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After numerous leaks, including an accidental post on Samsung’s own site, the Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini is finally official. Those of you hoping for the same elite performance of the normal S4 in a more pocket-friendly size though are likely to be disappointed.
It’s a 4.3-inch phone, knocking quite a sizeable chunk off the 5 inches of its big brother. The display has a resolution of 960×540 pixels. That’s a big step down from the Full HD resolution of the S4, and its pixel density of 256 ppi falls between the original Galaxy S and the iPhone 4. Under the hood is a dual-core 1.7GHz processor — hardly impressive against the quad- and indeed octa-core chips of the full S4, but I don’t expect it to be sluggish.
It’s loaded up with Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean which is the latest version of Google’s mobile operating system. It’s good to see that Samsung hasn’t cheaped out by bundling an older version of Android. Samsung has chucked in some of the extra software features found on the S4, too. The translation tool is on board, as is the weird Sound and Shot feature that lets you pair a still image with nine seconds of audio.
Speaking of the camera, the mini is rocking an 8-megapixel snapper which, surprise surprise, is a considerable step down from the 13 megapixels of the S4. Until we go in for a full hands-on, it’s difficult to know exactly what difference in image quality to expect, but it’s certainly got a lot to live up to.
Design-wise, it’s immediately noticeable as a sibling of the S4. It’s all plastic, of course, and shares the angular corners and faux-metal edging. It’s not bad looking at all — assuming you like the S4, of course — and its size will make it more comfortable for those of you with tiny doll hands.
It has 8GB of storage, of which only 5GB is usable after the operating system and Samsung software has been installed. While you can save your photos and videos to an external SD card, you can’t install apps to cards, so you’ll have to be very careful about what flashy games you install to the phone.
While the S4 Mini packs some interesting features, it’s disappointing not to see the same high-end performance of the S4 in a smaller size. My excellent colleague Luke Westaway argued that Samsung flogging cheaper products under the S3 or S4 name is bordering on being a scam as the average guy in the street isn’t aware that the smaller phone they’re buying is nowhere near as good as the premium device their mates might have.
The S4 mini will be available with 3G and 4G connectivity and will be coming to the UK later this year. Firm dates or indeed a price haven’t been announced yet, but stay tuned for more info. In the meantime, let me know your thoughts on the S4 mini in the comments below or over on our Facebook page.
