What we like

Performance..

The word that comes to mind is ‘Effortless’. Navigating home screens, the app drawer and the bundled applications gives you the feeling that the phone is taking everything in its stride. It’s a bit like skimming a smooth stone across a calm lake. You know effort is needed to hurl that stone but what is seen is the graceful skimming across the water. See what I did there?

Honestly, I have no idea how many of those four cores are at work during different operations but the phone rarely skips a beat. With some phones (even my Galaxy Nexus) some applications will lack the smooth, effortless behaviour I’m referring to. The Galaxy S III has powered through everything I’ve thrown at it without breaking a sweat. The only time it faltered was when I had three different cameras running at the same time – understandable, I’d say.

Battery..

Perhaps even more than its effortless power, I loved its ‘Efficiency’. For the first couple of days my usage was heavy. I could not kill the battery in a full day’s use! Other days were moderate. Weekends are usually light use; depending what’s happening in my world. I will say this: With light to moderate use you can get through the weekend without looking for a power point.

Depending how many accounts you have syncing in the background and how often you have them notifying you, I have no doubt you could get through 3-4 days of light use – particularly on wifi. I did manage 2.5 days last weekend with mixed use. Unfortunately, as it is with these things, your mileage may vary. I’m sure you could kill the battery in half a day if you sat there playing games or streaming video non-stop on full brightness.

Oh, Smart Stay actually worked (kept the screen on while I was looking at it) except in a dark place where it couldn’t see my face. I set the Screen Timeout to 15 seconds so it would turn off quickly if I wasn’t using it. In daylight I forgot I even had a timeout. I would estimate a 90% success rate unless it was dark. Again, your mileage may vary.

Camera..

I’ve used the Galaxy Nexus as my main camera for the last 6 months. In the 6 months prior, it was the Galaxy S II. On a personal level, this is the make or break feature for me. If you’ve used a Galaxy S II you will know that the interface has much of the granularity of a Samsung Digital Camera. There are a few more options but it’s basically the same layout. It’s feature laden but not simple. Those of you upgrading from a Galaxy S II (or most pre 2012 phones) will be happy to know that the Galaxy S III has a super fast shutter to go along with its new sensor.

That sensor! Sony deserves the credit here. They have created a fantastic little bit of optical genius that lets in lots of light, even in low light areas – compared to other phones, that is. Don’t expect to replace your DSLR with this though. Teardowns show that it is pretty much the same sensor that’s used in the iPhone 4S. Make of that what you will! Suffice to say, I managed to get some results that I was happy with, both in bright and low light scenes. Free tip: use Night Mode at night and make sure you hold as still as possible.

In terms of video performance, it’s pretty darn good. Couple that sensor with Samsung’s encoding experience (they’ve been doing this a long time) and you have little reason to spend money on a dedicated digital camcorder of the cheaper variety – except maybe for better stabilisation. Note: If you upload to YouTube they do a great job of fixing shakiness for you!

Specifically we’re talking High Profile @ Level 4.0 AVC encoding at 16.7 Mbps & a 29.4 fps ave frame rate for 1080p video capture. They’re the deets that Media Info is reporting to me on the sample I just shot. The YouTube sample will be compressed but still looks good. Also, the 1.9 MP front facing camera shoots the best HD video chat or vanity pics you can get on a phone at the time of this review, period.

Display..

That display! It is lovely. And big! HTC OneX / XL owners will chip in here and tell you that their display is better [It’s made by Samsung, incidentally ] and in terms of brightness and natural colour tones, they’d be right. But seriously, the display on the Galaxy S III has a beauty of it’s own. Pentile haters can get their microscopes out and go for their lives if they like. It’s all pointless though because none of their complaints are discernible in normal daily use.

Listen people: There are no funky greys or whites (known as luminance grain) that plague the Galaxy Nexus to be seen on the Galaxy S III. The blue tinge that is seen from extreme angles (do you use your phone like that?) on Amoled displays I have not noticed at all on the Galaxy S III. What I have noticed is stunning blacks (better than on any LCD display) and superb contrast (the measurable/visible difference between the darkest and lightest points the display is capable of) that makes colours really ‘pop’. If that’s not your thing you can adjust it with one of the 4 screen modes in the display settings. Please forgive that rant!

Audio..

Briefly, audio performance and quality with music is best in class thanks to a dedicated Wolfson DAC on board. Yes, this means Voodoo sound is possible people! Also, call performance is excellent thanks to a secondary noise cancellation microphone that worked well for me. I used a Telstra sim.

Design..

Lastly, and most contentiously; The Design. It appears in both the Pro and Con list. It is a Pro because it feels absolutely natural in the hand. Also, Samsung have worked some incredible magic in making the coating, which they call hyperglaze, to be so smooth yet quite grippy. It looks like it will slip out of your hand, but it doesn’t. Go figure? Also, despite not looking incredibly robust, it seems not to get scratched. Remember the back of the original Galaxy S or Nexus S? Shiny, scratchy yuck If you’re concerned about it picking up stains (I have the white version) fear not, it doesn’t.

For what it’s worth, there is none of the creaking, flexing or poorly fitting componentry associated with neglectful design or construction. In the hand it feels solidly made and amazingly comfortable despite it’s size. I like that it’s not hefty, like a big aluminium phone, but I’m not so naive as to think that all of you guys will share this sentiment.