So unless you’ve been hiding under a rock this week, you’ll have noticed that the Samsung Galaxy S4 was announced across the pond in New York at a rather theatrical and exciting launch event.
We caught up with our resident tech expert and Multimedia Experience manager Lewis, and posed a few questions. He’s had his hands on one, and shared his thoughts. Read on to find out the facts about the much heralded new “King of Smartphones”... Here's the official launch video too:
Over to Lewis!
1) What makes this Samsung different to the S3? What has been notably upgraded?
The camera is 13 MP is great; they've made real progress on the image quality - the rich tone HDR feature takes fantastic pictures. Samsung have added some more exciting features like the “Eraser” (similar to HTC One Object Removal) and “Drama” (…HTC Sequence Shot).
They've also added the ability to shoot video and pictures from both cameras at the same time giving a view of the view person shooting the image in the top corner at the same time.
The screen is now Full HD 1080P which looks dazzling.
Samsung have made improvements to their already brilliant “Smart Stay” feature, which now pauses video when you look away and starts again when you look back. I’ve used this a lot when watching You Tube and it works really well.
2) What are the most interesting new features of the S4 (that you think might be real game changers?
The Air View feature which detects you finger hovering over the screen, seems to be a unique to the S4. I've been using it to show previews of emails and calendar events. For example, you can hover your finger over a calendar appointment and it will show a small pop up with a summary of the meeting. It also allows you to magnify text on web pages.
3) How does the S4 match up to the iPhone 5 spec wise? Should we see “retaliation” this year?
This is very much down to personal preference. On paper, the Galaxy spec is higher. A bigger battery, full HD screen with 1080P at 441 PPI. The iPhone resolution is technically less than HD. The processor is actually faster, and the handset features a higher mega-pixel camera. There are some really innovative features and super high specs, but hardcore iPhone fans may still be wary... So it's down to personal preference really.
4) What’s the user experience like when unboxing and using an S4 for the first time?
As Apple said in their offensive pre-launch event, it is true there are a lot of steps to go through at start up (but no more than S3). I think a lot of people won't mind this one time set up; it takes maybe 10 minutes if you have new accounts to create, and quicker if not. Plus you can skip all the bits and bobs if you want to (Google sign in, Samsung sign in, drop box etc). The Wi-Fi set up is what you'll see immediately upon start up.
5) What operating system does the S4 carry? Is it "old" and is it upgradeable as usual?
It's the new Android Jelly Bean 4.2.2 so it's up-to-date and of course will be upgradeable.
6) When is it out on EE? Can we register?
Pre-registration is available over at the http://ee.co.uk/S4 - pricing and availability is still TBC.
7) Which new features are you personally excited about?
It's an evolution on the S3. Everything has been made better. I don’t feel there's one stand out thing, but I do really like the new camera features and “air view”. Plus being able to use it with gloves!
😎 What is the handset build quality like?
Samsung have stated that this handset is a “better build and finish” than ever before. It's also very thin at 7.9mm.
10) What's the display like? Is it better than an iPhone "Retina display"?
It's 1080P so on paper it's better resolution, but that’s subjective. I do like the fact you can watch You Tube in HD though which does present a real benefit over 4G.
If you have any more questions about the handset, do leave your comments below and we’ll try our best to get them answered. We’ll have more content and a full review on the Galaxy coming soon, so keep those eyes peeled.
Thanks!
Charlotte
