Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom, Galaxy S4 mini and Galaxy S4 Activ

by Mark Tyson on 10 May 2013, 14:28

Tags: Samsung (005935.KS), Google (NASDAQ:GOOG), PC

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Samsung smartphone obsessed site SamMobile reports that the Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom, Galaxy S4 mini and Galaxy S4 Activ are all due this summer. None of these three new versions of the Galaxy S4 are officially announced as yet but they appeared upon a release list which includes the Galaxy Mega 5.8 and Galaxy Mega 6.3 which were officially announced following a similar SamMobile leak.

The names of the three as yet unannounced Samsung Galaxy S4 variants reveal quite a bit about what you should expect from them but we also have further details from other leaks and their appearance in benchmarks and certification documents.

Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom – with 10x optical zoom

This smartphone is listed with the model number SMC-C101 and its Bluetooth 4.0 certification reveals its mobile phone status. This device is thought to be a camera-centric S4 featuring a 16MP camera, using the same sensor as the S4 but also a 10x optical zoom facility. It will be a little bit more pocketable than the regular Galaxy S4 as it is equipped with a 4.3-inch qHD Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 540 x 960 pixels. Other features of the S4 Zoom are said to include a 1.6GHz dual-core processor, 8GB of storage, microSD card slot and Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean with TouchWiz Nature UX 2.0.

Samsung Galaxy S4 mini

We had a leak including photos and specs for this device about a fortnight ago. As a reminder, the specs look very similar to the S4 Zoom above but with a regular camera component.

Galaxy S4 Activ or ATIV?

The Samsung Galaxy S4 Activ is the new upcoming model with the least known about it, except it will be available initially in metallic orange. Both Cnet and PCAdvisor say rumours they have heard suggest it to be a rugged version of the Galaxy S4 with a waterproof and dustproof casing. Confusingly the name clashes with Samsung’s ATIV products which run Windows OSes – evidence of this easy confusion is in PCAdvisor’s article which refers to this model as the Galaxy S4 “Ativ” - which would be a completely different beast.

Leaked Samsung release dates (dates may vary by region)

  • Samsung Galaxy Mega 5.8 (GT-I9152) in white – week of 13 May
  • Samsung Galaxy Mega 5.8 (GT-I9152) in black – week of 17 June
  • Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3 (GT-I9200) in white – week of 20 May
  • Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3 (GT-I9200) in black – week of 6 May
  • Samsung Galaxy S4 mini (GT-I9192) in white – week of 15 July
  • Samsung Galaxy S4 mini (GT-I9192) in black – week of 15 July
  • Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom (SM-C1010) in white – week of 17 June
  • Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom (SM-C1010) in black – week of 3 June
  • Samsung Galaxy S4 Ativ (GT-I9295) in metallic orange – week of 15 July

HEXUS Forums :: 10 Comments

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Posted by kalniel - Fri 10 May 2013 14:36
At last, some minor shrinkage!
Posted by Tact.X - Fri 10 May 2013 14:40
Why don't they put a 720p display on the zoom and make it more appealing to consumers. I think some customers will choose a better camera in exchange for a smaller, lower res screen that still has good ppi…
Posted by kalniel - Fri 10 May 2013 14:53
Tact.X;2913121
Why don't they put a 720p display on the zoom and make it more appealing to consumers. I think some customers will choose a better camera in exchange for a smaller, lower res screen that still has good ppi…

They've put a 540 display on, so they've kind of done what you suggest. 720 is very high res for a 4.3inch screen.
Posted by crossy - Fri 10 May 2013 15:08
This device is thought to be a camera-centric S4 featuring a 16MP camera, using the same sensor as the S4 but also a 10x optical zoom facility. It will be a little bit more pocketable than the regular Galaxy S4 as it is equipped with a 4.3-inch qHD Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 540 x 960 pixels. Other features of the S4 Zoom are said to include a 1.6GHz dual-core processor
I saw “optical zoom” and though “woo-hoo an S3 spec but with proper optics - YES”. But ‘merely’ dual-core and - more especially - that smaller screen marks it down as “not interesting” to me. An “S3 Zoom” - i.e. an S3 spec modified with the new optics would suit me fine.

Although I'm not rushing out to buy any of these new devices maybe Samsung's move will persuade other folks (cough, cough, … like Nokia!) to also put optical zoom on their smartphones.
Posted by naturbo2000 - Fri 10 May 2013 19:10
kalniel
They've put a 540 display on, so they've kind of done what you suggest. 720 is very high res for a 4.3inch screen.

Meh. I don't want a 5“ screen (around 4 is nice). I do want better than 960x540. And whilst you're at it, why can't I have quad core?

Why are high end phones tied into large screen size?

FWIW - qHD on a 4” is 275dpi. 720p on a 4“ is 367dpi (and 342dpi on a 4.3”). 1080p on 5“ is 440dpi!

Steve Job's claim is that 300dpi is the most you can resolve at 10-12 inches, so the S4 _should_ be an expensive irrelevance. I'm not sure I agree, _but_ you cannot argue that 1080p is OK on a 5” screen and that 720p is too high for 4.3" screen.

I currently have a GS2, so I see little point in upgrading given I don't want the increase in screen size all high-end phones currently have. I've had a dual core and 800x480 for more than 2 years and there's nothing better to replace it with for the size…

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