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What we know about upcoming Samsung Galaxy SIV
The body
When you look at the Galaxy Note 8, it uses the same polycarbonate body as the Galaxy SIII which means the SIV will likely keep the same plastic based phone case as its predecessor.
The screen
Most rumors peg a larger the Samsung Galaxy SIV screen than its predecessor (likely a 5”). Additionally many analysts believe Samsung will ditch AMOLED screens and move to the Full HD experience SoLux display.
It seems pixel density is the new device cold war and Samsung is certainly feeling the pressure to increase the pixel density on its upcoming flagship device. The iPhone 5 has a pixel density of 326ppi while the newly released HTC One has 468 ppi. It is safe to assume the Galaxy SIV will be somewhere in between.
The Camera
Slightly more important than pixel density is camera quality. Users are now demanding better picture quality and this was one of the reasons I decided the Nexus 4 wasn’t worth it for me. HTC is pushing the industry to innovate by including an “ultrapixel” camera in its flagship HTC One. In addition to improving the actually camera and lens structure, one of the manufacturers has to start leveraging the incredible power these devices have to add bleeding edge algorithmic computing. Merging a quality camera, lenses and software will be the only way to deliver the quality pictures consumers are expecting.
The only rumors I have read so far on the Samsung Galaxy SIV is that it will come with a 13megapixel sensor. It’s important to remember that Samsung has a Galaxy branded point and shoot camera which may be an Ace up its sleeve. Hopefully they leverage that team to deliver an incredible camera experience using a larger camera sensor, a better lens setup and good software.
Android version
I am fairly confident predicting that the Galaxy SIV will launch with Android 4.2 since the launch event is in March. We expect Key Lime Pie to launch at Google IO in May and Google tends to keep the first release of a new OS in house for its Nexus devices.
I just hope the upgrade of the Galaxy SIV to Key Lime Pie won’t take a year. We can also assume Samsung will skin Android with its TouchWiz interface. Samsung is moving towards touchless control so it is conceivable this tech will end up in the new Galaxy SIV. It is tech that would allow you to control certain functions of the device without having to touch the it. I can imagine this tech use for the camera app, navigating the launcher, waking up the phone, etc.
The Power
No major speculation disagreements here. Everyone agrees we will see a larger battery than the S3 to provide almost all day battery to the power hungry LTE beast. But I don’t expect Samsung to deliver a massive multi-day capable battery.
I also expect Samsung to build in wireless charging. Nothing too sexy here.
The Brains
The internet was ablaze a few months ago about the possibility that Samsung may power its upcoming Galaxy SIV with the new Exynos Octa (8 core processor) but I believe it is more likely that we will see it powered by a quad-core 1.7Ghz Snapdragon 600 which has integrated LTE.
My dream device
As an iphone user that has to upgrade his phone in October of this year, I am particularly interested in what Samsung releases. If the device is well designed and includes the innovations I want, it may convince me to jump from IOS to Android for my everyday smartphone.
My wish list is:
- 5 inch full HD screen with a pixel density above 400ppi
- A much larger camera sensor and better software to deliver incredible pictures
- A quad-core LTE powered device
- All day battery even with moderate use
- 802.11 n/ac WIFI chip
Most of this is possible and likely. The second point is the only one I am not sure of.
