Samsung Galaxy S4 review: Supernova

28 March 2013
As the Galaxy S series counter flips another digit, Samsung has hopes of getting an even tighter grip on the smartphone market, and reasserting its Android dominance. With two of the main rivals enjoying a head-start to the market, the Galaxy S4...

Sort by:

  • a
  • a562140
  • fxU
  • 05 May 2013

great review especially the measurements on audio specs.

there seems to be an increase of folks hearing "crackling" noises through their head sets globally.

have you picked this up and any idea if this is a software or hardware issue?

    • r
    • rob.s
    • myw
    • 04 May 2013

    [deleted post]If you look around you can install apps to sd card.....

      • C
      • Cool kunal
      • Hkq
      • 04 May 2013

      Awesome mobile I like .......!!!
      28 march 2013

        • S
        • Stranger
        • 9xm
        • 03 May 2013

        Guys if u don't mind, can anyone suggest me which phone to buy, either Iphone 5 or Samsung Galaxy S4 ???
        I will be thankful for your comments ...

          • r
          • roadster92
          • N}$
          • 03 May 2013

          I owned the GS4. Here are my comments after 3 days of playing with it:

          Pros:
          1. Qcomm S600 make this phone fast.
          2. Eye scrolling features, Gesture hovering features
          3. Camera is fine with me. If you want better pictures, learn how to utilize different mode and settings for appropriate conditions. Auto mode for any picture taking is not going to make a perfect picture on any cameras included DSLR camera. I don't use auto mode.

          Cons:
          1. Phone is too light too hold that make it easier to slip (this is why I don't like Iphone 5). Now it cost me another $30 to buy a case to make it heavier and thicker.
          2. Battery is OK, they should have included a bigger capacity battery (like Droid raz MAXX), this will make it a little thicker but It will help increase the mass of the phone to make it less flimpsy.

          I play with HTC One before and I decide to fo with the GS4. Design wise HTC One look very slick (like Iphone5). However, when comparing the features I chose GS4. HTC One camera has advantage over GS4 in low light, but if you choose ISO mode properly, you should get decent pictures. Outdoor pictures should be GS4 should be the same or better. It depends on how you utilize your camera setting.

            • H
            • Hasnain
            • t}a
            • 03 May 2013

            the problem with Samsung galaxy 4 in india is that its heating a lot although we have the gt9500 model with octa core... so a little heat is understandable but not so much .. it could almost light a gas stove that's how hot it gets!!!

              • D
              • AnonD-140928
              • uuy
              • 03 May 2013

              Got the first update in india for some bug fixes etc of 53 MB hopefully fixes some laggs and software glinches

                • ?
                • Anonymous
                • jA4
                • 03 May 2013

                ., 28 Mar 2013Who in the right mind would choose htc one over this plasti... moreif the htc one you are so proud of doesn't take off....htc is done.thaey are making as much profit as blackberry these days.come to think of it, both blkberry z10 and htc one look alike.

                  • t
                  • tell me
                  • nmN
                  • 03 May 2013

                  Are Led flash better/powerful, what/then S3 model Led flash?.

                    • m
                    • marsteel
                    • iXj
                    • 02 May 2013

                    Srini, 01 May 2013I have purchased galaxy s4 on the release date. Retail pack... moreIt's said that the built-in apps take up approx 8GB, so you get only another 8GB

                      • D
                      • AnonD-141669
                      • uNV
                      • 02 May 2013

                      Galaxy s 4 makes no sense it's 13 mp camera is worse then the iphone 5 nd lumia 920..!!

                        • S
                        • Srini
                        • uu3
                        • 01 May 2013

                        I have purchased galaxy s4 on the release date. Retail package says it's 16GB but actually device has around 8GB only. Why is it so? Does samsung aware of this? Its kind of cheating the customer..

                          • D
                          • AnonD-55345
                          • apR
                          • 01 May 2013

                          GSMARENA please publish asap the synthetic benchmarks of i9500 so that I may have the guide for my decision to buy whether Exynos or Snapdragon 600 variants of S4.

                            • D
                            • AnonD-77357
                            • tUa
                            • 30 Apr 2013

                            AnonD-140401, 28 Apr 2013I looked at the RAM usage after closing all active applicat... moreyes, remaining memory is consumed by Pre-Installed Software from Samsung. It seems that Samsung’s software takes up about half of the 16GB models storage space, leaving users with only about 8.82GB of available storage. Of course, you could always expand the storage of your unit via the microSD slot, as the Galaxy S4 is expandable up to 64GB. The apps that take up 45% of usable storage on the device are Samsung apps such as ChatOn messaging, S Health, S Travel, Group Play, Dual Camera, Samsung Smart Pause and S Translator, among others.

                              • D
                              • Dimil
                              • RIG
                              • 30 Apr 2013

                              Pat Sayz, 29 Apr 2013On checking the phone, was the "online" dictonary... moreReading online or off is the most common activity I do on a smartphone so for me is a major concern.

                                • M
                                • Mumbai....
                                • vbP
                                • 30 Apr 2013

                                I think for the manufacturers Storage is more expensive than processor as most stick to 4, 8, 16 GB only and never go for 64, 128 GB etc even though the size of the chip will still be very small or they are dumb.

                                  • P
                                  • Pat Sayz
                                  • CQ$
                                  • 29 Apr 2013

                                  AnonD-140604, 29 Apr 2013I was trying SGS4 in a shop and I realized that it is not p... moreOn checking the phone, was the "online" dictonary your only concern ? I mean, do rate ur experience with the phone..

                                    • D
                                    • AnonD-140604
                                    • RIG
                                    • 29 Apr 2013

                                    I was trying SGS4 in a shop and I realized that it is not possible to look up words off line. Unlike the iOS that pops up the definition of a word regardless if you are on line or offline as the dictionary is part of the OS. In jelly bean it seems that you must be on line and trying to look up for a word it connects you to a website that provides word definition. Aside from the constant need of Internet connection, it is a very distracting process as you need to open several pages until you get a result. For that reason alone I'd rather stay with iOS as I like reading lots of stuff on line or off line and it's an opportunity for me to learn new words on the process. The iOS dictionary is very comprehensive as it provides examples of the word used in phrases making it easy to fully understand the world.

                                    Not 100% sure if Jelly Bean provides off line dictionary the way iOS does. Maybe there is one that you need to activate it in the settings but I am not too familiar with Android. The shop assistant told me it can if you download an app but he didn't know any. I had the feeling that he wasn't sure either or not too knowlegdable about jelly bean and he only tried to sell me the phone.

                                    Does any android user know if I can look up a word in the way iOS does? I don't like dictionary apps that involves copying and paste the word into the app's search field ... It's too time consuming and distracting. I'd like to see a definition of the word right on the text I read by just tapping the word in question without the need to use other app or coping words etc. and being able to do so without Internet connection as in the place where I live Internet is too lousy outside big cities.

                                      • ?
                                      • Anonymous
                                      • nH{
                                      • 29 Apr 2013

                                      Samsung is just a COPY

                                        • D
                                        • AnonD-140401
                                        • ut1
                                        • 28 Apr 2013

                                        I looked at the RAM usage after closing all active applications it says 1.30 GB used out of 1.89 GB of RAM. Not sure why so much RAM is being used ? Is it using 32 bit address space or something which is why I find nearly 8 GB out of 16 GB is reserved for system.