News - Samsung Galaxy S4 revealed, coming to UK on 26th April

[crossy]

Always wondered, why does the US always get a lesser CPU in there phones than the rest of the world?

With the S3 I'd heard it was because of the amount of board "real estate" that the LTE chips needed for the US took up, although some also said that the amount of power that the US-spec LTE's use mean a lower-spec'd cpu. On the other hand, if Samsung were able to do an Exynos+LTE model for Korea, then why couldn't they do that for the US as well.

That said, I'd heard that the wasn't that much of a performance hit on the US spec S3 v's "international" one. I'm guessing that the same will be true here, seeing as the big deal with the octa-Exy was supposed to be power demand reduction.

[Biscuit]

Hehe fair point about durability - I am basing that on the fact that I was given a 5 as a new work phone, which despite being looked after is now covered in scratches/dents all around the edges, but my 3 year old iPhone 4 which has been fairly roughly treated has not got a single scratch/mark on it

There was pretty widespread reports of the 5 being easy to scratch (and even being scratched fresh in the box) actually, so i see your point. Still tickled me.

[Scribe]

Really?

Screen: S4 has a larger, higher res screen
CPU: S4 has a slightly faster CPU depending on the exact model.
Ram: 2Gig available on both the S3 and S4
Storage: 64gb available on the S4, would have been on the S3 too but there was no demand (according to Samsung)
Camera: 13mp on the rear now (up from 8), front unchanged
Battery: 2600mah now but needed due to the new screen
Other connectivity: Nothing new
Software: Android..nothing special that's different (that can't be upgraded)

So it's a spec bump, with a slightly bigger screen, which is what Apple did with the 5. The 4S can do pretty much everything the 5 does, but it's more durable, smaller and frankly looks better.

At least with this update people can't make the last claim about Samsung since the case design has not really changed Sure it will sell well, and has been mentioned it will be a great upgrade for all those S2 owners.

Actually 2GB wasn't on the WW version of the device, 4G was also an after-thought on a much more recent LTE edition, which still didn't support all bands and was slower. There have been other changes in connectivity, there's an IR transmitter, support for the new high-speed WiFi-AC protocol and the 3.5G radio is faster (possibly also some tweaks to MHL 2.0 support). Though not mentioned, the PC link may support USB 3.0.

The previous CPU, if US was a Dual-core 1.5GHz qualcomm, the S4 features a Quad-core 1.9GHz qualcomm. If the WW edition, the previous CPU was a Quad-core 1.4GHz Cortex-A9, the S4 features a Quad-core 1.6GHz Cortex-A15 - note that the A15 is 1 DMIPS faster per MHz backed with DDR3 instead of DDR2 RAM and there's new low-power cores to boot.

Agree on storage - I have a 16GB S3, with a memory card always as an option, more seems overkill.

Camera was a pretty decent bump, though unless they improve the lens (does look slightly adjusted at first glance) there's diminishing returns. The front camera actually HAS changed, bumped-up from 1.9 to 2.0-megapixels, allowing for pixel-perfect 1080p FullHD recording, a nice match for the new screen.

On the note of the screen, I do think AMOLED (due to its abnormal sub-pixel pattern) will benefit from FullHD more than a typical LCD. I think it's worth noting that even though the iPhone 4S screen size didn't change, the device size remained constant and it weighed more. Samsung has managed to accomplish both a screen size increase AND a phone size and weight decrease in a single generation. The device now also features Gorilla Glass 3, which is more scratch resistant.

The extra battery is required, however an additional 500mAh is fairly generous, I doubt the new screen will utilise all that extra battery and again, Samsung accomplished this with a lower weight than the S3 with a smaller battery. Samsung is also believed to have deployed new power saving techniques with the screen and we know they have with the CPU and its low-energy cores (at least for WW market).

So I think actually a lot more has changed than you realise immediately on the surface, even if some changes are more subtle.

[3dcandy]

I also think that a great deal of emphasis is on the software features more than the hardware features. What about the fact you don't need to touch the screen so it will work with gloves? Seems a nice upgrade in terms of all around use not just hardware increases, and some of the features seem really good. Proof is in the pudding however, and I guess it will be a premium price like the iPhone, so something around the £40+ a month for a contract. If so, it will be interesting to see how it fares

[TheAnimus]

Really?

Screen: S4 has a larger, higher res screen
CPU: S4 has a slightly faster CPU depending on the exact model.
Ram: 2Gig available on both the S3 and S4
Storage: 64gb available on the S4, would have been on the S3 too but there was no demand (according to Samsung)
Camera: 13mp on the rear now (up from 8), front unchanged
Battery: 2600mah now but needed due to the new screen
Other connectivity: Nothing new
Software: Android..nothing special that's different (that can't be upgraded)

So it's a spec bump, with a slightly bigger screen, which is what Apple did with the 5. The 4S can do pretty much everything the 5 does, but it's more durable, smaller and frankly looks better.

At least with this update people can't make the last claim about Samsung since the case design has not really changed Sure it will sell well, and has been mentioned it will be a great upgrade for all those S2 owners.

I'll be honest it's not that I'm disapointed with the S4, but more I couldn't have seen what they'd do better.

The screen improvement is much more than the iPhone 4S to 5, as mentioned maybe with a pentapixel layout it will improve things, myself I couldn't care less however as I'm sure the colour rendition will still be offensive. It also shouldn't create the issues as unlike iOS andriod doesn't have a retarded programming model for UI layout.

What I'm interested in is the change to the Camera, the one on the S3 isn't good really, it's behind even the iPhone one. A bump in that isn't bad.

But also, the connectivity, the IR thing is something I can't help but feel all phones should have, it costs so little to add afterall.

The thing is does samsung have to do something massively differen't? They are winning at the moment because their device does more than the iPhone, has a big price tag, yet offers operators a great margin.

Their focus on software features I think is ultimately miss guided, as no one has any killer apps which lock them to their choice of phone platform.

[3dcandy]

I'll be honest it's not that I'm disapointed with the S4, but more I couldn't have seen what they'd do better.

The screen improvement is much more than the iPhone 4S to 5, as mentioned maybe with a pentapixel layout it will improve things, myself I couldn't care less however as I'm sure the colour rendition will still be offensive. It also shouldn't create the issues as unlike iOS andriod doesn't have a retarded programming model for UI layout.

What I'm interested in is the change to the Camera, the one on the S3 isn't good really, it's behind even the iPhone one. A bump in that isn't bad.

But also, the connectivity, the IR thing is something I can't help but feel all phones should have, it costs so little to add afterall.

The thing is does samsung have to do something massively differen't? They are winning at the moment because their device does more than the iPhone, has a big price tag, yet offers operators a great margin.

Their focus on software features I think is ultimately miss guided, as no one has any killer apps which lock them to their choice of phone platform.

I think you're wrong with the apps and software side, Sense or TouchWiz are make or break for some people. Also I know a fair dew people who like WP8 but haven't made the jump because of lack of apps. I feel that going forward, software IS more important than hardware, Samsung have managed on the whole to keep up with Android advances (forget the Ace and Ace 2) and is one of the reasons I feel they are doing so well. ultimately it is about getting the hardware AND the software sides balanced, and it is this which I feel made the S3 such a hit. I have been warned off both HTC and Sony phones recently because of software on the Sony's and battery issues on HTC's - so if that's what people are thinking I reckon it will make a huge difference

[c0k0snuts]

In the WiFi specifications you missed the "ac"
It should be like this: "Dual-band 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi"

[neonplanet40]

Think I will stick with my S3. As others have said, I was unsure about what I really wanted them to change.

For me I guess it was the screen (Not really needed) and most importantly, aesthetics.

However, it looks the same. Uses the same plastic (which was fine with the S3 I guess but now I expected better on this front).

Cant see why I would go and waste my money on this. I like the look of the Sony and HTC One though. However will wait till the S5. Maybe then it will be a worthy upgrade.

[keithwalton]

What I'm interested in is the change to the Camera, the one on the S3 isn't good really, it's behind even the iPhone one. A bump in that isn't bad.

You mean the 2mp camera that didn't have a flash and had optics more suited to a vga camera ...

Although I haven't used the s3's camera it can't be that bad surely ...

To those that think it's just a slight update though they really need to look deeper as it's been highlighted already things like the cpu aren't a minor clock bump it's a completely new beast that it is.
Really quite interesting that they've gone back to a power vr graphics core again.

To fit a bigger screen into a smaller and lighter chassis is also good work since they were already pushing the limits quite hard.

Potential deal breakers for me though would be how exposed the rear camera is still. the lack of dedicated camera button I think ... (it's been really handy on the xs) and it's too curvy, my xs will happily stand up on it's base or it's side all by itself, really quite handy for plonking on my desk at work.
Do also wonder if it has a notification led, i've kind of got really used to that as well.

[3dcandy]

Notification LED yes, exposed camera yes, no camera button - but the S3 is behind the iPhone one for many many reasons. Did you know it's the same sensor as the iPhone but the iPhone one processes the images a lot lot more? Different lens choice too. The S3 camera is about 10 times quicker to take a photo and autofocuses quicker than the iPhone something which I prefer.

[Scribe]

Notification LED yes, exposed camera yes, no camera button - but the S3 is behind the iPhone one for many many reasons. Did you know it's the same sensor as the iPhone but the iPhone one processes the images a lot lot more? Different lens choice too. The S3 camera is about 10 times quicker to take a photo and autofocuses quicker than the iPhone something which I prefer.

Samsung has always been a little behind on optics... without good reason or excuse really. Though for the WW edition at least, there's an all-new image processor element on the S4 SoC and so you should expect speed/quality improvements despite the increase in megapixels (it can process 8mp at 30fps). It's this and the improvements on the latest snapdragon CPUs that has made some of Samsung's new rapid image features possible.

[3dcandy]

There's a lot less lag on an S3 than an iPhone though I do miss a dedicated button. I don't think the S3 is too far behind and whilst I always would want more I feel it's a nice blend of hardware and software which is where I feel the iPhone isn't as balanced (hardware is less impressive in many ways). Each to their own I guess and is part of why Android appeals to the mass markets for some people

[crossy]

Notification LED yes, exposed camera yes, no camera button - but the S3 is behind the iPhone one for many many reasons. Did you know it's the same sensor as the iPhone but the iPhone one processes the images a lot lot more? Different lens choice too. The S3 camera is about 10 times quicker to take a photo and autofocuses quicker than the iPhone something which I prefer.

I'd read that too - funny that a company that also makes cameras don't seem to get the idea that skimping on the optics is bad. That said, there were a lot of folks on XDA that have pointed fingers at the software processing of the camera as being woeful. Given the improvements that I've seen from the first firmware revision to the current one - I'm inclined to agree. Startup times on the S3 always were fast, they're now faster and focusing also seems to be noticeably quicker. Low light video performance is also much improved.
So with that in mind, it's kind of a shame that the S4 is out, since that'll obviously mean that Samsung will stop focusing on "last years model".

I don't think the S3 is too far behind and whilst I always would want more I feel it's a nice blend of hardware and software which is where I feel the iPhone isn't as balanced (hardware is less impressive in many ways).

I'm going to agree with you 100% - one of the things I'd REALLY hoped that Tim Cook would have done would have been to allow a selective licensing of iOS to other companies. Although the prospect of a Samsung iOS phone does generate a smile! Sorry to say that I think Apple's kind of lost the plot, and a little bit of competition close to home would be the driver that they'd need to "up their game". Apple fans used to be able to claim that their OS was the easiest/smoothest/etc, but these days I'd need a lot of convincing that this is still true - in which case advantage #2 has slipped away from them, (leaving the app store as the only real plus point).

I know I come across as a bit of a foaming 'droid fanboy, but if there were a fewer restrictions on what it could do and bit better hardware spec, then I'd probably consider an iPhone5S/6 as a replacement for my current S3. Although at the moment, the most likely non-Android replacement will probably be a Nokia Lumia.

[GoNz0]

Crossy, Samsungs just updated the S2 again, its over 2 years and counting since release. They may even update to 4.2 before calling it a day. So while they may give the S4 priority like they did the S3 as expected by any company they are far from sticking it on the back burner.

Must say, the S4 is very tempting over a PC upgrade

[TheAnimus]

Must say, the S4 is very tempting over a PC upgrade

Really?

I only ask because the reason I upgraded my last personal use phone was for the camera. The one in the 920 is simply stonking compared to the others.

But other than that, why change?

I haven't felt my phone is slow for the last 2 handsets I've had. Maybe thats a WP vs Andriod thing I dunno, but its true. I also doubt it will feel faster due to the whole resolution thing.

The screen is just in to pointless teritory now, I'd sooner have more battery life.

Until we see things like the Dockable Phone which is now a PC, I don't think I see any reason for changing. I'm not finding anything it can't do.

This isn't just phones, even gaming, my rig from the year before last is still doing me really, really well.

[GoNz0]

well my wife doesn't get on well with the xperia U i got for xmas so I may upgrade mine and pass on the S2