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Samsung Galaxy S4: “second look. Samsung Galaxy S4: "a second look" Make security features smarter

I would never have thought that a smartphone with a five-inch screen could be convenient. However, Samsung breaks this stereotype. Not only does the 2013 flagship Galaxy S4 have excellent characteristics in every sense, but it is even smaller and lighter than its predecessor, the Galaxy S3. Well, the number of all kinds of “tricks” in the new SGS4 is simply off the charts. We have collected all the interesting things about the new “Korean miracle” in our test review.

I cannot classify myself as a member of any clan of fans of mobile brands. For me, Samsung, Nokia, Apple, HTC or Google are the names of companies behind which there are people and their work. Some people do a good job, and some don't do a good job. Historically, I've always been very critical of Samsung. But what these guys have been doing lately cannot be ignored. To be honest, at one time it didn’t make an impression on me, just like all the previous devices in this line. I was constantly surprised by the huge sales of these devices. But the Galaxy S4 first hooked me.

If earlier it was possible to talk about any borrowing from competitors, now Samsung is going its own way. The company has a platform and they try to make it unique, personalizing it as much as possible and endowing it with unique services, functions, and features. This is what makes the Galaxy S4 interesting in the first place. Store salespeople have something to surprise a potential buyer. This is a definite plus.

At the same time, the new gadget became an evolution of the previous flagship. It has become more productive, faster and more convenient. The increase in screen diagonal to 5 inches did not affect the dimensions. On the contrary, the smartphone has become thinner, narrower and lighter. The main technical features of the SGS4 are a 5-inch screen, an eight-core processor, 2 GB of RAM, a high-capacity battery, 16 GB of built-in memory, and NFC support. All this is packaged in a plastic case with a glossy finish. But let's look at these characteristics in more detail.

Dimensions. Contents of delivery

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An undoubted advantage of the new Galaxy S4 in terms of size is that the device has not become larger. Quite the contrary. It became thinner, narrower and lighter, and grew in length by only 0.4 mm.

Dimensions of the device are 137x70x8 mm. The edges of the body are rounded. Weight - 130 grams. Due to its size, it may be a little difficult to operate with one hand, for example, to reach the notification panel with your thumb. But you can carry the device in the pockets of tight clothes without any problems. I didn't notice any inconvenience here.

The scope of delivery includes:

  • Samsung i9500 Galaxy S4 phone
  • Battery 2600 mAh, lithium-ion
  • USB charger adapter
  • Cable for synchronization with computer
  • Stereo headset with miniJack 3.5 mm
  • Set of earplugs of different sizes
  • Instructions

Design and appearance

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The design of the “four” has changed slightly compared to that. The body still has the same smoothed shapes. There is a lot of gloss on the front, as well as the back. However, the new product looks stricter thanks to less rounded corners and a redesigned end rim. The latter now looks less vulgar than the curved and clearly painted “metal” plastic of its predecessor. In the Galaxy S4, the silver edging is very similar to metal, although it is not.

Samsung has always been criticized for the lack of metal in the body of its flagships. The situation has not changed even now. It's also all plastic. True, this time it is not flimsy, and the material turned out to be more scratch-resistant. The assembly of the device is perfect. Thanks to this, I didn’t have the feeling that there was some kind of rattle toy in front of me. Quite the contrary. Everything is very reliable, tightly fitted.

I would like to note the extremely thin frame of the smartphone screen. As you get used to the phone, it seems to “dissolve” and the user is left alone with the most important thing - the screen.

Samsung Galaxy S4 is available in two versions: dark gray, almost black and white.

The entire front part of the device is occupied by a large 5-inch touchscreen display. Above it is the speaker frame. To the right and left of it there is a camera for video calls (2 megapixels) and various sensors: motion sensor, light sensor, G-sensor, infrared port. On the left there is an LED indicator that lights up when charging, missed calls and SMS.

Below the screen there is a menu button (in the center) and two touch keys for the context menu and return to one level. Everything is standard here.

The location of controls and other elements on the smartphone body has not changed compared to the Galaxy S3.

On the right side there is a button to turn on, turn off and lock the phone. On the left you can see the volume key. There is no camera button here; the camera app for shooting can only be launched from the menu or lock mode.

At the bottom end there is a standard microUSB connector for charging and connecting to a computer. At the top end there is a 3.5 mm headphone output.

On the back side you can see a 13 megapixel camera lens with autofocus and LED flash. At the bottom there is a speaker for external calls and audio playback. I would rate the sound as good. Even at an average level, you can clearly hear the call, even if the phone is in your clothes. But in terms of sound quality, the Galaxy S4 is completely inferior to sound.

The lithium-ion battery is located under a thin plastic battery cover. There is also a holder for a microSIM card and a memory card. In addition, there is a built-in memory of 16 GB.

The build quality of the Galaxy S4 is excellent. During the test I did not find any external defects. The impressions are extremely positive. The smartphone is assembled at the company's plant in Vietnam.

Screen. Graphics capabilities

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The screen in modern smartphones is the clothing by which any device is greeted. In the case of the Galaxy S4, the display is good in all respects. Firstly, it is a 5-inch diagonal, and secondly, a resolution of 1080x1920 pixels (441 ppi). Crystal clear images, traditionally large viewing angles and even a narrow frame - all this has a positive effect on the perception of the device as a whole.

The Koreans played tricks with the settings, and now the white color does not give off so much blue, which is typical for the Galaxy S3; it is quite a bit short of the best examples of IPS matrices. At the same time, in the settings it remains possible to select a less acidic version of the color profile, which will bring the image quality even closer to IPS. In addition, it remains a perfect black color.

The only drawback of the display is that it is very large and difficult to operate with one hand. You cannot, for example, reach the top edge, corners, etc. with your thumb.

The screen is made using new class 3 Gorilla Glass. This glass is 20% thinner than its predecessor, but at the same time retains all its characteristics: it is 3 times stronger than conventional materials used in the manufacture of displays, and protects the screen from scratches and chips.

The phone supports video recording in mpeg4 format for maximum resolution, and in the settings you can specify whether the video will be recorded with or without sound. All settings are comparable to those for photographs, but the video resolutions are different, plus effects are supported. The camera can shoot videos with a resolution of 1920x1080 pixels, there are also 1280x720, 720x480 pixels (30 frames), or a resolution of 640x480 pixels (30 frames). Two additional resolutions - 320x240 and 176x144 pixels.

The recorded video is not bad. It looks great on a phone screen and looks good on a computer too.

Photos and videos can be viewed from the Multimedia menu. Photos and videos are displayed as thumbnails, the list opens very quickly, there are no delays even with a large number of photos or images. In the gallery, you can scroll through photos using gestures. All this became possible thanks to the built-in accelerometer.

Memory and speed

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A version of the smartphone with 16 GB memory is currently available in stores.

The performance of the Galaxy S4 is high, it is many times faster than its predecessors. This can be seen from the very beginning of using the device. The interface flies and applications launch in a couple of seconds.

Samsung Galaxy S4 is equipped with Exynos 5 Octa: four ARM Cortex-A15 cores (1.6 GHz) + four ARM Cortex-A7 cores (1.2 GHz). There is an integrated video accelerator PowerVR SGX544MP3. In addition, the device has 2 GB of RAM. There is enough RAM to ensure that no application feels left out.

It is very easy for the average user to evaluate the performance of a smartphone: the device runs any content without any lag, be it a 1080p video or a modern game like Max Payne.

Communication capabilities

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In addition to the standard connection to a computer via microUSB, the Galaxy S4 supports Bluetooth 4.0. Bluetooth provides wireless connection to peripheral devices: for example, A2DP/AVRCP stereo headsets.

When connected to a USB port, there are several connection options: Media, Charge only, Storage, Samsung Keis. In Storage mode, the device is picked up perfectly without additional drivers, and you can copy the necessary data.

Since the Samsung Galaxy S4 received an update to Lollipop, this “old man” smartphone began to work at a solid 5. We're so passionate about this Samsung model that we decided to publish our full list of tips and tricks for the Lollipop update. Without a doubt, the Samsung Galaxy S4 is a great smartphone from Samsung, but we advise you to read our article so that you can see how you can further improve the performance of this device.

Turn off S Voice for faster navigation

As we know, the S Voice app can be launched by double tapping the Home key. This shortcut actually slows down the response time of that button, as TouchWiz freezes momentarily after the first press to see if you'll press Home a second time before returning you to the home screen. You should go to S Voice, press the “Menu” soft key, select the “Settings” section and then uncheck the “Launch through the Home button” option - and navigating this key will become much faster.


Turn off annoying Samsung sounds

Since you are dealing with a Samsung Galaxy S4 phone, why not turn off some of the not-so-pleasant sounds on it? Even if you like them, we would venture to say that literally every person on the train, at work or in the supermarket simply hates such sounds. To please the people around you, go to “Settings > My device > Sounds and notifications > Other sounds” and uncheck those sounds that you can do without.


Use contact shortcuts to make calls and send messages

Why use messy menu buttons when a couple of gestures are enough? In your contacts list, you can swipe a contact's name right or left to make a quick call or send a message. Now it will be much easier for you to stay in touch and, thanks to such actions, save time.


Access to hidden settings of Samsung Galaxy S4

There is one cool application called Note 2 Hidden Settings. It was originally created for the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 smartphone, but it also works on other Galaxy models, including the Samsung Galaxy S4. Yes, Note 2 Hidden Settings may not work on some phone models of mobile operators, but nevertheless, this application is worth installing as it has a lot of interesting content.


Protect your notifications on a locked display

Note that Lollipop includes lock screen notifications, meaning you won't have to fully unlock your phone to read a text message or email. But you probably don't feel entirely comfortable when the contents of all your notifications are displayed all over the display and anyone can see them. If this is the case, then go to “Settings > My device > Sounds and notifications”. You can now choose which apps display lock screen content in the notifications app and the level at which lock screen content is displayed.


Use your phone as a TV remote control

Download the WatchOn application and use it to set up your favorite TV channels, control your TV, various set-top boxes and much more. You can also put this app on your lock screen for more convenience.


Use your voice to control hands-free levels

Did you know that your Samsung Galaxy S4 has many voice control options? You can use your voice to mute alerts, take photos, play music, or reject incoming calls. Go to Settings > My Device > Voice Control and turn on the switches for the commands you'd like to use. You can also use S Voice to set reminders or check the weather forecast.


Install a more functional launcher

If you find TouchWiz to be a little slow, why not replace it with a faster launcher like Google Now Launcher, Nova Launcher or Action launcher? They're worth a try - they're free, and you can always go back to the old launcher if you want.


Make your own Qi wireless charger

If you want to use wireless charging like the one without spending a lot of money on that smartphone, then why not buy a wireless charger? All you need to do is remove the back cover of the phone and dock the charging plate with the phone body as shown in the instructions, and then replace the back cover of the phone with a new one.


Activate Smart Stay

Smart Stay uses your phone's front camera to know whether you're looking at the display or not, and thanks to this feature, the screen stays on as long as you look at it. This is a cool thing if you want not only a short screen saver timeout period, but also enough time to read from your phone's display for a long time.

To activate Smart Stay, go to “Settings > My device > Smart display” and turn it on.


Set up a screen lock

Our advice to you is to ditch the old boring screen lock, add camera and dialer shortcuts, select a clock or personal message and give it some flair by setting a custom wallpaper. Go to “Settings > My device > Screen lock” and check the box for the camera, and then set up widgets for the screen lock.


Customize quick settings

Why settle for standard quick settings when you can use a group of the most useful custom toggle switches to work with your phone? You can even assign them according to your taste. Swipe down from the top of the screen, tap the grid icon in the top right corner, then tap the pencil icon to edit and reassign your Quick Settings.


Make your keyboard smarter

If you're using a stock Samsung keyboard, make sure you have predictive character input and swipe typing enabled. You might be surprised at how much time these two modes can save you. Open your keyboard layout and long press the key to the left of the spacebar. Now click on the Settings gear key and make sure that predictive character input is turned on and that the Continuous input option is turned on in Keyboard Swipe mode. You can also replace your current keyboard with SwiftKey or another similar keyboard app.


Use Do Not Disturb mode

Another notable feature of Lollipop is the Priority Notifications option, which is also known as Do Not Disturb mode. This option allows you to set a time during which you will not be interrupted by anything other than the most important notifications or alerts. You'll be able to receive calls from your family or boss from a whitelist of contacts, set the time and day of the week, and choose from calls, messages, and calendar reminders. To work with this mode, go to “Settings > My device > Sounds and notifications > Interrupts” and here you will find everything you need.


Expand your camera's capabilities

Install the Samsung Smart Camera app and connect your phone to your camera via NFC for faster photo transfers, use your phone as a remote viewfinder (hello monopods) and much more. And one more important point - your camera will automatically establish a connection with your phone if it is turned on.


Always get the best display

One of the best things about Samsung displays is that they can adapt to different environments. With this in mind, you will always have the opportunity to use the best viewing modes - even when reading, even when looking at a photo or video session. Just follow these steps: Settings > My Device > Display > Screen Mode, then select Adaptive Display or check other options.

Try the floating keyboard

The keyboard on your S4 is not permanently fixed to the bottom of the display. Depending on what you do, a small, flexible keyboard layout may be more convenient. Open your keyboard layout, long press the key to the left of the spacebar and click on the icon that looks like two intersecting frames. The keyboard will shrink in size and become movable.


Save battery power with smart Wi-Fi

If your Wi-Fi is set to "Turn off when display is off," then you think you're saving battery power. However, this is not entirely true. Most of us activate our phone's display an average of 150 times a day, so it's better to keep Wi-Fi on than to turn it off and on every time, and constantly search for a connection. Open the “Settings” section, then Wi-Fi, then press the “Menu” softkey, select “Advanced” and then set “On”. Wi-Fi" position "Always".


Fix errors in Safe mode

If your Galaxy S4 is acting strangely, then you should probably restart it in Safe Mode until the problem is resolved. To do this, you just need to turn off your phone and turn it on again. Once you see the screen that says Samsung, press and hold the Volume Down button and after that you will see that many applications were disabled when the device booted. To exit safe mode, simply turn off your phone and turn it on again.


Make things easier with Simple mode

If you're a little overwhelmed by all the Samsung widgets and various TouchWiz bells and whistles, then Simple mode is a must. It will make everything simple and clear, so you will see only the most important elements (as well as larger icons), and it will be much easier for you in terms of work and navigation. Go to Settings > My Device > Simple Mode and turn it on.


Create a custom sound profile

If you have keen hearing, or just want complete control over the sounds from your device when you talk through it to other people, then why not create a custom sound profile? Follow these steps: “Settings > My device > Sounds and notifications > Sound adaptation.” Insert headphones into your phone, click on the “Start” icon and follow the prompts.


Take the best photos

Of course, not all of us are Pulitzer Prize-winning photographers. So when the right moment happens, why not take a series of photos and let your Samsung Galaxy S4 choose the best one? Open the camera app, tap on the Mode icon and then on Best Photo. Press the shutter button to take a series of photos and your phone will automatically select the best one.


Increase your battery life

As far as we know, the Samsung Galaxy S4 (stock Android Lollipop) does not have a battery saving mode, but it does have Samsung's proprietary power saving mode. Go to “Settings > My device > Power saving mode” and set the value to “On”. This mode disables some features to extend battery life. You can assign such functions in the settings.


Enjoy Quiet Mode

The Samsung Galaxy S4 is one of the few devices that has a real silent mode, even on Android Lollipop. To activate it, follow these steps: Settings > My Device > Sounds & Notifications > Interruptions > Sound Mode and then select Silent. You can also use the slider in Quick Settings to select Vibrate or Silent mode.


Make security features smarter

Why do you strive to unlock your phone using a PIN code or other combination of characters when you are at home where you can trust your family? Maybe you should try the cool Smart Lock feature? You can reduce the worry of having your phone unlocked in certain places by adding Trusted People, Trusted Voice, Trusted SmartWatch, or any other trusted device options.


Make Chrome Browser Simpler and Better

In our opinion, Chrome in Lollipop looks a little annoying. By default, your Chrome tabs will be saved in the recent apps list (accessed by long pressing the Home button). If you prefer the old option - all your tabs were saved directly in the browser - then open the browser, click on the “3 dots” icon in the upper right corner, then select the “Settings” section and disable the “Merge tabs and applications” option.


More convenience with the mode

If you don't want to miss incoming messages or notifications, but your hands are busy, why not activate Hands-Free Mode on your Samsung Galaxy S4? In this mode, incoming calls, messages and notifications will be read out loud by the phone, and you will always be aware of what is happening. Go to Settings > My Device > Hands-Free Mode and turn it on.


Disable unnecessary bells and whistles

Samsung has always been known—at least until recently—for cramming its phones with a variety of not-so-useful features. Some of these features are enabled by default and constantly drain your battery and load your processor even when you don't use them. If you are not a fan of swiping, then why not disable such functions? Open the “Movements and Gestures” subsection in the “Settings” section and disable the functions you don’t need. The same goes for Smart Screen and Air View.


Have you actually tried any of the above tips and tricks for your Galaxy S4? Do you know any others? Tell us about them in the comments.

Samsung GALAXY S4 can easily be called one of the best multimedia devices of this year, because multimedia is not only a well-implemented function, but also, above all, the widest entertainment options for users, which should complement each other. The large and bright display of the Samsung GALAXY S4 will help you enjoy your favorite movies and show your friends photos; the music player is capable of working with a variety of formats; The quality of the camera is comparable to many digital cameras.

Music player

Let's start with format support, here the Samsung GALAXY S4 has something interesting. Declared support for MP3, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, AMR-NB/WB, OGG, FLAC, AC-3. In addition, the apt-X codec is supported, if you buy a Bluetooth headset that supports the same codec, you will be amazed at the sound quality - and without wires! In fact, you don't have to install additional programs if you want to listen to tracks in FLAC or OGG format. Owners of lovingly selected extensive music collections will especially appreciate these opportunities. Download music, connect your favorite headphones, enjoy. By the way, we cannot help but recall two points. Since the smartphone has a microSD memory card slot, you can easily install a card up to 64 GB. This is more than enough to store thousands of songs or dozens of movies. And, to enjoy listening to music, you can also choose a headset to suit your taste in Samsung branded stores. By the way, Samsung GALAXY S4 is capable of playing music for up to 57 hours, this is an amazing result for a powerful smartphone.

During playback, you can use the AllShare function (analogous to DLNA) to transfer sound to another device, add a song to a playlist, or play folders, which will be appreciated by adherents of old control methods. A special feature of the Samsung GALAXY S4 player is the music square, here you can quickly select music to suit your mood - exciting, joyful, calm. Voice control of playback is supported, this is convenient if you are busy with something and cannot switch the track by hand. Lots of different settings: SoundAlive allows you to change the equalizer preset, there is the usual bass boost, and even a virtual 7.1 system. The “Optimize Sound” function works only with headphones, analyzes the volume level, what settings are applied, so that in the future you do not have to waste time on this. It even supports automatic playback shutdown - this will be appreciated by those who like to listen to music before bed. It is possible to play the lyrics of a song (if it is written in tags), automatically adjust the volume of all songs, there is a choice of filters - for example, these are popular files. That is, those that you reproduce constantly. There is also a filter for the last ones added, this is also very convenient, especially if you use a large-capacity memory card and constantly change the music.

The player can be controlled directly in the application, in the notification menu, on the locked screen - this is very convenient. The album picture is displayed almost in full screen when you are in the player, below are buttons for quickly selecting a playback mode, activating the Shuffle mode, adding a track to favorites. It is very convenient that you can search for the desired song; the mini-player, cover and control buttons are displayed below. Whatever filter you choose, there is an alphabet on the right to quickly search for songs. Just swipe your finger and a larger letter will appear in the center of the screen.

You can buy music in the Play Music application; to identify songs, we recommend using the Shazam program; in our opinion, this is the best utility for such purposes. I would also recommend the SoundCloud program, a wonderful sound cloud where musicians from all over the world, both famous and not, post their tracks and sets. It works like a social network, that is, you can follow people, and newly added works will be displayed in your feed. Naturally, you can post your creations, receive comments and ratings. It's very easy to send your favorite post to Facebook or Twitter, some songs can be downloaded.

We also recommend TuneIn, one of the best Internet radios of all time, a huge catalog of stations, a well-thought-out interface, you can try the free version and then switch to the paid one. For lovers of electronic music, this is a godsend.

Video

Full HD video playback of the following formats is supported: MPEG4, H.263, H.264, DivX, DivX3.11, VC-1, VP8, WMV7/8, Sorenson Spark, HEVC. As you can see, you don’t have to do any conversion or anything like that to download and watch your favorite series. Moreover, you can also download using Samsung GALAXY S4. And don’t forget that you can watch videos on YouTube; on some channels you can find excellent selections of classic films.





Books

Here we again recommend you the Google application, this is Play Books - a huge library where you can easily find both new and classic works. This is not only a store, but also a reading program, and a very convenient one, there is a 3D effect when flipping, a choice of day-night mode, font, line spacing, there is even text-to-speech - a robot (female voice) reads the book out loud. You can also add bookmarks, turn pages by pressing the display or using the volume keys. Don’t forget that the Samsung GALAXY S4 has a truly impressive display, both in terms of diagonal and quality - if you used to read from a smartphone screen and your eyes got tired, this won’t be the case here.

In addition, you can download the FBReader utility. This is the most famous reading program, the most convenient and, in my opinion, the most universal. It works with a lot of formats, it’s fast, stable, if you want, you can download a book directly from your browser and start reading right away; it’s an indispensable thing when traveling, just like a player.

Camera

In the previous article, we spoke in detail about the capabilities of the camera, here it is worth giving examples of photographs - we note that in our editorial office three employees (including the editor-in-chief) constantly use the Samsung GALAXY S4 as a point-and-shoot camera, which is always with you. The quality is amazing, the “point and shoot” concept is truly implemented here, you can be sure that the frame will be sharp, the colors will be rich, you want to play with effects, you want to create and you don’t want to stop. Even if you've never shot with a smartphone, try it with the Samsung GALAXY S4. Believe me, the result will surprise you. You might not be taking your camera with you on this vacation!

Applications and games

We highly recommend that Samsung GALAXY S4 owners bookmark our website; many reviews of useful applications for smartphones based on this operating system constantly appear there. Your Samsung GALAXY S4 can do a lot, and Google Play Store and Samsung Apps are some of the most important apps for a Samsung GALAXY S4 owner. Because this is where you have to choose, buy, download programs - there is a lot of free content, thousands of utilities are waiting for you to pay attention to them. To access Samsung Apps, you just need to create a Samsung account. And you can use the Google Play Store (formerly Android Market), Google calendar after you add your Google account in the settings, this is your email and password. Almost any bank card can be used for payment; you will need to enter your data and start making your purchases.

On the main page of the store there are links to the most interesting programs at the moment, and not only to programs, but also to categories. There is a separate Editor`s choice page and other interesting “bookmarks”; Google tries to initially draw your attention to the most interesting programs. In addition, you can easily find the best programs in the sections “Best Free” and “Best Paid” Applications. I liked that among the best paid ones there are so many utilities from our developers, including PowerAMP, Cut the Rope, and Dr.Web Antivirus. And in the Top Grossing category, the first places are also games from the Russian company Game Insight, these are Airport City and Paradise Island. Feel free to download and install all of the above, here again I can’t help but praise the Nexus display, the same Paradise Island looks great here.

The store is very easy to use, most programs are inexpensive, and believe me, there is a lot to choose from. Using Nexus, you can “assemble” any smartphone to your liking; it can be an entertainment device with different players or games; it can be a gadget for working with office documents, mail, and scheduling utilities. Immediately after the purchase, I recommend visiting the Google Play Store, and I am sure you will not leave without a purchase or a new free program.

The main thing that the owner of the Samsung GALAXY S4 should remember is don’t be afraid to experiment. You can easily customize your smartphone yourself and turn it into the machine that you need. Device for business? For study? For fun? Or a player to listen to music while sitting on the beach? An e-reader and one of the best compact cameras of the moment? A magical thing that can understand your gestures and words?

Imagine all this in one device. Your Samsung GALAXY S4 is the perfect tool for life.

If you are the proud owner of a Samsung Galaxy S4, then you probably have a desire to get maximum pleasure from your smartphone and maximum productivity. Well, you have a great chance of it. It’s not for nothing that we tried to collect 10 basic tips that will help both Android oldfags and newbies. You probably use most of the tips yourself, but what if you missed something?

1. Speed ​​up TouchWiz

There are two types of people: those who don't want to sacrifice functionality for speed, and those who will do whatever it takes to get even a small performance boost. Luckily, we have tips for both types of users.

If you don't use S Voice often, then this is probably a top tip for you. You will definitely notice that there is a slight delay in the response of the smartphone when you press the Home button and the home screen does not appear as quickly as we would like. By default, the Galaxy S4 works with the S Voice option, which is launched after double-clicking the Home button. If you don't need the option, you can open Voice and disable the "Open with Home button" option. Now the home screen will appear instantly after pressing “Home”.

The following advice applies to those who like to delve into system settings. If you don't mind losing some visual effects to increase speed, you can change some options in the "developer menu". Firstly, if you still haven’t opened this item in the general settings, you can unlock “Developer Options” by going to Settings -> Advanced -> About device. Scroll down until you see the build number and click on this item 7 times.

Now go back to the back button once and enter the Developer Options menu. Go to the section called “Drawing” and disable the following items: “Window animation scale,” “Transition animation scale” and “Animator duration scale.” Now the smartphone will work without unnecessary animation effects, but TouchWiz should now work a little faster and respond instantly.

2. Increased battery life

The Samsung Galaxy S4 will have a 2600 mAh battery and this is enough to last the smartphone all day, but it's nice to know that the battery life will allow you to last longer without connecting to a charger.

First of all, you can switch your smartphone to economy mode. That is, you need to open Settings / My Device and you can now turn the processor into power saving mode, the screen into battery saving mode, and even disable haptic feedback (CPU power saving, Screen power saving and Haptic feedback). For maximum results, we recommend using all 3 points.

If this is not enough, then there are several other options that, after disconnecting, will allow the smartphone to work longer. The most energy-consuming part is data transmission on the mobile network. But it all depends on how you use your smartphone. You can choose any of the following options to disable if you don't use it: BlueTooth, S Beam, NFC, and options like Air Gesture or Smart Scroll. All this is very easy to enable/disable in quick settings.

Customizing the Notification Panel

All quick settings are available to you immediately as soon as you pull your finger down on the notification panel. This is the easiest option to enable or disable various features. The only problem is that you won't be using all the options at the same time. Luckily, it's easy to change and set some options first.

First, open the notification panel. In the very top right corner, click on the icon that looks like several squares with two arrows. Now click on the pencil icon that appears on the right.

Now all you have to do is drag the icons whose functions you use first to the first 5 positions. You can also scroll through the notification panel and view other settings, but it is much more convenient if the most necessary settings are at your fingertips.

4. Take better photos

We all often see the praised features of the Galaxy S4 camera on the Internet: Drama Shot, Eraser and others. This is, of course, interesting, but you will only play with these features once or twice, and therefore you will not need them all the time. Instead, let's dive into the settings and do everything necessary to make the Galaxy S4 take better photos.

First, open the camera app and tap on the settings button. Of course, you'll want to resize the photo. By default, the Galaxy S4 shoots photos in a 16:9 aspect ratio and at 9.6 megapixels. This aspect ratio is great for shooting videos, but not for photos. For best quality, set the photo size to 13 megapixels and use the more common 4:3 setting.

You can also change Burst Shot, Face Detection, ISO, Anti-Shake and Auto Adjust to night options. Of all of them, we will pay attention to ISO. At a lower ISO setting, your photos may be darker, but they will be clearer and sharper. As you can imagine, ISO allows you to take better photos in low light, but at the cost of adding visual noise to your photos.

Connecting a large screen

Sometimes you wish the screen was bigger. Of course, the Galaxy S4's screen is huge, but when watching videos I wish it was bigger. There are several ways to connect your Galaxy S4 to a big screen.

If you have a Samsung TV and are lucky enough to have AllShare Cast, then this is the easiest way to display everything you do on your smartphone on your TV screen. Just go to Settings / Connections, scroll down the window and find the “Screen Mirroring” option. Now all you have to do is wait and find available devices to connect to.

However, with another connection option, you can avoid delays in image transmission and there will be no lags. And this is the use of MHL. You'll need an 11-pin MHL adapter for this because the standard 5-pin adapter simply won't work with the Galaxy S4. Samsung has been selling an official MHL adapter for the Galaxy S4 for a long time. Just connect it and run HDMI out and you can see everything on the screen, even running games from your smartphone.

Monitor connections and communications

Samsung Galaxy S4 has two different options for access control - we mean distinguishing incoming calls and setting parameters for who can contact you and when.

Firstly, Blocking Mode is a great option for those who want a good night's sleep. To find this item, go to Settings / My Device and scroll down a little. In this mode, you can turn off incoming calls, notifications, alarms, and even the indicator light. Either enable this option manually, or you can set it to turn on on a specific schedule.

If you want to configure your smartphone to work only with a specific phone number, then the best way is Call rejection. To find this item, go to Settings / My device and open the Call menu. The most common configuration method is to create a “black list”. Just enter the number, check the box next to it and that's it. You can even set it to automatically send a message to the user explaining why the call was rejected.

Setting up the lock screen

By default, the Galaxy S4 lock screen is nothing interesting or functional. However, if you can't come to terms with it and want to say “stop putting up with this!”, then there are a couple of ways to improve it.

To get started, open Settings / My Device and select Lock Screen. First, you need to check the “Multiple widgets” item, that is, whether the ability to use multiple widgets on the lock screen is enabled. You can also select application shortcuts that you need to quickly launch directly from the lockscreen. By the way, there is also a submenu with a choice between several options for displaying the lock screen.

Now the fun part, lock your smartphone and now check your lock screen. By swiping across the top of the screen, you can open the camera widget (on the right) or add your own widgets (on the left). Everything from Gmail notifications to Google Now is available to you.

Make more funny videos

If you want to capture everything unusual that happens around you, then the Galaxy S4 camera is natively suitable for this. You can even get a little creative with this and there are several ways to improve and spice up your creation.

First, open the camera app and tap on the camera settings icon at the top of the screen. Now select the icon that looks like a small video camera to open the video settings. You'll see options ranging from "Normal" to "MMS Limit," but there are also options like "Slow Motion" and "Fast Motion." And they are designed to do exactly what you think.

If you have one of these options checked, you will notice a pop-up icon to the right of the camera icon. This will allow you to shoot in fast or slow mode. Slow Motion lets you shoot at 1/2, 1/4, and 1/8 the normal time, while Fast Motion lets you shoot at 2x, 4x, or 8x.

It is worth noting that both options negatively affect the quality of the video being shot. It's fun though.

Use Sound Adaptation

Many people talk about the adaptive capabilities of the Galaxy S4 display, but few discuss the ability to adapt the sound. First of all, I remembered the sound settings on the TV - movie mode, music mode, etc. But I was wrong.

Audio Adaptation is an option that checks your audio and your headphones' audio and then adjusts audio playback to focus only on the frequencies you can actually hear. To find this menu item, go to Settings / My Device / Sound. Scroll down and find Adapt Sound.

Plug in your headphones and start the test. This basically involves playing a series of sounds of different pitches to test which frequencies you can hear and see if there is a difference in hearing ability for each ear. The entire test will take about a minute at most. Once the test is completed, you can check the result and be surprised by it.

Personally, I found that the sound was clearer and clearer with the Audio Adaptation option enabled.

Use automatic brightness adjustment

If you use the auto-brightness setting anyway, then this tip won't be meaningful to you. But I usually disable this option as soon as I get my hands on a new smartphone. I prefer to manually control the display brightness level as there is a pretty good reason for doing so.

The Galaxy S4's screen has one of the largest brightness reserves to date, but you won't be able to set the brightness to maximum manually because it's likely intentionally limited to prevent burn-in or other damage to the display. There is no such problem with automatic brightness adjustment. The next time you find yourself squinting and trying to see what's happening on the screen on a sunny day, don't forget to check the box for automatically adjusting screen brightness in the Quick Settings area.

But the Samsung GALAXY S4 has done a lot to improve the user experience, so as soon as you turn on the device for the first time, you will be greeted by the proprietary TouchWiz 5.0 interface. There are a lot of differences from regular Android 4.2.2. Firstly, these are their icons; long-time users of Samsung smartphones are very familiar with them. Secondly, the notification menu is designed differently. A huge plus of TouchWiz 5.0 is that here you can disable or enable a variety of functions without going to settings, let’s try to list them:

  • WiFi
  • Bluetooth
  • Turn off vibration
  • Rotate the screen
  • Mobile data (disabling data)
  • Lock mode
  • Power Saving Mode
  • Screen Mirroring (transferring an image to another device)
  • “Two active windows” mode
  • Wi-Fi access (work as a hotspot)
  • S-Beam
  • Guidance
  • Gesture control
  • Driving mode
  • Intelligent anticipation
  • Smart scrolling
  • Synchronization
  • Offline mode

Let me remind you that all these options can be turned on or off directly in the notifications menu, this is very convenient. Moreover, in the settings you can choose which buttons will be shown first.

Continuing the conversation about TouchWiz 5.0, the keyboard is also different: there is word prediction and T9 continuous input mode. It’s worth mentioning especially about the last function: you don’t need to type each letter separately, just press your finger on the screen and move it from one letter to another. For example, it helps to create messages several times faster. Moreover, when typing, you will see words above a row of numbers; you can always select the one you need, and this also affects the typing speed. In addition, in the Samsung keyboard settings, you can enable the “Cursor Control” function. Let us explain with an example what will happen in this case. Let's say you're typing messages and you need to go to the first line. You need to press your finger on the keyboard and use it like a touchpad on a laptop: a sharp upward movement will take you to another field, another one will move the cursor to the contact selection field. Handwriting will appeal to those who are used to writing notes; In the settings you can change the type and time of recognition, thickness and color of the pen.

Settings are also optimized, this is an essential part of the TouchWiz 5.0 interface. You can see bookmarks here so that the user can quickly navigate and select the required item. In the “Connections” tab there are settings items for Wi-Fi (there is work on a schedule, this is convenient), Bluetooth, NFC, S-Beam (high-speed data transfer between mobile devices), DLNA, Screen Mirroring (sharing the smartphone screen), data usage , network selection, synchronization via Wi-Fi. Let us remind you that the proprietary Kies program is used for synchronization; we will talk about its capabilities separately.

In the “My Device” tab - the main settings are the screen lock, where you can select the unlock type. There is a simple movement, and facial recognition, and face and voice recognition, and a pattern, and a PIN code, and a password. There are clues about which type of blocking is the most reliable. Lock screen widgets, shortcuts, auto-unlock zone, and activation on the lock screen can be configured here (you can “wake up” the device with your voice). Display settings - wallpaper, notification panel, multiple windows, screen mode, brightness, auto-rotate, timeout, screen saver. Interestingly, you can customize the font type and size. In the same menu, you can configure the key backlight, enable display of the charge in percentage, auto-adjust brightness and sensitivity, this is the main thing. In the “My Device” tab, you can also configure the operation of the light indicator, select a melody and sound alerts, vibration type, activate the security assistant - in an emergency, the device is able to take pictures with the front and main cameras and send pictures to selected contacts along with a pre-composed message. To activate, you need to simultaneously press the volume buttons. One of the most interesting items in the “My Device” tab is “Motion and Gestures”, this is where the fantasy begins. Relatively speaking, communication with Samsung GALAXY S4 for the user reaches a new level. Using gestures, you can call up basic information on a locked device by simply moving your palm over the display, scroll through pages with your gaze - the front camera tracks the position of the pupils; When you reach the end of the page in the browser, it will automatically scroll. It is even possible to accept a call by swiping your palm over the display, and in the settings you can choose to activate the speakerphone. And Samsung GALAXY S4 can dial a number automatically if you look at messages from the subscriber and then bring the smartphone to your ear. We highly recommend that you carefully study all these new features of working with the Samsung GALAXY S4 in order to speed up and simplify the most common actions. We recommend watching our video about the special features of the Samsung GALAXY S4.

The “Accounts” tab contains your accounts, for example, this is data from Google, Facebook, Twitter, Soundcloud, in this menu you can add or delete an account. Finally, in the “Options” tab there are items “Location”, security settings, program manager, information about the battery, memory, setting the date and time, viewing device information. It is in the last paragraph that “Software update” is located; if available, a message will appear in the notification menu. Let us remind you that you only need a Wi-Fi connection and a little time until the update occurs.

We will talk about some of the capabilities of TouchWiz in other materials, but here we need to add a couple more points - novice users sometimes do not notice them. We recommend that you select “Calls” in the “My Device” tab and configure the speaker sound, we especially recommend using the Adapt Sound function. You will need headphones and a little time, but then the sound will really match your preferences. At the same point, you can activate the “Noise Removal” function; we recommend doing this; your interlocutors will probably note that the quality of speech transmission has improved. And also about the “Calls” item, be sure to check the “Call louder in your bag” checkbox, this thing works both in your pocket and in your bag.

Control

A little about the basic capabilities of device management, it will be especially useful for beginners. To switch between running applications, you need to press and hold the Home button; you can scroll through the list; if you hold your finger on an application, a menu will appear - you can remove the program from the list or view information. In the same menu below there are three items: going to the menu of running applications, clearing RAM, information about loaded programs and system memory capacity. Next to it are buttons to launch Google Now and remove all programs from the list. If you press and hold the “Back” button, you activate the multi-window mode, which we talked about in the first material of the project.

If you click on the menu button, a list of additional options appears, these are adding an application to the desktop, creating a folder, setting wallpaper, changing the page, searching and going to settings. To change the location of desktops or their number, you need to select “Change Page” in the menu; you can select any one and drag it to the trash can or add selected widgets and shortcuts to this segment.

And don’t forget, the most important control element in the Samsung GALAXY S4 is the display, and you can work with the display not only with unprotected hands, but also with gloved hands - go to settings, “My Device” tab, display, auto-adjust sensitivity, in the cold season We recommend turning it on for greater convenience.

Lock screen

When you press the power button, the screen of the Samsung GALAXY S4 lights up and you see the welcome message “A companion in your world.” The device is truly your reliable friend, capable of guessing a variety of desires and helping in a variety of matters - but now it’s worth saying a few words about the capabilities of this very blocking mode. In the settings, you can add your favorite applications to the screen, change your personal message - for example, instead of “Companion in your world,” write something else. You don't need to unlock the display to find out the information you need. By swiping your finger at the top (the zone can also be customized), you can go to the menu of favorite programs and launch the one you need right from here, view your mail and immediately access the program, check notifications. Here you can add the Samsung WatchON client (remote control for home appliances), Yahoo news, Google + entries, music player widget. To delete an item, press and hold your finger in the center of the screen, then slide the panel to the trash can from the top.

As you understand, Samsung has done a truly titanic job so that the user of the Samsung GALAXY S4 can communicate with the smartphone on some special, sometimes intuitive level. Many are amazed at how much this amazing device simplifies life, helps in business, how every detail, every menu item is thought out here. Believe me, all this is just the beginning of our story about the Samsung GALAXY S4.