Samsung today announced the Galaxy S 4, its flagship smartphone for 2013.
The S 4 is based on the foundation of S 3 and features a similar design and appearance. It is made from a mix of plastics, polycarbonate, and glass. The footprint is slightly narrower and thinner than the S 3, but the S 4 houses a larger, 5-inch 1080p HD Super AMOLED display.
The S 4 runs Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean with Samsung’s customary TouchWiz user interface. The device will feature different processors based on region. In the U.S., the S 4 will use Qualcomm’s Snapdragon processor (quad-core 1.9GHz S4), while markets outside the U.S. will see the Exyonos 5 octa-core chip under the hood.
The S 4 will support global LTE networks. Other hardware specs include a 13-megapixel main camera that shoots 1080p HD video and a 2-megapixel user-facing camera that shoots 1080p HD video. The device will be sold in 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB variants, though it also supports microSD cards up to 64GB. It has 2GB of RAM.
It includes a range of radios, including 802.11a/b/c/g/n Wi-Fi, NFC, Bluetooth, and GPS.
Beyond the hardware, Samsung has added innovative camera features, such as Dual Shot and Dual Recording, each of which lets the S 4 shoot either still pictures or video using both the main camera and secondary camera at the same time. The camera can also be used to create GIFs, containable bursts, and still images with background audio.
Samsung went big with new gestures. Air Gesture, for example, can be used to change audio tracks, advance photos, or switch between browser tabs by waving a hand across the front of the S 4. The S 4 also includes the Air View features found on the Note II, but works without a stylus. Air View lets S 4 owners see previews of content, such as SMS messages, without opening the message by hovering their finger over the display.
The S 4 will be available globally during the second quarter of the year, and will be sold by AT&T, Cricket, Sprint, T-Mobile USA, U.S. Cellular, and Verizon Wireless in the U.S. Pricing was not disclosed.
