Galaxy S range is what changed the tide for Samsung in the past few years. While each Galaxy S device has tasted success and surpassed sales of the preceding flagship Galaxy S phone, the launch of the Galaxy S5 is one of the most important ones in Samsung’s history for a number of reasons. So without further ado, let’s check out the device in more detail.
Samsung has been revamping their phone designs every year and Galaxy S5 is no different. However, instead of the faux leather and stitch design found on the Galaxy Note 3, Samsung decided to lose the faux leather finish and go for a perforated back. I’ll admit – I wasn’t impressed with the perforated design initially but the design grows on you. The phone also feels sturdier and slightly heavier when you compare it with the previous generation Galaxy S4.
Another change in the design department is the IP67 certification. The Galaxy S5 is IP67 rated, which means the phone can withstand dust and water for up to 30 minutes in up to 1 meter of depth. This also makes the Galaxy S5 the first phone among the flagship Galaxy devices to have such a certification (if you exclude the Galaxy S4 Active).
As for the placement, there’s a 5.1-inch Super AMOLED Display on the front, surrounded by the 2 megapixel camera on the top, a touch-sensitive app switcher and back button along with a physical home button that doubles up as a fingerprint scanner beneath the screen. The power/lock button is situated on the right hand side of the device while the volume buttons on the left. The 3.5mm headphone jack, infrared port on the top; USB 3.0 port at the bottom with a pop-out cover for protection; and the 16 megapixel camera along with flash and a heart rate sensor at the back of the phone.
In short, the Galaxy S5 looks like a run-of-the-mill Samsung handset from the front but it’s the back and the IP67 certification that sets it apart. The phone can withstand some good amount of dust, water and other sorts of liquid and given how crazy Indian monsoons get, having a water resistant phone is a good thing to have. The only gripe we have with Samsung is the bundling of a regular microUSB 2.0 cable in the sales package despite the phone supporting USB 3.0. Samsung bundled the USB 3.0 cable with the Galaxy Note 3 and considering the similar price at which Samsung started selling the Galaxy S5, the differential treatment was a bit disappointing.
Galaxy S5’s display was a subject to a lot of speculation. The size and the resolution were rumoured to be expectedly bigger than the Galaxy S4 and sport a QHD resolution. While the size got a tad bigger to 5.1-inches, Samsung decided to keep the same Full HD 1920×1080 resolution as the Galaxy S4. The display of the Galaxy S5 is one of the best I’ve seen on Samsung devices. It’s a Super AMOLED panel that offers some good colour reproduction, amazing black level and good contrast ratio. The screen is also brighter when you compare it with the Galaxy S4 and offers display optimisation options like Adapt Display, Professional, Standard, Dynamic and Movie modes. The phone also features Reading Mode that optimises the display for reading for selected apps.
Samsung has a tendency to offer variations of the same device, depending on different markets and Galaxy S5 is no different. The Galaxy S5 sold in India is powered by Samsung’s own Exynos 5420 Octa-core processor compared to the rest of the world where majority of the markets have a Snapdragon 801 processor.
This Exynos octa-core features four A15 cores clocked at 1.9GHz while the smaller A7 cores are clocked at 1.3GHz and unlike the octa-core present in the Galaxy S4, Galaxy S5 can take advantage of all the eight cores, thanks to HMP (Heterogeneous Multi-processing). The phone performs well with the latest Exynos and 2GB RAM and is pretty good most of the times but we experienced lags and heating issues occasionally. It could just be our unit and though a reboot generally solves the issue, this shouldn’t be the case when you’re using a flagship device. Samsung’s decision to go with 2GB RAM is also surprising considering Galaxy Note 3, which is Samsung’s another flagship device comes with 3GB RAM.
The Galaxy S5 runs Android 4.4 KitKat OS with an overlay of TouchWiz UI. Samsung has greatly improved the TouchWiz interface and feels more fluid and responsive. The icons have also got a makeover.
My Magazine that gives quick access to content in a tile-based interface can be activated by swiping to the left and if you’re not used to it, you’ll accidentally activate My Magazine number of times.
Samsung has also introduced a number of features like:
Private Mode: It allows users to hide certain files from the device to save it from prying eyes. Activating and deactivating is a piece of cake.
Kids mode: As the name suggests, Kids Mode is a dedicated area where it only allows the apps and games that the user has given access to. Kids Mode also gives access to camera with child-friendly user interface, a doodle pad, video etc. Users can setup different profile for different kids and is password protected.
Toolbox: Think Toolbox as a simplified version of Multi Window, The Toolbox basically overlays itself with up to 5 app icons, giving quicker access to the most used apps.
Ultra Power Saving Mode: This is by far the most innovative software feature you’ll find on the Galaxy S5. In case of a low battery, activating Ultra Power Saving Mode prolongs the battery life and as per Samsung’s claims, the phone can last more than a day after a user activates the Ultra Power Saving Mode with battery juice under 10 percent. So how is this possible? Well, for starters, the mode converts the vivid colour display of the Galaxy S5 to a grayscale one. It also gives access to just six apps with rest of the settings like wireless, GPS turned off by default.
If you don’t want to limit yourself with a set of six apps but want the monochrome display to conserve the battery, you can activate the Power Saving Mode that enables full functionality of the device but with a grayscale display.
The Galaxy S5 is the first phone from Samsung to sport a fingerprint scanner and to be honest, Samsung’s implementation of the fingerprint sensor is a mixed bag. Setting up the finger scanner is a breeze that allows users to unlock the device and even login to their Samsung account with just a swipe. But it’s the actual fingerprint registration that seems to be a hit and miss. The phone would not register the fingerprint correctly, thus forcing me to put the text-based password. However, there were times when the fingerprint scanner worked flawlessly.
Heart rate sensor is another distinguishing addition to the Galaxy S5. The heart rate sensor is located at the back of the phone, just beneath the camera module and works in conjunction with the new version of S Health (v3). The heart rate sensor works as intended, however, I feel the sensor is more apt on a wearable device, which Samsung has already integrated in the Gear 2 and the Gear Fit devices. Nevertheless, the sensor will allow users to track their heart beats and even stress level that can be charted for a post analysis.
The Galaxy S5 also features Emergency mode and Geo Mode that enables users to use the device’s torch, share location to an emergency contact, activate an alarm and more. Geo Mode notifies on any natural calamities in the selected region.
Galaxy S5 features a 16 megapixel camera sensor at the back and a 2 megapixel camera on the front. Samsung promises a fast 0.3 sec auto focus and I’ll admit, it’s one of the fastest I have used on a smartphone. The Galaxy S5 focuses on the subject instantly and takes some very good shots. The camera is also capable of shooting UHD (4K) videos but it trades the high-resolution with disabling of some features like Dual Camera Mode, HDR etc.
This time, Samsung has pre-loaded with few camera modes but if you wish, you can add more by downloading from Samsung Apps.
Check out some of the sample shots below.
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| Galaxy S5 Sample Shots |
A 2800mAh battery powers the Samsung Galaxy S5 and with a mixed usage of voice calls, music, videos and internet surfing, the phone could last almost a day.
So here’s the burning question – “How good is the Galaxy S5 and what about the fact that Samsung has come up with a new Galaxy S5 with faster processor and better display?” I would say Galaxy S5 is a good phone in its current state. While Samsung’s choices with some of the things like processor, RAM, no bundling of USB 3.0 cable is questionable, Galaxy S5 excels in camera performance and day-to-day operation. However, having said that, the faster Galaxy S5 with LTE-A has already been announced for the Korean market and if we go by the history of Galaxy S4, chances of the faster Galaxy S5 coming to India is pretty slim.
The phone retails for around Rs. 36,000 and at this price, the Galaxy S5 gives other competitive devices a good run for the money.
thanks for the review