Shootouts

Shootout: Compact 4G LTE Smartphones under S$300 (Q4 2014)

By Sidney Wong - 5 Nov 2014

Samsung Galaxy Ace 4 LTE: Design & Features

Samsung Galaxy Ace 4 LTE

Samsung does not stray far from its usual design language with its Galaxy Ace 4 LTE.

As a company known for churning out models with different screen sizes and form factors at various price points, it is no surprise to see Samsung setting its sights on the entry-level 4G smartphone market segment with its fourth generation Galaxy Ace smartphone.

The design of the Galaxy Ace 4 LTE remains largely similar to most of its peers in Samsung's mobile portfolio. You get a physical home button at the bottom of the display flanked by the Recent Apps capacitive button on the left and the Back capacitive button on the right. 

The rear of the Galaxy Ace 4 LTE has a non-glossy texture, which on one hand is resistant to fingerprints and smudges, while on the other hand, feels slippery. Fortunately, its petite dimensions - in fact, the Galaxy Ace 4 LTE is the most compact of the lot - allows the device to be grasped securely in your hand. 

No problem with fingerprints and smudges, but you have to handle the Samsung Galaxy Ace 4 LTE with care as the rear feels a little slippery.

Removing the rear cover gives you access to the 1,800mAh removable battery, the microSD memory card (supports cards up to 128GB in capacity) and the micro-SIM card slot. Do note that you need to remove the battery in order to access the SIM card slot.

The micro-SIM card slot is located beneath the battery. The microSD memory card is located on the top left corner of the Samsung Galaxy Ace 4 LTE.

Dominating the front of the Galaxy Ace 4 LTE is a 4-inch display with a paltry resolution of 800 x 480 pixels. In terms of pixel count, it's slightly better than the Desire 510, but is still lower than the rest of the competition. As a result, app icons and text do not look as sharp. Overall, the Galaxy Ace 4 LTE and Desire 510 rank the lowest in terms of display quality.

Out of the box, the Galaxy Ace 4 LTE runs on Android 4.4 KitKat. Its TouchWiz interface is updated to look like its flagship smartphones, but lacks new features such as Ultra Power Saving Mode (due to the use of a different display panel) and S Health. You still get the basic Samsung apps such as ChatON and Samsung Apps, if that's any consolation.

The Galaxy Ace 4 LTE is the only non quad-core powered phone. The device is driven by a Broadcom dual-core 1.2GHz processor and 1GB RAM which offers decent overall user experience, but it's not comparable to the other devices with better hardware.

There aren't much change to the aesthetics of the Samung's TouchWiz interface on the Galaxy Ace 4 LTE. The layout is updated to reflect the new direction taken by Samsung for its smartphones this year.

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