Early last week, I posted a story about whether it was a good idea to wait for the Samsung Galaxy S3 to be announced or just go ahead and grab the Samsung Galaxy S2 right now. At the time, many readers posted comments suggesting that while the Samsung Galaxy S3 would without a doubt be a lot more powerful and better equipped than the Samsung Galaxy S2, that it would make no sense to wait deep into the fall for it to launch given the slow release cycle of US variants. In fact, many of you pointed out that this would only put it a month or two apart from the Google Nexus 4, which has followed a clockwork release schedule by Google for the holidays.
Why you should wait for the Samsung Galaxy S3 but not the Google Nexus 4
Now we know that the major gripes many users had with the Samsung Galaxy S2 had to do with TouchWiz and its somewhat ‘plasticky’ casing. In fact, many users were disappointed when the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich update rolled out and the Samsung Galaxy S2 still looked the same due to the TouchWiz overlay. That’s where the Samsung Galaxy Nexus shined. With its improved exterior materials and stock Android 4.0, it gave customers the electric blue UI and holographic effects we love Android 4.0 for. Unfortunately, we wouldn’t bet on the same strong appeal for the ‘Google Nexus 4’ given the recent controversy about whether it makes sense to buy a Nexus phone nowadays.
You see, owners of the Samsung Nexus S were promised the Android 4.0 update back in December. This unfortunately didn’t go as planned and the update has been on hiatus since. Now the Nexus S has been beaten to Android 4.0 by a bunch of other devices (HTC Sensation, Sensation XE, Vivid, and the Samsung Galaxy S2). So we wouldn’t bet on faster updates being the reason to pick a Nexus over a Samsung Galaxy S3.
Next up is materials – the latest rumors suggest that Samsung will likely be going with a ceramic case for its Galaxy S3 that would be very similar to that found in Rado watches. Not only does this have a beautiful finish and feels good in your hands but is also scratch resistant, eliminating the need to buy a case.
Despite the age of the Samsung Galaxy S2 compared to the much newer Galaxy Nexus, it does boast a better camera sensor and more powerful GPU. So we wouldn’t be surprised if the same holds true for the Samsung Galaxy S3 even if its launches ahead of the Google Nexus 4 (especially if Samsung doesn’t get the contract to make the next Nexus phone).
Are you as interested about the Google Nexus 4 as you are for the Galaxy S3? Sound off in the comments below.
