Samsung Galaxy S4 Active Review: The Underwater Wonder
The Samsung Galaxy Active launched a few months back and has become somewhat of a fan favorite amongst Galaxy fans. The device basically packs all of the great features found in the original GS4 model into a body that is basically water and dust proof.
Samsung recently sent over one of the handsets to CP. After testing the device in slightly harsh conditions for a smartphone, we found it to be durable and exactly as water resistant as Samsung said it was.
Design
Get Our Latest News for FREE
The Galaxy S4 Active features a similar design to the original S4 aside from a few minor tweaks. In comparison, the body on the Active is slightly thicker and heavier. It comes with a checkered pattern on the plastic frame and a thicker version of the metal finish along the edges. It also features fully physical push buttons for the back and menu functions. The home key is also different. The phone has all the same sensors on the top of it next to the speaker as the original and the camera is found in the same spot as on the original.
Camera
Samsung chose to go with an 8-megapixel shooter on the Active model instead of the 13-megapixel version found on the regular S4. It has the ability to shoot pictures and capture video underwater. The quality is decent, but slightly less impressive than the GS4. The device also features Aqua Mode that adjusts the lighting for underwater photography and filming. It took pretty good video while submerged. It also was easy to shoot pictures under water, but they did not come out that clear as if they were taken in normal conditions.
Durability
The Active takes a licking and keeps on ticking. It definitely can withstand a few bumps and it's much sturdier than the original model. CP had an incident when it dropped the Galaxy S4 on a hard tile floor as the glass easily shattered on it. The glass on the Active model held up much better on hard surfaces. We also fully submerged the device on multiple occasions and had no issues using it under water. There weren't any signs of lag or malfunction while it underwent water testing. However, the most time we ever submerged it for was 5 min.
Conclusion
The Galaxy S4 Active is definitely the ideal phone for those who love Galaxy's and the great outdoors. The water and dust proof aspect of the device is extremely helpful in harsh conditions. It can basically hang with the top-of-the-line devices of this year and can also boldly go where no phone has gone before.
