Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Mobile
  3. News

Samsung targets the Xperia Z, announces the new, waterproof Galaxy S4 Active

Andy Boxall
By

Galaxy S4 ActiveCheck out our review of the Samsung Galaxy S4 Active smartphone.

Samsung has officially announced the Galaxy S4 Active smartphone, ready to take on the Sony Xperia Z and Xperia ZR. The phone has been rumored for a while and previously expected to be unveiled at the company’s June 20 show in London, leaving us wondering what the company has left for the event.

Recommended Videos

Aimed at people who, “focus on living life to the fullest,” according to Samsung, the S4 Active is probably more likely to be purchased by those who focus on being a bit clumsy, as the case has been stamped with an IP67 rating, making it waterproof to a depth of one meter for 30 minutes, and resistant to harmful dust particles. The S4 Active has a slightly chunkier body than the regular Galaxy S4, measuring 9.1mm at its thickest point compared to the S4’s 7.9mm. It’s also heavier, as it weighs 151 grams, which is 20 grams more than the standard S4.

Related

But the question on many people’s lips will be has Samsung altered the internal specs of the S4 Active, or has it truly made a competitor to the Sony Xperia Z? The answer is, almost. The S4 Active retains the 1.9GHz quad-core processor seen in most Galaxy S4 smartphones, and the screen still measures 5-inches and has a 1080p resolution. It’s not a Super AMOLED panel though, and Samsung’s press releases calls it simply a TFT LCD. The camera has been downgraded to 8-megapixels, but it does come with an Aqua Mode for improved underwater shots, similar to Sony’s Xperia ZR.

Galaxy S4 Active Blue OrangeAndroid 4.2, TouchWiz, and lots of software features

Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean is the operating system, and whole host of Samsung features are included in the TouchWiz user interface, including Air View, Air Gesture, Smart Pause, Smart Scroll, S Health and S Translator. The screen can also be used with gloved hands, which could be handy if the S4 Active is used as Samsung intends.

There’s only one version of the S4 Active listed, and it comes with 16GB of internal memory (of which Samsung says 11GB is available for use), plus it has 4G LTE connectivity, a 2-megapixel video call camera, Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi Direct, NFC, and the same 2600mAh battery cell found in the Galaxy S4. What’s not clear is if it’s removable, something which may be unlikely due to the S4 Active’s waterproof nature.

The Galaxy S4 has proven insanely popular already, and while the Xperia Z has also been doing very well, anyone wanting a high-end waterproof phone now has a second choice. We’d imagine Sony will be a little concerned about the S4 Active, despite the Xperia Z beating it on paper in several ways, particularly as it has been struggling to find carrier support in the U.S. for the device.

Samsung will be putting the S4 Active on sale this summer, and initially it’ll be coming to the U.S. and Sweden, with other countries to follow. You’ll be able to buy the phone in three colors, grey, blue or orange, but the price hasn’t been stated.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Andy Boxall
Andy Boxall
Senior Mobile Writer
Andy is a Senior Writer at Digital Trends, where he concentrates on mobile technology, a subject he has written about for…
Does the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 have a headphone jack?
Timer running on the Galaxy Z Flip 5 cover screen.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 is here, and it's flippin' marvelous. It's largely just Samsung that has defined the nascent flip smartphone market, and while flipping and folding phones haven't quite broken into the mainstream yet, the Z Flip 5 is sure to tempt more and more people into buying into the future of smartphone design. The biggest new addition to the Z Flip 5 is the larger outer screen, which is a big upgrade over the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4's much smaller display and worthy of rivaling the Motorola Razr Plus's impressively large outer display.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 is a fantastic piece of tech, packed with the latest and most powerful hardware Samsung can get its hands on. But what about a piece of very old tech? What about the humble 3.5mm headphone jack? Does Samsung's latest flip phone have room for a headphone jack, or does the Z Flip 5 follow the same trend of the last few years in omitting the venerable port?

Read more
The best Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 cases: 10 best ones so far
Two Galaxy Z Fold 5 phones next to each other -- one is open and one is closed.

Samsung’s next-generation foldable is here with the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5. This iteration has some notable improvements, including a new hinge design that eliminates the gap from previous generations when the device was folded. You also get a 6.2-inch HD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X display on the outside while having a 6.7-inch QXGA+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X display on the inside, with both screens having a 120Hz refresh rate. In other words, they're about as nice as you could ask for.

The Galaxy Z Fold 5 is made with premium materials, and the triple-lens camera system packs in a 50MP main shooter, 10MP telephoto with 3x optical zoom, and a 12MP ultrawide lens. There’s a 10MP selfie camera on the front cover, and a 4MP camera on the inner display. You also get a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy chip inside for the best performance and power efficiency.

Read more
There’s a big problem with Samsung’s new Android tablets
The back of the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra.

“Android tablets are a lost cause.” I come across this recurring theme more often than I would like, but there’s some truth to it. As someone who pushes Android tablets as a daily workhorse, I’ve defended on numerous occasions how the ecosystem has matured over the past few years after Android 12L and foldable arrived on the scene.

But compared to the iPad, Android tablets keep falling short. With every brand trying to create its own unique software flavor for tablets that vary dramatically in terms of firepower, no two Android tablets seem to offer a uniform experience. iPads, on the other hand, do deliver experience uniformity irrespective of the screen size.

Read more