Comment Réinitialiser Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini

TechRadar Verdict

The Galaxy S4 is a stunning smartphone that won't let yous downwardly for a diverseness of tasks. Information technology's not as good overall every bit the HTC 1, especially when you lot factor in the pattern, but we love the S4 and would be proud to have it in our pocket.

Pros

+
Stunning screen
+
Superfast processor
+
Dandy camera

Cons

-
Feels cheaper than similar-priced phones
-
'Innovation' makes things too complex
-
Slight UI issues

The Samsung Galaxy S4 is now two and a half years old, and not only was information technology replaced by the Korean business firm's 2014 flagship offer, the Galaxy S5, but the Samsung Galaxy S6 has also been on the market since March this yr.

That ways that the Galaxy S4 is at present feeling a little long in the tooth. Samsung also made matters much worse past releasing the innovative Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge.

It offers the same design equally the Galaxy S6 merely includes a curved display where it bends around both the edges. At that place'south at present even a larger version with a v.7-inch screen chosen the Milky way S6 Edge+.

Without the fancy new bells and whistles that Samsung is including in its latest flagship phones, the Galaxy S4 can almost feel as if information technology is a relic from some other age. However, but considering two years is a long time in smartphones, it doesn't mean that we should write off the Samsung Milky way S4 but yet.

After all, not anybody wants a telephone with top-finish specs - if practiced value is more your bag then the 2013 Galaxy S4 is even so worth a look - it's nonetheless on sale, at a lower toll point of around £250 ($368, AU$483). It has also dropped in cost on contract.

That isn't likewise bad for a handset that is all the same pretty impressive under the hood. Samsung is as well continuing to support it by churning out brand new software updates for it.

Samsung was quick to upgrade the Milky way S4 to Android 4.4 KitKat. Together with a few minor Samsung additions and modifications, information technology tightens things up behind the scenes for a slightly sprightlier navigation experience.

On acme of that, you can at present besides upgrade the Milky way S4 to Android five.0 Lollipop. That means the latest version of the software is on a 2013 handset.

Manifestly the new software is coming to all handsets in Europe at the moment, so we'll exist nabbing the upgrade as soon equally it hits our review model and updating this review to see how it affects bombardment life, speed and overall functionality on the now-budget handset.

If yous've already got a Samsung Galaxy S4, head over to our guide on when to wait the Android 5.0 Lollipop upgrade. We update it constantly, so it's your best source for finding out when the new operating system will reach the Galaxy S4.

Samsung Galaxy S4 review — The Samsung Galaxy S4 is smaller and lighter than the S5

The arrival of the S6 and S6 Border has finally spelled the end of the Galaxy S3. The Galaxy S4 comes in at 136.half-dozen 10 69.8 x 7.9mm, the same dimensions every bit the S3, meaning it feels pretty tiny in the paw compared with today'southward super-sized smartphones.

Samsung usually excels with its screens, and the S4 offers a 5-inch display with Full HD resolution. That's no longer a big deal when compared to the QHD offerings of today's height handsets (such as the 5.five-inch LG G3) but information technology's still good enough for the likes of the HTC One M9.

I should also notation that the Galaxy S4 is considerably smaller and lighter than its successor, the Galaxy S5, despite conceding a mere 0.1 of an inch in screen size. This is plainly a result of the S5's tougher water and dust-resistant construction, just not everyone will count this as a worthwhile compromise.

The Galaxy S4 shares a lot with the other summit smartphones of its era. Both the Sony Xperia Z1 and the HTC One accept screens that use the aforementioned resolution, but neither of them have the nevertheless impressive ascendancy of the Super AMOLED HD screen on offering hither.

On top of that, it packs in a much faster processor than its 2013 contemporaries, offers ample storage space for media thank you to an expandable retentivity menu slot (something missing from Samsung's latest phones), and 4G, Bluetooth iv.0, NFC and pretty much any other connection y'all care to mention on board.

Samsung supplemented this decent specs list with a tranche of software upgrades too, meaning a more than powerful camera, a better way to communicate with your friends and eat media, and the firm's commencement big push into wellness through defended apps.

Pattern

Before I dissect all the possibilities the phone has to offer, let's look at the design. As I mentioned, the Samsung Galaxy S4 is impressive in its class factor, cheers to the sub-8mm thickness. At 130g it manages to notwithstanding be light without shaving off so much heft that you lot feel similar you've got a flimsy piece of plastic.

Compare that with the Milky way S6 just unveiled past Samsung: it'south 6.8mm thick and weighs 138g.

That'due south probably the biggest compliment I tin can pay the Samsung Galaxy S4 - where its predecessor the S3 felt a lilliputian bit cheap in the manus, the S4 manages to bring a much more than solid build and better construction to boot.

So while the "false metal" ring makes a comeback on this model, it looks a lot more than premium. And there's very footling flex in the chassis when you concord it tightly, which was some other problem with the Galaxy S3.

Information technology can become dented very easily though, and be careful not to crack your screen if y'all do so - I've heard of a few instances where this has happened to Galaxy S4 users, although that can be said of many other polycarbonate smartphones.

That doesn't mean that the telephone is completely remodelled from the S3 - it'south very like in appearance, so much and then that a number of people asking to meet it during my review thought I was palming them off with my sometime S3. The polycarbonate chassis remains, only that brings with it the true-blue battery cover, which conceals a removable bombardment and microSD slot.

I'm not so fussed near the bombardment being able to drib out of the phone - so few people carry around a spare battery, and nowadays portable charging blocks are becoming then cheap and light that they make much more than sense.

It's something Samsung has done away with in its latest handsets, and then the S4 will still appeal to those who similar the removable battery pick.

I'd almost adopt something like the Sony Xperia Z3, which has a refined and packaged chassis but doesn't need a removable bombardment - instead it makes apply of a slot for the memory menu. This integrated nature would make for a slightly more premium feel to the phone.

However, it's a small gripe with the Samsung Galaxy S4, as while the cover feels flimsy, information technology's better than it was on the S2 and the S3, and they both sold similar hot cakes.

In the hand, the Samsung Galaxy S4 feels much meliorate than any other Samsung telephone that came before information technology (apart from the gargantuan smartphones the brand used to brand - the i8910 Omnia HD might have been built like a brick, simply it felt wonderful to hold). The screen'due south spread towards the sides of the phone means a much narrower bezel, and the outcome is certainly impressive.

It might look very similar to the S3, but when you take the Samsung Galaxy S4 upwardly close, you really get-go to capeesh the nuances.

I'd say it feels a lot more similar the former LG Optimus G range now - when I get-go picked it upwards, I was struck with how similar it felt in terms of sturdiness and the polycarbonate construction to the LG Optimus G Pro.

It'southward since been mimicked once more by the LG G2, which was a existent competitor to this handset when it first launched - it's got the same ugly plastic instance, but much improved innards at the aforementioned price.

That's no criticism, as the device is well congenital, but it has a similar rounded feel. This is intriguing given the history of the two companies, and shows more of a leaning towards the plastic beat from the Asian brands in full general.

The buttons accept barely changed from before - the power push has been shifted slightly on the right-hand side, and is now much easier to hit than it was on the S3. Samsung clearly took some lessons from the Galaxy Notation two, which has a actually well positioned power/lock button.

The volume central is less easy to hit, and could be lower down in, but the travel on both of these buttons is satisfying, and you'll always know when you've hit them.

The plastic used on the home cardinal has been upgraded besides, with a more solid feel under the pollex when you lot press down to get back to the principal dwelling screen. The two buttons flanking it give you lot access to menus or take y'all dorsum from whence yous came, and while both are hands hidden, they low-cal up nicely with an even glow when called into activity.

Samsung Galaxy S4 — The abode key feels more solid

There are loads of sensors on the front end of the telephone above the screen, including cameras to track your eyes, a 2MP photographic camera for Hd video calling and a proximity sensor for knowing where the telephone is in relation to your ear. On the white review unit I had their presence looks rather ugly either side of the generous earpiece, only on the darker models this is less of an upshot.

The other notable add-on to the design of the Galaxy S4 is the infrared equalizer on the top of the phone. This enables you lot to command your Television, satellite box, DVD player, amp and even air conditioner. Again, this isn't a new feature, but it works well in do, and despite being small is powerful enough indeed.

Other than that, there's not a lot more to say about the design of the phone, equally it's just a little underwhelming. I know information technology'southward unfair to lambast a brand for non overhauling the blueprint every yr, but in the One X and the One, HTC proved that information technology is possible to offering upward a new design over successive generations and even so proceed things attractive.

Looking so similar to the Galaxy S3, you tin can't help but feel Samsung has gone a niggling too Apple and created something more in keeping with the Samsung Milky way S3S - a small update to a great phone to keep those coming out of contract happy that they have a premium phone to upgrade to.

I do implore yous to get the telephone in your hand before making your sentence though. While it's not got the best design on the market when it comes to materials, information technology was a big step frontward for its time and allows for a grippy and easy-to-hold telephone with a whopping screen inside.

Information technology nonetheless feels cheap as chips compared to the iPhone 6 and Samsung Milky way S6 though.

To only dismiss it for being plastic would exist doing the Galaxy S4 a disservice as it has so much more than going for information technology than that. But it's worth remembering that to a lot of people, the way a phone looks is as important as how much RAM it'south got on lath and how fast the CPU is - if non more so.

Electric current folio: Introduction

Side by side Folio Key features

Gareth has been role of the consumer applied science world in a career spanning 3 decades. He started life as a staff writer on the fledgling TechRadar, and has grown with the site (primarily every bit phones, tablets and wearables editor) until becoming Global Editor in Chief in 2018. Gareth has written over 4,000 articles for TechRadar, has contributed expert insight to a number of other publications, chaired panels on zeitgeist technologies, presented at the Gadget Show Live as well equally representing the make on TV and radio for multiple channels including Heaven, BBC, ITV and Al-Jazeera. Passionate about fitness, he tin bore anyone rigid about stress direction, sleep tracking, heart charge per unit variance as well as bemoaning something about the latest iPhone, Milky way or OLED Boob tube.