Samsung Galaxy S4 Active Announced: The New Dust And Water-Resistant Model Ready To Take On Sony Xperia Z

Samsung announced the Galaxy S4 Active on Wednesday, a dust and water-resistant version of the flagship Galaxy S4 smartphone, which is expected to take on Sony's Xperia Z.

“Purposefully designed for active users who love the outdoors,” a company press release claimed. The device has a fully-sealed design, which is supposed to keep dust particles out and protect it against water damage for up to 30 minutes of submergence at a depth of one meter.

The Galaxy S4 Active also features a water-resistant earphone jack that allows users to use earphones in more adventurous conditions.

“Whether capturing every moment of a wild rafting trip or taking a great underwater photo in the pool, the device’s unique construction lets users capture amazing moments previously impossible using a normal smartphone,” Samsung said in a statement.

The Galaxy S4 Active is powered by a 1.9 GHZ Quad-Core processor and features a 5-inch Full HD TFT LCD screen at 443 pixels per inch. It also has “Glove Touch” technology that allows users to operate the touchscreen while wearing gloves.

The Galaxy S4 Active sports an 8-megapixel rear camera with LED Flash light and a 2 megapixel front camera. The phone has a unique “Aqua Mode” that can be used to increase visual quality and clarity for enhanced underwater images and video.

The new handset runs Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean and comes with 16GB of internal storage, which is expandable to 64GB. The device has 2GB of RAM, a 2,600mAh battery and connectivity options like LTE, HSDPA and WiFi.

According to Samsung, the Galaxy S4 Active will be available for purchase in the summer, with initial retail taking place in the U.S. and Sweden. The phone will be offered in three different color options -- Urban Grey, Dive Blue and Orange Flare.

The company also said that the Galaxy S4 Active would be offered for hands-on demonstrations at the “Samsung Premiere 2013” event in London on June 20.

The Samsung Galaxy S4 Active, a rugged version of the original Galaxy S4, is expected to challenge the Sony Xperia Z, which has already impressed many with its dust and water-resistance capabilities.

Samsung hopes that the design elements of the new Galaxy S4 Active, which boasts “IP67” dust and water resistance, would help the device stand out. IP stands for International Protection against ingress of solid foreign objects and harmful ingress of water. The highest level is IP68.

“Samsung has taken the innovative features of the Galaxy S4 and added breakthrough protective design elements to create a device that thrives in an active environment and is built for a lifestyle of travel and exploration,” said JK Shin, CEO and President of IT & Mobile Communications Division at Samsung Electronics.