Samsung Galaxy S4 Release Date Rumored For April 15 As More Specs And Potential Features Emerge
There has been much speculation about when the forthcoming Galaxy S handset will be released, but the latest rumor insists that Samsung will begin shipping units on April 15. This news comes from none other than Samsung news blog Sam Mobile, a site notorious for spilling information about the Korea-based company’s upcoming product launches. The same website also sourced a Korean newspaper, which said Samsung would hold its Mobile Unpacked event in the United States on March 22.
The Samsung-themed blog did not specify which Korean newspaper allegedly leaked this information, but did “report” that the event would see the unveiling of the Galaxy S4. No specific location other than the United States has been specified at this time.
In addition to hearing whispers pertaining to when the smartphone may launch, Sam Mobile has also gathered some other purported details. The Korea-based electronics manufacturer has reportedly changed the device’s code name from “Project J” to “Altius.” This alleged “Altius” smartphone is expected to come in two color variants at launch: black and white.
This is a little different than what we’re accustomed to with Samsung’s smartphone launches, since its most recent handsets have been made available in shades such as Marble White, Pebble Blue and Titanium Grey following launch. The blog continues to write that Samsung will brand these black and white colors with their own names like the ones above, but it does seem odd for Samsung to release a black-colored smartphone so soon.
We’ve heard some tidbits about the specs and features that could appear in the Galaxy S4, and now Sam Mobile claims to have confirmed that the forthcoming device will support wireless charging.
“Samsung will make the wireless charging kit available a couple of weeks later after bringing the device itself on sale,” Sam Mobile writes.
This indicates that the Galaxy S4 will come with a removable back plate just like the current-generation Galaxy S3, but we’ll have to eye this with speculation until Samsung officially unveils the handset. The device is also rumored to come with a 2600 mAh battery, compared to the 2100 mAh battery of the Galaxy S3.
This isn’t the first time we’ve heard rumors on the technical specifications for the Galaxy S4. Excitement about the next-generation device sparked when a Korean newspaper spilled alleged specs back in September. Digital Daily reported that the handset would be released in the first half of 2013 and would come equipped with a quad-core Exynos 5400 processor based on the Cortex-A15. This processor is believed to be under the code name “Adonis,” and is reportedly based on the 28nm manufacturing technology that Samsung is currently experimenting with.
In addition to information on the device’s processor, Sam Mobile has also said that the Galaxy S4 could come with a 4.99-inch Super AMOLED Full HD display, which is just about .2 inches larger than the 4.8-inch screen on the Galaxy S3. It also may come with 2GB of RAM, a 13-megapixel rear-facing camera that can shoot 1080p HD videos at 30 frames per second, a 2 megapixel front-facing camera, and Android 4.2.1 out of the box.
Sam Mobile’s report does, however, conflict with the information discovered from Korea in September. Rather than a quad-core Exynos chipset, the Samsung blog says the handset will come equipped with an Exynos octa-core CPU. This is one of the most highly-cited Galaxy S4 rumors to circulate in recent months, as CNET acknowledges, along with the notion that the device could come with a bendable, unbreakable screen.
Samsung and Apple comfortably sit at the forefront of today’s mobile arms race, and with each subsequent smartphone launch the competition heightens. In 2012 Apple’s iPhone 5 battled head-to-head with Samsung’s Galaxy S3 for the smartphone of the year title, and we’re looking forward to seeing what’s in store for 2013. It may be quite some time before we hear official word from either company, but for now we have the rumors to keep us satisfied.
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