Samsung is just about to launch its Galaxy S4 flagship, but how does it compare to the current Galaxy S3?
Samsung Galaxy S3: Key specs and features
The Samsung Galaxy S3 is a strong all-rounder. Despite the fact the phone is now nearly a year old, performance from its quad-core Exynos 4412 processor can still keep up with the best of them.
It’s clocked at 1.4GHz and based on ARM’s Cortex-A9 architecture, with a quad-core Mali-400MP graphics processing unit (GPU) and 1GB of RAM.
It’s no longer top of benchmarking tables but it’s still very high up on the rankings and delivers consistently smooth operation, particularly now that it runs Android 4.1 Jelly Bean with all its optimisations and the enhancements of the Butter UI.
It’ll also handle most high-end games and app content on the Google Play store with relative ease.
The handset is well-equipped on the storage front with 16GB and 32GB variants each with microSD support for cards up to 64GB.
Samsung Galaxy S4: Key specs and features
Samsung’s latest flagship, the Galaxy S4, is an extensive overhaul of the existing model. It sports a brand new processor in the form of Samsung’s Exynos 5 Octa 5410 chip featuring two quad-core clusters.
The first of these is ARM Cortex-A15 based and clocked at 1.8GHz while the second is ARM Cortex-A7 at 1.2GHz.
The chip operates under ARM’s big.Little architecture meaning it’ll intelligently switch between clusters depending on workload, ensuring you get better battery efficiency and higher-end power for more intensive tasks.
This setup features 2GB of RAM and a PowerVR SGX544MP3 triple-core GPU. It goes without saying that this monstrosity should pretty much dominate anything else on the current market.
Very little else is running ARM’s next-gen Cortex-A15 architecture. You can expect the Galaxy S4 to be a powerhouse for smooth performance, gaming and multimedia for some considerable time.
Another key component is the display. Samsung has gone for a 4.99-inch Green PHOLED. This brings all the advantages of high-end AMOLED such as superior contrast, as well as good brightness and colour depth.
However, it’s also more battery friendly than your average screen tech and should considerably extend the run-time of the phone on a single charge.
None of this comes at the cost of picture quality either, as the Galaxy S4 has a 1920x1080 pixel Full HD resolution clocking in 443 pixels-per-inch (ppi) which, as you can imagine, produces punchy and sharp visuals.
The Galaxy S4’s camera is an 8-megapixel back-illuminated sensor (BSI) complete with LED flash, stabilisation, multishot, simultaneous still image and 1080p video capture, 3D capture and panoramic mode.
Conclusion
Both phones have a similar external build, the Galaxy S4 is essentially an enlarged Galaxy S3 to accommodate the bigger screen.
A key point of differentiation is that the Galaxy S4’s bezel has narrowed considerably, lending a sleeker appearance.
Each also has the same internal storage options and microSD card capability.
While the Galaxy S3 remains a competent handset, the Galaxy S4 improves the processing power, camera, display quality and battery life considerably.
It is also running the latest version of Android – Jelly Bean 4.2 – with a number of key enhancements, as well as an up-to-date build of Samsung’s TouchWiz UI.
Overall, the Galaxy S4, as expected, far outpaces its predecessor.
by pbriden via Featured Articles
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