Most of you will, by now, have seen the prime time release of the Samsung Galaxy S4 on Thursday, and while the early opinions are flying about at will, it’s pretty hard to gauge just how the device fares against some of its rivals. The handset is overflowing with high-end features, and trumps pretty much everything else in the specs department, but in a face-to-face, real world comparison, how does Samsung’s latest outlet compare with its long-standing adversary, the iPhone? Several publications managed to get their hands on the Galaxy S4, and as well as offering in-depth, hands-on coverage, also briefly considered the presence of the iPhone 5.
AndroidAuthority went straight in with GeekBench, simply verifying the fact that the Galaxy S4 is indeed a monster. While the Apple device came in with a very respectable score of 1647, the Galaxy S4 managed nearly double, at 3157. As we know, the smartphone war is one seldom fought on benchmark scores, especially since real-world performance is difficult to measure using such a matter-of-fact system, but if you’re looking for out-and-out power, the Galaxy S4 has it in spades.
The video also touches on several of the Galaxy S4’s marquee features, including calorie counting, and although many consumers prefer the smaller, lighter feel of the iPhone 5, the reviewer does talk of how light and nimble the Samsung device is:
Also drawing early comparisons between the smartphone industry’s two major players was PhoneArena, who immediately commented on how both the S4 and iPhone 5 look "exactly" like their predecessors. Whilst not strictly true, it is interesting and noteworthy to see how Samsung appears to have gone with Apple’s tick-tock release cycle, essentially pushing out a Samsung Galaxy S III "S" by keeping the same look and bumping the features.
They were also quick to comment on the quality of materials used, and while Samsung has stuck once more with the plastic finish, the iPhone is arguably nicer to the touch thanks to its "premium" aluminum finish:
PocketNow focused its attentions on the bright whites of the iPhone 5’s LCD display versus the more subdued whites of the Super HD AMOLED of the GS4, and although the different uses of technology on the screens offer significantly varied results, there’s divided opinion as to which is definitively "better".
In its review, They were also rather complimentary of the look of the Galaxy S4. Although the consensus seems to be that the Galaxy range isn’t the prettiest, PocketNow‘s comments of the device "not shying away from beauty" afford it some rare aesthetic adulation.
So, those are some of the early hands-on reviews, but what do you think? Personally, having had the iPhone since the 3GS, I’m ready for an Android device at this point, and having been impressed by the HTC One when it was first announced a couple of weeks back, I see nothing here to prevent me going out and grabbing the Taiwanese company’s latest and greatest when it finally hits the stores.
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