Summary: AT&T sent us the Samsung Galaxy S4 Active to review. I thought it was a great phone for moms, especially moms with water babies! Or children who like tossing electronics in water like Penelope’s son:
My son threw{my phone} in the toilet, the tub, and the sink (not dropped, threw). He likes to throw a lot of things in the toilet, which then have to be tossed. – Penelope from Penelope’s Oasis
Pros:
- Waterproof up to 1 meter (3 feet) for 30 minutes
- Great 8 megapixel camera
- Aqua mode
- Beautiful bright LCD screen
Cons:
- You lose about 5 megapixels on the camera choosing the Active over the original S4
- Bad night shots
The Android Mom Review:
Every mom has dealt with it, their little love has dropped their phone in the toilet, the bath, the sink, etc. Samsung S4 Active was created for people who are out and about, who travel and want to take photos everywhere including underwater. But I have to say this feature should have been advertised to moms!
A couple years ago I saw a frog on my bedroom wall and jumped, spilling my glass of water all over my phone. It was pretty much dead after getting soaked. – Judy from Overtired Mommy
Waterproof Phone
The S4 Active is actually waterproof up to 1 meter deep for 30 minutes. So this phone would be great for a mom that may worry about her phone. No worries if you child gets it wet, no worries if you get it wet. As long as the back and plugin is sealed you are fine!
My son dropped my phone in the dog water. It was done. – Karen from Desert Chica Ramblings
Camera
When I first started taking pictures I thought I might become disappointed that I didn’t get the S4 instead of the HTC One. They were crisp and bright. But then I found that low light photos were not very good at all.
If you take a lot of photos during the day then this camera is awesome for you. If you take any evening/night shots or low light shots you will find them pixelated and blurry.
The camera in the Samsung S4 Active is only 8 megapixels versus the regular S4 is 13 megapixels. So if photo quality is really important to you that may make it a little harder choosing between the two. But honestly unless you are using your pictures for larger prints or need to crop your photos a lot I don’t think you will see a difference.
My BRAND NEW iPhone fell out of my back pocket after..umm doing business. i went to pull up my pants..and BAM! – Unnamed Mommy
Underwater Photos
If you take your kids to the waterpark, splash park or swimming then you will love the Samsung S4 Active. This phone was created with water pictures in mind. You can even go underwater and take photos with it’s awesome Aqua Mode.
My husband lost his in a river while out of state on a tour. He looked down in the water right as his phone lit up with my face and knew he would be in trouble. – Megan from MNM Special
Battery Life
I was pretty impressed with the battery life on the S4 Active. I could go through a full day and only use half of the battery. I thought maybe I was not using it as much those days so I tested the battery and had Zarek play with the phone till he ran the battery down. He played Minecraft for 3-4 hours before the battery was down to 10%.
I’m a mom whose child lost her phone to water, and it wasn’t even through her own irresponsibility! She was on a river bank fishing with her dad and friends, and a rogue wave from a boat’s wake drenched them all. Her phone was one of the casualties!! – Denise
Conclusion
I really enjoyed playing with the Samsung S4. The ease of mind while using my phone while in the bathroom during bathtime was nice. I would love to not worry about the water at the waterpark which is one of my favorite places to take photos. Overall it’s also a beautiful phone with a great camera, a large bright screen and more. If you have accidents with your phone or just worry about it all the time I would really consider getting the Samsung S4 Active.
Hahaha – nope, my phone definitely cannot do that. I am under contract for my iPhone and frankly I have had an iPhone for so many years that I don’t think I can switch to another phone…
My Phone can’t do any of that… I have an old LG and my Hubs keeps trying to get me to up grade. I tell him to leave me alone. I am happy with my phone…. but then I have never had a phone that does all this. I might like it.
I would have so appreciated the water feature when I dropped my iphone in the toilet! This would be a great phone for us since my girls love to swim so much.
OH this is my dream phone!! I wanted an S4 Active, but my carrier doesn’t carry it yet! I was so mad! I want that waterproof feature so badly!
I would say No, my phone cannot do that! In fact, that photo sent shivers up my spine! I know so many people who love their Android phones, so I might be looking when my contract is up.
I love Samsung phones, although Im pretty good about water my current phone has screen issues because I dropped it
This certainly would be a great phone for Mom’s or Dad’s with little “throwers” of items into the toilet bowl! I never even knew there was such a thing as a water proof phone-not that I need it-but it would certainly come in handy for a lot of you parents out there!
This phone would be perfect for me! My children are always asking to play games or watch Netflix! My husband and I are up for a new contract soon.. I may need to look into this!
I could really use a waterproof phone! I cannot tell you how many of my phones have been ruined because of water getting on them! Thanks for sharing!
That is such a great feature to have. Being a mom that plays in the sand with her child, goes to the beach and has a pool, I want this.
This would be the perfect phone for my family. They believe that anything that can’t get wet should automatically be dropped into water.
When my second oldest was a teen he lost two phones to water. So glad to see this is out. The pros outweigh the cons here by a LOT!! Very nice!
This will really save quite a few people a lot of money. I am seeing people on Facebook say that they lost their phone to some type of water setting on a weekly basis. Usually thrown by a toddler but not always. Glad to see this is out there.
Okay, I am totally jealous! I have the S3 and LOVE it! This phone takes the awesomeness to a new level!
I love swimming so I think this has to be a fab phone for me I love the fact it was made waterproof plus no worrying about dropping it in the bath (or your drink or the toilet or any of those wet places phones like to end up) x
I am in the market for a new phone, and I have been recommended to try out this phone by several family members and friends. I am glad you posted this review. It gives me more detail on the aspects I was wondering about.
I would love a phone like this the amount of times i have soaked my phone like knocking it off the sofa arm in to a glass of water i mean seriously i could not do that again if i tried lol.
Nope my phone does not do that! But it is a nice feature cause my kids are always thinking that my phone needs a bath!
While I like that this phone is water proof, I would hesitate to switch. I use my phone for pictures and would worry about how they would come out.
Wow, the waterproof feature is awesome! They should make ALL phones like this!
I currently have the S4 and unfortunately Sprint doesn’t have the Active. When I first read about it I was “wow! That’s what I need”. I have a toddler who throws stuff and I have a great case for my phone but I think the Active would have been perfect for me. Come on Sprint, I need the Active!
As someone who has had water issues with several phones, I very much appreciate this type of safeguard!!!!
That is great about it being waterproof and the battery life is amazing on that phone. Looks like it takes decent photos but can understand not loving the picture feature in the low lights especially if you need it for reviews.
OMG.. I cringed at your first picture before I read the review.. WOW.. I love it; our phones always end up somehow in water and I’ve replaced more phones that I can count… I love the picture quality as well..thanks for a wonderful review, I think I know what my next phone will be
Thank you for this review of this phone. I am in the market for a new cell phone, and desperately am having a hard time deciding exactly which one I want the most. Luckily, I still have time to fully decide since I have to come up with the money to get a new one.