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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WritersBlock - Sunday, March 17, 2013 - link
For you it's not worth, for others it is.You guys are arguing the equivalent of favourite colour; it's subjective.
Samsung (like any other manufacturer) offer features in their products; each user decides which are benefits and which are features they don't need.
Tams80 - Wednesday, March 20, 2013 - link
Maybe I'm just not that popular, but at worst 5 minutes restarting my phone hardly makes a difference.treesloth - Wednesday, March 20, 2013 - link
The ones that are plug-and-use without cables are also of pretty short duration. The larger ones require a cable. A replaceable battery, though, restores the phone to 100% very quickly. Over the time I've had my Evo 3D, I've swapped batteries a couple of hundred times (lots of travel...) with no problems. No "sign in" or whatever you mean by that. If I happen to miss a call in the 2 minutes it takes to swap and restart, I get told as soon as it's done. Same with messages. Seriously, it's not difficult at all. I also have an 8,100 mAh portable charger. Love that, too. Both have their place.Relaxin - Friday, March 22, 2013 - link
I bike commute everywhere and not around a charger as often as I'd like. If I'm stranded somewhere with a dead battery I NEED to be able to swap in a charged spare battery. I think it's massively "understated" how beneficial a removable battery is.puremind - Saturday, March 16, 2013 - link
You shouldn't have to use a dock to do that!? How outdated? spare batteries nowadays can be charged while they are charging your phone...MicroUSB to recharge and USB to charge your smartphone. External battery is more convenient than 2 internal batteries, let alone it has bigger capacity allowing you to charge up your phone several times. A must-have!HJPJ - Friday, March 15, 2013 - link
I currently use an S2, and will be upgrading to the S4. If the S4 did not have a replaceable battery, that would have been a deal breaker for me. For my S2, I purchased two extended batteries (3400mAh) plus an external charger for them, from aliexpress.com - total cost: just a hair over $20, including shipping. I will be trying to duplicate this setup for my new S4.twurster - Saturday, March 16, 2013 - link
Blackberry figured this one out. the spare battery for the Z10 comes in a case with a micro usb in and out. Plug in the case to the wall and the phone to the case. Presto 2 charged batteries. The bonus being the spare doubles as micro usb power source and you can charge up with out removing the battery. From experience it takes about 2 minutes to swap from start to back online. And the price is reasonable at 50.00. I use this on my Z10 all the time and functionally have unlimited battery life. Now if I could just get a few more apps....leexgx - Saturday, March 16, 2013 - link
that's nice to know that they have done that with the new blackberry z10, as 3g is an killer on all phones i have used (i am still an blackberry buff)puremind - Saturday, March 16, 2013 - link
Wake up, this is 2013. There are better solution nowadays than removable batteries and MicroSD!!1. why would you want an inferior sized internal battery that requires you to open your device? As a customer I expect my batteries to be pluggable without having to open my device! Besides I expect spare batteries to have larger capacity than the internal battery. I can get that with a small battery coupled with microUSB to USB cable (the battery has a MicroUSB plug for input and a USB plug for output - simple!)
2. Likewise, nowadays storage is key. Just like I don't want to use floppy disks on my laptops anymore, I don't want to use MicroSD on my Smartphone! It has too low capacity. As a customer, I don't think I should have to use outdated storage technology. I much prefer MicroUSB OTG 128GB Flash Drive. It is fast and has bigger capacity.
The same USB to MicroUSB can be used to plug both the external battery and the Flashdrive! Both are extremely small devices and offer much more capacity than the traditional methods. I could not see myself go back to smaller storage or smaller battery sizes, so thank you Apple and HTC for moving away from outdated standards. It is human nature to cry when something is taken from them, but what we receive in exchange goes far beyond what we had previously!
Alexstarfire - Saturday, March 16, 2013 - link
Comparing internal devices to external devices is silly. It's like comparing laptops to desktops, or even all-in-ones. They simply serve different purposes.For what you can get for microSD and internal phone batteries I don't quite know why you are bashing it so hard.