The Samsung Galaxy S4 is without a doubt one of the most anticipated smartphones of the year. The main reason behind such excitement is the fact that the Galaxy S series has been a resounding success (in terms of reviews and sales).
With each new Galaxy S model, Samsung has managed to impress with new technology, great software features, and versatility. All that being said, although the Korean manufacturer hasn't revealed any specifics regarding the upcoming flagship phone, every gadget enthusiast has high expectations for the device. Judging by the leaks and rumors, the handset will not disappoint.
As many readers will be aware of by now, the Samsung Galaxy S4 is expected to be fully unveiled on March 14th in New York City, during a "Samsung Unpacked" event. In other words, we're only a few days away from finding out everything there is to know about the SGS4. Nevertheless, there has been plenty of buzz and rumors surrounding the handset in question. We might already have a pretty accurate idea on what type of hardware could end up under the hood of the device. Let's have a look!
Samsung Galaxy S4: Display
The very first rumors regarding the upcoming Samsung high-end smartphone surfaced several months ago, including that the Korean manufacturer will fit a Full HD 1080p display on its next flagship device. At that time there were speculation that Samsung would abandon AMOLED technology and that the next Galaxy S would boast an LCD panel. Needless to say, the Galaxy S4 might arrive with neither, as new leaks reported by International Business Times indicate that Samsung might fit a Green PHOLED display on the S4. PHOLEDs use organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) made out of phosphorescent materials, resulting in a 30% increase in energy efficiency.
There have also been rumors that Samsung might actually work on two Galaxy S4 models, one of which will indeed feature a Super LCD3 display and a different processor than the one that will be found in the PHOLED-equipped model.
Samsung Galaxy S4: Processor
The Exynos 5 Octa-core processor that was previously announced by Samsung might end up powering the S4. It's not been confirmed, however, but many expect this eight-core CPU to be introduced by none other than the next flagship smartphone. However, as mentioned above, there are a few rumors claiming that the handset could arrive in two variants, one of which will boast a Super LCD3 display and a Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 processor. The Exynos 5 Octa CPU will allegedly be reserved for the PHOLED model, which is said to be launched outside of the U.S.
Other Expected Features
There are several other interesting features that might set the Galaxy S4 apart from the rest of the bunch, such as Floating Touch, Smart Scrolling and Smart Pause.
The Floating Touch technology is not really that new. It was introduced on the Sony Xperia Sola some time ago, and the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 benefits from a similar feature called "Air View," which allows the user to hover the tip of the stylus over certain on-screen items in order to gain more information in the form of on-screen pop-ups, much as the mouse cursor works on a computer.
Allegedly, a similar floating touch technology will be present on the Galaxy S4, but we assume that, just as with the Xperia Sola, a stylus won't be needed in order to take advantage of the feature.
Furthermore, there have been several leaks via CNET that have revealed the presence of the so called "Smart Scroll" and "Smart Pause" features, both of which are supposedly making extensive use of either eye or head tracking technology (it's unclear which one yet). Smart Scroll will detect the eye/head movement of the user and will scroll pages accordingly, while Smart Pause is said to pause videos automatically whenever the user is not looking at the smartphone's screen.
It all sounds pretty impressive, so hopefully all of these features will be incorporated into the final product. I suppose we'll find out what the S4 is truly about once the handset is unveiled on March 14th.
Vlad Andrici is editor for gforgames.com and writes about technology issues.