All in all, the Galaxy S III is a very well put together and smartly-designed phone. The only real complaints I have with it are its plasticky feel and exceptionally glossy finish. Though it is built just as solidly as most other smartphones on the market, it doesn't have the same quality feel that one gets from an HTC One X or an Apple iPhone 4S. But for sheer functionality, the Galaxy S III fits the bill.
Usability
Samsung set the bar for how an Android smartphone should perform with the Galaxy S II last year, and this year's Galaxy S III is no different. Though the international version of the Galaxy S III features Samsung's own quad-core Exynos 4 Quad processor, the version available to U.S. consumers has a dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor clocked at 1.5GHz.
This shouldn't be an issue for anyone, as the S4 processor performs just as well in the Galaxy S III as it does in other devices we have reviewed this year. Samsung has paired the processor with 2GB of RAM, making the S III the first smartphone in the U.S. with more than 1GB of RAM. This combination produces a speedy experience without any lag or stuttering from the phone, even when performing intensive tasks like 3D gaming.
Under benchmark tests, the Galaxy S III doesn't quite hit the same high numbers that other phones like the HTC EVO 4G LTE do, but in real-world usage, the phone is exceptionally quick. Apps open without delay, and even when repeatedly switching between open apps, the S III doesn't skip a beat. One thing of note: when using the phone for long periods or during intense gaming, the bottom of the device gets noticeably warm.
The Galaxy S III runs Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich out of the box, though you might not realize it at first. Samsung has installed the latest version of its TouchWiz interface on top of Android 4.0 and it has changed the appearance of the platform quite a bit. The latest version of TouchWiz is an evolution of the TouchWiz 4 that debuted on the Galaxy S II, and it isn't terribly different from an appearance point of view.
If you didn't like TouchWiz before, you probably won't like it now. That said, a lot of what Samsung has done with the interface is for the better. Gone is the robot-inspired Tron motif that stock Android 4.0 has, replaced by bright colors and elements inspired by nature. The nature theme carries over to the phone's various water droplet sound effects and animations, as well as its selection of ringtones. Fortunately, the animations in TouchWiz are more informative than obtrusive, and they don't get in the way of what you are trying to do.
Certain tweaks to the platform that I appreciate are the customizable app shortcuts on the lock screen, toggle switches in the notification bar, and useful app drawer that lets you uninstall apps or hide them from view with only a couple of taps. I also really like the option to display the actual battery percentage in the status bar.
Samsung has built in a number of gestures into the S III's interface, and they let you do certain things like flip over the phone to mute incoming calls, pause media playback with the palm of your hand, and capture a screenshot by swiping your hand across the display. One particularly useful gestures is the ability to launch the camera from the lockscreen by rotating the phone from portrait to landscape orientation. You can also opt to unlock the device by tilting the phone if you are not a fan of the traditional swipe-to-unlock method.
Other enhancements that Samsung has brought to the table include expanded sharing capabilities with the S Beam feature. S Beam builds upon Android 4.0's native NFC-based Beam function to allow users to transfer large files by just bumping two phones together. Samsung says that S Beam can be used to pass a 1GB video from one S III to another in three minutes. It can also be used to share web pages, images, and other content.
Samsung's Smart Stay feature uses the front-facing camera to keep the display on if you are viewing a web page or reading an article. The phone will periodically look for a face staring back at it, and maintain the screen brightness for longer than the time out setting would allow. In good lighting, Smart Stay worked as advertised, but when the light levels fell (when you are reading in bed, for instance) the reliability of Smart Stay fell as well.
The other major feature that Samsung includes with the Galaxy S III is the new S Voice personal assistant. S Voice is a virtual clone of the Siri personal assistant that Apple introduced on the iPhone 4S, and lets users interact with the Galaxy S III through speech. You can launch S Voice from its app icon or by double pressing the home key. Like Siri, S Voice can be used to check the weather, make appointments, set reminders, and perform web searches. S Voice does have a couple of tricks of its own, though, as it can toggle Wi-Fi and Bluetooth radios, be used to snooze or dismiss alarms, and launch some select third-party apps.
In practice, S Voice works about as well as Siri, but it doesn't have the same personality touches and nuances as Apple's product. Its features aren't as fleshed out as Siri's are, either, which isn't saying much. Both services have some functionality, but I don't think either one is where it needs to be to become an integral part of everyday use (that may change with the
new features coming to Siri in iOS 6, but I digress).
Calling / Data
The Galaxy S III supports the fastest data services available to each carrier that it is being offered with. That means that the T-Mobile version has support for the carrier's 42Mbps HSPA+ network, while the AT&T, Sprint, U.S. Cellular, and Verizon Wireless versions all feature 4G ~LTE data capabilities.
Of course if you buy the Sprint model, you won't be able to use the phone's LTE features until Sprint actually launches its LTE network, which is due to happen sometime this summer.
As far as call quality is concerned, the Galaxy S III performs well, with loud, clear audio from both the earpiece and the speaker phone. The call settings app offers a volume boost and customizable EQ settings, so you can really tweak the sound for your preference. I tested the AT&T and T-Mobile models during my review, and I found call quality to be comparable between both of them. The only complaint I can levy against the Galaxy S III is that the sound can be a bit thin and is not as full as the audio produced by other smartphones.
Messaging
Samsung has included a threaded messaging app with the Galaxy S III that supports standard SMS and MMS messages. The phone also comes with the standard Google Talk for Android, which offers both video and text chatting, and Samsung's own ChatON messaging service. Fans of other chat services will have to head to the Google Play Store to download the app, as the S III doesn't ship with any other IM systems pre-loaded.
Samsung's email app has been updated for Android 4.0, and I must say I like it a lot. The app is fast and responsive, and it offers features like threaded messages, multiple message management, HTML email support, and pinch zooming. The Galaxy S III also includes Google's excellent Gmail app for Android 4.0.
Apps / App Store
The Galaxy S III has full access to the Google Play Store and its hundreds of thousands of apps, as well as books, music, and movies. Chances are, if there is an app you are looking for, it can be found there.
Fortunately, Samsung did not burden the Galaxy S III with a plethora of pre-installed apps, but it did include the Flipboard app for Android. The Galaxy S III is the first Android device to ship with the long-awaited app, which originally debuted on the Apple iPad. Flipboard for Android on the Galaxy S III works just as smoothly as the iOS version, and lets users browse their social network feeds in a magazine-style layout.
Each carrier version of the Galaxy S III includes some carrier pre-installed apps, but they are kept to a minimum (in the case of our AT&T and T-Mobile review units, at least). The Galaxy S III does let you disable pre-installed apps that are not wanted, or alternatively, you can hide them from view in the app drawer.
The Sprint, T-Mobile, and U.S. Cellular versions of the Galaxy S III feature Dropbox installed out of the box, and offer customers 50GB of free Dropbox cloud storage for two years. During the phone's initial set up, users are prompted to sign in to or create a Dropbox account. Once signed in, the free storage is automatically added to the account. Unfortunately, this perk isn't available on the AT&T or Verizon Wireless models.
Browser
The Galaxy S III comes with an exceptionally fast and capable web browser. The browser loads pages in what feels like an instant, and it features effortless panning and zooming. The browser scores very well on the SunSpider benchmark, and that translates into a snappy day-to-day experience.
It also includes support for Adobe Flash Player (though the Adobe Flash Player is not pre-loaded, you have to get it from the Google Play Store if you want it), RSS feeds, and a reader mode that strips out images and ads from websites to make web content easier to consume. Since the Galaxy S III runs Android 4.0, you can also opt to use the excellent Google Chrome Beta browser for Android.
Camera, Battery Life, Conclusion
Camera
The camera was another area that the Galaxy S II set the benchmark for the rest of the Android field last year, and this year's Galaxy S III is no different. Though the resolution is the same, at 8 megapixels, and the video capture is still 1080p, Samsung has beefed up the camera with a number of new features.
The camera features a zero-lag shutter and very quick autofocus, a burst shot mode of up to 20 frames, and a Best Shot mode that automatically chooses the best frame from a series of eight. There is also a built-in ~HDR mode to handle tricky exposures. Samsung's camera interface has always been good, and it features customizable shortcuts for frequently accessed settings. The nod for the best camera interface still goes to the one found in HTC's Sense 4 devices, since it is possible to shoot a picture or start recording a video without having to switch modes, but Samsung's camera is very good in its own right.
As far as image quality is concerned, the Galaxy S III goes toe-to-toe with the HTC One X and One S, as it offers great detail and accurate colors. I noticed that the Galaxy S III also handles close-up macro shots better than HTC's devices, and its flash is very well controlled. The Galaxy S III's camera still doesn't quite reach the bar set by the Apple iPhone 4S, but it gets very close.
Video capture is equally detailed, with good color accuracy and frame rate. Captured audio is clear, though it does sound a bit tinny. The Galaxy S III features continuous autofocus during video recording, but it has a tendency to jump around a bit, producing jarring footage at times.
The 1.9 megapixel front-facing camera offers sharp and bright images for video calls, but it doesn't do anything out of the box or unexpected. It works well for what its purpose is - basic video calling - and that is good enough for me when it comes to front-facing cameras.
Samsung's intent to make sharing easier for Galaxy S III users extends to the camera with two new sharing modes. Buddy Shot uses facial recognition and contact tagging in photos to make it easy to send photos to specific contacts. The Share Shot mode will share all of the photos taken with other Galaxy S III in range and added to the sharing list. The idea here is that S III users will never miss a photo captured at a social event, since every photo captured by every S III will be shared among the group instantly. This is a novel concept, but unless you party with people that are exclusively Samsung fanatics, it's practical use seems limited.
Music
For music playback, the Galaxy S III features Samsung's standard music player and the Google Play Music app. Samsung's standard player features most everything that you look for these days, including playlist support and album art. It also has the unique "music squared" feature that tries to identify the mood of the music in your library and then let you play music that suits your current state of mind.
Samsung is including a standard pair of earbuds with the Galaxy S III. The earbuds feature an inline remote and microphone and are white regardless of whether you purchase the white or blue phone. Fashion-conscious users that want to match their headphones to their smartphone should opt for the Marble White Galaxy S III. The sound quality from the headphones is about what you would expect from a bundled set, and it is certainly not studio quality. Likewise, sound output from the Galaxy S III's external speaker is surprisingly clear and loud, but is also rather thin and lacks depth.
The Galaxy S III can capture 1080p HD video and it has no trouble playing it back either. One very cool trick up the Galaxy S III's sleeve is its Pop Up video player. This lets you pop a video into a separate window so that you can complete other tasks, such as replying to a text message, while the video continues to play. The playback window can be dragged around the screen to wherever you like. This feature is both cool and technically impressive, and I like it.
The Galaxy S III also includes Samsung's Media Hub, so you can rent or buy movies or TV shows to watch on the phone. A lot of the movies and TV shows are available in HD resolution, and you can output them to a larger display with an MHL HDMI adapter.
As far as media storage is concerned, the Galaxy S III is available from Sprint, T-Mobile, U.S. Cellular, and Verizon Wireless in both 16GB and 32GB models. AT&T customers will have to make do with only the 16GB model, and the 16GB models that I reviewed offered less than 12GB to the user for app and media storage, so it is a good thing the microSD card slot is available.
Battery
The Galaxy S III comes with a large, 2100mAh battery. It was enough to keep the phone going through most of the day, but it didn't quite get the Galaxy S III to the 24-hour mark for me. Fortunately, you can swap out the battery for a freshly charged pack when it runs out - a feature that is increasingly rare among smartphones these days. If you intend to primarily use the Galaxy S III on an LTE network, a spare battery is recommended.
Final Thoughts
The Samsung Galaxy S III carries a lot of weight on its shoulders, and, fortunately, it is up to the task. The Galaxy S III's solid spec sheet combined with the useful software features that Samsung has added to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich make the GS3 a good choice for many smartphone shoppers.
Add in the fact that the phone will be available from all of the major carriers in the U.S. and features support for the fastest data networks around, and I can easily see how many customers will make the Galaxy S III their pick when it comes time to buy their next smartphone.
Some users may have trouble with the large physical size of the Galaxy S III, but many will probably enjoy the greater screen real-estate on tap and will find the size to be more than manageable. I do wish that Samsung would have opted to use some more premium materials in the phone's construction instead of its usual glossy plastics, but it's solidly put together in spite of that.
I couldn't find any faults with the phone's performance in virtually every task I threw at it, and Samsung's host of software features did add some functionality to the device, even if a few of them have questionable usability (I'm looking at you Buddy Shot and Share Shot).
As it stands now, the Samsung Galaxy S III is one of, if not the best Android smartphones on the market today and should not have any trouble holding its ground against whatever arrives in the coming months. Now the tougher question for most people will be, should they get the Marble White or Pebble Blue model?
