We’re mere hours away from the official introduction of the Samsung Galaxy S III and needless to say, we’re very excited. Samsung has rode the Galaxy lineup to become the largest phone maker in the world and it is one of the few Android handset makers that is actually making some inroads against Apple. Let’s take a look at what we can expect from Samsung’s next hero phone.
A few supposed leaks have hit the Internet and the physical design may be getting some changes. The screen should likely be at least 4.7-inches with rounded glass, there will be a small home button and two touch-based buttons on the bottom. There may also be a ceramic case, so those who disliked Samsung’s penchant for plastic should be happy.
Earlier reports suggested that the screen would be 1080p quality but more recent rumors indicate that it will have a 720p resolution. I was recently in Korea speaking with screen manufacturers and they told me that 1080p screens are definitely coming but that doesn’t mean the Galaxy S III will have it. Whether its 1080p or 720p, I’m convinced that Samsung will deliver a display that’s really high quality.
The Samsung Galaxy S III will be powered by the quad-core Exynos processor and it can be clocked as high as 1.4 GHz. We’ve heard that this processor will absolutely rock and we can’t wait to put it through the paces. If you’re waiting for the Galaxy S III in the United States, there’s a good chance that it will be coming with a dual-core Qualcomm chip to accommodate American 4G LTE.
Smartphone cameras have become downright spectacular and the Galaxy S III should continue that trend. Samsung’s latest flagship should have a 12-megapixel camera with some built-in goodies like features and editing software. You can also expect at least a single flash and a front-facing camera that can do HD video calls.
The Galaxy S III should have Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich with Samsung’s custom user interface on top. We’ve seen a few leaks about what this will look like and fans of TouchWiz should be pleased. Those who want a pure Google experience may be a bit disappointed but there’s always rooting or you could just buy the Galaxy Nexus.
Those are just the table stakes, as we’re expecting a high-powered device with the latest software but Samsung should be throwing out some new innovations. It could be the ability to charge wirelessly from up to 2 meters – if this works well, this could be a game changer.
The Galaxy S III is probably the second most anticipated device in 2012 behind the new iPhone and we expect Samsung to surpass our expectations.
What we expect
Kelly
Samsung is now the undisputed mobile phone leader, having stolen the crown from Nokia and outselling rival Apple. Soon, the Korean company will kick it up a notch with the introduction of the Galaxy S III. Judging from the rumors, the handset will have a well-rounded set of specs that’ll beat out most of its competitors. It will be a desirous upgrade for current Galaxy S II owners and Samsung will likely sell millions of the device.
Personally, I’m not too excited for the S III. I have a Galaxy Nexus which has a roomy display, Ice Cream Sandwich and Verizon LTE connectivity. The S III will likely have a quad-core processor, but that’s not enough to make me want to switch phones and possibly carriers. I’m more excited by network improvements like LTE and innovative software than hardware. I think we will soon see a slow down in hardware advances and an increase in new and exciting technology that take full advantage of the power we now have in our hands.
Dusan
I expect the Samsung Galaxy S III to have two things – quad-core processor and 720p HD screen. Moreover, there could be more internal memory and I would assume Samsung will ship its next flagship device with 32GB of built-in storage (SGS2 comes with 16 gigs). Will it be a game-changer? Nope, but I’m pretty confident it will be a smashing-success for the Korean giant. This time, however, other players have solid offerings too (HTC One X, LG Optimus 4X, Huawei D quad) so it will be interesting to watch Android smartphone makers compete for the hearts and minds of users …
Stefan
When HTC announced the Sensation in early 2011, it was absolutely amazing, but then Samsung announced the Galaxy S II … and the Sensation looked rather quaint.
We’re going to see the exact same thing happen this year with the HTC One X and the Galaxy S III. Samsung’s flagship will have all the bells and whistles that gadget nerds care about, but to be perfectly honest I’m already looking forward to the last three months of this year. By then we’ll see Apple’s next iPhone, Windows Phone 8, the next version of Android, which will no doubt ship on the next Nexus, and hopefully the second generation Galaxy Note. Other than that, there’s not much else to say about the Galaxy S III except kudos to Samsung for making tech fans foam at the mouth. Most companies just make everyone’s eyes roll these days.
Blake
The Galaxy S III will soon be the handset that all other manufacturers attempt to steal the attention from, as it’s got most of the attention already. We’re expecting Samsung to knock this one out of the park, much like it did with the Galaxy S II. We can expect three things for sure with this handset, and that’s a gorgeous screen, a stupid-fast processor, and Ice Cream Sandwich. Sure, it sounds like a lot of other Android handsets that are soon set to hit the market but no one will mistake one of these competitors as the Galaxy S III.
What’s more exciting is that if Samsung can get the Galaxy S III out to most of Europe and the US out of the gate and saturate markets shortly afterwards (in weeks, not months), it could demolish all of the competition so it has a clean slate until the new iPhone arrives.
I’ll also be excited when Google tells Samsung to strip the guts out of the Galaxy S III and put it into the new Nexus device, which will likely be my next phone.
P.S.: Marin was busy with his iPhone at the time of this writing. (He was saying goodbye to it.)