The Samsung Galaxy S II (or Galaxy S2) is a
touchscreen
A touchscreen or touch screen is the assembly of both an input ('touch panel') and output ('display') device. The touch panel is normally layered on the top of an electronic visual display of an information processing system. The display is ofte ...
-enabled,
slate-format
Android smartphone
A smartphone is a portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, whic ...
designed, developed, and marketed by
Samsung Electronics
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (, sometimes shortened to SEC and stylized as SΛMSUNG) is a South Korean multinational electronics corporation headquartered in Yeongtong-gu, Suwon, South Korea. It is the pinnacle of the Samsung chaebol, a ...
, as the second smartphone of the
Samsung Galaxy S series
The Samsung Galaxy S series is a line of high-end Android smartphones produced by Samsung Electronics. Together with the foldable Galaxy Fold and the now discontinued Galaxy Note series, the lineup serves as Samsung's flagship smartphone lineup. ...
. It has additional software features, expanded hardware, and a redesigned physique compared to its predecessor, the
Samsung Galaxy S The Samsung Galaxy S is a series of high-end Android phones made by Samsung. It may refer to:
* Samsung Galaxy S (2010 smartphone)
* Samsung Galaxy II
* Samsung Galaxy III
* Samsung Galaxy S4
* Samsung Galaxy S4 mini
* Samsung Galaxy S5
* Sams ...
. The S II was launched with
Android 2.3.3 "Gingerbread", with updates to
Android 4.1.2 "Jelly Bean".
Samsung unveiled the S II on 13 February 2011 at the
Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona. It was one of the slimmest smartphones of the time, mostly 8.49 mm thick, except for two small bulges which take the maximum thickness of the phone to 9.91 mm.
The Galaxy S II has a 1.2 GHz
dual-core
A multi-core processor is a microprocessor on a single integrated circuit with two or more separate processing units, called cores, each of which reads and executes program instructions. The instructions are ordinary CPU instructions (such ...
"
Exynos
Exynos, formerly Hummingbird (), is a series of ARM-based system-on-chips developed by Samsung Electronics' System LSI division and manufactured by Samsung Foundry. It is a continuation of Samsung's earlier S3C, S5L and S5P line of SoCs.
E ...
"
system on a chip (SoC) processor, 1 GB of
RAM
Ram, ram, or RAM may refer to:
Animals
* A male sheep
* Ram cichlid, a freshwater tropical fish
People
* Ram (given name)
* Ram (surname)
* Ram (director) (Ramsubramaniam), an Indian Tamil film director
* RAM (musician) (born 1974), Dutch
* ...
, a
WVGA Super AMOLED Plus
AMOLED (active-matrix organic light-emitting diode, ) is a type of OLED display device technology. OLED describes a specific type of thin-film-display technology in which organic compounds form the electroluminescent material, and active matri ...
screen display and an 8-
megapixel
In digital imaging, a pixel (abbreviated px), pel, or picture element is the smallest addressable element in a raster image, or the smallest point in an all points addressable display device.
In most digital display devices, pixels are the smal ...
camera with flash and
1080p
1080p (1920×1080 progressively displayed pixels; also known as Full HD or FHD, and BT.709) is a set of HDTV high-definition video modes characterized by 1,920 pixels displayed across the screen horizontally and 1,080 pixels down the screen vert ...
full high definition video recording. It is one of the first devices to offer a
Mobile High-definition Link
Mobile High-Definition Link (MHL) is an industry standard for a mobile audio/video interface that allows the connection of smartphones, tablets, and other portable consumer electronics devices to high-definition televisions (HDTVs), audio receive ...
(MHL),
which allows up to 1080p
uncompressed video
Uncompressed video is digital video that either has never been compressed or was generated by decompressing previously compressed digital video. It is commonly used by video cameras, video monitors, video recording devices (including general-pur ...
output to an MHL enabled TV or to an MHL to
HDMI
High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) is a proprietary audio/video interface for transmitting uncompressed video data and compressed or uncompressed digital audio data from an HDMI-compliant source device, such as a display controller, ...
adapter, while charging the device at the same time.
USB On-The-Go
USB On-The-Go (USB OTG or just OTG) is a specification first used in late 2001 that allows USB devices, such as Tablet computer, tablets or smartphones, to act as a host, allowing other USB devices, such as USB flash drives, digital cameras, co ...
is supported.
The user-replaceable battery gives up to ten hours of heavy usage, or two days of lighter usage.
[Samsung Galaxy S2 review: Battery life and connectivity]
. Techradar.com (26 April 2011). Retrieved 28 November 2011. According to Samsung, the Galaxy S II is capable of providing 9 hours of talk time on 3G and 18.3 hours on 2G.
[
The Galaxy S II was popular and a huge success both critically and commercially, selling 3 million units within its first 55 days on the market. It was succeeded by the ]Samsung Galaxy S III
The Samsung Galaxy S III (or Galaxy S3) is an Android smartphone designed, developed, and marketed by Samsung Electronics. Launched in 2012, it had sold more than 80 million units overall, making it the most sold phone in the S series. I ...
in May 2012.
Release
The Galaxy S II was given worldwide release dates starting from May 2011, by more than 140 vendors in some 120 countries. On 9 May 2011, Samsung announced that they had received pre-orders for 3 million Galaxy S II units globally.
Some time after the device's release, Samsung also released a variation of the phone known as the Galaxy R, which uses a Nvidia
Nvidia CorporationOfficially written as NVIDIA and stylized in its logo as VIDIA with the lowercase "n" the same height as the uppercase "VIDIA"; formerly stylized as VIDIA with a large italicized lowercase "n" on products from the mid 1990s to ...
Tegra 2
Tegra is a system on a chip (SoC) series developed by Nvidia for mobile devices such as smartphones, personal digital assistants, and mobile Internet devices. The Tegra integrates an ARM architecture central processing unit (CPU), graphics proc ...
chipset.
Another variant of the SII, called the Galaxy SII Touch Epic, was announced in August 2011 and was released on September that same year. The phone was available via Sprint, and has a bigger capacity battery than the original SII. It was heavier than the original SII, at 130g.
Samsung also reportedly shipped Galaxy S IIs for free, to several developers of the custom Android distribution CyanogenMod
CyanogenMod ( ; CM) is a discontinued open-source operating system for mobile devices, based on the Android mobile platform. It was developed as free and open-source software based on the official releases of Android by Google, with added origi ...
(particularly those who had maintained its ports for the Galaxy S with an intent for them to port CyanogenMod 7 to the device). In 2020, the Galaxy S II received Android 11.0 "Red Velvet Cake" (through custom ROMs), although it only officially supported Android 4.1.2 "Jelly Bean".
Features
Software and services
The Galaxy S II was launched with Android 2.3 "Gingerbread". American variants began shipments with the slightly updated version 2.3.5 installed. Version 2.3.6 was made globally available on 12 December 2011. On 13 March 2012, Samsung began to roll out upgrades to Android 4.0.3 "Ice Cream Sandwich" through their phone management software KIES to users in South Korea, Hungary, Poland and Sweden. Russian users received the update on 5 July 2012, while the rest of Europe received it on 1 August 2012. In February 2013, Samsung began rolling out an update to Android 4.1.2 "Jelly Bean" for the device. Unofficially, the phone can run Android 11
Android 11 is the eleventh major release and 18th version of Android, the mobile operating system developed by the Open Handset Alliance led by Google. It was released on September 8, 2020. The first phone launched in Europe with Android 11 ...
"Red Velvet Cake".
The S II employs the TouchWiz
TouchWiz was a user interface developed by Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd with partners, featuring a full touch user interface. It is sometimes incorrectly referred to as an operating system. TouchWiz is used internally by Samsung for smartphones, ...
4.0 user interface, following the same principle as TouchWiz 3.0 found on the Galaxy S, with new improvements, such as hardware acceleration
Hardware acceleration is the use of computer hardware designed to perform specific functions more efficiently when compared to software running on a general-purpose central processing unit (CPU). Any transformation of data that can be calcula ...
. It also has an optional gesture
A gesture is a form of non-verbal communication or non-vocal communication in which visible bodily actions communicate particular messages, either in place of, or in conjunction with, speech. Gestures include movement of the hands, face, or ot ...
-based interaction called "motion" which (among other things) allows users to zoom in and out by placing two fingers on the screen and tilting the device towards and away from themselves to zoom in and out respectively. This gesture function works on both the web browser and the images in gallery used within this device. "Panning" on TouchWiz 4.0 allows the movement of widgets and icons shortcuts between screens, by allowing the device to be held and moved from side to side to scroll through home screens. This gesture-based management of widgets is a new optional method next to the existing method of holding and swiping between home screens. The Android 4.1 update backports the TouchWiz Nature interface and other features from the Galaxy S III, such as Direct Call, Pop-up Play, Smart Stay, and Easy Mode.[
Four new Samsung Hub applications were revealed at the 2011 MWC: Social Hub, which integrates popular social networking services into one place rather than in separate applications, Readers Hub, providing the ability to access, read and download online newspapers, ebooks and magazines from a worldwide selection, Music Hub (in partnership with ]7digital
7digital Group Plc is a British publicly listed company that offers access to music, tracking and reporting for clients. London-based, 7digital provides end-to-end music services for the fitness, social media, DSPs, and gaming industries with b ...
,) an application store for downloading and purchasing music tracks on the device, and Game Hub (in partnership with Gameloft
Gameloft SE is a French video game publisher based in Paris, founded in December 1999 by Ubisoft co-founder Michel Guillemot. The company operates 18 development studios worldwide, and publishes games with a special focus on the mobile games ma ...
,) an application store for downloading and purchasing games. Additional applications include Kies 2.0, Kies Air, AllShare (for DLNA
Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA; originally named Digital Home Working Group, DHWG) was founded by a group of PC and consumer electronics companies in June 2003 (with Intel in the lead role) to develop and promote a set of interoperability ...
), Voice Recognition, Google Voice Translation, Google Maps
Google Maps is a web mapping platform and consumer application offered by Google. It offers satellite imagery, aerial photography, street maps, 360° interactive panoramic views of streets ( Street View), real-time traffic conditions, and rou ...
with Latitude, Places, Navigation (beta) and Lost Phone Management, Adobe Flash
Adobe Flash (formerly Macromedia Flash and FutureSplash) is a multimedia Computing platform, software platform used for production of Flash animation, animations, rich web applications, application software, desktop applications, mobile apps, mo ...
10.2, QuickOffice
Quickoffice is a discontinued freeware proprietary productivity suite for mobile devices which allows viewing, creating and editing documents, presentations and spreadsheets. It consists of ''Quickword'' (a word processor), ''Quicksheet'' (a sprea ...
application and 'QuickType' by SWYPE.
Before launch, it was announced that Samsung had taken steps to incorporate Enterprise software
Enterprise software, also known as enterprise application software (EAS), is computer software used to satisfy the needs of an organization rather than individual users. Such organizations include businesses, schools, interest-based user groups, ...
for business users, which included On Device Encryption, Cisco
Cisco Systems, Inc., commonly known as Cisco, is an American-based multinational digital communications technology conglomerate corporation headquartered in San Jose, California. Cisco develops, manufactures, and sells networking hardware, ...
’s AnyConnect
Cisco Systems' products and services focus upon three market segments—enterprise and service provider, small business and the home.
Corporate market
"Corporate market" refers to enterprise networking and service providers.
;Enterprise network ...
VPN, device management, Cisco WebEx, Juniper
Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' () of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere, from the Arcti ...
, and secure remote device management from Sybase
Sybase, Inc. was an enterprise software and services company. The company produced software to manage and analyze information in relational databases, with facilities located in California and Massachusetts. Sybase was acquired by SAP in 2010; ...
.
The Galaxy S II comes with support for many multimedia file formats and codecs. For audio it supports FLAC
FLAC (; Free Lossless Audio Codec) is an audio coding format for lossless compression of digital audio, developed by the Xiph.Org Foundation, and is also the name of the free software project producing the FLAC tools, the reference software p ...
, WAV
Waveform Audio File Format (WAVE, or WAV due to its filename extension; pronounced "wave") is an audio file format standard, developed by IBM and Microsoft, for storing an audio bitstream on PCs. It is the main format used on Microsoft Wind ...
, Vorbis
Vorbis is a free and open-source software project headed by the Xiph.Org Foundation. The project produces an audio coding format and software reference encoder/decoder (codec) for lossy audio compression. Vorbis is most commonly used in conjun ...
, MP3, AAC
AAC may refer to:
Aviation
* Advanced Aircraft, a company from Carlsbad, California
* Alaskan Air Command, a radar network
* American Aeronautical Corporation, a company from Port Washington, New York
* American Aviation, a company from Cleveland, ...
, AAC+
High-Efficiency Advanced Audio Coding (HE-AAC) is an audio coding format for lossy data compression of digital audio defined as an MPEG-4 Audio profile in ISO/IEC 14496–3. It is an extension of Low Complexity AAC (AAC-LC) optimized for lo ...
, eAAC+
High-Efficiency Advanced Audio Coding (HE-AAC) is an audio coding format for lossy data compression of digital audio defined as an MPEG-4 Audio profile in ISO/IEC 14496–3. It is an extension of Low Complexity AAC (AAC-LC) optimized for ...
, WMA, AMR-NB
The Adaptive Multi-Rate (AMR, AMR-NB or GSM-AMR) audio codec is an audio compression format optimized for speech coding. AMR speech codec consists of a multi-rate narrowband speech codec that encodes narrowband (200–3400 Hz) signals at var ...
, AMR-WB
Adaptive Multi-Rate Wideband (AMR-WB) is a patented wideband speech audio coding standard developed based on Adaptive Multi-Rate encoding, using a similar methodology to algebraic code-excited linear prediction (ACELP). AMR-WB provides improved ...
, MID, AC3, XMF
XMF (Extensible Music Format) is a tree-based digital container format used to bundle music-oriented content, such as a MIDI file and optionally the sounds it uses, liner notes or other content grouped by language-codes.
The first XMF definiti ...
. For video formats and codecs it supports MPEG-4
MPEG-4 is a group of international standards for the compression of digital audio and visual data, multimedia systems, and file storage formats. It was originally introduced in late 1998 as a group of audio and video coding formats and related tec ...
, H.264
Advanced Video Coding (AVC), also referred to as H.264 or MPEG-4 Part 10, is a video compression standard based on block-oriented, motion-compensated coding. It is by far the most commonly used format for the recording, compression, and distr ...
, H.263, DivX HD/XviD
Xvid (formerly "XviD") is a video codec library following the MPEG-4 video coding standard, specifically MPEG-4 Part 2 Advanced Simple Profile (ASP). It uses ASP features such as b-frames, global and quarter pixel motion compensation, lumi mas ...
, VC-1
SMPTE 421, informally known as VC-1, is a video coding format. Most of it was initially developed as Microsoft's proprietary video format Windows Media Video 9 in 2003. With some enhancements including the development of a new Advanced Profile, ...
, 3GP (MPEG-4
MPEG-4 is a group of international standards for the compression of digital audio and visual data, multimedia systems, and file storage formats. It was originally introduced in late 1998 as a group of audio and video coding formats and related tec ...
), WMV
Windows Media Video (WMV) is a series of video codecs and their corresponding video coding formats developed by Microsoft. It is part of the Windows Media framework. WMV consists of three distinct codecs: The original video compression technology ...
(ASF
ASF may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Alabama Shakespeare Festival, a drama festival
* ''Asimov's Science Fiction'', a U.S.-based English-language science fiction magazine containing SF stories
Science and technology
Biological
* A ...
) as well as AVI ( DivX)), MKV, FLV
Flash Video is a container file format used to deliver digital video content (e.g., TV shows, movies, etc.) over the Internet using Adobe Flash Player version 6 and newer. Flash Video content may also be embedded within SWF files. There are t ...
and the Sorenson codec
Sorenson Media was an American software company specializing in video encoding technology. Established in December 1995 as Sorenson Vision, the company developed technology which was licensed and ultimately acquired from Utah State University. T ...
. For H.264 playback, the device natively supports 8-bit encodes along with up to 1080p HD video playback.
Hardware and design
Chipsets
The Galaxy S II has a 1.2 GHz dual core
A multi-core processor is a microprocessor on a single integrated circuit with two or more separate processing units, called cores, each of which reads and executes program instructions. The instructions are ordinary CPU instructions (such ...
ARM Cortex-A9
The ARM Cortex-A9 MPCore is a 32-bit multi-core processor that provides up to 4 cache-coherent cores, each implementing the ARM v7 architecture instruction set. It was introduced in 2007.
Features
Key features of the Cortex-A9 core are:
* ...
processor that uses Samsung's own 'Exynos
Exynos, formerly Hummingbird (), is a series of ARM-based system-on-chips developed by Samsung Electronics' System LSI division and manufactured by Samsung Foundry. It is a continuation of Samsung's earlier S3C, S5L and S5P line of SoCs.
E ...
4210' System on a chip
A system on a chip or system-on-chip (SoC ; pl. ''SoCs'' ) is an integrated circuit that integrates most or all components of a computer or other electronic system. These components almost always include a central processing unit (CPU), memory ...
(SoC) that was previously code-named "Orion". The Exynos branded SoC was the source of much speculation concerning another branded successor to the previous "Hummingbird
Hummingbirds are birds native to the Americas and comprise the biological family Trochilidae. With about 361 species and 113 genera, they occur from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, but the vast majority of the species are found in the tropics aro ...
" single-core SoC of the Samsung Galaxy S. The Exynos 4 Dual 45 nm (previously Exynos 4210) uses ARM
In human anatomy, the arm refers to the upper limb in common usage, although academically the term specifically means the upper arm between the glenohumeral joint (shoulder joint) and the elbow joint. The distal part of the upper limb between th ...
's Mali-400 MP GPU
A graphics processing unit (GPU) is a specialized electronic circuit designed to manipulate and alter memory to accelerate the creation of images in a frame buffer intended for output to a display device. GPUs are used in embedded systems, mobi ...
. This graphics GPU, supplied by ARM, is a move away from the PowerVR
PowerVR is a division of Imagination Technologies (formerly VideoLogic) that develops hardware and software for 2D and 3D rendering, and for video encoding, decoding, associated image processing and DirectX, OpenGL ES, OpenVG, and OpenCL accelera ...
GPU of the Samsung Galaxy S.
The Exynos 4210 supports ARM's SIMD
Single instruction, multiple data (SIMD) is a type of parallel processing in Flynn's taxonomy. SIMD can be internal (part of the hardware design) and it can be directly accessible through an instruction set architecture (ISA), but it should ...
engine (also known as ''Media Processing Engine'', or 'NEON' instructions), and may give a significant performance advantage in critical performance situations such as accelerated decoding for many multimedia codecs and formats (e.g., On2's VP6
On2 TrueMotion VP6 is a proprietary lossy video compression format and video codec. It is an incarnation of the TrueMotion video codec, a series of video codecs developed by On2 Technologies. This codec is commonly used by Adobe Flash, Flash Vi ...
/7/8 or Real
Real may refer to:
Currencies
* Brazilian real (R$)
* Central American Republic real
* Mexican real
* Portuguese real
* Spanish real
* Spanish colonial real
Music Albums
* ''Real'' (L'Arc-en-Ciel album) (2000)
* ''Real'' (Bright album) (2010)
...
formats).
The Mali 400 GPU in the Exynos 4210 SOC is one of the only, if not the only GPU powering Android devices, that does not support GL_RGB Framebuffer Objects (FBOs), only GL_RGBA. The newer Galaxy S II (9100G), based on the PowerVR SGX540, does not exhibit the issue.
At the 2011 Game Developers Conference
The Game Developers Conference (GDC) is an annual conference for video game developers. The event includes an expo, networking events, and awards shows like the Game Developers Choice Awards and Independent Games Festival, and a variety of tutori ...
ARM's representatives demonstrated 60 Hz framerate playback in stereoscopic 3D running on the same Mali-400 MP and Exynos SoC. They said that an increased framerate of 70 Hz would be possible through the use of an HDMI 1.4 port.
The Motorola Atrix advertised in June 2011 that it was "the world's most powerful smartphone"; in August 2011 the UK Advertising Standards Authority ruled that the Atrix was not as powerful as Galaxy S II due to its faster processor.
A newer Samsung Galaxy S II (i9100G) uses a 1.2 GHz dual core TI OMAP 4430 processor with PowerVR SGX540 graphics.
Storage and RAM
The Galaxy S II has 1 GB of dedicated RAM and 16 GB of internal mass storage. Within the battery compartment there is an external microSD
Secure Digital, officially abbreviated as SD, is a proprietary non-volatile flash memory card format developed by the SD Association (SDA) for use in portable devices.
The standard was introduced in August 1999 by joint efforts between SanDis ...
card slot capable of recognizing and using a 32 GB microSDHC memory card.
Display
The Samsung Galaxy S II uses a WVGA (800 x 480) Super AMOLED Plus
AMOLED (active-matrix organic light-emitting diode, ) is a type of OLED display device technology. OLED describes a specific type of thin-film-display technology in which organic compounds form the electroluminescent material, and active matri ...
capacitive touchscreen
A touchscreen or touch screen is the assembly of both an input ('touch panel') and output ('display') device. The touch panel is normally layered on the top of an electronic visual display of an information processing system. The display is often ...
that is covered by Gorilla Glass
Gorilla Glass is a brand of chemically strengthened glass developed and manufactured by Corning, now in its seventh generation. Designed to be thin, light and damage-resistant, the glass gains its surface strength, ability to contain flaws, and c ...
with an oleophobic Lipophobicity, also sometimes called lipophobia (from the Greek λιποφοβία from λίπος ''lipos'' "fat" and φόβος ''phobos'' "fear"), is a chemical property of chemical compounds which means "fat rejection", literally "fear of fat". ...
fingerprint-resistant coating. The display is an upgrade of its predecessor, and the "Plus" signifies that the display panel has done away with Pentile matrix to regular RGB
The RGB color model is an additive color model in which the red, green and blue primary colors of light are added together in various ways to reproduce a broad array of colors. The name of the model comes from the initials of the three addi ...
matrix display which results in a 50% increase in sub-pixels. This translates to grain reduction and sharper images and text. In addition, Samsung has claimed that Super AMOLED Plus displays are 18% more power efficient than the older Super AMOLED displays. Some phones have display issues, with a few users reporting a "yellow tint" on the left bottom edge of the display when a neutral grey background is displayed.[Galaxy S II display reportedly has yellow spots, we test – GSMArena.com news](_blank)
. Gsmarena.com. Retrieved 28 November 2011.
Audio
The Galaxy S II uses Yamaha Yamaha may refer to:
* Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese company with a wide range of products and services, established in 1887. The company is the largest shareholder of Yamaha Motor Company (below).
** Yamaha Music Foundation, an organization estab ...
audio hardware. The Galaxy S II's predecessor, the original Galaxy S, used Wolfson's WM8994 DAC. User feedback on Internet forums
An Internet forum, or message board, is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages. They differ from chat rooms in that messages are often longer than one line of text, and are at least temporar ...
as well as an in-depth review at ''Clove'', have expressed the Yamaha chip's inferior sound quality compared to that of the Wolfson chip featured in the original Galaxy S.
Camera
On the back of the device is an 8-megapixel Back-illuminated sensor
Comparison of simplified back-illuminated and front-illuminated pixel cross-sections
A back-illuminated sensor, also known as backside illumination (BI) sensor, is a type of digital image sensor that uses a novel arrangement of the imaging elemen ...
camera with single-LED flash that can record videos in full high-definition 1080p
1080p (1920×1080 progressively displayed pixels; also known as Full HD or FHD, and BT.709) is a set of HDTV high-definition video modes characterized by 1,920 pixels displayed across the screen horizontally and 1,080 pixels down the screen vert ...
at 30 frames per second.
It is the first mobile phone by Samsung Mobile
Samsung Mobile Division is one of five divisions within Samsung Electronics, belonging to the Samsung Group, and consists of the Mobile Communications Division, Telecommunication Systems Division, Computer Division, MP3 Business Team, Mobile So ...
that is able to record videos in full high-definition (FullHD 1080p
1080p (1920×1080 progressively displayed pixels; also known as Full HD or FHD, and BT.709) is a set of HDTV high-definition video modes characterized by 1,920 pixels displayed across the screen horizontally and 1,080 pixels down the screen vert ...
).
There is also a fixed focus front-facing 2-megapixel camera for video calling
Videotelephony, also known as videoconferencing and video teleconferencing, is the two-way or multipoint reception and transmission of audio and video signals by people in different locations for real time communication.McGraw-Hill Concise Ency ...
, taking photos as well as general video recording, with a maximum resolution of 640x480 (VGA
Video Graphics Array (VGA) is a video display controller and accompanying de facto graphics standard, first introduced with the IBM PS/2 line of computers in 1987, which became ubiquitous in the PC industry within three years. The term can no ...
).
Near-field communication
The Galaxy S II is one of the earliest Android devices to natively support NFC Near field communication
Near-field communication (NFC) is a set of communication protocols that enables communication between two electronic devices over a distance of 4 cm (1 in) or less. NFC offers a low-speed connection through a simple setup that can be u ...
. This follows on from the Google Nexus S
The Nexus S 4G is a smartphone co-developed by Google and Samsung and manufactured by Samsung Electronics for release in 2010. It was the first smartphone to use the Android 2.3 "Gingerbread" operating system, and the first Android device to su ...
which was the first de facto NFC smartphone device. Reportedly the UK version was supplied without an NFC chip at the beginning of its production run, with an NFC-equipped version released later in 2011.
Mobile high-definition link
Samsung has also included a new high-definition connection technology called Mobile High-definition Link
Mobile High-Definition Link (MHL) is an industry standard for a mobile audio/video interface that allows the connection of smartphones, tablets, and other portable consumer electronics devices to high-definition televisions (HDTVs), audio receive ...
(MHL). The main specialty of MHL is that it is optimized for mobile devices by allowing the device's battery to be charged while at the same time playing back multimedia content. For the Galaxy S II, the industry standard micro USB port found on the bottom of the device can be used with an MHL connector for a TV out connection to an external display, such as a high definition television.
USB on-the-go
The micro USB port on this device also supports USB OTG
USB On-The-Go (USB OTG or just OTG) is a specification first used in late 2001 that allows USB devices, such as tablets or smartphones, to act as a host, allowing other USB devices, such as USB flash drives, digital cameras, mouse or keybo ...
standard which means the Galaxy S II can act as a 'host' device in the same way as a desktop computer, allowing external USB devices to be plugged in and used. These external USB devices typically include USB flash drive
A USB flash drive (also called a thumb drive) is a data storage device that includes flash memory with an integrated USB interface. It is typically removable, rewritable and much smaller than an optical disc. Most weigh less than . Since firs ...
s and separately powered external hard drives. A video demonstration on YouTube has shown the OTG function to be readily available with an ordinary micro USB (B-type) OTG adaptor. The same YouTube video goes on to mention a successful test completed on a 2 TB USB external hard drive (requiring own power source) but however reports of failure when trying to connect USB keyboards, tested USB mice and tested USB game pads. Currently the only file-system
In computing, file system or filesystem (often abbreviated to fs) is a method and data structure that the operating system uses to control how data is stored and retrieved. Without a file system, data placed in a storage medium would be one larg ...
supported for USB drives within OTG is FAT32
File Allocation Table (FAT) is a file system developed for personal computers. Originally developed in 1977 for use on floppy disks, it was adapted for use on hard disks and other devices. It is often supported for compatibility reasons by c ...
.
Headphone plug
A 3.5 mm TRRS headset jack is available and is located on the top side of the device. The micro USB connection port is located on the bottom side of the device.
Connectivity
Broadcom
Broadcom Inc. is an American designer, developer, manufacturer and global supplier of a wide range of semiconductor and infrastructure software products. Broadcom's product offerings serve the data center, networking, software, broadband, wirel ...
BCM4330 combo chip integrates 802.11n
IEEE 802.11n-2009 or 802.11n is a wireless-networking standard that uses multiple antennas to increase data rates. The Wi-Fi Alliance has also retroactively labelled the technology for the standard as Wi-Fi 4. It standardized support for multipl ...
Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0+HS and FM radio. Phones released to the US market lack the FM receiver. BCM4330 supports Wi-Fi Direct
Wi-Fi Direct (formerly Wi-Fi Peer-to-Peer) is a Wi-Fi standard for peer-to-peer wireless connections that allows two devices to establish a direct Wi-Fi connection without an intermediary wireless access point, router, or Internet connection. Wi- ...
that enable devices to communicate directly with one another without having to interact with an access point. Although the BCM4330 chip supports Bluetooth 4.0, the Galaxy S2 is limited to Bluetooth 3.0 using the last Android version released by Samsung (4.1.2). Bluetooth 4.0 support has been introduced in Android 4.3 versions, however the upgrade to an alternative firmware is required.
Additional accessories available include:
* Dock connector
A dock connector is a connector used to attach a mobile electronic device simultaneously to multiple external resources. The dock connector will typically carry a variety of signals and power, through a single connector, to simplify the process o ...
for battery charging and audio-visual
Audiovisual (AV) is electronic media possessing both a sound and a visual component, such as slide-tape presentations, films, television programs, corporate conferencing, church services, and live theater productions.
Audiovisual service prov ...
output
* MHL cable which makes use of the device's micro USB
The initial versions of the USB standard specified connectors that were easy to use and that would have acceptable life spans; revisions of the standard added smaller connectors useful for compact portable devices. Higher-speed development of t ...
port for HDMI output
* USB OTG adaptor for use with external USB devices such as USB flash drive
A USB flash drive (also called a thumb drive) is a data storage device that includes flash memory with an integrated USB interface. It is typically removable, rewritable and much smaller than an optical disc. Most weigh less than . Since firs ...
s.
* Stylus pen
A stylus (plural styli or styluses) is a writing utensil or a small tool for some other form of marking or shaping, for example, in pottery. It can also be a computer accessory that is used to assist in navigating or providing more precision w ...
for use on the device's capacitive screen. Support for a stylus on the Galaxy S II was a precursor to the Samsung Galaxy Note
The Samsung Galaxy Note series is a discontinued line of high-end Android phablets and smartphones developed and marketed by Samsung Electronics. The line is primarily oriented towards pen computing; all Galaxy Note models ship with a styl ...
.
* A number of case manufacturers have released a variety of cases for the Galaxy S II.
* A Samsung branded Bluetooth
Bluetooth is a short-range wireless technology standard that is used for exchanging data between fixed and mobile devices over short distances and building personal area networks (PANs). In the most widely used mode, transmission power is limi ...
headset for making phone calls.
* A pair of portable speakers powered by the phone's USB port.
* A vehicle mounting kit for dashboard placement of the phone, allows GPS
The Global Positioning System (GPS), originally Navstar GPS, is a Radionavigation-satellite service, satellite-based radionavigation system owned by the United States government and operated by the United States Space Force. It is one of t ...
navigation using the phone.
Variants
Galaxy S II – Model GT-I9100G
The Samsung Galaxy S II GT-I9100G was released in late 2011, and is usually sold instead of the original GT-I9100 in certain markets (mostly Asia and some parts of Europe). An overview of the Samsung Galaxy S II GT-I9100G can be seen on Samsung
The Samsung Group (or simply Samsung) ( ko, 삼성 ) is a South Korean multinational manufacturing conglomerate headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea. It comprises numerous affiliated businesses, most of them united under the ...
's official website. It features a Texas Instruments OMAP4430 SoC instead of the Exynos 4210 in the GT-I9100. It is visually identical to the GT-I9100, as well as having the same 1.2 GHz processor speed and dual-core ARM Cortex A9 processor technology. However, the SoC is of a different design and the Mali-400 GPU has been replaced by a PowerVR SGX 540 GPU. This difference in the SoC makes this variant incompatible with custom ROMs intended for the I9100, but it has been steadily gaining its own aftermarket support (such as from CyanogenMod
CyanogenMod ( ; CM) is a discontinued open-source operating system for mobile devices, based on the Android mobile platform. It was developed as free and open-source software based on the official releases of Android by Google, with added origi ...
) due to the relative ease of development and the openness of the TI OMAP platform.
Australia
Telstra and Vodafone Australia – Models GT-I9100T
The Galaxy S II (Model GT-I9100T) sold by Telstra
Telstra Group Limited is an Australian telecommunications company that builds and operates telecommunications networks and markets voice, mobile, internet access, pay television and other products and services. It is a member of the S&P/ASX 20 ...
, Vodafone Australia
Vodafone Australia is an Australian telecommunications brand providing mobile and fixed broadband services. Vodafone’s mobile network covers more than 23 million Australians, and Vodafone has commenced the rollout of its 5G mobile network. Voda ...
and some certain other carriers outside Australia is virtually identical to the I9100 and is functionally equivalent.
Telstra and Optus – Model GT-I9210T
In Australia the Galaxy S II 4G (Model GT-I9210T) uses a Qualcomm processor and supports Telstra's and Optus' 4G networks. However, analog radio and digital media are not supported.
Canada
Bell Mobility – Models GT-I9100M and SGH-I757M
Bell
A bell is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be made by an inter ...
's Galaxy S II (Model GT-I9100M) Samsung Galaxy S II is identical to the international version except that its model number is GT I9100M. All custom ROMs running on international versions can be flashed to bell's Galaxy S II also.
Bell's Samsung Galaxy S II HD LTE (Model SGH-I757M) is identical to the cancelled AT&T's Skyrocket HD hence making the device another variant of the South Korean model of the Galaxy S II HD LTE. One difference between the South Korean model and the Bell Mobility model is the lack of a physical home button, instead, four capacitive buttons are used, one of which directly replaces the physical home button. The specification of the device is identical to the South Korean model. However, different frequencies bands are enabled on this device.
Rogers – Models SGH-I727R and SGH-I927
The Rogers Galaxy S II LTE (Model SGH-I727R) is identical to the AT&T Skyrocket, and features a larger screen 4.52", a bigger battery 1,850 mAh, and a different 1.5 GHz Qualcomm processor.
Rogers' Galaxy S Glide (Model SGH-I927) is the same phone with the same specs as the AT&T's Captivate Glide, except the carrier logo is on the back instead of behind the front glass panel.
Rogers Rogers may refer to:
Places
Canada
*Rogers Pass (British Columbia)
* Rogers Island (Nunavut)
United States
* Rogers, Arkansas, a city
* Rogers, alternate name of Muroc, California, a former settlement
* Rogers, Indiana, an unincorporated communit ...
launched the Samsung Galaxy S II LTE, launching in Fall 2011, soon after its LTE Launch in Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
.
Note that the Galaxy S II LTE has a different model number: I9210
and came out later and only in select markets, including Canada and South Korea.
Telus Mobility – Model SGH-T989D
Telus Mobility
Telus Mobility (normally typeset as TELUS Mobility) is a Canadian wireless network operator and a division of Telus Communications which sells wireless services in Canada on its numerous networks. It operates 5G, LTE and HSPA+ on its mainstre ...
's 4G Galaxy S II X (Model SGH-T989D) has a Qualcomm 1.5 GHz dual core processor, larger 4.52 inch screen and 1,850 mAh battery, is thicker at 9.4 mm and has a different design. There is a chrome band around the edge and the plastic on the back has a leathery feel. Instead of the hardware home button, it has the standard four capacitive buttons. The Qualcomm processor allows for 42 Mbit/s HSPA+ download speeds that the Samsung Exynos processor is not currently capable of. It was released on 28 October 2011.
A subsidiary of Telus, Koodo Mobile, also offers the SGH-T989D.
China
China – Model GT-I9108(China Mobile), GT-I9100G, SCH-I929
The Samsung Galaxy S II (Model GT-I9108) was released in late 2011, and it is sold in China by China Mobile. It is identical to the GT-I9100G, featuring the same Texas Instruments OMAP4430 SoC with a 1.2 GHz dual-core ARM Cortex A9 processor and PowerVR SGX 540 graphics processor. However, the GT-I9108 has TD-SCDMA support in place of WCDMA support found in other variants. The GT-I9108 is a regional model and has few available custom ROMs.
The Samsung Galaxy S II (Model SCH-I929) was released in late 2011, and it is sold in China by China Telecom. It is based on the design of Galaxy S II LTE (GT-I9210), but supports CDMA2000 1x EVDO for use with the carrier.
Europe – Model GT-I9100P
The Samsung Galaxy S II (Model GT-I9100P) was released in late 2011. It has the same hardware as GT-I9100 plus the NFC chip and battery (the battery is specific because it includes the antenna). To keep NFC enabled it is necessary to update the firmware using a P version. Any I9100 firmware can be used, but doing so will disable the NFC hardware.
India
Model: GT-i9100
GT-i9100 is a sim-free model released on 2 May 2011. This supports 2G/3G only.
Japan
KDDI AU – Model: ISW11SC
The KDDI
() is a Japanese telecommunications operator formed on October 1, 2000 through the merger of DDI Corp. (Daini-Denden Inc.), KDD (Kokusai Denshin Denwa) Corp. (itself a former listed state-owned enterprise privatized in 1998), and IDO Corp. It h ...
Au Galaxy S II WiMAX (Model: ISW11SC) was first released on 20 January 2012 in the color Noble Black and was followed by a Ceramics White model on 24 March 2012 and a Shiny Magenta model on 20 July 2012. The ISW11SC currently runs Android 4.0.4 via an OTA update from the original 2.3.6 firmware. The ISW11SC uses the Samsung Exynos 4210 dual-core 1.4 GHz main CPU and a Qualcomm QSC6085 Modem chipset running at 192 MHz. It features 1 GB of RAM and 16 GB of ROM (11 GB available for user data storage) with support for up to 64 GB additional storage via the internal microSD slot. An 1850mAh battery powers the device. The ISW11SC features a Samsung SUPER AMOLED HD 1280x720 screen measuring 4.7 inches. Connectivity includes CDMA 800 MHz/2,100 MHz; 3G EV-DO Rev A; 2.4 GHz / 5 GHz 802.11 a/b/g/n Wi-Fi; Bluetooth 3.0 and an integrated WiMAX modem with speeds up to 40Mbit/s down and 15.4Mbit/s up. Like most Japanese domestic model phones the ISW11SC includes many Japan-specific applications. This phone features NFC functionality which is technically compatible with FeliCa RFID (such as with PASMO and SUICA payment systems) however, the software doesn't support the Japanese "Osaifu Keitai" mobile wallet and thus the phone cannot be used to make transactions with NFC in Japan.
NTT DoCoMo – Model SC-02C
NTT DoCoMo introduced a variant of the Galaxy S II (Model SC-02C) on 23 June 2011 as the successor to the DoCoMo Galaxy S (Model SC-02B). The SC-02C includes 1seg
is a mobile terrestrial digital audio/video and data broadcasting service in Japan, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay, Peru and the Philippines. Service began experimentally during 2005 and commercially on April 1, 2006. It is designed ...
terrestrial television support, as well as i-mode
NTT DoCoMo's i-mode is a mobile internet (distinct from wireless internet) service popular in Japan. Unlike Wireless Application Protocols, i-mode encompasses a wider variety of internet standards, including web access, e-mail, and the packet- ...
software functions specific to DoCoMo handsets, such as i-channel, BeeTV, MelodyCall and DoCoMo map navigation. The SC-02C is powered by the Samsung Exynos 4210 Orion Dual-core 1.2 GHz (S5PC210) processor. The SC-02C uses the Wnn
Wnn ( or ) is a Japanese input system. The network-extensible Kana-to-Kanji conversion system was jointly developed and released by the Software Research Group of Kyoto University Research Institute for Mathematical Sciences, Omron Tateisi Ele ...
Japanese input system.
South Korea
All of variants optimized for use with South Korean wireless carriers have Samsung's Korean input system for feature phones, a Dubeolsik-layout virtual keyboard and a T-DMB tuner in place of an FM radio
FM broadcasting is a method of radio broadcasting using frequency modulation (FM). Invented in 1933 by American engineer Edwin Armstrong, wide-band FM is used worldwide to provide high fidelity sound over broadcast radio. FM broadcasting is cap ...
tuner.
KT – Model SHW-M250K
The KT variant, the Galaxy S II KT (Model SHW-M250K) uses KT's Wi-Fi CM instead of Android's Wi-Fi CM to connect to Wi-Fi networks. Additional features for KT users are installed by default.
LG U+ – Model SHW-M250L
Instead of WCDMA and HSPA, LG U+'s variant of the Galaxy S II (Model SHW-M250L) uses EV-DO Rev.B (KPCS 1.8 GHz) to accommodate the network technology deployed by LG U+. The SHW-M250L is slightly thicker (9.4 mm) than SK Telecom and KT variants (8.89 mm). Additional features for LG U+ users are installed by default.
SK Telecom – Model SHW-M250S
The SK Telecom
SK Telecom Co., Ltd. ( or ) is a South Korean wireless telecommunications operator and former film distributor and is part of the SK Group, one of the country's largest chaebols. It leads the local market with 50.5 percent share as of 2008. S ...
variant of the Galaxy S II (Model SHW-M250S) uses the SK-MMS system instead of the OMA-MMS system for multimedia messaging. Additional features for SK Telecom users are installed by default.
United States
AT&T – Models SGH-I777, SGH-I727 and SGH-I927
AT&T Mobility
AT&T Mobility LLC, also known as AT&T Wireless and marketed as simply AT&T, is an American telecommunications company. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of AT&T Inc. and provides wireless services in the United States. AT&T Mobility is the thi ...
began offering its first variant of the Galaxy S II (Model SGH-I777) on 2 October 2011. Prior to its release, AT&T Mobility's first variant of the device was code named "Attain" by Samsung.
The AT&T Mobility variant maintains the 4.3 inch display of the international version, but features four capacitive buttons. It also includes NFC
NFC may refer to:
Psychology
* Need for cognition, in psychology
* Need for closure, social psychological term
Sports
* NFC Championship Game, the National Football Conference Championship Game
* NCAA Football Championship (Philippines)
* Nati ...
capability.
AT&T Mobility introduced a second variant of the device called the Galaxy S II Skyrocket (Model SGH-I727) on 6 November 2011. Prior to its release, this second variant was code named "Skyrocket" by Samsung. This variant is similar to the international Samsung Galaxy S II LTE and is notable for its inclusion of an LTE radio. The inclusion of the LTE radio required changing the device's main processor from the Exynos to the Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8660 because the Exynos does not support LTE. This version features the same 4.52 inch screen of the Sprint model. This variant supports Near Field Communications (NFC).
AT&T Mobility introduced a third variant called the Captivate Glide (Model SGH-I927) on 20 November 2011. The Captivate Glide differs from the other two AT&T Mobility variants primarily by the inclusion of a slide-out, physical QWERTY keyboard. The Captivate Glide also includes a dual-core, 1 GHz Tegra 2 dual-core processor instead of a 1.2 GHz Exynos processor. The display of this third variant is Super AMOLED instead of Super AMOLED Plus and the display size is reduced to 4 inches.
Sprint – Model SPH-D710
The Sprint variant (Model SPH-D710) of the Galaxy S II was initially released as the Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch and was later renamed to the simpler Galaxy S II 4G. Prior to its release, Sprint's variant was codenamed "Within" by Samsung. The SPH-D710 first became available for Sprint customers on 16 September 2011, making Sprint the first carrier in the United States to offer a variant of the S II. The SPH-D710 is available to Sprint customers in black, titanium grey or white.
The Sprint variant has key differences from the "International" version of the Galaxy S II. The Sprint variant includes a 2500 MHz WiMax radio. The display of the Sprint variant, at 4.52 inches, is larger than that of the international version. The Sprint variant features four touch-capacitive buttons as opposed to the three-button hardware/capacitive combination found on the international version. Other differences include an LED notification light and a larger, 6.66 Wh battery.
The Sprint variant does not come equipped with NFC capability, unlike the variants offered by T-Mobile US
T-Mobile US, Inc. is an American wireless network operator headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas and Bellevue, Washington, U.S. Its largest shareholder is a multinational telecommunications company Deutsche Telekom AG, which , holds 48.4 perc ...
and AT&T Mobility
AT&T Mobility LLC, also known as AT&T Wireless and marketed as simply AT&T, is an American telecommunications company. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of AT&T Inc. and provides wireless services in the United States. AT&T Mobility is the thi ...
.
The Galaxy S II 4G is a touchscreen-only device, unlike the Epic 4G, which includes a physical QWERTY
QWERTY () is a keyboard layout for Latin-script alphabets. The name comes from the order of the first six Computer keyboard keys#Types, keys on the top left letter row of the keyboard ( ). The QWERTY design is based on a layout created f ...
keyboard.
On 28 March 2013, the Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean (GB27) update was released through the Samsung Kies
Samsung Kies is a freeware software application used to communicate between Windows or Macintosh operating systems, and recently manufactured Samsung mobile phone and tablet computer devices, usually using a USB connection (though wireless LAN Ki ...
software As of February 2014, there are no additional confirmed updates for this device.
The device has received 7 updates from Samsung since its original release on 16 September 2011.
Sprint has announced that on 6 November 2015 the Sprint WiMAX
Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) is a family of wireless broadband communication standards based on the IEEE 802.16 set of standards, which provide physical layer (PHY) and media access control (MAC) options.
The WiMAX ...
network will be decommissioned effectively removing 4G capabilities on the SPH-D710 model. Users will still have access to data service using the 3G network.
=Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile USA
=
Sprint subsidiaries Boost Mobile offers a Sprint SPH-D710 variant of the Galaxy S II 4G in both titanium grey or white options. Virgin Mobile offers a variant, model i9210, for their service.
Boost Mobile began the Samsung Galaxy S II 4G on 6 September 2012 for $369.99. Virgin Mobile USA
Virgin Mobile USA was a no-contract Mobile Virtual Network Operator. It used Sprint's network for coverage. It licensed the Virgin Mobile brand from United Kingdom-based Virgin Group. Virgin Mobile USA was headquartered in Kansas City, Missou ...
began offering the Galaxy S II 4G on 15 November 2012 for $369.99.
In March 2013, the Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile variants were also updated along with Sprint's to Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean.
T-Mobile – Model SGH-T989
T-Mobile USA
T-Mobile US, Inc. is an American wireless network operator headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas and Bellevue, Washington, U.S. Its largest shareholder is a multinational telecommunications company Deutsche Telekom AG, which , holds 48.4 perc ...
began taking pre-orders for its variant (Model SGH-T989) of the Galaxy S II on 11 October 2011 and began selling it in stores on 12 October 2011. Prior to its release, T-Mobile's variant of the device was code named "Hercules" by Samsung.
The T-Mobile variant has important key differences from the "International" version of the Galaxy S II. The T-Mobile variant uses a 1.5 GHz dual-core Qualcomm
Qualcomm () is an American multinational corporation headquartered in San Diego, California, and incorporated in Delaware. It creates semiconductors, software, and services related to wireless technology. It owns patents critical to the 5G, 4 ...
APQ8060 (S3) Snapdragon
''Antirrhinum'' is a genus of plants commonly known as dragon flowers, snapdragons and dog flower because of the flowers' fancied resemblance to the face of a dragon that opens and closes its mouth when laterally squeezed. They are native to r ...
processor, as opposed to the 1.2 GHz dual-core Exynos processor of the International version because the Exynos processor is not compatible with T-Mobile's 42 Mbit/s HSPA+ network. The cellular radio of the T-Mobile supports UMTS bands I (2100 MHz), II (1900 MHz), IV (1700 MHz) and V (850 MHz). The display of the T-Mobile variant, at 4.52 inches, is larger than that of the international version. The T-Mobile variant features four touch-capacitive buttons as opposed to the three-button hardware/capacitive combination found on the international version, this variant of the smartphone uses the powerful Adreno-220 series GPU and supports up to version 4.4.4–based ROMs of the Android OS The T-Mobile variant, like the AT&T variant, supports Near Field Communications (NFC) integrated in the battery, which has 6.85Wh capacity.
As of 8 March 2013, the T-Mobile variant can be updated to Android 4.1.2 "Jelly Bean" using Samsung Kies.
U.S. Cellular – Model SCH-R760
U.S. Cellular's variant (Model SCH-R760) is equivalent to the Sprint variant, except for one specification; the U.S. Cellular variant does not include a 2500 MHz WiMax radio.
Galaxy S II Plus – Model GT-I9105/P
The Galaxy S II Plus was announced in CES 2013. The phone has a Broadcom
Broadcom Inc. is an American designer, developer, manufacturer and global supplier of a wide range of semiconductor and infrastructure software products. Broadcom's product offerings serve the data center, networking, software, broadband, wirel ...
BC28155 SoC with a 1.2 GHz dual-core processor and a VideoCore
VideoCore is a low-power mobile multimedia processor originally developed by Alphamosaic Ltd and now owned by Broadcom. Its two-dimensional DSP architecture makes it flexible and efficient enough to decode (as well as encode) a number of multim ...
IV HW GPU instead of the Mali 400MP in the original Galaxy S II. Both the original and the "Plus" have 1 GB of RAM, but the latter only has 8 GB of internal storage, half that of the original, of which the operating system takes a significant cut. It uses a hyperglazed plastic body (the same as the Samsung Galaxy S III) and is available in Chic White and Dark Blue. The phone originally ran on Android 4.1.2 "Jelly Bean" with Samsung's TouchWiz
TouchWiz was a user interface developed by Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd with partners, featuring a full touch user interface. It is sometimes incorrectly referred to as an operating system. TouchWiz is used internally by Samsung for smartphones, ...
Nature UX. An update to Android 4.2.2 is available in some countries. Also released was a I9105P model, which supports NFC
NFC may refer to:
Psychology
* Need for cognition, in psychology
* Need for closure, social psychological term
Sports
* NFC Championship Game, the National Football Conference Championship Game
* NCAA Football Championship (Philippines)
* Nati ...
.
Reception
Reviews of the Galaxy S II have been universally positive. It was honored by MWC's Global Mobile Awards as "SmartPhone Of The Year 2012" ''Engadget'' gave the device a 9/10, calling it "the best Android smartphone yet" and "possibly the best smartphone, period." ''CNET'' UK gave the device a favorable review of 4.5/5 and described it as "one of the slimmest, lightest mobiles we've ever had the privilege to hold." ''TechRadar'' gave the device 5/5 stars and describes the device as one that "set a new bar for smartphones in 2011." ''Pocketnow'' was "impressed" with the speed of the web browser. ''SlashGear'' states that the device "sets the benchmark for smartphones in general." ''GSMArena'' points out minor drawbacks such as an "all-plastic body" and the handset having "no dedicated camera key," but still calls the handset "absurdly powerful" and concluding "we just cannot see beyond the new Samsung flagship if we're to name the ultimate smartphone."
After slightly over one month since its debut, more than 1 million units of Samsung Galaxy S II were activated in South Korea. Worldwide, 3 million units were sold in 55 days. 85 days after its first release, Samsung declared global shipments of over 5 million for the Galaxy S II and 10 million after 5 months. Partially owing to strong sales of Samsung's Galaxy range of smartphones, Samsung overtook Apple
An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...
in smartphone sales during Q3 2011, with a total market share of 23.8%, compared to Apple's 14.6%.
Successor
The successor to the Galaxy S II was the Galaxy S III, unveiled in London on 3 May 2012 and commencing sales on 29 May 2012 with 10 million reported pre-orders.
See also
* Comparison of Samsung Galaxy S smartphones
The following is a comparative list of smartphones belonging to smartphones in the Samsung Galaxy S series line of devices, using the Android operating system. This table is primarily intended to show the ''differences'' between the model families ...
* Comparison of smartphones
This is a comparison of the various internal components and features of many smartphones.
Hardware and OS
2020s 2022
2021
2020
2010s
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
2000s
2009
...
* Samsung Galaxy S series
The Samsung Galaxy S series is a line of high-end Android smartphones produced by Samsung Electronics. Together with the foldable Galaxy Fold and the now discontinued Galaxy Note series, the lineup serves as Samsung's flagship smartphone lineup. ...
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Samsung Galaxy S II
Android (operating system) devices
Discontinued flagship smartphones
Galaxy S II
The Samsung Galaxy S II (or Galaxy S2) is a touchscreen-enabled, Slate phone, slate-format Android (operating system), Android smartphone designed, developed, and marketed by Samsung Electronics, as the second smartphone of the Samsung Galaxy S ...
Galaxy S II
The Samsung Galaxy S II (or Galaxy S2) is a touchscreen-enabled, Slate phone, slate-format Android (operating system), Android smartphone designed, developed, and marketed by Samsung Electronics, as the second smartphone of the Samsung Galaxy S ...
Mobile phones introduced in 2011
Discontinued smartphones
Mobile phones with user-replaceable battery