When it comes to having the most popular Android phone on the market, expectations are very high when that company is set to release an update to its most popular handset. With the Galaxy S 4, a lot has changed and yet a lot still remains the same. So far things look very promising but just like with any new announcement, we will reserve the final verdict until we have had a good week with the device. Till then, here are our first impressions.

Samsung has increased the screen size from 4.7 on the Galaxy S III to 5-inches on the Galaxy S 4. While the screen size has been increased, the device hasn’t gained any width, though it is slightly longer. Samsung achieved this by decreasing the bezel around the screen. Other than slightly increasing the screen size, the pixel count has been upped. Instead of the 720p screen on the Galaxy S 3, there is a 1080 x 1920 pixel resolution which gives you a whopping 441ppi. The screen is Gorilla Glass 3 and the technology is super AMOLED.

On the processor end, Samsung is sticking with a quad-core CPU for the LTE versions of the Galaxy S 4. The reasoning behind this is because the LTE chips are not compatible with octa-core chips. There will be versions of the Galaxy S 4 that will carry 8 cores however. As of now, the Galaxy S 4 will come with 2GB of RAM as well as 16GB of internal storage and microSDXC slot for cards up to 64GB in size.

Instead of the 8 megapixel camera on the Galaxy S III, Samsung installed a 13 megapixel unit on the Galaxy S 4. This has added to the pixel count but we are not sure how this will affect the cameras ability to take great photos under low light. Said camera will shoot 1080p video content @30fps. A front facing 2 megapixel unit will do HD video calling as well.

The Galaxy S 4 is a world phone and as such will support all the major cellular technologies. In the United States it will have a CDMA variant for Verizon and Sprint as well as smaller carriers such as MetroPCS. For GSM carriers, there will be quad-band GSM, UMTS and data on LTE, GPRS< HSDPA, HSUPA, EDGE and UMTS. Satellite positioning will be achieved by GPS, A-GPS and Glonass.

With the Galaxy S 4 set to ship with Android 4.2.2 within the coming months, much has been said about what the phone is and is not. From all indications, this is a worthy update to the popular Galaxy S line and even though Samsung decided not to update the look of the Galaxy S 4 greatly, it still is appears to be a solid performing phone. Granted one could argue that this is more like an incremental update to the Galaxy S line and we are inclined to believe that.