Last night at a press event in New York Samsung launched the Samsung Galaxy S4 the latest in its line of Android phones. The S4 looks very much like the S3 but has lots of new software features.
On the hardware front some of the highlights a 5 inch Super AMOLED screen running at 1920 x 1080 441 ppi which should make for a very clear display. The phone comes in 16/32/64 GB version and can take a microSD card. The processor is a 1.6 Octa-Core processor with 2GB of RAM. There is an integrated LED for remote controlling devices, NFC, 13 MP rear camera and 2 MP front camera.
The S4 runs Android 4.2.2 but it’s with software that Samsung are really trying to make a difference. There is Smart Pause that that stops videos that are playing when you look away, Air Gesture which enables gestures to control things like music playback. Air View which previews emails, images etc when you hover over them with your finger. Group Play for playing music in sync between devices in close proximity. A driving mode called S Voice Drive and an S Health app.
Also in the S4 Samsung are pushing the Samsung Hub a single place to purchase apps, music and videos. Samsung don’t mention Android in the press release and this combined with their own store looks like a move to distance themselves from Google’s brand.
Currently I use a Nexus 4 as my main phone since I switched from a Samsung Galaxy Note and one of the reasons I switched was I preferred stock Android over Samsung’s offering but all these extra features in the S4 do make it appealing as does the 5 inch display. I am sure the S4 will be a big seller, the extra features over stock Android are interesting but I am not sure I would sacrifice the simplicity and clean UI of my Nexus 4.
The S4 will be available in the UK later next month but no price details yet.
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