Galaxy S4 teardown reveals a design that values utility over aesthetics

[techbeck]

It's a rite of passage for new smartphones ? inevitably, iFixit will take it apart as much as possible, and now the teardown experts have gotten their hands on Samsung's Galaxy S4. As with most modern smartphones, we wouldn't recommend you get your hands dirty and crack into it yourself, but the Galaxy S4 is quite a bit more "repairable" than other high-end devices like the HTC One or the iPhone 5. That's thanks in large part to the removable battery and standard screws that make it easy to break the phone down into its bare components. While Samsung's hardware design might not be nearly as high-class as its main competition, there's no doubt the company went with a utilitarian design that likely makes manufacturing (and potential repairs) much easier.

As for what's on the inside, there's very little surprising here, though two IR sensors on either side of the earpiece appear to be the magic behind Samsung's Air View and Air Gesture features. There's also the humidity and temperature sensor, which contributes to the Galaxy S4's S-Health features. Otherwise, it's the standard chips, RAM, and cameras that we've already dug into ? but if you want to see all of Samsung's latest phone from the inside out, iFixit has all the details.

http://www.theverge.com/2013/4/26/4271024/galaxy-s4-teardown-reveals-a-design-that-values-utility