Gadgetory

Samsung has offered flip covers for its Galaxy Note and Galaxy S lines for a while now but this is the first time we've ever found one useful I'm Michael Fisher this is PocketNow and this is our quick review of the S view flip cover for the galaxy s4 so the deal with the older samsung flip covers is they completely block to the screen and the phone didn't know whether they were open or closed Samsung has addressed both of those shortcomings with the S view cover for the galaxy s4 and finally created an accessory that enhances the functionality of the smartphone rather than detracting from it the S view cover snaps on just like a battery door in fact it replaces the entire back cover of the device giving you a chance to scuff this one up while keeping the stock cover pristine in your top drawer for fancy nights on the town or whatever there's no wireless charging capability built into the SVO cover in its current form though so keep that in mind in a few months when Samsung starts offering battery doors with that feature included once it's snapped into place you'll notice that the cover doesn't add much if anything to the devices thickness the exterior surface is soft but features an odd texture that feels almost like an old nylon jacket the inside surface is much softer almost like felt the phone is able to determine whether the cover is open or closed and when closed it turns off the majority of LEDs on the display to conserve power Samsung has cooked up a special minimized view of vital stats such as date time signal battery life and notifications and so on it's reminiscent of the pared down external displays found on old clamshell phones and it shines through the window for a few seconds after the covers closed or when you press the power standby button the small display area means that in theory the display should consume less power throughout the day if you're a compulsive notification checker you can't interact with the graphics on the display unless a call comes through that's when things get cool because not only can you accept the call using on-screen controls you can take that call without opening the flip cover thanks to the cutout for the earpiece up top very handy the window also serves the purpose of acting as a pass-through for the camera lens as well when you first fold the case back on itself you feel like maybe it's going to obscure the camera lens but it doesn't the window does pick up smudges quite easily though so it may well diminish your photo quality unless you compulsively clean it or you can just take photos with the flip cover open you can be that guy using the flip cover made us enjoy using the galaxy s4 a bit more than usual actually it's cool to be able to handle the device with one hand without worrying about smudging up the screen and it's nice just to be able to drop it in a pocket or toss it facedown on a tabletop it also saves us time by skipping the lockscreen entirely when open and it's not just the special screen mode that recalls the old days of flipped dumb phones the moving flap gave us a real sense of nostalgia in addition to its utilitarian value we wish there was a magnet here to keep it closed as it tends to flap in the breeze somewhat but that's our only real complaint the S view cover should launch in multiple colors alongside the galaxy s4 and indications are that it will retail for a pretty steep 70 bucks that's frankly ridiculous no matter how cool or well made the cover is but maybe as part of a bulk accessory order with a new phone you might be able to find some savings from a third party if you do opt to shell out the cash you'll be getting a very cool accessory that adds to the pleasure of using a pretty cool phone and you'll be less likely to scratch up that beautiful display folks we have so much more content on the galaxy s4 both at pocketnow.com and here on youtube so drop us a like if you enjoyed the video leave a comment if you have something to say make sure and follow us on social media and thank you for watching we'll talk to you next time