Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 31:04 — 14.2MB)
After much fanfare there S4 was finally revealed and it seems more of an upgrade to the S3 itself but with the latest version of Android and a lot of Samsung software tweaks (some of which should be coming to the S3 as well), The S4 is bigger (screen-wise and feature wise) yet physically smaller and lighter when compared to the S3 (130g vs 133g).
Upgraded specs:
- Processor (new quad core / an octa-core vs dual core / older quad core – market dependent
- Screen (5” vs 4.8”)
- Cameras (13MP vs 8MP)
- Battery (2600mAh vs 2100mAh)
Specifications
- 5″ (4.99”) Full HD Super AMOLED 1080p screen (1080×1920, 441ppi)
- Android 4.2.2
- 16 / 32 / 64 GB storage with microSD card slot
- 2GB RAM
- Similar dimensions to S3 but thinner narrower, lighter
- 13MP rear camera, 1080p video
- 2MP front camera, 720p video
- 2600mAh (removable)
- 3G & LTE (all LTE frequencies – global roaming)
- New/Notable features
- 802.11ac (Typical WiFi, NFC)
- IR LED for remote control functions
- Still has microSD & removable battery
- Extra Sensors: IR Gesture, Temperature, Humidity (in addition to Accelerometer, RGB light, Compass, Proximity, Gyro, Barometer)
- Available starting end of April and will be available in 155 Countries
Software Tweaks
- Dual Camera: uses rear and front photos & videos (front video can be toggled as an overlay during the video which recording)
- Sound & Shot: 5 seconds of audio before/after photo
- Drama Shot: composite multiple shots (over 100/ second – choose which ones to composite)
- Eraser: remove unwanted bits in the photo
- Cinema Photo: make cinegraphs
- Air view: hover over items to reveal more info (like stylus hover in Note II / mouse hover). Use front camera.
- S Translator: text to speech and speech to text
- 9 langauges: English, French, German, Italian, Latin-Amera, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Brazilian Portugese
- Offline support
- Integrated into Samsung apps
- Optical reader app – so you can take a photo of signs and menus to translate them.
- Adapt Display: adjust brightness, saturation, contrast depending on what is being used
- Story Album: automatic photo album creation (e.g. uses location to detect holiday). In-app purchase of physical albums
- Samsung Home Sync support
- Home Sync is a physical device with 1TB personal
- Phone, TV, tablet, PC connectivity
- NFC tap to connect
- S Voice Drive: S Voice with interface for driving
- Samsung Smart Switch: for migrating data from ‘any’ smartphone to the S4
- Glove support
- Samsung Hubs: video, book, games store
- Samsung Knox: separates work and personal space
- Group play: sync devices to play music together. Games support it.
- ChatOn
- Dual Video Call: uses front and rear cameras for video chat
- Screen share
- Air Gesture: navigate by swiping hand over camera: scrolling, previous/next photo (S3 had something like this)
- Smart Pause: pauses video when you look away and resumes when resume looking
- Smart Scroll: tilt device to scroll
- S Health: health monitoring
- Keeps and tracks different data with the help of accessories
- S band, Body Scale, Heart Rate Monitor
- Tracks
- Calorie Consumption / Burned
- Sleep Pattern
- Heart Rate
- Exercise
- Weight
- Blood Sugar & Blood pressure
- Keeps and tracks different data with the help of accessories
Accessories
- Pouch
- Flip Cover
- Protective Case
- S View Cover: transparent section to view things like caller ID
Links
