Once upon a time, only Apple had the power to make a big splash with its handset announcements. But with Samsung having spent 2012 capturing an ever-larger segment of the smartphone market, each new iteration in the Galaxy S line is now a media event in its own right – and the unveiling of the Galaxy S4 was no exception, sparking 150,000 online conversations in the 24 hours leading up to and 8 hours following its launch, according to social media monitoring firm Synthesio.
According to that data, positive comments outweighed negative at a rate of four to one – but what did experts in the mobile industry make of the announcement?
Forrester principal analyst Charles Golvin thinks the developments Samsung unveiled are more than just incremental tweaks:
“Samsung has managed to stuff some unique hardware features into the S4: environmental sensors, including barometer, temperature, and humidity; the latest WiFi technology (802.11ac); and an IR gesture sensor,” says Golvin. “But its real differentiation lies in the software it has built to leverage the phones hardware. From the ability to composite images from both cameras simultaneously, to compositing sound with still images, to embedded language translation integrated with voice-to-text and text-to-voice, Samsungs much-improved software skills translate to a wealth of new experiences for their customers.
“Despite all these advancements in Samsungs position, the event also exposes a clear gap the company has yet to close with Apple: the extent to which it can dictate and exercise control. Apples launch events may not have the singing and dancing that Samsung brought, but they do have a couple of things Samsung didnt: details like pricing and a specific launch date by country and operator. Apples brand power allows it to ensure that these critical pieces of information come out at the launch — and none of their competitors, not even Samsung, yet rises to that level.”
Samsung did unveil enough features, both on the hardware and software side, that discussion is open as to which will prove most important. Dan Zeck, CTO of mobile business specialist Antenna, thinks the biggest development was an increased focus on the enterprise, traditionally the home turf of the BlackBerry:
“Samsung’s launch of the S4 comes hot on the heels of the unveiling of its Knox mobile security, SAFE and access management platform,” says Zeck. “I wouldn’t be surprised if the combined strength of these products allowed the hardware giant to make impressive inroads into the enterprise in the next twelve months.” 
For John Oswald, business design lead at Fjord, the most major developments came in the area of navigation:
“In a bid to maintain its position at the forefront of the mobile market, Samsung’s new Galaxy S4 promises to change the way in which we interact with mobile devices,” says Oswald. “The S4 will read the user’s body in fresh and innovative ways with its new finger hovering display, which will enable consumers to control their phones without even touching the screen. With this revolutionary eye-recognition technology feature, Samsung has created a more personalised mobile experience which significantly changes the nature of our tactile interactions with mobile devices.
“Digital devices which respond to a variety of human gestures are building personal ecosystems tailored to the needs of individual consumers. Samsung’s updates are set to revolutionise the mobile market, as companies compete to offer consumers a device which understands them and is completely responsive to their demands.”
The eye-tracking functionality is an advertisers dream, potentially giving full access to exactly what draws a users eye, and how long it holds their attention – but as James Chandler, head of mobile at Mindshare, points out, in practice this might be a little dampened by the limitations of a 5” screen.
Regardless, Chandler is as enthusiastic about the device as everyone else, saying: “Samsung’s new Galaxy S4 feels like the most complete smartphone yet. It’s set to replace your living room remote, monitor your calorie intake by helping keep you fit & allow you beam content on your phone directly to any other Samsung device – including your TV.
“Given yesterday’s launch, the spotlight it now firmly fixed on Apple and their predicted iPhone launch in June – Apple will need to innovate, surprise and delight more than ever before come the summer. Two years ago, it seemed unthinkable that one of Apple’s competitors could put their product development under so much scrutiny – so much so that, just like with the iPad Mini, Apple are having to react to the market rather than lead it. The S4’s capabilities and buzz post-launch means that this genuinely could be Samsung’s last launch in Apple’s shadow.”
