News & Reviews:   Samsung Galaxy S4 specification

With the Samsung Galaxy S4 / S IV upon us this April, rumours surrounding this flagship smartphone are flying about like crazy. While the rumours about Malaysia receiving both the Exynos 5 Octa Samsung Galaxy S4 / S IV (non-LTE) version and the Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 powered Samsung Galaxy S4 / S IV (LTE) version seem to be true, other rumours include the fact the the Exynos 5 Octa Samsung Galaxy S4 / S IV (non-LTE) version may be priced at RM2199 while the Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 powered Samsung Galaxy S4 / S IV (LTE) may be priced at RM2399 in Malaysia.

We've all been waiting for the Samsung Galaxy S4 / S IV to make its appearance in Malaysia and fortunately that wait may soon be over. DiGi is one of the first telcos to offer a pre-order registration for when the Samsung Galaxy S4 / S IV will hit Malaysian shores (or at least when DiGi gets their hands on their first shipment) which would be 20 April 2013. For now, you can register your interest in getting the Samsung Galaxy S4 / S IV under a DiGi contract or deal by filling up your particulars here. There is no mention of any deals or incentives or even how much the Samsung Galaxy S4 / S IV may cost under DiGi but if you're done waiting, then this is probably the first Malaysian outlet to go to, at least for now. We also have other DiGi telco plans as well which you can see by clicking here.

Recently it has been discovered that a third Samsung Galaxy S4 /S IV model set to be released for the South Korean market may exist (and it probably is the best). While most of us know that there are two models; one using a 1.6GHz Exynos 5 Octa processor and another using a Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 S4 processor the model set for the Korean market is supposedly running a 1.8Ghz Exynos 5 Octa processor.

According to SamMobile the model numbers and other details include:

• GT-I9500 – Exynos 5 Octa 1.6 GHz without LTE
• GT-I9505 – Snapdragon 600 1.9 GHz with LTE
• SHV-E300S – Exynos 5 Octa 1.8 GHz with LTE

While the Samsung Galaxy S4 / S IV remains the king of the hill to beat in the smartphone market (especially the still as of now unbeaten Exynos Octa versions) its main focus has always been about making life easier, or at least that is what Samsung's marketing machine wants you to believe. Samsung's introductory video for the Samsung Galaxy S4 / S IV highlighted many of these "life companion" S features and now they're showing them off one by one. Check out the videos below for a sometimes heartwarming and heartpumping look at the Sound Shot, Group Play and S Translator in action for real-life situations. Expect more to come, but for now my favourite remains the S Translator (imagine the unfair advantage you could get with it on shows like the Amazing Race ;) ).

China-brand phones are rapidly becoming better and better, providing more powerful performance and more solid build quality. One such China brand smartphone is the Xiaomi Mi2S which recently beat out the Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 powered Samsung Galaxy S4 / S IV in benchmarks. The benchmark in question is the now often remarked AnTuTu benchmark where the Xiaomi Mi2S scored 25913, edging out the Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 powered Samsung Galaxy S4 which got 25446.

Every time I do a flagship smartphone review I always compare it with the Pomegranate phone (which was a fake/hoax). This review about the Samsung Galaxy S4 / S IV is no different. The only difference here, is that in some ways the Samsung Galaxy S4 / S IV may actually beat the Pomegranate phone. Read on and find out how.

If the Design isn't broke, don't fix it

Building upon the record sales-breaking design of the Samsung Galaxy SIII, the Samsung Galaxy S4 looks exactly like it. It has the same Polycarbonate (plastic) shell, the same rounded corners, the same look and feel. Just this time around, Samsung have somehow managed to squeeze in more screen space, make it thinner, lighter and have a bigger capacity battery.

Samsung has finally released confirmed dates as to when the Samsung Galaxy S4 / S IV will be released in the United Kingdom with these dates being 25 and 26 April 2013. UK retailers have since opened up Pre-order registration for the Samsung Galaxy S4 / S IV starting from £629.95 (RM2962.44) without any SIM (meaning there isn't any data plan or service contract). The smartphone is available in both 'Black Mist' and 'White Frost'.

Previously we reported on the early benchmarks done using the Snapdragon 600-powered Samsung Galaxy S4 / S IV or I9505 which were done using Geekbench 2. Now, benchmarks using the Exynos-powered Samsung Galaxy S4 / S IV or I9500 have come up and blown practically every other device out of the water. The benchmark tests were done using AnTuTu and Quadrant. Check them out below:

AnTuTu (Higher is better)

While most reviews cover most of the feature tests and performance tests, testing battery life can take quite some time so it is only just now that we have the battery life tests fo the Samsung Galaxy S4. While the Samsung Galaxy S4 looks and feels about the same weight and size as the Samsung Galaxy S III, it has a bigger screen, more powerful processors and about 500 mAh more with its 2600 mAh battery. Bear in mind that these tests were done with the Snapdragon 600 quad core enabled Samsung Galaxy S4 and cover 3 tests which include talk time, web browsing and video playback.

While many know that the Samsung Galaxy S4 is coming, few know that it is coming in two flavours. Like what some of our readers at the Mobile Mega Mall Facebook page have noted, the I9500 is powered by the 8-core Exynos processor but doesn't have any LTE capabilities while the I9505 model will be powered by the 4-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 processor and have LTE capabilities.

Thankfully, Malaysia is one of the few countries that will be getting both models (which may lead to an I9500 vs I9505 comparison later on ;) ). The full list is below but not completely accurate (as in some countries might be missing).