Samsung had an incredible year in 2012. The Samsung Galaxy S3 was the number one hit in the smartphone market surpassing even the achievements of the iPhone5. Not many Android phones even got close to achieving what the Samsung Galaxy S3 did. As we look at the list of top 10 phones in the world right now, Samsung Galaxy S3 is still up there. But now we have the Samsung Galaxy S4; a phone that’s been recently released but has already had rave reviews. We will take a look at the different features, design and overall feeling about whether the S4 is better than the S3, and if so, by how much?
The Design
Many people stay that the S3 and S4 are aesthetically exactly the same. The truth is though this is not true. The S4 does have the same style and the same look, but it is a lot nicer. It looks better; it’s narrower, thinner, and all of this comes with a bigger screen. The screen dimensions they have managed to get out of the phone are quite frankly incredible. The layout of the phone is also better. So, the design is certainly a step forward. Both phones are constructed with the same plasticky material, but the S4 has an extremely thin bevel and does look very, very nice.
The Displays on the Phones
Last year the S3 sported one of the best displays ever. Back then, it was difficult to conceive that you could get significant improvements on a mobile screen. But now with the Galaxy S4, we have high resolution, vibrant, beautiful, yet natural screen performance. The SG3 is still a good display, but things move forward so fast in the industry and the Galaxy S4 is simply incredible.
The Interface and Usability
There’s no real difference in the interface between the Samsung Galaxy S3 and Samsung Galaxy S4. Both use the Samsung Touch with Nature UX. Although there has been more refinement put into the S4 as its moved forward. Also, both use similar operating systems with the S4 on the Android 4.2.2 and the Galaxy S3 on 4.1.2.
There are a number of features on the S4 that are not only S3, such as Dual Shot, Sound and Shot, Drama Shots, Cinema Photo, Story Album, S Translator, Group Play, Air View, Air Gesture, Smart Pause, Smart Scroll, Samsung Optical Reader, WatchON, S Health and Samsung Adapt Sound.
The Processors and Memory
The processor on the Galaxy S4 is much better than the S3. The S3 comes with a quad core processor at 1.4 GHz. The Galaxy S4 comes with a quad core at 1.7 with Adreno 320 GPU. It’s certainly more powerful, much faster and the S4 is at the top of the industry in terms of processor. Both S3 and S4 come with 2 GB of RAM and both also have 16/32/64 GB memory options and microSD slots to expand your storage. Having the additional space is a real bonus, especially considering we are going to be watching movies on the superb small screen. We have to have somewhere to store them for those long train journeys.
The Cameras
There are number of new features on the Samsung Galaxy S4 camera as mentioned above. You have the Drama Shots, Sound and Shot, Dual shot, What-not shot and so on. The Samsung Galaxy S4 has a 13 MP camera compared to the Samsung Galaxy S3 8 MPs. The number of pixels is not everything, but it does certainly help. The shots taken on the Samsung Galaxy S4 are extremely sharp, and remarkably lacking in noise. The S4 is a little bit better than the S3 in situations with more exposure, poor light and movement. The video on the S3 is perhaps a little bit better than the S4. All in all, the S4 has a better camera offering, but not by much.
Phone Contracts
When you’re looking at a Samsung Galaxy S4, you’re still likely to fork out around €600 on a sim free or Pay As You Go basis. With its successor now in place, the Samsung Galaxy S3 retails for far less, and is available on much cheaper phone contracts.
The S4 is better, but the phone contracts you have to take to commit to to get one are more expensive. If you already have a Samsung Galaxy S3, an upgrade to the S4 will give you a better experience but it just depends whether it is worth the additional cost for you.
The answer to the title of this piece is certainly that the S4 is better than the S3. It is significantly better in many ways in terms of the technology, but in terms of usability, it is just a small improvement. As we get further into the technology of mobile phones, the margins are getting smaller because things are already so good. Nowadays, you can get amazing technology even in mid-priced smartphones. The technology is dripping down and last year’s phones in the premium end of the market are this year’s mid-ranged phones. The Samsung Galaxy S3 is a bit of an exception to this. As it remains a credit-worthy premium phone even the year after it was launched.
Coverage Issues
Make sure that you consider the coverage that you are going to get on your phone. It is very easy to assume that all mobile phone operators are equal in this regard, but this is simply not true. One operator may work well in your home, and another may not even be able to receive a call.
Ask your friends how their coverage is in your home and in the area
Check the coverage of your area on mobile phone operator postcode checkers
Buy a SIM card of your target operator and try it out n your phone to see how the network performs
Look out for coverage guarantee deals where you can get your money back if you cant get the required coverage level
Phone contracts can be very confusing for some people but not Sam Jones. With the help of sites such as uSwitch he was able to compare the latest deals and make sure that they were right for him.
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