South Korean tech giant Samsung on Thursday unveiled its much anticipated Galaxy S4 smartphone with an array of interesting features to take on Apple iPhone 5.
With the roll out of the fourth-generation Galaxy smartphone, the rivalry between Apple and Samsung is expected to leap new heights. Even before its release, early review had suggested that Galaxy S4 is endowed with new technologies.
"We've taken technology and innovation to help us get closer to what matters in life. We will imagine the possibilities, explore a new direction, and listen to you, to help us understand what a smartphone should provide in our lives," said J K Shin, who heads Samsung Electronics.
When rival Apple unveiled iPhone 5 last year, tech enthusiasts were too eager to lay their hands on the smartphone. Compared to its predecessor, iPhone 5 sported a bigger 4-inch screen and a faster processor with 4G LTE technology.
Now, with all eyes on the two high-end smartphones, will Galaxy S4 be able to oust Apple's masterpiece?
Here's a breakdown of features of both phones to help you decide:
Screen Display
While Samsung's Galaxy S4 features a 5-inch full-HD Super AMOLED display with 1080x1920 pixel resolution at 441ppi, Apple's iPhone 5 offers a smaller 4-inch screen with pixel resolution of 1136 x 640 at 326ppi. iPhone 5 comes with Corning Gorilla Glass and oleophobic coating for extra-protection against smudges, scratches and accidental display damage on daily use.
Operating System
Galaxy S3 successor arrived on Android v4.2.2 Jelly Bean Operating system where as the iPhone 5 runs on iOS 6 platform.
Though both operating systems are more-or-less equally popular, Apple's iOs 6 is not different from its previous iterations. Many features in iPhone 5 work explicitly with the iOS 6.0 operating system, and with this Apple has introduced its own Map system which is struggling to find a place in the market as the geographical information provided in the new application is erroneous.
Processor
Samsung has opted for a 1.6GHz Exynos 5410 Octa-core processor with 2 GB of RAM. On the other hand, iPhone 5 uses quad-core A6 chip which Apple claims will give double the CPU and graphics performance using just 1 GB of RAM.
Connectivity
On the connectivity front, Galaxy S4 supports Wi-Fi, NFC, Dual-video camera function, IR LED,GPS /GLONASS and Bluetooth v4.0. iPhone 5 has Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA, Wi-Fi hotspot and Bluetooth v4.0 with A2DP.
Image Sensor
Samsung Galaxy S4 comes equipped with a 13-megapixel camera with Auto-focus, Flash and hutter Lag with BIS sensor. It also comes with a 2 megapixel front camera. Its main attractions, Smart Scroll and Smart Pause features, track facial movements for scrolling through text or content and pauses video without the need for touching the screen.
In contrast, iPhone 5 features an 8-megapixel camera and packs simultaneous HD video and image recording, touch focus, geo-tagging, face detection, panorama and HDR, besides a 1.2 megapixel front camera.
Storage
iPhone 5 offers a relatively better storage option with 2GB RAM. Otherwise, both phones come in 16GB, 32GB and 64GB variants.
Battery
The Samsung handset packs a 2600 mAh battery and assures a long battery backup. iPhone 5, on the other hand, has a 1440 mAh battery that Apple claims will give 225 hours of standby time as opposed to 200 hours of standby in iPhone 4S.
Availability
Samsung's latest smartphone is likely to hit the market in April. The price is not revealed yet. The official pricing for the 16 GB version of iPhone 5 is ₹45,500. The 32GB and 64GB models are priced at ₹52,500 and ₹59,500, respectively. The pricing of 16 GB iPhone 5 is ₹45,500. The 32GB and 64GB models are priced ₹52,500 and ₹59,500, respectively.
