While standing in AT&T waiting for my just released Galaxy Note 8 LTE I spot a teal blue Samsung smartphone that makes me do a double take. I liked the way it felt as much as the way it looked and was surprised to hear it was 'also released' just hours ago.There are some slight differences between the S4 and the S4 Active. For starters the Active is dust and water resistant. The official claim by Samsung is it can be left in 6 feet of water for 30 seconds. Although other claims of 3 feet for 30 minutes have surfaced. The camera is 8 mp rather than 13. Here are two shots taken at the same time with the same settings using both phones.
I figure that if it can stand 6 feet of water for 30 seconds it can take 3 inches for 6 minutes while I take this shot. I was wrong. This phone suffered water damage. I don't believe the back was placed on properly when it was activated and a new SIM was inserted. The extent of the damage isn't yet known but I'll tear it apart and give you a look. If you open the phone to swap a battery or SIM or for any other reason look it over VERY closely when you close it. It takes quite a bit of pressure to seal it and there is often one small area unlatched. Once you get the hang of this there won't be a problem.
The Active is 1.2mm thicker than the S4 but the bulk is hardly noticeable. In my opinion the increased thickness and the added .8 ounces (5.4 vs 4.6) made the phone feel just substantial enough. I have thought Samsung made the Galaxy series phones a little too light right from the start with the Galaxy S.
Although both displays looks great, the Active lacks the brilliance and clarity of the S4's Super AMOLED. Althogh both are 1080x1920, the Active has an LED display. The LED & digitizer of the Active has holes for physical buttons.
The phone looks a little different from the back although the SIM and micro SD slots are in the same place. The S4 and the Active use the same battery.
Once the back is off some other differences are noticeable like the sealed micro USB port. There is a cap to keep water out of the port but even if water gets in it will go no further.
The camera is 8mp rather than 13. I have not figured out the reason yet and may try to interchange them later. It is possible the camera in the active facilitates underwater shots and has a different aperture. Under water pictures, even in very shallow depths would be difficult. I found the touch display almost useless in a hard rain.
Here is the motherboard of the S4 Active. Beside the difference in the camera and the weight of the Active it also only has 8gb of internal memory. Obviously this wasn't a size constraint but a financial one. Samsung likely had to push the envelope a bit top keep the pricing of the Active the same as the S4. This could be the reason for the lower resolution camera and is certainly the cause of the LED vs AMOLED display.The downside is the downgraded internal memory, the lesser display, lower camera resolution and heft. There is always a price to be paid for looking good.
Be on the lookout for the S4 Mini and the S4 Zoom. The mini will be close to 100 grams and Zoom will look a bit like a camera, weigh 200+ grams and have a 10x optical zoom. Can't make up your mind? Get them all.
I do wish Samsung would crate a naming comity. The reuse of the S4 moniker causes nearly as much confusion in the cell phone world as the '9 Series' does in the notebook arena.
Thanks for Reading.
Rick Culleton
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