Galaxy S4 - Watch Thread....

Odds are that a March 14th event means a launch is relatively close -- I'm guessing the GS4 is in the US by mid-April. Of course, just which carriers are onboard for launch is another matter. Since the GS4 is basically the only real chance US carriers have to make money from Android these days, I wouldn't be surprised if Verizon is a little more willing to join in with the crowd this time around.
 
Aurelius said:
Odds are that a March 14th event means a launch is relatively close -- I'm guessing the GS4 is in the US by mid-April. .
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Don't be so sure.

Galaxy S: announced March 2010, released June 4th, 2010
Galaxy S II: announced February 13, 2011, released May 2nd, 2011
Galaxy S III: announced May 3rd, 2012, released May 28th, 2012

Samsung stated that they delayed the Galaxy S III's announcement in order to narrow the window between announcement and release. Will they do the same this year? Possibly. But, we've twice seen them announce it only to hold off on the release for another 3 months. So let's not assume that an announcement will precede the launch by only one month (though it would be nice!).
 
Anand seems to think the 5410 has an octo core, or could be saying just because its a hot term in the android world.

Either way they think they have good evidence its using a three core sgx544 gpu too.
 
I was excited last month before the leaks. But not now, the S4 is just an oversized S3. I am interested to see what the official hardware specs are, size of battery and how good battery life is running on this new hardware, curious about the new screen tech.

I am a big Nexus phone fan, have owned all four nexus phones, and happy with my Nexus 4 right now. but also owned the Galaxy S2 and Note 2 briefly.

I am open minded to new tech, and was hoping Samsung would finally release a fresh and great design, like HTC has done with the One X last year, and now the One. Even the Nexus 4 is a good looking phone compared to the shiny and slippery plastic of the S3.

Even worse looking are the blue S3's, that look so cheesy painted to look like metal, or the Note 2 in gray, looks like a poor mans attempt with fake metal paint. At least the white phones look better, they are not trying to fake aluminum or metal, they are just white plastic, no BS attempt to be something else.

This S4 design is a real turn off to me, just huge shiny plastic rounded shape looks so lame. And Touchwiz blows too. The Galaxy phones are much better running CM10.1 or AOKP ROM's.
 
Trimlock said:
Anand seems to think the 5410 has an octo core, or could be saying just because its a hot term in the android world.

Either way they think they have good evidence its using a three core sgx544 gpu too.
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Would be interesting if it was called the Exynos 5410, as it doesn't fit in with previous naming conventions. Typically, the numbers would line up as;
5 - series (Exynos 5)
4 - number of cores
10 - speed modifier

Example - The Exynos 4 originally came out as 4210 (SGS2) and 4212 (SGN). Series 4, 2 cores, 1.2 and 1.4ghz. The refreshed versions were the 4410 (SGS3) and 4412 (SGN2). Series 4, 4 cores, 1.4 and 1.6ghz.

Exynos 5 was originally announced as 5250 (dual-core, 1.7ghz) and 5450 (quad-core, up to 1.8ghz). A 5410 would tell me that me it's quad core, 1.2-1.4ghz (or at least, less than 1.7ghz) going by their numbering sceme. I would expect a 1.8gh "octa" to be called the Exynos 5870, or at least 5850. But, we'll see I guess.
 
wouldn't mind seeing a 2+1 core arrangement for this whole big/little setup rather than 4+4

really dont care about having more than 2 fast cores for my phone, but would love having a phone with more than 1 day of standby time
 
I have to admit, there's a certain hilarious irony if the GS4 specs and design are as rumored -- all those false claims about the iPhone 5 ("it's just a taller iPhone 4S") coming home to roost when it turns out the GS4 is "just a bigger GS3." It's going to be more than that, of course, but it's the closest we'll come to karma in smartphones.

One thing's for sure, if this is true: Samsung is going to eat some crow for making jabs in its TV ads about iPhones looking the same. Pot to kettle: you're black.
 
brucedeluxe169 said:
wouldn't mind seeing a 2+1 core arrangement for this whole big/little setup rather than 4+4

really dont care about having more than 2 fast cores for my phone, but would love having a phone with more than 1 day of standby time
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Tegra uses the 4+1 companion core. However, a 4+4 setup can be efficient. Power use doesn't scale linearly, so a quad-core only ramping up to 400mhz might use less power than a single-core having to ramp up to 1.2ghz or beyond. Also, most ARM CPUs go down to a LOW frequency when in standby. It's other factors, not the CPU, that murder standby time.
 
Medion said:
Tegra uses the 4+1 companion core. However, a 4+4 setup can be efficient. Power use doesn't scale linearly, so a quad-core only ramping up to 400mhz might use less power than a single-core having to ramp up to 1.2ghz or beyond. Also, most ARM CPUs go down to a LOW frequency when in standby. It's other factors, not the CPU, that murder standby time.
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Look... nothing on a phone is that parallel. They're adding more cores to phones because they are dumb and consumers are even dumber - it's all marketing. Single-thread performance is always more important than multithreading ability.

Quad-core only makes sense on a PC.

But hey, as long as the idle power is low enough, I'll likely still upgrade my GS2 (Epic 4G Touch) this year. But I won't upgrade if the clock gating isn't good enough to IMPROVE battery life over my current POS phone.
 
Medion said:
Would be interesting if it was called the Exynos 5410, as it doesn't fit in with previous naming conventions. Typically, the numbers would line up as;
5 - series (Exynos 5)
4 - number of cores
10 - speed modifier

Example - The Exynos 4 originally came out as 4210 (SGS2) and 4212 (SGN). Series 4, 2 cores, 1.2 and 1.4ghz. The refreshed versions were the 4410 (SGS3) and 4412 (SGN2). Series 4, 4 cores, 1.4 and 1.6ghz.

Exynos 5 was originally announced as 5250 (dual-core, 1.7ghz) and 5450 (quad-core, up to 1.8ghz). A 5410 would tell me that me it's quad core, 1.2-1.4ghz (or at least, less than 1.7ghz) going by their numbering sceme. I would expect a 1.8gh "octa" to be called the Exynos 5870, or at least 5850. But, we'll see I guess.
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I can see the 4 moniker being used still as its not a true octo core cpu. Quad core at all times is still a quadcore even if there are two of them.
 
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Well at least it looks like users are starting to apply the same irrational over-expectations of Samsung as they do Apple.
 
Mchart said:
Well at least it looks like users are starting to apply the same irrational over-expectations of Samsung as they do Apple.
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I don't think anyone expressed what their expectations were yet

I think you're preemptively white knighting? ;)
 
"It's the same as the S3"
"It's the S3s"

This is why I don't want to be a designer anymore. :rolleyes:

nots4s_zps1cbf2864.png
 
@Zurginator

I think you pretty much proved your point. The differences in looks (other than a larger screen) are negligible.

Also look at the side-on shot of the iPhone. They did change something - there's an added black band on the 4S ;)
 
What did people really expect? Space age redesign and a 4K screen in a 5mm phone?

Face it, phones are plenty powerful and big enough for 99.999% of people, and the distinguishing features are all software. Samsung is trying to add a bunch, they may be gimmicks or may be cool. At least theirs look much more thought out than HTC's new launcher.

And 2 reasons why Samsung still rules - sd card + removable battery. Its guaranteed to have better battery life, custom roms and support than the HTC One or any other phone as well.

Really, people should be happy with this announcement.
 
Very pleased to see Samsung sticking with the microSD and removable battery for another year, even though I won't be upgrading until after the S5 is out.
 
The Verge said:
a either a Samsung Exynos 5 or Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro processor, depending on the region.
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Other than that (if the US gets the S4-Pro), I think it's a decent improvement over the S3. Other than the speakers, I think it brings more to the table than the One does. Though I'm a function > form guy. I know some people need to feel like their holding Unobtainium or Adamantium in their hands, but I could give a shit as long as it's comfortable to hold. I can't wait until most of those TW features get put into some Note 2 ROMs so I can try them out :cool:.
 
MrCrispy said:
and the distinguishing features are all software.
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The gimmicky software left me unimpressed. It was almost like Samsung sat around and came up with shitty ideas to implement for the sake of implementing something.

Honestly, when it comes to Samsung software, less is more. I was almost hoping they would drop their shitty software things and just let Google and real devs do the work.

The hardware is impressive, if not ugly as all hell.
 
Pylon said:
@Zurginator

I think you pretty much proved your point. The differences in looks (other than a larger screen) are negligible.

Also look at the side-on shot of the iPhone. They did change something - there's an added black band on the 4S ;)
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- Different profile. The curves of the top and bottom are different.
- Different sensor location. More centralized, generally better.
- Different home button. No longer looks like ass.
- Different screen/bezel size.
- Different side profile. No more purple shit.
- Different texture. This I do not like.
- Different back camera/led/speaker arrangement. This I also do not like.
- Improved CPU.
- Improved Screen.
- Improved Battery.
- Improved Camera.

EVERYTHING that changed between the S1 and the S3 (bar RAM) has been changed again. It just wasn't as drastic because Samsung has been refining their design from the beginning. Law of diminishing returns. Whenever HTC/Sony/Motorola land a device that sells, they will start doing the same thing. Until then they have to experiment.

Do I think it's an amazing looking device? Absolutely not. But this "It's the same as the S3" is bullshit.

MrCrispy said:
And 2 reasons why Samsung still rules - sd card + removable battery.
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And as long as this is true, Samsung phones will have plastic backs. Deal with it.
 
Zurginator said:
- Improved CPU.
- Improved Screen.
- Improved Battery.
- Improved Camera.
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4S did all of those too. Yes, the S4 looks a bit different (and IMO, better over the S3), but it's still 98% the same exterior design. T

And as long as this is true, Samsung phones will have plastic backs. Deal with it.
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HTC made a number of aluminum phones with removable batteries (e.g. the Amaze).
 
Not to mention will remain larger. If they went the Apple route with the battery they'd have an even smaller battery footprint. It's not like the battery in the iPhone 5 is all that hard to replace either. It just isn't quickly swapable like most either phones. Frankly, i'd prefer a smaller device or more battery in line with how the iPhone's are then have ease of swapping. People act as if you can't easily replace the battery in the iPhones. This was only true with the first one. Every iPhone there after has had a fairly easy to replace battery. You just need to get a pentalobe screwdriver.
 
S4 looks to be better than the S3 in every single way, with a screen resolution almost double that of the latter. don't known what kind of wizard tech people expected in an S series phone only a year newer than the previous model
 
Mchart said:
Not to mention will remain larger. If they went the Apple route with the battery they'd have an even smaller battery footprint. It's not like the battery in the iPhone 5 is all that hard to replace either. It just isn't quickly swapable like most either phones. Frankly, i'd prefer a smaller device or more battery in line with how the iPhone's are then have ease of swapping. People act as if you can't easily replace the battery in the iPhones. This was only true with the first one. Every iPhone there after has had a fairly easy to replace battery. You just need to get a pentalobe screwdriver.
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Smaller? The phone is already razor thin with hardly any bezel. Do you want a smaller screen?

I don't want or need a fancy non-standard screwdriver and voiding my warranty to replace a battery - that's a completely ridiculous comparison.
 
MrCrispy said:
Smaller? The phone is already razor thin with hardly any bezel. Do you want a smaller screen?

I don't want or need a fancy non-standard screwdriver and voiding my warranty to replace a battery - that's a completely ridiculous comparison.
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Not to mention batteries would be harder to find and a lot more expensive if it was sealed within the phone. You can get quality batteries for the S3 and Note 2 for $10/piece or a pair of batteries with wall charger for $20. I keep a spare in my car and I'll keep one on me if I know I'm going to be away from power for a while. I sure as shit don't want to carry a screwdriver and pry tools with me when I anticipate needing to swap batteries while I'm out.
 
Don't see what everyone is so upset about. I think Samsung did a pretty good job. Keep in mind that most people upgrade phones every 2 years...so coming from an S2 this would be a huge improvement.
 
Pylon said:
4S did all of those too. Yes, the S4 looks a bit different (and IMO, better over the S3), but it's still 98% the same exterior design. T
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Think the 4S (and 5) have the same battery as the 4.

Also a quick lazy sketch of what changed physically (bar the texture/finish of the entire device):
Yc3rDla.png

HTC made a number of aluminum phones with removable batteries (e.g. the Amaze).
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And 75% of the back was plastic:
11-T-Mobile-HTC-Amaze-4G.jpg


I'll give you the "sexy as hell" part though (even though you didn't say it). Only problem is it causes massive bezel to run metal down the sides.

It was also very much the same as the Desire line and the Nexus One. Because that design sold, so HTC did variations.
 
brettjrob said:
Very pleased to see Samsung sticking with the microSD and removable battery for another year, even though I won't be upgrading until after the S5 is out.
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And that is all useless. I cared about the external and removable battery on my S2 until I got my self a Nexus 4.
 
T4rd said:
Not to mention batteries would be harder to find and a lot more expensive if it was sealed within the phone. You can get quality batteries for the S3 and Note 2 for $10/piece or a pair of batteries with wall charger for $20. I keep a spare in my car and I'll keep one on me if I know I'm going to be away from power for a while. I sure as shit don't want to carry a screwdriver and pry tools with me when I anticipate needing to swap batteries while I'm out.
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There are a number of products made by a number of companies that quite easily attach to either the Micro-USB port of various android phones, or the lightning port on the iPhone 5 that are basically battery packs. I find these to be a superior solution to carrying around a specific replacement battery if I need more power on the go.
 
MrCrispy said:
Smaller? The phone is already razor thin with hardly any bezel. Do you want a smaller screen?

I don't want or need a fancy non-standard screwdriver and voiding my warranty to replace a battery - that's a completely ridiculous comparison.
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No, I would want the phone to stay the same size but with a larger battery. If you change the design so you don't have to design for the ease of swapping and the easily removed cover you can use that gained space for a larger battery.
 
Mchart said:
There are a number of products made by a number of companies that quite easily attach to either the Micro-USB port of various android phones, or the lightning port on the iPhone 5 that are basically battery packs. I find these to be a superior solution to carrying around a specific replacement battery if I need more power on the go.
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Depends on your use of "on the go". In a car? Sure. Office? Sure. Night bar/club hopping? Not so much.

Not that I've had to worry about it myself (Nexus 4).

Mchart said:
No, I would want the phone to stay the same size but with a larger battery. If you change the design so you don't have to design for the ease of swapping and the easily removed cover you can use that gained space for a larger battery.
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At the same time, Samsung does have a rather efficient design as it is. You'd get maybe 4mm in width and height each, but that's about it. You would also loose about half a MM of thickness (thanks to the back cover).
 
Zurginator said:
Depends on your use of "on the go". In a car? Sure. Office? Sure. Night bar/club hopping? Not so much.

Not that I've had to worry about it myself (Nexus 4).
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I pity the fool swapping out batteries on his phone while clubbing.
 
Zurginator said:
At the same time, Samsung does have a rather efficient design as it is. You'd get maybe 4mm in width and height each, but that's about it. You would also loose about half a MM of thickness (thanks to the back cover).
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But that's the point. There is still room to gain by doing this. It's how the iPhone's manage to always remain so compact and yet still manage to have a decent battery. Although the iPhones have a considerably smaller battery as it is.

Samsung might upset a few 'power users', but it's not like these people couldn't just use those portable recharge things like I mentioned. (Which offer far more function and utility then carrying around a replacement battery IMO as you can get like 3-4 full recharges out of it.)
 
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