Samsung's Galaxy S 4: Introduction & Hands On
by Anand Lal Shimpi on March 14, 2013 7:30 PM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- Samsung
- Mobile
- Galaxy S 4
Final Words
With a release scheduled for sometime in Q2 of this year, today’s announcement is more of a preview. We’re sure to have more details on hardware and software in the coming months. For now, the Galaxy S 4 seems like a logical evolution of the Galaxy S lineup. Faster hardware and a larger higher-resolution display were both expected and delivered upon.
Power users will be pleased by the modern SoC integration, and I’m sure there are some that will still be happy with the removable battery and micro SD card slot.
Samsung has continued to increase its focus on delivering enhancements through software, which is very obvious based on the list of launch features for the Galaxy S 4. Although I’m sure power users will still prefer unmodified Android, it’s important to note that many of the features Samsung is introducing with the Galaxy S 4 will be very easy to market to mainstream consumers. The ability to control your smartphone without ever touching it or pause/unpause video with a glance are marketing messages that are very clear and easy to deliver.
The same is true for the enhancements to the camera app. While Samsung continued down the path of the megapixel race, truth be told it will have an easier time selling the Galaxy S 4 to mainstream consumers based on specs and the added features enabled by the new camera app.
Round it all up with S Translate and S Health, two more features that aren’t really new but definitely speak directly to consumers. It’s Apple’s Siri strategy, but coming from many different angles. Samsung’s consumer focused strategy is one that has done very well and I see the Galaxy S 4 continuing that. The real question is how well all of these features will perform/work in final software. Conceptually the Galaxy S 4’s software suite makes a lot of sense, the proof as always will be in the execution and how long it takes Samsung to get to the appropriate level of polish.
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Chloiber - Thursday, March 14, 2013 - link
No way.1. As always, first come the PenTile screens, then the RGB Stripe screens of a specific resolution
2. Leaks from chinese website show no RGB Stripe matrix (something different, like RGBGG)
3. It says Super AMOLED, not Super AMOLED+
Affectionate-Bed-980 - Thursday, March 14, 2013 - link
that happened ONCE with the SGS1 pentile going to SGS2 non pentile. That was the only time there was a + screen. Then everyone started dancing around saying they do this Pentile => Non-Pentile move. We didn't see it with the Gnex => SGS3, and there wasn't a new 720p phone. Anyway, what I'm saying is let's just see what it is. Using a 1 time occurrence to predict the future is absurdtrincisor - Thursday, March 14, 2013 - link
SGS3 pentile 720p -> Note 2 RGB 720pGod,dont you guys read news?
althaz - Thursday, March 14, 2013 - link
There's a (smallish) range of Super AMOLED+ screens available form Samsung and they appear in things other than Galaxy phones.blau808 - Thursday, March 14, 2013 - link
WTF I swear the article said RGB stripe at one point when I read it. Did you edit that out Anand or am I going crazy?Ryan Smith - Thursday, March 14, 2013 - link
It was removed.darwinosx - Thursday, March 14, 2013 - link
Since when does any Samsung device feel well built? Even Samsung fans complain they are cheap and plasticky feeling and Samsung has acknowledged as much in recent comments saying they would do better. Having said that does the S 4 feel any more solid or premium than the S3?erple2 - Thursday, March 14, 2013 - link
Honestly, the galaxy s variant I have feels extremely well built (Samsung captivate). My s2? Not nearly as much. Now that I think about it, I think that my captivate is the nicest phone I've owned (typing this on my Nexus 4). Shame that I got used to the nicer (and bigger screen of my s2 and now my Nexus 4.Death666Angel - Sunday, March 17, 2013 - link
Build quality doesn't have anything to do with choice of materials. I'm a Samsung fan and like the plastic they use. I had a SGS2, now a GN and a Ativ PC Pro. I don't need metal for my computers, it serves no purpose for me that the plastic doesn't.apertotes - Thursday, March 14, 2013 - link
Didn't somebody say yesterday that S4 would ship with a year old OS?