Forget Gold; Samsung’s New Galaxy S4 Is Covered In Crystals

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Samsung’s taking smartphone bling to the next level. Apple may have beat it to gold, but the South Korean company is hoping to make crystals mainstream. Its new Galaxy S4, launched today in Taiwan, is decorated with real Swarovski crystals and it’s anywhere near as expensive at you’d expect it to be.

It’s aptly named the Galaxy S4 Crystal Edition, and it’s identical to the original Galaxy S4 under the hood, with a 5-inch 1080p display, a quad-core Snapdragon 600 processor, and a 13-megapixel rear-facing camera. But on the outside it’s far from standard.

It has a bunch of Swarovski crystals embedded in its rear panel, which appears to boast a faux leather finish like that of the Galaxy Note 3. But unlike custom-made crystal smartphones, it’s not actually that expensive. SamMobile reports that it’ll cost 20,300 baht in Thailand, which is around $630.

Sure, that’s not exactly cheap, but it’s only a little more expensive that the regular Galaxy S4, which is priced at 17,400 baht ($540) in Thailand.

There’s a good chance the Galaxy S4 Crystal Edition will remain exclusive to Thailand, and Samsung only plans to produce 3,500 units. Getting hold of one won’t be easy, then.