The Samsung Galaxy S4: A Budget Flagship Worth Exploring?

Hey guys, this is Austin. I've done a lot of videos on budget smartphones, but this, this is something a little bit different. Meet the Samsung Galaxy S4. The hottest flagship of 2013, that now costs about $100. This might sound like an weird idea to do a video on, but it's something that's really interesting to me.

So on one hand, you have a new smartphone that's meant to hit a budget price. But on the other, if you get something like this, it is dramatically cheaper than it was when it first came out, and you're still getting all the advantages of a proper flagship. I was able to find this Galaxy S4 brand new in the box. However, there are still tons and tons of these phones that are available on the used market for anywhere between $70 to $100.

So this brings me back. I actually was at the launch event for the Galaxy S4. It's hard to believe that was a full four years ago. But what I'm really curious to see is how well this phone actually holds up today. Oh wow, this is so much smaller than I remember it being. Look at that hyper-glaze finish on the back. Man, I remember how much of a fingerprint magnet this was. But if I remember right, there's actually a lot of interesting stuff in the box.

Not only do we have the microUSB cable, we have a wall adapter, as well as it looks like some fairly generic-looking headphones. Because this is an old-school Samsung phone, we also have a removable battery. When it comes to the hottest phone of 2013, the Galaxy S4 actually doesn't look too bad today. Yes, it is definitely all plastic and not very premium, but I think that's part of its charm.

One area where things have improved over the last few years is in selfie technology. That's actually pretty close. The more I use these phones, the more I realize that they are very, very similar in most ways, but the biggest difference is software. Put simply, Android 6 is totally modern. Pretty much all apps will run on it. And while yes, while this is not the most powerful phone in the world for $100, it will do basically everything you need it to.

So with the Blu, not only are you getting a brand-new phone, but it's running that new version of Android which just simply means it's going to last longer. On the other hand, I like the Galaxy S4 as a phone more, but at some point in the not too distant future, app support just really isn't going to be a thing here. For $100, which of these phones would you guys go for? Let me know in the comments below, and I will catch you in the next one.

The Samsung Galaxy S4: A Camera Comparison

So there's a lot of contrast here, but ah, this is a really difficult shot. It's not bad, but the background is blown out, and Ken is super dark. And now if I take a shot with the Blu. Oh wow, that has a lot more in it. To be fair, it's a little bit older school style of doing HDR. So you can actually see it taking multiple exposures, but this is a much more usable image.

To get a little bit more of a normal shot though, and the Galaxy S4 looks a lot better. Colors are a lot more vibrant. You can see it's a bigger sensor, there's a little bit of depth of field in the background, whereas with the Blu's very washed out and yeah, that is not sharp at all. I'm actually really impressed with how good this Galaxy S4 camera is.

And yeah, if you push it really hard with a very contrasted image, it's just not quite so great looking, but you get a decent-looking shot and it is really clean. One area where things definitely have improved over the last few years is in selfie technology. That's actually pretty close.

WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: en- Hey guys, this is Austin.I've done a lot of videoson budget smartphones.However, this, this is somethinga little bit different.Meet the Samsung Galaxy S4.The hottest flagship of 2013,that now costs about $100.This might sound like aweird idea to do a video on,but it's something that'sreally interesting to me.So on one hand, you have a new smartphonethat's meant to hit a budget price.But on the other, if youget something like this,it is dramatically cheaper thanit was when it first came out,and you're still gettingall the advantagesof a proper flagship.So I was able to find this Galaxy S4brand new in the box,however there are stilltons and tons and tons of these phonesthat are available on theused market for anywherebetween $70 to $100.So this brings me back.I actually was at the launchevent for the Galaxy S4.It's hard to believe thatwas a full four years ago.But what I'm really curious to seeis how well this phoneactually holds up today.Oh wow.This is so much smallerthan I remember it being.Look at that hyper glazefinish on the back.Man, I remember how much of afingerprint magnet this was.But if I remember right,there's actually a lotof interesting stuff in the box.So not only do we havethe microUSB cable,we have a wall adapter, as well asit looks like some fairlygeneric looking headphones.But because this is anold school Samsung phone,we also have a removable battery.When is comes to thehottest phone of 2013,the Galaxy S4 actuallydoesn't look too bad today.So yes, it is definitely all plastic,and with this sort of hyper glaze finish,it does look a little bit cheap.However, this guy is actuallyrocking pretty decent specsfor back in the day.Ha, it still has a charge.What is it with me andpulling super old smartphonesout of the box that actually can turn on?That's crazy.And that Android 4.2 life.Yeah, this thing is, this is interesting.This was definitely likesort of peak TouchWiz,when they would throw everypossible feature at itand almost none of them were useful.Of course taking a look at a Galaxy S4in a vacuum is no good.So to compare, we have the Blu Life Max.Now for $100, there is actually a lotto like with this phone.There are a ton of accessories here.And also it looks like we have a caseand screen protector.For $100, that's actually a lot.The look of this phone is very interestingfor a budget device.So it has this soft touch rubberwhich is meant to look like leather,and it even has sort of fakestitching around the side.It actually reminds me ofsome older Samsung phones.I don't hate it though.Especially compared to thesuper generic black plastic.It's not that bad.One thing this does have going for it,is pretty giant 3700mAh battery.Which should definitelygive it tons of longevityespecially considering the specs.On top of that, we do have dual SIM cardsas well as a microSD card slot.And if I pop the back on,you'll also be able to seethat in addition to the camera,there is a fingerprint reader on the back.That is really coolfor $100 Android phone.So if you try the fingerprint reader,huh, that's actually pretty quick.This may be be a little bitslower than newer flagships,but that's actually not bad at all.I mean pretty muchleaving your finger on it,it almost immediately unlocks.Side by side with the Galaxy S4,one of the first things that you'll noticeis just how much bigger this is.And this is fairly standardfor a lot of phones these days.The Galaxy S4 just lookstiny in comparison.And what's interesting about this,is that while this doeshave the bigger screenat 5.5 inches, it's only 720p.Whereas the Galaxy S4 wasone of the very first phonesthat moved up to 1080.It's an AMOLED display, andit does look a lot nicer.It is super interestingthat both of these phonesnow cost about $100.Especially considering thatwhile this phone was kind of madeto kind of hit that price point,this one has come so far, andyet there's a lot of areaswhere they are actually very similar.Not only do both phoneshave LTE, but they alsohave quad core processorswith 2 gigabytes of RAM.However the biggest difference hereis going to be in software.Where the Life Max ships with Android 6.0,the Galaxy S4 actually hasAndroid 4.2 Jelly Bean.Now to be fair you canupgrade this to Android 5which should make a fairly big difference.But a lot of apps out ofthe box are just not goingto work on this guy.Where the Galaxy S4 has TouchWizpretty much everywhere you look,and most of it's not reallygoing to be all that useful,luckily the Life Max actually is goingto be a fairly stock build of Android.Now to be fair there are alot of pre-installed appswhich definitely kind ofhelp to keep the price low,but the good thing isnothing's all that crazy,and of course all of it can be disabled.One of the interesting comparisonsbetween these two phonesare the cameras.So the Galaxy S4 is rockinga 13 megapixel camerawhereas the Blu has eight megapixels.But of course it has fouryears of advancements.So see how they actually compare.So there's a lot of contrast here, but,ah, this is a really difficult shot.It's not bad, but thebackground is blown out,and Ken is super dark.And now if I take a shot with the Blu.Oh wow.That has a lot more in it.To be fair it's a littlebit older school styleof doing HDR.So you can actually see ittaking multiple exposures,but this is a much more usable image.To get a little bit moreof a normal shot though,and the Galaxy S4 looks a lot better.Colors are a lot more vibrant.You can see it's a bigger sensor,there's a little bit of depthof field in the background,whereas with the Bluit's very washed out andyeah, that is not sharp at all.I'm actually really impressedwith how good this Galaxy S4 camera is.And yeah, if you push it really hardwith a very contrasted image,it's just not quite so great looking,but you get a decent looking shotand it is really clean.One area where thingsdefinitely have improvedover the last few yearsis in selfie technology.So, that's actually pretty close.I think I'm going to haveto give a slight edgeto the Galaxy S4 based on sharpness.The Blu just looks a little soft.The more I use these phones,the more I realize thatthey are very, very similarin most ways, but the biggestdifference is software.Put simply Android 6 is totally modern.Pretty much all apps will run on it.And while yes, while this isnot the most powerful phonein the worldfor $100 it will do basicallyeverything you need it to.You've got two options here,a safe one, and a risky one.So with the Blu, not only areyou getting a brand new phone,but it's running thatnewer version of Androidwhich just simply meansit's going to last longer.On the other hand, I likethe Galaxy S4 as a phone more,but at some point in thenot too distant future,app support just really isn'tgoing to be a thing here.So for $100 which of thesephones would you guys go for?Let me know in the commentsbelow, and I will catch youin the next one.