Could not escape next problem... The fact is that a huge stream of fake devices comes to the market that pretend to be Samsung devices and copy the most popular models smartphones from the manufacturer. Not surprisingly, most of the counterfeits come from China, and the most frequently cloned models are the Galaxy S3 and Galaxy S4. If you think that you can tell the difference between the devices, if not externally, then by the filling - you are mistaken. Many of the fake phones today are capable of even surpassing the capabilities of the original.
This is why many buyers are afraid that a clone or just a fake one might fall into their hands. Android smartphone? What can be done to avoid falling into the ranks of the victims of this scam involving advanced smartphones, To example Galaxy S4, or rather with its cheap copy? How to distinguish a fake s4? Per last years complaints about buying not an original Samsung smartphone, but its exact counterfeit, have become more frequent.
The most susceptible to unsuccessful smartphone purchases are fans of Internet purchases, where eBay has become the leading site in the sale of counterfeits. The buyer sees in the photo an easily recognizable original smartphone, but as soon as he gets his hands on it and examines it closer, he discovers a clone. By by and large no one says telephones made in China so bad, but deception is deception, and the user wants to get what he paid for.
But do not despair, this article will acquaint you with some details, checking which before buying, you can buy an original smartphone, and not a fake. Specifically, the article will discuss the Galaxy S4, but the following signs can be used for many smartphones of another brand. Let's start with the most obvious.
How to spot a fake Samsung s4
Physical differences
It is likely that the Galaxy S4 clone will look like a real Galaxy S4, but the similarities are not always preserved. Therefore, if there is an opportunity physically, or at least to consider it in a photo, then study the physical parameters.
Genuine Galaxy S4 is equipped with a 5-inch touch screen without a big frame around it. Clones, however, very often have significant space between the display and the actual edge of the device. This is a clear sign that the screen is either smaller than the expected size, or does not correspond to the compactness of the original, created by Samsung engineers.
Another significant point is the location of the hardware buttons. This is especially true for the buttons directly below the screen. V original Galaxy The S4 home button looks like a chromed piece of plastic and sits right in the center of the space below the display. In clones, this button may, firstly, have a different look, and secondly, be located just slightly below the screen.
How else can you spot a fake Galaxy s4? In fakes, you can often not see capacitive touch buttons located on the sides of the "Home" button. They are sometimes replaced with on-screen buttons, and sometimes with regular buttons. physical keys requiring pressing. In addition, pay attention to how the logo looks like, the LED flash (color and size), how smooth the surface of the smartphone is, and its weight.
After the above physical parameters are studied, you can pay attention to software device.
Software
If, after examining the hardware data of the device, you are still unsure of your choice and cannot say with certainty that you are not holding a fake, you should resort to checking the compliance of the preinstalled software. For Galaxy smartphone S4 features a pre-loaded version Android firmware 4.2.2 s the TouchWiz interface... All other options, or additions to the mentioned components, should not be on a Samsung smartphone. How is the version of the installed software determined, you ask? This can be done in the Parameter settings menu.
But this method is not 100% reliable. Looking at the screenshot of a smartphone running Android 4.2.2, you can see that the software doesn't actually look like Jelly Bean. In reality, it has Android 2.3 Gingerbread installed, which is confirmed by the build number on the same settings screen.
Of course, the user may think, because a smartphone cannot run on one version of the operating system, but represent it as a newer version. You can download screenshots on the Internet without any problems original firmware Android 4.2.2 by checking the firmware on the purchased smartphone with it.
When it comes to default pre-installed software, the Galaxy S4 is bound to have exclusive software features. They are fully exclusive - you will not find anything like this in any other smartphone. It is simply unrealistic to get the same package of options as the Galaxy S4, whatever the clone. Therefore, if you are holding a fake in your hands, then there cannot be any exclusive functions from Samsung.
Finally
How I wish that buying an Android smartphone (Samsung Galaxy S4 or otherwise) was simple and honest. You just choose a smartphone to your liking, go to the store, pay for mobile device money and get what you want. But great amount counterfeits, which have flooded the market everywhere, block the path to easy and safe shopping.
Will there ever be a day when the market is completely cleared of clones and fakes? Unanswered question. So far, we can only observe that the original devices and fakes are becoming more and more similar and difficult to distinguish with each new generation. But the opportunity to avoid acquiring a fake is not lost if the buyer is determined to buy an original smartphone.
In the end, I would like to remind you that you should not bite into smartphones with an obviously low price (several times lower than the declared market value). But an expensive device is not a guarantee of authenticity, since even fakes are sold at the price of the original. Needless to say about the impudence of such sellers.
If you find any more differences between the original and the fake, then share your findings in the comments to this post. We wish you only successful and safe shopping!
The next flagship phone of the South Korean company has appeared - Samsung Galaxy S4. It gives the chance to even more firmly establish itself in the smartphone market, confirming its dominance among Android devices.
Samsung's new flagship improves on almost every aspect of the previous model by linking a more powerful Hardware with a set of new program functions... The gadget got a bunch of new sensors aiming for an all-in-one tool.
Let's immediately note the main disadvantages that the device has in our opinion:
- the design began to gradually become obsolete;
- externally, the smartphone looks worse than the aluminum HTC One or the glass Sony Xperia Z;
- no FM radio;
- video recording is slightly worse than in the Galaxy S3;
- the overall camera interface makes framing pretty tricky.
Now let's move on to more detailed review the main characteristics, advantages and disadvantages of the new smartphone.
Samsung Galaxy S4 comes with standard set accessories you would expect in a box. This is an A / C adapter to be used with the supplied microUSB cable headphones that are incomparably better than those included with the Galaxy S3. This time, all accessories are painted in White color.
The new HS330 headphones are equipped with dual speakers that allow better reproduction of highs and low frequencies sound.
The earbuds have also been redesigned in shape, material and size to make them more comfortable. The control buttons on the headset are also improved over the Galaxy S3.
Now let's go directly to the exterior. Galaxy Dimensions The S4 is likely to be one of the achievements, as the smartphone has the same height as its predecessor, but it is 0.8mm narrower, 0.7mm thinner and 3 grams lighter. And this is all despite the 0.2-inch enlarged screen, more capacious battery which is still removable. So, the dimensions of the phone are 136.6x69.8x7.9 mm, and the weight is 130 g.
The screen of the gadget is covered with a new one Gorilla Glass 3. This glass has a new composition and provides improved scratch resistance. In fact, early tests showed that the Samsung Galaxy S4 is more difficult to scratch than the Galaxy S3.
The design has changed little when compared to its predecessor. The phone uses the same Hyperglazed finish, which, in our opinion, is a disadvantage for the gadget, since holding the smartphone in your hands you feel not a flagship device, but a plastic toy. In this he loses Htc one and Sony Xperia Z.
This does not mean, however, that the Galaxy S4 looks worse than its predecessor. New texture gives it a more serious and stylish appearance, a rear panel now looks different depending on the viewing angle.
Thin bezels left more room for a shiny screen, but more on that later. Slim body has more high level vibration. We also note that now the black paint will be available from the very beginning of sales.
Note that the new product is easier to use than the Samsung Galaxy S3. It is also more comfortable to hold in your hand than the HTC One.
The Samsung smartphone has many sensors that are scattered throughout the body, but the basic controls and their placement have remained largely unchanged.
Below the display you will find the same three buttons as in the Galaxy S3 - touch-sensitive "Menu" and "Back", as well as a mechanical "Home".
There is additional functionality: when pressed for a long time, the "Menu" button processes Google now while Home brings up the task switcher, there are other options that are described in more detail in the instructions.
Above the display is a speaker, a bunch of sensors and a 2.1-megapixel front-camera... There is led indicator, a traditional ambient light sensor, an IR gesture sensor that allows you to control some applications such as a web browser and a music player.
On the left side of Samsung The Galaxy S4 has a paired volume rocker, while the power / lock button is on the right. Unfortunately, although the camera has received a significant update, the control button is still missing. You can use the volume key to take a photo, but it cannot completely replace the two-stage (aim and release) button.
At the top you can see a 3.5 mm headphone jack and an IR sensor that allows you to use your smartphone as a remote control remote control for household appliances... There is preinstalled app, which will allow you to control some devices.
The microUSB port at the bottom is used for data transfer and charging. It not only supports USB host, but also MHL 2.0, which provides the ability to output 3D Full HD video to TV without external source nutrition. Previously, you had to connect Charger, but then we got rid of it.
Also at the bottom is the main microphone.
On the back of the Samsung Galaxy S4 is a 13MP Full HD camera. Like the Galaxy S3, the LED flash is nearby, but the speaker grill has been moved to the lower left edge of the device.
Performance and software
Samsung Galaxy S4, which ended up in our hands, is equipped with Snapdragon chipset 600. We, of course, know that there will be a modification with the 8-core Exynos 5 Octa, but for now we will conduct testing available version smartphone.
Gadget with 4 cores Krait with clock frequency 1.9 GHz, with 2 GB random access memory and GPU Adreno 320 should show excellent performance in our opinion. Built-in memory - from 16 to 64 GB, depending on the version, there is a slot for microSD cards... Operating system - Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean.
The device of the South Korean company bypassed HTC One and Optimus G Pro in single-threaded (Benchmark Pi) and multi-threaded (LinPack) benchmarks. Both of these phones use the same chipset, but only clocked at 1.7GHz.
Geekbench 2 is a cross-platform benchmark that compares the Galaxy S4 to the iPhone 5, which scores twice as bad. HTC One and LG Optimus G Pro also lagged behind the test device, although we should note that they use more old version Android OS 4.1.2. Recall that in the new flagship Samsung operating system - Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean.
Now let's move on to compound tests. In AnTuTu, our gadget was again at the top, and in Quadrant the difference between it and Optimus G Pro is very small. Although the HTC One lagged far behind here.
Now let's test the graphics. In GLBenchmark 2.5 in 1080p off-screen mode, our smartphone confidently won. The Galaxy S4 also topped the Epic Citadel benchmark, although the 60fps limitation played a role here. Without this, perhaps the HTC One was a big difference... However, this benchmark uses the Unreal Engine, which is sometimes found in high-end 3D mobile games, and shows real performance.
Finally, JavaScript and HTML 5 performance testing. In these benchmarks, the smartphone performed well, but lagged behind Galaxy Note II. We used Android Browser for the test and not Google chrome which is also pre-installed.
The Samsung Galaxy S4 with the Snapdragon 600 chipset showed excellent performance even in places like heavy animated galleries and video players.
There is Wi-Fi support, GPS / A-GPS / GLONASS, 3G and LTE (optional), Bluetooth 4.0.
Screen
One of the most important updates brought by Samsung Galaxy S4, became the new 5-inch Super AMOLED screen with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. The gadget has a PenTile matrix with a pixel density of 441 ppi.
The PenTile design has also been redesigned so that there are twice as many green subpixels as blue and red subpixels, and their location has also changed. However, this, of course, is not noticeable without a microscope.
The image quality is excellent. The smartphone has an impressive contrast ratio and near-perfect viewing angles. Rich colors turn anyone, even the most boring, into an amazingly vivid image and are beyond the reach of any LCD display. If you're not a fan of oversaturated AMOLED displays, Samsung gives you the option to change saturation to a more natural level.
The brightness levels of the Samsung Galaxy S4 are roughly on par with the rest of the company's AMOLED matrices, that is, it is not very high. However, due to the low reflectivity, it does not affect the image in sunlight. Keep in mind that turning on auto settings on the screen limits the maximum brightness the value is 300 nits, so if it matters to you, it’s better to keep it.
Sure, Nokia is brighter than the AMOLED display in the Galaxy S4, but the difference isn't nearly as dramatic. The South Korean smartphone showed good image quality in sunlight, although it is surprising that it did not overtake the Galaxy S3 in this indicator, despite more high brightness... Perhaps the new Gorilla glass brought in additional reflections and thus made up for the benefits.
Camera
The Samsung Galaxy S4 has a 13-megapixel camera capable of taking pictures of 4128x3096 pixels. There is also a 2-megapixel front camera, which is capable of photographing and recording video simultaneously with the main one.
It is possible to include various effects... You can preview them so you can see how a particular scene will look when you apply the effect.
let's consider different modes... There are standard ones such as Rich Tone (), Panorama, Night and Sports. Panoramic shots quite impressive, they can be 360 degrees or more, and can be more than 60 MP (note that if you hold the phone vertically, the panoramic image will almost double higher resolution). Here's an example of a panorama.
The gadget has many shooting modes, which are described in the instructions. All of them are good and useful, but we need to answer the question, is it good shooting? Galaxy camera S4? The answer is yes, yes, very good. South Korean company has done great job for supporting good quality images while increasing the resolution.
In the photo, you can distinguish many small details, but there is little noise. Colors are accurate, maybe slightly oversaturated, and white balance is somewhere between neutral and cool (typical for cameras Samsung phones). The smartphone retains the details of the image located in the darkened zone, however, sometimes at the expense of detailing in the light. To fix this, you can use the HDR mode.
Samsung Galaxy S4 records video in format MP4 with bitrate 17 Mbps on average. Stereo sound is saved at 128 bit rate Kbps and sampling rate 48 kHz.
The camcorder does not provide users with so many shooting modes, but there are some effects here too. For example, you can do slow movements, double shooting. Slow-motion video can go up to 8x slowdown, but the resolution drops to 800x450 pixels, and the frame rate drops to 15 per second. Typical video settings are 1920 x 1080 pixels at 30 frames per second.
Touch focus is available before and during movie recording, you can return to continuous AF if you want. You can take 9.6 megapixel (16: 9) photos while recording.
In the video, taken by phone, you can see a lot of small details and little noise. The colors and white balance are similar to those obtained in the photographs, generally accurate, but slightly oversaturated and with a cold white balance shift. One thing that can be attributed to the downside is the narrowed field of view. It is smaller than the Galaxy S III and HTC One. The difference is quite noticeable, with the Galaxy S4 capturing a lot less than the competition.
The video quality itself isn't much better than the Galaxy S III. You can check this yourself by comparing the records. An example captured on a Galaxy S4 is shown below.
When we turned on digital video stabilization, it became more detailed, and the contrast improved. Below is an example in which stabilization is enabled.
Battery
Removing the cover that covers the battery compartment reveals a microSIM slot, an updated removable 2600mAh battery and a microSD card slot. The memory card slot is hot-swappable.
As it turned out during our battery testing, the extra 500 mAh is easily eaten. high resolution screen and more power-hungry chipsets. As a result, no significant superiority over its predecessor is observed. Endurance during video playback and web browsing has only been slightly improved, but in standby mode it has taken a huge step forward. This, of course, is understandable: after all, the chipset does not process any applications, and the screen is off.
The gadget can work autonomously for 13 hours 53 minutes when talking using 3G networks, 8 hours 42 minutes when surfing the Internet and 10 hours 16 minutes when playing high-definition video.
Testing has shown that a smartphone can last an average of 63 hours if used for an hour a day for web browsing, video and telephony.
Price
Samsung Galaxy S4 cost at Russian market will depend on the modification:
- 16 GB / 3G - 29,990 rubles;
- 64 GB / 3G - 36,990 rubles;
- 16 GB / LTE - 29,990 rubles;
- 64 GB / LTE - 36,990 rubles.
Nowadays the company Samsung is very popular in the Russian market, and therefore the cases of the production of fakes have become more frequent. Basically, in the so-called clones samsung cheap materials and components are used, and a fake is sold for about the same money. So how can you protect yourself from such a purchase and not become another victim of swindlers? In this article you will find many useful information on what criteria can be used to distinguish the original from a fake.
Most often, similar smartphones put up for sale on the Internet. And this makes a certain sense: you will not be able to see the real appearance of the product, hold it in your hand, etc. It is quite possible that the device in the photographs will not correspond to reality, therefore it is not entirely reliable to place an order in online stores. If you want to purchase an original Samsung smartphone, then before that you need to know a list of some of the differences that, in principle, can be used with any smartphone of this brand. V in this case we will analyze this topic in more detail using the example of a new
Appearance
So let's start with the look. Often, at first glance, you may not even notice special differences... Fake devices look exactly like the original models. But still, if you look closely, you can find that clones have a distance between the edge of the smartphone and its display that appears as a black border on the screen. If you find something like that, then you can clearly be sure that you are being offered a fake. This difference is explained by the fact that in order to save money, manufacturers of fake smartphones use smaller displays.
The second, and rather significant, difference is placement of buttons on the device panel... V original models the "Home" button is located strictly in the middle of the space under the display, and in fakes it is only slightly below the screen. It is possible that this button may even have a different shape. Moreover, in a fake machine touch buttons(located on the sides of the "Home" key) can either be replaced by on-screen ones, or be absent altogether. Among other things, we recommend paying attention to the weight of the device, the appearance of the logo, as well as the size of the LED flash.
Software
Original Samsung smartphones work for Android platform 4.2.2 with TouchWiz interface. To make sure that you are holding original copy device, you need to go to Settings and check the Android version. But even this is not enough. Below is the illustrative example fakes. Please note that the settings indicate Android version 4.2.2, but at the same time, the menu on it does not look like Jelly Bean. And all because Android 2.3 Gingerbread is installed in the fake, which, in principle, can be determined by the build number on the screen. This is another fact that confirms that you have a clone. Obviously, in such assemblies, various exclusive functions from Samsung will not be available to you.
Previously, scammers only faked Galaxy series S and Galaxy Note. In 2018, counterfeits of any series appeared, including A and J.
What is the difference between the original device and the fake
Component quality
Original smartphones and tablets are made from components highest quality... Samsung equips flagship devices with the best components at the time of their release: displays, processors, cameras, memory modules and other parts. Most of them - own developments companies. As a result, Samsung devices receive numerous awards and high customer ratings every year.
Fakes are made from outdated and cheap parts. The resulting copy flagship devices work worse than the original ones budget devices Samsung.
Software quality and safety
Samsung thoroughly tests the software for its devices, first with its own testing department and then with the help of Google- the creator of Android. Thanks to this, smartphones and tablets work quickly, they can be used safely mobile banks, add cards to payment services and store personal photos. Samsung continues to take care of software updates on its devices after they are released by releasing new firmware and security updates.
Fraudsters are not worried about the quality of the software - if only the device is turned on. Nobody prevents them from installing spyware or phishing software for fake, which will steal photos, contacts, bank card data, passwords and other data. Counterfeits do not pass any certification. Nobody updates them and does not monitor the security of the software.
Branded services and functionality
On the original devices there are branded services, many of them have no analogues. For instance, Samsung Pay which allows you to bind to your smartphone bank card and pay for purchases through almost any terminal.
On fakes, none corporate service will not work.
Availability of a guarantee
All original Samsung devices have a guarantee: the factory defect will be fixed free of charge.
There is no guarantee for a fake: it will not be replaced or repaired, even if it breaks the next day after purchase.
Where are fakes sold
Most of the fakes are sold by hand and on free classifieds sites.
Hand sale
Near the metro, station, large store a person comes up to you and offers to buy a smartphone or tablet at a clearly reduced price, explaining the discount by an urgent need for money. Usually there is even a check and warranty card... The seller is in a hurry, constantly talking to you, does not allow you to concentrate and consider the device properly. He can tell that all his money and documents were stolen from him, children are waiting for him, he is late for the plane. In general, he makes every effort to make you feel the need or awkwardness and give the money back faster.
Selling on free classifieds sites
You find an ad on the site with a very low price. The price is often explained by the fact that the device was presented as a gift, but the smartphone or tablet is already there. On the phone, they can say that there is already a buyer or come up with another legend that will push you to buy. Questions are answered in general phrases or evasively. They are found near the metro, shopping or business centers, almost never mention the addresses of residential buildings. When they meet, they rush. After the sale, the number is cut off or blacklisted.
The photo below shows a typical ad for scammers.
1. The average price of such a smartphone at the time of viewing this announcement is 45,000 rubles. Thanks to such a low price, the ad has almost 400 views in a few hours.
2. Already from the photo it is clear that this is a fake - on original smartphone there are no such inscriptions.
3. Seemingly logical motive. Immediately you get the feeling that you won the lottery and you need to take it as soon as possible.
Another ad, almost a carbon copy. And there are hundreds of them.
Sales in shops
Of course, counterfeits are sold in both regular and online stores.
The photo below is one of these online stores.
At the time of this writing, the Galaxy Note 9 has not even been announced, and it was already on sale from scammers.
How to recognize and not buy a fake
Counterfeits are made at different Chinese and Taiwanese factories, so they all differ from each other. There are no guaranteed signs by which you can visually distinguish a fake from the original device: some fakes may differ in the elements of the case, others in the display, and still others in the method of applying inscriptions. The main difference is in the filling, which is difficult for an unprepared person to evaluate. You need to know well how the original device works: to understand the versions and manufacturers of processors, screens, shells, benchmarks, etc.
So, the only way to distinguish a fake from an original - visual inspection devices by a competent specialist. For example, it might be an engineer at a branded service center.
There are comments where users demand to make some kind of service or protection that cannot be guaranteed to be circumvented. Such protection cannot be done: on this moment there are no such technologies. I would also like to remind you that everything is successfully forged, no matter what kind of protection: money, documents, medicines, cars, spare parts, jewelry, smartphones, tablets, headphones, clothes, shoes, watches, software. Even the products are counterfeited.
However, despite all the difficulties with fakes, there are some tips that can help you when buying.
Pay attention to the quality of translation of menu items
On the original devices, the translation is done with high quality, without errors, the inscriptions are in English and Russian only.
On fake devices, Chinese characters may be used in menu items, the translation itself may be conspicuous, the phrases look illogical. For example, on the lock screen there may be an inscription: "Drag to RELEASE."
Not so long ago, the concept “ fake copy» mobile phone if not absent at all, then there was by individuals once a year. Today, in the era of advanced and not at all cheap smartphones, this type of product has won its place. But how do you identify a genuine Galaxy S4? Let's figure it out.
What is required
- a minimum of good quality fake and original photographs;
- the ability to "touch" the controversial apparatus.
Instructions
Many will ask - why are these copies? The answer is simple - they 5, sometimes 10 times cheaper than the original and outwardly they look almost identical. Another question will arise: what is the point in owning only the body of the device, because all the main advantages are its OS, applications and capabilities (for example, the computer), which, of course, the clone is completely deprived of. So, they exist to create the illusion of owning the Galaxy S4. However, today's challenge is to identify a copy at the slightest contact with the subject.
1. Remember that it is possible to identify a bastard if you place a photo of the original next to his photograph and carefully examine the details. You should start with screen bezels phone. It is quite small in the original version, when in the clone it outlines the entire screen. 
2. Carefully inspect the quality and shade of the paint. Above is a photo of the original, below is a photo of a fake phone. As you can see, u real Galaxy S4 white color may have several bluish tint in certain lighting, while the copy shows some kind of cold blue color, completely unlike the noble origin. 
3. Also, do not forget about button below the screen... In the original version of the smartphone, it is perfectly white and made in chrome-plated plastic.
Clones have problems with button placement. In the original version, it is placed exactly in the center of the lower part of the phone; in clones, the shift is 1-2mm.
4. And last step: If you are provided with photographs of a working device, pay attention to the image on the screen.
If you see that the OS looks like the Android version of Jelly Bean, then feel free to determine that it is a fake, because in fact it is Android 2.3 OS, also known as Gingerbread. As you can see in the screenshot on the right, in the phone information menu, the version is Android 4.2.2, and the buildnumber is Gingerbread, which implies - this phone fake.
Remember that copy health is always a huge issue. Very few people liked the possession of such a phone. Possible flaws that you will notice right away - at times
