In the hierarchy of mobile hardware leaks, most folks would probably agree that renders of a device are on the bottom rung, followed by "in the wild" photos and then video showing a product in action. Yesterday a render of the rumored Samsung Galaxy S 4 Zoom surfaced, and now it appears that the unannounced handset is making its way up a step in the hierarchy of leaks with a set of images that purportedly show the real hardware.
Posted by TechTastic, the photos show a device that looks fairly similar to the Galaxy S 4 Zoom render that surfaced yesterday. The front of the unit looks very Galaxy S 4 mini-like, packing a physical home key, earpiece and sensors, while the sides of the cameraphone sport a possible tripod mount as well as shutter button for taking photos with the Galaxy S 4 Zoom's rumored 16-megapixel camera.
According to yesterday's leak, the Galaxy S 4 Zoom's spec sheet will include a 4.3-inch qHD (960x540) Super AMOLED, 1.6GHz dual-core processor, 8GB internal storage, microSD card slot and Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean beneath Samsung's TouchWiz overlay. As I noted before, that makes it sound like a mashup of a Galaxy S 4 mini and Galaxy Camera, which is a description that seems to line up with the handset's overall design as well.
With its purported 16-megapixel camera that features an optical zoom, the Galaxy S 4 Zoom is a device that's obviously meant for folks that want a smartphone that functions as a camera first and a phone second. The S 4 Zoom's spec sheet may not be anything to write home about, but as long as the phone can take good photos, the target audience will likely be pleased.
Samsung has scheduled an event for June 20 at which it will show some new Galaxy products, and so it's possible that we'll see the S 4 Zoom there. Considering how Samsung's been announcing new Galaxy hardware ahead of the event, like the S 4 mini and Active, it's also possible that we could see an S 4 Zoom announcement in the days leading up to that event. Whenever this thing ends up getting its formal introduction, you can bet that I'll bring you all of the details. What do you think of the device in these leaked images? Would you buy a smartphone that features a 4.3-inch qHD display but also has a 16-megapixel camera with optical zoom?
Via Engadget, TechTastic
