The Galaxy S4 Active is a rugged high-end smartphone from Samsung. The handset is IP67 certified, which means it is dust-resistant and water-proof in 1m of water for up to 30mins.
Thanks largely to its rugged nature; the S4 Active has a slightly different design than usually seen on the Galaxy series. Thankfully, the S4 Active sticks to its branding, and packs in some beefy internals. Below is a spec-by-spec comparison of the Galaxy S4 vs. the Galaxy S4 Active.
| Samsung Galaxy S4 | Samsung Galaxy S4 Active | |
| Processor | Quad-core 1.9GHz Snapdragon S600 SoC | Quad-core 1.9GHz Snapdragon S600 SoC |
| RAM/Storage | 2GB RAM, 16GB of internal storage with around 9GB available | 2GB RAM, 16GB of internal storage with around 9GB available |
| Display | 4.99-inch Super-AMOED Full HD (1920*1080) | 4.99-inch TFT LCD Full HD (1920*1080) |
| Camera | 13MP | 8MP |
| Battery Capacity | 2600mAh removable battery | 2600mAh removable battery |
| Android version | Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean with Nature UX v2.0 | Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean with Nature UX |
| Software features | S-Health, Smart Pause, Smart Scroll, Air View, S Translator, Air Gesture, Smart Stay, KNOX, Adapt Display, Adapt Sound | S-Health, Smart Pause, Smart Scroll, Air View, S Translator, Air Gesture, Smart Stay, KNOX, Adapt Display, Adapt Sound |
| Sensors | IR blaster, Temperature sensor, Barometer, Humidity sensor and the usual bunch like Proximity sensor etc. | IR blaster, Temperature sensor, Barometer, Humidity sensor and the usual bunch like Proximity sensor etc. |
As you can see from the comparison above, the Galaxy S4 Active is truly a rugged variant of the Galaxy S4. The only downgrade is the camera, whose resolution has been reduced from 13MP to 8MP.
For some, the shift to a LCD screen instead of a AMOLED screen might be a bummer as well, but Samsung is known for making excellent LCD displays as well so this should not really be an issue. Overall, the Galaxy S4 Active is a much better phone, at least specifications wise than its competition – the Sony Xperia Z.
