What anyone has doubted has been Samsung's ability to take these displays and components and integrate them into a whole that doesn't look and feel like cheap plasticky junk that is less than the sum of its parts.

Samsung has yet to give us reason to stop doubting that.

Of course it clearly hasn't stopped the world's population from snapping them up...

I think great examples of this are the Nexus 5/7 and the Moto X. They're completely plastic construction, but they look and feel much nicer than the Galaxy line.

Never understand all the hate of the Samsung designs. If you don't like plastic just buy a different back. That is one of the benefits of it being removable.

Now I need to find another phone where I can swap batteries out instead of having to plug it in to charge.

I thought you could already do this with the Samsung S-series phones?

Is wireless charging not an option?

As a sidenote, I haven't found wireless charging to be all that anyway. It makes the phone thicker (either built-in or with a wireless charging case), and all it does is save me the two seconds it takes to put a plug in the end of the phone. I've got the wireless charging case for the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 and seldom use it.

[0] http://www.amazon.com/External-Battery-Pack-Limefuel-L130X/d...

I prefer wireless charging, as I've had to replace the USB port (Galaxy Nexus) due to the number of insertions/removals over ~2 years.

The vast majority of people put their phones in protective cases anyway, even their beautiful iPhones. Putting a lot of effort into the feel of the case is something you have to do if you're Apple, it's something everyone else can afford to make a much lesser priority.

edit: it'd be interesting to see on which point the downvoters disagree. you guys could actually RESPOND.

Got any numbers for that?

75% use a case

I think it's fair to say that the build of S2 was cheaper than the competition, but the quality was also much better than any of the metal or glass(!) designs.

In later models they switched from elegant to ugly IMHO.

However. It received numerous plaudits for ergonomics, but now that I'm using one I find the thin edge -- even with a case on it -- difficult to grasp. Also, the curved back means I can't set it face up on a table and "poke at it" -- the body would rock due to the curve.

The display looks nice, indoors. But while taking some photos during a walk, yesterday, even with the sun low in the sky it was very difficult to see the image on the display. (And, the camera lends a very saturated and "reddish" tint to the result, at least at default settings.)

So... I'm intrigued now with the S5 display quality. I'll have to look for camera results. And "cheap plastic" or whatever, if I can hold it securely and use it on a table and etc. Well, then, such functionality will exceed an "appearance" concerns I have other than display and camera output.

I wanted a "close-to-Google" phone that would remain updated, while also remaining on the only service that provides a reliable signal in some areas where I travel.

But "easy to hold" and "easy to see" and some basics... I'm seeing more and more why Jobs et al. resisted some of the design changes rampaging through the Android market.

P.S. Once I heard about the apparently legitimate security concerns, I sort of swallowed the disappearance of microSD expansion. But if/whan security concerns are ameliorated, I would much prefer to retain such a feature.

I'm not sure I understand how that would happen. I use mine lying face up all the time. While the overall shape of the back is curved, there's a substantial flat area that lets it sit perfectly steady on a flat surface.

I can make it rock if I really try, but that requires jabbing at on the edges far harder than normal use would require.

I don't think it should make any difference but I have the XT1060 with woven black back on VZW.

It does start to rock if I don't hold my touch light, particularly towards the corners and the "bottom" in portrait view. Poking the back button is particularly touchy.

So, I stand partially corrected, I guess.

Anyhoo, I'm still to the point of placing function ahead of form. Or I'm just getting old and grumpy. 50/50, probably.

(or a Cyanogenmod flavor)

I'm realizing it is more and more "just a(nother) phone", to me. I figure each point out as it becomes of immediate importance to me.

As this stuff becomes more and more mainstream (and/or I do, perhaps), I wonder how much more prominent JFW (just f-ing works) and DFAM (don't f-ing arse me) are going to become in the market.

Or rather, I'm experiencing it, first hand. JFDI, phone! Like the toaster.

If you just want a phone that can boot a mobile operating system, then perhaps a Nexus device will do it for you. But there are other phones that have features not included on the Nexus line that make them appealing to folks.

But for practical use there are no benefits. Not even if you have a older device. The One is maybe the most beautiful designed piece of hardware I have ever seen, but other than there is not much that I can do better with the One than with my Nexus 4.

I still want that damn phone, though.

As for the price, the differential seems like it's smaller outside the US, where the Nexus is barely marketed. And since I don't replace my phone that often, even a $200 difference is just not that critical.

There is certainly issue of bloatware - but you can either delete them (with Titanium Backup) or just hide the icons (in my launcher).

I just can't get behind carrier/manufacturer cruft. I also feel that Android itself iterates and innovates faster than Samsung/Moto/LG/anyone else can on their own, so those 'extras' are not at all extras.

I'm also considering switching from Verizon just for this....

I had an HTC and the GPS was terrible, then I switched to Samsung, and it worked well (for the S2 and S3, which I had).

Since GPS performance is something that reviews apparently care little about, I'm not going to change brand, without having accurate GPS analyses at hand.