Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini Release Date: Sprint Looks Possible, According Device Under FCC Review

The Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini might be coming to Sprint soon.

This is an exciting season for Samsung-lovers, as much more is likely coming to stores soon besides the two Samsung stars of the moment, the Galaxy Gear and the Samsung Galaxy Note 3. One of those other Samsung devices that people may see soon is the Galaxy S4 Mini, which was just spotted for review at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), a strong suggestion that the device is headed to U.S. carriers soon.

The Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini is already rumored to be headed to AT&T and Verizon, according to Engadget, but the FCC spotting suggests that the mini flagship smartphone will be available at Sprint as well. The filing at the FCC was for an SPH-L520 device, which almost exactly matches the dimensions of the Galaxy S4 Mini (it was slightly larger) and was listed for an LTE frequency that is commensurate with Sprint's radio bands. Take the report with a grain of salt though, as it could be a different (less exciting) phone coming to Sprint, which just happens to have nearly identical dimensions as the Galaxy S4 Mini.

The Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini was introduced this summer, though it was rumored about before. A slightly pared-down version of the Galaxy S4 (which appropriately has a pared-down price tag as well), the Galaxy S4 mini still provides a lot of what the flagship smartphone has to offer. And it might fit better in your pocket.

Coming in at a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED screen, instead of the Galaxy S4's 5.0-inches, the Galaxy S4 Mini's resolution is a lot lower than the S4's Full HD display, at 540 x 960p.  The device is powered by a 1.7GHz Snapdragon 400 processor with 1.5GB of RAM, and comes with an 8-megapixel main camera and a 1.9-megapixel front-facing shooter, and comes with 8GB of internal storage, with a microSD card slot that can expand that up to 64GB more.

The current set of Samsung features, like the TouchWiz UI and NFC are available on the Galaxy S4 Mini, with just a few advanced features, like the S4's Air Gestures and Smart Scroll, missing. And it has LTE capability.