Samsung Galaxy S4 Release Event To Stream Live At Times Square: Analyst Suggests Two Variants With Different Processors For US And Europe

Samsung posted a picture on its official Twitter account Thursday, which suggested that the Galaxy S4 release event will be live streamed from the Times Square on March 14 at 7 PM. Samsung fans all around the globe will also be able to watch Samsung Unpacked event live online through the official YouTube channel here.

With the March 14 release date of Samsung Galaxy S4 is just a few weeks away, the South Korean giant’s next flagship smartphone offering has indeed become one of the most highly anticipated devices of 2013. But despite the fact that Samsung has already announced the Galaxy S4 release date, rumors and speculations surrounding the handset are still alive and kicking.

At a time when the tech world eagerly awaits the grand unveiling of the Samsung Galaxy S4 at a March 14 event in New York, a new report from Taiwan hit the web Wednesday saying that the South Korean electronics giant would be using multiple types of processors for different variants of Galaxy S4.

Taipei Times reported citing JPMorgan analyst Rick Hsu that akin to its successor, the Galaxy S3, the upcoming Galaxy S4 would be powered by multiple solutions for the application processors and baseband chips.

The report said that Samsung would likely adopt Qualcomm Inc’s Snapdragon 600 quad-core processor, manufactured by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) using its 28-nanometer (nm) process technology, for the U.S. variant of the Galaxy S4.

On the other hand, the Samsung Galaxy S4 variant for the European market would likely get the in-house eight-core Exynos 5 Octa processor.

“If this is the case, we have to wonder if global units will have full LTE support,” said a report from Android Central. “It stands to reason that Qualcomm's new gear will support LTE as well as their current offerings do, so maybe Samsung wants to provide the best experience possible while they work on LTE support in-house.”

However, another report on Android Authority said that if the Galaxy S4 indeed comes out in two versions, it won’t be due to issues related to LTE compatibility. Given that “Samsung is having yield issues with the Exynos 5 Octa, and is simply not capable of making enough chips to satiate the demand,” the company brought Qualcomm into the game “to alleviate the load,” said the report.

In addition, “Samsung doesn’t need a Qualcomm SoC to offer LTE; the living proof is the Galaxy Note 2, which has LTE and an Exynos system on a chip,” the report added.

Considering that Samsung released two versions of the Galaxy S3 last year, it’s still safe to presume that the company will continue on the same path this time as well.

Rumors are rife that Samsung Galaxy S4 will feature a 4.99-inch Full-HD SoLux Display, not the previously rumored AMOLED display. The device is expected to be powered by the Snapdragon 600 processor, clocking at 1.9 Ghz.

When it comes to the operating system, Galaxy S4 is rumored to come with Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean out of the box. The smartphone will likely have 2 GB of RAM and will be available in versions based on storage capacity – 16, 32 and 64 GB.

As per the form factor of the Samsung Galaxy S4 is concerned, the handset is likely to have a dimension of 140.1 x 71.8 x 7.7mm, weighing 138 gram, which is a bit heavier than the existing Galaxy S3 (136.6 x 70.6 x 8.6 mm, 133 grams). The device is rumored to feature a plastic black with aluminium sides and is likely to be released in black and white color options initially.

Various reports also suggest that Galaxy S4 will sport an improved 13 Megapixel camera with Orb camera technology that will be capable of taking 1080p videos. Other expected features include a 2 megapixel front-facing camera, a removable battery, an Adreno 320 GPU, TouchWiz UI and Wireless charging.

MUST READ:

• Samsung Galaxy S4 Specifications Leaked As March 14 Release Date Nears: With Exynos Octa CPU, It Will Be A World Phone [Report]
• Samsung Galaxy S4 To Be Released In Six Variants: Will It Have Dotted Back? What Does ‘Episode 1’ Suggest?