Samsung Galaxy 4 announced

Last week Samsung introduced the successor to the successful Galaxy S3 which has sold over 30 million units globally.

At a packed Radio City Hall in New York City Samsung unveiled their latest flagship device to fight the iPhone 5 for global smartphone supremacy.

The Samsung Galaxy S4 looks similar to the S3 expect the new model is slightly bigger, thinner and the specs have been beefed up.

The new S4 features a brighter 5-inch Super AMOLED screen with a 1920 x 1080 and comes in either a 1.6GHz octa-core or 1.9GHz quad-core processor, depending on the region you are in. The new device will come with a powerful 2,600mAh battery.

It weighs just 130g and measures 136.6 high, 69.8 wide and is just 7.9 thick. The two cameras featured include a 13MP rear camera and a 2MP one in the front. The new device will have 2 GB of RAM and will 16, 32, or 64 GB of storage and the ability to add more via a Micro SD slot.

It will also run Google’s latest version (4.2.2) of the Android operating system.

The hardware is without doubt impressive but the features and what the phone can do is that seems to be creating a buzz.

• Drama Shot lets you capture a sequence of photos and then combines them into one.

• The Dual Shot feature allows you to simultaneously take a photo with both cameras and then include yourself in the other shot.

• There is also feature that will let you remove someone from a video clip.

• Sounds and Shot lets you include audio in a picture that you took.

• S Translator allows you to text or read a message into your phone and the S4 will read back or text back the translation in the language you require.

• Smart Pause/ Smart Scroll will allow you to read your emails easier by being able to scroll down simply by moving the phone from left to right. As soon as you look away the sensor will pause and will resume as soon as you look at the phone again. This also works when you are watching a video on your phone. The moment you look away it pauses the video.

• Air Gesture allows you to control by waving your hand from left to right just a few centimetres from the screen.

• Samsung WatchOn turns your phone into the ultimate remote control for your TV and other home entertainment systems.

• S Health tracks your workouts, has a built in pedometer, it monitors your weight levels and daily intake as well as your blood pressure and glucose levels based on the algorithm. It can also link to a heart rate monitor to use the data and help improve your health.

• Group Play lets users simultaneously share photos or music with several other devices at the same time

While some have called many of the new features gimmicky, Samsung have gone all out to differentiate the Galaxy S4 from other Android devices in the market.

The real battle is going to be fought between Samsung and Apple who together account for 70 % of global smartphone sales.

Apple is due to release a new version of the iPhone later this year.

The Samsung Galaxy S4 will be available globally including in South Africa at the end of April. No pricing is available yet.