General characteristics
Type
Deciding on the type of device (phone or smartphone?) is quite simple. If you need a simple and inexpensive device for calls and SMS, it is recommended to stop the choice on the phone. A smartphone is more expensive, but it offers a wide variety of options: games, videos, the Internet, thousands of programs for all occasions. However, its battery life is significantly less than that of a regular phone.
smartphone operating system Android OS version at launch Android 4.2 Case type classic Housing material plastic Office mechanical/touch buttons Number of SIM cards 1 SIM card type
In modern smartphones, not only conventional SIM cards can be used, but also their more compact versions of micro SIM and nano SIM. eSIM is a SIM card integrated into the phone. It takes up almost no space and does not require a separate tray for installation. eSIM is not yet supported in Russia. Glossary of terms for the category Mobile phones
micro sim Contactless payment yes Weight 107 g Dimensions (WxHxT) 61.3x124.6x8.94 mmScreen
Screen type color AMOLED, 16.78 million colors, touch Touch screen type multi-touch, capacitive Diagonal 4.27 inches. Image size 960x540 Number of pixels per inch (PPI) 258 Aspect Ratio 16:9 Automatic screen rotation There is scratch resistant glass There isMultimedia features
Number of main (rear) cameras 1 Resolution of the main (rear) camera 8 MP Flash rear, LED Functions of the main (rear) camera autofocus, digital Zoom 4x Video recording There is Max. video frame rate 30 fps Geo Tagging yes Front-camera Yes, 1.9 MP Audio MP3, AAC, WMA, FM radio Headphone jack 3.5mmConnection
Standard GSM 900/1800/1900, 3G, 4G LTE, VoLTE Support for LTE bands 800, 850, 900, 1800, 2100, 2600 Interfaces
Almost all modern smartphones have Wi-Fi and USB interfaces. Slightly less common are Bluetooth and IRDA. Wi-Fi is used to connect to the internet. USB is used to connect your phone to a computer. Many phones also have Bluetooth. It is used to connect wireless headphones, to connect the phone to wireless speakers, and to transfer files. A smartphone equipped with an IRDA interface can be used as a universal remote control. Glossary for the category Mobile Phones
Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Direct, Bluetooth 4.0, IRDA, USB, NFC satellite navigation
Built-in GPS and GLONASS modules allow you to determine the phone's coordinates from satellite signals. In the absence of GPS, a modern smartphone can determine its own location based on signals from the base stations of a mobile operator. However, finding coordinates from satellite signals is usually much more accurate. Glossary for the category Mobile Phones
GPS/GLONASS DLNA support yesMemory and processor
CPU
Modern phones and smartphones usually use special processors - SoC (System on Chip, system on a chip), which, in addition to the processor itself, houses the graphics core, memory controller, I / O device controller, etc. Therefore, the processor largely determines the set of functions and performance of the device.
1700 MHz Number of processor cores 2 Built-in memory 8 GB RAM 1.50 GB Memory card slot Yes, up to 64 GBNutrition
Battery type Li-Ion Battery capacity 1900 mAh Removable battery Talk time 12 h Standby timeMini version of the flagship model: not only reduced, but also cut
The Samsung Galaxy S family of top-of-the-line mobile devices is growing. In addition to the main smartphone, which itself, as you know, has two varieties based on different hardware platforms, the Korean company also releases a smaller version called the Samsung Galaxy S4 mini, and a secure version of the Galaxy S4 Active for people leading an active lifestyle, and even a "clean" Google phone Samsung Galaxy S4 Google Play Edition - a variant of the same smartphone, only now with modified software. By the way, the Koreans are not unique in this: the Taiwanese HTC is also going to release its “mini” and “maxi” soon. In previous reviews, we have already reviewed almost all of the listed variations on the Galaxy S theme, and even managed to test a 6.3-inch "monster" that has grown in size called Galaxy Mega. Now it's down to a smaller version of the company's top smartphone.
That's right: according to the proprietary nomenclature, the model under consideration today not only officially belongs to the Galaxy S line, but is also a smaller version of the specific Galaxy S4 model, as all brand designations and even the name itself eloquently testify to. However, users looking for a modern smartphone with powerful flagship hardware, but with a small (normal) screen size, will be disappointed: Samsung Galaxy S4 mini is not only reduced in size, but also greatly reduced in functions and capabilities, a completely different, separate independent model. So, as before, such people have no alternative so far (at least if we take the products of large manufacturers) Apple iPhone with its miniature, by today's standards, dimensions and top-end stuffing - well, or look at the "Chinese", like Xiaomi Mi2S. As for the hero of today's review, the level of its filling turned out to be an order of magnitude lower than that of the company's flagship. Here is a different SoC, a stripped-down set of proprietary user interface features, a smaller battery, a simpler camera, and so on. Thus, the buyer should not be deceived: we are not facing a reduced Samsung Galaxy S4, but a completely different model in all respects, which only for marketing reasons (read: to increase sales) received from the creators a “foreign” name, which, in general, is not the right time for her to wear.
Pictured: Samsung Galaxy Mega, Samsung Galaxy S4, Samsung Galaxy S4 mini
By the way, this is not the first attempt of this kind among Koreans: during the triumphant march around the planet of the previous flagship model, the Galaxy S3, Samsung made exactly the same attempt to satisfy versatile user tastes by releasing a smaller version of the Galaxy S3 - S3 mini. The model was not in great demand on the market, which is understandable: those who were looking for top-end hardware stuffing in a standard, rather than a spade-shaped case, having learned that there was a completely different, weaker platform inside, lost interest and turned away, and those who, in general, didn’t care, naturally, chose according to the principle “the more, the better”. There are fears that the successor of this strange tradition, the Samsung Galaxy S4 mini, will suffer the same fate, because nothing has changed in the behavior of the manufacturer this time either: the soul of the big S4 does not glimmer in the small body of the S4 mini, and that says it all.
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But our task is not market forecasts, but a scrupulous description of any device that got into our test lab, which we will do. Let's make a reservation right away: we had a model in our hands that works with only one SIM-card and does not have support for fourth-generation networks (LTE). There are other modifications (for example, the model number that supports LTE is GT-I9195, but it will not be presented on the Russian market); in our case, the model number is designated as GT-I9190, and it is about it that our story will go today.
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Key Features of Samsung Galaxy S4 mini (GT-I9190)
- SoC Qualcomm Snapdragon 400, 1.7 GHz, 2 Krait 300 cores
- GPU Adreno 305
- Operating system Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean
- Touchscreen S-AMOLED, 4.3″, 960×540, 256 ppi
- Random access memory (RAM) 1.5 GB, internal memory 8 GB
- Support for microSD cards (up to 64 GB)
- Data transfer (3G) HSPA+ up to 42/5.7 Mbps (download and upload)
- Bluetooth 4.0
- Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n (2.4 + 5 GHz), Wi-Fi Hotspot, Wi-Fi Direct
- DLNA, infrared
- GPS/Glonass
- Accelerometer, geomagnetic sensor, gyroscope, light sensor, proximity sensor
- Camera 8 MP, autofocus, LED flash
- Camera 1.9 MP (front)
- Battery 1900 mAh
- Dimensions 124.6×61.3×8.94mm
- Weight 107 g
| Samsung Galaxy S4 mini | Samsung Galaxy S4 | Samsung Galaxy Mega | Sony Xperia V | |
| Screen | 4.3″ S-AMOLED | 4.99″ S-AMOLED | 6.3″, pls | 4.3″ VA |
| Permission | 960×540, 256 ppi | 1920×1080, 441ppi | 1280×720, 233 ppi | 1280×720, 342 ppi |
| SoC | Exynos [email protected].8 GHz (8 cores) | Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 @1.7GHz (2 cores, Krait 300) | Qualcomm MSM8960 @1.5GHz (2 cores, ARMv7 Krait) | |
| GPU | Adreno 305 | PowerVR SGX544MP3 | Adreno 305 | Adreno 225 |
| RAM | 1.5 GB | 2 GB | 1.5 GB | 1 GB |
| Flash memory | 8 GB | 16/32/64 GB | 8 GB | 8 GB |
| Memory card support | microSD | microSD | microSD | microSD |
| operating system | Google Android 4.2 | Google Android 4.2 | Google Android 4.2 | Google Android 4.0 |
| SIM format* | Micro SIM | Micro SIM | Micro SIM | Micro SIM |
| Battery | removable, 1900 mAh | removable, 2600 mAh | removable, 3200 mAh | removable, 1700 mAh |
| cameras | rear (13 MP; video - 1080p), front (2 MP) | rear (8 MP; video - 1080p), front (1.9 MP) | rear (12 MP; video - 1080p), front (0.3 MP) | |
| Dimensions | 125×61×8.9mm, 107g | 137×70×7.9mm, 130g | 168×88×8 mm, 199 g | 129×65×10.7mm, 120g |
* The most common SIM card formats are described in a separate article.
Appearance and usability
Both Galaxy S4 mini and Galaxy Mega are outwardly exact copies of the “standard” Galaxy S4, only with changed dimensions. Except for the size, in details, even in the smallest details, all new models of the series are absolutely identical in their appearance and arrangement of cases. The same plastic back covers, metal-like bezels around the side perimeter, a single front panel with a recognizable mechanical hardware middle key, and even the shape and location of the speaker grilles, buttons, camera windows, flashes and logos - everything matches perfectly.
And once again, the developers from Samsung once again simply issued a clone of their own previous product, only changing its dimensions and inserting another board inside.
As for the dimensions, the smartphone has become noticeably smaller and lighter than the regular Samsung Galaxy S4, however, in terms of such a parameter as thickness, it even surpasses the original.
- Samsung Galaxy S4 mini - 124.6x61.3x8.94mm, 107g
- Samsung Galaxy S4 - 137x70x7.9mm, 130g
- Samsung Galaxy Mega - 168x88x8mm, 199g
- Sony Xperia V - 129x65x10.7mm, 120g
The body materials of the Samsung Galaxy S4 mini are only plastic, there is no metal here. The metal-looking bezel that runs along the entire side perimeter of the device is also made not of metal, but of plastic that mimics metal. The material is soft, it easily leaves dents after any impact, we saw such dents on the rims of both the Galaxy S3 and the Galaxy S4, and now the Galaxy S4 mini.
For obvious reasons, a smartphone of such small dimensions by today's standards fits snugly in the palm of any size, even a woman's, and holds well there. It looks nice and stylish enough, the side bezel and the speaker grille gleam with chrome, in general the smartphone looks quite neat, although inexpensive and discreet.
The back cover is smooth, glossy, reflects in the sun and instantly picks up fingerprints. The spots instantly cover the entire back wall, so you have to wipe it all the time on your knee, since the area is small here. On a smooth surface, a network of small scratches quickly forms, so that the clean ones will have to think about purchasing a cover from the very first minutes.
Case Samsung Galaxy S4 mini is made in the classic monoblock form factor. The back cover here is removable and is standardly mounted on several plastic latches. The battery compartment is hidden under this thin cover: the battery is also removable, and only by removing it, you can get to the memory card and SIM card slots. The structure and arrangement of these slots here differs from that of both the Samsung Galaxy S4 and the Samsung Galaxy S4 Mega: in the first, the connectors are laid out above the battery, and in the second, they are assembled one under the other. In the mini version of the smartphone, under the cover, none of the slots is visible at all - both of them are hidden even deeper, under the battery, so there can be no talk of any hot swap. Even to get a memory card, you will have to remove the battery, which is not very convenient, but this arrangement is due to lack of space due to the small size of the device and a fairly large battery in its dimensions, which occupies most of the internal space of the smartphone.
Both slots are simple in design, not equipped with spring-loaded gripping mechanisms, so inserting and removing both cards requires an uncomfortable pull in the "up and on" style. However, it is the Samsung Galaxy S4 mini connectors that have special open spaces, so that a stuck card can always be pushed with something sharp from the other side. The SIM card is used here in the Micro-SIM format, the memory card can expand the built-in memory by 64 GB.
The front panel is completely covered with protective glass, under which not only the display is hidden, but also the front camera window, and sensor eyes. The ear speaker is covered with a chrome grille. There are three hardware buttons in a row under the screen: two touch buttons on the sides and one mechanical button in the middle. All buttons are sensitive to touch and pressing - there are no problems with this. The touch buttons have a white soft backlight, the duration of which can be adjusted at the discretion of the owner in the corresponding settings section.
The remaining elements and connectors are habitually scattered along the narrow edges of the device. Both connectors - 3.5 mm audio output to the headset and Micro-USB - are located on the top and bottom, respectively. The outputs and connectors are not equipped with plugs - the Samsung Galaxy S4 mini model is not protected from dust and moisture. The Micro-USB connector here, unfortunately, does not support the mode of connecting external devices using a USB host (OTG), so neither a flash drive nor a keyboard with a mouse can be connected to the smartphone. All other members of the Galaxy S family, up to the Galaxy Mega, had excellent OTG support, and it’s strange why the Galaxy S4 mini was left out - this is just one of those noticeable and significant differences between the mini version and the normal, full-fledged top flagship. Similarly, there is no way to display the image on a monitor or TV via MHL.
It's good that they left an infrared port - it is cut into the upper end of the device and serves, first of all, to work with household appliances as a remote control. Among the smartphone software there is a convenient program called WatchOn - it recognizes almost any, even fairly old equipment, easily managing, for example, a domestic Beeline TV set-top box or a ten-year-old Phillips TV. All settings are already included in the program, there is no need to teach it, so even if the remote control has been lost for a long time, any smartphone from the Galaxy S family equipped with an infrared port will be able to return to its former comfort.
The Samsung Galaxy S4 mini also has mechanical keys on the sides of the device: on the left is the volume rocker, on the right is the power/lock button. The keys are made in the same style with the rim of the body - it looks like a matte, roughly sanded metal. The keys are small, but have a fairly soft stroke and are easy to touch.
The device enters the market in two color versions, each of which is traditionally given a romantic name: in this case it is White Frost and Black Mist. In our “black” version, the coating of the smartphone is actually not so black - it is rather a metallic silver with a black fine mesh applied to it. The front of the case under the glass is also not black, but dark gray, and it also has a barely noticeable dotted texture that ennobles the overall appearance of the device. The same applies to the white version of the coloring of the Samsung Galaxy S4 mini.
Screen
The Samsung Galaxy S4 mini is equipped with a Super AMOLED touch screen. In numbers, the physical parameters of the smartphone screen are as follows: screen dimensions - 53 × 95 mm, diagonal - 109 mm (4.3 inches), resolution - qHD (960 × 540 pixels), pixel density is 256 ppi.
The brightness of the display has both manual and automatic adjustment, the latter based on the operation of the light sensor. Multi-touch technology allows you to simultaneously process up to eight touches - at least as many as we were able to intend with the AnTuTu Tester program. The first five are easily identified, and more simultaneous touches cause screen difficulties and delays in perception. The smartphone also has a proximity sensor that blocks the screen when you bring the smartphone to your ear.
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A detailed examination using measuring instruments was carried out by the editor of the "Monitors" and "Projectors and TV" sections Alexey Kudryavtsev. Here is his expert opinion on the screen of the test sample.
The screen of the smartphone is covered with a glass plate with a mirror-smooth surface and, judging by the reflection of bright light sources in it, it has a very effective anti-glare filter. On the outer surface of the screen there is a special oleophobic (grease-repellent) coating (in this case, very effective), so fingerprints are removed much easier, and appear at a slower rate than in the case of ordinary glass.
With manual brightness control, its maximum value was about 240 cd/m², the minimum was 12 cd/m². Despite not the highest brightness value, even in bright daylight, the smartphone can be used, as it helps out less reflection of OLED screens from dark areas compared to a typical LCD screen. You also need to take into account the fact that in this case the smaller the white area on the screen, the lighter it is, that is, the actual maximum brightness of the white areas will almost always be higher than the specified value. The low brightness mode allows you to use your smartphone without any problems even in total darkness. Automatic brightness control works according to the light sensor (it is located to the right of the front speaker). You can adjust the operation of this function by moving the adjustment slider from -5 to +5 units. Next, for three conditions, we present the screen brightness values for three values of this setting — at −5, 0, and +5. In complete darkness in automatic mode, the brightness decreases to 12, 20 and 30 cd/m², respectively, in an artificially lit office, the brightness is set to 85, 140 and 225 cd/m², in a brightly lit environment (corresponding to outdoor daylight, but without direct sunlight) - it rises to 290 cd/m² for all three correction values. In principle, the result of this function is as expected. When the brightness is lowered, modulation appears at a frequency of 240 Hz. The figure below shows the brightness versus time for a brightness setting value of 50% (blue curve) and an average brightness at 100% (red straight line):
It can be seen that the modulation has a large amplitude, so at medium brightness values, flicker can be seen - hardly just looking at the screen, but with rapid eye movement or in typical tests for the presence of a stroboscopic effect, flicker is visible to the naked eye. How this affects the comfort of work depends on the individual characteristics of the user.
This smartphone uses a sAMOLED matrix - an active matrix on organic light emitting diodes. A full-color image is created using subpixels of three colors - red, green and blue in equal amounts, which is confirmed by a fragment of a microphoto:
The screen has very good viewing angles - the white color noticeably changes its hue only when deviated at large angles, the black color remains just black at any angle. It is so black that the contrast parameter is simply not applicable in this case. When viewed perpendicularly, the uniformity of the white field is very good. Switching the state of the matrix elements is actually instantaneous, so the response time can be equated to 0. The gamma curve built using 32 points did not reveal any blockage either in the highlights or in the shadows, and the exponent of the approximating power function is from 2.27 to 2.33 depending on the selected profile, which is slightly higher than the standard value of 2.2:
On a separate page in the screen settings section, you can select one of four color correction profiles: Dynamic, Standard, professional photography And Movie. In addition to this, there is an “Optimize display” mode, in which manual profile selection is disabled, and the phone apparently chooses a profile by itself, analyzing the current image. In the case of a profile Dynamic the gamma curve has a slightly S-shaped character; for the three remaining profiles, it practically does not deviate from the power dependence. Note that the brightness of image fragments dynamically changes in accordance with the nature of the displayed image - it decreases for light images as a whole and increases for dark ones. When choosing a profile Dynamic this effect is expressed a little more, and when you turn on the mode Auto config. screen brightness the dependence of brightness on the lightness of the image becomes even stronger. For example, let's compare the dependence of brightness (vertical axis) on time (horizontal axis) during the transition between shades of 25% and 75% (according to the numerical value of the color) with off (green graph) and on (red graph) Auto config. screen brightness:
It can be seen that the brightness of the dark shade (25% or (64, 64, 64) in the 8-bit RGB representation) practically does not change, while the brightness of the light shade decreases noticeably when this mode is turned on. As a result, the dependences of brightness on hue obtained by us (gamma curves) may not correspond to the gamma curves of a static image, since the measurements were carried out with sequential grayscale output on the entire screen.
Color gamut in case of profiles Dynamic And Standard very wide:
When choosing a profile professional photography(to the uninitiated sounds more solid than Adobe RGB in the case of the Samsung Galaxy S4) the coverage is slightly compressed (here the black line is the coverage of the Adobe RGB space, the white line is the measured coverage):
When choosing a profile Movie coverage is compressed even more, but still remains wider than sRGB:
Without correction, the spectra of the components are very well separated:
In the case of a profile Movie with the maximum correction, the color components already mix a little with each other:
Note that on screens with a wide color gamut, the colors of normal images optimized for sRGB devices look unnaturally saturated. However, a visual assessment showed that when choosing a profile Movie saturation is noticeably reduced, and colors become close to natural. Without correction, in profiles Dynamic And Standard the colors are unnatural - for example, the faces of white-skinned people have a pronounced carrot tint.
The balance of shades on the gray scale is not ideal, but, in general, acceptable. Color temperature in profiles Dynamic And Standard significantly higher than 6500 K, in the remaining two - closer to 6500 K, while in the area of the gray scale from white to dark gray, this parameter does not change very much. (The dark areas of the gray scale can be ignored, since the color balance is not of great importance there, and the measurement error of color characteristics at low brightness is large.) The deviation from the blackbody spectrum (delta E), despite the pandemonium of values, remains below 10 units, which is considered a good indicator for a consumer device:
In total, we have the best screen in its class, the quality of which has no complaints.
Sound
We liked the sound of both speakers of the Samsung Galaxy S4 mini. Surprisingly, such a little one turned out to be equipped with very high-quality speakers that produce a loud, clear and even sound throughout the entire range - however, high frequencies still prevail. However, why be surprised here: after all, the dimensions of this “mini” are almost similar to the dimensions of a “normal” iPhone, and everything is fine with the sound. “Baby” now has to be called a device that is quite normal in size only in comparison with the now fashionable “shovels” - we hope readers will forgive us for this.
As for the auditory dynamics, the timbre and intonations in the voice of a familiar interlocutor are quite recognizable, the sound is pleasant to the ear and saturated with the entire frequency spectrum. Simply put, making phone calls using the Samsung Galaxy S4 mini smartphone is comfortable, and nothing causes irritation.
All sound effects when playing tunes with a regular player are combined by a technology called SoundAlive - however, some of them, such as expanding the virtual stereo base, are available only with headphones connected. The same applies to the sound optimization function.
The external speaker grill on the back of the smartphone has one twig that curves outward to raise the body off the ground, but the sound is still half muted when the phone is placed face up on a table.
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Camera
Samsung Galaxy S4 mini is equipped, like most modern smartphones, with two digital camera modules. The front camera here has a 1.9-megapixel matrix, shoots by default with a resolution of 1280 × 720. The quality of the resulting photos can be judged by the test shot below.
The main, rear camera is equipped with a sensor with a resolution of 8 megapixels, like the Galaxy Mega. By default, the camera shoots in widescreen mode, and the maximum resolution that can be set is 6 megapixels with an aspect ratio of 16:9, then the photos are 3264 × 1836 in size. Such pictures will be taken by users of Samsung Galaxy S4 mini with out of the box settings. Below are some test shots taken in various conditions with factory settings.
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Sharpness is decent. Sharp work on wires and poles is noticeable. |
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Good sharpness at a fairly long distance. |
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The backgrounds are quite sharp, the trees are worked out well. |
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Under artificial lighting, the camera shows a good result. |
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Imitation of insufficient lighting and flash operation. |
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Same conditions, but flash disabled. It can be seen that the flash performs its task quite well. |
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In very low light, the flash also copes so far. Yes, and she straightens the color rendition very well. |
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For shooting in the almost complete absence of light, the camera is unsuitable. |
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Under the same conditions, the flash significantly improves the result. |
Despite its 8 megapixels, the camera is quite sharp. It copes quite well with noise. The camera performs software processing very moderately and competently, although sometimes you can notice its traces. Judging by the test shots taken (although they may not be enough), there is, perhaps, almost nothing to complain about. The only unpleasant moment was shooting a test stand in the dark. Here, of course, the question arises before the manufacturers, how best to spoil the picture in such a situation: noise or severe underexposure. The second one is probably better, but as you can see from the test shot, in almost complete darkness the camera can't even properly focus. It looks like the camera is set to ISO 1000 software limit, and I think this makes some sense. Although such restrictions are not always necessary at all.
In general, the camera is quite good. Sharpness combined with reasonable software processing gives a very decent result for 8 megapixels.
The camera can shoot video, by default it does it in the maximum resolution for it - 1080p. Below are a couple of test videos, shot stationary and on the move. The clips are saved to the MP4 container (video - AVC [email protected], sound - AAC LC, 128 Kbps, 48 kHz, 2 channels).
- Movie #1 (31.7 MB, 1920x1080)
- Movie #2 (44.5 MB, 1920x1080)
A set of camera control settings is standard for modern Samsung smartphones. There are a lot of them, all of them are divided into three columns: for photography, for video shooting and general. The icons are drawn clearly and large, in the bright sun they are quite distinguishable. Various options for preset values in the settings are combined into ready-made shooting modes that should be used in a given situation.
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In general settings, it is possible to control the volume button during shooting: it can work out zooming, releasing the camera shutter, or controlling video. That is, if you wish, you can control the shooting without touching the screen, if you set all the necessary settings in advance and use the hardware volume button. It is also worth noting the possibility of taking a photo while recording a video.
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Software
Samsung Galaxy S4 mini runs on the Google Android software platform version 4.2.2. On top of the standard OS interface, the company installed its own user interface, called TouchWiz 5.0 (Nature UX). Everything here is arranged in exactly the same way as in the older models of the family, with the exception of some of the functions - the “Smart Screen” section, for example. From the list of features included in the "Smart Screen" set of the original Galaxy S4 (smart standby, smart turn, smart pause, smart scroll), only one is left here - smart waiting. True, in the case of the Samsung Galaxy S4 mini, for some reason, this function was even given a different name - “Smart Shutdown”. Although the meaning is the same: the screen remains on while you look at it (your eye movements are tracked by the front camera). The "multi-window" has also disappeared - in this smartphone you cannot simultaneously use two applications on the same screen. But the set of control capabilities using movements and gestures (for example, calling the current number is carried out automatically when the device is brought to the ear) remained practically untouched: most of the “big brother” functions were preserved in the mini version.
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The notification panel traditionally has a navigation bar at the top that instantly jumps to the most requested functions. The icon strip can be customized to the user's taste. In general, the implementation of the menu in the notification panel from Samsung is one of the best on the market: what is the brightness slider alone placed here, with which you can quickly and smoothly adjust the brightness to the changed environment, without getting into the depths of the main settings.
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There are a lot of additional applications pre-installed. Most of Samsung's own proprietary applications are bundled with a separate account from Google services, so to use them, you will also have to create an account with the company's services. The S Travel (Trip Advisor) app provides the user with information about the locality in which he is located and recommendations designed to help the smartphone owner get an even better experience while on the road. The S Translator app provides voice translation of the text of emails and SMS messages. Samsung ChatOn messenger allows multiple users to chat and send media files to each other. The Samsung Link feature also allows you to share files between different Samsung devices. The Group Play application has been implemented, which allows you to play one track on multiple mobile devices or play multiplayer games. The program is available on a range of Samsung smartphones, including the Samsung Galaxy S4, S4 mini, Galaxy Mega 6.3 and 5.8. The handy WatchOn program mentioned above is now also included in the standard set of all Galaxy smartphones equipped with an infrared port.
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Telephone part and communications
The smartphone works as standard in modern 2G GSM and 3G WCDMA networks, the Wi-Fi 5 GHz band is supported, but for some reason the use of NFC technology is not provided here. There is also no support for fourth-generation LTE networks - recall that this is a limitation of a specific modification of the GT-I9190 that we had on tests. The radio part of the tested smartphone is stable, there were no spontaneous signal losses and dropouts from the network of the telecom operator. The virtual keyboard interface is, of course, small compared to models with larger screens - you will have to get used to typing. There is also no additional upper digital row, which is now present by default in the virtual keyboard of Samsung's top devices - it allows you not to switch on the Samsung Galaxy S4 to get to the number keys.
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There were no freezes or spontaneous reboots / shutdowns during testing. You can restart your smartphone on your own by holding the power button for a long time and selecting the appropriate item from the pop-up menu. When brought to the ear, the screen is blocked by the proximity sensor. The ambient light sensor controls the brightness level of the screen automatically. But for some reason, some kind of light sensor for incoming events was not provided for in the Samsung Galaxy S4 mini model - it's a pity.
Performance
The hardware platform of the Samsung Galaxy S4 mini is based on a single-chip system (SoC) Qualcomm Snapdragon 400. The central processor here has two Krait 300 cores operating at a frequency of 1.7 GHz. It is assisted in graphics processing by the Adreno 305 video processor - everything is exactly the same as that of the Galaxy Mega, only it has a larger screen and a different resolution. The device has 1.5 GB of RAM, and the storage available to the user for uploading their own files is initially approximately 5 GB of the nominally designated 8 GB of internal memory. There is also the possibility of expanding memory through microSD cards, but connecting external devices via OTG (USB host) is not provided here.
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To get an idea of the performance of the Samsung Galaxy S4 mini platform, let's move on to the benchmarks. To begin with, here are the comparative results obtained using the AnTuTu database itself. The performance was almost two times lower than that of the company's own flagship - that's the difference between the regular Galaxy S4 and its mini version. Even one of last season's oversized favorites of the public - Google Nexus 4 - easily outperformed the novelty in terms of performance.
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A noticeable lag behind the top models of the market can be traced not only in the AnTuTu benchmark, but also in other tests. This result is absolutely expected, because while flagships have long been based on 4-core processors, in the mini-flagship we have 2-core (albeit with very fast cores). It is logical that in terms of performance, the hardware system of the novelty turned out to be closest to the already forgotten hero of the past - the once popular Sony Xperia V device (since it is also based on a dual-core processor). For convenience, we have summarized all the results obtained by us when testing the Samsung Galaxy S4 mini smartphone in popular tests in tables, the details are below.
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What is curious: all the results turned out to be almost identical to the results of the Samsung Galaxy Mega - another model of the family, built on exactly the same platform, but with a completely different screen (in size, resolution, and even production technology).
As for testing the graphics subsystem in the 3DMark cross-platform test, the subject also showed a not very high result in it - 5726 points.
In the Epic Citadel gaming test, the results of the Samsung Galaxy S4 mini graphics subsystem are very good - the power of the Adreno video core, coupled with a small screen resolution, affects. However, the results here do not reach the flagship of the S4 family.
| Samsung Galaxy S4 mini (Qualcomm Snapdragon 400) |
Samsung Galaxy S4 (Exynos 5410 Octa) |
Samsung Galaxy Mega (Qualcomm Snapdragon 400) |
Sony Xperia V (Qualcomm MSM8960) |
Google Nexus 4 (Qualcomm APQ8064) |
LG Optimus G (Qualcomm APQ8064) |
|
| Epic Citadel (more is better) |
55.2 fps | 59.9 fps | 58.1 fps | 47.7 fps | 54.8 fps | 56.7 fps |
| Epic Citadel | 53.1 fps | 59.3 fps | 56.9 fps | 43.5 fps | 52.9 fps | 56.3 fps |
| Epic Citadel Ultra High Quality | 49.0 fps | 46.5 fps | 33.3 fps | 28.4 fps | 37.4 fps | 50.6 fps |
 |
 |
As for the benchmarks for evaluating the speed of the javascript engine, the results in them significantly depend on the browser in which the tests are run, so the comparison can only be truly accurate on the same OS and browsers, and this is not always possible. In the case of devices running the latest Android operating system, we always try to use Google Chrome, although the results of the same tests in a standard browser (if the manufacturer leaves it in the firmware) often turn out to be better than in Chrome. In browser tests, the results of the Samsung Galaxy S4 mini, by the way, are very good - almost twice as good as last year's Google Nexus 4.
On the screenshots: test results in a standard browser
Video playback
To test the "omnivorous" when playing video (including support for various codecs, containers and special features, such as subtitles), we used the most common formats, which make up the bulk of the content available on the Web. Note that for mobile devices it is important to have support for hardware video decoding at the chip level, since it is most often impossible to process modern versions using processor cores alone. Also, do not expect everything from a mobile device to decode everything, since the leadership in flexibility belongs to the PC, and no one is going to challenge it.
According to the results of testing, the Samsung Galaxy S4 mini, unlike its top compatriots Galaxy S4 or Galaxy S4 Active, was not equipped with all the necessary decoders, in this case sound decoders, which are necessary for the full playback of most of the most common files on the network. To successfully play them, you will have to resort to the help of a third-party player - for example, MX Player. True, it will also have to first change the settings, switching from hardware decoding to software or to a new mode called Hardware+(not supported by all smartphones), only then will the sound appear. All results are summarized in a single table.
| Format | container, video, sound | MX Video Player | Regular video player |
| DVDRip | AVI, XviD 720×400 2200 Kbps, MP3+AC3 | plays normally | plays normally |
| Web-DL SD | AVI, XviD 720×400 1400 Kbps, MP3+AC3 | plays normally | plays normally |
| Web-DL HD | MKV, H.264 1280x720 3000Kbps, AC3 | Hardware+ | |
| BDRip 720p | MKV, H.264 1280x720 4000Kbps, AC3 | plays fine with decoder Hardware+ | Video plays fine, no sound¹ |
| BDRip 1080p | MKV, H.264 1920x1080 8000Kbps, AC3 | plays fine with decoder Hardware+ | Video plays fine, no sound¹ |
¹ Audio in MX Video Player only played after switching to software decoding or new mode Hardware+; The regular player does not have such a setting.
We did not find an MHL interface in this smartphone (in fact, the MHL adapter in the version for Samsung could not even be connected to this smartphone due to the incompatibility of the connectors), so we had to limit ourselves to testing video output to the device’s own screen using the standard player. To do this, we used a set of test files with an arrow and a rectangle moving one division per frame (see Methodology for Testing Video Signal Playback and Display Devices. Version 1). Screenshots with a shutter speed of 1 s helped to determine the nature of the output of frames of video files with various parameters: resolution (1280 by 720 (720p) and 1920 by 1080 (1080p) pixels) and frame rate (24, 25, 30, 50 and 60 fps) varied. The results of this test are summarized in the table:
| File | Uniformity | Passes |
| Screen | ||
| watch-1920x1080-60p.mp4 | not playable | |
| watch-1920x1080-50p.mp4 | Badly | a lot of |
| watch-1920x1080-30p.mp4 | Great | No |
| watch-1920x1080-25p.mp4 | Great | No |
| watch-1920x1080-24p.mp4 | Great | No |
| watch-1280x720-60p.mp4 | Fine | few |
| watch-1280x720-50p.mp4 | Fine | few |
| watch-1280x720-30p.mp4 | Great | No |
| watch-1280x720-25p.mp4 | Fine | No |
| watch-1280x720-24p.mp4 | Great | No |
Note: if both columns "Uniformity" and "Gap" are set to "green", this means that when watching movies, most likely, either artifacts caused by uneven alternation and dropping frames will not be visible at all, or their number and visibility will not affect viewing comfort. "Red" marks indicate possible problems associated with the playback of the corresponding files.
In terms of frame output, the playback quality of video files is very good, with the exception of "heavy" Full HD files with 50 and 60 fps. However, in any case, uniform frame interleaving is a relatively unstable state, since some external and internal background processes lead to periodic failure of the correct interleaving of intervals between frames and even to skipping single frames. The range of brightness displayed on the screen is slightly different from the original: in the shadows, a couple of shades of gray are indistinguishable from black, but in the highlights, all gradations of shades are displayed (for video in the range of 16-235). In general, if anyone wants to watch videos on such a small screen, he can do it without any problems.
Battery life
The capacity of the battery installed in the Samsung Galaxy S4 mini is small by today's standards of 1900 mAh. But you should, of course, take into account the relatively small size and resolution of the screen, as well as the size of the case itself, in which it would be difficult to fit a larger battery. As a result, the smartphone showed very good battery life in popular usage modes: reading books, watching YouTube videos and playing 3D video games.
Continuous reading in the FBReader program (with a standard, light theme) at the minimum comfortable brightness level (the brightness was set to 100 cd / m²) lasted until the battery was completely discharged for 16 hours and 35 minutes, and the device spent 12 hours and 30 minutes continuously watching YouTube videos in high quality (HQ) with the same brightness level via a home Wi-Fi network - excellent indicators of a true long-liver. To a large extent, this, for sure, contributed to the small screen size compared to modern "shovels". In gaming mode, the smartphone lasted a decent 4 hours and 25 minutes.
Outcome
Smartphone Samsung Galaxy S4 mini occupied an unusual and rather narrow niche in the mobile device market. On the one hand, he is overwhelmed by the responsibility for belonging to the highest, top family of the popular Korean brand. Yes, and the abbreviation S4 in its name, so to speak, obliges ... On the other hand, given its modest performance and a lot of restrictive differences from a really top model (lack of OTG, MHL, indicator light, truncated software, etc.), and besides, not very outstanding external data, you can easily find dozens of less famous devices on the mobile market with similar performance, more attractive appearance and rich functionality, but at a much lower price .
At the moment, the official price for the Galaxy S4 mini has been set at 19,990 rubles – at least that’s how much they are now asking in Svyaznoy stores for a model with support for two SIM cards. The "single-symbol" version of the smartphone, which we reviewed in today's review, is not yet officially sold, and it can only be found from "gray", uncertified deliveries. However, the purchase price in this version will not be much lower: for the Samsung Galaxy S4 mini (GT-I9190) model, they are now asking about 17 thousand rubles. It is possible that the official price of the model with support for one SIM-card will drop a little when the device passes certification and officially reaches our market. But still it will be a price in the region of 15 thousand - no less. Is this device worth the price? Of course, this is a very high price. And 15 thousand is a bit too much for a device with such characteristics, and I don’t even want to seriously think about 20. For that kind of money, a “mini” model can only be bought by an ardent fan of this brand, and even then looking for something unusual. It looks like Samsung's price appetite is growing faster than the popularity of its products. This evokes sad thoughts that not everyone, but only wealthy segments of the population, can increasingly consider purchasing products from this company for themselves. Did we think a couple of years ago that we would soon talk like this about Samsung products?
Replenished with a new version of the popular "four" Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini review that summarizes all the most interesting information about this model.
Outwardly, as promised by Samsung representatives, this phone completely copies the base model, except for the dimensions. The reduced “copy” has dimensions of 12.4x6.13x0.89cm and weighs 107g.
Performance and Software
Tests carried out using specialized applications showed that in almost all main parameters the mini version loses to the older S4 model.
Unlike the base model, it uses not eight, but a dual-core processor and, moreover, with a clock frequency of 1.7 GHz that is less than a tenth. The manufacturers also considered it necessary to reduce the RAM by 500MB and leave only 1.5GB. Similarly with the base memory, it is at the level of entry-level budget devices - 8GB. The device runs on Android 4.2 operating system. The smartphone has a GLONASS GPS navigation module, a built-in geomagnetic compass, an accelerometer and a gyroscope.
Screen
The Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini has the following touch screen specifications:
Technology: Super AMOLED;
Number of pixels per inch: 256;
Diagonal: 4.3'.
The screen supports multitouch technology, which recognizes not only single touches on the screen, but also multi-finger gestures. The screen accepts up to eight simultaneous touches.
The presence of a proximity sensor allows, when the device approaches the head for a telephone conversation, block the sensor and dim the screen to save energy.
The screen is covered with protective glass with anti-reflective and oleophobic coating. Automatic brightness control in a dark room reduces the brightness and under the sun, on the contrary, increases for the convenience of the user.
Camera
Traditionally for smartphones, S4 mini has two cameras - the main one and the front one. The main camera is more productive and thanks to the 8 megapixel camera allows you to take pictures with a resolution of 3264X1836. The camera has good sharpness, and the image digitization algorithms used in the device allow you to get good photos. The 1.9MP selfie camera has a default resolution of 1280X720. The main camera allows you to shoot video with a resolution of 1080p. The video is saved in MP4 format. In low light conditions, LED flash is used. It can be activated automatically if the light sensor shows an extremely low level. The flash can also be turned on and off manually.
Battery
The review of the Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini would be somewhat disappointing were it not for the battery of this smartphone. Modest by today's standards, a 1900 mAh battery, with a relatively small screen power consumption, allows you to watch videos for twelve and a half hours or four and a half hours to enjoy 3D games. In this regard, the phone bypasses even some of the flagship "widescreen".
Conclusion
Despite the proud S4 index in the name of the smartphone, it essentially has little in common with the base model, practically one name remains. The specifications eloquently tell us that this is a completely different smartphone model in terms of hardware and performance. Of course, marketers have made every effort to sell the device, they even gave it a flagship name, but alas, not its capabilities.
For almost the entire last year, we have been closely following the successes of various vendors in the Ukrainian mobile phone market. And in front of our eyes, Samsung with its own ate an increasing piece of this market, gradually filling the first places in the hit parade of sales in " ". Predictably, the "mini-version" of the flagship of the Korean company in 2012 went well - Samsung Galaxy S III Mini . Pleasant in life, small, comfortable and charming, but frankly not up to the eldest in the family Galaxy S III in terms of the filling (5-megapixel camera, 4-inch display with a resolution of 480x800 pixels, dual-core processor), at the start of sales it cost the buyer an immodest 4300 UAH. Apparatus Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini - an old song in a new way. Younger brother Samsung Galaxy S4 . A little smaller (4.3-inch display), a little simpler in terms of characteristics (camera, processor, screen resolution and something else in detail), a little cheaper (5000 UAH at the start of sales). And besides, support for two SIM cards is something that is especially appreciated, at least in our country. Since the announcement, the Internet has been saying that this Mini is more drawn to the position of “small flagship”. About how the flagship impression the device makes, read on.
For almost the entire last year, we have been closely following the successes of various vendors in the Ukrainian mobile phone market. And before our eyes, Samsung with its own ate off an increasing piece of this market, gradually filling the first places in the sales hit parade in "". Predictably, the "mini version" of the Korean company's flagship in 2012 went well - Samsung Galaxy S III Mini. Pleasant in life, small, comfortable and charming, but frankly not up to the older in the Galaxy S III family in terms of filling (5-megapixel camera, 4-inch display with a resolution of 480x800 pixels, dual-core processor), at the start of sales it cost the buyer immodest 4300 UAH. The Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini is an old song in a new way. The younger brother of the Samsung Galaxy S4. A little smaller (4.3-inch display), a little simpler in terms of characteristics (camera, processor, screen resolution and something else in detail), a little cheaper (5000 UAH at the start of sales). And besides, support for two SIM cards is something that is especially appreciated, at least in our country. Since the announcement, the Internet has been saying that this Mini is more drawn to the position of “small flagship”. About how the flagship impression the device makes, read on.
Specifications
Let's start with the screen. All flagship devices this year have demonstrated sky-high ppi - 441 and more. Mini versions don't have to meet such high standards. Here the resolution is 540x960 pixels with a diagonal of 4.3 inches (256 ppi). The eye does not complain about large pixels, with this resolution you can already notice them only by bringing the smartphone very close to the nose. But a slight feeling that the difference with the flagship is great is present in the mind. But the relatively low screen resolution does not require the same sky-high performance as FullHD. Therefore, “under the hood” of the Galaxy S4 Mini you can find “only” a Qualcomm MSM8930 Snapdragon 400 dual-core processor (Krait core architecture, clock speed 1.7 GHz, graphics - Adreno 305), 1.5 GB of RAM - less than in the older model. All this is seasoned with a battery that is as much as 700 mAh less, 1900 mAh, and runs on the latest version of the OS at the time of release of the device - Android 4.2. Let me remind you that even far from the flagship device, Samsung Galaxy Ace 3, the company has already released a new version of the OS. And finally the camera: 8 MP vs 13 MP.
| Specifications Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini | |
|---|---|
| operating system | Android 4.2.2 |
| SIM card | micro SIM, two |
| Display | Super AMOLED, 4.3 inches, 960x540 pixels, 256 ppi |
| Frame | dimensions 125x61x9 mm, weight 107 g |
| CPU | Qualcomm MSM8930 Snapdragon 400 Dual Core 1.7GHz Krait Core Architecture |
| RAM | 1.5 GB |
| Flash memory | 8 GB, support memory cards up to 64 GB |
| Camera | 8 MP, autofocus, 1080p video recording, flash, HDR mode, front camera for video calls (2 MP) |
| Wireless technologies | Wi-Fi a/ac/b/g/n (2.4/5 GHz), Bluetooth 4.0, GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900, HSPA+ 850/900/2100, Wi-Fi Direct, NFC, IrDA |
| GPS | Yes |
| Battery | 1900 mAh |
Frame
The Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini is well-cut, just like its predecessor. The case is thin, the bezels around the screen are minimal. Lies perfectly in the hand. The diagonal of the screen is equal to one that in 2013 will not frighten the pious user and will not seem too small to him - 4.3 inches. At the same time, the smartphone seems smaller than devices with a similar display diagonal. He owes this to a compact body, albeit a little thicker than that of the Galaxy Mega 6.3.
Case materials, design, arrangement of elements - everything is close to the flagship. Some people will like it, some won't. Even on the lock screen, the same recognizable picture is used, and not just the glow effect, as in other Samsung smartphones on Android 4.2. An uninitiated person will not distinguish the S4 Mini from the "adult" S4. It is worth adding to this once again that the device lies in the hand like a glove and you get an almost perfect offline purchase recipe. When a device causes a pleasant feeling of use, it costs less than something completely cool, but at the same time not too cheap, so as not to cause subconscious distrust and doubts about the status of the thing. At the same time, it will not be possible to quickly and conveniently compare the compliance of the characteristics of this model with others in the same price segment.
In the photos below, you can see in detail the location of buttons, connectors, cameras and sensor eyes on the device body.
Both SIM cards that can be installed in the device must be mini format. The SIM 1 slot is hidden under the battery, next to the memory card slot. The SIM 2 slot is near the battery, but hot-swap is still not supported.
The same screen size and an identical front panel was received by the Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom - a smartphone with a camera or a camera with a GSM module - as you like. In the pictures below, both S4s are side by side, and at the same time a photo of the Galaxy S4 Mini is next to the LG Optimus G (screen diagonal 4.7 inches) and iPhone 4S (screen diagonal 3.5 inches).
Screen
As with all flagship and near-flagship devices, the Galaxy S4 Mini Samsung installed a Super AMOLED screen. Which, as we remember, is characterized by deep blacks, excellent viewing angles and overly bright, sometimes seeming unnatural colors. In the photographs, it is noticeable that the screen of the device is bright. However, colorimeter measurements showed a modest 288 cd/m 2 . That, as the table below suggests, the result is low. However, in life, on the street under the most summer daytime sun, there are absolutely no problems with readability. In addition, the experience of measuring the screen of the Samsung Galaxy S4 in two different not yet commercial samples showed (once, twice) that the brightness may differ.
| Device name | Brightness of the white field, cd/m2 | Black field brightness cd/m2 | Contrast |
|---|---|---|---|
| Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini | 288 | 0 | ∞ |
| Huawei Ascend D2 | 310,52 | 0.30 | 1037:1 |
| Sony Xperia ZL | 394 | 0.66 | 596:1 |
| Samsung Galaxy S4 | 320 | 0 | ∞ |
| Sony Xperia T | 421 | 0.28 | 1503:1 |
| iPhone 4S | 434 | 0.53 | 818:1 |
In the screen settings of the Galaxy S4 Mini, as well as in the settings of Mega 6.3 and, in fact, Galaxy S4, there is an opportunity to change the color settings of the screen (modes are available: optimization, dynamic, standard, professional photography and film). Measurements with the colorimeter were made in the “professional photography” mode and they are very close to those demonstrated by the Samsung Galaxy S4, although they are somewhat inferior in accuracy.
Autonomy, performance
Despite the difference of 700 mAh in the battery capacity of the Galaxy S4 and Galaxy S4 Mini, both smartphones demonstrate approximately the same autonomy. My Galaxy S4 Mini survived every day until the evening with a battery charge of at least 35%. At the same time, it played audio almost all day long, from time to time I used the camera, used the Internet a lot, but not very actively - voice communication and messages. With less active use, the smartphone could last 2 days. But I preferred to recharge it every evening, not hoping that there would be time the next day. Last year's mini-flagship Samsung, by the way, also had a not very capacious battery, however, showed excellent autonomy.
Now about performance. If the result demonstrated by the smartphone in AnTuTu (11696 points) is somewhat inferior even to last year's flagships, but in all other tests the smartphone scored a number of points worthy of this year's flagship device (test screenshots are below). In life, such words as slow, slow, and so on did not occur to me while using the Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini. The interface worked smoothly, the performance was enough, in principle, for everything.
Interface
Since the A-brands have already basically equalized in the pursuit of performance in flagship smartphones, more attention this year went to their own applications and “ruffles” in older devices from various manufacturers. In the Samsung Galaxy S4, these are some camera features (photo with sound, "best face", photo from two cameras at the same time), "smart" functions (for example, "smart pause" when watching a video, gesture control without touching the screen), a pretty good native translator S Translate and sports application S Health along with temperature and humidity sensors. From all this variety in the Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini, you can find S Translate, as well as new camera features. But the same can be seen in other Samsung smartphones that appeared after the release of the flagship. The absence of at least S Health was very upsetting. There is no multi-window mode here either, but this is understandable, there is nowhere to expand two windows on 4.3 inches. Yes, and I, for example, did not really use this opportunity, except for informational purposes. Below you can see some screenshots of the Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini interface.
Camera
For the second year in a row, Samsung's flagship smartphones outperform the competition in camera comparison reviews on gg. S4 Mini got a camera, albeit with a lower resolution, but excellent shooting quality, to which you can also add a user-friendly interface. The camera was especially good at macro photography (although there is no separate mode among the presets), it was easy and good to take panorama shots, and the results of shooting in HDR mode looked natural. Sample photos can be seen below or, in original resolution, in a separate gallery on Torba.
Competitors
Despite the fact that 5000 hryvnia, at which Samsung estimates its mini-flagship, seems very high considering its characteristics, the model does not have many direct competitors. More precisely, they are not. Because the Fly IQ443 Trend smartphone is closest in terms of characteristics to the device - but ideologically it cannot compete at all, both models have a different target audience. Nevertheless, Fly IQ443 Trend with a similar filling, but inferior in both the quality of the case and the interface, and autonomy and just impressions from work, will cost half as much.
Close in size, the presence of two SIM cards, high-quality interface smartphone HTC Desire SV. But it has an outdated OS version, lower screen resolution and lower performance. But the price is much less.
Those who want to buy an excellent and productive device, but do not have enough money to buy one of this year's flagships, can opt for last year's flagship - Galaxy S III or HTC One X - they will be a worthy alternative, although these devices support only one SIM card and are large.
Closes the list of potential competitors Sony Xperia V - a smartphone with support for one SIM card, Android 4.1. on board, slightly less performance and also a very high price. But Sony Xperia V got a 13-megapixel camera, which, however, does not make it a more successful camera phone. What makes it a potentially more interesting device for a certain group of users is the presence of an IP57 waterproof rating.
In the dry matter
In my opinion, the Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini is a pleasant device in every respect, except for the price. The smartphone turned out to be convenient, productive, with a good screen, which, although not a record number of ppi, is quite comfortable resolution, as well as decent autonomy by the standards of a smartphone with Android OS. But given the simpler features and the lack of some interesting features of the older model (I missed the S Health the most), with the flagship Galaxy S4 it has more in common with the name than the characteristics. However, if you are looking for a solid smartphone and one of the main requirements is not too large a screen size, while the price is not a key issue, then the Galaxy S4 Mini will be a pleasant purchase. Especially for those users who need a device with support for two SIM cards - in this segment, it is one of the best on the market.
4 reasons to buy Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini:
- the screen is well readable under the sun;
- very comfortable case;
- excellent autonomy;
- support for two SIM cards;
2 reasons not to buy Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini:
- high price;
- few "flagship" features.
The flagship from the Korean manufacturer Samsung is the Samsung Galaxy S4 mini LTE GT-I9195, which was released in 2013.
Appearance Samsung Galaxy S4 mini
The phone is made of plastic. Scratch-resistant glass front panel.
Screen with a diagonal of 4.3 inches and a resolution of 540 × 960, 256 ppi.
Dimensions - 61.3 × 124.6 × 8.94 mm, weight - 107 g.
Specifications Samsung Galaxy S4 mini
The processor is an eight-core Exynos 5410, 1700 MHz.
RAM - 2 GB. Built-in memory - 8GB. The phone also supports memory cards.
The operating system is Android 4.2.2 (Jelly Bean), which is updated to new versions.
The battery is removable, 1900 mAh. This is enough for 12 hours of talk time and 300 hours of standby time.
The main camera is of good quality - 8 megapixels. And the front is only 2 megapixels.
You can buy Samsung Galaxy S4 mini in our online store by placing an order through the website basket or by calling us at. Delivery in Moscow is possible on the day of order. Delivery cost within the Moscow Ring Road - 400 rubles. Delivery in the Moscow region is calculated individually. Pickup from a retail store two minutes from Savelovskaya metro station.
