Samsung's New Galaxy S III Phone Offers 4.8-Inch Screen, Siri-Like 'S Voice' Feature

Samsung has certainly become Apple's primary competition in the smartphone race, with the two companies currently taking nearly all of the profits in the mobile phone industry. Consequently, it pays for Apple and its fans to take note of Samsung's advances with its own hardware, and today's launch of the new flagship Galaxy S III smartphone is no exception.

The Android-based Samsung Galaxy S III offers a large 4.8-inch Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 1280x720. The large screen means that Galaxy S III measures nearly 20% taller and wider than the iPhone 4S, but is slightly thinner and actually lighter. The device also includes an 8-megapixel rear camera and a 1.9-megapixel front camera that can be used for face recognition and tracking features.

galaxy s iii iphone
Samsung Galaxy S III side-by-side with iPhone 4S (Source: Android Central)

Samsung is placing a distinct emphasis on "natural interaction" for the Galaxy S III, touting its facial, voice, and motion recognition capabilities, including a Siri-like "S Voice" feature.

With the innovative ‘Smart stay’ feature, the GALAXY S III recognizes how you are using your phone – reading an e-book or browsing the web for instance – by having the front camera identify your eyes; the phone maintains a bright display for continued viewing pleasure.

The GALAXY S III features ‘S Voice,’ the advanced natural language user interface, to listen and respond to your words. In addition to allowing information search and basic device-user communication, S Voice presents powerful functions in regards to device control and commands. When your phone alarm goes off but you need a little extra rest, just tell the GALAXY S III “snooze.” You can also use S Voice to play your favorite songs, turn the volume up or down, send text messages and emails, organize your schedules, or automatically launch the camera and capture a photo.

In addition to recognizing your face and voice, the GALAXY S III understands your motions to offer maximized usability. If you are messaging someone but decide to call them instead, simply lift your phone to your ear and ‘Direct call’ will dial their number.

Other features include "Pop up play", which allows users to play videos anywhere on their screen while still using other apps, camera improvements including zero-lag shutter and burst shot mode, and NFC capabilities. Samsung has also partnered with Dropbox to offer Galaxy S III users 50 GB of free storage for two years, a deal that will extend to all Samsung phones and tablets later this year and see the Dropbox app come preinstalled on the devices.

In another bid to take on Apple, Samsung is also rolling out a new Music Hub service that integrates both a streaming service and an iTunes Match-like scan-and-match service to provide users with access to their own music from anywhere. As noted by The Verge, Music Hub will cost $9.99 per month for one device or $12.99 per month for up to four devices plus web access.

The Samsung Galaxy S III will launch in Europe on May 29 before extending to the United States in June and other markets around the world going forward.

Top Rated Comments

Idioteque Avatar
149 months ago
That's no phone... that's a space station.
Score: 166 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Virtualball Avatar
149 months ago
Some of the things Samsung launched today:


* S Voice
* S Cloud
* Scan and Match
* Display sharing
* S Pebble
* Retail stores


In other news, Apple has had these for awhile:


* Siri
* iCloud
* iTunes Match
* AirPlay
* iPod Shuffle
* Retail stores


Also:



Score: 160 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ctdonath Avatar
149 months ago
Comes a size where it's not a phone, it's a tablet with a voice app.
Score: 89 Votes (Like | Disagree)
LagunaSol Avatar
149 months ago
The Samsung Galaxy S III: now with integrated shoulder straps!

And did AndroidCentral intentionally turn down the brightness on the iPhone? Mine certainly doesn't look that dim/washed out.
Score: 68 Votes (Like | Disagree)
gotluck Avatar
149 months ago
ugh, these comments...

i love my iphone and all, but i have no reason to hate this...
Score: 51 Votes (Like | Disagree)
LagunaSol Avatar
149 months ago
if you actually look at it, it's not that much larger than the iphone.

Are you looking at the same photo we are???
Score: 51 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

Apple WWDC23 macOS Sonoma hero

macOS Sonoma Launching This Week With These New Features

Sunday September 24, 2023 12:45 pm PDT by
Apple previously announced that macOS Sonoma will be released this Tuesday, September 26. The free software update includes many new features and changes for the Mac, including the five that we have highlighted below. In addition to these five features, we have shared the full release notes for macOS Sonoma below for a complete overview of everything new. Desktop Widgets macOS Sonoma...
iPhone 16 Mock Header With Dynamic Island

Skipping the iPhone 15 Pro? Here's What's Rumored for iPhone 16 Pro

Friday September 22, 2023 9:29 am PDT by
Are you skipping the iPhone 15 Pro and waiting another year to upgrade? If so, we already have some iPhone 16 Pro rumors for you. Below, we recap new features rumored for the iPhone 16 Pro models so far:Larger displays: The iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max will be equipped with larger 6.3-inch and 6.9-inch displays, respectively, according to Ross Young, CEO of Display Supply Chain...
iPhone 16 Side Feature

iPhone 16 to Include an Additional Capacitive 'Capture' Button

Monday September 25, 2023 12:50 pm PDT by
The iPhone 16 series is expected to gain an additional capacitive button, known internally as the "Capture Button." Codenamed "Project Nova," the button is likely to be one of the main selling points of the iPhone 16 lineup, assuming it gets past the initial testing phase. The Capture Button is located on the same side as the Power button, only positioned slightly lower - where the mmWave cutout...
ipad mini blue

Apple to Launch iPad Mini 7 Later This Year, Industry Report Suggests

Monday September 25, 2023 3:16 am PDT by
Apple could be preparing to release a seventh-generation iPad mini before the end of the year, based on a new report by DigiTimes. In an article discussing stagnating global tablet demand in the second half of 2023, the Taiwan-based outlet forecasts an uptick in Apple's share of the market owing to orders for a "small-size" iPad in the fourth quarter. From the report (see bold): In the...