Clumsy tech-lovers, rejoice! A rugged, waterproof version of the Samsung Galaxy S4 is on the way, due to hit stores in July.
It's tentatively called the Samsung Galaxy S4 Active, a name that will hopefully be changed to something less reminiscent of yogurt.
The Active should have the resilience of the Galaxy Xcover 2, which could withstand submersion for half an hour down to a meter in depth. The Active should also be dustproof, but its specs should still be on par with the Galaxy S4.
The outer design will probably feature rubberized plugs to cover ports and jacks, similar to the Sony Xperia Z. The galaxy series is made of plastic, though, so there are plenty of options for Samsung to consider in sealing off the Active's innards from the elements.
Samsung is usually less concerned with high-end aesthetics. The Xperia Z is still encased in glass, so while it can withstand a dunk in the tub, it can't handle a fall. Neither can the stock Galaxy S4, but we'll see whether Samsung decides to add extra cushioning to the frame, a design choice that almost invariably makes a hpone ugly and bulky.
In the end it's likely the Active will handle splashes much better than crashes.
The Samsung Galaxy S4 features a 1.6GHz eight-core Exynos 5 Octa processor or a 1.9GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 processor (depending on country), 2GB of RAM, a 5-inch 1920x1080 Full HD AMOLED display at 441 ppi, a 13-megapixel rear-facing camera with 1080p HD video, a 2-megapixel front facing camera, internal storage between 16 and 64GB, an SD card slot that can accommodate an additional 64GB, a polycarbonate body, Smart Pause and floating touch tech and runs Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean.
Check back for the latest info on the Galaxy S4 as it becomes available.
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