The forgotten smartphone: Samsung Galaxy S3

May 8, 2022 Luisa Rey

A smartphone that the real fanatic fans will remember; the Samsung Galaxy S3, also known as the Galaxy S III. The device was the successor of the successful Galaxy S. The smartphone with type number i9300 appeared in 2012, and we will discuss it today in ‘The forgotten smartphone’.

Samsung Galaxy S3

The Samsung Galaxy S3 was a very successful smartphone that was announced by Samsung in 2012. Before the announcement, Mobile World Congress was used as a place to showcase the phone to the rest of the world. I was present at that edition in Barcelona at the time. The press conference started with an orchestra playing the now traditional ‘Over the Horizon ringtone’. Everything was dominated by nature, which you also noticed in the different ringtones on the device. In 2015, we unfortunately had to say goodbye to the well-known Whistle notification sound, which was introduced with the Galaxy S3.

The attention of the Mobile World Congress was completely on the new device from Samsung. Not surprising, expectations were high after the success of the first Galaxy S. We discussed that device earlier in ‘The forgotten smartphone’; read our extensive article about the Samsung Galaxy S i9000 here. Samsung also managed to score high with the Galaxy S2. That device had already sold more than a million times in a month. The official announcement was made in London in early May.

As mentioned, the focus was very much on nature with the introduction of the Samsung Galaxy S III. At the launch of the smartphone, the slogan “Designed for Humans, Inspired by Nature” was used. This would already be reflected in the design, which was inspired by a pebble with a round, flat housing. You also saw this influence reflected in the interface. When unlocking, for example, you saw the ripples of the water.

Samsung Galaxy S III

Great success

I myself was an immediate fan of the Samsung Galaxy S III, but to make matters worse (for me as a smartphone enthusiast) the blue Pebble Blue color was delayed. The special coating of this color could show white spots. All backs produced so far were remade. With the white color of the Galaxy S3, this problem was not an issue. When I learned that the blue S3 had slowly but surely arrived in the Netherlands, I spent three hours on the train to pick it up in Nunspeet, which for me was three hours by train. But for me it was worth it! Another problem surfaced later. For several users, the device entered a bootloop, so that it no longer wanted to start up. There were also problems with hairline cracks in the housing, especially the metal frame. These were repaired under warranty.

The Samsung Galaxy S III was well received. Even before launch, the device had already been pre-ordered 9 million times. This surpassed the record of the iPhone 4S, which sold four million units in three days. The manufacturer’s i9300 won several prizes and awards, and was seen as the iPhone killer. It was striking that the phone was followed in 2014 by the Galaxy S4, but that a Galaxy S3 Neo was also released in 2014 with some minor technical improvements. A smaller model of the large smartphone also appeared; the Galaxy S3 Mini, which we mentioned earlier in our section.

Samsung Galaxy S3 white

Specifications

As for the specifications, the phone was fully equipped. The device offered a 4.8-inch AMOLED screen with an HD+ resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels. There was an Exynos 4412 quad-core processor with 1GB of RAM. The internal memory was standard 16GB and could be expanded with a memory card. On the front was a 2 megapixel front camera and on the back an 8 megapixel camera. The 2100 mAh battery of the Samsung Galaxy S3 was exchangeable by removing the plastic back of the device. Samsung released the smartphone with Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich and was kept up to and including Android 4.3 Jelly Bean. On top of Android, there was the TouchWiz skin.

Samsung released the Samsung Galaxy S III for an amount of 699 euros. Standard in the colors Pebble Blue and Marble White, later also in various other colours.