Galaxy S4 is packed with so many features it can overwhelm you
The Samsung Galaxy S4 officially launched last week when Samsung Mobile Philippines introduced it to the media and their trade partners in a grand event at the NBC Tent. We’ve been playing around with the unit we bought over the weekend and we can definitely say that while in the outside it looks like an evolved Galaxy S3, the insides show a major, major upgrade (yes we’re channeling our inner Venus Raj). This smartphone is not only packed with monstrous internals but it’s also bursting with so much stuff. Let’s go through some of them in this article.
Air View, Air Gesture, Smart Stay, Multi-window
The photo above best captures our statement that the GS4 is packed with features. That’s the usual option toggle of Android. Look at how many the GS4 has! Lol. Crazy. Anyway, the usual Samsung software features like Air View, Smart Stay, and Multi-Window are present. The major feature that they added was Air Gesture. Basically you can scroll using gestures without touching the screen. This is probably useful when you’re chomping down on liempo and you don’t want to have grease all over your screen. It might also come in handing while driving.
Also I don’t know if this feature is tucked into Smart Stay or if it’s called by a different name but when you’re watching a video and you turn your head away the video will pause (freakyyyy~). Video resumes playing if you look at it again. Definitely way cool. Hopefully they can figure out a way to put this feature in the YouTube app, hehe.
Group Play
I honestly don’t know when this feature will come in handy but it’s a really cool gimmick. Group Play lets you play music across different GS4s. One phone will “host” it and the others will join. I mean if you can afford a GS4 you should be able to afford speakers right? Hehe.
S Health
If done right this feature might give the GS4 a huge boost. Healthy living is a growing lifestyle here in the Philippines and the idea of turning your phone into your fitness buddy is definitely compelling to a lot of health buffs. The S Health App is supposed to do a lot of fitness-related stuff including counting calories, monitoring exercise routines, and other fitness metrics. The experience becomes much better though if you buy the S Health related accessories which are due to come out by June locally.
Camera is out of this world good
The app that got the biggest upgrade is undeniably the camera. First they incorporated the gorgeous and functional user interface of the Galaxy Camera to the GS4. You get a toggle for all the smart features including the usual filters and smart shots. In addition to the usual stuff they threw in Eraser, Drama, Sound & Shot, and Animated Photo.
The smart shots are just the tip of the iceberg though. Based on initial reviews by international tech sites, the 13-megapixel shooter of the GS4 is being dubbed as the BEST Android camera on the smartphone so far. Boom. Pow.
But wait… there’s more
There are several other features that are in the phone like Story Album and S Travel. They all offer different functions but we weren’t able to test them out yet as of this writing. The ones we listed above are the major ones though that deserve highlighting.
In summary the Galaxy S4 is bursting at the seams with software features. Combine those with the compact form factor and the amazing pricing (especially if you get it from telcos) and you have a sure winner.
The Samsung Galaxy S4 retails for Php30,990 and is also available via postpaid plans from Smart and Globe. Smart is currently offering a promo wherein you can get it at zero cash out at Unli Data Plan 1500.
