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Leaked videos show Galaxy S 4 SmartPause, eye tracking, and new lock screen

Leaked videos show Galaxy S 4 SmartPause, eye tracking, and new lock screen

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samsung smartpause
samsung smartpause

By the time Samsung's Unpacked event rolls around tonight, we might already know everything about the new device. The latest round of leaks, now helpfully arriving in video form, details two highlight features: SmartPause eye tracking and floating touch control. SmartPause does exactly the same thing LG announced yesterday — pausing and resuming video on the handset in accordance with whether you're looking at it or not. The floating touch appears to be an implementation of Samsung's Air View S Pen functionality, made to work without the stylus. Its purpose is to open up previews of things (such as a thumbnail on a video timeline) without requiring you to tap the display, you just hover your finger over the desired item.

Finally, a pair of accompanying clips give us a peek at the Galaxy S 4's browser performance, which looks satisfyingly quick and responsive, as well as its newly redesigned lock screen. The browser demo also reveals another touch-free interaction: the person holding the phone is able to navigate between pages and scroll up and down by waving his hand in front of it. Samsung will clearly be making these new control methods a major part of its presentation tonight, though their utility and reliability won't be known until we actually get to grips with the S 4 itself.