| Phone | Plan | Minutes | Data | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Click 'Get Plan' to view price |  Verizon myPlan Unlimited Welcome No Contract
| Unlimited Minutes + Unlimited Texts | Unlimited 4G/5G LTE Data (may be slowed during network congestion) | $ 65 /mo + $30 Upfront |
| General Info | |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Samsung |
| Technology | CDMA |
| Data Type | 4G |
| Device Type | Smartphone |
| Operating System | Android |
| Physical Specifications | |
| Height | 4.90 Inches |
| Thickness | 0.35 Inches |
| Weight | 3.77 Ounces |
| Keyboard | Touch Only |
| Phone Form | Open-Faced |
| Display Specifications | |
| Display Size | 4.30 Inches |
| Touchscreen Size | 4.30 Inches |
| Audio/Video Specifications | |
| Front Camera | 1.90 Megapixels |
| Rear Camera | 8.00 Megapixels |
| Video | HD |
| Hearing Aid Compatibility | M3/T3 |
| Battery Specifications | |
| Standby Time | 340 Hours |
| Talk Time | 840 Minutes |
| Battery Type | 1900 mAh |
| Memory Specifications | |
| Internal Memory | 16.00 GB |
| Expandable Memory | 64.00 GB |
Despite the claim that bigger is better, Samsung has chosen to take the opposite route. Sizing down the Galaxy S4, Samsung created the smallest version of the S4 and called it Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini. As the smallest in its line, it is also the most portable and easily travels wherever you go. The smaller size may come with slightly less specs and features than its S4 relatives, but that makes it the perfect entry-level Android phone.
This little phone is only 4.91 inches tall and 2.41 inches wide. Its 0.35 inch thickness makes it easy to hold and helps to keep the weight down to a meager 3.77 ounces.
The Mini imitates the Samsung Galaxy S4 in appearance, even down to the same button placement. It comes in a lightweight plastic, which helped to reduce the weight of the device, even further. It comes in both black and white.
Overall, it looks like a spunky smaller version of the Samsung Galaxy S4.
Hardware is where the Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini deviates from the larger S4. The screen is 4.3 inches as opposed to the 5 inch screens, which may not even be that noticeable for some users. It does come with a 1.7GHz dual-core processor, Snapdragon 400; however, this is a downgrade from the full size S4's Snapdragon 600 processor. It also comes with internal storage, as well as the ability to add extra storage with SD cards.
The screen is a Super AMOLED display, but only has a 960 X 540 resolution. The resolution on the larger S4 is 1080p. While the resolution might be disappointing to some, the viewing angles are good and when set at full brightness, it is relatively easy to read outside in bright sunlight.
The Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini comes with a 1900mAh battery. Standard users may be able to make it through a full day before having to charge the battery. Those who perform more regular or more taxing tasks with their phone may need to provide an additional charge during the day. On the bright side, the battery is removable, so heavy users might find it convenient to purchase additional batteries and simply swap them out during the day.
The Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini did retain some of the features from the larger S4 counterpart; however, some features were left out of the smaller version. Most users will probably not even notice the missing features.
The larger version offers Air View, which allows the user to hover a finger over certain things to see what is inside, without opening them (i.e. phone number for a contact). This is left out of the Mini version.
The Mini version is also missing Air Gestures, which allows the user to control the device by waving their hand above the phone.
Other features like Smart Pause and Smart Stay are also missing from the Mini version.
The quality of calls with the Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini is superb. The volume can get surprisingly loud, without causing distortion. It does have noise cancellation and the ability to tune your audio calls to your preference. Voices from the other end of the line are clear and distinct.
Although this phone is a smaller version of the S4, the benchmark tests for this phone was still very average. Web browsing speeds are adequate and it would be possible to do some light gaming with this phone.
Although there is no question that this is a mid-range phone in terms of performance, it still seems to perform better than might be expected for a phone of this caliber. It seems well able to handle whatever the user might need to do with this device.
The Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini, of course, comes with an Android operating system. Because the phone comes from Samsung, it does have the Samsung wrapper in addition to the Android operating system. In some cases, this may mean the device will not be eligible for an operating system upgrade at the same time as other Android users; however, the Samsung wrapper may have already included features that are being released in the newest Android release.
The Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini comes with 16GB of internal storage. Some of this storage is already taken up by core components and apps, leaving the user with 11.03GB before installing any additional apps or other files; however, the S4 Mini will accept an SD card of 64GB, drastically increasing the available storage amount.
As with all Android devices, it is also easily integrated with apps such as Google Drive, Dropbox, and more, providing the opportunity for much more storage and access capacity.
The Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini does include both a rear and front facing camera. The rear-facing camera is 8 megapixels. This camera is probably very adequate for most users, who simply want to share photos online. Users who require more precision and higher detail in photos may be a little disappointed.
The front-facing camera is only 2 megapixels, but is more than adequate for social media video chatting.
As with any phone or electronic device, the Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini is much less expensive with a contract. While the Mini may be around $500.00 to purchase, directly, it is more like $49.99 with a two-year contract.
The lightweight and smaller design makes this phone very easy to carry and handle. It is even less likely to slip out of your hands than the larger size version.
The easy-to-use Android operating system, with the Samsung enhancements makes the phone very user friendly and very easy to control.
The Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini is a smaller and more lightweight version of the Samsung Galaxy S4. While its smaller size may have made it mandatory for Samsung to remove some features, the phone still ranks well as a mid-level phone. The Mini also has a smaller price tag than it's larger counterpart. For some users, the smaller price tag may be the deciding factor.
If you are lookng for a smaller phone with the power and easy use of the Android system, the Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini may be just the phone for you.
