Update 1: FAQs were added at the bottom of this page. PDF version of all these FAQs can be downloaded from this post.
Galaxy Note (Note 2, Note 10.1 and Note 8.0) users already enjoyed this feature for long time with their S Pen. When hovering S Pen over albums, videos, message subjects, you can preview the contents in a popup window.
Now, with Galaxy S4, you can enjoy this Air View without using a stylus. It does exactly as what Galaxy Note does. You just point your finger to an object without touching it.
For example, if you point your finger to an album, you can preview the photos in this album in the pop-up window. You can then touch any of them to open it. If there is only one photo, you will preview the photo with a larger thumbnail, instead of the standard thumbnail. Of course, you can tap to open it.
For videos, you can preview it in the gallery. When a video is played, you can preview different frames by pointing your finger at different locations in the timeline. This works only for in-stock video player.
If you point your finger at certain area in a webpage for a few seconds, this area will be magnified without pinching.
Of course, if you point your finger at the subject of message, you can then preview the message without opening it. This applies to notifications and emails as well.
You can enable and disable this feature in Settings–My device–Air View. Drag it to the right to enable, to the left to disable.
What do you think about this feature? Have you tried it yet?
FAQs on Air View:
Q1 : How close does my finger need to be to the screen for “Air View” to begin to operate?
A : Approximately 2cm.
Q2 : Can I use a plastic stylus to operate “Air view”?
A : You must be use your finger to operate Air view . The Galaxy S4 display will not respond to a plastic* stylus (*it is an insulator)
Q3 : Is it possible for the Air view to recognize two fingers at the same time?
A : Air view recognizes only one finger and reacts to the finger closest to the screen.