How is developer support for the Galaxy line of phones?

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mikeyrocks

Member
Jul 12, 2011
9
0
Wasn't sure if this is more Q&A or not.

Right now I have the evo 3d. Support for it was really good, actually still 2 or 3 developers working with it, so I'm running kitkat on it right now, which has kept me from feeling the need to upgrade right away.

Anyway, like a lot of other people I'm deciding between the m8 and s5, I might wait a little longer just to see what LG drops. I'm not too familiar with how developer friendly the Galaxy line of phones are, specifically the Sprint models. I've read varying opinions from there's little development outside of some TW roms to development is strong.

Developer support is a big deciding factor for me since it can really allow you to prolong the life of your phone, hence why I'm still using my evo 3d, though it's falling apart now and showing its age so its time to finally bite the bullet and upgrade.

Not asking anyone to predict the future on how dev support will be for the s5 but just looking for input on how it's been for the previous Galaxy phones just so I have some idea. Talking TW roms as well as AOSP roms.

Thanks!
 
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CCWS

New member
Aug 5, 2011
2
1
Once you get used to using Odin to flash you'll be fine. I find that Samsung Galaxy's (I've now owned Sprints epic 4g touch, S4 and now S5) have always had excellent support here. I generally only root stock to clean up the crap software but on numerous occasions I've used full roms from XDA to see what else is out there.

A few annoyances:

1) Knox is security software that trips when you modify parts of the system and supposedly Sprint can use a tripped Knox counter to refuse warranty work. This has never happened to me however and I've had to swap handsets many times.

2) Samsung is good at getting you hooked on touchwiz and their ecosystem of apps; I like the smart view covers and it's been tough getting it to work on some of the roms available. I also like the Samsung default camera which thankfully works well on most roms, but some functions within the camera weren't available.

3) Root, in my opinion, is required to make Sprint's handsets run optimally. Mostly because you need to remove the crap software, but so far Chainfire has been fantastic getting root out very quickly for most of the handsets/providers within days of release.

Hope this helps!
 
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LordLugard

Senior Member
Apr 25, 2008
1,884
344
NYC
So why don't you just look in the respective Galaxy phone forums and see for yourself how development is coming along? It's a simple thing to pop in here and there and just see the different ROMs, etc.
The Galaxy line is by far the most popular Android brand right now and as such gets a lot of developer attention.
 
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durandetto

Senior Member
Jan 11, 2010
934
191
Hartland, MI
I just pray @sacs will get an s5. He had the best rom ever for the s4. Id be willing to drop some $ if it would guarantee he got this phone. Kind of worried about development right now haven't seen any devs talking about doing anything for is yet. I guess thats what you get when you get a phone at release.

Sent from my SM-G900P using Tapatalk
 
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reverepats

Senior Member
Dec 22, 2010
6,552
5,264
Boston,MA
I just pray @sacs will get an s5. He had the best rom ever for the s4. Id be willing to drop some $ if it would guarantee he got this phone. Kind of worried about development right now haven't seen any devs talking about doing anything for is yet. I guess thats what you get when you get a phone at release.

Sent from my SM-G900P using Tapatalk

Unfotunately he won't be. He's devoted to the Note series at the moment, and has not expressed any need to get teh S5

Sent from my SM-G900P using Tapatalk
 

rhizomorph

Member
Jul 14, 2013
33
10
I just jumped from the S2 to the S5 - I was hooked on Dirty Unicorns and SlimBean, so I'm crossing my fingers they release those (or some variant them) for the S5 soon. I've already rooted mine, but just sitting here waiting with a boring stock ROM is killing me! :)

Sent from my SM-G900P using Tapatalk
 

sleshepic

Inactive Recognized Themer
Oct 18, 2011
3,915
7,030
PA
I just jumped from the S2 to the S5 - I was hooked on Dirty Unicorns and SlimBean, so I'm crossing my fingers they release those (or some variant them) for the S5 soon. I've already rooted mine, but just sitting here waiting with a boring stock ROM is killing me! :)

Sent from my SM-G900P using Tapatalk







I know what you mean. Same here.

Once we get our trees up Slim will be one of the first I build
 

rhizomorph

Member
Jul 14, 2013
33
10
The S2 was my first time playing around with custom ROMs, and by the time I got around to it there were already several available - how long does it usually take custom ROMs to hit the community when a new phone comes out? Are we talking months?

Sent from my SM-G900P using Tapatalk
 

alewis2k12

Senior Member
Dec 26, 2011
945
326
Mississippi Gulf Coast...
I love Samsung...but looks like the majority of Devs went to the M8...reason why I switched over....both are amazing devices...but I love to have a phones with a lot of options....but im sure both phones with have good support....
 

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  • 5
    I'm stewing on it. Cost is an obvious factor but I have an idea on how to pull it off.
    If do it won't be likely until May at earliest.

    Regardless whether I get or not I'll do what I can to help things move along.
    2
    I just pray @sacs will get an s5. He had the best rom ever for the s4. Id be willing to drop some $ if it would guarantee he got this phone. Kind of worried about development right now haven't seen any devs talking about doing anything for is yet. I guess thats what you get when you get a phone at release.

    Sent from my SM-G900P using Tapatalk

    Unfotunately he won't be. He's devoted to the Note series at the moment, and has not expressed any need to get teh S5

    Sent from my SM-G900P using Tapatalk
    1
    Once you get used to using Odin to flash you'll be fine. I find that Samsung Galaxy's (I've now owned Sprints epic 4g touch, S4 and now S5) have always had excellent support here. I generally only root stock to clean up the crap software but on numerous occasions I've used full roms from XDA to see what else is out there.

    A few annoyances:

    1) Knox is security software that trips when you modify parts of the system and supposedly Sprint can use a tripped Knox counter to refuse warranty work. This has never happened to me however and I've had to swap handsets many times.

    2) Samsung is good at getting you hooked on touchwiz and their ecosystem of apps; I like the smart view covers and it's been tough getting it to work on some of the roms available. I also like the Samsung default camera which thankfully works well on most roms, but some functions within the camera weren't available.

    3) Root, in my opinion, is required to make Sprint's handsets run optimally. Mostly because you need to remove the crap software, but so far Chainfire has been fantastic getting root out very quickly for most of the handsets/providers within days of release.

    Hope this helps!
    1
    So why don't you just look in the respective Galaxy phone forums and see for yourself how development is coming along? It's a simple thing to pop in here and there and just see the different ROMs, etc.
    The Galaxy line is by far the most popular Android brand right now and as such gets a lot of developer attention.
    1
    I just pray @sacs will get an s5. He had the best rom ever for the s4. Id be willing to drop some $ if it would guarantee he got this phone. Kind of worried about development right now haven't seen any devs talking about doing anything for is yet. I guess thats what you get when you get a phone at release.

    Sent from my SM-G900P using Tapatalk