Samsung Galaxy S3
Hardware
The Samsung Galaxy S III features a curved, organic "inspired by nature" design with a glossy "Hyperglaze" polycarbonate finish, centered around a 4.8-inch HD Super AMOLED display with a 1280x720 resolution in a standard 16:9 aspect ratio (~306 ppi). The panel marks a return to the PenTile matrix subpixel layout and comes shielded by Corning Gorilla Glass 2, anchoring a physical home button flanked by capacitive Menu and Back keys. Globally, the device launched in Marble White and Pebble Blue (the latter suffering an eleventh-hour launch delay due to a manufacturing flaw in the blue finish), before expanding to Garnet Red, Sapphire Black, and Titanium Grey. Breaking from past generations, North American carrier variants (AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon) uniformized their branding, retaining the identical physical chassis and dimensions of the global flagship. Under the hood, internal hardware diverged significantly by market due to early 4G LTE modem integration challenges. The global 3G model utilizes a 32nm 1.4 GHz quad-core Samsung Exynos 4 Quad (4412) processor paired with a Mali-400MP4 GPU and 1 GB of RAM. Conversely, the North American and specialized international LTE editions swapped the quad-core silicon for a 1.5 GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 (MSM8960) processor with Adreno 225 graphics, sacrificing two CPU cores but doubling the memory to 2 GB of RAM to better handle carrier networks and multitasking. Storage configurations include 16 GB, 32 GB, or 64 GB of internal space, expandable by up to 64 GB via a dedicated microSDXC slot. Power is delivered by a user-removable 2100 mAh Lithium-Ion battery charging via a micro-USB 2.0 port (supporting MHL 1.0 for HDMI output), which also includes hidden internal contact pins designed to support official and third-party Qi wireless charging back plates. Imaging is anchored by an 8 MP rear camera module with an LED flash, zero shutter lag, burst shooting ("Burst Shot"), and 1080p Full HD video recording at 30fps, paired with a 1.9 MP front-facing camera capable of 720p capture. The front sensor works closely with the device's software to enable "Smart Stay," tracking the user's eyes to keep the screen illuminated as long as they are looking at it. Biometric security is limited to early Android-level software Face Unlock alongside traditional PIN, pattern, and password options. The hardware sensor suite adds a barometer alongside a 3-axis gyroscope, accelerometer, digital compass, proximity, and ambient light sensors. For connectivity and audio, the S3 steps up to Bluetooth 4.0 (LE), dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct, GPS with GLONASS satellite tracking, a 3.5mm headphone jack driven by a highly regarded Wolfson WM1811 audio hub on Exynos models, and NFC, which powered Samsung's proprietary "S Beam" for rapid, tap-to-share data transfers.