Samsung Galaxy S4 Rumored with Familiar Plastic Design

The Samsung Galaxy S4 will use the same plastic design as the Galaxy S3 according to Russian analyst Eldar Murtazin who claims to have seen the Galaxy S4 in person at Mobile World Congress last week.

Rumors indicated that Samsung would be showing off the Galaxy S4 back in January, which were later dismissed. While Samsung skipped launching the Samsung Galaxy S4 at Mobile World Congress it is very likely that the company used the event to show a near final version of the Galaxy S4 to carriers and insiders ahead of the official launch.

Murtazin correctly predicted the March 14th launch the U.S. ahead of the official announcement, and speaks about seeing other secret products at MWC 2013 in his post about the next Galaxy smartphone.

While Murtazin does not share the results of his hands on in full detail, he does mention a Qualcomm processor, like the HTC One as powering at least one version of the Samsung Galaxy S4.

While it seems the plastic design of the Galaxy S3 will carry over to the Samsung Galaxy S4, he does not share details on the overall design of the Galaxy S4. Earlier rumors suggested the Galaxy S4 will feature a design similar to the Galaxy S3, though a recent claimed Galaxy S4 photo appears to show a boxier design.

According to Murtazin, Samsung Galaxy S4 production is already underway, and Samsung is well prepared for the March 14th launch in New York City.

Read: Samsung Galaxy S4 Rumor Roundup

The Samsung Galaxy S4 launch is slated for March 14th in New York City, with a special event taking place in Times Square after the official launch. It’s not yet clear if the Times Square event, which plays a part in the Samsung Galaxy S4 teaser video, will allow consumers to go hands on with the Galaxy S4 before the U.S. release date or if it is just a public ad campaign kicking off.

We expect the Samsung Galaxy S4 to arrive with a 4.99-inch 1080P Full HD display, but in a size that is not much larger than the Galaxy S3. The Samsung Galaxy S4 is rumored to use the Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 processor in the U.S. and may use a Exynos Octa 5 processor in Europe.

We also expect an improved camera with a 13MP sensor and Android 4.2 on board when the Galaxy S4 launches. Rumors point to a Samsung Galaxy S4 release date as early as April, but suggests the Galaxy S4 won’t arrive in the U.S. until later this year. Given the U.S. launch, it is possible that Samsung is planning a faster U.S. release.