Gadgetory

with a slightly different look and some new features is this the galaxy s4 that some people wanted in the first place hey it's Josh Oregon from Android auto what's going on everybody and this is the samsung galaxy s4 active when it comes to general design you do get shades of the original s4 but there have been many changes personally I'm not a big fan of this blue but it is nice how you can see it along the very edges when you look at the front the familiar button layout of the s4 has been strengthened and has a nice meaty feel turning the active around reveals a much different look from the s4 indeed rugged is the term that comes to mind when you see the four screws on each rubberized corner and the smaller slightly textured plastic cover adorning the body yes it is still plastic but it's a better feeling thicker less bendy plastic remove the back cover and you get the same access to this removable battery and SD card slots just make sure it is really sealed before you go splashing water on it obviously to help the water resistance there is a cover over the microUSB port little plastic covers like this don't always stand the test of time but it seems sturdy enough in the hand you get a heftiness that is very noticeable when compared to the s4 whereas the light and nimble galaxy s4 had good balancing the s4 active really does feel like a phone you can knock around some it's like having a good case on your s4 only that's not a case and you're actually holding your phone I will be doing a full vs. between the active and the original s4 so comparisons will come there I will say though that I do really prefer the feel of the active over the s4 and I know that for a lot of people what they wanted out of the s4 is at least being heavily teased here in the active opting against putting the usual Super AMOLED screen on the s4 active you get the less saturated LCD display still capable of 1080p resolution and 441 PPI it won't throw colors out at you the way that the s4 screen does but for some people that might actually be a plus nonetheless you get the same kind of performance with a slightly different overall color profile admittedly it doesn't handle contrast quite as well as the Super AMOLED display but that is far from a deal-breaker it's still a great screen and should proof fun for all media consumption and text viewing what surprises many about the four active is that for a ruggedized phone it has a top tier performance package indeed the S 4 active took from its counterpart all the right bits when it came to performance you get the same Snapdragon 600 CPU clocked in at 1.9 gigahertz backed by the Adreno 320 and two gigabytes of RAM the 600 powers all the top smartphones in the market today and so there are no doubts when it comes to speed if you thought the s4 was fast and a great performer you're in for just about the same experience here the same goes for hardware as the s4 active has quite literally all of the bits and pieces that made the s4 special every sensor for hand gestures interviews and controlling televisions makes a return here being able to expand the memory as always a plus and as I said before in regards to feel everything you know about the original s4 has gotten beefier so the story here is obviously the water and dust resistance following in line with many of the rugged phones becoming available right now the s4 active can be submerged in depths of up to one meter for half an hour those details are important because any more than that and you might end up with an s4 looking brick the dust resistance is certified though there aren't really any clean ways of testing it and that LCD is covered in Gorilla Glass 2 not 3 it is scratch resistant but definitely not made for getting knocked around don't be fooled the rugged feel of the phone is great because it's vastly superior than that of the original s4 but hold a real rugged phone in your hand and you'll know that while the s4 active can withstand the elements it just can't go charging into them it's really nice to see that the S 4 active retains the removable battery while you won't be changing your batteries underwater please don't do that having a spare of the 2600 milliamp power unit often proves very handy in my battery tests the life of the s4 actives unit pretty much holds up I didn't find any problems getting through a whole day of normal usage it might be the LCD screen that is consuming power differently this time around but rest assured that you get everything you need finished before it's time for bit the camera is really the last of the few places that have to be cut down in the s4 active instead of the 13 megapixel optics of the original s4 you get 8 megapixels here as far as the app goes you get all of the same modes originally available in the s4 - the dual recording feature and with the addition of aqua mode which I'll get into soon now megapixels obviously don't tell the whole story when it comes to quality but a small decrease is expect did when the resolution goes down overall however the active manages to take pictures on par with the quality of the s for pictures in daylight and good indoor lighting have very good detail and color reproduction all of which translate into video capabilities while you won't be getting pictures you can easily blow up you'll still get great-looking photos of course the main attraction with the camera is being able to use it underwater now I don't live near a beach nor did I have any time to plan a pool party mostly because I don't have a pool but when you do take a plunge the aqua mode of the S 4 active kicks in rendering there touch screen unusable when in the camera app the volume buttons can then be your shutter or record buttons it's a nice way of making the camera usable even when water contact makes touch navigation tough as would be expected however manipulating the photos you take in aqua mode will obviously have to wait until you're out of the water all in all the water-resistant camera is a great addition to a phone that does want you to get out more software wise you don't really get any changes in the s4 active as I said in the hardware section all of the sensors returned in the active making air hand and eye gestures possible as far as apps go you do get s health and group play and watch on all programs found on the original s4 as well for a full look at the software capabilities on the s4 active you can actually just check out my original s4 review and finally price there isn't a very clear picture of how broad or release the Galaxy s4 active will see as of right now it is available on AT&T for the price of 199 on a contract unlocked prices are a bit fuzzy this early into the release but the active should be around the same unlocked price as its original counterpart and so there you have it Samsung is definitely looking to create some sort of galaxy s4 dynasty and this is quite the start for the rollout the s4 active should please plenty of people who love the original s4 but wish that it at least felt a little sturdier what I do love about the s4 active is that it gives an alternative if you haven't pulled the trigger on the s4 just yet maybe what the active offers will entice you and hell if anything it's not just pretty fun to do this for all the best news in coverage stay tuned to Android Authority because we're your source for all things Android