Samsung launches Galaxy S 4 phone at New York event
updated 07:38 pm EDT, Thu March 14, 2013
Galaxy S 4 has five-inch AMOLED display, launching in April
Samsung has officially revealed the Galaxy S 4 at its press event at the New York Radio City Music Hall. Bearing a striking resemblance to its predecessor, the Galaxy S III, the S 4 has a five-inch, full HD, AMOLED touchscreen with a 441ppi pixel density. Weighing 130g (4.5 ounces) thanks to its polycarbonate shell, it measures 7.9mm (0.3 inches) thick, and appears to have all of the features shown in recent leaks.
Powered by a 1.9GHz quad-core or 1.6GHz eight-core processor depending on market, the Galaxy S 4 has 2GB of RAM, options for 16GB, 32GB, or 64GB of internal storage that can be extended via microSD up to 64GB. Both 3G and 4G LTE versions will be available at launch, with extra connectivity offered via Wi-Fi, NFC, Bluetooth 4.0, and infrared. The rear-mounted camera has a 13-megapixel back-illuminated sensor, autofocus, a claimed zero shutter lag, and a flash, while the front facing 2-megapixel camera allows for full HD recording at 30 frames per second, also with zero shutter lag. Power is supplied by a 2,600mAh battery.
The control system where users hover their fingers above the screen without touching it has been branded Air View, and aside from icon selection and scrolling by swiping, it will also allow for answering a call by waving a hand. Smart Pause, the function where videos pause when a face is detected to be looking away, makes an appearance and is extended by Smart Scroll, namely recognizing that a face is looking at the screen and then scrolling pages based on the movement of the user's wrist.
Group Play will allow people to share images, documents, apps and music with others, without the aid of a cellular network nor a Wi-Fi access point. The Share Music option can also play the same song on up to eight phones simultaneously and in sync, for occasions where multiple audio outputs or more volume is required, such as a party.
When connecting the S 4 to a car via Bluetooth, S Voice Drive will automatically enter the phone into a driving mode, converting text from messages to speech, and accepting voice commands. S Translator will convert words or sentences in text messages, e-mail and ChatOn into another language for sending, performing the reverse when receiving, and will also perform translation from speech to text and text to speech within the app for local live translation when traveling.
Going on sale from the end of April, the Galaxy S 4 will be launching on 327 carriers in 155 different countries. T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon have all issued statements saying that they will be carrying the phone, but none have committed to launch dates or pricing.
