Here it is, folks. The Samsung Galaxy S 4 is now officially official after being announced in New York City. The Galaxy S 4 is the latest device in Samsung’s flagship Galaxy S lineup, and because it’s such a major product for the company, it’s been packed with some pretty high-end features. On the face of the Galaxy S 4 is a 5-inch 1920×1080 Super AMOLED display with Gorilla Glass 3, which was recently announced by Corning and features improved scratch resistance over its predecessors. Also on the Galaxy S 4’s face is a 2-megapixel camera and a physical home button. Samsung has also placed a 13-megapixel camera with flash on the Galaxy S 4’s backside.

Stuffed inside the Galaxy S 4 is either a 1.9GHz quad-core processor or 1.6GHz octa-core processor. The processor that’s included will vary by market. Samsung has also included 2GB RAM, 16GB/32GB/64GB of internal storage, microSD card slot and 2,600mAh battery, all of which fits inside a body that measures 7.9mm thick and weighs 130g. As far as radio support goes, the Galaxy S 4 includes 850/900/1900/2100 MHz 3G support, including 42Mbps HSPA+ connectivity. There’s also up to 6 different 4G LTE band sets for the Galaxy S 4, which will once again vary by market.

On the software side of things, the Galaxy S 4 will come to market with Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean running beneath Samsung’s TouchWiz UI. Unsurprisingly, Samsung will also be including several new features with its TouchWiz overlay. The Dual Camera functionality will allow users to capture images using the front and rear cameras simultaneously, and the Dual Video Call feature will allow use of both the front and rear cameras during video chats as well. Galaxy S 4 users will also have 12 different shooting modes to choose from when capturing photos with the device’s cameras, and the Story Album can collect images and sort them into albums using certain criteria. Users can even have a physical photo album with their images created thanks to Samsung’s partnership with Blurb.

Samsung has also expanded its “Smart” set of features that debuted last year with Smart Stay on the Galaxy S III. The Galaxy S 4 will come to market with Smart Pause, which will pause a video when the phone detects that the user is no longer looking at the screen. Smart Scroll will scroll the content of the browser or emails by monitoring a user’s face looking at the screen as well as his or her wrist movement. Samsung has also ported its Air View feature from the Galaxy Note series to the Galaxy S 4, allowing users to preview the content of emails, photos and videos by hovering their finger over the display. Along with Air View, the Air Gesture functionality allows users to change a music track, scroll around a page or accept a call by waving their hands in front of the device’s display.

Also a part of tonight’s announcement is Samsung’s new WatchON feature, which can turn the Galaxy S 4 into an IR remote to control home entertainment equipment. The list of new functionality doesn’t stop there, though, as Samsung also introduced a slate of S-branded features like S Voice Drive for voice control functionality while behind the wheel of a car, S Translator for translating either a voice or text and S Health, which utilizes the Galaxy S 4’s sensors to monitor a user’s health. Rounding out the list of features is Samsung Optical Reader for scanning text and business cards and Group Play, which can beam content like music, photos/videos and games to others without needing a Wi-Fi or cellular signal.

Got all that? Alright. Now it’s time for the most important piece of information, which is when you’ll actually be able to buy a Galaxy S 4 of your very own. The Galaxy S 4 will be rolling out to a number of carriers around the globe starting in Q2 2013. Here in the U.S., the device will be available on AT&T, Cricket, Sprint, T-Mobile, U.S. Cellular and Verizon. Samsung will be offering the Galaxy S 4 in either Black Mist or White Frost at launch, but the company promises that more color options will be coming later this year.

After months of leaks, rumors and speculation, it’s nice to finally have Samsung officially introduce us to the Galaxy S 4 and reveal exactly what makes the thing tick. While the design of the new phone is somewhat similar to the look of the Galaxy S III, that’s not entirely a surprise since Samsung has said that it put a lot of work into creating the Galaxy S III. Considering that and the fact that the sales of the Galaxy S III are over 30 million units, the company likely didn’t feel an overwhelming urge to completely redesign the Galaxy S 4. The good news is that the Galaxy S 4 has a spec sheet that’s improved over the Galaxy S III and instantly makes the S 4 one of the best-specced Android handsets around.

So now that it’s officially official, what do you all think of the Samsung Galaxy S 4? Are you happy that the design is Galaxy S III-like?