Samsung has announced the Galaxy S4 Active smartphone. As you might expect this new smartphone is based upon the flagship Samsung Galaxy S4 but with a slightly massaged specification - mostly to do with ruggedisation. This new handset, aimed at outdoors types, will be made available initially in urban grey, dive blue and orange flare colours.
Samsung says that the new Galaxy S4 Active is “purposefully designed for active users who love the outdoors”. In even more flowery language it said to be “designed to enhance life experiences of the active user who wants to stay connected while exploring environments from the most rugged mountain trails to the roughest rivers”. Thus Samsung has designed the S4 Active to exceed the IP67 dust and water proofing standards “so you never have to leave the device at home during a long day at the beach or dusty hike”. It’s been a long time since I went on a dusty hike.
Aqua Mode and Glove Touch
In a more exacting description of the new smartphone’s durability Samsung tell us that it can be submerged for up to 30 minutes at a depth of one metre without harm. While under water the camera can be used in ‘Aqua mode’ “to increase visual quality and clarity for enhanced underwater images and video.” A feature which may be appreciated in chilly environments is the ‘Glove Touch’ sensitive screen.
The differences between the Samsung Galaxy S4 Active and the regular S4
These two smartphones are very similar in specification, much more so than the Galaxy S4 and the Galaxy S4 Mini. Starting by comparing the physical properties of both phones the S4 Active is heavier, 151g compared to 130g. Also the Active is very slightly larger but more noticeably thicker than the standard S4. Gizmag has done a nice comparison between these two smartphones and below you can see the dimensional differences of the two side by side from one of their illustrations. This gadget journal thinks that the S4 Active may use an aluminium construction for durability but that is not detailed within Samsung’s official specs.
Looking at the smartphone internals the S4 Active uses a 1.9GHz Quad-Core Processor which has LTE capability, so we might assume it’s the same Qualcomm part we get in Galaxy S4s in the UK. The screen seems to be almost exactly the same with respect to dimensions and pixel density but the S4 Active uses a TFT LCD, also the battery is the same 2,600mAh unit. The S4 Active runs the latest version of Android Jelly Bean. While both devices have 2GB of RAM the Active is only available with 16GB of built-in storage, both phones can add storage via microSD.
Another specification difference is in the rear facing camera, with the S4 Active having a lower MP count; 8MP rather than 13MP.
This new Galaxy S4 and the Galaxy S4 Mini will be shown in London as part of the GALAXY & ATIV event on Thursday, 20th June.
