Samsung formally unveiled the latest in its Galaxy S line-up of smartphones, the
Galaxy S4 (or officially, the Galaxy S 4). The phone features a 5″ screen without getting larger than the Galaxy S3 plus an array of features that seemingly put Samsung’s own brand ahead of Google and Android.
For more about the lack of Google in today’s announcement, see our separate story: Samsung Introduces Galaxy S4 With Nary A Mention Of Android Or Google.
As for the phone itself, you’ll find the formal rundown below. Even further below, you’ll find our live blogging coverage.
The Specs
Samsung said the phone will be available worldwide some time in April, supporting both 3G and 4G LTE. Here are the key specs, drawing from the official press release and press site:
Colors: Black Mist or White Frost, more to come later
Screen Size: 5″
Screen Resolution: 441ppi, Super AMOLED
Display Resolution: 1920×1080
Weight: 130g (4.58 oz)
Height: 136.6mm (5.38″)
Width: 69.8mm (2.75″)
Thickness: 7.9mm (0.31″)
Android Version: Jelly Bean 4.2.2
Cameras: 13 MP back, 2 MP front
Battery: 2,600 mAh
RAM: 2GB
Storage: 16/32/64GB with microSD slot for up to 64GB more
Here’s an at-a-glance on specs from today’s livestream:
Touchless Features
Perhaps the most interesting new features are those that allow you to control the device as if you were touching it, even if you are not:
Smart Pause: Pauses a video when you look away
Smart Scroll: Scrolls emails, browser info and more by looking and tilting your wrist
Air View: Hover with fingers to get a preview of content
Air Gesture: Wave your hand to change music, take a call, scroll a web page
S Features
Here are some “S” features that follow on the line of things like “S Voice” or “S Note,” assistance products that Samsung uses with its phones:
S Voice Drive: Converts text-to-speech, larger fonts and other change and feature designed to help drivers better interact with their phones safely
S Translate: Speak in one of nine languages and have the phone speak back to someone else in that language
S Health: Sensors in the phone can measure things like steps taken, and you can extend health monitoring with additional sensors
Here’s a quick look at S Health from today’s livestream:
An example of S Voice Drive:
Photo, Video & Music Features
Here are some key features related to photos, video and music:
Dual Camera: Can put a picture of the person shooting with the camera into the scene being shot
Dual Video Call: You can see who you are talking to, your own video and a video image you’re streaming
Drama Shot: Creates a montage with photos shot in a quick period of time
Sound & Shot: Stores sound with a picture
Story Album: Group pictures into an album, which can be printed through Blurb, for a cost
Group Play: Share music, photos, documents and more with others
Share Music: Related to the above, one song on multiple devices
Adapt Display: Customizes display quality depending on what you’re viewing
Adapt Sound: Customizes sound quality
WatchON: Turns your phone into an IR remote to control a variety of devices
Here’s Dual Camera:
Drama Shot:
Dual Video Call:
Live Coverage
Marketing Land’s mobile editor Greg Sterling and I were invited to the event but couldn’t make it out, unfortunately — too close to our own SMX conference that just ended. But we covered via the livestream, which you can also watch below, in addition to our liveblogging.
The livestream (it gets going at 40 minutes in):http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDXILsX7_QI
The live blogging:
There’s related coverage here at Techmeme, with a few brief hands-ons from VentureBeat, GigaOm and The Verge. Also see our related story, Samsung Introduces Galaxy S4 With Nary A Mention Of Android Or Google.
Comments