Samsung criticised over Galaxy S4 storage

Samsung has been criticised over the amount of free storage available on the 16GB model of its Galaxy S4 smartphone.

Customers reacted angrily when they discovered that pre-installed software takes up more than 50% of the handset’s on-board memory, T3 reports.

Although it is not uncommon for operating systems and other essential software to take on significant space on the device, the base-level Galaxy S4’s ratio sets a new record for a smartphone.

Rival Android device the HTC One uses around 1GB less than the Galaxy S4, while Apple’s latest iPhone typically demands around 4GB.

Software features billed as the Galaxy S4’s headline upgrades, such as eye tracking, air gestures and universal remote functionality, account for much of the occupied storage space.

The Galaxy S4 offers expandable storage through microSD support, but the firm’s critics have called for it to be more clear about how much storage space customers will have access to out of the box.