I would probably take an outer seat (A/K). Who knows, your seat mate in (E/F) may be louder than any galley.

I can't say that I have noticed a difference between the A side or the K side.

Anyone know the difference between a regular and "accessible" seat? Seems on my flight 4K is accessible while 4A is not.

I usually go for the window seats since I fly mostly solo. I've flown on the upper deck of the A380 on a few other products (e.g. OZ and EY F) and the curvature has never bothered me (that said, I do hate those windows since you can't really see anything). A bit disappointing that EK shoves 4 suites across on the upper deck when EY has 2 and SQ puts theirs on the substantially wider lower deck.

SQ leaked their new config recently and it's 1-1...

1-1 wow. Do you have a link?

I've occasionally used 4K when flights were similarly blocked, I prefer that to 4A as there's a lav on the same side next to the galley. It's staggered a further bit back than 3EF but haven't had a problem with galley noise. Either way, you can call up and see if they'll assign you a blocked seat or do it on the day (assuming not fully booked). No difference between A and K, other than the obvious. K is just assigned as accessible even though A would be easier to get to if there are mobility issues.

I don't think galley proximity is a major issue, but certainly worth avoiding if you can. In addition to that, I also don't like the galley wall next to row 4, it makes it feel a little claustrophobic IMO. The best seats for solo travelers are 2-3A/K. Btw, just don't go by what seats are shown blocked on the seat-map, call them to ask for it. I had noticed row 3 seats always showed blocked on one of my reservations, but was able to select it upon calling EK.

I've never sat in row 4 - it's behind row 3 and the galley can see in to the suite which some may not like.

As above call EK and get a better seat unblocked.

EK suites are orientated along the length of the aircraft whereas EY (and new SQ?) are orientated across the way. It's not comparing like with like.

Even comparing like for like, EY A380 F undeniably has considerably more space per seat than EK, and it shows.

The EY layout is certainly more space efficient as it gets rid of one aisle and puts that space in the suites themselves. But they have a couple of drawbacks. A relatively minor one is that some of the seats are rear facing. But the bigger issue is that since the seats don't turn into bed, their recline is limited and hence are worse than EK seats for lounging. Also have heard that their bench bed is kind of firm.
So surely EY apartments are way more spacious but have some non-trivial drawbacks too.

Disclaimer: I haven't traveled in EY apartments myself.

I have traveled in the Apartments and 100% they suck for lounging. But they're definitely bigger than EK's suites. EK has super comfy seats for chilling and hanging out in.

Good to hear from someone who had tried the apartments. How much is the recline really? Is there any foot-rest or leg support that comes up?

Thinking of trying the apartments once, but will require an extra hop for me as I usually fly out of SFO.

It's really not that significant, and there's no additional footrest, one can however rest one's feet on the "bed". It probably reclines about twice as much as an economy seat if I recall correctly, it was one of the first things I noticed. The seat is also very angular and I found it slightly uncomfortable, probably because I like to lounge and curl up a bit, as others on the EY forum have said they don't find it to be uncomfortable. This is purely subjective. Overall it's still an amazing product, I flew it twice, however on BOM-AUH-BOM so did not get to have a full night's sleep to fully review it.

One thing which could be a plus to some is that one does feel rather isolated. Even though one doesn't interact with other pax in F with EK one can see the other suites and the shape of the cabin, with EY I barely took note of other pax existing and the design makes one not really take note of where in the aircraft one is (I don't want to say disoriented, but the word neutral describes the product pretty well). If it's just a minor detour give it a shot, especially on a long leg. I flew to AUH for the weekend purely to try it out.

Then that is definitely a big negative for me as I also like to lounge and curl up. That is how I spend most of the time when not sleeping/eating (on a flight i.e. :-).

Not sure why couldn't they provide more recline as there seems to be enough space between the bench and the seat.

It's all down to personal preference. My personal recline requirements are either (i) for watching films/eating, in which case I'm not reclined all that much, or (ii) bed position. I very seldom keep my seats at a heavy recline, so the limited recline of EY (and, indeed, SQ in both F and J) has never been a problem.

Ditto to the firmness of the bed. Best sleep I've had on a plane.