Editorial: What the Samsung Galaxy S4 Needs to Be More Successful than the Galaxy S3

| January 1, 2013 | 13 Replies

    samsung-galaxy-S4(2)

    By now, we all know that the Galaxy S3 has been a very successful device for Samsung. Probably more successful than the Galaxy S and S2 sales combined. Of course a major part of that was having the exact same device released on all the carriers within weeks of each other. In the past, each carrier has had their own Galaxy S device with their own name. Sprint was the Epic, AT&T was the Captivate and Skyrocket, T-Mobile was the Vibrant, and Verizon had the Fascinate and didn’t get a Galaxy S2 device. In 2012 Samsung changed that, and launched the Galaxy S3 as that, the Galaxy S3 on AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon and US Cellular in the span of about 6 weeks. But how can Samsung improve on the Galaxy S3 for 2013?

    Bigger Battery

    galaxy-nexus-battery-and-back-plate-2-630x420

    If you’ve watched any of our podcasts, you know the first thing I look at for a new device is the battery size. Since I’m almost never at home and always out where I can’t charge my device, having a huge battery is something I need. And it needs to last a while when it’s connected to 3G/HSPA+/4G data. The Galaxy S3 has a 2100mAh battery, which on my T-Mobile Galaxy S3 will last about 8-10 hours, depending on how much it gets used. So it’s not terrible battery life, but I do have a 4400mAh battery for the S3 and that thing lasts for a couple of days now. We already know Samsung likes to tweak everything with Touchwiz, which is fine it’s actually really good on battery, but we still need a bigger battery. At least 3000mAh, especially if the screen is going to be bigger.

    Larger Display, Smaller Bezels

    DROID RAZR M

    We’ve seen Motorola’s new Droid Razr M and Razr i (Europe) with those very tiny bezel’s right? We need to see that from Samsung in 2013. Especially if they want to make the Galaxy S4 larger than the S3. They also need to find a happy medium between the Galaxy S3′s size and the Note 2′s size, unless they are going to merge the two lineups together in 2013, which according to the latest rumor, might actually happen. But if they keep the Galaxy S and Galaxy Note lineups seperate, I think a 4.9-5.0 inch display is likely what we are going to see in the Galaxy S4.

    Android 4.2

    Android-4.2-Jelly-Bean

    Depending on when the Galaxy S4 launches or gets announced (rumors saying April), it’ll need to have Android 4.2 or later on the device. When the Galaxy S3 was announced, it was shortly before Android 4.1 was announced. But it did take a bit to get Jelly Bean onto the Galaxy S3, especially for those of us in the US on carriers such as AT&T and Verizon. If the Galaxy S4 launches with Android 4.1 on board, it may become a turn off to the millions of people that will buy the device as soon as its available.

    Storage

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    No more of this 16GB stuff. Of course we know Samsung will give us a micro SD card slot. But you can’t install all your apps on your SD card, only pictures, music, misc., etc. So the default options for a flagship Galaxy S4 in 2013 needs to be 32GB and 64GB versions. Maybe make the 16GB version available for $99 on-contract, 32GB for $199 and 64GB for $299. That way Samsung can hit all price points with the Galaxy S4.

    Final Thoughts

    Honestly, I can’t wait until the Galaxy S4 comes out. I’ve loved my Galaxy S3 and love all the developer support behind it. I have complete faith that Samsung will blow us away again in April/May when the Galaxy S4 is announced. Hopefully Samsung will take the Galaxy S3 as a base and just improve on it. I haven’t had many problems with my Galaxy S3, but of course there can be some improvements. There are always room for improvements. I just don’t want Samsung to be like Apple, and release a new device with a bunch of minor upgrades. Kinda like HTC with their One X+ upgrade for the One X. Not much of an upgrade there.

    What are you looking forward to in the Galaxy S4? Let us know in the comments below.

      Category: Android News, Special Features

      About the Author ()

      I've been a huge fan of Android since the OG Motorola Droid hit back in 2009 on Verizon, since then I have gone on to own some of the best devices we've seen including the HTC EVO 4G, Samsung Galaxy Nexus, Nexus 7, Nexus 4 and the Samsung Galaxy S3. I also have a passion for writing about anything having to do with Android.
      • SliQ S

        Definitely 3000+ battery. 5″ screen but the phone shouldn’t get much bigger. Next gen quad processor. Better camera lens. Notification led and Android 4.2+.

      • Rohan Thota

        ive heard there was an 8 cored processor is develoment by other companies !!!!
        i hope we get a flexible display and and the 8 cores :D

      • SGSIV

        Is it to early in the game to have dualband 2.4/5.0 mhz AC WIFI? That would be sweet. And can we have USB 3.0 and of course USB2GO Please? And let’s place flash compatibility into jb4.2. AND NO LOCKED ANYYHING THANK YOU!

      • down th

        i hope it can brew my coffe and cook my breakfast too.comon people lets get real

      • SDB1

        The S3 is already a great device. Instead of adding a bunch of features I would like to see Samsung perfect this phone first. A larger battery and more memory would be welcome additions to be sure, but I’m more interested in making existing features work correctly.

        First, I’m sick of any amount of lag. I have keyboard lag all the time. I don’t know if it’s due to a dual core instead of the quad in the states but it’s a real problem. Secondly, lets get features like S-Beam, Allshare Cast/Play and Wifi Direct to work properly and without the drama. I have multiple Samsung Devices and using these features is anything but intuitive or consistent.

        I know there are limitations to DLNA but Samsung was supposed to fix this with Allshare Play and their S3 accessories which, so far, are an expensive joke.

        • http://www.androidheadlines.com/ Alexander Maxham

          Hmm I have a US variant S3 and my keyboard doesn’t lag at all

      • dude

        IOS 7 inside

      • chandra chalise

        Dafinitely we will have the larger battery pack, big storage,
        Jellibean should be more far debveloped one like more fratures More realiable. Camera should be more improved. Higher speed wifi gonnector. higher performance processor. And more

      • DonWm62

        The things that I would look for are better Bluetooth control for headsets and better allocation of RAM (or more RAM). I’ve gotten to the point of force close issues and web pages not loading because of a low RAM situation. I do run “go launcher” shell which eats memory, and I’m a heavy app user. A bigger battery is a no brainer too. I originally got the “S G Note”but it was too difficult to carry or use one handed. So, IMHO, the size is maxed out.

      • cheetah111

        Well if it’s super amoled then it’s already flexible. ;-) But I’d love to see a real lensed camera with a tiny zoom… even 3x… I’d love to see infrared emitters for night vision and for remote control compatability. I’d LOVE a kickstand… and the best would be a solar panel on the bachk that would charge the phone when you put it face down. That should be a no brainer!

      • yarrellray

        Major props on the article. I enjoyed my Galaxy S3 on Tmobile from June 2012 to November 15th 2012 it was a wonderful feature rich device. Since I have moved on to the Galaxy Note 2 and i can tell you now that the difference in the products are night and day. Merging the products won’t happen they will remain separate Samsung benefits financially according to today’s quarter 4 release numbers. I agree bigger battery in the Galaxy S4 is most important 3000 or 3100mAh to start. Since it will be pulling that 1080p flexible/unbreakable screen extra battery will be very important. The 5450 Exynos 5 dualquad processor with the Mali T658 Gpu these specs alone will make the S4 far better than the dualcore qualcomm snapdragon s4 processor that made it to the tmobile Galaxy S3. Myself I am to spoiled now so I will wait for Samsung’s best product to arrive in 2013 the Galaxy Note 3. After all that 6.3 inch flexible / unbreakable 1080p screen will be a total classic. Gotta add that to my stable of device. 2013 will be a great tech year and a great year for Tmobile as well.

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      • Kelz

        Battery life of no less than 4400 mAh
        3GB of RAM
        quadcore processor
        Enhanced rear and front facing camera
        MIRACAST (mirror image of your phones screen on your hdtv)

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