Samsung Galaxy S III vs Samsung Galaxy S4
A spec-by-spec comparison of the Samsung Galaxy S III and the Samsung Galaxy S4, taken from their full specification sheets. Green marks the better value in each measured row.
Head to head
| Samsung Galaxy S III | Samsung Galaxy S4 |
|---|
| Price | $50 | $30 |
| Our rating | 8/10 | 7/10 |
| Battery | 2,100 mAh | 2,600 mAh |
| RAM (max) | 2 GB | — |
| Storage (max) | 64 GB | 128 GB |
| Screen size | 4.8 in | 5 in |
| Main camera | 8 MP | 13 MP |
| Weight (lower is lighter) | 133 g | 130 g |
| Released | May 2012 | Apr 2013 |
Summary: Samsung Galaxy S III is ahead on our rating. Samsung Galaxy S4 is ahead on battery, storage (max), screen size, main camera.
★ Which should you buy? Samsung Galaxy S4 is the stronger overall pick on the measured specs.
Reviewed by the infozme.com Editorial Team — see how we research & rate phones.
Display
| Samsung Galaxy S III | Samsung Galaxy S4 |
|---|
| Type | HD Super AMOLED | Super AMOLED |
| Size | 4.8 inches, 63.5 cm2 (~65.9% screen-to-body ratio) | 5.0 inches |
| Resolution | 720 x 1280 pixels, 16:9 ratio (~306 ppi density) | 1080 x 1920 pixels |
| Protection | Corning Gorilla Glass 2 | Corning Gorilla Glass 3 |
| PPI | — | 441 ppi |
Platform
| Samsung Galaxy S III | Samsung Galaxy S4 |
|---|
| OS | Android 4.0.4 (Ice Cream Sandwich), upgradable to 4.3 (Jelly Bean) or 4.4.2 (KitKat) on some variants | Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean, upgradable to 5.0.1 Lollipop |
| Chipset | Exynos 4412 Quad (International) / Qualcomm MSM8960 Snapdragon S4 Plus (USA) | Exynos 5 Octa 5410 (International) or Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 (USA/LTE) / Snapdragon 800 (LTE-A variant) |
| CPU | Quad-core 1.4 GHz Cortex-A9 (Exynos) / Dual-core 1.5 GHz Krait (Snapdragon S4 Plus) | Octa-core (4x1.6 GHz Cortex-A15 & 4x1.2 GHz Cortex-A7) or Quad-core 1.9 GHz Krait 300 |
| GPU | Mali-400MP4 (Exynos) / Adreno 225 (Snapdragon S4 Plus) | PowerVR SGX 544MP3 or Adreno 320 / Adreno 330 |
Memory
| Samsung Galaxy S III | Samsung Galaxy S4 |
|---|
| Card slot | microSDXC (dedicated slot) | — |
| Internal | 16GB 1GB RAM, 32GB 1GB RAM, 64GB 1GB RAM (some variants had 2GB RAM) | — |
| Internal Storage | — | 16GB, 32GB, 64GB |
| RAM | — | 2GB |
| Card Slot | — | microSDXC, up to 64GB (officially), 128GB (unofficially) |
Main Camera
| Samsung Galaxy S III | Samsung Galaxy S4 |
|---|
| Single | 8 MP, f/2.6, AF | — |
| Features | LED flash, Geo-tagging, touch focus, face/smile detection, panorama, HDR, Burst shot, Zero shutter lag | Autofocus, LED flash, 1080p@30fps video recording |
| Video | 1080p@30fps | — |
| Megapixels | — | 13 MP |
| Aperture | — | f/2.2 |
| Pixel Size | — | 1.14 µm |
Selfie Camera
| Samsung Galaxy S III | Samsung Galaxy S4 |
|---|
| Single | 1.9 MP, f/2.6 | — |
| Features | Video call | 1080p@30fps video recording |
| Video | 720p@30fps | — |
| Megapixels | — | 2 MP |
| Aperture | — | f/2.4 |
Battery
| Samsung Galaxy S III | Samsung Galaxy S4 |
|---|
| Type | Removable Li-Ion 2100 mAh | Removable Li-Ion |
| Talk time | Up to 11 h 40 min (3G) / Up to 21 h 40 min (2G) | — |
| Capacity | — | 2600 mAh |
Body
| Samsung Galaxy S III | Samsung Galaxy S4 |
|---|
| Dimensions | 136.6 x 70.6 x 8.6 mm (5.38 x 2.78 x 0.34 in) | 136.6 x 69.8 x 7.9 mm |
| Weight | 133 g (4.69 oz) | 130 g |
| Build | Plastic body | Polycarbonate chassis, removable plastic back |
| SIM | Micro-SIM | — |
Comms
| Samsung Galaxy S III | Samsung Galaxy S4 |
|---|
| WLAN | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct |
| Bluetooth | 4.0, A2DP, EDR, aptX | 4.0, A2DP, EDR, LE |
| Positioning | GPS, GLONASS | — |
| NFC | Yes | Yes |
| Radio | Stereo FM radio with RDS (International model only) | — |
| USB | microUSB 2.0 (MHL TV-out), USB On-The-Go | microUSB 2.0 (MHL 2.0 TV-out), USB On-The-Go |
| GPS | — | GPS, GLONASS |
| Infrared Port | — | Yes |
Launch
| Samsung Galaxy S III | Samsung Galaxy S4 |
|---|
| Announced | 2012, May 03 | March 14, 2013 |
| Status | Released 2012, May 29 | — |
| Released | — | April 27, 2013 |
Frequently asked questions
Which has the better battery, Samsung Galaxy S III or Samsung Galaxy S4?
Samsung Galaxy S4 — 2,100 mAh for the Samsung Galaxy S III versus 2,600 mAh for the Samsung Galaxy S4.
Which is lighter, Samsung Galaxy S III or Samsung Galaxy S4?
Samsung Galaxy S4 — 133 g for the Samsung Galaxy S III versus 130 g for the Samsung Galaxy S4.
Which is newer, Samsung Galaxy S III or Samsung Galaxy S4?
Samsung Galaxy S4 — May 2012 for the Samsung Galaxy S III versus Apr 2013 for the Samsung Galaxy S4.
Is the Samsung Galaxy S III or the Samsung Galaxy S4 rated higher?
We rate the Samsung Galaxy S III 8/10 and the Samsung Galaxy S4 7/10.
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