Samsung’s Galaxy S4 Zoom has had its fair share of leaks over the past few weeks, but the latest one trumps them all.
Russian tech site hi-tech.mail.ru actually has a full review of the unannounced device. We say device because frankly it doesn’t look like a smartphone. It looks like a compact camera, complete with tripod mount, with a phone glued to the back. The site claims it will go on sale in Russia later this summer, at about $600.
Although the design and bulk might not go down well with most consumers, it might win over some niche consumers who like to have a top notch camera on them at all times. As a phone, it’s not that impressive. It features a 4.3-inch 960x540 display, dual-core Exynos SoC clocked at 1.5GHz and 1.5GB of RAM, which means it’s more of an S4 Mini than a proper S4.
However, the camera is impressive to say the least. It has a 16-megapixel sensor tucked away under a compact 10X zoom lens. It can record 1080p video and since it ships with 8GB of storage, it also has a microSD slot.
Although it’s quite big, at 125.5 x 63.5 x 15.4 mm and 208g it is still pocketable, but it is much thicker than any smartphone out there. Also, don’t be fooled by the 15.4mm thickness – that’s just the thinnest part of it. The lens and grip are immense.
You can check out the review here.
Update: Yeah, Samsung just launched it a minute ago, but there is still no word on pricing. Availability expected this summer, probably late July.