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Samsung Galaxy S3 Review

The Samsung Galaxy S3 is one of the most highly-anticipated smartphone of 2012. It’s mainly because of the stellar success of its predecessor and Samsung’s over-all performance in the Android handset market. Check out our full review of the Galaxy S3 i9300 after the break.

When we first saw the Galaxy S3 during the global launch in London back in May, we were not that crazy about its design. The hardware was pretty impressive, the additional Samung features were nice but a bit gimmicky, yet the design did not really sink in that well with us (close to saying it’s an acquired taste).

Yugatech 728x90 Reno7 Series

However, once you’ve held the Galaxy S3 and used it for some considerable amount of time, your perception of the handset’s design will probably change and learn to love it. We were fortunate enough to be able to use both the Ceramic White and the Pebble Blue for this review.

Design and Construction.

Since the popular Galaxy S2, Samsung has made a lot of changes in the design of the Galaxy S3. The material used is still the same polycarbonate component with a glossy coating Samsung referred to as hyperglazed.

We got both the Ceramic White and the Pebble Blue variants to review and noticed a slight difference between the two. Both have that glossy coating over the materials but the Ceramic White has more of a plain or flat texture while the Pebble Blue has that brushed pattern beneath that hyperglazed surface.

The body of the handset is more rounded and looks closer to the Galaxy Nexus than the S2. The curved back panel allows it to fit more comfortably on the palm of your hands, giving you a better grip of the handset. However, the glossy finish also makes the device a bit slippery in some occasions (slipped off my jacket pocket once and twice on my desktop table); hence, we recommend getting a case for the device as soon as possible.

The construction of the S3 is pretty simplistic with very few exterior embellishment. The 3.5mm port is on the top left corner; the power button is on the upper right side; the volume control is on the left side and a micro-USB port is at the bottom. There are two microphones — one at the top and one at the bottom, the other could be for active noise-cancellation.

At the back side, you will find the 8MP camera with the LED flash on its left side and the speaker on the right side. The front panel features the physical Home button at the bottom end along with two soft keys that sandwiches it (Menu and Back). It’s curious that Samsung used the Menu and Back soft keys on the handset since these two were prominent with Gingerbread rather than ICS which already incorporated the soft keys into the screen. The only reason we can think of is that TouchWiz UI 4.0 has skinned ICS and removed those native keys.

To better appreciate the handset design, we’ve prepared a short unboxing video of the Galaxy S3 below:

We also noticed that the battery cover is also plastic and so thin that you’ll need to be careful when taking the cover off lest you might break it.

On the Ceramic White variant, the two-tone complexion is white with a silver lining on the side while the Pebble Blue has a dark-blue body with a ocean-blue lining. It will really be a matter of taste which of the two you prefer. Apparently, there’s been a lack in supply of the Pebble Blue variant because of some manufacturing delays.

Nevertheless, we find the device very firm and solid. The implementation of the design is done very meticulously and the hyperglazed coating does have its advantages. Despite the 4.8-inch size of the handset, we are able to use it with one hand comfortably and with ease. Of course, that’s really dependent from one person to another.

Display.

Samsung uses a Super HD AMOLED display on the Galaxy S3. It only means that the handset uses an AMOLED screen (with an integrated digitizer) with a 720p HD resolution (1280×720 pixels). This gives the Galaxy S3 a pixel density of 306ppi.

While that isn’t really at the top of the pixel density charts (the Galaxy Nexus has 316ppi, the Xperia S has 343ppi and the One X), it’s right up there with a lot of flagship handsets. Both the Galaxy Note and the Galaxy Nexus shared the same Pentile technology with the Galaxy S3.

Nonetheless, we loved the bright and crisp display of the Galaxy S3. Outdoor visibility if decent to good and manages to be usable even with glare caused by direct sunlight (only to a certain extent).

The entire front panel is covered with a single solid sheet of glass that spills toward the edges. The physical Home button looks like it’s made of aluminum and is carved out of the glass, separating it from the rest of the homogenous surface.

The glass surface is slightly raised (or embossed) so the viewing angles are pretty close to 180-degrees (especially when watching videos or movies).

Android ICS and TouchWiz UI.

The Galaxy S3 came out with Android Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS v4.0.4) out of the box. They also added a custom skin using Samsung’s own TouchWiz UI 4.0. The UI has improved a lot since the first time we saw it in the Galaxy S3 a couple of years ago. It’s simple yet fluid and we’re liking the design of the native icons, widgets and layout.

The UI is pretty clean and simple. If you’ve used a Galaxy phone from Samsung before, you will already be familiar with TouchWiz. The little additional touches, the transition effects and smoothness of the navigation really adds to the prettification and usability of the device.

A lot of widgets have also been added and incorporated into the UI. We also noticed the drop-down menu added more options and shortcuts to more-commonly used features.

Samsung added a lot of interesting features that uses motion sensors and gestures. We liked the Direct Call feature and have used it a lot of times. Smart Stay seems like a very neat feature but using it is a hit or miss (really depends on the ambient light).

The Pop-up Play looks gimmicky and the fact that there is an app in the Google Play Store that the do the same makes it not that unique. In fact, the Super Video app supports two floating videos at the same time.

While there are a number of Samsung-exclusive apps pre-installed in the S3, you have access to hundreds of thousands of apps in the Google Play Store (both free and paid). And if you get bored of the TouchWiz UI, you can always download a custom launcher like Go Launcher EX.

Well, hi there, Galaxy!

The S Voice is one of the newer features introduced with the Galaxy S3. It is an evolution of the Voice Talk app found in the Galaxy Note (powered by Vlingo).

It is obviously a play on the Apple’s Siri personal assistant. Surprisingly, we realized that S Voice is much more usable than Siri because it supports our location (meaning, you can ask for location-based services).

S Voice managed to pin-point us to a map when we asked “where I am”, and also gave us the local weather and answered who the president of the Philippines correctly.

The voice is also more human and less robotic compared to Siri. Of course, we also experience some issues with “accent” and “pronunciation” with S Voice.

Multimedia and Camera.

While the S3 still had the same 8MP camera like the S2, the sensor has been vastly improved. Image quality both in stills and video are really good. The snapper is very fast and can do up to 3 shots per second with a burst of 20 continuous shots which is great for action scenes.

Chekc out some of our sample photos in the gallery below:

[fancygallery ID=”s3photos”]

Images are crisp and well-saturated, the exposure levels are even and the colors are rich and vivid. We can definitely say that the S3 has one of the best built-in camera in a smartphone.

The native camera app has a lot of functions and features including shooting modes like HDR and Burst shot (at 20 continuous frames). There’s also Face Detection but it’s a hit or miss when used in the field.

The S3 can capture full HD 1080p video at 30fps. The camera can auto-focus while recording or you can switch the focus area by tapping on the object on the screen.

Check out our sample clip below (make sure to select the 1080p version on playback):

The camera also has the ability to take stills while recording and there are options in the settings for enabling Outdoor Visibility and Anti-Shake (video stabilization).

The speaker of the unit is situated at the back beside the camera and while it is obviously facing away from the user, the volume of the audio isn’t sacrificed. Sound quality is good though we could not really say it’s the best we’ve ever used on a smartphone. The speaker is also slightly muted when you lay it down on its back.

The S3 also plays full HD video and movies very smoothly. The AMOLED screen adds to the crispness and brightness of the videos although we’d suggest using a headphone to better appreciate the audio/sounds when doing so.

The Pop-up Play is a neat trick which allows you to watch a video on a small floating screen while doing something else, but as we mentioned earlier, it’s just that — a neat trick.

Performance and Benchmarks.

Samsung has done very well in making the S3’s performance as smooth and fluid as possible. The handset is very fast, very responsive and can handle a lot of tasks and running apps all at the same time without any noticeable lags.

We also liked the idea of maximizing the features offered by NFC and WiFi Direct. We’ve tried the S Beam between two Galaxy S3’s and it worked very well in transferring large files in such a short time. NFC was used to quickly pair the two handsets then WiFi Direct kicks in to deliver blazing-fast data transfers.

This feature currently works with the S3 at the moment but with the announcement of JellyBean, it will be standard to Android handsets.

Based on the numbers alone, the Galaxy S3 trumps all other smartphones in all three (3) benchmark tests we did — Quadrant Advanced, Antutu Benchmark and NenaMark 2.

With a Quadrant score of 5,859, it’s the highest we’ve seen on any handset or tablet we’ve ever tested or reviewed. The same goes with Antutu benchmark — the S3 surpassed the 10k mark with a score of 12,044. The Nemark 2 score gave it an impressive 58.8fps rating.

Again, these are just benchmark results and though they may not represent real-world performance, it’s a good indication of the relative performance of the S3 compared to other handsets in the market. But, by the numbers alone, we can already say the S3 is the “King of Benchmarks“.

Call Quality and Battery Life.

Voice calls on the Galaxy S3 are pretty clear and loud. We did not experience any drop calls in the last couple of weeks using it.

The 2100mAh Li-ion battery on the S3 might seem enough but if you’re connected to a 3G network all the time, you’d be lucky to survive the day without recharging your unit. However, with moderate use, we’re surprised that the handset can actually last two full days with casual internet and mostly calls and SMS.

We also noticed that the power-saving mode of the S3 works pretty well when the handset is in idle. The again, the battery life will greatly depend on your usage behavior.

Conclusion.

With the launch of the Galaxy S3, we noticed that Samsung is slowly inching towards the cloud and adding more soft features into their devices. They’ve already proven they’re really good at making their own hardware so adding a more compelling ecosystem (aside from the basic Android ecosystem) is the next logical step.

The Galaxy S3 certainly delivered the promise a lot of people were expecting, and maybe even more. It’s got the impressive hardware and a mature platform to run on. Samsung has done it again and we are pretty sure they will be selling millions of S3 (and millions more) in the coming months.

Samsung Galaxy S3 i9300 specs:
4.8-inch Super HD AMOLED screen @ 1280×720 pixels (306ppi)
1.4GHz Samsung Exynos 4 Quad processor
Mali-400MP GPU
1GB RAM
16GB internal storage
up to 32GB via microSD card
HSPA+ up to 21Mbps
8MP rear camera with LED flash
1080p @ 30fps video recording
1.9MP front-facing camera
720p HD video recording
NFC
Bluetooth 4.0
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n with WiFi Bonding
2,100mAh Li-Ion battery
Android 4.0 ICS with TouchWiz UX
8.6mm thickness, 133gram weight

The Samsung Galaxy S3 has a suggested retail price of Php32,990 and is available in stores nationwide. Local telcos are also offering it under postpaid plans — comes free with Unli Data Plan 2000 with Smart and Supersurf Plan 2499 with Globe.

What we liked about it:
● Top-notch performance
● Great camera
● Quad-core processor
● NFC & WiFi Direct put to good use
● Good battery life
● S Voice is pretty usable
● Free 50GB DropBox account for 2 years

What we did not like:
● Still pricey
● Glossy finish makes it slippery
● Some gimmicky features

Disclosure: The White Ceramic S3 was provided to us by Samsung Philippines while the Pebble Blue S3 was provided to us by Lazada Philippines (sells for Php31,989 in their listing here).

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Avatar for Abe Olandres

Abe is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of YugaTech with over 20 years of experience in the technology industry. He is one of the pioneers of blogging in the country and considered by many as the Father of Tech Blogging in the Philippines. He is also a technology consultant, a tech columnist with several national publications, resource speaker and mentor/advisor to several start-up companies.

94 Responses

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  3. Avatar for Jonjon Mendoza Susi Jonjon Mendoza Susi' says:

    Hello sir Yugatech, i would like to know how can I detect if my samsung galaxy s3 is fake or not???

  4. Avatar for chachi chachi says:

    Hi Yugatech,

    Are you familiar with the sudden death issue for SGS3? Are there any cases of these in the Philippines already?

    I’m an SGS3 owner and I don’t know if my phone has recently experienced the “sudden death” issue that is currently being experienced by other SGS3 owners. I’ll try to check with Samsung later if this is the reason why my phone won’t boot. It just froze yesterday night then I removed the battery and it won’t boot anymore. Tried charging as well but no led light response. Hard reset won’t even work :(

    • Avatar for Harold Harold says:

      Yes. It’s true. Those are signs that your phone has experienced the sudden death syndrome. I’ve had my s3 for 2 months now and i’m still having my fingers crossed not to experience the same. Try sending it to samsung.

  5. Avatar for Welsh Welsh says:

    Hi Yugatech,

    Is it true about the SGS3 sudden death issue?

    Im a SGS3 owner, and recently heard about this sudden death issue that SGS3 is currently experiencing.

    Thank you

  6. Avatar for gabanciano gabanciano says:

    Boss, Touchwiz 5.0 po ito ndi po 4.
    salamats

  7. Avatar for danisonco danisonco says:

    anyone knows where I can get an Elago G5 Breathe case and Spigen SGP ultra flip case for the S3?

    http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1015083*****57623.390134.248217312622&type=3

    http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=444073082*****4&set=pb.2065289*****344.-2207520000.1349433728&type=1&theater

    *sorry for the links

  8. Avatar for Wu Wu says:

    Any news/ideas when will the Samsung Galaxy GT-i9305 S III (LTE version) be available here in our country? Thanks!

  9. Avatar for Everlong Everlong says:

    HELP!

    ano mas prefer nyo…

    S3 vs HTC One X

  10. Avatar for muhundan muhundan says:

    HI

    I am using galaxy s3 it is good, all new features are good.i have to tell this is expansiveness phone. i think in this phone designer not think about the screen protection when it drops down. i do not know why this careless thing happen. i think manufacture think about it

  11. Avatar for Agnes James Agnes James says:

    The Samsung Galaxy S3 is without doubt one of the best mobile phones ever released, however it really is more than just a device for making phone calls.If we do the Comparison with other of Samsung Models & Nokia at http://howmobile.net/samsung/2345-samsung-i9300-galaxy-s-iii.html and http://howmobile.net/samsung/2336-samsung-galaxy-s-iii-i535.html. It was very floated in market & News also that the Galaxy S3 is the competing Model with iPhone also. I would like to go for Galaxy S3 after reading above article

  12. Avatar for Wladimir Wladimir says:

    I acquired this phone from Globe on plan 1799. Okay siya gamitin kahit first time Android user ako. The only thing I’m having problem with is my postpaid plan. Can’t even open App Store without using wi-fi. Frustating to think that I am indeed subscribed to SuperSurf. Am I missing a configuration?

  13. Avatar for Mr Kamote Mr Kamote says:

    so is it fair to compare S3 and I5?

    any comments so far?

  14. Avatar for Jeff Jeff says:

    Nakita nyo na eto?

    http://www.pesorepublic.com/db/tipid-tips/worth-it-ba-bilhin-yung-samsung-s3/

  15. Avatar for dr0idr@ge dr0idr@ge says:

    anyone getting the galaxy nexus 2 ?? s3 is good too though. ahh headache! grabe. http://youtu.be/yqO8FIoxBVQ

  16. Avatar for wedie wedie says:

    hi.. i know theres a s3 2gig ram out there the US version, are these 2gigs s3 will be available soon in the PH?
    thanks

  17. Avatar for ryan ryan says:

    OPTIMUS “G” IS BETTER THAN THIS UGLY PHONE!

    • Avatar for BeastGalaxy BeastGalaxy says:

      We would appreciate your feedback about the features of the fon once you have it. If I would be convinced I will sell my S3 here to the highest bidder and get the optimus G!

    • Avatar for SuperUserS3 SuperUserS3 says:

      Yeah! No offense dude, but you seem to miss out the topic here! I’ll even sell to you my S3 for 10k if you can prove that is worth it to get the LG optimus G.newly launch….

    • Avatar for Dave Dave says:

      Are we talking about the design or the specs? I can say that SIII is one of the best when it comes to specs. Others may not like the design, but it’s still good. :)

    • Avatar for IOSnoMore! IOSnoMore! says:

      @Ryan you still don’t have bragging rights brah. Get the fone first and we’ll wait for your feedback here.

    • Avatar for mico20 mico20 says:

      @ryan i agree with you.
      when it come to design s3 is looks like a plastic cheapest toy especially at the back cover.
      i think optimus g is way better performer than s3?
      we will see.
      honestly im very impressed with the specification of that optimus g.
      im very interested.
      t.y.

    • Avatar for mico20 mico20 says:

      Just kidding ryan I take my previous statement LG means looks good (only).

    • Avatar for mico20 mico20 says:

      Just kidding ryan I take back my previous statement LG means looks good (only).

    • Avatar for georgie georgie says:

      Just kidding ryan, my bf was just playing with you I take back his previous statement LG means looks good (only) he said today. I have this S3 and he is just so envy… Or maybe your beki too!? I can buy you this fone if your game.. so i can take revwnge..lol;p

    • Avatar for manny manny says:

      imagine TALO ANG S3 NG DUALCORE NG SONY XPERIA PHONES SA BENCHMARK?
      VERY FUNNY!
      SEE THIS LINK:

      http://www.gsmarena.com/sony_xperia_tx_t_and_v_benchmarks_are_here_promising_too-news-4722.php

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