Samsung officially announces Galaxy S 4 Zoom with 16MP camera, 10x optical zoom

Coming in just after a Russian site managed to review the device, Samsung has officially announced the Galaxy S 4 Zoom. Combining a fully featured Android 4.2.2 Galaxy phone (basically a Galaxy S 4 Mini) with a 16MP point-and-shoot, it brings a 10x optical zoom lens to bear — the first phone to do so. On the phone side, it sports a 4.3-inch qHD display, 1.5GHz dual-core CPU, 1.5GB RAM, 8GB of internal storage (expandable via microSD slot) and a 1.9MP front facing camera. The camera includes optical image stabilization and a Xenon flash, along with a special “Zoom Ring.” That ring surrounds the camera, and when twisted (even while on a call) it can launch in-call photo sharing, or go straight to other camera modes.

President and CEO JK Shin is pleased by the union, calling it “truly the best of both worlds, without compromise,” for people who want to capture high quality images and share them, but don’t want to carry two devices. We’re told it will arrive in the UK this summer, while its early Russian reviewers mentioned a July release.