In the smartphone game, the next move after a big hit is to follow up with the same thing only in a smaller package. Samsung knows this all too well and is taking it to heart, according to leaked photos of the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini courtesy of Engadget. The Galaxy S4 is a monster device garnering so many near-perfect reviews that I’m not even sure its real. So its only natural that Samsung put a full court press on the competition with a Galaxy S4 Mini. The Galaxy S4 Mini release date is targeted for this July and the rumor mill is heating up.

Specs at this stage are limited. The pics indicate that the handset could sport a 4.3-inch display, be powered by a 1.6GHz dual-core processor, and feature a 5 or 8mp camera. Fan site SamMobile goes as for to suggest the device will run on Android’s 4.2.2 version of Jelly Bean with Samsung’s Nature UX 2.0. Price is still up in the air though expect somewhere in the neighborhood of rival mini smartphones.

Availability is also in question though a report by Engadget back in March noted that an article in Bloomberg pegged a Galaxy S4 Mini release for “shortly after the GS4.” Au.IBT is confident that “the launch date will fall between July 14th and 20th. The launch will probably be global. Samsung is expected to make an official announcement of other members of the Galaxy S4 family – S4 Mini, S4 Activ and S4 Zoom – at the CTIA 2013 event scheduled to take place from May 20th to 23rd.”

Samsung has yet to confirm or deny the product in question but as the cliche goes, a picture speaks a thousand words and we have eight leaked photos here.

So who out there is looking forward to a Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini? Are mini smartphones worth it? Will this device be able to keep Samsung head-to-head with Apple? What do you like or dislike in a mini handset? Drop all of your knowledge on us in the comments section below.