Key Features: 16-megapixel camera; 5.1-inch 1080p Super AMOLED screen; Android 4.4 with TouchWiz
Manufacturer: Samsung
Samsung Galaxy S5 Review: Hands-on
Samsung Galaxy S5: The New King of Android
The Samsung Galaxy S5 could well end up being the most popular phone of the year, with few serious rivals bar the iPhone 5S. It's Samsung's flagship Android phone, taking the place of the Galaxy S4 as top dog.It has a 5.1-inch screen, an improved camera and a super-fast quad-core Snapdragon 801 processor. But is it enough of an upgrade? We've spent some time with the phone ahead of our full review to see what it's all about.
Samsung Galaxy S5 – Price and Release Date
The Samsung Galaxy S5 is already available to pre-order. We won't see it on shelves until April, but you can get your name down for one at various places online.You’ll have to pay around £550-600 to get the phone SIM-free, leaving you free to get a lower-end contract or go fully pre-pay. The Galaxy S5 was rumoured to be cheaper than the Galaxy S4, but it turns out they’re fairly similar – it’s still a top-end, expensive phone.
The Galaxy S5 goes on sale on April 11 in most of Samsung’s major territories, including the US and UK. We'll aim to get our full review up by that date. But for now, here are our preliminary impressions.
Samsung Galaxy S5 - Against the Rivals
The Galaxy S5 has only a few direct rivals - the 'lead' phones from the other big manufacturers. By the end of 2014, we'll have seen five of them, but we know that two are going to go on sale at roughly the same time.We have a little longer to wait to find out what the iPhone 6, the LG G3 and Nexus 6 are all about, but here's how the Galaxy S5 compares with the Sony Xperia Z2and the 'all new' HTC One.
Samsung Galaxy S5 – Design
The look of the Samsung Galaxy S5 has been much-discussed. Some thought Samsung would make a metal phone, but the new model is still good old plastic.
It's more conspicuously plastic than the Galaxy S4 too. There's no fake metal finish on the back this time - just silvery plastic sides - and the back has a texture of little dimples to give it a bit of extra grip, and a different look from the previous Galaxy S phones. Samsung calls it "modern and refreshing", and it comes in four shades – blue, gold, white and black. Don't buy the gold version, it looks horrible. Here are all the launch colours next to each other:
It's more conspicuously plastic than the Galaxy S4 too. There's no fake metal finish on the back this time - just silvery plastic sides - and the back has a texture of little dimples to give it a bit of extra grip, and a different look from the previous Galaxy S phones. Samsung calls it "modern and refreshing", and it comes in four shades – blue, gold, white and black. Don't buy the gold version, it looks horrible. Here are all the launch colours next to each other:
The central select button houses one of the Galaxy S5's most intriguing features - a fingerprint sensor. It's in a similar position to the iPhone 5S's Touch ID sensor, but the tech it uses is a little different.
Where the Touch ID sensor simply requires you to place a finger on it, the Galaxy S5's button sensor needs a swipe. It feels a little more awkward, but the front positioning is much better than the rear sensor of the HTC One Max. As well as unlocking the phone, the fingerprint sensor can be used to authenticate online transactions, like PayPal. A little scary? Yes. Handy? Absolutely.
We've had quite mixed experiences with the Glaxy S5's fingerprint sensor to date. Several members of the team gave it a go, with differing results - some found it worked perfectly, others that it was a bit glitchier. It's likely that the sensor needs a good, clean and consistent swipe to work properly.
Where the Touch ID sensor simply requires you to place a finger on it, the Galaxy S5's button sensor needs a swipe. It feels a little more awkward, but the front positioning is much better than the rear sensor of the HTC One Max. As well as unlocking the phone, the fingerprint sensor can be used to authenticate online transactions, like PayPal. A little scary? Yes. Handy? Absolutely.
We've had quite mixed experiences with the Glaxy S5's fingerprint sensor to date. Several members of the team gave it a go, with differing results - some found it worked perfectly, others that it was a bit glitchier. It's likely that the sensor needs a good, clean and consistent swipe to work properly.
The fingerprint sensor is just one of a number of hardware features you might not appreciate from simply looking at the phone. Water resistance and dust-proofing is the other biggie. The Galaxy S5's plastic back and the USB port on the bottom are rubber sealed, letting you dunk the phone in water for a short amount of time without risking breaking the thing.
The Samsung Galaxy S5 is certified to the IP67 standard, meaning it can be submerged in water and is completely dust-proof. As ever with mobile phone water-resistance, this relies on the seals being in place. And Samsung does not recommend submerging it.
The one sealed port is the USB port on the bottom, and its flap is much larger than you might expect. It's a USB 3.0 port, not the usual microUSB type. It offers faster data transfer, and faster charging when used with a computer's USB 3.0 socket. However, it's also a good deal bigger than normal microUSB. You can use regular microUSB cables in the socket, though, so there's no real convenience issue. It just looks a bit weird.
The Samsung Galaxy S5 is certified to the IP67 standard, meaning it can be submerged in water and is completely dust-proof. As ever with mobile phone water-resistance, this relies on the seals being in place. And Samsung does not recommend submerging it.
The one sealed port is the USB port on the bottom, and its flap is much larger than you might expect. It's a USB 3.0 port, not the usual microUSB type. It offers faster data transfer, and faster charging when used with a computer's USB 3.0 socket. However, it's also a good deal bigger than normal microUSB. You can use regular microUSB cables in the socket, though, so there's no real convenience issue. It just looks a bit weird.
Check out how much larger the Galaxy S5's USB 3.0 port is (on the right) than the S4's
This is not the first time we've seen a microUSB 3.0 socket on a Samsung mobile device, either. It is also used in the Galaxy Note 3 and the Galaxy Note Pro 12.2. No other major manufacturers have cottoned on to this, though – we imagine it's because they think few people would care. They may have a point.
There's one more standout hardware addition on the Galaxy S5, and it's the least 'everyday' of the lot. The rear of the phone has a heart rate sensor, which can monitor your heart rate when you place a finger on the back of the phone.
This is not the first time we've seen a microUSB 3.0 socket on a Samsung mobile device, either. It is also used in the Galaxy Note 3 and the Galaxy Note Pro 12.2. No other major manufacturers have cottoned on to this, though – we imagine it's because they think few people would care. They may have a point.
There's one more standout hardware addition on the Galaxy S5, and it's the least 'everyday' of the lot. The rear of the phone has a heart rate sensor, which can monitor your heart rate when you place a finger on the back of the phone.
It's only really of use within the pre-installed fitness app at the moment, though, and it's nowhere near as convenient as the sensor on a smartwatch like the Samsung Gear 2. I can't imagine many runners trotting around with their fingers glued to the phone's back.
The heart rate sensor lives next to the LED flash, in the little group of odd-looking techy bits and bobs below the camera.
The heart rate sensor lives next to the LED flash, in the little group of odd-looking techy bits and bobs below the camera.
The heart rate sensor fires a red LED that lights up your finger
None of the Galaxy S5's extra hardware features are mobile phone essentials – the water-resistance, the fingerprint sensor and the heart rate monitor aren't strictly necessary. But if you don't care about any of them, you're missing out on the phone's most noticeable upgrades.
None of the Galaxy S5's extra hardware features are mobile phone essentials – the water-resistance, the fingerprint sensor and the heart rate monitor aren't strictly necessary. But if you don't care about any of them, you're missing out on the phone's most noticeable upgrades.
Samsung Galaxy S5 - Other Hardware Features
As is common in high-end Samsung phones, the Galaxy S5 has a few extra hardware features that are easy to miss. There's an IR blaster, which will let you replace your home entertainment remote controls using the phone. You 'teach' the phone the commands from your various remotes, one by one. It takes a bit of effort, but is worth it in the long run.
Some of the other sensors on-board are slightly less useful. As well as the indispensible compass, gyroscope and accelerometer, the Galaxy S5 has a barometer and a Hall sensor. Both of these featured in the Galaxy S4.
The barometer is used simply to relay the conditions you're currently in, and the Hall sensor is what makes the Galaxy S5's clever flip covers possible. Samsung's official flip covers use little windows that give you selective bits of information when the case is closed - the Hall sensor is what tells the phone that the cover is in place.
This obsession with packing in every feature possible is a huge bonus when assessing the Galaxy S5 as a media player. Not only does it offer expandable memory, codec support is excellent too. As well as the usual audio and video formats, the Galaxy S5 will play FLAC and Vorbis audio files, and with native MKV support it should handle most videos downloaded from the web. Of course, to be a good video player, it needs a good screen...
Some of the other sensors on-board are slightly less useful. As well as the indispensible compass, gyroscope and accelerometer, the Galaxy S5 has a barometer and a Hall sensor. Both of these featured in the Galaxy S4.
The barometer is used simply to relay the conditions you're currently in, and the Hall sensor is what makes the Galaxy S5's clever flip covers possible. Samsung's official flip covers use little windows that give you selective bits of information when the case is closed - the Hall sensor is what tells the phone that the cover is in place.
This obsession with packing in every feature possible is a huge bonus when assessing the Galaxy S5 as a media player. Not only does it offer expandable memory, codec support is excellent too. As well as the usual audio and video formats, the Galaxy S5 will play FLAC and Vorbis audio files, and with native MKV support it should handle most videos downloaded from the web. Of course, to be a good video player, it needs a good screen...
Samsung Galaxy S5 – Screen
The screen of the Galaxy S5 is not dramatically different to that of the Galaxy S4. It's a shade bigger – a grand 0.1 inches – but the screen type and resolution are the same. It's a 1080p Super AMOLED screen.
As with just about every OLED-type screen, contrast and black level are excellent. Samsung says it has dramatically increased how dim the screen can go too. It's the first time we've seen a company boast about such a thing, but it will come in handy if you like to watch a spot of iPlayer before bed, or check your emails at all hours of the day.
As with just about every OLED-type screen, contrast and black level are excellent. Samsung says it has dramatically increased how dim the screen can go too. It's the first time we've seen a company boast about such a thing, but it will come in handy if you like to watch a spot of iPlayer before bed, or check your emails at all hours of the day.
Side-by-side with the Galaxy S4, maximum brightness of the Galaxy S5 seemed a smidge higher but this is something we'll look into in more detail when we get the phone in to review. Samsung also claims it has significantly improved the screen's colour gamut, which should result in a further lessening of the over-saturation commonly associated with OLED screens.
I expect the phone continues to use the PenTile subpixel style seen in the Galaxy S4 and other Galaxy-series devices. This reduces sharpness a little, but on a phone as pixel-packed as this it wouldn't make much difference in terms of actual perception. To my eyes, the screen looked pretty great. We'll be examining the screen in much greater detail soon.
I expect the phone continues to use the PenTile subpixel style seen in the Galaxy S4 and other Galaxy-series devices. This reduces sharpness a little, but on a phone as pixel-packed as this it wouldn't make much difference in terms of actual perception. To my eyes, the screen looked pretty great. We'll be examining the screen in much greater detail soon.
Samsung Galaxy S5 – Software
Like every standard Galaxy S-series phone, the Galaxy S5 uses custom Samsung interface laid on top of Android. However, Samsung has given its interface a revamp “inspired by the prism effect of diamonds”. What this amounts to is a reworking of the phone's icons, and a minor streamlining of the phone's look.
The icons are a bit simpler, and a bit cleaner. The interface still isn't the prettiest around, but it's a solid improvement. Samsung's interface is starting to look less cluttered, less busy. I think the Google Experience interface of the Nexus 5 tops it on the clean and clear front – and iOS 7 is a bit better than both. But Samsung is moving in the right direction.
The icons are a bit simpler, and a bit cleaner. The interface still isn't the prettiest around, but it's a solid improvement. Samsung's interface is starting to look less cluttered, less busy. I think the Google Experience interface of the Nexus 5 tops it on the clean and clear front – and iOS 7 is a bit better than both. But Samsung is moving in the right direction.
However, like the Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 edition, interface navigation is complicated by the Magazine feature. This offers another series of home screens, but ones packed with tiles of updates from social networks and your favourite websites rather than shortcuts and widgets. It's this sort of extra that means the Galaxy S5 probably isn't for people who are completely new to smartphones.
As usual with a Samsung phone, the Galaxy S5 is loaded with a few extra apps too. Key ones include S Health 3.0 – which we've already mentioned – and Knox (missing on our demo model, but apparently it'll come included). This is a security suite. But it's more concerned with connecting to company networks, not keeping your most secret secrets safe from members of your family.
Kids Mode is a new addition that is family-oriented. It offers a special area in the phone that's kid-friendly and you can choose what goes into it. Here's a snapshot of Kid Mode -
As usual with a Samsung phone, the Galaxy S5 is loaded with a few extra apps too. Key ones include S Health 3.0 – which we've already mentioned – and Knox (missing on our demo model, but apparently it'll come included). This is a security suite. But it's more concerned with connecting to company networks, not keeping your most secret secrets safe from members of your family.
Kids Mode is a new addition that is family-oriented. It offers a special area in the phone that's kid-friendly and you can choose what goes into it. Here's a snapshot of Kid Mode -
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