While the Samsung Galaxy S3 has received outstanding reviews, it's not perfect. For those who are interested in learning about the common criticisms of the well-received phone, Latinos Post has compiled comments from respected review sources to help customers make their purchasing decisions. The most prominent complaints note the gimmicky nature of the phone's extra features, the device's large size, the ineffectiveness of voice commands, and the reuse of the Galaxy S2's 8-megapixel camera. Reviews make frequent comparisons to the HTC One X, noting that the S3 doesn't measure up in all areas against its Android brother. Please note that the Galaxy S3 was favorably received by critics, and that this comment roundup is not intended to reflect the phone's value as a whole. Additionally, many of these issues are subject to change in future OS updates.
S-Voice
"S Voice- Although it's competent, it lacks Siri's wit and whimsy, so you're best sticking to straightforward commands." -T3
"Like Siri, it's not invariably accurate and it is server-driven so won't work at all without a decent data connection." -T3
"Samsung's Siri competitor, S Voice, disappointed." -CNET
"S Voice sounds great in theory, but it didn't work well. Sometimes it didn't work at all. Throughout my testing period, I used S Voice extensively, asking the phone to perform the full range of tasks. Sometimes it delivered what I wanted immediately, like driving directions or turning Wi-Fi on and off. Other times, it must have stuffed cotton in its digital ears and repeatedly garbled or blanked on what I wanted" -CNET
Features
"Perhaps the most gimmicky of all, Social Tag uses facial recognition to match faces in photographs with the profile photos in your contacts." -T3
"Now, assuming the profile photo isn't of a dog or a witty poster, the phone shows that contact's latest status update and makes it easy to call or message them. We can't see it catching on." -T3
"Not every one of the GS3's special additions is essential, and some, like sharing content through AllShare Play and GroupCast, are unnecessarily complicated to set up and use" -CNET
"My problem with [GroupCast, Buddy Photo Share, and ShareShot] is that some of them have unintuitive and disjointed user experiences. It isn't always obvious how to get to a feature, how to sign others up, and how to find your shared content afterward." -CNET
Camera
"Last year, the Galaxy S2's 8MP camera was above average. Now the competition has caught up and the S3 was rumoured to be getting a 12 megapixel camera, but instead it's got the same snapper as the S2." -T3
"Still, it's a decent sensor which delivers strong results and you can also capture full HD 1080p video." -T3
The only thing missing here is real optical development: the maximum aperture is f/2.6, which is basically the same as its predecessors and well behind the light-loving f/2.0 lens on the HTC One X. This means the GS III will generally be worse off in low-light situations, although we still found that it performed admirably, with minimal noise." -Engadget
Design
"Gloss plastic looks low-end" -T3
"But, be warned, it's going to be too big for some hands." -T3
"It won't wow you with neon colors or evocative, industrial design; it doesn't have the sharpest screen on the market; and its body isn't fashioned from ceramic, glass, or micro-arc oxidized aluminum. That said, the Galaxy S3 is about the nicest plastic phone I've ever seen" -CNET
Screen
"The Galaxy S3's screen is too dim" -CNET
"Blacks looked blacker on the Nexus' AMOLED screen, but there was far more detail throughout the images on the One X and iPhone 4S, which both use LCD screens with in-plane switching (IPS.) From there, quality was a tossup, with some features of the image looking better on the iPhone, and some looking better on the One X." -CNET
"Don't get me wrong -- the GS3's screen is still lovely when you aren't peering at it side by side with another screen, but the comparative image darkness is a little disappointing, and was especially noticeable in my sunny-day photo and video shoots. Part of the screen dimness problem is that some apps, like the browser, were actually less bright by default. Even when I changed system settings to full blast, the browser remained dimmer until I changed its individual brightness setting. In general, I appreciate Samsung's power-saving checks and balances, but checking settings throughout the phone was confusing." CNET
Overall
"However, by many measures, the Galaxy S III isn't the top Android phone on the market. HTC's One X has the brighter, more detailed screen, the sturdier build quality, and the extras, like Beats Audio, that consistently work. In addition, Samsung's S Voice repeatedly blunders in understanding and executing on tasks, both here in the U.S. and in the U.K"
"The worst thing about the GS III? No matter how hard it tries, it just isn't greater than the sum of the HTC One X's parts. That's not to say it falls short, but merely to emphasize that times have changed since last year's Galaxy S II, which landed on an unsuspecting world that was largely devoid of predators. The Snapdragon variant of the One X has similar computing power, battery life and photographic credibility, but it also has a much better user interface that sticks more closely to the guiding ethos of Android 4.0. The One X also has a more forward-looking physical design, while the GS III clings to the tried and true styles of old." Engadget
"It's not quite as fast as the one in the HTC One X, but it's a real powerhouse that never slows down however much demand you're placing on it." -T3
Consumer Criticisms
"There is a major issue for GSIII users who happen to have MACs. You cannot connect successfully the phone to a Mac computer via USB cable (nor to a car entertainment center in Nissan). The phone uses MTP protocol which works like a dream for all Windows fans but is a major problem for Mac users."
"Not sure I get this rave for the Samsung or the HTC-One X, which I've tried but am returning to go back to the iPhone. Neither of the Android phones do voice command stuff nearly as well as the iPhone's Siri. Most of the apps designed to supply that function don't work well at all, don't integrate well with Bluetooth for true hands free performance in the car and can't do the many things Siri can do. Being faster than the iPhone and having a bigger display isn't enough to cut it when iOS works so much better."
For a fuller, more in-depth understanding of the Galaxy S3's much hailed features, visit the following reviews.
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