[Q] Which S4 to buy in the USA?

I was wondering if the community could help me make a decision as to which model S4 would be best suited for me for primary use in the USA with very light travel abroad. I’ve done my research on XDA and would like to hear some opinions of USA users of the S4.

I will outline some of my usage profile to help guide suggestions (this is not in order of importance).

• Primarily use data over Wi-Fi.
• Would like to root the phone.
• Telephone Voice Recording (my job description often requires taking directions over the phone)
• Wi-Fi calling would be great but not a must.
• I like to jump between AT&T and T-Mobile so I need to have that flexibility. Mostly for the prepaid services.
• I would prefer a very responsive device.
• A lot of voice communication over the phone primarily using a Bluetooth headset.
• 4G would be nice but 3G is more than adequate for my data needs.
• Fastest camera load times as well as picture quality is important to me.
• The phone will be purchased without a contract.
• I know what KNOX is but not sure how that would apply to which model to get if I want to root the phone.

Here are the options (if I leave something out please mention). If I state something incorrect please correct me.

i9500 - this is an eight core model, my understanding is that only four cores running at time anyway so there really is no advantage there. This is the first version of the S4.
i9505 - probably the one with the most development options as well as custom ROMs.
i9006 - probably the best performing version. Can it be rooted? KNOX workaround?
SGH-M919 - this is the T-Mobile version. My understanding is that it’s similar to the 9505 in terms of hardware performance and has LTE capability on the T-Mobile network. This will work also on PC Metro along with Wi-Fi calling on both T-Mobile and PC Metro.

What is the warranty situation on each of those for the USA (the T-Mobile one would be bought unlocked brand-new).

So based on my description of usage what do you guys recommend?
I like to thank everyone who contributes to helping me.

qtwrk said:

It depends on which operator you use?

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I’m going to jump from AT&T to T-Mobile. Primarily the prepaid variance. The reason being is I travel for work and certain areas get better coverage than others so I constantly flip back and forth.

qtwrk said:

9500 is dual-quad core, but there seems rumor in next version of Android update will make it octa core online at same time

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I wasn’t aware of this. But honestly by the time this rolls around I will probably be moving on to the next device.

qtwrk said:

9506 , best for performance, rooting yes but KNOX ,I think it comes out with 4.3 so already included KNOX bootloader in factory.

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So if I just want to root the phone will this affect KNOX on this model. And is there a workaround for this?

qtwrk said:

If you don't wanna 4G and need some flashing, 9500 or 9505 , no flashing? 9506

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I don’t really care that much about 4G. If I have it it’s nice, 3G will suit me more than enough. When you talk about flashing your talking about putting custom ROMs? That has nothing to do with rooting? And I am assuming you say that because the 9506 lacks in development because most people are going to wait for the S5, which is basically going to be the 9506 but waterproof.

Can you root the 9506?


Is there a big difference between the 9506 and 9505 in terms of performance? If you have to take a guess is it a 10% increase 30% increase?

Thank you for your response.

qtwrk said:

Sorry for answer like this, tapatalk isn't good when reply it, I will try to answer your further question anyway I can.

Either, I think you should consult the operator if 9500/9505 works well on certain radio frequency before you buy it

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Ok thank you.