Is this the Samsung Galaxy S IV or is it in disguise again?
@ 2013/03/12Mere days before Samsung unveils its newest phone, a Chinese forum post has offered some purported shots of the Galaxy S IV. Now it's worth mentioning from the outset that Samsung plays a good game of subterfuge. It masked the Galaxy S III ahead of its reveal last year in a blockier plastic frame and it could be that this phone, with a very Note-esque face and outline, is also a filler ahead of the final reveal. It could also be yet another phone that will slot in elsewhere in Samsung's ever-expanding Galaxy family, or even a Shenzhen knock-off that's jumped the gun -- we spotted that the front-facing camera hole doesn't quite align properly.
However, with that said, there's still plenty here to muse on. The shots appear to be taken in a phone unlocking shop somewhere in China, with this GT-i9502 model apparently bound for carrier China Unicom. Interestingly (at least for a flagship), it appears to be a dual-SIM version, with the mono-SIM version apparently picking up model number GT-i9500 -- a number that would fit in with the series so far. According to the leak, it's running a fresh version of Android (4.2.1) with a 1080p display (no word on dimensions just yet), 2GB of RAM and a 13-megapixel camera on the back. The mention of a "5410" CPU suggests it's Samsung's Exynos Octa chip powering it and while AnTuTu might only recognize that as a quad-core chip, we noted during our hands-on with the new chipset that only four cores were being used at a time. We're still hoping Samsung's final design pushes the envelope a little further than a repositioned camera sensor and a new glossy texture -- we've added a shot of this after the break. Rest assured, Jeremy will be letting us in on the big secret later this week.
However, with that said, there's still plenty here to muse on. The shots appear to be taken in a phone unlocking shop somewhere in China, with this GT-i9502 model apparently bound for carrier China Unicom. Interestingly (at least for a flagship), it appears to be a dual-SIM version, with the mono-SIM version apparently picking up model number GT-i9500 -- a number that would fit in with the series so far. According to the leak, it's running a fresh version of Android (4.2.1) with a 1080p display (no word on dimensions just yet), 2GB of RAM and a 13-megapixel camera on the back. The mention of a "5410" CPU suggests it's Samsung's Exynos Octa chip powering it and while AnTuTu might only recognize that as a quad-core chip, we noted during our hands-on with the new chipset that only four cores were being used at a time. We're still hoping Samsung's final design pushes the envelope a little further than a repositioned camera sensor and a new glossy texture -- we've added a shot of this after the break. Rest assured, Jeremy will be letting us in on the big secret later this week.