Samsung Galaxy S4 Release Date Tipped For Mid-April, Company Rumored To Test New Update Service

By Kukil Bora | February 01 2013 7:06 AM

At a time when the tech world is flooded with rumors surrounding the next-generation Apple devices such as the iPhone 5S or iPhone 6 and the iPad 5, the upcoming version of a non-Apple device is also creating a similar buzz simultaneously. Samsung’s next-generation flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S4, has managed to garner so much hype that the company is expected to sell as many as half-a-billion units of the device.

Samsung

According to a company executive, the Samsung Galaxy S4 will continue with the plastic materials in order to maintain a balance between manufacturing skill and a "premium feeling" product that consumers demand.

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Adding to the heated rumor mill, a new report from PhoneArena hit the web Thursday suggesting that the Galaxy S4 smartphone could be released in April. The report included two photos of “an internal raffle doc at a New Zealand mobile retailer,” saying that all the winners of a prize would be awarded with a Samsung Galaxy S4 handset.

“The raffle is aimed to be a sales incentive, and runs until April 8, which goes to show that we can expect the Galaxy S IV to hit the shelves some time after the first week of April,” said the report.

In addition, the report also cited another report from Geeky Gadget saying that the South Korean tech giant would release the Galaxy S4 sometime between April 15 and 22. The information was revealed by a source close to a major UK-based retailer, the report added.

Apart from the possible release time frame of the Samsung Galaxy S4 yet another rumor surfaced Friday, which states that Samsung is going to test a new update service with the its next Galaxy S smartphone.

SamMobile has reported that in a bid to have more control on updates and sales, and to know exactly how many devices has been sold in all countries, Samsung is planning to start the new update service.

“Samsung’s plan is to stop the retailers that are shipping, for example, French-based software devices to The Netherlands. Samsung won’t give devices updates if you bought a phone outside your home country,” the report has said.

“This could mean retailers need to pay more for devices and the prices could go higher. Also, customers could have to wait longer on their new devices. So far we can conclude from our information that Samsung will start to test this way but no longer by notification trough OTA (over-the-air),” the report has added.

According to the report, although Samsung will not stop using Kies and OTA services right away, it could test the IMEI (International Mobile Station Equipment Identity) based updates in the future.

Meanwhile, SamMobile has also revealed details of the Galaxy S4 smartphone, which, according to the publication, “are 100% confirmed.” Take a look at the details below:

Code Name: Altius

Model Number: GT-I9500

Colors: Black/ White

Battery Capacity: 2600 mAh

Special: Wireless Charging Kit

As per other rumors, the Galaxy S4 would be powered by the Exynos 5 Octa CPU and will run Android 4.2.1 Jelly Bean. The smartphone is also rumored to have Mali-T658 (8-Core) GPU, 4.99-inch SuperAMOLED Full HD Resolution Display with 1,920 x 1,080 pixels (445ppi), 2GB of RAM and a 13 megapixel rear-facing camera.