Galaxy S4 - Watch Thread....

Samsung might use a high tech display which has hexagon and diamond shaped pixel structures on the Galaxy S4.

The hexagon and diamond shaped pixel structures would bump up the pixel per inch count to more than 440PPI+.

http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20130118PD208.html

Samsung developing new pixel layout for its small-size AMOLED panels
Julian Ho, Taipei; Alex Wolfgram, DIGITIMES [Tuesday 22 January 2013]
Samsung Display is reportedly working on new pixel layouts for use in its upcoming small-size AMOLED panels in order to bump up the panels' resolutions, according to industry sources.

The sources said Samsung is developing hexagon- and diamond-shaped pixel layouts for the panels in order to increase resolutions above 440ppi, which is difficult to achieve using the current side-by-side layout.

The panels are likely to be made via a LITI production process, and used in Samsung's reported Galaxy S4, which when released will likely have one of the highest resolution displays on the market, noted the sources.
Click to expand...

EDIT: This adds to apparent pixel density and hence technically will result in higher perceived PPI. Most likely better than PenTile and an improvement over current RGB Display technology.
 
Last edited:
I doubt there'll be a big enough improvement to lure over the current S3 or Note 2 owners. Most people upgrading will probably be doing so for the sake of upgrading or are just S2 owners who held out.

What it is speculated so far:

-1080P
A higher PPI and that's about it. The effective res will still probably be the same. More pixels to drive, so the more power it'll consume.

-Quad A9/A15
Yeah it's an upgrade but most people won't notice it outside of "mobile gaming". Might have an increased battery life or just balance the scale between processing the high pixel count/ low power soc.

-Better Camera
Situational thing often not big enough to drive people to upgrade.

Samsung will really need to add in some neat feature if they want some buzz, but right now theres nothing compelling about the S4.
 
ItaliaFerrari said:
Except it's the exact opposite of PenTile.

PenTile = less apparent pixel density.
Click to expand...

Pentile claims each Green/Red or Green/Blue grouping as "one pixel" to boost the screen resolution while saving money and making a display that looks worse. So they are only using two sub pixels instead of three sub pixels but claiming the full resolution of displays with three sub pixels.
 
Last edited:
I would say that most phone users skip a generation because their contracts are 2 years. Has always been the case. What phone has had enough improvements to drive people to upgrade at full price?

Also I will admit I do not understand the limitations of pixel layout in OLED, but I will definitely be skeptical. Anything that does not make real pixels with a set of 3 subpixels per pixel that are NOT shared with any other pixel ever is not real DPI to me.And I will say the same for any pixel that is not uniformly sized in the vertical and horizontal direction, remember all those horrible plasmas with rectangular pixels or macs lol.
 
Last edited:
ItaliaFerrari said:
EDIT: This adds to apparent pixel density and hence technically will result in higher PPI. Most likely better than PenTile and an improvement over current RGB Display technology.
Click to expand...

1080p @ 5" = 440ppi. They can make the subpixels octagonal, hexagonal, or phallic symbols, PPI still means pixels per inch. The purpose of this technology is to allow for closer subpixel groups, allowing for greater density in other displays as well, IE, 1080p @ perhaps 4" or 4.5". Like Plasma, OLED doesn't allow for extreme pixel densities quite as easily as LCD does.

Perhaps they couldn't achieve 440ppi using their old layout. Either way, the screen was always going to be 440ppi. They can't make it more than 440ppi if it is to be 1080p @ 5".

Agenesis said:
-Quad A9/A15
Yeah it's an upgrade but most people won't notice it outside of "mobile gaming". Might have an increased battery life or just balance the scale between processing the high pixel count/ low power soc.
Click to expand...

While I still believe it will simply be Exynos5-quad, if it is octa, the big.little approach uses quad A15 + quad A7. A7 is ever so slightly slower than A8, but uses significantly less power.
 
Medion said:
1080p @ 5" = 440ppi. They can make the subpixels octagonal, hexagonal, or phallic symbols, PPI still means pixels per inch. The purpose of this technology is to allow for closer subpixel groups, allowing for greater density in other displays as well, IE, 1080p @ perhaps 4" or 4.5". Like Plasma, OLED doesn't allow for extreme pixel densities quite as easily as LCD does.

Perhaps they couldn't achieve 440ppi using their old layout. Either way, the screen was always going to be 440ppi. They can't make it more than 440ppi if it is to be 1080p @ 5".
Click to expand...

The issue is that certain sub pixel groups look worse than others. So pushing a different sub pixel layout for PPI bragging rights can result in a worse looking display.
 
Medion said:
1080p @ 5" = 440ppi. They can make the subpixels octagonal, hexagonal, or phallic symbols, PPI still means pixels per inch. The purpose of this technology is to allow for closer subpixel groups, allowing for greater density in other displays as well, IE, 1080p @ perhaps 4" or 4.5". Like Plasma, OLED doesn't allow for extreme pixel densities quite as easily as LCD does.

Perhaps they couldn't achieve 440ppi using their old layout. Either way, the screen was always going to be 440ppi. They can't make it more than 440ppi if it is to be 1080p @ 5".



While I still believe it will simply be Exynos5-quad, if it is octa, the big.little approach uses quad A15 + quad A7. A7 is ever so slightly slower than A8, but uses significantly less power.
Click to expand...

I heard rumors that the SGS4 will technically be 441PPI since Samsung decided to make it 4.99 inches.

Also I think you're correct that it will still be 440PPI but will be 440PPI+ in terms of visual perception.
 
I'm not excited to see some of these rumors about samsung trying to rework their screen technology again, hopefully this isn't pentile 2.0.
 
Trimlock said:
I'm not excited to see some of these rumors about samsung trying to rework their screen technology again, hopefully this isn't pentile 2.0.
Click to expand...

Why,, we have no idea what new stuff they are rolling out unless you work for them.

It's like saying I dont like going from my 4:3 tube tv to a new fango'd plasma tv.
 
tangoseal said:
Why,, we have no idea what new stuff they are rolling out unless you work for them.

It's like saying I dont like going from my 4:3 tube tv to a new fango'd plasma tv.
Click to expand...

Because the last time these rumors came out that Samsung was creating something 'amazing' by reworking their OLED pixel technology we got pentile, so I think I have a decent reason to worry about this.

Just hoping we don't get another Pentile is all.
 
ocellaris said:
The issue is that certain sub pixel groups look worse than others. So pushing a different sub pixel layout for PPI bragging rights can result in a worse looking display.
Click to expand...

I didn't dispute this, and this is not the issue that I replied to. The issue that I replied to was that someone claimed or implied that one layout used for 5" 1080p could be higher PPI than another layout used for 5" 1080p. That's beyond retarded. PPI stands for pixels per inch. There are X number of pixels in an inch. If both screens are 1080p, and both screens are 5", then they both have the same number of pixels in the same number of inches.

ItaliaFerrari said:
Also I think you're correct that it will still be 440PPI but will be 440PPI+ in terms of visual perception.
Click to expand...

There is no "thinking" that I am correct. You can take 5 round objects and put them into a jar, or you can take 5 square objects and place them into a jar. You still have 5 objects inside of a jar. If the screen is 5" and 1080p, it is 440pi, regardless of the shape of the subpixels. Same with 4.99" and 441 PPI.

Does sub pixel layout affect visual clarity? Absolutely. Does it change the number of PPI? Absolutely not. Now, you can argue SPPI in the case of PenTile. However, Samsung's various RGB-based layouts all use 3 subpixels per pixel, thus, will have the same SPPI. PenTile is one of the few exceptions, but it still has the same official PPI (assuming same res and screen size).
 
Medion said:
I didn't dispute this, and this is not the issue that I replied to. The issue that I replied to was that someone claimed or implied that one layout used for 5" 1080p could be higher PPI than another layout used for 5" 1080p. That's beyond retarded. PPI stands for pixels per inch. There are X number of pixels in an inch. If both screens are 1080p, and both screens are 5", then they both have the same number of pixels in the same number of inches.



There is no "thinking" that I am correct. You can take 5 round objects and put them into a jar, or you can take 5 square objects and place them into a jar. You still have 5 objects inside of a jar. If the screen is 5" and 1080p, it is 440pi, regardless of the shape of the subpixels. Same with 4.99" and 441 PPI.

Does sub pixel layout affect visual clarity? Absolutely. Does it change the number of PPI? Absolutely not. Now, you can argue SPPI in the case of PenTile. However, Samsung's various RGB-based layouts all use 3 subpixels per pixel, thus, will have the same SPPI. PenTile is one of the few exceptions, but it still has the same official PPI (assuming same res and screen size).
Click to expand...

Maybe I should have worded it differently. I didn't mean that a 5 inch 1080p display with a hexagonal and diamond pixel layout would have a different PPI than a 5 inch 1080p display with a "normal" pixel layout.

I meant that in terms of visual perception, a person could perceive one display as being "sharper" than another display even though both are 5 inches @ 1080p.
 
Last edited:
Do you think Samsung will launch a new S4 this year? since it´s beating the crap out of Iphone 5 in sales..
 
Hopefully this phone won't be a let down. I'm still on a terrible Motorola atrix and have prolonged my upgrade for a better phone
 
Sro said:
Do you think Samsung will launch a new S4 this year? since it´s beating the crap out of Iphone 5 in sales..
Click to expand...

Grazehell said:
Of course it will launch this year! When this year is the question though.
Click to expand...

Safe bets are May (global) and June (US).

Global releases:
SGS1 - 06/2010
SGS2 - 05/2011
SGS3 - 05/2012
SGS4 - ???

US releases:
SGS1 - 07/2010
SGS2 - 09/2011
SGS3 - 06/2012
SGS4 - ???

In 2010, the SGS1 was delayed, which made the global/US window seem shorter. The SGS2 had a larger window due to all of the carrier customization, and the earlier global release. The SGS3 had a narrow release window due to the main difference being the SOC (Snapdragon S4 as opposed to Exynos4). This allowed for US networks like HSPA+ 42 and LTE. With the SGS4, it's assumed that they will utilize the same internals due to Samsung now making their own LTE/HSPA+42 compatible modems that work with Exynos4 and 5. So the launch window might be damn near simultaneous.
 
Medion said:
Safe bets are May (global) and June (US).

Global releases:
SGS1 - 06/2010
SGS2 - 05/2011
SGS3 - 05/2012
SGS4 - ???

US releases:
SGS1 - 07/2010
SGS2 - 09/2011
SGS3 - 06/2012
SGS4 - ???

In 2010, the SGS1 was delayed, which made the global/US window seem shorter. The SGS2 had a larger window due to all of the carrier customization, and the earlier global release. The SGS3 had a narrow release window due to the main difference being the SOC (Snapdragon S4 as opposed to Exynos4). This allowed for US networks like HSPA+ 42 and LTE. With the SGS4, it's assumed that they will utilize the same internals due to Samsung now making their own LTE/HSPA+42 compatible modems that work with Exynos4 and 5. So the launch window might be damn near simultaneous.
Click to expand...

The SGS4's announcement is confirmed for March 22 and will officially go on sale April 15.
 
Medion said:
Safe bets are May (global) and June (US).

Global releases:
SGS1 - 06/2010
SGS2 - 05/2011
SGS3 - 05/2012
SGS4 - ???

US releases:
SGS1 - 07/2010
SGS2 - 09/2011
SGS3 - 06/2012
SGS4 - ???

In 2010, the SGS1 was delayed, which made the global/US window seem shorter. The SGS2 had a larger window due to all of the carrier customization, and the earlier global release. The SGS3 had a narrow release window due to the main difference being the SOC (Snapdragon S4 as opposed to Exynos4). This allowed for US networks like HSPA+ 42 and LTE. With the SGS4, it's assumed that they will utilize the same internals due to Samsung now making their own LTE/HSPA+42 compatible modems that work with Exynos4 and 5. So the launch window might be damn near simultaneous.
Click to expand...


US carriers always find a way to screw up no matter how easy, dont lose faith in them lol. They gotta customize the phone to screw up google nav so they can get you to pay $10 / mo for their own crappy GPS
 
rudy said:
US carriers always find a way to screw up no matter how easy, dont lose faith in them lol. They gotta customize the phone to screw up google nav so they can get you to pay $10 / mo for their own crappy GPS
Click to expand...

I agree :) But the SG III did come out pretty quick worldwide. I think Europe got it late May / early June, and the U.S later June / early July, so like a 4 to 5 week difference. I would guess Europe gets it first in late April, and the States in May.

What other phone is due out late Spring / early Summer to compete ? Maybe the rumored Nexus-5 in June, and that's a big maybe, if Google will release a new Nexus phone so early ? Or a new HTC One X2 ? And rumors of Apple going back to a June/July release for the next iPhone.

My pick is wait for the Note III, which should be out late Summer. Should have the same design as the Galaxy SIV just bigger, but similar tech and new Touchwiz inside
 
Medion said:
Got a link? All I have seen are rumors. Official means "from Samsung."
Click to expand...

I think a Samsung executive confirmed that it wont be announced at MWC. This most likely points to a March release.

A rumor is surfacing on the Internet that a March 22 announcement and a April 15 release is the most likely scenario. Nothing is "official" yet:

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-57565335-94/samsung-galaxy-s4-reportedly-set-to-launch-in-april/

Samsung Galaxy S4 reportedly set to launch in April
The next flagship smartphone from the Korean juggernaut may include wireless charging as a key feature, as well as a larger battery.

The successor to Samsung Electronics' blockbuster Galaxy S3 could launch in April.
That's according to Samsung news Web site SamMobile, which pegs the phone's launch on April 15.
The Galaxy S franchise has emerged as a true competitor to the iPhone, and garners as much hype and anticipation as Apple's marquee smartphone. While early iterations of the Galaxy S phone faced a slow start, the Galaxy S3 catapulted out of the gate as a smash hit, and has held up remarkably well even as other competitive phones have faded. The phone has helped propel Samsung into the top spot among handset vendors.

The Galaxy S4 -- which ultimately might be branded Galaxy S IV -- will feature wireless charging as a key feature. But unlike other smartphones such as the Nokia Lumia 920 or Droid DNA, the service won't be built-in. Users will have to buy a kit with a wireless charging station and replacement cover, according to the report.
The next Galaxy S phone will also reportedly feature a larger 2,600 mAh battery, compared with the Galaxy S3's 2,100 mAh battery.
With a launch date in April, SamMobile said Samsung could hold its own event in March, or possibly unveil the smartphone at Mobile World Congress, which begins in late February. The Galaxy S3 was unveiled at a Samsung event in May last year.
Even if the April 15 launch date holds true, that doesn't necessarily mean the Galaxy S4 will make its way to the U.S. at that time. As with the Galaxy S III, the phone may launch at different times depending on when the U.S. carriers want to release the phone, which could vary from days to weeks.
Samsung declined to comment on the report, noting that it wouldn't comment on rumors.
Updated at 10:12 a.m. PT: to include a response from Samsung.
Click to expand...
 
Nobody knows anything, until Samsung officially announces next month. The S3 last year had a million leaks, all of them wrong, it wasn't truly known what we were getting until like a week or so before launch.

Any pic's or spec's we see today, most likely are not the real deal.

Now the iPhone 5 :rolleyes: LOL, that thing was leaked like an old hose, months before it was official, and those leaks were spot on right.
 
iPhone sucks and Android prevails!

WOO HOO!!!!!
DIE APPLE DIE!!!!!!!!!!
 
well my verizon account says I'm not eligible for an upgrade till 11/2013 - so I guess I get to be patient as hell.

Love my Galaxy nexus - funny enough I already did the mod for inductive charging (it's sweet)
 
I'm really excited about the next galaxy. I tend to switch back and forth between the iphone and galaxy phones. If the next iphone is not a big step up than the current iphone 5 compared to the new galaxy and the s3, i might get a galaxy still this year.
 
I wonder how much bigger are phones going to get? It seems like all OEMs can do these days is add gimmicky software features and a bigger screen. Processor always gets faster but its pretty meh at this point because neither android or iOS can do anything with all the extra power. I mean there are already 6.1" "Phablets", which is damn close to a 7" tablet. At what point are phones going to become too big? I state this because in 2011 it was 4.3-4.5", 2012 most flagships where 4.7-4.9", now everyone is going 5"+?
 
///AMG said:
I wonder how much bigger are phones going to get? It seems like all OEMs can do these days is add gimmicky software features and a bigger screen. Processor always gets faster but its pretty meh at this point because neither android or iOS can do anything with all the extra power. I mean there are already 6.1" "Phablets", which is damn close to a 7" tablet. At what point are phones going to become too big? I state this because in 2011 it was 4.3-4.5", 2012 most flagships where 4.7-4.9", now everyone is going 5"+?
Click to expand...

Obviously they sell. I think we need to ignore screen size and focus more on total phone size, we need to decrease the bezel even more.

It makes sense too. Phones are used not to make calls but to watch videos and read the web, so the bigger the better. I think Note 2 is the upper limit. People really overestimate phone size. I've seen plenty of customers try out the phones in store and when they realize it *will* fit in a pocket, they start loving larger screens.
 
MrCrispy said:
Obviously they sell. I think we need to ignore screen size and focus more on total phone size, we need to decrease the bezel even more.

It makes sense too. Phones are used not to make calls but to watch videos and read the web, so the bigger the better. I think Note 2 is the upper limit. People really overestimate phone size. I've seen plenty of customers try out the phones in store and when they realize it *will* fit in a pocket, they start loving larger screens.
Click to expand...

Indeed. Hell, even some 7" tablets will fit in most pockets.
 
MrCrispy said:
Obviously they sell. I think we need to ignore screen size and focus more on total phone size, we need to decrease the bezel even more.
Click to expand...
The thing I don't like about shrinking or eliminating bezels is even more potential for the screen to break easily. The S3 bezel is about the perfect size to allow for cases with "lips" that protect the screen from drops without covering any of it.
 
brettjrob said:
The thing I don't like about shrinking or eliminating bezels is even more potential for the screen to break easily. The S3 bezel is about the perfect size to allow for cases with "lips" that protect the screen from drops without covering any of it.
Click to expand...

I was about to say the same, I actually like the 1/4 bessel I currently have.
 
I think if you are worried about screens breaking you can just put a bumper style case on it, apple seems to have popularized gaudy thick bezels so hopefully someone will see many of us have no interest in that.
 
New information from Sammobile (IE, guaranteed to be 100% accurate or your money back!)

http://www.sammobile.com/2013/02/15/new-information-confirms-galaxy-s-iv-cpu-screen-and-more/

The big takeaways;
  • advertised as 5" 1080p screen, so unknown if this is the 4.99" flexible screen
  • 2GB of RAM and not the 3GB many had hoped for
  • Exynos 5440, IE, quad-core, not octa-

If this is correct, the 5440 denotes a lower clock than what is in the Nexus 10. Some examples;

SGS2 uses 4210 (1.2ghz), whereas SGN1 used 4212 (1.4ghz).
SGS3 used 4410 (1.4ghz), whereas SGN2 used 4412 (1.6ghz).

In these cases, second number (2/4) denoted number of cores, and the final digits (10/12) was class of speed (not exact speed). Same thing here.

Exynos 5250 = dual-core 1.7ghz
Exynos 5440 = quad-core, likely 1.5ghz
Exynos 58xx = speculating here, but this is likely the number used for octa-,
Exynos 5450 = again, speculating ,but this is likely going to be used in the SGN3 and at 1.7ghz.

What we do know so far is that Mali-T604 is used in Exynos 52xx, and Mali-T658 is used in Exynos 54xx. They're the same GPU, it's just that T604 is a quad-core GPU, and T658 is an octa-core GPU. What we do not know is if they'll use T658 for 58xx, rename it to T6xx and raise the core count, or go to an altogether different GPU. The last part is unlikely given that the spec of the Eynos 5 SOC calls for a Mali T6xx GPU. We also saw this in Exynos 42xx (2011) and 44xx (2012) where the SGS2/SGS3/SGN/SGN2 all used the same GPU, just at different clock speeds (Mali-400).

Also, they're claiming specific dates;
  • announced 03/15
  • released beginning of April
 
Pretty much what I expected for it. I'm more curious about the battery capacity, design (hope they finally drop the home button, but the latest leak shows that it doesn't) and if they keep supporting external storage (I think they will) and removable batteries.
 
T4rd said:
Pretty much what I expected for it.
Click to expand...

Same here. There were a lot of people that were insisting that it would have octa- (and one person who STILL insists that octa- uses all 8 cores simultaneously). Octa- was just announced, and Samsung usually announces a mobile SOC about 12 months before it hits a shipping product. They did this in early 2012 as well, leaving many analysts to claim that the SGS3 would use Exynos5 dual-, when it fact it got Exynos4 quad-, and E5d went to the Nexus 10.

T4rd said:
I'm more curious about the battery capacity,
Click to expand...

Samsung does a good job of scaling their batteries with phone sizes. If this phones does ship with a 5.0" screen, I would anticipate a battery slightly larger than the SGS3. Given that the S3 used a 2100mAh battery, I would expect 2200-2400 stock in the SGS4, with an outside shot at 2600 if they're not aiming to make it even thinner.

T4rd said:
(hope they finally drop the home button, but the latest leak shows that it doesn't)
Click to expand...

We disagree here. I have always liked the physical home button design. I always hated how the home button on my Incredible didn't wake the screen. It's easier than hitting the power button (yes, I'm THAT lazy).

T4rd said:
and if they keep supporting external storage (I think they will) and removable batteries.
Click to expand...

I hope so. I can live without external storage, so long as a 32+ GB option is present. However, I am HARSH on my phone batteries. I treat them much like laptops, so they degrade quickly. I typically have to replace the battery entirely at 12-18 months, but want to keep the phone for at least 2 years. My SGS2 has held out like a champ, but the battery doesn't last more than 12 hours on standby anymore when it used to go about 4 days. It's getting replaced this month.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top