The Samsung Galaxy S III was an absolute smash-hit in 2012. Few were the Android smartphones that dared to challenge it, and even fewer were those that stood any chance at all. However, time has once again proved that nothing lasts forever, as we're now 2013, and the good old GS III is now much less impressive than it was a year ago. But that doesn't mean that another company is to steal the crown from Samsung. Nope. Sammy has been refining and improving its billion-dollar formula, and the results of its efforts are evident in the Galaxy S4 – a handset that seems absolutely worthy of succeeding the wonderful Galaxy S III.
OK, so the Galaxy S4 is an amazing smartphone worth every penny, but there certainly are a lot of folks out there who are still rocking the GS III. Should those guys think about upgrading to the GS 4, or are they OK with their GS IIIs for another year? Enough questions! Let's go get ourselves some answers!
Design
We've all heard people say that the GS III and GS4 are almost identical in terms of external design. Well, this is so not true! OK, the Galaxy S4 is certainly in the same style as the Galaxy S III, but it is significantly better. Not only does it look better, but it is actually a bit narrower and a bit thinner than its predecessor, while sporting a bigger screen at the same time! This alone is an extraordinary achievement by Samsung. And as we said, it actually looks way better with its thinner bezel, more symetric design and better key layout.
Other than that, both devices are made of pretty much the same plastic material, which should be polycarbonate, though whatever it is, it sure isn't very tough, so you'll have to be extra careful with both of these guys.
Both handsets have the same key layout, and unfortunately, the Galaxy S4's keys do not feel any better than those of its predecessor, so no major construction upgrades here. Samsung has also decided to keep its favorite touch-sensitive Menu and Back keys, positioned to the left and right of the Home button below the screen. We actually tend to like this configuration, as it doesn't take up precious screen space.
Display
Even though the Galaxy S III's display looked amazing last year, it's now somewhat weird compared to the 1080p panels that start to overtake the market this year. That includes the screen of the Galaxy S4, which is so much better than the one of its predecessor. Not only is it higher-res, but it also boasts more natural colors that are still vibrant, but not to the point of being artificial and unpleasant.
It's not like the GS III's display is bad, even by today's standards, but the one of the GS4 is better in every aspect.
The numbers below represent the amount of deviation in the respective property, observed when a display is viewed from a 45-degree angle as opposed to direct viewing.
The CIE 1931 xy color gamut chart represents the set (area) of colors that a display can reproduce, with the sRGB colorspace (the highlighted triangle) serving as reference. The chart also provides a visual representation of a display's color accuracy. The small squares across the boundaries of the triangle are the reference points for the various colors, while the small dots are the actual measurements. Ideally, each dot should be positioned on top of its respective square. The 'x: CIE31' and 'y: CIE31' values in the table below the chart indicate the position of each measurement on the chart. 'Y' shows the luminance (in nits) of each measured color, while 'Target Y' is the desired luminance level for that color. Finally, 'ΔE 2000' is the Delta E value of the measured color. Delta E values of below 2 are ideal.
The Color accuracy chart gives an idea of how close a display's measured colors are to their referential values. The first line holds the measured (actual) colors, while the second line holds the reference (target) colors. The closer the actual colors are to the target ones, the better.
The Grayscale accuracy chart shows whether a display has a correct white balance (balance between red, green and blue) across different levels of grey (from dark to bright). The closer the Actual colors are to the Target ones, the better.
Drag the picture or use the keyboard arrows to rotate the phone. Double click or press keyboard
Space to zoom in/out.
Drag the picture in the desired orientation to rotate the phone.
Samsung Galaxy S III 360-Degrees View:
Drag the picture or use the keyboard arrows to rotate the phone. Double click or press keyboard
Space to zoom in/out.
Drag the picture in the desired orientation to rotate the phone.
Loading Comments...
COMMENT
All comments need to comply with our
Community Guidelines
Phonearena comments rules
A discussion is a place, where people can voice their opinion, no matter if it
is positive, neutral or negative. However, when posting, one must stay true to the topic, and not just share some
random thoughts, which are not directly related to the matter.
Things that are NOT allowed:
Off-topic talk - you must stick to the subject of discussion
Offensive, hate speech - if you want to say something, say it politely
Spam/Advertisements - these posts are deleted
Multiple accounts - one person can have only one account
Impersonations and offensive nicknames - these accounts get banned
Moderation is done by humans. We try to be as objective as possible and moderate with zero bias. If you think a
post should be moderated - please, report it.
Have a question about the rules or why you have been moderated/limited/banned? Please,
contact us.
FCC OKs Cingular\'s purchase of AT&T Wireless
Things that are NOT allowed: