The next big thing is almost here. On Monday, Samsung will unveil the Galaxy S5 smartphone in Barcelona, Spain at MWC 2014. Samsung posted a new teaser trailer on Friday, showing a series of snapshots that illustrate features of the new flagship.
Speculation surrounds the Samsung Galaxy S5 in these final days leading up to the launch. Although rumors have ranged far and wide in regard to the S5's specifications, there are a few things that we know will be included with a strong degree of certainty. In spite of rumors to the contrary, the Galaxy S5 will have a 2K display with a resolution of 2560 x 1440. The display will most likely measure 5.25-inches diagonally. The Galaxy S5 will come with Android 4.4 KitKat out of the box. It will come in 16, 32 and 64 GB storage options and feature a more premium build quality.
The Galaxy S5 will most certainly feature a better camera, probably with at least one 16-megapixel sensor. Some rumors hint at a dual sensor camera, which is another possibility, given the broad hints in the teaser trailer, which uses words like "Selfie" and "Focus." The camera will be capable of 4K UHD video recording at 30 fps and Full HD video recording at 60 fps. The camera app will also include several new photo-taking functions, which should vastly improve the quality of the photographs you can take with the S5. There's 3D Tour Shot, Night, Focus Select, Aqua (for taking pictures underwater - hint, hint) and many, many more.
Also, if you want to get overly analytical, you could say that Samsung's teaser trailer, which is made up of a collection of stunning still shots, is meant to showcase all of the new camera's capabilities and new modes.
Now that the all-but confirmed features are out of the way, let's move on to a very big hint that Samsung dropped in its teaser trailer. The Galaxy S5 could very well be a waterproof smartphone, capable of withstanding the most active user lifestyle, if you give any credence to the words "Alive," "Explorer," "Outdoor" and most of all, "Wet." Not only did Samsung use the word "Wet" to describe a feature of its new flagship, this was one of the images that lingered on the screen for a second longer than the others. In case you didn't notice, that was Samsung poking you in the ribs and saying, "Pay attention!"
The trailer highlighted the word "Speed" as well, which means that the Galaxy S5 will have a super-fast processor and a good chunk of RAM. Most expect to see the Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 or 805 on some models of the S5 and the octa-core Exynos on others.
By all accounts, the S5 will have a fingerprint sensor on the home button, but some recent reports think that the home button will disappear all together, leaving a blank touch-sensitive, fingerprint-aware space. Lee Young Hee, the executive Vice President of Samsung's mobile business, basically confirmed in an interview with Bloomberg that the S5 would have a more premium build quality, which consumers would notice immediately. It is unknown if Samsung will go with the faux leather back again, or feature an aluminum casing like that of the iPhone 5S and HTC One.
One of the most tantalizing rumors suggested that Samsung would launch a premium and standard version of the Galaxy S5 on Monday. The report is unconfirmed, but it could explain why so many rumors of a 1080p S5 have been surfacing lately. If Samsung made two versions of the S5 at different price points, one would surely have to include a lower quality display. Either way, we'll find out the truth on Monday when the Unpacked event takes off at 8 p.m. in Barcelona (2 p.m. EST or 11 a.m. PST).
