Samsung Galaxy S4 vs Galaxy S III: Advanced fence-sitting

Final words

So, what may as well be last season's top smartphone against a hot favorite for this year's gold. Samsung must be proud of the fact that both carry its signature. Future Galaxy S4 users will feel safe knowing they're getting a future-proofed device that's very much in the running for best phone of the year. There will be a tinge of envy on the part of Galaxy S III owners for sure.

There's nothing to be done about that. It's the new model vs. the old one. But the question rather is, do they need to do anything about it. The Galaxy S III has history while the Galaxy S4 is yet to make one. The Galaxy S III pretty much owned the competition for the best part of last year, while the Galaxy S4 snatched wins against recent fellow droids but is yet to face more challenges. iPhone 6 maybe, the new LG Optimus.

But while even the slimmest of wins against the likes of the Sony Xperia Z and the HTC One is a thing to be proud of and the indisputable fact that the Galaxy S4 is superior to its predecessor, it's not that easy to make a smartphone that sold over 50 million units obsolete.

Samsung I9500 Galaxy S4 • Samsung I9505 Galaxy S4 • Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III

Sure, a 1080p screen is a must-have these days for a flagship but the difference isn't as striking as the jump from WVGA to 720p. The latest silicon is something that may set benchmarks on fire but the speed boost that's undeniably there isn't something that feels overwhelming in your hand. A 13MP camera isn't a minor upgrade either, but the Galaxy S III is still a solid cameraphone.

All in all, you can still get similar productivity out of the Galaxy S III - the big advantage of the Galaxy S4 is the future-proofing both in terms of software upgrades, but also things like processing power and screen resolution. The Galaxy S III stays relevant though and will probably even get some of the software tricks that are the other part of the S4's appeal via a software update. And that's without paying the price premium, which should be significant, at least in the first couple of months of the launch.

That's the thing though. If you're busy calculating in your head the worth of all those improvements and upgrades, you're probably not just ready to throw your Galaxy S III and replace it with a Galaxy S4 just yet. If, on the other hand, you think the smell of new is priceless, you probably have already preordered your next Galaxy smartphone. Nothing wrong though with Galaxy S III owners sitting on a fence. And we're sure for at least some of them the fence is the size of a Galaxy Note III.

As if you are only now considering purchasing one of those smartphones - the choice couldn't be easier. The Galaxy S4 is easily worth the extra cost over its predecessor and as long as you can afford it, that's the only one you should be looking at.