Special Edition – Samsung Galaxy S4 Overview and Top Features

We've all waited for this moment to arrive and well, after many months of rumors and digging through speculations in order to have a general idea on what to expect from the Samsung Galaxy S4, the handset has finally been unveiled just recently in New York City. That being said, we can now put an end to most of the rumors and deal in facts instead.

Anyhow, the Galaxy S4 is a pretty special device, not only because it's a brand new flagship phone, but also because it's part of the Galaxy S family and all in all, everyone has high expectations from this particular gadget. After all, each SGS flagship smartphone has been a tremendous success and with each new iteration the Korean manufacturer has brought new things to the table. Well folks, the same rule applies to the Galaxy S4 because this thing is packed with awesome features, but before we get into these kind of details, let's take a quick look at the hardware specifications.


Samsung Galaxy S4 – Hardware Specs

Samsung hasn't really unveiled all there is to the Galaxy S4 and as such, information regarding the processor (or processors if there are going to be more than one variant) is missing. Nevertheless, what we've learned (or what has been reconfirmed) is that the SGS4 arrives with a 5-inch Super AMOLED display featuring a full HD resolution of 1080 x 1920 and a pixel density of 441 ppi, Corning Gorilla Glass 3, 2 GB of LPDDR3 RAM, 16 / 32 / 64 GB of storage expandable by up to 64 GB with the help of a microSD card, a 13 MP camera on the back complemented by a 2 MP front-facing sensor, a 2,600 mAh battery and Android 4.2.2 out of the box.

In addition to all that, the Galaxy S4 packs the usual range of sensors such as accelerometer, proximity, gyro, so on and so forth, but it also includes two brand new sensors, those being IR Gesture and Temperature & Humidity.

In terms of connectivity the handset in question supports 3G HSPA+, 4G LTE Cat 3 (100 Mbps download / 50 Mbps upload), WiFi a/b/g/n/ac, HT80, GPS/Glonass, NFC, Bluetootn 4.0, IR LED and MHL 2.0.

Another aspect worth mentioning is the fact that although the Galaxy S4 features a larger display than its predecessor, its dimensions are slightly smaller thanks to a very thin bezel. As such, the SGS4 measures 136.6 x 69.8 x 7.9 mm (5.38 x 2.75 x 0.31 in) and weighs 3 grams less than the Galaxy S3, for a total of 130 g.

Last but not least I'm pretty certain that you're still curious about what type of CPU this beast could pack, and once again, although nothing has been confirmed, some sources point towards an Exynos 5 Octa, while others promote the idea that the gadget will pack a Snapdragon 600, or even a Snapdragon S4 Pro CPU, although I highly doubt about the latter.



Camera

Alright ladies and gents, now that we've got the hardware specs out of the way, we're going to talk about the software and boy, there really is a lot to talk about.

As mentioned above, the Galaxy S4 includes tons of new software features that really make the handset stand out from the crowd.

For starters, the 13 MP camera is accompanied by a handful of interesting software additions that allow you to do all sorts of things that have been impossible before. Here's a quick roundup of what you can expect.

- Dual Camera allows the user to record a video with both the front and rear facing cameras simultaneously, giving you the opportunity to be in the same video as the main subject, even if you're the one that does all the recording. The video recorded by the front camera is being shown on-screen and embedded in the main recording in a picture-in-picture environment or split-screen mode.

- Eraser Mode gives you the opportunity to salvage a picture that might've been ruined by, say, someone that happened to walk in the background just as you've captured the (almost) perfect moment. The software detects these unwanted on-screen objects and allows you to erase them one by one with just a screen touch.

- Sound & Shot enables you to record a small audio clip before or after taking a picture, making your photos come to life, at least in terms of audio. Reminds me of those greeting cards that come with an audio recording, which is kind of neat. Snap a picture, attach an audio to it and send it to your friends or family.

- There are also the Drama Shot and Story Album features, both of which can be categorized more as "artistic" rather than practical. Drama Shot makes extensive use of an advanced Burst mode, capturing 100 shots in 4 seconds after which the software collages the selected images into one beautiful image.

Story Album on the other hand, groups images together based on where or when they've been taken, giving the user the ability to choose an album cover for them and more.



Air View

Air View is a very interesting piece of technology that has been implemented on a couple of handsets before. Well, to be more precise, Air View made its debut on the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 but a similar technology has been implemented in the Sony Xperia Sola before that (dubbed Floating Touch). Air View on the Galaxy S4 is more similar to what the Sola offered, rather than the Note 2, simply because unlike with the phablet's case, Air View on the SGS4 works without an S-Pen.

As to what the feature is all about assuming that you're not familiar with it, long story short Air View enables the user to gain additional information or preview items such as photos, videos, emails etc. without having to access them. Just hover your finger above the surface of the display and you'll get the information you need in a tooltip.

S Translator and Samsung Optical Reader

Both the S Translator and the Optical Reader features are going to be extremely handy if you happen to travel often and you're looking for a personal translator.

With S Translator you will be able to easily communicate with another person that doesn't speak your language, simply by talking into your Galaxy S4 and letting the software do the audio translation.

Optical Reader on the other hand is another translation tool that allows you to translate written words. Just scan a piece of text written in an unknown (to you) language, and you'll get the translation on-screen in text form.



Closing Words

There are plenty of other features that are to be found on the Samsung Galaxy S4, such as Group Play, enabling up to eight Galaxy S4 units to connect via NFC and share music, Samsung Adapt Display and Adapt Sound which consists in the handset's capability to optimize audio levels as well as brightness and contrast depending on the application currently running, and Samsung WatchOn, which is an application that gives you the option to control your TV via the built-in IR blaster.

The list goes on with other smaller interesting features, enhancements and capabilities, as the Samsung Galaxy S4 is basically riddled with new such content.

Overall, we're not disappointed by what the handset has to offer, and although some might argue that the gadget's design is too similar to the Galaxy S3 and the Note 2, what's beyond that polycarbonate shell is what really matters, because that's where the Galaxy S4 truly shines.

The Samsung flagship is expected to go on sale next month in certain regions, but no exact launch date has been revealed just yet so we'll definitely talk more about the device in the future.

Are you excited about what the S4 has to offer? Do you plan on buying one?

Picture courtesy of Android Central.