5 Thoughts on the First Samsung Galaxy S4 Photo
Last night, Samsung once again teased the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S4 release, however, the tease was much different than the teaser videos that it has been releasing over the past few weeks. Instead, Samsung showed off a photo of what very well could be the Samsung Galaxy S4, a device that is supposed to arrive this week.
Over the past few months, Samsung Galaxy S4 rumors have been plentiful. While none of them have been confirmed just yet, there really isn’t a stone that hasn’t been unturned.
Samsung teased this Galaxy S4 image last night.
The Samsung Galaxy S4 display is all but confirmed to be 4.99-inches, its processor is likely going to be quad-core of some kind, possibly the Exynos 5 Octa, its camera looks like it will be 13MP, Android 4.2 Jelly Bean is more than likely going to be on board, and the device is likely going to have some powerful, smart features courtesy of Samsung.
Its release date has been no stranger to rumor either as its currently thought to be arriving in April with a release in the United States coming in either April or May. For those that follow Android devices from rumor to release, the fact that all of this has leaked out shouldn’t be surprising. Samsung devices often see their hardware and software emerge ahead of their announcements.
However, Samsung has in the past, managed to keep a tight lid on the actual device with its looks and overall design only emerging on the day of the launch event. And that’s exactly why it was odd to see the company tease a Samsung Galaxy S4 photo like it did last night.
The photo only partially shows off what appears to be a smartphone and while it doesn’t reveal much, there are a few things that we can seemingly glean from the image. There are also some questions that we have about the photos appearance.
Here now are five thoughts on what is believed to be the first official Samsung Galaxy S4 photo.
An Odd, Uncharacteristic Tease
In the past, Samsung has kept the designs of its devices under lock and key prior to their launch. The company made sure that the final design of the Samsung Galaxy S3 didn’t emerge until the day of its launch and the company did not tease the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 design, other than a short little snippet in a teaser video, prior to its launch last year at IFA.
So this photo, which was posted on Samsung’s Twitter and Facebook pages last night was a little bit of a shock given its past. Especially if this winds up being the real Samsung Galaxy S4. And at this point, there is no reason to believe that it’s not the real deal.
Samsung is known to use subterfuge in order to keep the designs of its devices a mystery ahead of launch, but this doesn’t feel like a fake. Instead, it feels more like an actual tease of the design.
Have Samsung’s Notorious Walls Fallen?
Prior to Samsung’s release of the render, photos of what allegedly could be the actual Samsung Galaxy S4 surfaced in China. The device looks very similar to the Galaxy S3 and the front somewhat mirrors the render that Samsung released last night.
This purported Galaxy S4 image leaked out of China earlier this week.
Because Samsung decided to only partially reveal the render last night, it’s impossible to say whether these two devices are one in the same. However, the overall look of them appears to be quite similar and that could mean that the device that has leaked out not only in photos but on video as well, could in fact be the Galaxy S4.
This alleged image shows a curved Galaxy S4.
If that winds up being the case, it could mean that Samsung’s notoriously strong security has been penetrated and that it, like Apple, was unable to stave off unwanted eyes.
Expect Curves
We’ve heard rumors that the Samsung Galaxy S4 could feature a boxy, more rectangular design. Leaked cases have even suggested that that might be the case. And while cases certainly aren’t the best source of rumors, they have been dead on about designs in the past.
Despite the rumors and leaks, Samsung’s image shows a device that isn’t sporting a rectangular design but a curved one instead. In fact, it looks a lot like the Samsung Galaxy S3.
Our Galaxy S4 concept features curves as well.
Does this mean that the Galaxy S4 will featured a curved design that was once again inspired by nature? No, but it certainly makes it more probably than a funky rectangular look.
So at this point, consumers should expect a Galaxy S4 with a curved design.
Silver Band Could Be Metal
We’ve heard a rumor in the past that Samsung could be complimenting the overall plastic design with some metal, possibly aluminum, around the side of the Galaxy S4. Our Samsung S4 concept showed what a Galaxy S4 with a metal strip might look like.
The Galaxy S4 render from Samsung shows off what appears to be a glistening strip that is all the way around the Galaxy S4 and it could be that it’s the metallic band that we’ve heard about.
Of course, it’s entirely possible that it’s just the light from the upper left of the image hitting the render but given the previous rumors, it’s entirely possible that it’s hinting at a metal band.
Missing Features
The timing of the release of the render isn’t the only odd thing about the Samsung Galaxy S4′s first photo. What’s also strange are the lack of any buttons on the rest of the device.
We took the Galaxy S4 photo and adjusted exposure and shadows in Aperture to reveal a better look at the actual device. From the image, we can see that it likely has a volume rocker on the left hand side, but oddly enough, other crucial things are missing.
We adjusted the Galaxy S4 image looking for clues.
For one, there is no speaker grille above the Samsung logo. We also don’t see any sensors which would likely help with the touch less gestures that Samsung supposedly has planned for the display. There is also no visible front-facing camera though it may be hidden in darkness.
So what this means is that while this might be teasing the design, it’s certainly not the full one. Samsung has to leave something to the imagination right?
Fortunately, we only have two days left before we find out what’s real and what is simply just rumor as Samsung is set to announce the Samsung Galaxy S4 at 7PM EST in New York City.
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