Samsung Galaxy S4 review: Great in 2013, less so now

The Samsung Galaxy S4 was a magnificent phone in its day. The trouble is that its day was in 2013: five years later, it’s not a phone you want in your pocket – and not just because it capped out at Android 5.0.1, making it a serious security risk now we’re used to phones rocking Android 8.0.

If you do buy yourself a Samsung Galaxy S4 in 2018, you’ll likely find it a frustrating experience, and have to endure a weak performance and frequent slowdowns. The good news is you don’t have to spend top dollar to get a decent upgrade as pretty much anything released in the last two years will be an improvement. Obviously, if you can stretch to the Samsung Galaxy S9 then you’re in for a great experience, but the S8 will do the job almost as well. If you’re on a tight budget, then look no further than the Motorola Moto G6.

Jon’s original review continues below

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Samsung Galaxy S4 review: In full

The Samsung Galaxy S4 is this year’s most anticipated smartphone, but after its glitzy New York launch in March, Samsung has made us wait for the handset. In the meantime, the HTC One has stolen Samsung’s spot at the top of our A-List, and now prospective buyers aren’t only wondering whether it’s better than its rival, but even whether it’s better than its predecessor.

It’s easy to see why many have been left trying to spot the difference between the Galaxy S3 and the new S4: the two phones share their curved shapes, chrome-effect borders and familiar home buttons. Differences are only noticeable up close. The screen is marginally taller, the bottom lip is smaller, and the sensors above the display have been subtly rearranged. There’s one extra black dot – an infrared sensor, which the S4 uses to power gesture-control features. The top of the phone still houses the notification light, which uses the full RGB colour gamut – an improvement over the HTC’s two-tone light.

The new phone is more compact and pocketable than its predecessor, despite a slightly larger screen: it’s 5mm slimmer and marginally lighter, but it feels sturdier, with barely any give in the rear panel.

We like the S4’s diamond-pattern rear casing, which is a big improvement on the plain S3, but the casing’s still entirely plastic, and lacks the reassuringly expensive feel of the HTC One’s aluminium shell. It just doesn’t feel like a device worthy of a £500 price tag. At least that plastic rear panel is removable, which gives access to the microSD slot and replaceable battery, winning the Samsung points for versatility.

The screen

The S4’s 5in, 1,920 x 1,080 Super AMOLED panel uses a PenTile grid, but there’s none of the blurred edges that can appear on this type of display – the 441ppi ensures the Samsung’s screen is as sharp as anything else on the market.

Black levels are perfect, distinctions between deep-black and light-white shades are handled with aplomb, and the S4’s colours are a tad richer than those on the HTC’s LCD screen. Viewing angles are excellent.

There’s a problem, though, and it’s brightness. The S4’s measured maximum brightness of 221cd/m[sup]2[/sup] can’t match the HTC’s 481cd/m[sup]2[/sup], and the deep black level doesn’t make up the shortfall – images, web pages and games lack vibrancy when the phones are compared side by side. The S4’s screen is still one of the best in the business, but it’s the runner-up here.

Performance

European S4 handsets don’t feature the 1.6GHz eight-core processor touted at launch; instead, we’re saddled with a 1.9GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 600. That might disappoint speed freaks, but it’s the same processor as found in the HTC One and certainly no slouch.

You can buy PC Pro’s Ultimate Guide to the Samsung Galaxy S4 from Amazon for £7.99 with free delivery.