Samsung just made the Galaxy S4 Zoom official. Funny enough, it’s already been reviewed by the Russian website Hi-Tech. How did they manage to score a unit so fast? I don’t know, but I wish I did.
So what do they say? It has a 16 megapixel sensor and 10x optical zoom. The chassis of the phone is basically the 3G version of the Galaxy S4 mini, with a hilariously large camera attached to the back. The whole package weighs 208 grams and it’s 15.4 mm thick. To enabled the optical zoom, you need to manually move a lens ring, no on-screen buttons here! When you do move the ring, the camera app launches automatically. Moving the lens ring while the phone is locked will not enable the camera, so don’t worry about that.
As for the actual quality of the photos this thing can capture, Hi-Tech says the S4 Zoom takes decent photos. The exact translation says: “[It] does not seem revolutionary to me.”
Who is this phone for? They say it’s for people who want a great camera phone, but don’t want to buy a high end flagship device. The S4 Zoom should cost 19,900 Russian rubbles when it comes out, which comes out to about 460 EUR. Note, that includes tax, so they have a point.
Update: Another review of the device was also posted by the Russian website Mobile-Review. They say the phone is a niche device for geeks, and that you’re better off buying either a dedicated point and shoot camera or a higher end smartphone.
Update: Another hands-on just went up, this time from GSM Arena.
