Samsung has been very good about preventing a leak of its upcoming Galaxy handset, but it seems they’ve inadvertently allowed one legitimate handset to get through. Sure, it’s encased in a “temporary shell” that doesn’t resemble the final hardware size, shape or even material, but we finally have the questions asked that really matter: what’s going to be inside the device. What’s interesting is that the codename, GT-i9300, coincides with the leak we brought you a few months ago. If the device is real, and we believe it is, the specs should be:
– 4.6-inch 720p Super AMOLED (Plus?) screen at 320ppi
– Android 4.0.3 with TouchWIZ
– 1.4Ghz quad-core Exynos processor
– 1GB RAM, 16GB internal storage (microSD card slot, too!)
– 8MP camera w/ LED flash, 1080p video capabilities
– 2050mAh battery
– NFC support
While we can’t verify whether everything is true, it does fit in line with the “evolutionary” spec update we’ve been hearing; everything seems to be identical to the Galaxy S II except for the processor, screen, and the battery. But those are pretty big changes. We also can’t tell from the screenshots or video whether this is a new “Plus” variant of the Super AMOLED screen, which would mean no more PenTile matrix at such high resolutions.
We’re sure that there are other improvements under the hood, and the Exynos SoC will probably double performance from its dual-core predecessor, but we can’t know that until benchmarks are done. As for the battery life, it seems that our prayers have been answered (to some extent) and Samsung has pushed the device over the 2000mAh barrier, which will likely allow for a full day or more of usage. This is a temporary shell, however, so we can’t say for certain whether the battery will stay the same size in the final release.
We’ll bring you more as soon as we have it, but this could be the first legitimate look at what you’ll be using this summer, as the majority of our poll takers said they’re going to wait for a Galaxy S III. There is a video floating around but Samsung seems to be issuing cease-and-desist letters to those hosting it. We’re linking to it but it may go down in the next couple of hours.
