The Galaxy S4 weighs just 130 grams and it’s only 7.9MM thick. In terms of specs, it will come in two colors at launch—Black Mist and White Frost. It’ll also include 4G LTE and HSPA+ 42MB, like the S3. It will also feature a 5-inch inch super AMOLED HD display at 441PPI, and, at launch, it’ll ship with Android 4.2.2 Jellybean and be available in 155 countries on 327 mobile carriers by the end of April.
Other specs include a 2,600mAh battery, as well as a 13MP back camera, 2MP front, an IR blaster, and 8 sensors including a temperature and humidity sensor.
The Galaxy S4 will ship in three available models—16GB, 32GB, and 64GB —each with 2GB of RAM, and it boasts a 1.6GHz Exynos Octa-core chip or a 1.9GHz quad-core Qualcomm depending on the market.
Galaxy S5 design needs to be different to the S4, says Samsung
Samsung didn’t reveal much that was new in a fairly wide-ranging interview with Bloomberg, but exec VP of the company’s mobile division Lee Young Hee did tease a couple of things while confirming that the Galaxy S5 would be released by April.
The company is “studying the possibility” of including the iris-recognition security system we told you about last month. If Samsung succeeds, it would be a neat piece of one-upmanship on the Touch ID fingerprint scanner in Apple’s iPhone 5S, iris-recognition being both faster and more secure than fingerprints.
The company also said that it recognized that the design of the S4 wasn’t sufficiently different from the S3, and that we can expect something significantly different from the S5 … Expand Expanding Close
To say that 2013 has been an interesting year in the world of Android would be putting it mildly, but has it really been a banner year? The release of Android-oriented products like Google Glass, Google Hangouts/revamp of Google+ and the beginnings of Google Retail led the way for a whole new approach for Google to take on the competition.
As we look back at the Android-based smartphones that launched in 2013, there isn’t any one handset that truly stands out as a market revolution. Instead, 2013 saw improvements and innovation on existing brands and lines that were already incredibly popular. For example, the Galaxy S 4 which kicks off our list below didn’t really raise the bar over the Galaxy S III in a truly big way, but it did improve on an already market-leading experience from the Galaxy S III.
So without further adieu, here are the 9to5Google’s top Android smartphone picks for 2013: Expand Expanding Close
Surprise, surprise as a new Canaccord Genuity study shows the Galaxy S 4 as the most popular Android device at the nations four largest carriers. Unfortunately for Samsung, the nations largest carriers actually show the iPhone 5s as the top selling smartphone overall.
AT&T Galaxy S 4 owners look sharp, the day before Thanksgiving is bringing you gifts as the carrier announces Android 4.3…arriving now. The update is slated at 727MB, so Wi-Fi only updates are allowed but Galaxy Gear compatibility, call reliability improvements, drag and drop ability to uninstall/disable applications and the rest of Android 4.3 goodness are all awaiting you. It originally appeared that the update began around 10 days ago but this is official word from the AT&T mothership…so it’s now officially official.
We’ve already covered the Target, Walmart and Best Buy Black Fridays earlier this month as their Black Friday ads broke cover to the world. However, there are far more Android-related deals to be had on Black Friday and here are some of the most notable across the nations largest retailers. Don’t forget to sneak a peek at what T-Mobile, AT&T, Verizon and Sprint have to offer as well.
Oh Google, you’re so good sometimes when you let the world know that the HTC One Google Play edition isn’t the only device receiving KitKat today. According to the +Android page on Google+, the Samsung Galaxy S 4 Google Play edition is also beginning its Android 4.4 KitKat rollout.
Verizon announced today that it is releasing new mini variants of Samsung’s flagship Galaxy devices. One is the Galaxy S4 mini, the latest mid-tier version of Samsung’s flagship Galaxy S4. However, Verizon is oddly also launching last year’s model today, the Galaxy S III mini.
Despite the fact that the S4 mini is the newer device, the S III mini might be the better option for those on a budget as it will cost customers just $50 on a two-year contract after a $50 mail-in rebate. The S4 mini will come in at $99 with the same rebate. You’ll also be able to grab a month-to-month plan if you drop $249 or $399 for the S4 mini or S III mini, and $10 and $16 a month offers are available through Verizon Edge.
Following revelations that almost all Android handset and tablet manufacturers cheat in benchmark tests, detecting the benchmark software and ramping up performance for the duration of the test, GameBench thinks it’s come up with an approach which is impossible to cheat.
Engadget reports that the company – whose co-founders both worked for chipmakers – take a different approach, running real games and using a background app to take systems measurements while those games are running … Expand Expanding Close
Our expectations are always tempered when it comes to the wireless carriers and Black Friday specials as its been a long, long time since I can remember a deal that made my jaw drop. With that in mind, Verizon Wireless’ 2013 Black Friday ad has hit the airwaves thanks to BlackFriday.com but it won’t knock your socks off. Thankfully, it will help those of you looking to pick up a DROID RAZR HD for free or a Motorola DROID Ultra for $99 with a two-year agreement.
Ah yes, winter is in the air and along with it the promise of Black Friday shopping deals. I’ll just get right to it and say if you’re in the market for a Galaxy S 4…you should hold off and take a look at the Walmart and Target deals coming up in a little under two weeks.
The Samsung Galaxy S4 has retained its title as winner of the highly-regarded Which? UK consumer association battery-life tests, despite competition from newer handsets. The S4 achieved call times 37 percent greater than its nearest rival, the HTC One. The results in web use were far closer, but the Samsung S4 took the lead there too.
The Galaxy S4 also won back in June, but retained its title in the face of new competition from the latest iPhones and an updated Nokia Lumia. Android handsets took the top three slots in call times, and the top four in web use …
Alongside the official release of its new flagship Nexus 5 on Google Play today, Google is also of course officially taking the wraps of 4.4 KitKat, the latest version of Android that will ship on the new Nexus 5. When will you be able to get your hands on the new OS? Google said KitKat 4.4 updates will arrive for the Nexus 4, Nexus 7, Nexus 10, and the Galaxy S4 and HTC One Google Play Editions in the coming weeks.
Google confirmed that the update will not be coming to the Galaxy Nexus. Since it’s two years old, it now “falls outside of the 18-month update window when Google and others traditionally update devices.”
In the YouTub playlist above, Google walks through some of the new features of KitKat for developers and also highlights a number of user-facing features such as a new “immersive mode” that allows users to automatically hide onscreen controls for a truly full-screen experience. In a blog post, Google took sometime to explain the performance improvements it’s made in KitKat, noting that Android can now “run comfortably on the 512MB of RAM devices”: Expand Expanding Close
The images are rather blurry and lacking in detail, but a regulatory filing spotted by Chinese site Tenaa of a handset described by Samsung as the GT-I8580 looks rather like a smaller version of the S4 Active, reports Engadget.
Visually, it looks like the chunky Galaxy S4 Active, what with its return to physical buttons and a fairly robust (and cheaper looking) case. Aside from that there’s little to go on, although that model number has previously been associated with a benchmarked phone featuring a 4.65-inch display with a low-end 480 x 800 resolution … Expand Expanding Close
AT&T announced today that it’s adding a new promotion that will allow customers to get a free 7-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 when purchasing selecting Samsung phones. Starting today, those who purchase a Samsung Galaxy S4, Galaxy S4 Active, Galaxy Note 3, or Galaxy Note II on contract or on AT&T Next instalment plan will get the tablet completely free. You will, however, have to activate a Mobile Share data plan for the device:
Customers interested in receiving a free** Galaxy Tab 3 can take advantage of the offer by visiting any AT&T company-owned retail store or participating dealer (or soon, online at att.com), and purchasing one of 4 eligible Samsung Galaxy smartphones with a 2 year agreement or AT&T Next installment agreement and a Mobile Share voice and data plan, and activating a Mobile Share data plan for the Galaxy Tab 3. With an AT&T Mobile Share plan, customers can add the Galaxy Tab 3 to an existing Mobile Share plan for $10 more per month. And with Mobile Share, up to 10 devices can share data without needing to purchase separate plans for each one.
Samsung has beaten its earlier forecasts for both revenue and profit in Q3, reporting new records for both at $9.56B profit on revenues of $55.59B.
Samsung had earlier reported that it had sold more than 40 million Galaxy S4 handsets in the first six months, but advised today that most of its mobile growth was in lower-end models, while high-end growth is slowing … Expand Expanding Close
Samsung CEO JK Shin revealed this data earlier today while speaking to Korean media regarding speculation that the Galaxy S4 had not sold as well as Samsung had originally expected. The device has been on the market for about six months now, and within the first month, the device had shipped 10 million units worldwide.
For comparison’s sake, the Galaxy S3 had shipped 30 million units after just six months on the market. So despite some speculation that the Galaxy S4 was too similar to its successor to sell at the same rate, the device is clearly doing just fine.
One thing worth noting is that it’s somewhat unclear as to whether JK Shin is referring to sales or shipments of the device. Should it be the latter of those, then Samsung has not actually sold 40 million Galaxy S4 units to customers, but rather shipped them to retailers to sell. Expand Expanding Close
Following a number of complaints from Samsung Galaxy S4 users experiencing battery issues that saw noticeably less battery life and in some cases “swollen batteries.” The majority of the complaints seem to be coming out of Germany, but Samsung confirmed to TrustedReviews that it is aware of the issue and will offer free battery replacements for customers:
In a statement provided to TrustedReviews, Samsung has stated: “We are aware of this issue, which has affected a limited number of customers.”
An official spokesperson for the company added: “We ask all affected customers to please visit their nearest Samsung Electronics service centre, where they can receive a replacement battery for free of charge. We remain committed to providing the best possible user experience for our customers.”
Advertising Age reports on a clever mobile ad campaign by LG, in which browser identifiers are used to display an ad targeted directly at the handset being used.
To promote the brand’s G2 smartphone, [ad agency M&C Saatchi] created a series of banners that recognized — and responded snarkily — to the competitor phones on which they appeared.
In the example above, the ad seen by owners of the Samsung Galaxy S4 promotes the faster processor speed of the LG G2. See the HTC and Apple versions below … Expand Expanding Close
When a story earlier this week discovered Samsung was artificially inflating benchmark scores for its new Galaxy Note 3, many were quick to point out it wasn’t the first time Samsung had been caught engaged in such a practice. The same issue was discovered by AnandTech for the Galaxy S4 back in July, and today the site has an extensive report showing that almost every Android smartphone manufacturer is shipping devices that do the same.
As pictured in the chart above, that includes the HTC One, HTC One mini, LG G2, Galaxy Tab 10.1, and many others. In fact, the only companies that appear to not be using the method is Apple and Motorola, as well as Google with its Nexus 4 and Nexus 7 devices:
We started piecing this data together back in July, and even had conversations with both silicon vendors and OEMs about getting it to stop. With the exception of Apple and Motorola, literally every single OEM we’ve worked with ships (or has shipped) at least one device that runs this silly CPU optimization. It’s possible that older Motorola devices might’ve done the same thing, but none of the newer devices we have on hand exhibited the behavior. It’s a systemic problem that seems to have surfaced over the last two years, and one that extends far beyond Samsung… None of the Nexus do, which is understandable since the optimization isn’t a part of AOSP. This also helps explain why the Nexus 4 performed so slowly when we reviewed it – this mess was going on back then and Google didn’t partake.
As noted in the report, the gains that OEMs are experiencing from the inflated scores are probably not worth the press they’ve been receiving. AnandTech points out that most of the inflated scores provide under a 10% increase in GPU and CPU performance benchmarks: Expand Expanding Close
With Apple’s new gold iPhone 5s getting the most attention of any of the new colorful iPhones it released earlier this month, Samsung wants you to know that it isn’t copying Apple with its new gold Galaxy S4.
In a blog post on its official Samsung Tomorrow blog titled, “Golden History of Samsung Phones,” the company makes a point of noting that it announced the Gold Galaxy S4 on August 27th and launched it in stores on September 8– over a week before Apple’s gold iPhone 5s launch. It also showed off some gold phones it’s made dating back to 2004.
Some were unreleased like special edition phones for the Olympics and one for Ocean’s 13, and Samsung notes that “this is definitely not a complete list of gold-colored products made by Samsung.” Expand Expanding Close
We’ve enjoyed seeing the new iPhones get smashed to pieces in the inevitable drop tests that followed the launch of Apple’s two new smartphones this month, but what we really want to know is how it holds up against some of its Android competition. SquareTrade has just completed a durability test (via AllThingsD), and found that not only are the new iPhones not performing as well as last year’s models, the new 5s and plastic-backed 5c were both beat by Motorola’s new flagship Moto X:
“We were expecting that at least one of the new iPhone models would up its game but surprisingly, it was the Moto X that proved most forgiving of accidents,” SquareTrade marketing chief Ty Shay said in a statement. “This is the first time we’ve tested the breakability on a Motorola phone, the only phone we’ve ever tested that’s made in the USA. We were pleased to find that it withstood our drop, slide and dunk test with only the slightest dent. It looks like Google is giving Apple and Samsung a run for their money.”
The new iPhones did, however, beat out Samsung’s Galaxy S4, which was also included in the durability test. Expand Expanding Close
If manufacturers or carriers ever needed evidence that 9to5google is not alone in wishing they’d lay off the overlays, new figures suggest that overlay-killer Go Launcher EX is now the 6th most popular Android app. The app allows you to set your own customised homescreen to replace that set by the manufacturer or carrier … Expand Expanding Close
Up until now Samsung’s Wallet app had been in beta only for select users in the US, but today the app is officially available through Google Play. Before you get too excited, we should mention that it is still US-only, and as of right now you’ll need one of few select Samsung devices in order to take advantage. For those of you unfamiliar, the app stores boarding passes, coupons, tickets, etc, but doesn’t actually do NFC payments like Google Wallet or other solutions. It might not be as widely supported as something like Apple’s Passbook app yet, but the MLB, Booking.com and many others have signed to support the service. To take advantage you’ll need either a Galaxy S3, Galaxy S4, Galaxy Note 1, or Galaxy Note 2.
On a side note, Google announced it’s ending NFC redemption for gift and loyalty cards through Google Wallet, but hinted other options for storing these types of cards might return to the app.
