All about Samsung Galaxy S4

[Fire&Blood]

Not sure it has enough appeal to sway S3 users but everyone else is fair game, mass consumers with 2012 or older phones will come in droves though.

I like the bezel reduction, 5" 1080p display with ~SGS3 dimensions is neat. Not a fan of dual SoC's (again) but if one cares enough, it won't be hard to hunt down the other. As an N4 user I don't feel compelled to "upgrade" but anyone not owning SGS3, iphone5 or the DNA might be, especially in subsidy markets. I find the One to be a much better looking phone but I don't think it will stand a chance in the mass market.

This is the Android flagship for the next 6-7 months, some may argue better phones have already launched/announced but within Android, I can't see anything snatching market share away from it before the end of the year.

It beats my N4 in many areas but at ~200% more cost I'm only getting a ~50% better phone. Samsung will likely be the first OEM to upgrade to KLP but if Nexus 5 continues in the direction the N4 went, I'm thinking enough of these halo phone features will spill over into the N5 to make it the most complete competitor to "real" halo phones yet.

 

[zaydq]

Pretty underwhelming design wise. Spec wise, absolutely awesome.

 

[dbk]

...what? Not following.

just pointing out that it's not a GS3S..and your insinuation that Samsung now deserves the wrath Apple got for creating 'S' versions is baseless.

 

[lopri]

The bottom line for me is that you have to try out first hand on smart phones before you make up your mind because pictures and videos can only tell you so much. From the pictures leaked a few days ago, I thought the phone was unattractively huge (inching towards phablet territory) and also sports an ugly design. I still don't think it's pretty, but after watching this video, I learned that I was mistaken about its size. (it's not much bigger, if at all, than Nexus 4)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZaJEgkbJEc

Still, I will not have much to say until there are more concrete informations and evaluations out. And most importantly until I can get one on my hands to play with. Last but not least, I could care less how many of these Samsung sells.

 

[zaydq]

Im surprised its still not thinner than an iphone 5. Not that it matters, but i figured it would be thinner. You'd think having more room to cram stuff into, and being next gen, that it would have been thinner.

Thiugh i'm happy to see manufacturers aren't trying to go for paper thin.

 

[Ravynmagi]

The bottom line for me is that you have to try out first hand on smart phones before you make up your mind because pictures and videos can only tell you so much. From the pictures leaked a few days ago, I thought the phone was unattractively huge (inching towards phablet territory) and also sports an ugly design. I still don't think it's pretty, but after watching this video, I learned that I was mistaken about its size. (it's not much bigger, if at all, than Nexus 4)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZaJEgkbJEc

Still, I will not have much to say until there are more concrete informations and evaluations out. And most importantly until I can get one on my hands to play with. Last but not least, I could care less how many of these Samsung sells.

I still think the Galaxy S4 is a bit ugly from the videos I see at least. But not so ugly I wouldn't buy it. And I'm very impressed that it's a 5 inch phone that is the same size as phones with 4.7 inch screens. Still liking the HTC One more because of the front facing speakers though.

 

[zaydq]

I just noticed its actually smaller than a gs3 by a fraction of a hair. Jesus.

 

[Anonemous]

The features are all super nice but the design is very meh.. HTC One is so sexay compared to this

Yea, that HTC One looks very nice compared to the S4. Too bad the battery life sucks. But that HTC One camera can take very nice low light pictures (night photography).

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

This is basically a GS3S. It's pretty identical to the GS3 externally. This is more of a hardware update which was expected. It's funny how the supposed GS3(few years ago) and GS4 near bezeless photo leaks were both way off.

There have been bezeless leaks since the days of the N97. Everytime you look at concept phones or idiotic rumors threads 8 months before any launch it's a screen that takes up most of the space. But that just doesn't happen. People don't get it. Everytime you see a bezeless render, it just screams FAKE.

 

[Puddle Jumper]

This is basically a GS3S. It's pretty identical to the GS3 externally. This is more of a hardware update which was expected. It's funny how the supposed GS3(few years ago) and GS4 near bezeless photo leaks were both way off.

Hardly, the iPhone 4S was just a SoC and camera update while the Galaxy S4 has a improved, SoC, camera, display, battery, IR Transmitter, hover over recognition, wireless charging, and on top of that is smaller and lighter than the S3 even though it has a bigger screen.

I realize all of the Apple fans are bitter about having just bought low res, low ppi, dual core iPhone 5's but trying to poke holes in a home run product launch won't change that.

 

[kaerflog]

The HTC One had me at hello.

 

[gus6464]

Why o why no Exynos for the US? This pretty much guarantees that Note 3 in the fall will have Exynos for all markets.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

TBH I loved the S1 and S2. I was absolutely in love. Maybe because they were truly flagships at that time. Android was unpolished, lacking things left and right. But now this phone is just like meh. The S4 looks like the S3. TouchWiz feels the same even with the S2 on ICS. In fact TouchWiz feels like Gingerbread. They really need to clean up the design a bit because it looks like Fischer Price.

 

[Ravynmagi]

Yea, that HTC One looks very nice compared to the S4. Too bad the battery life sucks. But that HTC One camera can take very nice low light pictures (night photography).

From what I've read the battery doesn't suck. The Verge's non-existent battery testing method apparently sucks. But other reviewers that actually tested it found the battery life to be quite good.
http://www.androidauthority.com/htc-one-battery-life-168420/

 

[Hulk]

In a 5" ish screen is going from 720p to 1080p actually going to be noticeable? I mean the pixel density of the S3 is so high I just don't see more being better. Unless the contrast ratio, or color accuracy or some other aspect of the screen is better, to me 1080p is just a number.

The fact that it is slightly smaller, thinner, lighter, has a bigger screen, and a bigger battery are the things that mean something to me as a current S3 owner.

 

[lopri]

Slightly off-topic but I have a feeling that sooner or later we'll see 7" tablet casings that mimic S-View cover. (unless Samsung patented it :biggrin: )

 

[s44]

The cover is ripping off the iPod!!!!!!1!

In a 5" ish screen is going from 720p to 1080p actually going to be noticeable?

Not particularly. Certain webpages might fit better though.

 

[GTRagnarok]

Man, it's a difficult choice between the HTC One and Galaxy S4. The S4 wins in specs and features, but the One's build is on another level.

Why can't we combine them? >_<

 

[grkM3]

This is basically a GS3S. It's pretty identical to the GS3 externally. This is more of a hardware update which was expected. It's funny how the supposed GS3(few years ago) and GS4 near bezeless photo leaks were both way off.

This beats the HTC One in internals and the HTC beats it in external design. Samsung is smart to adopt the tick tock cadence popularized by Intel and used by Apple for their iPhone line.

It's difficult to improve both internal and external at the same time. For this to work, the design would have to hold up for a generation for the next hardware bump. I've never been a fan of the GS3 design, so I naturally don't like the GS4 design either. People don't seem to care much though, so Samsung is betting on going the tick tock route.

Apple has been criticized for rehashing their devices and now Samsung is doing the same. We probably won't see anything radical until next year.

iphone 4 to 4s had the same exact ips screen gs3 to gs4 have a new screen

4 to 4s same shell gs3 to gs4 stronger shell

gs4 is thinner then the gs3

gs4 is lighter then the gs3

gs4 has a bigger battery then the gs3

gs4 has new lte cat 3 and faster wifi with blue tooth 4.0

gs4 screen is different and bigger then the gs3

so how the heck is this phone even close to an s update?Its still a galaxy phone so did you want it to not resemble one?

its pretty identical?

sour grapes from the apple camp

 

[Anonemous]

From what I've read the battery doesn't suck. The Verge's non-existent battery testing method apparently sucks. But other reviewers that actually tested it found the battery life to be quite good.
http://www.androidauthority.com/htc-one-battery-life-168420/

Huh, if there are no battery issues then the HTC One has got to be one of the best android phones released to date.

 

[Bryf50]

I have to agree, the design is gay.

Where's the design innovation? Push those bezels completely out and use more straight lines (although I suspect apple has patented straight lines). The bezel should be a infinitesimally small slice of metal around the rim. HTC one wins this round in the all important design category

Ceramic casing please!

No. That might look pretty but straight lines, tiny bezels, and materials just to appease people who stroke their phones are often a detriment to the actual usability of the phone. The Galaxy S3( and likely S4) might not be the sharpest looking phone on the block but its a very comfortable phone to hold and use. And despite the GASP plastic it has proven to be very durable.

 

[MrX8503]

Hardly, the iPhone 4S was just a SoC and camera update while the Galaxy S4 has a improved, SoC, camera, display, battery, IR Transmitter, hover over recognition, wireless charging, and on top of that is smaller and lighter than the S3 even though it has a bigger screen.

I realize all of the Apple fans are bitter about having just bought low res, low ppi, dual core iPhone 5's but trying to poke holes in a home run product launch won't change that.

It looks like the GS3, sorry. The 4S looks identical to the 4, I'll grant you that, but the GS4 still looks like the S3. I do like that the GS4 is flat, instead of curved.

Looking at the HTC One, its design is completely new compared to the OneX.

If I was bitter, I would have owned a GS3. Why would I buy the 5 if I didn't like it? Lol.

 

[Dari]

Huh, if there are no battery issues then the HTC One has got to be one of the best android phones released to date.

There's no battery issue this year and there wasn't any last year...

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

I also think the HTC One X's design is better than the One. The One is too iPhone/BB like. But with that said Samsung's the ugliest design right now. Thankfully S4 > S3 in looks though.

 

[TuxDave]

I'm not generally excited or impressed by anything I read today. I think Google does a better job innovating new usage models with Android (specifically Google now) than Samsung did (side by side app was the last thing that they had that I gave a thumbs up to)

It'll probably sell well since its still advertised as a premium phone. It just didn't "wow" me as a customer.

I do want to hear more on the octa but purely as a professional curiosity.