Samsung Galaxy S2 Plus reviews, updates: Refreshed model of the 2011 flagship, which sports a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED display and more RAM than the original S2 Model is still a likely popular gadget for many. But the question, would the S2 Plus also reach an end of its life cycle this year? It was reported November 2013 that the S2 and the S3 Mini will not be getting further updates.

Samsung Galaxy S2 Plus meets competition with the budget-friendly Moto G as well as the Nokia Lumia 900 and 520 series. Not to mention a whole new range of other new Android handsets that was just released. But the refreshed 2013 version of the 2011 flagship Samsung Galaxy S2 is still an option for some and up to now, there’s no news if this would go obsolete this year.

Phone Arena notes that its hardware performance put many of its rivals to shame and its very slim body was considered to be thinnest handset for a short while.

In 2013, Samsung refreshed the Samsung Galaxy S2 with the Samsung Galaxy S2 Plus, which the tech site declares as a gadget that is “shaping up as a decent mid-range device.” For its price and specs, the Samsung Galaxy S2 Plus still possesses a competitive edge.

Design. The Samsung Galaxy S2 Plus has a rectangular design, which has been adopted from its S2 reference. It’s slim and light and only need a single thumb to operate it efficiently. Whether you choose the blue or white variant, the Hyperglaze-inspired finish is appealing. Phone Arena said that the only downside to it is that the fingerprint tends to stick to the handset’s shiny surface easily.

Display. The 4.3-inch Super AMOLED Plus panel has a 480 x 800 pixels resolution. With such specs and a 216 ppi, letters and graphics are slightly pixelized around the edges but the paragraphs of text in web pages are unreadable unless you zoom in, Phone Arena noted.

What it lacks in its overall resolution, however, it makes up for its deep blacks and very wide viewing angles, which are characteristics that makes an AMOLED display a stand-out choice for a screen. The colors are lush and saturated and the videos and images you’ll comes across as high-quality.

Interface. At the time of this writing, the Samsung Galaxy S2 Plus comes with Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean out of the box and has Samsung’s custom user interface. It looks appealing without straining the smartphone’s performance, enabling you to navigate seamlessly from the features without exhausting battery power.

Some of the Samsung Galaxy S2 Plus UI’s that comes in handy includes Smart Stay, which prevents the smartphone’s display from turning off as long as you’re looking into it; Direct Call, which dials the number of the contact you’re viewing as soon as you bring your S2 Plus unit to your ear. There’s also a task manager, which basically gives you the option to close apps that may not functioning well.

The on-screen keyboard for the Samsung Galaxy S2 Plus has the traditional QWERTY layout and is enhanced with autocompletion and the Swype method.