Introduction
The successor of the most popular smartphone from the most widely adopted platform - it doesn't get much bigger than this in the mobile industry. After months of intensive rumors and amid unprecedented hype Samsung finally unveiled its Galaxy S 4 smartphone at its Unpacked event in New York.
At first glance the Samsung Galaxy S 4 might look very similar to its Galaxy S III predecessor, but you shouldn't be fooled by that. It's a completely new phone on the inside and it seems to have all it takes to keep Samsung ahead of the Android pack.
General: Optional 2G/3G/LTE connectivity
Form factor: Touchscreen bar phone
Dimensions: 136.6 x 69.8 x 7.9mm, 130 g
Display: 4.99" 16M-color Super AMOLED HD capacitive touchscreen with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels (441ppi)
Chipset: Exynos 5410 Octa / Snapdragon 600
CPU: 1.6 GHz Quad-core ARM Cortex-A15 and 1.2 GHz quad-core ARM Cortex-A7 / 1.9GHz Krait 300
GPU: PowerVR SGX 544MP3 / Adreno 320
RAM: 2GB
OS: Android 4.2.2 (Jelly Bean)
Memory: 16/32GB/64GB storage, microSD card slot
Still camera: 13 megapixel auto-focus camera, face detection, touch focus and image stabilization, Dual Shot, Cinema Photo; 2MP front facing camera, video-calls
Video camera: Full HD (1080p) video recording at 30fps
Connectivity: Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac, Wi-Fi hotspot, Bluetooth 4.0, standard microUSB port with MHL features (TV Out, USB host), GPS receiver with A-GPS and GLONASS, 3.5mm audio jack, NFC, Infrared port
Battery: 2600 mAh
Misc: TouchWiz UI, Extremely rich video/audio codec support, built-in accelerometer, Smart stay and Smart rotation eye-tracking, Smart pause, Smart school, S Health, Air Gestures.
More power, better screen, a host of new exclusive software features and a larger battery to keep it going longer - the Samsung Galaxy S 4 has all the right boxes ticked to be considered a worthy successor to the most capable droid so far. It also has a key advantage over its direct rivals in running on the latest Android 4.2 platform.
The successor of the most popular smartphone from the most widely adopted platform - it doesn't get much bigger than this in the mobile industry. After months of intensive rumors and amid unprecedented hype Samsung finally unveiled its Galaxy S 4 smartphone at its Unpacked event in New York.
At first glance the Samsung Galaxy S 4 might look very similar to its Galaxy S III predecessor, but you shouldn't be fooled by that. It's a completely new phone on the inside and it seems to have all it takes to keep Samsung ahead of the Android pack.
Fitting a larger screen of higher resolution in a more compact and lighter body, the Samsung Galaxy S 4 is also the first smarphone to feature an octa-core CPU. The Exynos 5410 chipset has a set of four Cortex-A15 cores to do the heavy lifting and another quarter of power-saving Cortex-A7 cores, which takes care of less demanding tasks. There will be a second version of the Galaxy S 4, powered by a Snapdragon 600 chipset, too, but we are unsure which market which get it.
Here are the rest of the Galaxy S4 highlights to get you started.
Samsung Galaxy S4 at a glance:
Here are the rest of the Galaxy S4 highlights to get you started.
Samsung Galaxy S4 at a glance:
General: Optional 2G/3G/LTE connectivity
Form factor: Touchscreen bar phone
Dimensions: 136.6 x 69.8 x 7.9mm, 130 g
Display: 4.99" 16M-color Super AMOLED HD capacitive touchscreen with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels (441ppi)
Chipset: Exynos 5410 Octa / Snapdragon 600
CPU: 1.6 GHz Quad-core ARM Cortex-A15 and 1.2 GHz quad-core ARM Cortex-A7 / 1.9GHz Krait 300
GPU: PowerVR SGX 544MP3 / Adreno 320
RAM: 2GB
OS: Android 4.2.2 (Jelly Bean)
Memory: 16/32GB/64GB storage, microSD card slot
Still camera: 13 megapixel auto-focus camera, face detection, touch focus and image stabilization, Dual Shot, Cinema Photo; 2MP front facing camera, video-calls
Video camera: Full HD (1080p) video recording at 30fps
Connectivity: Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac, Wi-Fi hotspot, Bluetooth 4.0, standard microUSB port with MHL features (TV Out, USB host), GPS receiver with A-GPS and GLONASS, 3.5mm audio jack, NFC, Infrared port
Battery: 2600 mAh
Misc: TouchWiz UI, Extremely rich video/audio codec support, built-in accelerometer, Smart stay and Smart rotation eye-tracking, Smart pause, Smart school, S Health, Air Gestures.
More power, better screen, a host of new exclusive software features and a larger battery to keep it going longer - the Samsung Galaxy S 4 has all the right boxes ticked to be considered a worthy successor to the most capable droid so far. It also has a key advantage over its direct rivals in running on the latest Android 4.2 platform.
The second Jelly Bean release is too huge an upgrade, but it still brings some cool new features that take the user experience up a notch. Of course, Samsung, will be more keen to direct your attention to its home-baked goodies like Eye-scroll and Auto pause, which surprisingly or not, work pretty well.
The Samsung Galaxy S 4 sized up against the Samsung Galaxy Note II
Samsung Galaxy S 4 hands-on
When we first held the Samsung Galaxy S 4 in our hands, we felt very little difference over the Galaxy S III. Sure, the slimmer waistline adds to the high-tech vibe, but the new flagship generally felt identical to the old one.
It even uses the same Hyperglaze finish, which while not as bad as many make it look, is hardly the most premium finish out there. There's a change in the texture, though, with the faux metal replaced by a dotted pattern, though we still can't make up our mind if this is a change for the better or not. The color options available at launch are also different. The Galaxy S IV will be available in White Frost or Black Mist, so no more Pebble Blue - at least for now.
The Samsung Galaxy S 4 will be available in White Frost and Black Mist at launch
The somewhat underwhelming first experience however all but changed when we switched on that oh-so-gorgeous 5" FullHD AMOLED display. The thing is absolutely stunning - every AMOLED fan will love it and even those who aren't too fond of the oversaturated colors will have to admit that it's a brilliant piece of engineering. And don't worry - as usual, Samsung has included a setting to tune the saturation down for a more natural look. The display is simply stunning
But the Samsung Galaxy S 4 screen's strengths do not end with the unrivaled contrast and extra punchy colors. It also offers viewing angles so wide that combined with the 441ppi pixel density, they make the screen look as if printed on paper. The impressively low-reflectivity also contributes to that effect and bodes very well for the outdoor performance of the display.
When we first held the Samsung Galaxy S 4 in our hands, we felt very little difference over the Galaxy S III. Sure, the slimmer waistline adds to the high-tech vibe, but the new flagship generally felt identical to the old one.
It even uses the same Hyperglaze finish, which while not as bad as many make it look, is hardly the most premium finish out there. There's a change in the texture, though, with the faux metal replaced by a dotted pattern, though we still can't make up our mind if this is a change for the better or not. The color options available at launch are also different. The Galaxy S IV will be available in White Frost or Black Mist, so no more Pebble Blue - at least for now.
The Samsung Galaxy S 4 will be available in White Frost and Black Mist at launch
The somewhat underwhelming first experience however all but changed when we switched on that oh-so-gorgeous 5" FullHD AMOLED display. The thing is absolutely stunning - every AMOLED fan will love it and even those who aren't too fond of the oversaturated colors will have to admit that it's a brilliant piece of engineering. And don't worry - as usual, Samsung has included a setting to tune the saturation down for a more natural look. The display is simply stunning
But the Samsung Galaxy S 4 screen's strengths do not end with the unrivaled contrast and extra punchy colors. It also offers viewing angles so wide that combined with the 441ppi pixel density, they make the screen look as if printed on paper. The impressively low-reflectivity also contributes to that effect and bodes very well for the outdoor performance of the display.
Needless to say that the smartphone feels extremely snappy, even though the units we had at our disposal were all pre-release ones and their software wasn't finalized. The presence of the Android 4.2 is felt with the lockscreen shortcuts, while Samsung's custom launcher has also been improved quite drastically.
No comments:
Post a Comment