General

S4 is nice and powerful but has a disgusting interface (can be fixed by rooting but may be difficult if you're not familiar with technology)
5s is overpriced but powerful and with a nice camera
Nexus 5 imo is the best phone on the market, has all the benefits listed above but you get stock android and it's cheaper than both. A LOT cheaper than both.

EDIT: I believe the S4 is slightly more powerful than the Nexus 5

@Yumtoast: I see where you're going, but as someone who doesn't just look at specifics of phone material and specs, I would still say the iPhone5 feels cheap to me.
The second I've ever held one in my hand, I said to my friends, "guys, this feels like a cheap phone". The back of the GS4 is obviously cheap due to the plastic material, but you can't say about the same about the body.

@ZzXxskyxXzZ: When did I ever say that I prioritized backing over price? All I stated was that the build material of a phone should be highly considered because chances are you'll be holding your phone while it's in use; please stop trying to toss a red herring and let's get back on topic. First off, if you're going to prioritize price, both the lowest-storage models of the S4 and iPhone 5S are the exact same price ($649 unlocked) -- so your last point has nothing to do with the GS4 being better than the 5S price-wise. And in consideration of build material, the $649 5S crushes the $649 GS4 since one phone is made out of aluminum, a material much more expensive than plastic. And second, you're mixing up backing and body; I'm referring to the phones' entire casing, which is either frame or unibody -- and a gapless unibody design is visually and physically more appealing than a 2-piece design to a majority of people. Also, the front of the GS4 being visually appealing is "more subjective" than build material: it's a fact that aluminum is known as a luxury material versus plastic, but it's opinion when it comes to how good the GS4's front looks. Although its bezels are attractively thin, the phone is very rounded and there's a glossy silver SAMSUNG logo at the very top of the phone. If looks weren't enough, the S4's AMOLED display has less natural colors with terrible outdoor performance compared to the bright LCD displays of other 1080p phones. And third, why does wanting a well-built phone make anyone wrong? I would gladly pay an extra $50 if the GS4 didn't feel like a cheap plastic brick, and a many other would too. The point of my very first post was that a premium-priced smartphone should feel like a premium smartphone, but it seems that we've diverged from that argument. Actual use performance is another story, but stock iOS7.1 blows 4.3/4.4 + TouchWiz out of the water; however, it's the other way around if the S4 is running vanilla 4.4.2 (which GS4 GEs should have received this week, but most S4 users run TouchWiz anyways).

Wall of text because I don't want to drag this on further.

@Yumtoast: Specs are similar between most smartphones nowadays.
If you're saying the iPhone is better than other phones such as the S4 because of the build quality of the backing (the front of the S4 is good) in comparison to the price they charge, then you're wrong. I prioritize price as a customer, not just what the backing of the phone is made out of.

@ZzXxskyxXzZ: If you read my first post, I say that build quality and materials should be more highly prioritized (because smartphones are no longer a spec battle nowadays).

@Yumtoast: So you're saying the build material of the back of the S4 is the reason why it is not as good as iPhones, which are made out of better material?

[quote=ZzXxskyxXzZ]Exactly. That's my point.
There's a certain point in phone weight that makes it feel [b]too[/b] light, making it feel cheap.[/quote]
It's lighter because the phone is significantly smaller (by >25%); it has nothing to do with being cheap.

The weight of a standard smartphone has little to do with how cheap it feels compared to build material. The Nexus 5 for instance, has the same weight as the S4, but feels much better to the touch with its matte rubber back. On the other hand, you have a phone like the G2 which is heftier than both the S4 and iPhone, but also feels cheaper/worse. And then there're phones like the Find5 and HTC One which are made out of 'heavy' aluminum/steel in relation to materials like plastic, but still feel much better than a phone like the Moto G (143g, 130x66x11.6mm).

t|dr: build material > weight

@Yumtoast: Exactly. That's my point.
There's a certain point in phone weight that makes it feel [b]too[/b] light, making it feel cheap.

@ZzXxskyxXzZ: What are you talking about? Not only does the iPhone 5S weigh [b]less[/b] than the GS4, its exterior is made out of more expensive material.

http://www.gsmarena.com/apple_iphone_5s-5685.php
http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_i9500_galaxy_s4-5125.php

@Yumtoast: The weight of the phone itself makes the iPhone feel cheap.
I'm not just talking about the backing.

[quote=ZzXxskyxXzZ]The S4.[/quote]
How does the plastic-backed S4 feel better than the aluminum unibody design of the iPhone 5/5S? Your preferences are mixed up here.

Every single professional review criticizes the S4's plastic as either: a major design flaw, cheap, uncomfortable, or all of the above.

@Yumtoast: The S4.

[quote=ZzXxskyxXzZ]For me, the iPhone 5s feels like an extremely cheap phone.
I would never buy an iPhone myself.[/quote]
Then what feels like a premium phone to you?

[quote=Yumtoast]I'm not a fan of either smartphones, despite their specs and reviews. I very strongly believe that if you're going to drop $600+ on a phone, it should at least feel like a $600 phone -- and this is both phones' major fault. When I hold the G2 and S4 in my hand, they feel like the cheap plastic I can find on any crappy phone from 2009. People call me out for prioritizing build, but when you use your phone, you have to touch it; you'll get a significantly better [physical] smartphone experience with a phone built out of aluminum (e.g. the iPhone 5S) or another smooth-touch material (e.g. the matte backing on the Nexus 5).

However, if you're keen on buying only the S4 or G2, I'd recommend the G2 simply because its specs make it more future-proof than the S4. You should also consider the Note 3 if you're interested in the S4, since it's a massive step up with 'dat battery and amazing camera, unless of course you can't stand the size increase.

Sorry for the wall of text, I just feel like people should know that premium phones should feel like premium phones. It's like buying a luxury car and the seats are made out of some cheap polyester instead of leather.[/quote]

For me, the iPhone 5s feels like an extremely cheap phone.
I would never buy an iPhone myself.

I'm not a fan of either smartphones, despite their specs and reviews. I very strongly believe that if you're going to drop $600+ on a phone, it should at least feel like a $600 phone -- and this is both phones' major fault. When I hold the G2 and S4 in my hand, they feel like the cheap plastic I can find on any crappy phone from 2009. People call me out for prioritizing build, but when you use your phone, you have to touch it; you'll get a significantly better [physical] smartphone experience with a phone built out of aluminum (e.g. the iPhone 5S) or another smooth-touch material (e.g. the matte backing on the Nexus 5).

However, if you're keen on buying only the S4 or G2, I'd recommend the G2 simply because its specs make it more future-proof than the S4. You should also consider the Note 3 if you're interested in the S4, since it's a massive step up with 'dat battery and amazing camera, unless of course you can't stand the size increase.

Sorry for the wall of text, I just feel like people should know that premium phones should feel like premium phones. It's like buying a luxury car and the seats are made out of some cheap polyester instead of leather.

LG 2, I'm not really a fan of sammy phones.

[quote=Hellksing]LG G2 dat Snapdragon 800 tho.[/quote]

Basically what I was going to say lol
TS, you didn't see my other post? Juicy battery, beautiful display, great performance. The Interface is probably not as neat as Samsung's Touchwiz, but it can get the job done. You can always get ROMS and stuff in it too.

@ZzXxskyxXzZ I've read the LG2 dominates S4 in almost every aspect.

You won't regret buying a Samsung product.

LG G2 dat Snapdragon 800 tho.