Tuesday, 5 March 2013

Samsung Galaxy S IV 'Eye Scroll': Killer feature or avoidable gimmick?

Posted on 03:27 by Maria Scott

The Samsung Galaxy S IV may have a new feature at launch that may change the way users read content on phones. The New York Times reports that the feature titled 'Eye Scroll' will help users scroll through content on the phone display using only their eyes. According to an unnamed Samsung executive who spoke to The New York Times, the Galaxy S IV’s front camera will track the user’s eyeballs and will scroll the page to the next paragraph once the user reaches the bottom of the page.

Samsung has already filed a trademark for the term 'Eye Scroll' and the NYT further states that Samsung has also trademarked the term 'Eye Pause', although there’s no clarity regarding what the second term designates. Eye Scroll underscores Samsung’s point of having software drive the popularity of the Galaxy S IV rather than just the hardware.

Although, we have only limited details about the Eye Scroll feature, it really does sound similar to the “Smart Stay” feature that was introduced with the Galaxy S III. Turning Smart Stay on would get the front camera to track the user’s eyeballs and keep the phone’s display on as long as the user was looking at it. However, users haven’t warmed up to the feature mainly because of its inconsistent performance and feature limitations. Now, if Eye Scroll doesn’t want to become a feature that’s forgotten within a month of buying the device (like Smart Stay or Siri on the iPhone), Samsung will have to address all the issues that frustrated Galaxy S III users.

One of the biggest limitations with Smart Stay which even the application admits when switching it on is that it doesn’t work in sub-par lighting conditions. Since it’s difficult to guarantee perfect lighting conditions all the time, Eye Scroll should be able to work in less than normal light. While we understand that it’ll be difficult to get the feature to work in a pitch dark room, it should at least be able to do so in slightly darkened environments.

Another problem with Smart Stay which could also make its way to 'Eye Scroll' is that it’s extremely inconsistent when used by bespectacled people. Users have complained on forums that when they’re wearing glasses, Smart Stay has trouble making out if they’re still looking at the display. Considering the fact that there are a lot of people out there who wear glasses, Samsung absolutely should look at fixing this issue.
Users have also complained about inconsistent performance from the Smart Stay feature where it doesn’t acknowledge the fact that the user may be looking at the display from a slight angle or even when looking at it straight, the display still turns off. Considering the fact that Eye Scroll sounds like it is powered by the same technology that powers the “Smart Stay” feature, we believe that it’s highly likely that Eye Scroll could suffer from the same drawbacks.

Must-Have Feature or Gimmick?

At the end of the day, irrespective of how faulty or great Eye Scroll may turn out to be, we have to question whether it’s really a feature worth having. Sure, it could be a great bonus feature to have and it could end up as neat as the “Multi-Window” and “Video Pop-Up” features that Samsung has introduced in its Galaxy smartphones. But a bonus feature isn’t the same as an essential feature and Eye Scroll doesn’t sound essential.

However, as good as Samsung’s focus on software has been, we wish that it would actually turn its focus on some other things that limit the appeal of its flagship Galaxy phones. The plastic body is one big complaint we have and in spite of how the Galaxy S III looks, its plastic body feels incongruous on a premium device. The Samsung Galaxy S III’s battery-life has also come under the scanner and we assume that a feature like Smart Stay or Eye Scroll will use up valuable battery-life. Finally, Samsung will really have to step up its game with regards to camera performance, since we now have some tremendous cameras on phones today (see: iPhone 5, Nokia Lumia 920). We really do hope that Samsung addresses these issues before spending resources on a “nice to have but not really needed” feature like Eye Scroll.

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