So, Samsung has released a brand new Galaxy S4 to its highly popular Galaxy Series of phones. But is this the phone that you should spend your hard earned money on? Let`s find out.
It is evident that Samsung has adopted the policy of maintaining the design language of its previous flagship, which was popular among people.
But the policy "If it ain't broke don`t fix it" isn't appreciated. The plastic chassis does not feel premium at all. Compared to other devices in this price segment, which provide metal products, S4 is just a piece of plastic.
Having said that, the phone feels good to hold and is ergonomic. It is a piece of engineering marvel as it has almost the same dimensions as the S3 but has a bigger 5 inch screen as compared to the 4.8 inch on the S3. It is also the smallest 5 inch phone in the market.
All said and done, the phone has a decent build quality and is a durable option to buy.
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UPDATE 1.0:
Build, Design and Feel: 8/10 :
Samsung was highly accused for their lack of innovation in the design department. The S4 looks very similar to its predecessor.
Here is a side by side comparison:
It is evident that Samsung has adopted the policy of maintaining the design language of its previous flagship, which was popular among people.
But the policy "If it ain't broke don`t fix it" isn't appreciated. The plastic chassis does not feel premium at all. Compared to other devices in this price segment, which provide metal products, S4 is just a piece of plastic.
Having said that, the phone feels good to hold and is ergonomic. It is a piece of engineering marvel as it has almost the same dimensions as the S3 but has a bigger 5 inch screen as compared to the 4.8 inch on the S3. It is also the smallest 5 inch phone in the market.
All said and done, the phone has a decent build quality and is a durable option to buy.
Display:9.5/10:
The display on the Galaxy S4 is a 5 inch Full HD (1920X1080) having a pixel density of 441 ppi. The display alone is to die for and the super amoled display is out and out gorgeous.
Want a phone with the best display out there? Look no further.
Hardware:10/10
Powered by the Exynos Octa 5 soc, which consists of two quad core processors, or the Snapdragon 600 quad core processor(only LTE) coupled with 2GB of RAM, the Samsung Galaxy S4 is the most powerful mobile phone available in the market right now.
Camera:9.5/10
The 13 Megapixel camera on the phone is the best overall shooter on any smartphone today. Though low lighting photography isn't as great, still it is the best in all-round performance.The front 2.1 MP camera is also good with HD video recording.
Software:9.5/10
Samsung has put a lot of software features into its new flagship phone to make it stand out of the crowd. The touchwiz user interface has a lot of features which are really very appealing to the average consumer at the first glance. The amount of options provided is very large and it would take the average person some time to find and use all the features. This says a lot about the software advancements on the galaxy s4. The only little con that I found is the minor lag in the user interface due to this heavy skin. Having said that, it isn't a major issue as we all know how dedicated Samsung is in providing software updates, which would soon fix this problem(I hope!).
GAMING:9/10
The Galaxy S4 is has on of the best hardware out there and this translates to the gaming performance of the phone. All the games tried on it ran flawlessly and really smooth. The graphics were great and game-play was smooth. The only problem faced was that some games were not compatible simply because the developer have not optimised them for a full hd display. Real Racing 3 was one such game. Do note that this problem would be solved as soon as the developers tweek their games which they are doing as your read this. So there is nothing to worry in that respect.
Battery:8.5/10
Samsung has provided a 2600 mah battery with the S4 which last one whole day with moderate usage. It should be noted that the charger provided with it is a 2 ampere one.
VALUE FOR MONEY: 9/10
Conclusion:9/10
No doubt the Galaxy S4 is going to sell like crazy because of its brand value and the attractive price, specially in India(we have to buy unlocked phones).So to conclude, here are the pro's , con's and debatable points which you should have a look at before spending your hard earned money.
PRO'S:
- Gorgeous Display(Best out there)
- Compact Size(Smallest 5 inch phone out there)
- Amazing Camera(Best overall camera phone)
- Fastest Phone Out There
- Super Customizable
- Decent Battery Backup
- IR Blaster(Acts as a universal remote)
- Expandable Storage via MicroSD card
- Removable Battery
CON'S:
- Build Quality(Use Of Plastic)
- Very Heavy Skin(Touchwiz takes approx. 8gb)
- Not very refined skin(Not properly optimised(only octa 5 version))
- Heating Problems(Mostly due to 2 amp charger(again seen only in Octa 5 version i.e. I9500))
SOME DEBATABLE POINTS:
Some software features are gimmicky and I don't see you using them very often.
These include the air gestures, air view(expect in browser) etc.
Also note that the motion features drain the battery a lot faster and contributes to the over-heating of the phone.
You may find a detailed review anywhere on the internet. I am here to give you the overview of this phone by telling you whether you should invest in a cell phone or not.
You may find a detailed review anywhere on the internet. I am here to give you the overview of this phone by telling you whether you should invest in a cell phone or not.
VERDICT :
At a price of about Rs. 41,500(MRP) i.e. around 750$ for an unlocked phone, Samsung has priced the S4 really agressively and thus the Galaxy S4 is a great buy with one or two minor flaws. You can't go wrong with buying this phone. It's one of the best phones in the market right now.
Hope this review will help you with most of the pro's and con's and this amazing phone.Tell me in the comments section whether you found this review helpful. Also post any queries down below. Follow me on twitter and google+ to be posted about my following reviews, tips, tricks and more.
Thanks for reading.
You could follow me on facebook, twitter and Google+ to be updated about my future posts:
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UPDATE 1.0:
With a recent firmware update, some of the crash issues have been resolved. So you may rely on Samsung for constant firmware updates and hopefully all the software issues faced by the octa 5 version are resolved very soon. No such issues have been seen on the LTE version which is available in the United States and some other countries.
UPDATE 2.0:
With a recent firmware update on the octa-core version, users are now able to transfer apps to the sd card thus combating the storage issues present on the phone. Also, the performance has become a bit smoother than before.
UPDATE 2.0:
With a recent firmware update on the octa-core version, users are now able to transfer apps to the sd card thus combating the storage issues present on the phone. Also, the performance has become a bit smoother than before.
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