Make no mistake, this week is going to be all about the Samsung Galaxy S4, which is all set for its official unveiling on March 14; so to start us off, here’s a series of images said to show the new phone in all its glory. Leaked on to a Chinese forum dedicated to all things Samsung, the pictures show a device identified as the GT-i9502, which a model number believed to be attached to the Galaxy S4.
As you can see, it’s an evolution of the Galaxy S3 design with more than a hint of the Galaxy Note 2 thrown in for good measure. It’s noticeably thicker than the S3, and the rear panel looks to have an unusual texture to it, which reminds us of how the BlackBerry Z10 looks in its pictures or a device like the LG Optimus G Pro. The camera lens is still mounted top center, but the flash has been moved below it, while the speaker which also flanked the lens on the S3 has been moved to the bottom corner, just like the Note 2 and the Galaxy Premier. It also has a home button below the screen, which several rumors have indicated would be a thing of the past on the new model.
The phone is shown to have Android 4.2.1 Jelly Bean installed, along with a screen resolution of 1920 x 1080, plus a quad-core processor with a PowerVR SGX 544MP graphics chip. While this may not sound like the eight-core Exynos 5 Octa chip we’re expecting, it probably is, and the AnTuTu benchmark test only recognizes the four-cores which are in use. The PowerVR graphics chip has been linked with the new Samsung processor, too.
Also indicated on the spec sheet is 2GB of RAM, a microSD card slot, a 13-megapixel camera, and a dual-SIM configuration. Samsung makes dual-SIM variants of many phones, including the Galaxy Grand and the recently announced dual-SIM Galaxy S3 Duos for China Telecom, making the early release of a dual-SIM Galaxy S4 in that region a possibility.
While the specification fits in with previous rumors, and the phone looks real enough in the pictures, we’re not convinced this is the final design. Samsung was incredibly secretive over the design of the Galaxy S3 prior to its announcement, to the point where phones let out into the world where disguised in dummy cases; so there’s no reason to imagine it would be any less careful with the Galaxy S4.
However, if this does turn out to be the final design, we suspect there will be a few disappointed fans out there, who were hoping for something more striking. Samsung is hosting its Galaxy S4 launch event in Times Square on March 14, and we’ll bring you all the news on the day as it happens.
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