Tech review: Samsung Galaxy S4 Active is tough enough

By ROBERT EVATT World Staff Writer on Jul 13, 2013, at 2:22 AM Updated on 7/13/13 at 7:06 AM

STEVEN PINGRY/Tulsa World

Ruggedized smartphones are nothing new. Usually they're unique models with chunky, rubberized cases that can survive drops in water and intimate encounters with truck tires.

But Samsung is doing something a little different. The Galaxy S4 Active is designed to be as similar to the regular Galaxy S4 as possible while still having the ability to withstand dust, mud and water.

The most impressive thing about the Active is how similar it looks to its non-rugged brother. In fact, I'd say the Active - with its smooth, sturdy back - looks a bit better than the vanilla S4. The screen is still crisp and big, and the phone is reasonably trim.

Other than having to deal with a rubber flap over the data port and having three physical buttons for the Android options rather than flat touch-sensitive spots, there's no real physical compromises here.

And the phone itself runs nearly the same as the regular S4, at least with the AT&T version I tried. Same smoothness, same speed, same version of Android and most of the same features. You can even use the Smart Screen, which tries to scroll pages while tracking your eyeballs only to give you a quick headache, if you're feeling masochistic.

In fact, the only things that are missing are a few of the more ludicrous apps that Samsung added, such as S Health's ability to tell you whether the current temperature is comfortable, and the 13-megapixel camera - the Active's has been downgraded 8 megapixels, which is still pretty good.

In short, the S4 Active is a great phone if you're not a dedicated shutterbug. But how well do the protective features work?

I started out by dropping the Active in a bag of potting soil and swirling it around thoroughly. It survived with no ill effects since all corners and crevices are sealed tightly, even the speaker grill.

Despite strong warnings from Samsung to make sure the back panel is tightly sealed before dunking the Active in water, it worked just fine when submerged with one big caveat - you can't use the touchscreen.

If you're looking to take some underwater shots, you're going to have to activate the camera while above the waves, then dunk it down. A physical camera button would have been nice to have, but that's a small quibble. I love having devices that are honestly waterproof without weird hardware additions.

The Active will survive an accidental splat or splash without worry. But what about a fall, the most common cell accident? Samsung didn't promote drop survivability, but I decided to drop the Active from 5 feet onto its side onto a hard floor anyway.

Despite frequent online anecdotes about S4s shattering when dropped, my Active only had its back panel pop off and skid across the floor. Otherwise it had no injury at all, not even a dent or a chip in its case.

Finally, phones don't have to resemble giant military hardware to be rugged. In fact, the Active may be a better purchase than the stock S4 if you don't mind a less-than-excellent camera.

Samsung Galaxy S4 Active

$199 Pros: Nearly the same as the S4, but survives water and dirt; slim and at- tractive case Cons: Weaker camera than the S4

Original Print Headline: Galaxy S4 Active lives up to its tough hype