Mobile

Samsung prepping new Galaxy S4 variant with LTE-Advanced, doubling data transfer speeds

Alexandra Burlacu

A new version of the Samsung Galaxy S4 smartphone will reportedly arrive soon and change the game in terms of data speeds, boasting LTE Advanced.

Samsung is apparently not done banking on the success of the Galaxy S4. After news of a Samsung Galaxy S4 Google Edition, a Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini and the rugged, water- and dust-resistant Samsung Galaxy S4 Active, the company now plans to deliver the "world's first" LTE-Advanced smartphone as a new version of its popular flagship.

The Samsung Galaxy S4 proved a whopping success and sold in record numbers, so it makes sense for the South Korean tech giant to capitalize on that success and come up with more versions to suit more preferences. This time, data speeds are the main focus, and the new version of the Galaxy S4 flagship will reportedly transmit data at nearly twice the normal speed.

This is not just a rumor citing various unnamed sources, the news comes from Samsung CEO J.K. Shin himself, by way of Reuters. Shin told the publication that the new smartphone version will start selling in South Korea as soon as this month.

The new smartphone will boast Samsung's integrated LTE-Advanced 4G technology, which will allow for data transmission at up to twice the normal 4G speeds.

"We'll be the first with the commercial launch of the advanced 4G version of the smartphone," Shin told Reuters, adding that downloading a movie would take just one minute on this upgraded variant of the smartphone.

Other than the South Korean debut apparently set for this month, Reuters doesn't report anything else in terms of availability for the LTE-Advanced Samsung Galaxy S4. Samsung, however, has an event scheduled for June 20 in London, which means the company may decide to unveil this new powerhouse then.

News of the new Samsung Galaxy S4 variant follows speculation that the company's latest flagship saw booming sales at first, but then tumbled and is not selling all that well anymore. Such speculation drove down the company's share price by 6 percent, but Shin denied the smartphone was having such issues.

"[Samsung Galaxy] S4 sales remain strong. It's selling far stronger than the [Galaxy] S3... and the new LTE-Advanced (4G) phone will be another addition to our high-end segment offerings that ensure healthy profit margins," Shin told Reuters. "As operators seek to provide more data-centric mobile services, I think this will welcome mainstream 4G technology globally in the coming years."

Shin refused to detail any forecast for Samsung Galaxy S4 sales. It remains unclear at this point just how much the LTE-Advanced version of the smartphone will cost, as Shin only said it will be slightly more expensive than the current flagship. 

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