The Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom, an upcoming version of Samsung's flagship smartphone with a 16-megapixel camera, will also boast 10x optical zoom, according to new rumors.
"Smartphone Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom will receive 10x optical zoom, which is why there is the prefix 'Zoom' in the title, but apparently Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom is very similar to the Galaxy S4 Mini. What is important, the model is much thinner than Galaxy Camera (which has a 16-megapixel sensor and a lens with a 21x zoom)," writes Hi-Tech.Mail.Ru, translated from the Russian.
However, it's important to note the source of the rumor: Dmitry Ryabinin, chief analyst at the same site.
A typical smartphone camera has a sensor with anywhere between 4 and 13 megapixels, with perhaps a 3x optical zoom, so the specs of the Galaxy S4 Zoom, if correct, are impressive.
Optical zoom is far preferable, since it actually provides more detail of small or distant objects. In contrast, many cameras advertise digital zoom values, which only enlarge the picture, sacrificing details.
Previous rumors say the Zoom will feature a 4.3-inch qHD SAMOLED display, a far cry from the 5-inch display on the Galaxy S4, but comparable in size to the iPhone 5.
The Zoom has half the storage of the Galaxy S4, 8GB, but it has an SD card slot for another 64 GB, a necessary feature for a phone that calls itself a camera. The Zoom has a GPS and runs Android Jelly Bean, so in all ways it seems a capable phone that also happens to have a state-of-the-art camera.
There's no confirmation on the processor, which could be dual-core or quad-core, as an Exynos processor in this phone seems highly unlikely. No word on the amount of RAM either, though 2GB is quite standard, and the need for quick snapshots should keep that amount from dropping any lower.