The Samsung Galaxy S4 is the most hotly anticipated smartphone ever from the Korean brand, and with a glut of high end features, it’s the most powerful and desirable device Samsung has created yet.
One of the most impressive things about the phone is the fact the size hasn’t changed from its predecessor - the Galaxy S4 comes in at 5.38 x 2.75 x 0.31 inches, meaning there’s no extra heft to try and work with in your palm.
However, despite this fact, the screen on the S4 has been increased once more, to a whopping 5-inch display with Full HD resolution. This means the same amount of pixels you’d have seen on a TV that cost well over$1500 four years ago is now riding around in your pocket.
Let’s not pretend that Samsung is a pioneer in this area though: like a great many features of the Galaxy S4, the phone borrows a lot from the other top smartphones of the moment. Both the Sony Xperia Z and the HTC One have screens that rock the same resolution, but neither of them have the jaw-dropping clout of the Super AMOLED HD screen on display. On top of that, there’s a much faster processor packed under the hood, ample storage space for media thanks to an expandable memory card slot, and the likes of 4G LTE, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC and pretty much any other connection you care to mention on board. Samsung has tried to supplement this with a load of software upgrades too, meaning a more powerful camera, a better way to communicate with your friends and consume media, and, interestingly, a big push into health through dedicated apps.
The Samsung Galaxy S4 costs a little more than the HTC One, when you consider that, on AT&T for example, a 32GB One is$199($599.99 full price) and the S4$199 for a 16GB model($639.99 full price). Of course, the S4’s removable storage option, which the One lacks, levels the playing field some, as SD cards aren’t too pricey.
But before we dissect all the possibilities the phone has to offer, let’s look at the design. As we mentioned, it’s impressive in its form factor, thanks to less than half an inch of thickness, and at 4.59 oz it manages to still be light without shaving off so much heft that you feel like you’ve got a flimsy piece of plastic