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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toldenburger - Saturday, March 16, 2013 - link
Yeah I was wondering about this too. Couples of times obvious lag between pressing a button and something happening. Also some scrolling lag. And definitely when using these new s-features which I think are a gimmick. Also from someone who has not used Android for a long time, is the UI supposed to look so non-conform? Looks different in a lot of places and in my mind ugly especially in the 'messaging' app.beginner99 - Friday, March 15, 2013 - link
Well nothing surprising. In the end all those top of the line phones seem a tad too big. I would probably choose the S4 over HTC One. Bigger screen in almost same sized body and lighter, More importantly SA had SD-card slot. Sou you can cheap out with the 16 GB and get a large SD card.BPB - Friday, March 15, 2013 - link
The One's camera has me seriously considering it. I have a Lumia 920 through work but am looking to leave the job and as a result the phone. Sprint doesn't have the 920, so I think the camera of the One will get me over the S4. I really like being able to take good pictures in low light with my 920, so getting the One makes sense for me. Having only 32GB with the 920 hasn't been a problem for me, so that or more with the One will be fine.krumme - Friday, March 15, 2013 - link
Go check the pictures before you do. The ones i have seen have been very disapointing bordering on there must be a flaw with the phone. The corners are unbelieveble unsharp, and are really big. Second, i dont quite see the benefit of going to 4pix. So sad, it could have change the idiotic race for more mpix, but something went wrong with the execution.BPB - Friday, March 15, 2013 - link
Check out Engadget's review. They beg to differ:http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/12/htc-one-review/
Galcobar - Friday, March 15, 2013 - link
Normally not one to complain but since Blackberry 10's launch on Jan. 30 Anandtech has published six phone hands-on articles, yet still hasn't come out with anything on the Z10 since you closed the Live Blog with "11:23AM EST - The announcement is coming to a close, thank you all for following, we'll have more on the announced devices later today."Considering RIM (technically the name still hasn't changed) was handing out Z10 at the launch, I'd much like to know why we've not seen anything on a platform which, while ridiculously behind the top two, still holds more than double the share of the fourth-place Windows Phone (who has gotten Anandtech phone reviews). http://gigaom.com/2013/03/06/comscore-android-stil...
Mugur - Friday, March 15, 2013 - link
I hate to see (again) that Samsung is selling the same phone with different internals. Fortunately for me, I think they will screw (again) only the US market... :-)Krysto - Friday, March 15, 2013 - link
It seems like the A15 cores were underlocked from the rumored 1.8 Ghz to be more in line with the S4 Pro's performance in US, even though it's clocked at 1.9 Ghz.mattgmann - Friday, March 15, 2013 - link
This phone seemingly has it all. Too bad the off-contract price is surely $650+. I'll wait for whatever google has next.Gunbuster - Friday, March 15, 2013 - link
I honestly do not understand the current Samsung design language. I always have the lingering thought in the back of my head that it looks like some kind of prototype medical device for socialites to do a home sonogram with. They consistently look plasticky, fragile, and every unit not wiped down for the press shot is a hot greasy mess.