The Celox, Samsung’s 4G LTE version of its Galaxy S2, while superficially resembling the S2 differs in many ways, represents a serious beefing up of the spec for the Galaxy family. And this may be a problem for Apple, currently gestating the iPhone 5 and with existing models about a generation behind current Android super-phones, because it looks like the competition is about to get a lot tougher.
Screens
The Samsung Celox will sport a 4.5-inch Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 800 x 480.
It has been reported that in its latest incarnation Apple will slightly increase the screen size from 3.5 inches to 3.7 inches and will be an edge-to-edge display, occupying the entire face of the phone. It is unlikely that Apple will opt for a 4-inch plus display as the increase in size will result in a drop in pixels-per-inch. Anything over 300 ppi is considered retina display. A 3.7 inch display has a ppi of 312 — a drop of 13 ppi from the iPhone 4′s 326 ppi. So even though most Android phones feature 4.3 inch displays Apple is likely to remain conservative.
Cameras
The Celox is rumoured to come with an 8MP rear-facing camera and a 2MP front-facing camera.
Speculation suggests that the iPhone 5 will feature an 8MP camera with dual-LED flash.
Apple has already ordered 90% of its 8MP camera sensors from OmniVision. However, the Celox’s Qualcomm Snapdragon APQ8060 processor has the capability to support a 16MP camera and the ability to capture and display 1080p stereoscopic 3D video or 8 megapixel stereoscopic still images. Thus, there is greater room for optimization in Samsung’s offering.
Processors
The Samsung Celox is expected to be powered by a 1.5GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon APQ8060 processor.
Rumors state that the iPhone 5 will be powered by the A5 dual-core processor, which currently powers its iPad 2.
While the A5 dual-core chipset can challenge the Galaxy S2 and other NVIDIA Tegra 2 chip-based Android phones, it cannot match the power of dual-core 1.5GHz chip-sets. If Apple wishes to take on the expected new swathe of 1.5MHz Androids they may have to delay the launch of the iPhone 5 until later in the year when the A6 chips may be available.
Networking
Celox offers 800MHz LTE support, and thus it will possibly be targeted at Europe (US carriers support 700MHz). However it’s likely that a different version of the Celox will be launched in the United States. The Samsung Celox’s features are similar to those rumoured for the Hercules which is expected to arrive soon on the T-Mobile network.
Most of all it is surmised that Apple will not launch a 4G LTE compatible iPhone and that will give a straight run to Celox if it winds its way to the U.S. Analysts have forecast that Apple will forego LTE functionality in the iPhone 5 due to the limitation of the Qualcomm LTE chip-set which failed to achieve sufficient yields.
Other info
The Samsung Celox will come pre-installed with Android Gingerbread and that high-resolution screen has a price as the phone is a little heavier than the Galaxy S2. Celox weighs 4.5 oz. and is 0.36-inch thick. It is also due to be fitted with a 1750 Li-ion battery.
The phone is expected to be released initially on the SK Telecom network in Korea.
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