With Samsung officially unveiling the Galaxy S5 at Mobile World
Congress, we finally have confirmation of the Korean company’s next
flagship smartphone.
Read on for all the details.
IT’S A POWERHOUSE
Samsung isn’t shy when it comes to loading its top-of-the-range phones
with headline-grabbing specs, and the Galaxy S5 is no different. Centre
stage is its quad-core Snapdragon 805 processor, which runs at a
blistering 2.5GHz. This chip, paired with 2GB of RAM, means the phone
shouldn’t have any bother smoothly running any app you throw at it. One
thing to note: it isn’t 64-bit – that’s probably going to be a feature
of next year’s Samsung flagship.
The phone comes with Android 4.4 KitKat and a new version of Samsung’s
TouchWiz interface. There’s no word yet on whether or not a stock
Android Google Play or Nexus edition will be be available.
Meanwhile, a 2800mAh battery should give the S5 enough juice to easily
last a day (Samsung claims 21 hours of talk time), and as with previous
Galaxy S phones it’s swappable.
You also get a choice between 16GB and 32GB of expandable storage (you
can add up to 64GB extra via microSD), and there’s a microUSB 3.0 port
for quick transfer speeds.
On the connectivity front, there’s both 4G LTE (supporting the speedy
Category 4) and fifth generation Wi-Fi 802.11ac and 2X2 MiMo, plus a
feature called Download Booster which uses both Wi-Fi and 4G
simultaneously to download files more speedily.
SCREEN: BIGGER, BUT NO QHD
In retrospect, speculation about the S5 toting a quad HD 2560 x 1440
screen always seemed a touch far-fetched, so we’re not particularly
surprised to see that Samsung has retained a full HD 1080p resolution
instead. The AMOLED screen, however, is slightly larger than the S4’s at
5.1in.
FINGERTIPS OF FUN
Samsung has fitted the S5 with a
fingerprint scanner, which serves three main purposes. First, it can
swiftly unlock the phone, which works much like the Touch IDsensor on
Apple's iPhone 5s (albeit a little less snappy – but it’s much more
accurate than the HTC One Max’s scanner).
The second function is instant online mobile payments via PayPal
integration, and the third is to protect important documents with a
Private Mode that's unlocked by your fingerprint.
Round the back, there's a heartrate sensor – the first ever seen on a
smartphone, designed to play nice with Samsung's revised S Health app.
SUPERCHARGED AUTOFOCUS
The Galaxy S5's 16MP camera comes with an LED flash, a new advanced HDR
mode and post-shot focusing: it takes two images every time you press
the shutter, with the focus trained in different spots: one on the
subject and one on the background. This means that, after the shot’s
been taken, you can choose a defocussed or sharply focussed background
(mostly for aesthetic reasons). But probably the camera’s best new
feature is its super-fast autofocus, which Samsung claims is the fastest
on any smartphone at up to 0.3 seconds.
Round the front, there's a 2.1MP front camera for video chatting and selfies.
FIT BUT YOU KNOW IT
Samsung has focussed heavily on
fitness with the Galaxy S5, equipping it with a brand new version of the
S Health app that provides a FitBit-style activity tracker that helps
you monitor your workouts and diet. S Health 3.0 is also aided by the
built-in heart rate monitor and designed to integrate fully with
Samsung’s new wearable tech: the Galaxy Gear 2, Galaxy Gear 2 Neo and Galaxy Gear Fit – meaning you can keep an eye on your activity without having to stop to haul the S5 out of your pocket.
PRICE AND AVAILABILITY
Samsung has kept quiet on the price thus far, but we should find out
some time ahead of the Galaxy S5’s 11th April launch. We'll keep you
updated.
Vodafone, Three, EE, Phones4u and Carphone Warehouse have all announced
that they will be stocking the Galaxy S5, though prices and tariffs have
yet to be revealed. We'll be updating this page with more details and
links as they come in.
