“Samsung gets down to earth again (after the S4 hype) and the results are amazing!”

The latest incarnation of the flagship for the massively popular Samsung Galaxy range is now here. The S5 comes loaded with a variety of new features that would give any high-end smartphone a run for its money. However, as the competition has become merciless in the industry, Samsung has begun to scale back on its hype overly-ambitious launches (remember the S4 launch party?) and adopted a more down-to earth approach. Moreover, it is now setting its sights on new accessories and a growing health and fitness industry centred on smartphones and wearable smart devices. Amongst the “usual” updates, we have a better set of specs ranging from the processor to the battery. Welcome additions include but not limited to a dust and waterproof system, better battery management and download booster. Features that seem cool but could turn out to be useless additions include the fingerprint scanner and the heart-rate monitor.

Pros:
●    Excellent specs upgrade (display, processor, camera, etc.)
●    Dust and waterproof exterior
●    Download booster (LTE and WiFi)
●    Easier integration with (Samsung) wearable hardware


Cons:
●    Still made of plastic
●    Design relatively shabby compared to HTC One/M8 or iPhone
●    Plenty of bloatware (despite minor improvement)
●    Battery upgrade could have been better.

            
Design

The external design of the Samsung is S5 is very similar to that of the S4. There are virtually no major design or aesthetic changes to the system. Some of us thought that Samsung might finally opt for an all-metal design like HTC or Apple, but those rumors turned out to be false. Instead, users still get the plastic casing, that is not entirely poor but certainly feels less premium than comparable all-metal premium smartphones. The design now also means that the S5 is water and dust proof in compliance of the IP67 standards. This basically means that the phone can survive for about 30 minutes in a depth of 1 metre.  This is by far the coolest addition Samsung has included lately and is good enough to forgive Samsung’s lack of a metal exterior.

The new features also mean that the S5 has grown slightly. Its dimensions - 5.59 x 2.85 x 0.32 inches - are slightly greater than that of the S4 (5.38 x 2.75 x 0.31 inches). Moreover, the S5 is heavier than the S4 - 145g to 130g. It may seem Samsung (like Apple and a few others) is moving away from the obsession to have the thinnest phone possible, which is not entirely a bad thing.

Hardware

The S5 naturally boasts an impressive list of hardware features, virtually every element of hardware has received some sort of improvement. Anyone who releases anything afterwards will be hard pressed to reach the standards set by Samsung on the S5.

Key Specs
●    5.1” Super AMOLED (432 pixels PPI)
●    16 MP Camera with  LED flash
●    Processor - Quadcore 2500 Mhz, Krait 400
●    Bluetooth v4.0
●    2800 mAh battery

Display

The S5 comes loaded with what some have dubbed the most beautiful display technology, the 5.1” super AMOLED screen now boasts 432 pixels per inch, and performs better than its predecessor. Interestingly, manufacturers will begin to move away from the PPI count because most high-end devices have such a high pixel density that any incremental increase will go virtually unnoticed. Instead, manufacturers are started to tinker with colours, brightness, and other features to enhance the visual quality.

Processor and RAM

The S5 boasts an incredible Quad-Core processor and the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 MSM8974-AC. This is enhanced with 2GB RAM (same as last time) and 16 GB of inbuilt memory and a further expandable memory option upto 128 GB.

Battery

The S5 comes loaded with a 2800mAh battery, which is a minor upgrade from the S4’s 2600mAh. However, Samsung has gone out of its way to squeeze more juice from this one (read the Standouts section)

Sensors

The new features the S5 brings in also means that it comes loaded with a wider suite of sensors. In addition to the standard sensors, the S5 comes loaded with a fingerprint scanner, heart rate detector, step counter, step detector, and pedometer (used to calculate the distance travelled by foot by recording the number of steps). The new sensors are sort dedicated to the health and wellness part of the Samsung model, where the company is increasingly integrating its systems to match health-conscious users (and expand its eco system).

Camera

The S5 comes loaded with a staggering primary 16MP camera and a 2.1MP secondary camera, which is a upgrade from the previous 13MP and 2MP respectively. The camera comes loaded with the standard features but also includes High Dynamic Range mode (rich tone) - basically to better capture the differences in light, selective focus and virtual tour shot.

Interface

The S5 will come loaded with Android 4.4.2 or “KitKat”. This 4.4.2 features key updates that fix some of the bugs associated with the previous version of KitKat. The interface, is simpler and more intuitive. Moreover, with KitKat, users have greater access to customisation options. Other enhancements include easier multitasking options and a consolidation of Google services. The new OS features Google Hangouts, Google Now and a variety of other Google services, designed to lock you into their ecosystem (for the better or for the worse). I should also note that Google’s voice recognition system (on Chrome and on Google Now) has improved immensely, so those of us with non-US, UK or other mainstream english accents can access the same features. Google Now will also be integrated fully in the next version of Chrome (version 34).

Standout features

Download Booster: I’m sure many of us would have wondered at some point of time, why we can’t use WiFi and 3G together. To me it seems like a no-brainer. Thankfully, the people actually making the hardware have started thinking about this too. This leads to what I believe is the best standout feature of the S5: Download booster. While the name isn’t exactly sexy, the function definitely gets high marks. This technology allows users to use LTE and WiFi simultaneously (hallelujah!). According to Samsung, this could result in added network speed of about 80~90%. Of course, in the real world, the results may be not as impressive. Nevertheless, this feature is almost certainly going to be standard and hopefully it’ll keep improving with the Galaxy range.

Waterproof and dustproof: Again, another no-brainer. We have smartphones that are more powerful and capable than entry-level computers, and yet, a small spill or fall results in the destruction of a device that costs as much as a capable notebook PC. Given its experience with the S4 active, Samsung has delivered a truly common sense feature. As mentioned earlier, the waterproofing and dust protection is relatively robust for everyday use (this is not a licence to go deep-sea fishing with the S5; at least, not yet)

Ultra Power-Saving Mode: This is not entirely a standout feature because lots of other manufacturers have begun using something similar. Nevertheless, it deserves some attention.  According to the company, this mode allows 24 hours of operation on 10% battery. That’s the sort of claim that needs to be tested before believing. The science behind it is nothing spectacular, basically the phone kills all non-essential features (changing the display colour to greyscale, limiting the processor, switching off GPS, disconnecting WiFi when the screen goes dark and limiting most non-critical background apps). Frankly, all else held equal,  a battery that exceeded 3000 mAh would have also been nicer.

Fingerprint Scanner: I saved this for last because I’m not sure how useful people will find this feature. While it has copied Apple’s lead on this feature, the Samsung variant is also designed to work with PayPal for payments. This might have some potential (few people really remember all their passwords anyway) but it will take some time to decide whether it is a novelty or an useful addition.

Conclusion: Should you buy it?’ Yes

The Samsung S5, is probably the finest Android smartphone on the market right now (which will definitely change in in about 6-10 months). While it may not be gorgeous as the HTC One M8 or free of bloatware like Google’s Nexus range, the S5 comes with some truly innovative and useful features. The dust and waterproof design, and the download booster drew my attention immediately. The other standard features are also extremely well designed. If you are looking for a premium Android device, I would strongly recommend the S5. Lots of stores around Colombo (including the official Samsung store, which is close to the German embassy) are allowing their customers to pre-order their devices. Depending on the store, those who pre-order might also get added benefits. Prices could range from about Rs. 90-110,000.

By Navam Niles