In a surprisingly twisted and not-very-exciting move, the Samsung Galaxy S4 and S4 mini are to be re-released as a Black Edition with all of the same specs we've come to yawn about over the last year but with the peculiar addition of the awful fake leather, I mean, plastic-made-to-look-like-fake-leather, rear battery case that we all hated on the Note 3. Sure, it's not really all that bad, but why re-release a phone that's almost a year old with the same specs just before the new model comes out?

The same Galaxy S4 you know and love with a fake leather plastic rear case. / © Samsung

It seems Samsung are taking their love of plastic fakeness even further than the Note 3 and new Tab Pro series and are trying to rebrand even their existing handsets with the tacky look. When you actually use the Note 3 it's perhaps not as noticeable as you might think, but still, it's a pretty tacky decision for what is basically the best Android device on the market right now. One might think that the near-universal scorn of the faux leather backing would be enough for Samsung to write it off as a bad idea, but this is Samsung we're talking about.

The Galaxy S34 mini is also getting the fake leather backing treatment. / © Samsung

So the Galaxy S4 and S4 mini look to be re-released with the plastic back plate initially in Russia in February and then in other markets with all the same hardware that we have known for almost a year. The most surprising thing of all is that the re-released S4's will actually be priced marginally higher than the original versions. Samsung will reportedly not be making the new rear cover to be sold separately. Let's just pray that Samsung doesn't slap this abomination on the back of the Galaxy S5 when we hopefully see it at the end of February. If Samsung is aiming for a super premium feel, this is not the way to achieve it.

Do you like the material choices Samsung makes? Would you buy a year-old phone just because it has a new rear cover?

View the original article here