If the Galaxy S4 is just too big for you then Samsung has the answer; a Galaxy S4 Mini, of course! As we had suspected from a number of leaks, blurry images and rumours, the Korean company is continuing a tradition it started last year by launching a miniature version of its Android flagship phone.
Just like its bigger brother, the S4 Mini runs on Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean paired with Samsung’s TouchWiz user interface, including some but not all of the new apps and features introduced on the S4. The Mini will come in Black Frost and White Mist, too, with 3G, 4G and Dual-SIM versions set to be available around the world.
As the name suggests, Samsung’s latest Android phone is smaller and lighter than the phone it imitates. The screen is smaller at 4.3-inches and isn’t in the same league as the S4’s Full HD goodness, although sporting a resolution of 940 x 560 it should still offer a very respectable image quality. Incidentally that marks a jump in screen size and quality from last year’s S3 Mini.
Inside the phone there’s a dual-core 1.7GHz processor paired with 1.5GB of RAM – the latter of which seems an odd choice, it’s usually either 1 or 2GB – alongside 8GB of internal storage. There’s also a micro SD card slot which allows you to top your storage up by a further 64GB max, and interestingly after the whole Watchdog fiasco with the S4’s lack of internal memory, Samsung is stating from the outset that you’ll get 5GB of the advertised 8GB to use.
On the rear of the phone there’s an 8 megapixel camera and a 1.9 megapixel sensor up front for video calling and such. Unfortunately the awesome Dual Shot feature isn’t available on the Mini as it is on the S4, and we suspect that some other processor-intensive shooting modes also won’t make the cut.
However some of Samsung’s new apps and features will be ready to use on the S4 Mini, including the impressive S Translator and Samsung’s latest advertising focus, Group Play.
Samsung is yet to confirm when the S4 Mini will come to the UK and for how much, but as soon as we know we’ll be updating this post.