The everything phone for (almost) everyone

As the Galaxy S counter flips another digit, Samsung has hopes of getting an even tighter grip on the smartphone market, and reasserting its Android dominance. With two of the main rivals enjoying a head-start to the market, the Samsung Galaxy S4 would need to be something special to quickly erase their lead. Not to mention, it's looked upon to match, and outdo, its predecessor. And by the first impressions of the smartphone, that might be not be as tall an order as it sounds.

Samsung Galaxy S4 official photos

The new Samsung flagship improves on just about every aspect of the previous generation, coupling more powerful hardware with another handful of new software features. With a bunch of new sensors too, the Galaxy S4 aims to be your must-have all-in-one tool.

With the Galaxy S4, Samsung clinches its goal of global smartphone domination. The supercharged Android 4.2 Jelly Bean device may look like a toy compared with the stunning HTC One and the dapper iPhone 5 . But taken together, its blazing quad-core processor, colorful 5-inch HD screen, sharp-shooting 13-megapixel camera, and mile-high stack of software extras make the Galaxy S4 the most powerful superphone anywhere in the world.

What does the Galaxy S4 have? A better question is: what doesn't it have? There's the 1080p screen, zippy processing speeds that are ideal for gaming , and an IR blaster that can control your TV. Then there's the parade of camera tricks that cram action shots into one scene, use both front and back cameras, and film a video in slow-mo. The GS4 can harness your eyeballs to pause video, and it can answer a phone call with the wave of your hand. Unlike the HTC One and the iPhone 5, it also piles on expandable storage space and a removable battery.

It's true: most of the GS4's featurettes aren't essential -- and some aren't even very useful, like the camera's Eraser mode, which I never got to work, a subpar optical reader, and a translation tool that just duplicates what Google Translate already does. While none stands out as a must-have, cannot-possibly-live-without extra, these features do add up to a compelling testament that the Galaxy S4 is more than a step ahead of the pack.

So, if you want a lovingly crafted statement phone that barely strays from Android's core offering, then buy the HTC One, which also has double the internal storage for about the same price. But if you're looking for a superphone that surpasses all other handsets on the features front, then you'll find in this deserving all-around flagship a strong mix of extremely competent hardware and aspirational software with very few major drawbacks.

Design and build

Throughout the lifetime of Samsung's Galaxy S line , one of the biggest complaints levied against the manufacturer was -- and is -- how its plastic construction and flimsier-looking industrial design fall short compared with premium rivals from Apple and HTC.

No, Samsung sticks by plastic, and points to only a handful of Android enthusiasts who really care about vaunted materials like aluminum and glass. Yet the phone maker has also made an effort to add more "refined" touches to the Galaxy S4.

Samsung Galaxy S4 flanked by the iPhone 5 and HTC One — *The Samsung Galaxy S4 is made of more modest material than the HTC One, left, and iPhone 5.* *Josh Miller/CNET*

Indeed, when you compare the S3 and S4 side by side, you note a more rectangular home button, and metallic accents around the rim. The S4's 5-inch screen is taller and the bezel surrounding the display slimmer. Its volume and power/lock buttons are metallic-looking polycarbonate, and tooled to have slanted sides and a flat top. Look closely, and you'll see that the gaps around these controls are narrower, too.

The GS4's metallic spines are also reworked to be steeper and less curved than the Galaxy S3. In fact, while Samsung boasted its GS3 was inspired by nature, the GS4's straight sides seem to be inspired by the iPhone 5 or HTC One.

Galaxy S4, Galaxy S3 — Samsung's Galaxy S4, left, looks a lot like its predecessor, the Galaxy S3. Josh Miller/CNET

At 5.4 inches tall by 2.8 inches by 0.3 inch thick, the Galaxy S4 is actually 0.7 millimeter thinner than GS3, and at 4.6 ounces, it's 0.7 ounce lighter as well. Yet, the S3 and S4 generations still look so similar, you might not know the difference if you're not looking closely. When in doubt, flip the S4 over to see the new tiny black-and-silver diamond design on the black mist model, or a similar pinprick design on the white frost edition. As with the Galaxy S3's brushed-plastic backing, the newer generation is so reflective, you could use it as a makeshift mirror.

However, despite this fact, the screen on the S4 has been increased once more, to a whopping 5-inch display with Full HD resolution. This means the same amount of pixels you'd have seen on a TV that cost well over £1,000 four years ago is now riding around in your pocket. OK, it's no longer a big deal, but that doesn't mean it's not a greatly impressive screen.

Let's not pretend that Samsung is a pioneer in this area either: like a great many features of the Galaxy S4, the phone borrows a lot from the other top smartphones of the moment. Both the Sony Xperia Z1 and the HTC One have screens that rock the same resolution, but neither of them have the jaw-dropping clout of the Super AMOLED HD screen on offer here.

On top of that, there's a much faster processor packed under the hood, ample storage space for media thanks to an expandable memory card slot, and the likes of 4G, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC and pretty much any other connection you care to mention on board.

Samsung has tried to supplement this with a tranche of software upgrades too, meaning a more powerful camera, a better way to communicate with your friends and consume media, and interestingly a big push into health through dedicated apps too.

The Samsung Galaxy S4 costs the same as the HTC One, give or take a pound or two, on contract. This now puts it down around £29 per month, which isn't too bad for such a high-end model.

It can now also be had for just £420 on PAYG with EE, which makes it a much better proposition... and is much cheaper than the equivalent iPhone 5C too.

But before we dissect all the possibilities the phone has to offer, let's look at the design. As we mentioned, it's impressive in its form factor, thanks to the sub-8mm thickness, and at 130g it manages to still be light without shaving off so much heft that you feel like you've got a flimsy piece of plastic.

That's probably the biggest compliment we can pay the Samsung Galaxy S4 - where its predecessor felt a little bit cheap in the hand, the S4 manages to bring a much more solid build and better construction to boot.

So while the "faux metal" band makes a comeback on this model, it looks a lot more premium. And there's very little flex in the chassis when you hold it tightly, which was another problem with the Galaxy S3 at times.

It can get dented very easily though, and be careful not to crack your screen if you do so - we've heard of a few instances where this has happened to S4 users, although that can be said of many other polycabonate smartphones.

That doesn't mean that the phone is completely remodelled from the S3 - it's very similar in appearance, so much so that a number of people asking to see it during our review thought we were palming them off with our old S3. The polycarbonate chassis remains, but that brings with it the faithful battery cover, which conceals a removable battery and microSD slot.

We're not so fussed about the battery being able to drop out of the phone - so few people carry around a spare battery, and nowadays portable charging blocks are becoming so cheap and light that they make much more sense too.

We'd almost prefer something like the Sony Xperia Z1, which has a refined and packaged chassis but doesn't need a removable battery: it makes use of a slot instead for the memory card. This integrated nature would make for a slightly more premium feel to the phone.

However, it's a small gripe with the S4, as while the cover feels flimsy, it's better than it was on the S2 and the S3, and they both sold like hot cakes.

In the hand, the Samsung Galaxy S4 feels much better than any other Samsung phone we've held (apart from the gargantuan smartphones the brand used to make - the i8910 Omnia HD might have been built like a brick, but it felt wonderful to hold). The screen's spread towards the sides of the phone means a much narrower bezel, and the effect is certainly impressive.

It might look very similar to the S3, but when you take the Samsung Galaxy S4 up close, you really start to appreciate the nuances.

We'd say it feels a lot more like the LG Optimus G range now - when we first picked it up, we were struck with how similar it felt in terms of sturdiness and the polycarbonate construction to the LG Optimus G Pro.

It's since been mimicked once more by the LG G2, which is a real competitor to this handset - it's got the same uglier plastic case, but much improved innards at the same price.

That's no criticism, as the device is well built, but it has a similar rounded feel. This is intriguing given the history of the two companies, and shows more of a leaning towards the plastic shell from the Asian brands in general.

Buttonry has barely changed from before - the power button has been shifted slightly on the right-hand side, and is now much easier to hit. Samsung has clearly taken some lessons from the Galaxy Note 2, which has a really well positioned power/lock button.

The volume key is less easy to hit, and could be lower down in our eyes, but the travel on both of these buttons is satisfying, and you'll always know when you've hit them.

The plastic used on the home key has been upgraded too, with a more solid feel under the thumb when you press down to get back to the main home screen. The two buttons flanking it give you access to menus or take you back from whence you came, and while both are easily hidden, they light up nicely with an even glow when called into action.

There are loads of sensors on the front of the phone above the screen, including cameras to track your eyes, a 2MP camera for HD video calling and a proximity sensor for knowing where the phone is in relation to your ear. On the white review unit we had, their presence looks rather ugly either side of the generous earpiece, but on the darker models this is less of an issue.

The other notable addition to the design of the Galaxy S4 is the infra red blaster on the top of the phone. This enables you to control your TV, satellite box, DVD player, amp and even air conditioner. Again, this isn't a new feature, but it works well in practice, and despite being small is powerful enough indeed.

Other than that, there's not a lot more to say about the design of the phone, as it's just a little underwhelming. We know it's unfair to lambast a brand for not overhauling the design every year, but in the One X and the One, HTC has proven that it is possible to offer up a new design each time around and still keep things attractive.

Looking so similar to the Galaxy S3, you can't help but feel Samsung has gone a little too Apple and created something more in keeping with the Samsung Galaxy S3S - a minor update to a great phone to keep those coming out of contract happy that they have a premium phone to upgrade to.

We do implore you to get the phone in your hand before making a judgement though - while it's not got the best design on the market when it comes to materials, it's a big step forward compared to the Galaxy S3 and allows for a grippy and easy-to-hold phone, with a whopping screen inside.

It still feels cheap as chips compared to the iPhone 5S and HTC One though.

But to just dismiss it for being plastic would be doing the S4 a disservice as it has so much more going for it than that, but it's worth remembering that to a lot of people, the way a phone looks is as important as how much RAM it's got on board and how fast the CPU is - if not more so.

All about the screen
Let's head back to the screen for a minute. The 5-inch 1080p HD display yields a pixel density of 441ppi, which is higher than Apple's 321ppi screen and lower than the HTC One's 468ppi screen. In the end, I'm not sure how much these pixel density wars matter . The naked eye doesn't calibrate numbers, but it does understand if an image looks rich and sharp and detailed, versus dull and blurred.

Samsung Galaxy S4 — *A closer look at the "frost white" Galaxy S4.* *Jessica Dolcourt/CNET*

Carrying on its fine tradition, the Galaxy S4's HD AMOLED display nails it with color saturation and contrast, sharply defined edges and details. Articles are easy to read, gameplay looks good, and photos and videos look terrific.

In a new display setting, Samsung attempts to correct an old complaint about certain colors, like green, looking too saturated. In the screen mode settings, you can choose to let the GS4 auto-adjust the color tone depending on what you're looking at. As on the Galaxy Note 2 , you can also manually select from dynamic, professional photo, and movie presets, the latter of which CNET display guru David Katzmaier says yields the most accurate colors .

There are a few other important things to note about the Galaxy S4's display besides color and sharpness. As with the GS3, this year's model is highly reflective indoors and out, and even at its full brightness, it can seem dim outside when fighting bright light.

Outdoor readability in strong sunlight is really tough; when taking photos, I very often couldn't tell that my finger covered the lens until I got back inside, a plight that ruined several pictures. Now would have been the time for Samsung to follow Nokia's lead with its excellent polarized screen filter on phones like the Nokia Lumia 920 .

At least Samsung did mimic another terrific Nokia implementation, giving the S4 a sensitive screen you can navigate with a gloved hand in addition to the naked finger.

On top of possessing a sensitive screen, the Galaxy S4 is also the first commercially available device to feature the thinner, stronger Gorilla Glass 3 cover glass.

1080p Super AMOLED display is what geeks' dreams are made of

One of the most important updates that the Samsung Galaxy S4 brings is the new 5" Super AMOLED screen of 1080p resolution. While it does have a PenTile matrix, the 441 ppi pixel density makes sure you won't be able to spot the hated cross-hatch pattern.

Key features

Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE; quad-band 3G with HSPA; LTE
5" 16M-color 1080p Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen with Gorilla Glass 3
Android OS v4.2.2 Jelly Bean with TouchWiz UI
Quad-core 1.9 GHz Krait 300 CPU, Adreno 320 GPU; Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 chipset/ Quad-core 1.6 GHz Cortex-A15 & quad-core 1.2 GHz Cortex-A7, PowerVR SGX 544MP3 GPU; Exynos 5410 chipset
2GB of RAM
13 MP autofocus camera with LED flash,1080p video recording @ 30fps, continuous autofocus and stereo sound
2 MP front-facing camera, 1080p video recording
Dual shot and dual video recording, Drama shot, Shot and sound
Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac, Wi-Fi Direct and DLNA
GPS with A-GPS, GLONASS
16GB/32/64GB of built-in storage
microSD card slot
microUSB port with USB host and MHL 2.0
Bluetooth v4.0
NFC
IR port for remote control functionality
Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
Accelerometer and proximity sensor
Barometer, thermometer, hygroscope
IR gesture sensor for Air gestures
Smart gestures: Smart stay, Smart pause, Smart scroll
Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic
Ample 2600 mAh battery with great endurance
7.9mm thickness
Smart volume and Adapt Sound features for the music player

Main disadvantages

Design is a bit played out by now
Hyperglaze finish doesn't feel as premium as aluminum on HTC One or glass on Xperia Z
No FM radio
Video recording is slightly worse than on the Galaxy S III; FOV in video is pretty narrow
Shared camera interface makes framing tricky

So, there are enough major wows, some minor ohs and just a few oh wells - not a bad achievement when you are succeeding the most popular droid of all time. The Samsung Galaxy S4 was always expected to aim for the top, but its announcement still managed to surprise a few. The fact that the Koreans squeezed a larger screen, a bigger battery and more power into something smaller than the Galaxy S III is impressive enough in its own right, but the novelties certainly don't end there.

Samsung Galaxy S4 at ours

We only got the chance to get to know a few of the Samsung Galaxy S4 exclusive software tricks in our preview, but we'll be testing the full set this time around. The new camera also showed promise and we'll put it through all the motions to find out if it can really live up to its potential.

The phone's screen is a big deal, no doubt, but in my opinion, the other most interesting new real estate lies north of its display.

A 2-megapixel front-facing camera sits in the upper-right corner, neighbored to the left by ambient light and proximity sensors. To the left of the speaker grill is the phone's IR, or infrared, sensor. There's also an LED indicator at the top left corner. This will glow or blink green, red, or blue to indicate certain activities.

Samsung Galaxy S4's IR blaster — *An infrared blaster turns your Galaxy S4 into a universal TV and DVR remote. Sarah Tew/CNET*

Sharing the top edge with the phone's 3.5-millimeter headset jack is the Galaxy S4's brand-new IR blaster, which you'll use in conjunction with the Watch On app as a TV remote (it works!) All things being equal, I prefer how HTC integrated its IR blaster in the One's power button.

Below the screen, the home button takes you home (press), launches Samsung's S Voice app (double press), and loads up recently opened apps (hold). Press and hold the menu button to launch the Google Search app with Google Now . The back button is self-explanatory.

You'll adjust volume on the left spine, charge the phone from the bottom, and turn the phone on and off from the right spine. On the back, you'll see the 13-megapixel shooter and LED flash just below. Pry off the back cover to get to the microSD card slot, SIM card slot, and battery.

So do I like the new design? I do. Its sharper edges do make it look like a more premium device than its predecessor, but it won't ever be as eye-popping as the gorgeous HTC One or as understatedly elegant as the iPhone 5. Still, it's pleasant to look at and, in my opinion, more comfortable to hold than the other two.

The only thing I don't like is how Samsung's power/lock screen seems to easily light up the phone while it's tossed around in my purse. Over the years, this has been a constant personal annoyance, not only to find a phone turned on that I had clearly turned off, but more importantly, to see my handset's battery level low because I hadn't realized the screen was sucking it down. I'd probably prefer this button up top.

OS and interface

The Galaxy S4 proudly runs Android 4.2.2 beneath its very highly customized Touch Wiz interface. Argue the pluses and minuses of stock Android versus overlay all you want -- Touch Wiz has long looked outdated and stale (especially compared with HTC's fresh new UI ,) but Samsung's pile of software lets the GS4 go places that a stock Android phone can't even dream about without rooting and mods .

Take my favorite new interface addition, for example. Samsung has bulked up its one-touch system icons in the notifications shade. Tap a new button in the upper right corner to expand the list to 15 icons you'll no longer have to dig through settings menus to find. If you press the edit button, you'll be able to drag and drop icons to reorder them. This is very cool and extremely useful for finding and toggling settings.

Galaxy S4's notifications — The new notifications shade on the Galaxy S4 adds a heap of new one-touch settings options; you can reorder their positions in the edit menu. Screenshot by Jessica Dolcourt/CNET

Menus play a huge role in the Touch Wiz ecosystem, so new users shouldn't neglect them. This is where a tremendous range of editing and advanced settings options live for apps as diverse as the home screen, the browser, the keyboard, and so on.

In an attempt to simplify the settings menu, the GS4's gets a makeover that breaks up topics into separate screens for connections, device items like the lock screen, gestures, and keyboard settings, an accounts pane, and the More category for battery, storage, and security concerns.

Keyboard options
I have a love-hate relationship with every virtual keyboard I meet. I demand grammatical and spelling accuracy, but am also apparently a sloppy typist. Punctuation always takes too long to insert and autocorrect rarely seems smart enough.

Keyboard options on the Samsung Galaxy S4 — *Swype and the default Samsung keyboard are two options. You can also input voice and handwriting besides. Screenshot by Jessica Dolcourt/CNET*

The Galaxy S4 gives you a few options. There's the standard Samsung keyboard, which lets you turn on SwiftKey Flow for tracing out words. There's also a separate Swype keyboard you can use instead.

I still became aggravated with mistakes and a slower typing flow than I wanted, but I did like the multiple Samsung keyboard options to introduce handwriting or insert images from the clipboard -- not that I can see myself using either.

Lock screen
In the Galaxy S4, the lock screen has become a more customizable place. You'll still choose if you swipe to unlock or use a passcode or face scan, and you can still add and order lock screen icons that serve as shortcuts to the camera, search, and your contacts.

Now, however, there are lock screen widget options, similar in concept to what you can get on Windows Phone , but different in execution. For example, you choose if you'd like to see the clock or a personal message on the screen, and if you'd like to swipe to open a list of favorite apps or launch the camera (I chose the camera and clock).

Getting the camera to open from the lock screen isn't all that intuitive. The trick is to swipe right to left near the top of the widget. If you swipe on the bottom half of the page, you'll go straight into the home screen.

There's also a nice new lock screen effect: Light. With Air View enabled, a point of light follows your fingertip as you hover over the display.

Easy mode
If the full Touch Wiz experience feels too confusing, Samsung is trying what others, such as Korean competitor Pantech , have done to simplify its take on Android with an easy mode.

Around in Samsung products since the Galaxy Note 2, easy mode, which you can start during the setup process or find later in the settings, replaces your home screens and reskins some critical apps (calendar, browser, contact list, and so on) to pare down the quantity of confusing options.

Easy Mode in the Galaxy S4 — *Easy Mode vastly simplifies the Android experience on the home screens and within certain key apps. Screenshot by Jessica Dolcourt/CNET*

You'll still get access to core apps and features, even some extra camera modes. The icons and fonts enlarge across the easy-mode apps, and the browser includes a plus/minus icon for further increasing the phone's font size. The settings menu, however, remains the same, and it's easy to toggle back and forth from the "light" interface to full-on Touch Wiz.

Eye-tracking and gestures
Eye-tracking software sounds like a cool, futuristic power for controlling your phone with your peepers, but that's really only partway true. It isn't so much that the cursor or text follows the movement of your eyes, which you probably wouldn't want anyhow, if you think about it. More generally, the software knows when you're paying attention and when you avert your gaze.

Smart Pause and Smart Scroll are two features that build off the Galaxy S3's optional Smart Stay feature, which kept the screen from dimming when you looked at it. In the GS4, tilting the screen up or down while looking at it scrolls you up or down, say if you're reading a CNET story, of course. As a daily commuter with one hand on the phone and one on a hand strap, I think this could be a more convenient way to catch up with news while on the train or bus.

Smart Pause on the Galaxy S4 — *With Smart Pause turned on, videos pause when you look away and start up again when you focus back on the screen. Sarah Tew/CNET*

I really like the idea of Smart Pause, which halts a video you're watching when your eyes dart away, then resumes when you start paying attention again. Smart Pause was more responsive and easier to control than the scrolling, which experienced some abrupt motions and a short lag time.

While you can make googly eyes at the GS4, most gestures are still reserved for your fingertips. Hovering features known as Air View make their way from the stylus-centric Galaxy Note 2 and Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet to the Galaxy S4, but replace the stylus with your digit.

Hover your finger and you can preview a video clip or image from the photo gallery, glance at browser tab thumbnails, find your place on a video timeline, and check out an e-mail. You'll also be able to magnify calendar events and get a closer look in speed dial. As I mentioned above, Flipboard has built a customized app to work with Air View that lets you hover over a tile to see which articles lie beneath.

*You can control the Galaxy S4 by waving your hand in front of the camera sensor. Sarah Tew/CNET*

In addition to hovering with a fingertip, you can wave or wipe your whole hand in front of the screen (and sensor near the Samsung logo) to navigate around. For example, enable this gesture and you can agitate your palm to pick up the phone or switch songs in a playlist. Steadily sliding your hand back and forth can advance photos in a gallery, or browser tabs. You can also scroll up and down in a list.

The feature was a little jerky and jumpy when I tried it, but it did work. As with eye-tracking, you'll have to wait a half-second to see results. Luckily, air gestures are sensitive up to 3 or 4 inches off the top of the phone, so you have a little latitude...or altitude, as it were.

Samsung really envisioned using these gestures in specific scenarios, mostly when your hands are already full with something else. For instance, you'll probably never wave your hand over the phone to answer it unless you're in a car, but when you do, it'll automatically pick up in speakerphone mode. If you have Bluetooth pairing, it'll kick into the car's Bluetooth if you answer that way.

Likewise, passing your hand over the sensor to advance music titles works best when your phone is docked on your desk.

S Voice and Google Now

S Voice is Samsung's answer to Apple's Siri and is present on the Galaxy S4. S Voice can be used to initiate a call, dictate text, play music, open an app, change a setting, make a memo (including voice memo), add a reminder, schedule an event, set an alarm or timer, check the weather, do a search on the internet, look for local listings (e.g. nearby restaurants) and even get an answer to a question.

S Voice

S Voice does duplicate parts of Google Now, but being less search focused it tries to do more on the actual phone and it has some added features. Some of these are available outside of S Voice too, so you can set the Galaxy S4 to answer a call, snooze an alarm, take a photo and what not by voice commands even when S Voice isn't running. The problem with S Voice is not nearly as fast or as accurate at recognizing your speech input as Now.

Naturally, being a Jelly Bean smartphone, the Galaxy S4 also comes with Google Now.

Google Now integrates with your Google account and can access your daily routine, internet searches, email, etc. and give you information relevant to your interests and daily needs.

It provides traffic information to your work or home, knows those scores of sports teams you follow, gives you the weather forecast for your city and can even tell you who Kevin Spacey is.

Google Now

Google Now also has its own separate widget on the homescreen.

Battery life

Ah, the old battery life test. One of the world's most difficult things to rate, thanks to the sheer range of things you can do with the phone to keep it from throwing out all its juice in a heartbeat.

If you can't be bothered to read why, just understand that Galaxy S4 = pretty good battery life.

For one person the Galaxy S4 is a treasured beast, only brought out into the dappled light to check emails manually once an hour for most of the day. For the next it's an all-powerful media gruntmonkey, one that will be streaming movies over a 4G connection while auto-updating every app under the sun.

Whatever you use your phone for, in our eyes it should be able to handle what the handset's main USPs are.

But the good news is that the Samsung Galaxy S4 is able to handle all the things you can throw at it and still keep the 2600mAh battery chugging along at the end of the day. We found that in general use it was very well received, as nothing we found could hurt it.

Our usual test is performed on the commute to work, the time where we're at our most 'phone-use-y'. For this test, like all other phones, we streamed the audio over Bluetooth headphones (Rockaway Novero, if you're asking).

A 10 minute cycle ride with music playing dropped things by 1%. Streaming video over 4G for 10 minutes with full brightness on the screen pulled down another 3%. Then it was more music for 30 minutes, which ate another 2%, and then downloading a 86MB game file over 4G, which munched 3%.

A little more music playing, combined with general email checking and testing out the air gestures, air view and smart scroll saw a battery drain of just over 10% for the hour we were trundling to work. That's really impressive, as we reckon high drain capability of 10% per hour will lead to more than enough juice come the end of the day.

We never found ourselves in that situation, which is great. You can always pop in another battery, thanks to this being removable, but in truth, it wasn't needed.

We will say that those that like gaming, movie watching and internet browsing will struggle to make the battery last on this phone, as the screen is the biggest drain. That sounds obvious, but we're actually happy that the Galaxy S4 isn't one of those devices that will see your battery juicing down from an overly-enthusiastic background syncing process.

After a few months of using the Samsung Galaxy S4, we found that the battery life was definitely better than other models on the market. With medium to low usage, you'll easily get to 50% by the end of the working day, and that's including some music streaming, internet browsing and video watching.

The Galaxy S4 has an excellent sleep mode that means that when it's inactive it can really drop the drain on the CPU, and achieve that in a much better manner than other devices.

While the S4 is OK, the lower-end CPU isn't up to the power of the Qualcomm 800 seen in the LG G2 and Sony Xperia Z1 Compact - these are much more power efficient and are even more adept at connecting to wearables without an impact on battery life.

Source

GSM Arena Samsung Galaxy S4 Reviews (Design 6.5/10, Features 7.3/10, Performance 7.4/10)

Engadget Samsung Galaxy S4 Reviews (Critic's Reviews 8.4/10, User Reviews 8.7/10)

Techradar Samsung Galaxy S4 Reviews

CNET Samsung Galaxy S4 Reviews (CNET Rating 4.5/5, Average User Rating 3.5/5)

The Good The Samsung Galaxy S4 has Android 4.2.2, a fantastic camera, a powerful quad-core processor, and software solutions for just about every scenario -- including working as a TV/DVR remote. It's also comfortable in hand and has NFC, a user-replaceable battery, and a microSD storage slot.

The Bad Its screen is dimmer than competitors', its plastic design gives it a cheaper look than its rivals, and we found the Galaxy S4's power button turned on at undesirable times. Not all camera modes work as promised, and a long list of software features can quickly overwhelm and confuse.

The Bottom Line Its laundry list of features require time and effort to truly master, but the Galaxy S4 is the top choice for anyone looking for a big-screen, do-everything smartphone.

Official Website

Where to Buy

Official Website

$449.99 WElectronics SAMSUNG I9500 GALAXY S4

$248.50 - $573.50 NegriElectronics Samsung Galaxy S4

$595.00 SGBest Samsung Galaxy S4 Octa I9500

$599.00 Amazon Samsung Galaxy S4, Black 16GB (Verizon Wireless)

$440.40 Amazon SAMSUNG GALAXY S4 White i9500 16GB INTERNATIONAL VERSION-NO WARRANTY*free shipping

$429.88 Amazon Samsung Galaxy S4 i9505 16GB /LTE 800/850/900/1800/2100/2600 Unlocked International Version No Warranty White*free shipping

$422.00 Amazon SAMSUNG GALAXY S4 i9500 16GB INTERNATIONAL VERSION-NO WARRANTY BLACK COLOR*free shipping

$0.01 - $629.99 Amazon Samsung Galaxy S4, Black Mist 16GB (AT&T)

$0.01 - $649.00 Amazon Samsung Galaxy S4, Purple (Sprint)