3/14/2013

Samsung Galaxy S4 images and specs leaked

Samsung Galaxy S4 photo
It's Samsung's galaxy s4 launch day but that hasn't stopped more leaks showing the design and specification of the smartphone.
We're just hours away from the Galaxy S4 launch event but the most detailed and polished images have been leaked online. A total of 19 images of the Galaxy S4 have been posted on Mobile IT168 which also confirm many of the smartphone's specifications.
There's been a steady flow of leaked information regarding the Galaxy S4 over the last few months and especially the last few weeks. However, these are the most convincing images of the Galaxy S4 we've seen.

Samsung Galaxy S4 photo rear camera
Samsung Galaxy S4 photo dual-SIM
Samsung Galaxy S4 photo home button

Samsung Galaxy S4 : Everything you need to know


Samsung Galaxy S4 : Everything you need to know

Samsung’s Galaxy S4 won’t be revealed until Thursday but the phone is already getting the buzz typically reserved for an Apple iPhone.
The Galaxy S3 was the first Android phone to truly tango with the iPhone; the S4 will be bigger, sharper and faster, trumping its predecessor in practically every regard. With the iPhone 5 getting refreshed this summer, Samsung needs to make a big statement if the company wants to sell the 10 million phones a month it is reportedly ordering from suppliers.
Here's what to expect from the next generation of the company’s blockbuster flagship.

5-inch HD screen
There’s no fighting the trend: Phones keep getting bigger and so is the Galaxy S4. A 4.99-inch Super AMOLED 1080p screen was spotted at CES, and tech watchers believe it's the screen for the new S4. That means the phone would have a resolution of 1,080 x 1,920 with 440 pixels per inch (PPI), up from the S3, which is already a substantial 4.8-inches. But bigger is better, right?


Here comes Jelly Bean
The S4 will be running Android 4.2. Code-named Jelly Bean, the latest update to Google’s mobile operating system promises a brand new camera experience and a novel new way to type.


An eight-core processor?
It’s possible that Samsung will equip its new flagship with its powerful Exynos 5 Octa eight-core processor, making the S4 one of the most powerful phones on the planet, but the company might save it for the Note III. Instead, recently leaked photos seem to indicate a quad-core processor running at 1.8 GHz, up from the 1.4-GHz chip in the S3.


13-megapixels by 2.2 megapixels
There aren’t too many details about the camera, but most reports indicate a 13-megapixel camera accompanied by a 2.2. megapixel front-facing camera.


Networked beast
4G LTE and 802.11 ac -- a faster Wi-Fi specification -- make sure the S4 keeps up the pace.


Eyetracking?
Perhaps the most exciting rumors is the prospect of eye-tracking technology that will enable the phone to detect when you are finished reading a page and automatically scroll for you, according to a New York Times report. It will even pause your video when you look away.


Still plastic
A big complaint against the Galaxy SIII was that its plastic materials felt cheap and lacked the heft of the iPhone’s sleek aluminum unibody. But fans hoping for a switch to metal are out of luck. Samsung is sticking with plastic, Y.H. Lee, executive vice president of Samsung’s mobile division, indicated to CNET, citing the need to balance aesthetics with durability and manufacturability.


Wireless charging capabilities
The Galaxy S4 will have the ability to charge its 2,600-mAh battery wirelessly with an optional dock, according to Samsung blog SamMobile.




Samsung Galaxy S4 – release date


                       Samsung Galaxy S4 – release date

Galaxy S4 Price logo

Samsung has more or less slated the date for the Samsung Galaxy S3's launch as March 14th.

A rumour reported to Sammobile from a "trusted insider" at Samsung pegs the Galaxy S4 release for March 15, 2013. Apparently, the handset will then go on sale in the second week of April, with Europe getting first dibs.

We’ll keep you updated with any new Galaxy S4 shaped rumours that come to pass. But in the meantime you can fill up your Samsung cravings with our Samsung Galaxy S3, Samsung Galaxy Mini and Samsung Galaxy Note 2 reviews.


Samsung Galaxy S4 predictions

Samsung Galaxy S4 predictions



Some believe the phone will be more like the Galaxy Note 2 phablet, rather than the Galaxy S3.
Charles Golvin, a mobile devices expert with research firm Forrester told T3: “I don't expect the screen to exceed 5 inches and, while I can't offer specifics, I do expect a modified industrial design — more like the Galaxy Note 3 than the S3.” 
Golvin says other aspects of the phone will be debated until the launch event in New York on March 14, but he expects better battery performance and further display and camera improvements. Front facing speakers were also drawn out as possible features.
“Samsung has been at the forefront in terms of specs, and I expect that will continue. It's not clear whether the S4 will carry Samsung's octo-core processor or a Qualcomm quad core, but I expect a combination of processor, 2 GB RAM minimum, and expanded battery to provide high performance with extended battery life.”
“The other areas of hardware development will be in the camera, both still and video, a 1080p HD display as well as audio, perhaps with front facing speakers.”
Ramon Llamas, the lead mobile researcher at IDC says the Galaxy S4 launch will ‘surprise and delight’, but that it won’t be down to the hardware improvements, claiming the specs race is all-but-over.
He told T3: “I think Samsung will surprise and delight people come March 14.”
“For me it’s not going to be the specs that surprise. The fact that you have a brilliant five-inch screen, the fact that you have LTE, and the latest version of Android is not big news anymore. Everyone does that.”
“It’s about what are you going to do on top of that. What innovation will we see? What are they going to do on top of Android?”
“It is already is popularising multi screen usage on your device. There are no other smartphones that are doing that. That gets your smartphone to be that much more like a computer. What’s next?”
Llamas predicts Samsung will integrate new software features that will make better use of the camera sensor, beyond taking pictures, and expects S-Voice to improve exponentially in the latest generation device.
“There’s a very select few companies that you don’t underestimate. Apple is one, Samsung is clearly another,” he added.
“Take a look at the track record. They didn’t announce the Galaxy S4 at CES – the so-called Super Bowl of Technology. They said “no” to MWC and said “we’re going to have our own event.”
“You don’t have your own event for the sake of it. You’re doing it to have that time all to yourself and get everyone’s attention.
“If they’re going to continue with ‘The Next Big Thing Is Here’ campaign, that puts pressure on you to make sure you are actually delivering the next big thing. It can’t be incremental updates and bigger screen size. It has to be more than that.”

Samsung Galaxy S4: View From The Outside

Samsung Galaxy S4: View From The Outside



The Samsung Galaxy S3 was a beautiful smartphone with a 4.8-inch Super AMOLED display and a 1280 x 720 resolution of 306 pixels per inch (ppi); its successor, the Samsung Galaxy S4, is said to feature a slightly larger 4.99-inch Full HD SoLux Display with a reported resolution of 1080 x 1920 pixels, which comes out to be an extremely dense-looking display at 450+ ppi.
Besides the screen, the dimensions of the S4 itself are also said to be slightly different. While the Samsung Galaxy S3 measured 136.6 x 70.6 x 8.6 mm, the Samsung Galaxy S4 is said to measure slightly longer at 140.1 mm and slightly wider at 71.8 mm, but even thinner than its predecessor at just 7.7 mm thick, which is just 0.1 mm thicker than the depth of the iPhone 5 from Apple.
The phone’s exterior is said to resemble the Samsung Galaxy S3 with its home button and touch buttons along the bottom, as well as its plastic back with aluminum sides. Samsung news site SamMobile believesthe Galaxy S4 will be available in three storage options – 16 GB, 32 GB and 64 GB – and two colors – black and white — upon its release date.



Images of suspected Galaxy S4


With less than 24 hours before Samsung's expected unveiling of the Galaxy S4, more images of the highly-anticipated smartphone have materialized on the Web.
A collection of images on Chinese site Mobile.it168.com features a handset with the Samsung brand that resembles other images and videos that leaked earlier this week. The image also features the text "Galaxy SIV."



The accompanying description indicates it sports an eight-core chip and a 4.99-inch screen, as previously rumored. The images feature a smartphone that measures 7.7 millimeters thick and weighs in at 138 grams.
The new flagship handset is rumored to be powered by the Exynos 5 Octa 8-core processor and feature 2GB of RAM, a 13-megapixel rear camera with 1080p video capability, a 2-megapixel front-facing camera, and the latest version of Android, known as 4.2.2 Jelly Bean.
Among the features rumored to be included on the handset is an eye-scrolling technology, however it will likely turn out to be simple eye-tracking technology, like pausing a video when your eyes move away from the display.

SAMSUNG GALAXY S4 MINI

SAMSUNG GALAXY S4 MINI



The Samsung Galaxy S4 may not be the only handset to carry the Galaxy S4 name. Rumours also point towards the company releasing a cut-down version, possibly called the Galaxy S4 Mini. According to Samsung news site SamMobile, the Galaxy S4 Mini will appeal to those who want a more compact phone for less money.
This isn’t a new strategy for Samsung; the current Galaxy S3 also has a Mini equivalent. The Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini has a lower-resolution 4in 800x480-pixel display instead of a 1,280x720 model and a 1GHz rather than 1.5GHz processor, as well as a lower-specification camera. The S4 Mini is also likely to have a cut-down specification, as well as losing the wireless charging module to save on size and component cost.

Samsung Galaxy S4 EYE-TRACKING SCROLL TECHNOLOGY

Samsung Galaxy S4 EYE-TRACKING SCROLL TECHNOLOGY


All that tedious using your finger to scroll could be a thing of the past if rumours about the new Galaxy S4's eye-tracking scroll technology are anything to go by.
An anonymous source told the New York Times that the new smartphone will use its front-facing camera to track the position of users' eyes, and so scroll through web pages without you having to leave fingerprints on the screen.
The story may sound far-fetched, but there is some evidence to back up the theory; in January Samsung filed a patent for a technology called Eye Scroll, which uses a smartphone or tablet's front-facing camera to scroll web pages automatically depending on the user's eye position.
Eye-tracking technology is also nothing new, as it's used in certain glasses-free 3D displays, but this will be the first time we've seen it applied to scrolling on a smartphone.

Samsung Galaxy S4 WIRELESS CHARGING

Samsung Galaxy S4 WIRELESS CHARGING


Seemingly more likely is that the Samsung Galaxy S4 will have wireless charging built in. Wireless charging, in which inductive or resonating systems provide power to without the need to connect a charging cable, are becoming increasingly popular: Nokia's flagship Lumia 920 includes wireless charging built into the phone. Integration makes a lot of sense as it removes the need for bulky wireless charging cases that bulk up a handset, and make it much more convenient to charge a phone. We'd expect Samsung to want all of the latest technologies in its new handset and wireless charging makes a lot of sense.
It's possible that the company could go a lot further as a recent patent application shows. Samsung's wireless charging patent, applied for in July last year and published in December, describes a technology that combines wireless power with a modulated carrier signal - allowing the handset to communicate with the charging mat or stand.
If it allows data, Samsung's technology could allow extra features, such as placing your phone on a speaker dock and have it play music wirelessly. This would remove the need to join a Wi-Fi network or enable Bluetooth. It could potentially be used for syncing data, such as photos and videos, to the phone as well.
As is normal, the patent doesn't mention any specific devices that the technology will apply to, but the timing does seem right for the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S4.

SAMSUNG GALAXY S4 SPECS

SAMSUNG GALAXY S4 SPECS

The Galaxy S4 is rumoured to be powered by Samsung's new Exynos 5 processor, which will have a whopping eight cores.
The company tweeted a rendering of the new chip, which is also rumoured to power the new Galaxy Note 3 phone/tablet, from its @SamsungExynos Twitter account, so whetting the appetites of Samsung fans everywhere.
The new chip's eight-core design is based on ARM's big.LITTLE architecture. This means that there are four powerful Cortex-A15 cores for the phone's most power-hungry functions, and four lower-power Cortex-A7 models to take care of simpler tasks. When the phone isn't needed to do anything fancy, the more powerful cores shut down, extending battery life.
Samsung Galaxy S3 LTE
According to sources speaking to Taiwanese industry rumour site DigiTimes, the S4 will include a 5in Full HD display with an impressive 1920x1080 resolution, following a trend starting with rival HTC's Butterfly handset. Such a display would have an impressive pixel density of around 440 pixels per inch (PPI) - significantly above the resolution of Apple's Retina display technology. Such a big display, however, would certainly blur the line between the S4 and Samsung's own tablet-phone hybrid Galaxy Note 2 device.
The new screen size and resolution was all but confirmed when Samsung showed a slide to AnandTech at CES 2013.
The slide showed the companies release schedule for screens and highlighted a Q1 2013 launch for a 4.99in Full HD (1,920x1,080) display, which ties in perfectly with expected launch date for the Samsung Galaxy S4.
According to AnandTech, the new screen is a full RGB OLED, he PenTile AMOLED in the Galaxy S3. While a regular display has RGB sub-pixels to make up the picture, the Samsung PenTile uses RGBG, adding an extra green sub-pixel. Samsung claims that this extends the life of the screen, but the complaint is that these screens aren't as sharp as full RGB screens.
We'd now put money on the rumours of screen size and resolution being correct, as Samsung asked AnandTech to take-down the shot of the slide and the accompanying information about the screen. That's about as close to confirmation as you're likely to get before an official launch.
Another separate rumour supports this ever-increasing screen size mania, including a report from The Korea Times suggesting that a new entry in the Galaxy Note family, imaginatively dubbed the Galaxy Note 3, will include an impressively large 6.3in Full HD display - which would maintain the gap between the devices.
Another rumour has pointed to the use of a flexible display technology, previously demonstrated as a stand-alone product by Samsung, to give the Galaxy S4 an unbreakable screen. Sadly, this may not come to pass - at least, not until the Galaxy S5 is ready - with The Verge quoting an anonymous source as stating that commercial implementation of Samsung's flexible display technology in smartphone devices is "still a while off".

Unofficial preliminary specifications FROM GSM ARENA



GENERAL2G NetworkGSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
3G NetworkHSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100
4G NetworkLTE 800 / 1800 / 2600
SIMMicro-SIM
AnnouncedExp. announcement 2013, March
StatusRumored. Exp. release 2013, Q2
BODYDimensions-
Weight-
DISPLAYTypeSuper AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
Size1080 x 1920 pixels, 4.99 inches (~441 ppi pixel density)
MultitouchYes
ProtectionCorning Gorilla Glass 3
 - TouchWiz UI
SOUNDAlert typesVibration; MP3, WAV ringtones
LoudspeakerYes
3.5mm jackYes
MEMORYCard slotmicroSD, up to 64 GB
Internal16/32/64 GB storage, 2 GB RAM
DATAGPRSYes
EDGEYes
SpeedHSDPA, 42.2 Mbps; HSUPA, 5.76 Mbps; LTE, Cat3, 50 Mbps UL, 100 Mbps DL
WLANWi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, dual-band, DLNA, Wi-Fi Direct, Wi-Fi hotspot
BluetoothYes, v4.0 with A2DP, EDR
NFCYes
USBYes, microUSB v2.0 (MHL), USB On-the-go
CAMERAPrimary13 MP, 4128 x 3096 pixels, autofocus, LED flash
FeaturesSimultaneous HD video and image recording, geo-tagging, touch focus, face and smile detection, image stabilization, HDR
VideoYes, 1080p@30fps
SecondaryYes, 2.1 MP, 1080p@30fps
FEATURESOSAndroid OS, v4.2 (Jelly Bean)
ChipsetExynos 5 Octa 5410
CPUQuad-core 1.8 GHz Cortex-A15 & quad-core 1.2 GHz Cortex-A7
GPUPowerVR SGX 544MP
SensorsAccelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer
MessagingSMS(threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Mail, IM, RSS
BrowserHTML5, Adobe Flash
GPSYes, with A-GPS support and GLONASS
JavaYes, via Java MIDP emulator
ColorsTitanium Gray, Sapphire Black
 - S-Voice natural language commands and dictation
- Smart Stay eye tracking
- Dropbox (50 GB storage)
- Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic
- TV-out (via MHL A/V link)
- SNS integration
- MP4/DivX/XviD/WMV/H.264/H.263 player
- MP3/WAV/eAAC+/AC3/FLAC player
- Organizer
- Image/video editor
- Document viewer (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF)
- Google Search, Maps, Gmail,
YouTube, Calendar, Google Talk, Picasa
- Voice memo/dial/commands
- Predictive text input (Swype)
BATTERY Li-Ion 2600 mAh battery

SAMSUNG GALAXY S4 DESIGN

SAMSUNG GALAXY S4 DESIGN


Samsung has jealously been guarding its new smartphone, but as we approach the launch date on the 14th March, we've started to see more leaks and more purported shots of the Galaxy S4.
One of the most interesting ones comes from the official Samsung US Twitter feed, which teases us with the message, "The countdown for #TheNextBigThing has begun. Who’s ready for the Global Unpacked Event on March 14?"
Heavily in the shadows, the shot clearly shows a smartphone that looks similar to the Samsung Galaxy S3. There's very little detail in the image and it's hard to make out anything, other than the curved bezel. This leads us to believe that either the image has be edited or its just a design image.

Samsung Galaxy S4
Is it? Isn't it? We can't tell from this Samsung image if this is the Galaxy S4 or not
The outline of the phone is certainly similar to the pictures that leaked recently on a Chinese forum, which were reportedly of the Galaxy S4. However, clear differences include a speaker and what looks like a front-facing camera on the Chinese forum shots.
Neither shots are conclusive and, while it wouldn't be a surprise if the Samsung Galaxy S4 looked similar to the Galaxy S3, we're going to have to wait until Thursday 14th March to find out for sure what the smartphone looks like.


Samsung Galaxy S4 chinese forum leak
This image is supposedly the Samsung Galaxy S4, leaked to a Chinese forum