Galaxy S4 review: The 2013 sales juggernaut that made Samsung a global No. 1.
The 2013 bestseller that crowned Samsung No. 1.
The Galaxy S4 sold in enormous numbers and made Samsung the global smartphone leader. It is a historical milestone — long obsolete as a device.
01Display
58/10058/100 is one of the weaker display results among flagship phones of 2013 — 10 points under the average. Check the rows below before buying for this.
02Camera
44/10044/100 is one of the weaker camera results among flagship phones of 2013 — 17 points under the average. Check the rows below before buying for this.
03Performance
26/10026/100 is one of the weaker performance results among flagship phones of 2013 — 30 points under the average. Check the rows below before buying for this.
04Battery
46/10046/100 is one of the weaker battery results among flagship phones of 2013 — 16 points under the average. Check the rows below before buying for this.
05Build
50/10050/100 is one of the weaker build results among flagship phones of 2013 — 14 points under the average. Check the rows below before buying for this.
06Value
36/10036/100 is one of the weaker value results among flagship phones of 2013 — 15 points under the average. Check the rows below before buying for this.
- A massive commercial hit that cemented Samsung’s lead.
- Sharp 5-inch FHD AMOLED for 2013.
- Removable battery and microSD.
- Light and compact.
- All-plastic build.
- TouchWiz software was heavy and gimmick-laden.
- Software ended at Android 5.
- Discontinued — a vintage device.
How this review is built: every section score, spec row and comparison on this page comes from SpecEagle's tracked catalogue — scores weight measured specs against the 87-phone cohort of flagship devices released around the same time. We don't publish invented lab anecdotes. Spot an error? .