After months of rumors and speculation, the Samsung Galaxy S5 is finally here. Samsung unveiled its new flagship at MWC 2014 and for once, it didn't quite live up to expectations.
The Galaxy S5 did not feature the expected 2K display, metal body or simplified version of Android. It did, however, include the fingerprint sensor, dust and water resistance, and fitness focus that was forecasted for the new flagship. The Galaxy S5 has a 5.1-inch, 1080p AMOLED display and a dimpled plastic backing, which comes in four colors: black, white, gold and electric blue. The device is powered by a 2.5 GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor from Qualcomm and 2 GB of RAM.
Samsung will offer the Galaxy S5 in 16 or 32 GB storage options, both of which are expandable up to 64 GB more via micro SD card slot. The S5 runs Android 4.4 KitKat right out of the box and features a 2800 mAh battery. In terms of connectivity, the new flagship comes with improved Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac HT80, MIMO(2x2), Bluetooth 4.0 and NFC. Samsung also added IP67 dust and water resistance to the Galaxy S5, making it a truly durable mobile smartphone. You can even dump your S5 in three feet of water for up to 30 minutes and it will still function when you pull it out.
Throughout the presentation, Samsung emphasized the importance of listening to its customers' desires and bringing "relevant" improvements to its devices. It seems that the customers have spoken: They want a better, easy to use camera; a fitness tracking smartphone and a device that looks modern, but offers security. On these key points, Samsung certainly delivered. The Galaxy S5 comes equipped with a significantly better 16-megapixel back camera that includes phase detection Auto Focus, an advanced HDR and several new functions. The new AF function is one typically found only on DSLR cameras and should help users capture figures in motion and fidgety photo subjects like children and pets.
The camera app also features an editing feature that lets you sharpen the focus on a specific part of the picture after the shot has already been taken. The HDR picture-taking mode is also more advanced and will add richer colors and a sharp, crisp quality to your photos. The camera can also take 4K videos, just like the Sony Xperia Z2, which was announced earlier at MWC 2014. The aspect ratio, focal length and pixel size of the S5's camera remained the same, but Samsung claims that it improved the ISOCELL technology to increase the dynamic range of the camera.
To satisfy its customers' craving for a fitness-focused smartphone, Samsung added a heart rate sensor on the camera flash and improved its S Health app to include a pedometer, diet monitor, coach and exercise tracker, so that you know how well you are following your fitness regimen. Samsung is really pushing its Galaxy Gear wearables as companion devices to the Galaxy S5, but if you just want your smartphone to do the job, the S5 can handle your basic needs.
The biggest new addition to the Galaxy S5 was definitely the fingerprint sensor. Just like the fingerprint sensor on the iPhone 5S, the one on the Galaxy S5 can be used to unlock your smartphone. However, unlike other imitation fingerprint sensors, the one on the S5 can actually be used to verify some PayPal payments and other wallet apps, much like the fingerprint sensor on the iPhone 5S can be used to buy things from iTunes and the App store. Samsung's fingerprint sensor works with a swiping motion and is located on the home button, as expected. It can also recognize multiple fingerprints.
The Galaxy S5 hits a lot of high notes with its great camera, practical fingerprint sensor and interesting new fitness sensors, but for the most part, its hardware and design stayed the same. The S5 is marginally faster, bigger and more fancy - it just isn't revolutionary. Rumors pointed to a 2K display, metal back and two different versions of the new flagship, but Samsung didn't deliver. The device's minimal improvements would be considered incredible for just about any other smartphone maker, but Samsung, like Apple, has set itself to a higher standard and frankly, most of us expected more from the Galaxy S5.
