Galaxy S4 reportedly set for March 15 debut
Samsung's next flagship smartphone is expected to go then on sale in early April, according to a fan site.
by Roger Cheng February 6, 2013 7:59 AM PST
Samsung Electronics is set to unveil the Galaxy S4 smartphone at a March 15 event, according to fan site SamMobile.
The successor to Samsung's Galaxy S flagship franchise will begin selling in early April, according to the report, which cited an unnamed source.
5-Inch Super AMOLED Display
Rumors have long been in circulation that Samsung will go even bigger for the Galaxy S4, moving up from the 4.8-inch on the Galaxy SIII. Much of the chatter seems to be centered around 4.99-inch or 5-inch Super AMOLED displays with a true HD (1080p) screen.
Samsung Eynos Octa 5 processor
The Samsung Galaxy S4 will likely get its power from Samsung’s recently unveiled Exynos 5 Octa processor. As the world’s first “8-core mobile processor” it offers four Cortex-A15 processor cores (high-end performance) and four ARM Cortex-A7 cores (low power consumption). Sounds awesome and drool-worthy but we don’t expect Samsung to put too much emphasis on the benchmarks. Rather, Samsung will tout the benefits for real-world usage.
MALI-450 MP graphics
Gamers and heavy users will enjoy the Mali-450 MP GPU as it offers twice the performance over last year’s Mali-400. Average folks will be happy that it sips power at a slower rate than predecessors.
With many of today’s top Android phones inching upwards with battery life, the Samsung Galaxy S4 should keep pace. And, because of a larger display and bigger CPU/GPU, Samsung will need more than the 2100mAh battery in the Galaxy S III. According to recent reports, the Galaxy S4 will boast a 2600mAh battery.
Wireless charging capabilities
Given that Samsung is in the Wireless Power Consortium we would not be surprised if the next model were to include wireless charging capabilities. It’s the sort of thing that Samsung could sell separately (extra revenue) but it’s also something that many of today’s top phones employ. To not offer this would be seen as a misstep.
Android 4.2 Jelly Bean
We fully expect Samsung to release the Samsung Galaxy S4 with Android 4.2 Jelly Bean. This version of the platform is a few months old now so the company has had plenty of time to ready it for the new model. Going a step further, we imagine Samsung has cooked up a new take on the TouchWiz/Nature UX for the Galaxy S4.
There's increasing interest in the launch of the next Galaxy S smartphone, which Samsung has built up as a worthy rival to Apple's iPhone franchise. The Galaxy S3 landed with all of the attention of an Apple launch, and the anticipation over the Galaxy S4 is expected to be even higher.
The fan site's report has the invitations coming out after Mobile World Congress, which kicks off in the last week of February.
As with previous launches, the Galaxy S4 would launch in Europe and Asia before the end of April, the fan site said, while the Americas, Australia, and Africa will get the phone around May or June. The Galaxy S3 launched in the U.S. months after its debut, partly due to carrier testing and scheduling needs.