the effort into the technical specs, but forgot it still needs to be a phone.

I am selling my Note 3, and will keep using my old Galaxy S3 until S5, HTC One TWO or Note 4 come out.

Oh and by the way, I used to post on these forums how much I love my Note 3 and how amazing the battery life it, but guess what... With LESS than average use, the battery now hardly lasts a day after only 6 months. In the beginning I'd still have around 40% late at night and continued use uncharged into the next day. Now, I am lucky if I have 19% at 10pm. : (

That's odd. I went from an LG Optimus G Pro and I think the Note 3 sounds way better on-call. All phone speakers suck, so agree there.

As for the battery... well, maybe you got a lemon? Over a year later and my Note II still holds an amazing charge. I expect the same from my 3.

 

[Chocu1a]

That's before you actually start using it everyday. The Note 3 is awesome as a phablet, but not as a phone. The headpiece sound quality is horrible and the speaker is abysmal.
The Galaxy S3 was actually BETTER in that regard. I was doubting myself until I found a decibel comparison between most popular phones, and apparently both the Galaxy S3 and the iPhone have better sound than the Note 3. It looks like Samsung poured all the effort into the technical specs, but forgot it still needs to be a phone.

I am selling my Note 3, and will keep using my old Galaxy S3 until S5, HTC One TWO or Note 4 come out.

Oh and by the way, I used to post on these forums how much I love my Note 3 and how amazing the battery life it, but guess what... With LESS than average use, the battery now hardly lasts a day after only 6 months. In the beginning I'd still have around 40% late at night and continued use uncharged into the next day. Now, I am lucky if I have 19% at 10pm. : (

My note 3 battery is still going strong. As of right now I have 55% left on 2.5 hours screen time and 19 hours off charge. I bought mine on release day.

 

[swanysto]

I have a GS3, and the first thing I am going to do when the plan is up, is cancel Verizon. I am going with the cheapest plan I can find. Ever since I owned the Evo, I have been obsessed with newer phones, upgrading, roms, etc, etc. I think I hit the techie wall about 6 months ago. I hardly ever use my phone, except for texts and phone calls(imagine that). I think my GS3 has run more games of Sudoku than all other stuff combined. Don't need the next gen phone for that.

 

[cmdrdredd]

I have a GS3, and the first thing I am going to do when the plan is up, is cancel Verizon. I am going with the cheapest plan I can find. Ever since I owned the Evo, I have been obsessed with newer phones, upgrading, roms, etc, etc. I think I hit the techie wall about 6 months ago. I hardly ever use my phone, except for texts and phone calls(imagine that). I think my GS3 has run more games of Sudoku than all other stuff combined. Don't need the next gen phone for that.

I can understand that. If you're not using lots of data why keep paying for that service.

 

[CSMR]

I have an S3 and have no reason to upgrade. Phone hardware is mature and so is Android to a lesser extent. I will upgrade when I can get 2 out of 3 of: phablet, integrated hardware keyboard, professional/prosumer version of Windows Phone. But that will take years.

 

[Chocu1a]

Gs3 is still a very capable phone. I keep one as a backup and when I have to use it, I am still amazed at how well it performs.

 

[fr]

I just upgraded from an S3 to an LG G2 and I will say it's a significant update. Better screen, camera, speed, and battery life is fantastic!

I did the same upgrade. Went from 18 hours battery life to 100 hours.

 

[cmdrdredd]

I did the same upgrade. Went from 18 hours battery life to 100 hours.

What network are you on with the G2 (assuming you are even in the US)? I've heard some versions have GPS issues and call quality issues.

 

[fr]

I'm on T-Mobile. No issues with call quality. I've used the GPS throughout California and I haven't noticed any problems.

 

[philscan]

upgrade to LG G2, best phone for me so far.

 

[redhotiron2004]

If you have extra money to spare than get the best. If not, then no need to change as there is nothing that a sg3 can't run.

Also, kitkat can be installed through XDA. They are the ones that release and support Upgrades long after the original company leave it.

So, you have all your options available. Got money get the latest. If not stick with sg3. But, in either case just remember that in today's world everything gets obsolete including OS's within 6 months. So, don't assume that android updates are going to take more time due to maturity. Be ready to get obsolete within 6 months...

 

[DeathReborn]

I wasn't going to upgrade from my S3 after seeing the life sapping dullness of this years refreshes from all sides, but I am having a small issue with my S3 where the microphone sounds like a sandstorm unless I use a Bluetooth device. S Voice etc work fine but not calls, which sucks. For 20 months the phone has been solid, reliable & performed excellently but now I am probably gonna get that new Oppo Find 7 (with 2k screen).

For the record T-Mobile (EE) in the UK here, a much better carrier than the US namesake.

OP, have you tested to see if you have the Sudden Death Bug? I know my phone is clear but many have it.

 

[podspi]

Didn't a software update make it so the phone would never trigger that bug? I know it was a specific IO command that did it.