Reparation Ecran Samsung Galaxy S4 Lyon

The Samsung Galaxy S4 Agile is a water-resistant version of the Galaxy S4, simply does information technology make a improve buy than its brother?

T3 loves the Samsung Galaxy S4, even going every bit far as giving it the prestigious five stars in our review before this year. Since its release, the Milky way S4 line has ballooned into a pocket-sized family unit, with everything from a 'lite' version (the Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini), to a zoom-lens toting addition, in the Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom.

The Samsung Galaxy S4 Active, however, is a more interesting prospect – going after the customers who demand a bit more sturdiness in their device.

Packing a water and dust resistant trunk, the Samsung Galaxy S4 Active is immediately pitted confronting boyfriend h2o loving flagship, the Sony Xperia Z, forth with the suitably durable, yet cumbersome CAT B15. However with the likes of the HTC Ane and iPhone 5 winning out in the way stakes, can a durable telephone succeed in that department too?

Samsung Galaxy S4 Agile: Size and build

Samsung loves plastic. All of its phones come decked out in swathes of information technology, from the rims to the rear-cover. This makes for slippy devices that get covered in a wash of smudges almost instantly. The Samsung Galaxy S4 Active however, while all the same mostly plastic, packs a much more stylish await and feel than the regular Galaxy S4 and in some part that'southward down to the active nature.

The rear casing has a soft-bear on feel, with rubberised strips along the top and bottom and complete with 4 screw-like circles adorning each corner – adding to the rugged wait.

However, it wouldn't be advisable to have complete disregard with how you treat this phone, while beingness slightly more than rugged than an HTC One or iPhone 5, a few drops on a hard surface volition almost certainly result in dings and scrapes.

Ane sacrifice in its Active transformation is the addition of a cover over the Micro USB charging port. The small rubber flap is finicky and requires a abrupt nail to pry it open. While a modest annoyance, information technology is a pain having to exercise this earlier plugging your phone in to charge.

Measurements-wise, the Samsung Galaxy S4 Agile comes in at 139.7 10 71.3 x 9.1mm and weighing 153g, slightly thicker and heavier than the Samsung Galaxy S4 at 136.6 x 69.viii ten 7.9mm and only 130g. You lot do experience a bit of the added chunkiness and weight, though really it's marginal and in daily use those few extra millimetres brand little difference when nosotros're talking most a 5-inch phone.

Samsung Milky way S4 Active: Features

Headlining the Samsung Galaxy S4 Active is its IP67 certified rating – essentially this ways y'all can submerge it in water of depths of upward to i metre, for half an hour. It works equally expected, popping it in a glass of water and removing it sees no problems. Obviously the novelty of doing this will wear off, but this ability to withstand rain, sweat and such like is far more useful.

The characteristic list on the original Samsung Milky way S4 was particularly large, packed to the rafters with gesture and motion tech. The majority of these are throwaway additions, like Smart Stay – which keeps the display on while you're looking at information technology and the even more than useless Smart Scroll.

This add-on scrolls through the text you're reading when y'all move your eyes down; sadly this never seemed to work every bit advertised. Both of those are present and accounted for on the Galaxy S4 Active, as is the useful remote characteristic.

TouchWiz, Samsung's overlay on Android Jelly Bean 4.ii.2, is every bit obvious and over-bearing as ever. Stock Android, as seen on the Nexus 4, has developed into a usable, even so expert-looking Os, while TouchWiz still keeps the kid-like, overly colourful toggles and glossy touches nosotros've come up to really dislike.

That'due south not to say Samsung hasn't included any squeamish additions here, because it has. Southward Health for example tracks your steps and your food intake: these features make so much sense on a rugged, active device every bit you're more likely to take it with you on a run.

Powering this device is a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 processor, paired with 2GB of RAM. In that location's 16GB of internal storage, though this can increased thanks to the inclusion of a Micro SD slot.

The inclusion of Micro SD back up, along with a removable and replaceable battery, has been key features in Samsung devices and with many manufacturers ditching them; information technology'due south great to see Samsung sticking with information technology.

4G LTE compatibility is too present, as is NFC, Bluetooth four.0 and a myriad of sensors, gyroscopes and fifty-fifty a barometer. Phone quality wise, the device is potent, with calls coming through crisp.

Samsung Galaxy S4 Active: Screen

Samsung has kitted out the Galaxy S4 Active with a gorgeous, vivid and bright 1080p 5-inch display, packing a resolution of 1920 10 1080 and fantastic viewing angles.

Instead of going with an AMOLED screen, like the regular Samsung Galaxy S4, this version gets stuck with a TFT brandish. In normal use this makes very picayune divergence, with text looking well-baked, while Hard disk videos actually popular, though blacks are non deep and dark as those on the AMOLED version.

Reading a book on the train was enjoyable and even in pretty sunny conditions, the screen held its own. Make no fault, this is a big phone. At 5 inches, the brandish is probably as big as we could take, yet it is stunning and far outweighs other devices like the iPhone v.

Samsung Galaxy S4 Active: Camera

One area where there is a severe drop in quality from the Samsung Galaxy S4 to the Samsung Galaxy S4 Agile is in the cameras. While the former packs a 13-megapixel sensor, the Agile just has an viii-megapixel snapper, which results in slightly less detailed images.

Still, if the only fourth dimension your phone photographic camera gets used is for a quick Instagram mail service or snapping the antics of a mate on a night out, this will be more than sufficient.

Low-light shots are brightened past the LED flash and in that location are a load of unlike shooting modes to keep you busy. One of these options is Aqua mode, which disables the touchscreen, instead letting you lot shoot underwater shots with the volume keys.

Samsung Galaxy S4 Agile: Performance

Powered by a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 processor, clocked at 1.nine GHz and 2GB of RAM, the Samsung Galaxy S4 Active is certainly no slouch. Flicking through pages is buttery smooth, scrolling is quick and in that location'south rarely whatsoever lag or irksome-down.

As information technology has the same internals every bit the regular Samsung Galaxy S4, they are equally on par in terms of operation, something much appreciated.

Games play fantastically well too; Real Racing iii was smooth, while RipTide GP2 never felt any hint of tedious- down. This is truly a power-house when information technology comes to performance.

Samsung Galaxy S4 Active: Battery

Battery life on the Samsung Milky way S4 is acceptable, though probably what was expected when the ii,600mAh battery has all those pixels to push button. If you unplug around eight in the morning, use the phone moderately throughout the day, you'll probably take plenty juice to concluding the evening.

Samsung claims information technology can last eight hours of internet usage on 3G, which seems about fair and is on-par with but about every smartphone on the market place. A nightly charge is a must.

Samsung Galaxy S4 Active: Verdict

The Samsung Milky way S4 packs a overnice pattern, a beast of a processor and an IP67 certified rating for water and grit resistance.

However the overall experience gives the impression this is far more durable than it really is, with the rubber bands on either end zero more window dressing. If you're looking for a Galaxy device with less reliance on plastic, yet that notwithstanding has a bit of oomph in terms of power, this is a neat selection.

Been won over past the Samsung Galaxy S4 Active and bought one? Well check out these 7 Secret Tips for your brand-new smartphone..

Samsung Galaxy S4 Active release engagement: Out now

Samsung Galaxy S4 Active price: £500