Samsung Galaxy S4 preview thread (was "The Galaxy S4 gets announced today, Are you excited?")

[ericdabbs]

Yeah I saw the bit from the presentation about FDD-LTE and TD-LTE dual support which is good news and hopefully Sprint will add the 800 and 2600 MHz bands. We shall see in the next few weeks what Sprint and Samsung have decided to do.

[Moropo]

What are you guys saying? It supports 800 and 2600 LTE?

[lilotimz]

Its late April - early May release. iDen shutdown literally is a month or two away along with the fact that Clearwire TDD-LTE is a given (they already have hundreds TDD-LTE sites up and running).

 

I'd say the possibility of this having 800 + 2600 is fairly high given there was emphasis on supporting "all LTE bands"...

[tybo31316]

FDD-LTE and TDD-LTE are supported...

 

Yeah but will it be all in one device or certain types of LTE for different regions of the world. For instance the US model is FDD only and the Asian models are TDD only.

[SpenceSouth]

I wouldn't say small market at all. But since the phone is the same size as the s3 it's no big deal.

 

Sent from my little Note2

 

Ah didn't realize they had made it the same size. Was looking at the live stream from a hockey game lol.

[WiWavelength]

It's thinner (7.7mm vs 8.6mm) and only slightly taller (by a few mm) while the bezel has been cut to incorporate the bigger screen.

 

Also interesting pixel arrangement they got...

 

 

That is not an RGB matrix. More PenTile? You have got to be kidding...

 

AJ

[leozno1]

Looks like if you're happy with the GS3, you'll like the GS4. I'm looking forward to some head-to-heads between the latter and the HTC One.

 

I suspect the One will still have the better display (unless the grey from LCD is an affront to your sensibilities, to paraphrase a comment I read somewhere), but the S4 will have the better camera and battery life. I can live with all that, as I can the lack of SD card (I've never changed out the 8GB in my 3D).

 

If the One is anywhere near as good as my girlfriend's One X, I'll be very happy with it. That said, if we don't get some release dates up in here soon, I may just have to buy the Optimus G. So much delicious LTE popping up in Florida, and none for me!

 

Not so fast on that camera.

 

http://www.technobuffalo.com/2013/03/14/samsung-galaxy-s-4-vs-htc-one-quick-camera-comparison/

 

And in regards to the battery, we will have to wait and see since all those face and gesture tracking features I would imagine require the front facing camera to be running constantly, also the S4 Pro / 600? Is clocked at 1.9 GHz vs 1.7 for the HTC One so the battery life may end up being a wash.

[themuffinman]

That is not an RGB matrix. More PenTile? You have got to be kidding...

 

AJ

 

Yep, more pentile. I am here just shaking my head, I can't believe samsung and this pentile nonsense.

[iansltx]

Yep, more pentile. I am here just shaking my head, I can't believe samsung and this pentile nonsense.

 

Unfortunately, in order to get those luscious dep blacks that AMOLED provides, you have to live with PenTile or something close to it.

 

On the plus side, the "tiles" are really, really tiny now!

[themuffinman]

Unfortunately, in order to get those luscious dep blacks that AMOLED provides, you have to live with PenTile or something close to it.

 

On the plus side, the "tiles" are really, really tiny now!

 

They could have gone with a non pentile amoled setup like on the note 2, that would have made me feel a lot better but pentile is almost an automatic non purchase for me. I may end up just passing on this and getting a note 3 later in the year to replace my gnex, in the mean time I may end up getting the One to replace my evo lte(depending on rf perfomance of course)

[lilotimz]

To best honest, it doesn't look that bad from these pics.

 

 

[SWMich4G]

It looks like the black level/brightness is noticeably too low on the GS4 in those pics, especially in the gray scale image. Is that more likely a flaw in the display, or just a display setting being off (i.e. it's fixable)?

[S4GRU]

At some point you get to such a fine resolution and the pentile display becomes indistinguishable. I'm not sure the resolution of the S4 is that point. I can tell you that the S3 isn't to that point, though. But I do love the display on the Note 2.

 

Robert via Samsung Note II via Tapatalk

 

 

[digiblur]

Maybe I'm getting old, but I don't get why people get all hung up on the display flavor, cores, speed, etc. I'm interested in what it does and how does it look compared to the one on display next to it. Reminds me of the kiddies posting the 500 CPU benchmarks of their phones or worse yet the 200 screenshots of LTE speedtests.

[SWMich4G]

Maybe I'm getting old, but I don't get why people get all hung up on the display flavor, cores, speed, etc.  I'm interested in what it does and how does it look compared to the one on display next to it.  Reminds me of the kiddies posting the 500 CPU benchmarks of their phones or worse yet the 200 screenshots of LTE speedtests.

 

As for screen: I'd imagine people that view extended media on their device would want a display that is accurate and doesn't strain their eyes.  I'd personally want it to display my photos properly (correctly calibrated) so I don't have to convert them before transferring them to my phone. Right now I have to edit every photo I transfer to my phone to show a client, and they still don't display quite right.  

 

As for cores and speed (and RAM, etc): the better those are, the more future-proof the phone is.  Even if two phones both run their current OS and apps fine, it's better to have the one that has more cores & runs faster so that when future apps are written to optimize more cores or require more power, you don't have to buy a new phone.  I can't install anything on my phone, including the OS update that came a few months after I got it.  It simply cannot run it because it's too slow.  This is why my next phone will be no more than 6 months old when I get it, and preferably newer.

[lynyrd65]

Maybe I'm getting old, but I don't get why people get all hung up on the display flavor, cores, speed, etc. I'm interested in what it does and how does it look compared to the one on display next to it. Reminds me of the kiddies posting the 500 CPU benchmarks of their phones or worse yet the 200 screenshots of LTE speedtests.

 

The benchmarks are only really important to power users who keep their phones for the full 2 years (not me).

 

There was a huge difference in graphics performance between the hummingbird SOC and Snapdragon back in the day, hence I bought an epic over the evo. The epic still works pretty snappy on cm10. My friends HD2 with comparable specs to the evo isn't even close to as smooth on cm10 but on the froyo and gingerbread builds they shipped with it wasn't easy to see a difference.

 

Sent from my SGH-T959V using Tapatalk 2

 

 

[themuffinman]

I could care less about benchmarks and number of cores and anyone that continuously brags about that sort of stuff is probably compensating for something else. I think we are at a point now that all flagship devices are basically on the same playing field regardless of whatever differences in specs. What I do care about is screen quality since that is what your eyes will be focused on every single time you use your phone. Personally I don't like amoleds(even though the screen on the note 2 is nice) but my main issue is with pentile screens, you may not notice any flaws with it but when you compare it to an slcd screen that has a standard rgb layout then the differences are night and day.

[jsa]

Maybe I'm getting old, but I don't get why people get all hung up on the display flavor, cores, speed, etc. I'm interested in what it does and how does it look compared to the one on display next to it. Reminds me of the kiddies posting the 500 CPU benchmarks of their phones or worse yet the 200 screenshots of LTE speedtests.

Although I like my Evo 3D, it is laggy and it is not even two years old. I'm pretty sure I remember it being quite laggy compared to the One X when that phone came out, which was before the 3D was a year old. I find it frustrating to wait for my phone. So unless you're buying a new phone every nine months or so, I think every bit helps. Of course, if I rooted my phone, I could probably get it sped up significantly. When I used my Samsung Moment, it was incredibly laggy, but once I rooted it and installed a custom ROM it was quite snappy. Antiquated but snappy.

 

As far as the display, I, too, care primarily about whether it looks better than the other contender's, but I've generally prefered non-AMOLED (3D vs. GSII, One X vs. GS3, Optimus G vs. Note 2). That said I loved the Galaxy Nexus's screen when I first saw it. Still really like the look of that device.

[ericdabbs]

I am curious if smartphones in 2013 will now include micro usb 3.0 connectors instead of just micro usb 2.0. I would love to see 2013 smartphones with micro usb 3.0 connectors not only because of faster transfer speeds but battery charging will be faster due to the 3.0 standard being able to draw more current (500 mA USB 2.0 vs 900 mA USB 3.0) for devices.

[Rukin1]

I am curious if smartphones in 2013 will now include micro usb 3.0 connectors instead of just micro usb 2.0. I would love to see 2013 smartphones with micro usb 3.0 connectors not only because of faster transfer speeds but battery charging will be faster due to the 3.0 standard being able to draw more current (500 mA USB 2.0 vs 900 mA USB 3.0) for devices.

that would BE AWESOME !!

[twospirits]

I saw the event on my pc and even though I love Broadway and the shows on Broadway, I really do not feel it has any place in a tech media event. Give me the facts, features in one clean swoop and leave the musical numbers to the professionals on Broadway.

 

Granted, doing any production is hard work, and its commendable that they tried, but it doesn't belong at any tech unveiling.

 

Speaking of the event, there was a CNN tech reporter that went off about the way women were portrayed in the event.

 

As for the phone itself, I do like a few of the features they showcased, but to me it can only be used among Galaxy phones. Google really needs to make some of this stuff into the OS so all can use.

 

Final thoughts...

I don't know what's was more shocking, the musical numbers at the event or that BGR (otherwise known as the Apple Blog) actually liked the S4.

 

TS

[Rukin1]

I saw the event on my pc and even though I love Broadway and the shows on Broadway, I really do not feel it has any place in a tech media event. Give me the facts, features in one clean swoop and leave the musical numbers to the professionals on Broadway.

 

Granted, doing any production is hard work, and its commendable that they tried, but it doesn't belong at any tech unveiling.

 

Speaking of the event, there was a CNN tech reporter that went off about the way women were portrayed in the event.

 

As for the phone itself, I do like a few of the features they showcased, but to me it can only be used among Galaxy phones. Google really needs to make some of this stuff into the OS so all can use.

 

Final thoughts...

I don't know what's was more shocking, the musical numbers at the event or that BGR (otherwise known as the Apple Blog) actually liked the S4.

 

TS

It was pretty unique .

[kckid]

T-Mobile Galaxy S 4 Supports 4G LTE.

 

 

http://www.technobuffalo.com/2013/03/15/t-mobile-galaxy-s-4-4g-lte/

[DaQue]

It's a nice bump up but the Note 2 I have is a nice phone too and I have no real choice but to wait till the contract is up.

 

When the FCC filings start being reported and we know for sure which bands I could get a lot more interested. If it does 800 and/or 2500 (2600?) mhz LTE I would be excited and bummed I have to wait.

[GoWireless]

T-Mobile Galaxy S 4 Supports 4G LTE.

http://www.technobuffalo.com/2013/03/15/t-mobile-galaxy-s-4-4g-lte/

 

Not all that surprising given that this month T-Mobile is supposed to start selling a new variant of the S3 with LTE.