The Samsung Galaxy S4 is

a high-end smartphone
manufactured by Samsung
Electronics. It was
announced in New York
City on March 14, 2013[5]
[6] as the successor to the
Samsung Galaxy S III. The
phone has many
distinguishing software
features such as Air
Gesture, Smart Stay, and
Smart Scroll; a 13-
megapixel back camera,
and a 5-inch (130 mm)
1080p display.[5][6] It is
the first TCO certified
smartphone.[8] The S4 has
two major variants, one
featuring a quad-core
Qualcomm Snapdragon
600 and the other
featuring a Samsung
Exynos 5 Octa. The Exynos
5 Octa version features the
first Big.little architecture
central processing unit
(CPU) but does not have
LTE connectivity. The CPU
has eight cores, four of
which can be active at one
time to emulate a quad-
core
processor.[clarification needed]
The S4 was made available
in late April 2013 on 327
networks worldwide and
in 155 countries.[9] Upon
its release, it became the
fastest selling smartphone
in Samsung's history,
Samsung sold 20 million
Galaxy S4 units worldwide
in that two months
following the device's
launch.[10] Google
released a version of the
U.S. Galaxy S4 running
stock Android with
Samsung-provided
updates. Samsung has
announced that they will
be releasing a "mini"
variant of the S4, a "Zoom"
variant,[11] and an
"Active" variant with a
water resistant IP 67 case,
shock resistance, and an 8
megapixel camera. On
June 17, 2013 JK Shin, vice
president of Samsung
Mobile announced that the
Samsung Galaxy S4 is to
have another variant with
LTE-Advanced connection,
which is twice the speed
of 4G LTE.[12]
History
The S4's codename during
development was Altius.
[13]
Production
It is manufactured by
Samsung. Samsung
announced that
considering the growing
smartphone market in
India, it would add to the
current Korean
manufacturing by
additionally manufacturing
the Galaxy S4 in India.[14]
Galaxy S4 LTE-A
On 26 June 2013 the
Galaxy S4 LTE-A was
released. This variant of
the S4 is the world's first
phone optimized to work
on South Korea's LTE-A
network.[15]
↑Jump back a section
Features
Software
Further information:
Android (operating
system) , TouchWiz, and S
Voice
The Galaxy S4 ships with
Android 4.2.2 and
Samsung's TouchWiz
Nature user experience.
Eye tracking features have
been extended on the S4;
the new "Smart Scroll"
feature can be used to
scroll while looking at the
screen by slightly tilting
the phone, and "Smart
Pause" allows the video
player to pause videos if
the user is not looking at
the screen. "Air View"
implements gestures and
other functionality (such
as previewing images or
messages) by holding or
swiping a hand or finger
slightly above the screen.
The "Group Play" feature
allows ad hoc sharing of
files between Galaxy
phones, along with
multiplayer games and
music streaming between
Galaxy S4 phones. The
"Adapt Sound" and "Adapt
Display" functions can
automatically adjust
settings for the screen and
sound system for optimal
quality.[citation needed]
The camera app
implements numerous
new features (some of
which were first seen on
the Galaxy Camera),
including an updated
interface, and new modes
such as "Drama" (which
composes a moving
element from multiple
shots into a single photo),
"Eraser" (which takes
multiple shots and allows
the user to remove
unnecessary elements
from a picture), "Dual
Shot" (which uses the
front-facing camera for a
picture-in-picture effect),
"Sound and Shot" (which
allows the user to record a
voice clip alongside a
photo), "Animated Photo",
and "Story Album" among
others. Other new pre-
loaded apps include
WatchOn (an electronic
program guide that can
utilize an infrared
transmitter on the top of
the phone as a TV remote),
S Translator, the workout
tracker S Health, S Voice
Drive, S Travel, and an
optical character
recognition app. A new
enterprise-oriented
feature known as
Samsung KNOX allows the
phone to be separated
into modes for personal
use and business use, and
gives the business mode
high security.[16] It
supports the aptX codec
which improves Bluetooth-
headset connectivity.
The ChatON app has basic
features which are auto
friends registration, text
chat, and multimedia
deliver, and put new
features which are My
Page, voice/video chat, and
translate. The main
function of ChatON is
divided into Multimedia,
Group Chat, Trunk, and
Animation Message.
ChatON can send text,
picture, video, and audio
as multimedia. Users use
the personal profile into
My Page. They can create
group chat rooms just by
selecting more than 2
buddies. All the contents
that have been shared in
each chat is saved into
each trunk. Animation
Message turns some
simple drawing and
stamping into short
moving videos.
Back of the
Black Mist S4
Hardware
The screen features a 5-
inch (130 mm) (sometimes
stated as 4.99-inch)
[17]PenTile RGBG Full HD
Super AMOLED screen with
441 pixels per inch; it is
made of Gorilla Glass 3.[18]
The S4 comes with either
16GB, 32GB or 64GB of
internal storage, which
can be supplemented with
up to an additional 64GB
with the microSD card slot.
[19]
The S4 GT-I9505 includes a
multiband LTE transceiver
and both models feature
an infrared LED that can
serve as a universal
remote control.[5]
Built into the 2600 mAh
battery is near field
communication (NFC)
connectivity, which allows
users to perform non-
touch payments at shops
that employ specially
equipped NFC cash
registers. The SC-04E
model has a FeliCa secure
element, unlike other
models which contain an
NFC-A secure element. The
NFC-A secure element on
the SC-04E is provided on
the SIM card. The battery
can be wirelessly charged
using a Qi standard special
charging pad (sold
separately) that utilizes
magnetic resonance to
produce a magnetic field
through which power can
be transferred.
The Galaxy S4 supports the
High Efficiency Video
Coding (HEVC) video
format.[5][6][20]
In addition to the
touchscreen, the S4 has
several physical user
inputs including a home
button located near the
bottom of the screen, at
the bottom of the S4 is the
primary microphone and
the microUSB port for both
data connections and
charging; it also supports
USB host and MHL 2.0.
There are volume keys on
the left side and a power/
lock key on the right. At
the top there is a 0.14-inch
(3.6 mm) headphone jack,
the secondary
microphone, and infrared
blaster. The backside of
the S4 has the 13
megapixel camera lens
and LED flash, and at the
bottom left edge has the
loudspeaker.[21]
Samsung's official
accessory for the S4, the S-
View Cover, utilizes a hall
effect sensor in the phone
which detects when the
cover is closed and
displays battery status,
time, and other phone
statuses in an area of the
screen visible through a
window on the cover.[22]
Samsung Galaxy S4
Retail Box with the S
View Cover
The S4 comes in two
variants that differ
primarily in the internal
hardware:
Quad-core variant
This S4 version for North
America, most of Europe,
parts of Asia, and other
countries has Qualcomm's
Snapdragon 600 SoC
containing a quad-core
1.9 GHz Krait 300 CPU and
an Adreno 320 GPU.[23]
[24]
Octa-core variant
Further information:
Exynos and Big.little
This S4 version has
Samsung's Exynos 5 Octa
(octa-core) system on a
chip (SoC) chip containing
the first ARM Big.little
heterogeneous
architecture central
processing unit (CPU). The
eight core CPU comprises a
1.6 GHz quad-core Cortex-
A15 cluster and 1.2 GHz
quad-core Cortex-A7
cluster.[9][25] The cluster
of four faster "big" A15
cores is paired with the
cluster of four slower,
more power-efficient
"LITTLE" A7 cores. At any
given time, either the big
cluster is active (for
maximum performance) or
the LITTLE cluster (for
maximum power
efficiency).[dubious ] The
switching of the active
cluster is performed on
demand by the chip
firmware, with the
migration of the running
software from outgoing to
incoming cores taking
20 µs. The CPU emulates a
single quad-core
processor to the operating
system and applications.
[23][25][26] The SoC also
contains an IT tri-core
PowerVR SGX 544 graphics
processing unit (GPU). The
GT-I9500 version of the S4
does not support LTE.[27]
The E300K/L/S versions
support LTE, with the
Cortex-A15 also clocked at
1.6 GHz.[28][29][30]
Model variants
Model GT-
I9500[31]
Countries International
Carriers International
2G 850, 900,
1800,
1900 MHz
GSM / GPRS /
EDGE
3G 850,
900 MHz,
PCS, IMT
UMTS / HSPA
+
4G
LTE
No[1]
Max
network
speed
DC-HSPA+:
42 Mbit/s
Broadcast
receiver
Dimensions
Weight 130 g
(4.6 oz)
Operating
system
SoC Samsung Exy
CPU 1.6 GHz quad-core
Cortex-A
1.2 GHz quad-core
Cortex-
GPU IT SGX54
RAM
Storage
SAR US[4] Head: 0.85
W/Kg
Body: 1.55
W/Kg
Google Play edition
At the Google I/O 2013
keynote, Samsung and
Google revealed that an
edition of the U.S. Galaxy
S4 would be released on
June 26, 2013 through
Google Play, featuring
stock Android 4.2.2 with
Samsung provided
updates;[46] it has an
unlockable bootloader
(similar to Nexus devices)
and supports LTE on AT&T
and T-Mobile's networks.
[47] The model number is
GT-I9505G.[48]
↑Jump back a section
Reception
Critical reception
The Galaxy S4 received
mostly positive reviews.
GigaOM's Tofel says he
would recommend the S4
"without hesitation" and
says that it's "Samsung's
defining phone".[49]
ReadWrite's Rowinski
described the phone as a
"solid smartphone," but
criticised Samsung's use of
" bloatware, pre-loaded
apps and features that you
will likely never use," but
called the S4 "a first-rate
smartphone."[50] Time's
McCraken says the S4 is a
smartphone with
everything, it has the
biggest screen and the
most built-in features. He
wishes the S4 marks the
end of Samsung's plan to
just add too many new
features with its flagship
smartphones.[51]
Technology journalist Walt
Mossberg described the S4
as "a good phone, just not
a great one". Mossberg
wrote "while I admire
some of its features,
overall, it isn’t a game-
changer." Mossberg
criticized the software as
"especially weak" and
"often gimmicky,
duplicative of standard
Android apps, or, in some
cases, only intermittently
functional." He urged
readers to "consider the
more polished-looking,
and quite capable, HTC
One, rather than defaulting
to the latest Samsung."[52]
Consumer Reports named
the Galaxy S4 as the top
smartphone due to its
screen quality,
multitasking support, and
built-in IR blaster.[53]
Despite only using about 1
GB more than the S III,
critics noted that about
half of the internal storage
on the S4's 16 GB model
was taken up by its system
software; leaving only 8 to
9.15 GB for the storage of
downloaded apps (some
of which cannot be moved
to the SD card) and other
data. Samsung initially
stated that the space was
required for the S4's new
features, but following a
report regarding the issue
on the BBC series
Watchdog, Samsung stated
that it would review the
possibility of optimising
the S4's operating system
to use less local drive
space in a future update.
[54][55][56] Storage
optimizations were
brought in an update first
released in June 2013,
which frees 80 MB of
internal storage, and
restores the ability to
move apps to the device's
SD card.[57]
Commercial reception
The S4 reached 10 million
pre-orders from retailers
in the first two weeks
after its announcement.
[58] In the United States,
this prompted Samsung to
announce that due to
larger than expected
demand, the roll out of
devices on U.S. carriers
Sprint and T-Mobile would
be slower than expected.
[59]
The S4 sold 4 million in 4
days and 10 million in 27
days making it the fastest
selling smartphone in
Samsung's history and the
fastest selling Android
device in history.[60][61]
The Samsung Galaxy S III
sold 4 million units in 21
days, the Samsung Galaxy S
II took 55 days, and the
Samsung Galaxy S took 85
days.[62]
Samsung shipped more
than 20 million Galaxy S4
smartphones by June 30,
which is around 1.7 times
faster than the Samsung
Galaxy S III.[63]
↑Jump back a section
Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom
In mid-2013, Samsung
released a smartphone
Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom
with Optical Zoom 10x
(24-240 mm eq. 35 mm in
film camera) with f/3.1-6.3
plus optical image
stabilizer and a standard
xenon flash. The devices
looks more camera than a
smartphone, but it's still
pocketable. The
drawbacks of the phone
features suggest the
device can be categorized
as Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini.
Use 1/2.33" 16MP BSI-
CMOS sensor and Auto and
Manual setting, and also
capable to take stereo
video in Full HD 1080p30,
720p60 and so on, the
device can be categorized
as a low/mid end Point-
and-shoot camera or
maybe Bridge camera.[64]