Samsung Galaxy S4 Tablet 7 Inch

TechRadar Verdict

The Galaxy S4 is a stunning smartphone that won't allow you downwardly for a multifariousness of tasks. It's not as good overall every bit the HTC I, peculiarly when you gene in the design, simply nosotros love the S4 and would be proud to have information technology in our pocket.

Pros

+
Stunning screen
+
Superfast processor
+
Bully camera

Cons

-
Feels cheaper than similar-priced phones
-
'Innovation' makes things also complex
-
Slight UI issues

The Samsung Milky way S4 is now 2 and a half years erstwhile, and not simply was it replaced by the Korean business firm'southward 2014 flagship offering, the Galaxy S5, just the Samsung Galaxy S6 has also been on the market since March this year.

That means that the Galaxy S4 is now feeling a piffling long in the molar. Samsung also fabricated matters much worse past releasing the innovative Samsung Galaxy S6 Border.

Information technology offers the same design as the Galaxy S6 just includes a curved display where it bends effectually both the edges. At that place's now fifty-fifty a larger version with a 5.7-inch screen called the Galaxy S6 Border+.

Without the fancy new bells and whistles that Samsung is including in its latest flagship phones, the Galaxy S4 can near experience as if it is a relic from another historic period. However, just considering 2 years is a long fourth dimension in smartphones, it doesn't mean that we should write off the Samsung Galaxy S4 just yet.

After all, non everyone wants a phone with top-end specs - if good value is more your bag then the 2013 Milky way S4 is still worth a look - it's withal on sale, at a lower price point of around £250 ($368, AU$483). It has besides dropped in price on contract.

That isn't besides bad for a handset that is however pretty impressive under the hood. Samsung is also continuing to support it by churning out brand new software updates for it.

Samsung was quick to upgrade the Galaxy S4 to Android 4.four KitKat. Together with a few small-scale Samsung additions and modifications, it tightens things up behind the scenes for a slightly sprightlier navigation feel.

On top of that, you can now also upgrade the Galaxy S4 to Android 5.0 Lollipop. That means the latest version of the software is on a 2013 handset.

Apparently the new software is coming to all handsets in Europe at the moment, and then nosotros'll exist nabbing the upgrade as soon as it hits our review model and updating this review to come across how it affects battery life, speed and overall functionality on the now-budget handset.

If you've already got a Samsung Milky way S4, head over to our guide on when to expect the Android 5.0 Lollipop upgrade. We update it constantly, then it's your best source for finding out when the new operating system will reach the Galaxy S4.

Samsung Galaxy S4 review — The Samsung Galaxy S4 is smaller and lighter than the S5

The arrival of the S6 and S6 Edge has finally spelled the end of the Galaxy S3. The Milky way S4 comes in at 136.vi 10 69.8 ten vii.9mm, the same dimensions as the S3, meaning it feels pretty tiny in the hand compared with today'due south super-sized smartphones.

Samsung usually excels with its screens, and the S4 offers a 5-inch display with Full HD resolution. That'south no longer a big deal when compared to the QHD offerings of today's top handsets (such equally the 5.5-inch LG G3) but information technology's still adept enough for the likes of the HTC One M9.

I should as well annotation that the Galaxy S4 is considerably smaller and lighter than its successor, the Galaxy S5, despite conceding a mere 0.1 of an inch in screen size. This is evidently a result of the S5's tougher water and dust-resistant construction, just not anybody volition count this as a worthwhile compromise.

The Galaxy S4 shares a lot with the other top smartphones of its era. Both the Sony Xperia Z1 and the HTC One have screens that use the same resolution, merely neither of them accept the however impressive clout of the Super AMOLED Hard disk drive screen on offer hither.

On top of that, it packs in a much faster processor than its 2013 contemporaries, offers ample storage infinite for media thanks to an expandable memory bill of fare slot (something missing from Samsung's latest phones), and 4G, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC and pretty much any other connection you care to mention on board.

Samsung supplemented this decent specs list with a tranche of software upgrades too, meaning a more than powerful photographic camera, a ameliorate way to communicate with your friends and consume media, and the firm's beginning big push button into health through defended apps.

Design

Before I dissect all the possibilities the phone has to offer, let's look at the pattern. Every bit I mentioned, the Samsung Galaxy S4 is impressive in its class factor, thanks to the sub-8mm thickness. At 130g it manages to yet be light without shaving off then much heft that you feel like you've got a flimsy piece of plastic.

Compare that with the Galaxy S6 just unveiled by Samsung: it'southward six.8mm thick and weighs 138g.

That'southward probably the biggest compliment I tin pay the Samsung Galaxy S4 - where its predecessor the S3 felt a petty chip cheap in the paw, the S4 manages to bring a much more solid build and better structure to boot.

So while the "faux metal" band makes a comeback on this model, it looks a lot more than premium. And at that place's very piddling flex in the chassis when you hold it tightly, which was another problem with the Galaxy S3.

It tin get dented very easily though, and be careful not to crevice your screen if you practice and then - I've heard of a few instances where this has happened to Galaxy S4 users, although that can be said of many other polycarbonate smartphones.

That doesn't mean that the phone is completely remodelled from the S3 - it'south very similar in advent, so much so that a number of people asking to see it during my review thought I was palming them off with my old S3. The polycarbonate chassis remains, only that brings with it the faithful battery comprehend, which conceals a removable battery and microSD slot.

I'm not then fussed almost the battery beingness able to drib out of the phone - and then few people deport effectually a spare battery, and present portable charging blocks are condign so inexpensive and light that they make much more sense.

Information technology'south something Samsung has done away with in its latest handsets, so the S4 will notwithstanding appeal to those who like the removable battery option.

I'd most prefer something like the Sony Xperia Z3, which has a refined and packaged chassis but doesn't need a removable battery - instead it makes use of a slot for the retentiveness carte du jour. This integrated nature would make for a slightly more premium experience to the phone.

However, it's a small gripe with the Samsung Milky way S4, every bit while the cover feels flimsy, it's better than it was on the S2 and the S3, and they both sold like hot cakes.

In the hand, the Samsung Milky way S4 feels much better than whatsoever other Samsung telephone that came before it (apart from the gargantuan smartphones the brand used to make - the i8910 Omnia Hard disk drive might take been built like a brick, but it felt wonderful to concur). The screen'southward spread towards the sides of the phone means a much narrower bezel, and the effect is certainly impressive.

Information technology might await very similar to the S3, merely when you take the Samsung Galaxy S4 upwardly close, you lot really start to appreciate the nuances.

I'd say it feels a lot more similar the quondam LG Optimus K range now - when I get-go picked it up, I was struck with how similar it felt in terms of sturdiness and the polycarbonate structure to the LG Optimus G Pro.

It's since been mimicked once more past the LG G2, which was a real competitor to this handset when it first launched - it'south got the same ugly plastic instance, only much improved innards at the same price.

That's no criticism, every bit the device is well built, merely it has a similar rounded feel. This is intriguing given the history of the two companies, and shows more of a leaning towards the plastic beat out from the Asian brands in general.

The buttons have barely changed from earlier - the power button has been shifted slightly on the correct-mitt side, and is now much easier to hit than it was on the S3. Samsung clearly took some lessons from the Milky way Note ii, which has a really well positioned power/lock button.

The book central is less easy to hit, and could be lower down in, but the travel on both of these buttons is satisfying, and you'll always know when yous've striking them.

The plastic used on the home key has been upgraded too, with a more solid experience nether the thumb when y'all press down to get dorsum to the chief home screen. The two buttons flanking it requite you access to menus or accept you back from whence you came, and while both are hands subconscious, they light up nicely with an even glow when chosen into activity.

Samsung Galaxy S4 — The home fundamental feels more solid

At that place are loads of sensors on the front of the telephone above the screen, including cameras to runway your eyes, a 2MP camera for Hard disk drive video calling and a proximity sensor for knowing where the telephone is in relation to your ear. On the white review unit of measurement I had their presence looks rather ugly either side of the generous earpiece, merely on the darker models this is less of an event.

The other notable add-on to the design of the Milky way S4 is the infrared blaster on the top of the phone. This enables you lot to control your Tv, satellite box, DVD player, amp and even air conditioner. Over again, this isn't a new feature, but it works well in practice, and despite being small is powerful enough indeed.

Other than that, there's not a lot more than to say about the blueprint of the phone, as it's simply a little underwhelming. I know it'southward unfair to lambast a brand for not overhauling the blueprint every yr, but in the One X and the 1, HTC proved that it is possible to offer upward a new pattern over successive generations and still keep things attractive.

Looking then similar to the Milky way S3, yous can't help but feel Samsung has gone a little too Apple and created something more in keeping with the Samsung Galaxy S3S - a minor update to a great phone to keep those coming out of contract happy that they have a premium phone to upgrade to.

I do implore you to go the phone in your hand before making your judgement though. While it's non got the best design on the market when it comes to materials, it was a big step forward for its time and allows for a grippy and easy-to-hold phone with a whopping screen inside.

It still feels cheap as chips compared to the iPhone half dozen and Samsung Milky way S6 though.

To just dismiss it for being plastic would exist doing the Galaxy S4 a disservice as it has so much more than going for information technology than that. But it's worth remembering that to a lot of people, the way a phone looks is every bit important as how much RAM it'southward got on lath and how fast the CPU is - if not more than so.

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Gareth has been office of the consumer engineering science world in a career spanning three decades. He started life as a staff writer on the fledgling TechRadar, and has grown with the site (primarily as phones, tablets and wearables editor) until becoming Global Editor in Chief in 2018. Gareth has written over iv,000 manufactures for TechRadar, has contributed expert insight to a number of other publications, chaired panels on zeitgeist technologies, presented at the Gadget Testify Live as well as representing the brand on Idiot box and radio for multiple channels including Heaven, BBC, ITV and Al-Jazeera. Passionate well-nigh fitness, he can bore anyone rigid about stress management, sleep tracking, heart rate variance likewise as bemoaning something well-nigh the latest iPhone, Milky way or OLED TV.