Samsung announced its flagship Galaxy S4 phone today, and while the specs are improved from its predecessor, the phone isn’t anything revolutionary. In fact, it’s barely distinguishable from it’s predecessor, the Galaxy SIII.
The phone looks nearly identical, but it’s a bit thinner at 7.9mm thick and it ditches the pebble-curved back of the SIII.
Like the leaks told us, the GS4 will have a 5-inch, 1080p Super AMOLED display with a pixel density of 441ppi, easily surpassing the iPhone 5’s 326ppi.
Inside, there’s the rumored 1.6GHz octa-core processor that jumps to a 1.9GHz quad-core when necessary and 2GB of RAM in addition to a removable 2,600mAh battery and expandable storage via microSD. The phone is also 4G capable and uses Bluetooth 4.0.
Rounding out the spec bumps is the 13-megapixel camera on the back and a 2-megapixel shooter on the front.
Amazing, based on specs. But what does the phone do that sets it apart from the others?
Not much. The phone runs a heavily skinned TouchWiz version of Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean, and that’s it, other than a few apps.
S Translator is one feature carried over from the Galaxy Note. It’s almost the exact same as Google Translate, except the GS4 can scan written documents and translate as well.
But even that isn’t a new feature. Apps like that have existed on iOS for years now.
The same thing applies for S Health, a pedometer and calorie counter built into the phone. Aren’t there hundred, if not thousands, of fitness apps available on the Google Play Store?
My personal favorite feature takes advantage of the IR blaster on the top of the phone — it can be used as a TV remote.
One rumor — the eye-tracking rumor — came half true. It doesn’t “see” your eyes and scroll for you, but the screen won’t dim while you’re looking at it, and it’ll scroll web pages for you as long as you tilt the device. Additionally, the GS4 will pause video playback when you look away from the screen.
The phone has other gimmicks like hovering over the screen to unlock it or tilting the device to scroll, but they aren’t anything that impressive in their current form. In fact, Samsung took a hint from Apple and announced Air View, which beams your phone’s screen to a nearby TV or tablet. Same thing with audio: it can be wirelessly sent to a surround sound system.
There’s also a redesigned camera app for the new sensor. In Burst Mode, the GS4 takes around 100 pictures in 4 seconds and users can browse through each frame to find the best shot. Pretty impressive and similar to the HTC One.
It has features that, if perfected, would be revolutionary. But when gesturing around the phone without touching it has a half-second lag (CNET), it makes me wonder why they were included in the first place.
The Galaxy S4 will be available worldwide (in staggered releases) in April and May, and is available for all major U.S. carriers. There’s also no pricing information yet, but expect it to be similar to the Galaxy SIII
My first impressions? Unenthused. I’m personally not a fan of skinned versions of Android and TouchWiz is arguably the most radically different from Google’s stock version. Additionally, the Samsung-specific features are nice, but I can’t see myself using any of them (besides the TV remote) on a regular basis.
Plus, the conference was the biggest form of showboating I’ve ever seen. Samsung rented Radio City Music Hall in NYC and had actors play out all of its demos, which, of course, were accompanied by a live orchestra.
Obnoxious doesn’t begin to describe it.
Now it’s time to hear from Google and Apple.
Google’s I/O conference is May 15-17, where the next version of Android (Key Lime Pie) is expected to be released, and Apple usually has its WWDC conference in mid-summer (late June, early July.)
You can rewatch (though why would you?) the event here.
The new Samsung Galaxy S 4 is presented during the Samsung Unpacked event at Radio City Music Hall, Thursday, March 14, 2013 in New York. (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow)
