Samsung Galaxy Core unveiled: Minor refresh of 2013 Core has LTE, 4.5-inch display

Samsung has announced a refresh for the Galaxy Core smartphone launched last year. The upgrade will have the same name, and it doesn’t feature too many improvements in terms of hardware.   The 2014 Galaxy Core has a 4.5-inch qHD display, which is slightly larger than the 4.3-inch one seen on last year’s model. Other specifications are more or less the same. It retains the 1.2GHz dual-core processor, which is most likely a Broadcom-branded chipset. There’s a now-standard 5-megapixel camera, and 1GB of RAM. It runs Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean, with TouchWiz on top.   One of the biggest changes in terms of hardware is the presence of LTE connectivity, which has been picked over the dual-SIM feature of the predecessor, though 4G might not make its way to all regions.   There’s a large 2,100 mAh battery and 8GB of onboard storage along with a microSD slot that’s expandable up to 64GB. Samsung has continued using the leather and soft-feel back, which is actually made out of plastic. That seems to be the new design flourish on 2014 Samsung phones. At 9.8mm thick though, it’s quite fat, so don’t expect the same effect as seen on the Note 3. As this is TouchWiz, it will have the regular Samsung suite of software. That includes the Easy Mode, Adapt Sound feature, Safety Assurance, Motion UI, Smart Alerts, S Voice, S Translator, and S Travel. The device comes in black or white and will be launched in Europe, followed by Asia and Russia. Samsung hasn’t announced India-specific release dates.