Samsung's WP system flagship is actually the first mobile phone to be launched with Microsoft's latest WP8 system. However, Samsung has delayed the launch of this mobile phone for many times due to various reasons. According to analysis, it is mainly because Samsung's other two Android phones, namely Galaxy S3 and Note 2, have sold too well. Samsung has focused on the marketing and production of the first two mobile phones, The listing and distribution of ATIV S was delayed. Fortunately, this model was finally launched in Canada in the middle of this month, and I also brought the latest comprehensive evaluation from abroad.
Overview of foreign media views: In terms of design, this Samsung model is significantly weaker than the other two flagship models. Lumia 920 continues the unique industrial design of N9, which has a very unique design aesthetic style in the entire mobile phone industry. The HTC 8X is also tailored to the "dynamic magnet" of the WP system. ATIV S is much more ordinary. However, in terms of practicality, ATIV S has the function of micro SD card with expandable capacity and removable battery, which is undoubtedly better than the flagship of Nokia and HTC. Previously, foreign media also made some comments that although ATIV S came into the market late, these functions are worth waiting for. In addition, ATIV S can only be regarded as a medium level in terms of call quality and noise reduction.
- Configuration and hardware design
▲ Removable battery and micro SD expansion are very considerate functions
Like almost all WP8 machines, we can skillfully describe the configuration of ATIV S, Qualcomm dual core 1.5GHz processor (model: MSM8960), 1G RAM, Bluetooth 3.0, and NFC support. 8MP main camera, 1.9MP front camera. However, the next thing we are not so familiar with is the micro SD expansion and removable battery, which are features that competitors Lumia 920 and HTC 8X do not have. Of course, it is also a major differentiation and purchase point of ATIV S. Because Microsoft has strict control over software systems, it is understandable that Samsung makes some differentiation in hardware. The whole machine is very light and thin, 8.7mm thick, 135g heavy, the same weight as S3. The design is different from S3 in that the ATIV S has a metallic back cover, which should be a small improvement of Samsung's plastic back cover. However, it seems difficult to find other materials due to the need for a removable rear cover. The imitated metal texture of the back material is very obvious, almost to the point of fake.
As for the screen, since the block screen is exactly the same as the Galaxy S3 - 4.8 inches, Super AMOLED HD, 720P resolution, 306 PPI, of course, we should not forget the Pentile array that is still the same. As for the screen performance, I will not repeat it. You can refer to the screen evaluation of S3.
▲ Since Microsoft has very strict restrictions on the WP system, there is almost no differentiation in the system UI
Almost nothing special. In terms of software, almost all WP machines are the same. No matter which manufacturer's product, the machine running WP8 system has almost the same characteristics and performance. The system version of ATIV S we evaluated is 8.0.10211.204, which is the latest system version. It includes some new functions, such as the ability to maintain WIFI connection when the screen is turned off and standby. In the past, the lack of this function in the WP system caused users to complain very much. In addition, the considerate function of answering SMS immediately after rejecting calls is added. However, we also encountered some problems on this machine. For example, the function of automatically adjusting the brightness of the screen is very bad. It is often unable to adjust the brightness normally or the response is very slow. However, it is gratifying that these problems have been solved in an OTA upgrade.
Like other manufacturers, Samsung can also have a small section in the WP8 app store to put its own customized applications, that is, "Samsung Zone". Users can download Samsung exclusive applications here, most of which are pre installed when they leave the factory. Although Samsung's APP is not as many and practical as Nokia's, some applications are very good. For example, Samsung Now is an application integrating news and weather, which is very convenient.
On the other hand, Samsung does not focus on the WP platform as Nokia does, so Samsung is not as practical as Nokia in exclusive applications. For example, Samsung lacks some Nokia navigation APP and camera extension APP.
Let's take a look at the photo samples first
The 8MP camera should be the same as the S3 camera, so it has a good camera experience. It performs very well in sunny conditions. The performance under weak light is also satisfactory, which conforms to the normal low light performance level of smart phones. Compared with Lumia 920's strong weak light performance, it is certainly inferior. In the test, the photos taken are very delicate and full of color, and they look very good on the Super AMOLED screen. Of course, there is also a problem that auto focus seems to be slow when shooting 1080P video, which is the result of horizontal comparison with Lumia 920 and 8X.
Since the mobile phones of WP8 system have the same CPU, GPU and memory as those of other WP8 systems, there is almost no significant difference in performance, which has been confirmed again in the test. The WPBench test scored 237.86 points, while Lumia 920 scored 233.5 points, and Lumia 820 scored only 216.02 points. However, it is worth noting that after many tests, we found that WPBench's test scores for the same machine are about 5-15 points different, so the score gap between 920 and ATIV S is almost negligible.
As mentioned just now, the performance difference of the WP flagship is so small that it can be almost ignored. In the actual experience, there is almost no difference in UI response speed, video buffering speed, page scaling fluency, and game experience.
▲ In WPBench's battery life test, ATIV S persisted for 2 hours and 42 minutes
In terms of removable battery, ATIV S is of course much better than Lumia 920 and HTC 8X, and the battery capacity is 2300mAh higher, while the former is 2000mAh and 1800mAh respectively. In WPBench's battery endurance test, ATIV S persisted for 2 hours and 42 minutes, provided that the CPU ran at the highest frequency until it automatically shut down (I think this test is not comprehensive, in fact, the battery consumption is much worse when networking). This result is only 11 minutes longer than 920. However, when it is in actual use, the difference becomes very obvious. After 9 hours of moderate use, there is still 25% power left. Considering the characteristics of the detachable battery of the ATIV S, we still believe that the ATIV S is undoubtedly the best of the three flagship aircraft in terms of battery life.
- Call quality and network connectivity
▲ Network data transmission speed test
Our test environment is T-Mobile Boston area. In the call quality test, we found that the received voice is still very clear, but there are some deficiencies in noise reduction. The output voice is not very clear in the case of moderate traffic noise in the urban area. In addition, the tester also told us that the output sound was very low, and it was also difficult to hear clearly in moderate traffic noise.
In terms of data connection, T-Mobile's so-called "4G", that is, HSPA coverage area test results are satisfactory. The average download speed is 7Mbps and upload speed is 3Mbps.
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