The MWC 2014 came and it was over in a blink of an eye. But it left a few major players for us to crave and criticize till they are released to go on sale, some later this Q1 and some much later. The star of the MWC 2014 was none other than the fifth generation of Galaxy series : Galaxy S5. What are our thoughts on it you ask? Well, read on.
Hardware
Whenever Samsung releases a new "galaxy", all the major carrier try to collaborate and come up with their own versions and so you have like a gazillion Galaxy S5 variants. The Europe and North American regions get the LTE-A(advanced LTE) version while the rest of the globe is presented with the 3G/HSPA+. No we are not moaning for the lack of LTE-A support but we are moaning for the same old boring design. This time Samsung has come up with new ways to flatter the audience by presenting the S5 with a Golf Back like texture and Dust/Water resistance upto 1 meter for 30 minutes (IP67 ceritfied).
But most of guys are interested in only what lies underneath the hood, what lies inside the S5 core. To relieve you of your fantasy and going straight for the eye, you a get a 2.5Ghz Quad Core Snapdragon 801 CPU with Adreno 330 GPU. Has 2GB of uninspiring RAM and 5.1 inches of Super AMOLED FULL HD glory. For storage you have 16/32GB of internal and expandable upto new heights i.e 128GB via microSD card. Samsung does really care about its customer's multimedia needs. Oh and it also features a finger print scanner underneath the home button which is PayPal certified. Whew, that was a mouthful.
But most of guys are interested in only what lies underneath the hood, what lies inside the S5 core. To relieve you of your fantasy and going straight for the eye, you a get a 2.5Ghz Quad Core Snapdragon 801 CPU with Adreno 330 GPU. Has 2GB of uninspiring RAM and 5.1 inches of Super AMOLED FULL HD glory. For storage you have 16/32GB of internal and expandable upto new heights i.e 128GB via microSD card. Samsung does really care about its customer's multimedia needs. Oh and it also features a finger print scanner underneath the home button which is PayPal certified. Whew, that was a mouthful.
|
|
|
Software
The Galaxy S5 runs on Android 4.4.2 kitkat with the latest Touchwiz. The flagship borrows some of the magazine UI features of its tablets siblings, the likes of Galaxy Tab Pro 12.2 for example. Not many software changes have been improvised but whatever that has been done is pretty nifty. For example, the inclusion of a Heart Rate monitor which uses the 2 sensors present beside the primary camera flash. The S-Health app seems to be the first in taking advantage of this new technology but as the device releases in the next couple of months, more apps will access to the sensors as well. The menu key is now replaced with a recent app key that displays the recent apps in a slightly new fashion. The home screen pagination is similar to stock android 4.4. The icons in the app drawer remain largely unchanged and similar but the icons in the settings tab of the notification bar seem to present itself like the ones in the Note Pro series. The finger print scanner present beneath the home button can be used to unlock the phone and will also be used for any monetary transaction while using an app or simply paying online with the built-in browser.
Camera & Battery
The new flagship comes with a new breed of camera sensors - ISOCELL 16MP lens with 1/2.6 inch sensor ,which Samsung claims to be highly improved and much better for your casual photography. The camera app brings new settings like manual focus, selective focus and Real time HDR view mode. 4K video recording capability is on board but limited to 5 minutes due to the sheer size of the files. A 2MP in the front takes your selfies with 1080p video. The battery compartment sees a bump in size with a total of 2800mAh and popularized with 21hrs of 3G talktime. If you are a lucky customer of Europe or North America, wireless charging option will set you dancing.
Conclusion
Well to sum it up, Samsung like always, comes with new gimmicky tech that nobody ever uses (much) but in the end still gets praised, which it deserves. We have a video for you guys so check it out below.
|
|
|
|
Samsung Galaxy S5 - Full Phone Specifications
| Specifications | Samsung Galaxy S5 |
|---|---|
| 2G Network | GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 |
| 3G Network | HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700 / 1900 / 2100(SM-G9001) |
| 4G Network | Yes(Europe and US) |
| SIM | Single Sim |
| Display Type | Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors |
| Display Size | 1920 x 1080 pixels, 5.1 inches (~423 ppi pixel density) |
| Features | Qualcomm MSM8974AC Snapdragon 801 chipset, Quad-Core 2.5GHz Cortex Krait 400 CPU, Android OS v4.4.2, 2 GB RAM |
| Phonebook | Yes, Practically Unlimited |
| Call Records | Yes, Practically Unlimited |
| Internal Memory | 16/32GB Internal Storage, 2 GB RAM |
| Card Slot Memory | Yes, Upto 128 GB |
| GPRS | Yes, Class 12 |
| EDGE | Yes, Class 12 |
| WLAN | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, DLNA, Wi-Fi Direct, Wi-Fi hotspot |
| USB | Yes, microUSB v3.0, USB On The Go |
| Bluetooth | Yes, v4.0 with A2DP |
| 3G | HSDPA 42.2 Mbps, HSUPA, 11 Mbps |
| Camera Primary | 16 MP ISOCELL sensor @ 1/2.6 inches, autofocus, LED flash |
| Video | Yes,4K(5 minute limit), 2160p @30fps, 1080p@60fps |
| Secondary | Yes, 2 MP, 1080p |
| Sensors | Finger Print Scanner, Heart Rate monitor, Accelerometer, gyro , proximity |
| Sound Alert Type | Vibration, MP3, WAV ringtones |
| Loudspeaker | Yes |
| 3.5mm jack | Yes |
| OS, CPU, Chipset, And GPU | Android OS v4.4.2, Qualcomm MSM8974AC Snapdragon 801 chipset, Quad-Core 2.5GHz Cortex Krait 400 CPU, 2 GB RAM |
| Messaging | SMS(threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Mail, IM |
| Browser | HTML5 And Flash (Download From Outside) |
| Radio | Stereo FM radio with RDS |
| GPS | Yes, with A-GPS support |
| Java | Yes, via Java MIDP emulator |
| Colors | Black, White, Green |
| Battery | Non-removable Li-Ion 2800 mAh battery |
| Talktime | 21hrs on 3G |
| Standby | Not Available |
| Price | Rs. 49,999(expected) |
Author : Nadeem Ansari
Designation: Senior Editor
Bio: A gadget freak who can't make a day without his tiny little toys and is constantly trying to keep himself up to date with the latest events in tech history. Loves to read and write articles.
Bio: A gadget freak who can't make a day without his tiny little toys and is constantly trying to keep himself up to date with the latest events in tech history. Loves to read and write articles.
