Samsung Galaxy S4 is official

[buffdaddy]

Samsung announced the Galaxy S4 this evening. Specs look pretty impressive, although the shape and build materials hasn't really changed. Any thoughts anybody?

Display: 5 inch Full HD Super AMOLED (1920 x 1080) display, 441 ppi
Processor: 1.9GHz quad-core processor / 1.6GHz octa-core processor (will differ depending on market)
OS: Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean
Rear Camera: 13 Mega pixel Auto Focus camera with Flash & Zero Shutter Lag, BIS
Front Camera: 2 Mega pixel camera, Full HD recording @30fps with Zero Shutter Lag, BIS
Video: Codec: MPEG4, H.264, H.263, DivX, DivX3.11, VC-1, VP8, WMV7/8, Sorenson Spark, HEVC; Recording & Playback: Full HD (1080p)
Audio: Codec: MP3, AMR-NB/WB, AAC/AAC+/eAAC+, WMA, OGG, FLAC, AC-3, apt-X
Camera Features: Dual Camera: Dual Shot / Dual Recording/ Dual Video Call
Drama Shot, Sound & Shot, 360 Photo, Cinema Photo, Eraser, Night, Best Photo, Best Face,
Beauty Face, HDR (High Dynamic Range), Panorama, Sports
Additional Features: Group Play: Share Music, Share Picture, Share Document, Play Games
Story Album, S Translator, Optical Reader
Samsung Smart Scroll, Samsung Smart Pause, Air Gesture, Air View,
Samsung Hub, ChatON (Voice/Video Call, Share screen, 3-way calling)
Samsung WatchON
S Travel (Trip Advisor), S Voice™ Drive, S Health
Samsung Adapt Display, Samsung Adapt Sound
Auto adjust touch sensitivity (Glove friendly)
Safety Assistance, Samsung Link, Screen Mirroring
Samsung KNOX (B2B only)
Google Mobile Services: Google Search, Google Maps, Gmail, Google Latitude, Google Play Store, Google Plus, YouTube, Google Talk, Google Places, Google Navigation, Google Downloads, Voice Search
Connectivity: WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (HT80), GPS / GLONASS, NFC, Bluetooth® 4.0 (LE), IR LED (Remote Control), MHL 2.0
Sensors: Accelerometer, RGB light, Geomagnetic, Proximity, Gyro, Barometer, Temperature & Humidity, Gesture
RAM: 2GB
Internal Storage: 16/ 32/ 64 GB User memory + microSD slot (up to 64GB)
Dimensions: 136.6 x 69.8 x 7.9 mm, 130g
Battery: 2,600 mAh

 

[Kentos]

They should have called it the Galaxy S3S

 

[John Von Wuggz]

No matter what phone we talk about I'm constantly underwhelmed by the yearly upgrade. Most are usually hardware upgrades and some gimmicks that don't last long or perform well. iPhone 4 - 4s - 5. Galaxy S3 - S4. Evo - Evo3d. The list can go on. Upgrade if you have to have the newest, have extra cash, etc. If not, just wait for your contract upgrade on any of them.

 

[smalltank]

Hmmm....I wonder why the front facing camera isn't HD?....anyways...this device also has finger detection clicking..no need to actually touch the screen...also new is watching a video...then looking away...video automatically stops...VERY clever IMO

 

[skijor]

No matter what phone we talk about I'm constantly underwhelmed by the yearly upgrade. Most are usually hardware upgrades and some gimmicks that don't last long or perform well. iPhone 4 - 4s - 5. Galaxy S3 - S4. Evo - Evo3d. The list can go on. Upgrade if you have to have the newest, have extra cash, etc. If not, just wait for your contract upgrade on any of them.

What's a contract?

I'm sure it's nice. But I'd prefer something that fits in a pocket, and won't complain if I sit on it. If/when my Evo 3D pukes, I'll get a refurb (for <$100) that's a tad smaller.

 

[Hunter]

It is interesting but I'm not going to change up this year, I'll see about what Samsung and HTC puts out next year when my contract is up.

 

[Bigsurprise]

I am really liking the stock battery size. A nice improvement over my Galaxy Nexus' 1850mAh. I upgraded last January(doesn't feel like its been a year already) so I will be skipping this one but I like the way things are headed!

I look forward to their future releases.

 

[Hunter]

My buddy was just showing me the HTC One, I like it a bit more than samsung's offering.

 

[lvanarsdall]

I have been holding off upgrading my phone waiting for this one. I think there are many cool features, and I may switch from Motorola to Samsung when it hits stores. By then, we may see what Apple plans to do to counter this phone.

 

[ksb63]

Like always will cime down to who is offering a deal win it is time to upgrade htc or samsung. Both look good on paper so having a little time for reviews and real world battery life tests wull help.

 

[buffdaddy]

Well I'm locked into a contract until early next year so I'll be sitting this round out. But if I was a Galaxy S2 owner or just coming off my contract, I would probably pick this phone up. It's the best phone spec wise to be released this year so far imo.

Although I think the HTC One is a better looking phone in terms of materials used and build quality. The non-removable battery, lack of SD card slot and that awful HTC Sense skin are dealbreakers for me.

 

[Kinja]

I'll keep my Nexus 4 until the next Nexus is out, thank you very much

 

[Pebcak]

They should have called it the Galaxy S3S

+1 The release was much hulabaloo about very little.

 

[buffdaddy]

I'll keep my Nexus 4 until the next Nexus is out, thank you very much

Yeah I like the Nexus (have a Nexus 7 tablet) as well. But only 16gb of memory, no SD card slot, no removeable battery and no LTE makes it a dealbreaker for me.

 

[mdarnton]

I love my S2 so much I was going to move to a Note2 at my next update to get the larger screen. I don't mind the larger size, but I do use my phone for almost everything I use my computer for, AND for a lot of book reading, so the large screen was going to be a plus. With the S4 here, it will be a hard decision.

 

[sbain]

Lol, just got my S3 like 3 weeks ago. Maybe I'll finally be able to get the 4.2.2 upgrade without rooting and using a custom rom. Went from the iPhone 4 to the s3. Definitely an upgrade imho.

 

[sbain]

Dunno if they'll do it with the S4, but with the S3, they offered an S3 mini version with simaler specs and the major difference being screen size (obviously...)

What's a contract?

I'm sure it's nice. But I'd prefer something that fits in a pocket, and won't complain if I sit on it. If/when my Evo 3D pukes, I'll get a refurb (for <$100) that's a tad smaller.

 

[Matt555]

Lol, just got my S3 like 3 weeks ago. Maybe I'll finally be able to get the 4.2.2 upgrade without rooting and using a custom rom. Went from the iPhone 4 to the s3. Definitely an upgrade imho.

Fat chance. Samsung, despite being good in pretty much everything they produce, truly fails in terms of keeling their devices up to date. However, I can tell you as an S3 owner and a Nexus 10 owner, I see no reason to root your device (unless you were going to do it just for fun). The differences between 4.1 and 4.2 are truly minimal. And considering you just got it, it would void your warranty. At least wait another week at least until it cannot be returned to the store in case something should go wrong with it.

 

[buffdaddy]

Well actually, Samsung/Google aren't entirely at fault when it comes to Android updates and Samsung actually supports their devices much longer than HTC, LG or Motorola. Carriers have the final word about when an update will roll out. They have to test the update to make sure the update is compatible with their networks. Other times especially with older phones it's just not worth the effort financially.

Most S3s are on 4.1.2. Samsung was supposed to release a large update called the Premium Suite update which would add new bells and whistles (you can look it up on YouTube). This update has pretty much rolled out to every S3 around the world except here in the USA. Why we haven't gotten the update is more or less because of the carriers dragging their feet.

Also there is speculation some of the new bells and whistles from the S4 will eventually make their way to the S3.

 

[Matt555]

Well actually, Samsung/Google aren't entirely at fault when it comes to Android updates and Samsung actually supports their devices much longer than HTC, LG or Motorola. Carriers have the final word about when an update will roll out. They have to test the update to make sure the update is compatible with their networks. Other times especially with older phones it's just not worth the effort financially.

Most S3s are on 4.1.2. Samsung was supposed to release a large update called the Premium Suite update which would add new bells and whistles (you can look it up on YouTube). This update has pretty much rolled out to every S3 around the world except here in the USA. Why we haven't gotten the update is more or less because of the carriers dragging their feet.

Also there is speculation some of the new bells and whistles from the S4 will eventually make their way to the S3.

Carriers only have the final say when it comes to over the air updates. Phone manufacturers can issue Android/firmware updates whenever they want through their own websites/software. I had to install Jellybean on my S3 through Samsung Kies Software (horrible program by the way....took like 4 tries). This was only a few months ago. I still don't know if you can upgrade to Jellybean over the air through AT&T. Jellybean was out for roughly 6 months prior to this on the Nexus devices.

I think it has more to do with what you mentioned...it is just not worth their time financially. There is less incentive to buy a new handset if the one you have always has the latest and greatest version of Android.

I truly believe that Google is going to have to lay out some laws regarding this sooner or later. While I am no Apple fan, there is no doubt that one major benefit of an iPhone is that you will not be hanging in the dust with an old OS. The fact that many apps for android (such as the Google Chrome browser) is only compatible with 4.0 and higher is a huge problem because so many people are stuck on Gingerbread. I think this is one the reasons there are still so many negative stereotypes about Android.... people are stuck on an outdated Froyo or Gingerbread OS that is really not that great.