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Hands-on: Samsung Galaxy S5 [VIDEO]

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samsung-galaxy-s5-2

The Samsung Galaxy S5 was hands-down the most anticipated device at Mobile World Congress 2014. The Galaxy S series brings the most popular Android smartphone every single year, so a device of this magnitude simply cannot go unnoticed.

We are here in Barcelona and we got some sweet hands-on time with the next device of the year – the Samsung Galaxy S5. Does it disappoint? Is it all we expected it to be? Let’s check it out and see!

Is the Samsung Galaxy S5 a winner?

Samsung’s 2014 flagship device will definitely not win the specs war this time. At least not on paper, but this does not mean the Samsung Galaxy S5 is not a powerhouse.

Samsung Galaxy S5 specs

  • Android 4.4 KitKat
  • 2.5GHz quad-core processor
  • 5.1-inch 1080p HD Super AMOLED display
  • 2GB of RAM
  • 16 megapixel rear camera with 4K video recording
  • 2 megapixel front camera
  • 16GB / 32GB of internal storage (microSD up to 128GB)
  • 2,800mAh battery
  • Though the specs can be matched and surpassed by multiple current and upcoming smartphones, Samsung has a plan in mind. The Samsung Galaxy S5 will give you the performance you need, paired with great new features many of you will take advantage of.

    It’s all about the “glam”

    DSC_5619

    Samsung made it very clear that this year’s devices had a huge focus in aesthetics. With it’s new dotted design multiple colors (as well as designer and special editions), the device is meant to look good as well as working like a champ.

    But it’s also a strong phone!

    Furthermore, it’s not just meant to be a good-looking smartphone – it is also a very strong one! The device has a rating of IP-67, making it both water and dust-resistant. This is a big step for Samsung, who’s devices are not known for being the strongest.

    samsung-galaxy-s5-5

    Crazy Galaxy S5 sensors!

    Another big focus at Unpacked 5 was the health topic. This device can actually read your heart beat. There is a heart beat sensor located on the back of the device, right below the camera.

    Another sensor that makes the device very interesting is the fingerprint reader. This puts the Galaxy S5 right against Apple (once again). You can use this fingerprint reader to protect your device and information, as well as making PayPal payments.

    I must say fingerprint reader integration into mobile payments is quite awesome. It is a quick and simple way to authenticate yourself. Passwords are complicated and easy to forget. We are moving into a password-less future and fingerprint readers could be the first step in that direction.

    Conclusion

    Of course, whether a phone is good or not always comes to personal preferences. I happen to prefer other devices in the market, but I must say the Galaxy S5 is not a bad smartphone at all.

    It’s specs may be lower than anticipated, but it didn’t hiccup once during our tests. The UI is much cleaner and the new features can prove to be very helpful to many of you.

    The colorful designs are also fun and the rubberized. The display is also a champ, measuring 5.1 inches diagonally and featuring 1080p resolution, along with the amazing colors we have grown to love from Super AMOLED displays.

    samsung-galaxy-s5-3

    It’s camera performs like a champ, as well. Live HDR and 4K video recording are only a couple of the features it has. As camera enthusiasts, we can’t complain about this phone’s photo/video performance.

    We will have to keep our mind open until we get to test it in more depth, but for now we say the Samsung Galaxy S5 is a winner!

    For more details, you can always take a look at our Samsung Galaxy S5 announcement post or our Samsung Galaxy S5 vs. Galaxy S4 comparison.

    What do you guys say – is this your next smartphone?

    Edgar Cervantes

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    138 Comments

    1. I may buy it and hold onto my Nexus 5 in case I don’t like it. Always nice to have a backup plan.

    2. I wonder if samsung will come out with an gs5 pro edition in a few months? I really want to believe that they will.

      1. Yes I think so… it’ll have SN 805, 3GB RAM and perhaps aluminum body… it will also most likely lose the water resistance and the heart rate monitor.

        1. The water resistance is my favorite feature!

          1. Mine too, would love to take it to the beach… pool and/or just wash it by the sink after a day of use…

            1. SD805 doesn’t have cellular.

    3. Ugh. Having the GS3, and having taken back my GS4 to get my GS3 back…I’m not terribly impressed. Aesthetics my ass, other than having a nicer back it’s just too boxy. It’s okay, but I still think the 3 was Samsung’s best designed phone. Anyway when the hell does HTC announce the new One? If it has an SD slot I think I’m going with that one.

      1. March 25. I doubt it’ll have an SD slot given the way things are going in the mobile world, but HTC were pretty good at offering decent sized storage options with the previous One.

      2. I couldn’t agree more with everything you said.

      3. Screw the One man – methinks the xperia z2 is top dog for now…

    4. Finally a decent hands on video. Still not digging the s5. Will wait for the fall lineup

    5. Yes, I’m going to get it. Got a GS3 on launch day and it has served me well. There are two things I absolutely must have in a phone. A beautiful 5 inch display to fit in my hand and a removable battery. I’d love to try the new Sony or HTC but I’m not going back to a wired experience for my wireless device.

      1. It’s funny how the GS2 was boxy and people complained that the GS3 was too curvy when it came out.

      2. Wired experience?

      3. whats the difference between carrying a removable battery in your pocket and carrying a portable charger in your pocket.

        1. uh this one is pretty obvious…he can put the battery in and be on his way toss the old one in his car, a portable charger still has to be plugged up to the phone for a couple of hours for a full charge.

          1. trueee, never thought about that.

        2. I like both. External battery for when you don’t want to reboot, removable for when you don’t mind rebooting.

        3. It is a large difference. Trust me. I have the xperia z1s and I have to take the device out and set it on a table and plug in the micro USB from the phone to the charger and leave it there for about half an hour. with a removable battery one could simply pull off the back door and place the new battery in and be off again. It takes about a minute. Also, if you have a removable battery you could also use the portable charger; no compromises.

      4. Me too, I like what the phone has to offer and like the back as well. I still want to see what HTC has to offer, but the rounded back of the HTC doesn’t appeal to me. The IP-67 rating is the deciding factor for me.

    6. Is it me or did the camera take a while to actually snap a photo?

      1. I thought I heard him say he had it in HDR mode or something.

    7. I applaud Samsung for replacing the button for a recent apps button (wow Samsung, welcome to 2012). Other than that, it’s a big meh.

      1. Recent apps button is unnecessary. Double tap home = recent apps in addition to an actual menu button which is useful as well.

        1. double tapping is annoying. Vast majority of apps ive come across have settings dots in the app anyway

        2. Could not disagree more. Holding down the home button (which is in all previous Samsung devices) takes way too long. If you are wanting to quickly switch between apps, it should be instantaneous, not a 2 second delay.

          Also, it’s poor design language to have a menu button. New Users dont always think to use it. Additionally, it’s bad UX to have a button that only works some of the time. I would play a guessing game with my apps to see if there was a hidden menu. I much prefer an on screen menu so I can see when there are extra settings.

          1. It’s a bit disconcerting when someone thinks that the extra 2 seconds it takes to hold the home button is too much time. Either that or you multi-task way too often. I admit an app with an on-screen settings section is useful but with the wide variety of OEMs making Android devices you can’t expect them all to start following the same design patterns in regards to buttons.

            1. I believe the opposite is true. Yes, you should expect ALL of them to have the same buttons. That way it’s easier when people switch phones, they don’t have to relearn android. It would make android a better platform. I’m not saying every phone should be the same, just the buttons.

              Furthermore, I have high expectations for my phones. Let me ask you this. When you turn on the screen, would you rather it turn on immediately, or turn on after a two second delay, if you had the choice?

              I’m not asking for something impossible. I’m asking for something android should already do.

    8. “the device is meant to look good” Well they failed at that. The back is hideous (at least, in my opinion).

      1. The back of this thing reminds me of my nexus 7 (2012) which I don’t really mind at all.

        1. See, the N7 back doesn’t bother me as much, despite the similarities. I think its either the size of the dots, the distance between them, or (most likely) the matrix dot configuration that makes it so ugly on the S5. If the dots were super small,close together, and created an off axis pattern, it actually might look nice.

          1. Yeah, I’m the guy that throws a ugly otter box on his devices anyways lol I do have a problem with finding the right wallpaper though

        2. I like the back of my N7, so I think I’ll like the back of the S5.

      2. It’s swapable which means there’s going to be tons of aftermarket options

    9. I’m undecided on this. It still seems like Samsung has school children design their ui. That settings menu looks horrendous. I was hoping for more of a contemporary Android style interface.

    10. refreshments and buffet upstairs lol #hungry

    11. Hey Chris did you nlt forget to remove all the pics you took? Lol

    12. So the screen has less dpi than the S4?

      1. Yes because it is slightly bigger and keeps the same resolution, hence a little bit less pixel density.

        1. Isnt it funny that both Lg pro 2 and S5 has less ppi density than their predecessors? Lg pro = 401 ppi, Lg pro 2 = 373 ppi, S4 = 441 ppi S5 = 432 ppi. Take that as you will but to me it clearly says beyond the 1080p threshold the diference is negligible and manufactures could not care less about ppi regression because no one will notice.

          1. wut? the g pro 2 is 5.9 inches, ofcourse it has lower ppi than the g2.

            1. Oh boy….The comparison was for G Pro vs G Pro 2. Point being if ppi density still matters beyond 1080p/400ppi displays threshold, why manufactures are making displays bigger without bothering scaling resolution in order to at least equate the ppi count of their predecessors? I mean, If ppi/resolution is still a thing it seems logical to me every new gen should bring more of it, not less.

      2. Irrelevant because it’s still over 400ppi.

        1. In IPS screens its irrelevant, but in crapoleds no

          1. It’s still 1080p. What should they have done? Put an even higher resolution screen in there and truly waste resources? It is a 5 inch screen. How in the world do you people see pixels on here? They increased the screen size by 0.1 inch and people managed to find a problem? That is amazing.

          2. If you’re referring to pentile OLEDs then maybe, but they aren’t all pentile anymore, look at the Moto X.

    13. utterly underwhelming. Just got a brand new GS4 on warranty from VZW after I beat the crap out of the one I got last year. Looks like I’ll be hanging onto it for a while…unless of course SONY gets off their A$$E$ and gets that Z2 over here on VZW. I love it.

      1. It is always so difficult to deal with the American companies though. Their devices almost never make it over here unphased. I hope that if it does come over here it remains the z2. Ex: look at what happened to the g2. Or even the z1s. It was just the headphone jack that was moved but you can’t find a decent case because of it.

    14. Here’s a more complete spec list:

      Form factor: Water-resistant bar phone, IP67 certification

      General: 2G, 3G and 4G LTE connectivity

      Dimensions: 142 x 72.5 x 8.1mm, 145 g

      Display: 5.1″ 16M-color Super AMOLED HD capacitive touchscreen with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels (431ppi)

      Chipset: Snapdragon 800 MSM8974-AC

      CPU: 2.5GHz Krait 400

      GPU: Adreno 330

      RAM: 2GB

      OS: Android 4.4.2 (KitKat)

      Memory: 16/32GB storage, microSD card slot

      Still camera: 16 megapixel auto-focus camera

      Video camera: UHD (2160p) video recording

      Connectivity: Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac, Wi-Fi hotspot, Bluetooth 4.0, microUSB 3.0 with MHL, GPS receiver with A-GPS and GLONASS, 3.5mm audio jack, NFC, Infrared port

      Battery: 2800mAh

      Heart rate monitor

      Fingerprint scanner

      Additional sensors: humidity sensor, temperature sensor

      1. 2 gb.

        LOOOL HAHAHAHA HAHAHA LOOOOL EPIC FAIL!

          1. WTF do you need more ram for? It’s a freakin phone not a laptop you fucking morons. The specs are already overkill for a smartphone operating system if you so desperately need to compensate buy a corvette and stfu. I don’t even know why I’m defending this phone. I’m not going to buy it but some of these replies are beyond stupid.

            1. I assume he’s being sarcastic. 2gb ram is more than ever with Android 4.4 and project svelte.

        1. LOL yeah… kinda sucks. My Note 3 has 3GB and I’ve had it since last October.

      2. I think it was the snap Dragon 801. I’m not too sure though

    15. Funny.. Tech guys are slamming the phone, yet I bet the masses will buy this up like hot cakes!

      1. Which tech guys? The two tech guys that wrote this hands on were pretty happy with it.

      2. That’s because tech guys are retards who don’t like anything because they never get laid and live in their parents basement.

        1. Pretty sure Chris lives on his own bro.

    16. Touchwiz is still freaking awful…

    17. Is it just me who thinks it looks a lot like the original Galaxy S?

      1. Kind of.

    18. this is depressing… where are the new motorola handsets? I need something with good build quality and respect for the aosp platform. this lenovo deal makes me afraid that I’ll never see that again.

    19. I would’ve thought looking to see how much usable storage would’ve been the first thing to look at.

      Found it somewhere else. ROM takes up 8 gigs leaving almost 8 gigs of usable storage. I’ll pass!

      1. I guess some people are just too stupid to insert an SD card

        1. Unfortunately, the majority of applications still require you to install them directly to the phone’s internal storage and will not allow SD install. So this actually is a major problem.

          1. So buy the 32GB version. BTW I’m not a samsung fan, but I do appreciate but I have to admit they have set a lot of the bars in Android.

        2. SD cards are slower than built in flash

    20. WTF happened to the 4k display everyone said it was going to have?

      1. WTF are you going to do with a 4k display?

        1. Umm… Watch the pr0n I record with the 4k video camera?

          1. You can’t even visually distinguish between 720p and 1080p on a screen of this size as it is unless you are holding the phone in direct contact with your eyeball. Nothing above 1080p will ever be useful on a phone screen until holographic technology is introduced or people start getting cyborg super eyes.

            1. Bull, I had the LG flex and took it back because I could easily see the pixels, and I can see them on my Note 3 also. Just because you need glasses to see detail up close doesn’t mean everyone else does also.

      2. Thankfully it didn’t happen.

      3. No one said 4k display. It was rumoured to have 2k.

        1. That’s actually a good thing, no phone needs a 2k display. What’s the point of making the phone faster if you just bog it down with extreme resolutions.

          Will be nice on tablets though.

      4. That’s a different Samsung phone that’s not yet announced but it’s been dubbed the the premium version of the Galaxy S5 which will probably be announced later this year.

        The good stuff is usually is only available in South Korea and Japan though so don’t get your hopes up.

        1. there is no such a phone stop making things up

          1. You know this how? please share with us, otherwise if you have nothing to contribute then don’t reply.

            But no, I never made it up, this is the information that’s been going around for weeks. They got the Galaxy S5 “standard” specs mostly right.

            Besides given how many Galaxy devices Samsung release you would have to be stupid to not think they have something else up their sleeves.

    21. OMG!!! THIS IS AMAZING!!!
      …I just found a quarter on the floor of my office. I mean WOW, this has just made my morning…oh yeah, the S5 is totally boring. Shallow and pedantic.

      1. Using family guy to try to sound smart? Smh that’s sad
        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxANht7yBV4&feature=youtube_gdata_player

        1. Duh!

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          1. Duh that you’re using family guy to sound smart is sad? Yea i agree with that!

    22. Honestly, will people stop saying it is a heart rate sensor built into it? It is a flash, for the camera, like almost all phones have. Download the Runtastic heart rate app and you can have the same ‘killer’ feature.

      1. Are you stupid did you even watch the video he demoed the heart rate sensor troll

        1. Seriously? No offense, but you need to read what I said. It uses the flash on the phone. Go ahead and try it on yours. There are dozens of apps in the play store that will do this for you on basically any phone. So, please, stop trolling me and think before you type.

          It is not some brand new amazing feature that is being introduced by Samsung, and should not be being passed off as some major development. I used the same functionality on my Nexus 4

          In fact – https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.runtastic.android.heartrate.lite Enjoy.

          1. Well you should watch the video. It may use the cameras flash but it doesn’t use the phone camera as runtastic but instead uses a sensor exclusively used to detect heart beat. I’ve tried runtastic but at rest it detects my hear rate anywhere between 60 and 72. Not very accurate.

            1. Stop trying to dress it up as something advanced when it clearly isn’t. Is it that important to you that samsung have ‘created’ something you feel the need to pretend the technology didn’t exist already? Runtastic was accurate for me, so does that make me wrong?

          2. You have no idea what trolling. That isn’t it.

      2. IT DOES NOT USE THE CAMERA SENSOR FOR THE HEART RATE

    23. I was very disappointed with yesterday’s announcement of the Samsung Galaxy S5. The screen is slightly larger than the S4 screen. I was hoping for a screen at least two or maybe three times as large, like 8 or 12 inches diagonally. If they really wanted to impress me, the screen could have been 16 or more inches. (Bigger than many people’s laptops!) I would gladly have my clothes taylored so that my pockets could accomodate such awesome largeness in a phone. When people see me using such an amazing phone, they would think “wow! that’s cool!”.

      (Disclaimer: I’m probably going to buy an S5.)

      1. Sadly your hyperbolic world is the way Android phones are going. I myself have no interest. 4.7″ is the perfect size (i.e. Moto X), my hand stopped growing a long time ago.

        1. That’s what she said

    24. I can’t wait for some actual reviews, the comments of “WTF it didn’t delivery my loltimate fantasy ph0n” are depressing.

      1. So does the Wikipedia page for the Snapdragon SoC

      2. Yep, slightly overclocked version of Snapdragon 800 with eMMC 5.0 support.

        Not much difference really but it means it will lead benchmarks but not by allot.

    25. Looks terrible. So much clutter. Of all the things you can call the notification pane, ‘minimal’ certainly isn’t one. The UI is inconsistent. White flat icons in rounds here, colored 3D icons there. Then text on black background, animations that lag at one point… A fingerprint scanner that only works when you swipe vertically, rendering useless for on hand use. No Paypal yet, and we already know it won’t work on the PlayStore anyway… Design almost unchanged from the previous version. Always bigger, as if that was a good thing. No 64 bit processor and a Snapdragon 801 that is slower than the A7 that came out 6 months ago!

      1. Please tell us where you used this phone at. I’m dying to know.

        1. I just read dozens of hands-on that confirm that the scanner is not usable with one hand.
          And I knew that even before reading it on the web. It’s logical.

          1. So all this negativity towards a phone that 1. You haven’t used personally. And 2. Hasn’t been released yet. Reading and watching hands-on videos is completely different than holding a device in your hands and putting it through the trials of your everyday life.

            1. Hands-on show how the sensor works. No matter how much they work on it, using a swipe sensor won’t work.
              Even without seeing them it’s obvious to anyone who’s used a swipe sensor that it won’t work with one hand. You must use a big swipe at a certain speed. Go too fast or slow, it won’t work.
              Make a swipe not vertically, won’t work.
              Swipe sensors are less reliable than the new touch sensor that Authentec (Apple) or Validity are making. And the sensor on the S5 isn’t protected by Sapphire like the sensor on the iPhone. With time, it’ll get scratched (dust is enough to scratch such a sensitive area), and will stop working. Just like it did on the Atrix.

              This will end the same way as ever. Now you are in denial. When you’ll see in a few months that people don’t use it, instead of recognizing that the technique used in the iPhone is superior because it’s seamless and super reliable and fast, you’ll say that it’s a useless gimmick. Just because it won’t work on the S5.

              We’ll see. I’ll keep a link to this thread, and I’ll answer to you in a few months.

            2. How am i in denial? I’ve just stated facts after asking questions. You clearly are negative towards a device that you haven’t used yet and isn’t even released. Don’t use me to justify your want to express your love for the iphone. Lol i didn’t even say anything about Apple. Lol

      2. Please stop embarrassing yourself, or don’t.

        Snapdragon 800 is faster Apple’s A7 and devices using it have more memory. The average application once recompiled for 64 bit doesn’t gain much at all, it’s not a magic feature with doubles performance and it doesn’t make up for the fact the A7 is using a Dual Core CPU.

        Snapdragon 801 is much the same but with higher clockspeeds

        If you want proof, go and look at the 3dmark benchmarks, it’s available for both Android and iOS and supports 64bit and the devices with Snapdragon 800 still beat the iPhone 5s.

    26. This is an incremental update, and it’s welcomed by me, everyone here is being so greedy it’s astounding. I’d love to see you guys make a flagship phone.

      1. People like you will never advance because you feel emotion should have a greater value than progress.

        1. They did make progress. Are you blind?

          1. There are plenty of improvements in the Galaxy S5, every year people expect too much.

            Quick list for you guys.

            Improved Camera
            Improved Display (Same resolution doesn’t mean it’s the same)
            Improved Battery Life (Or so they claim)
            Improved Battery Cover (Fingerprint magnet no more)
            Larger Display
            Faster CPU (Snapdragon 801)
            Faster GPU (Snapdragon 801)
            eMMC 5.0 support
            Heartrate monitor
            Fingerprint scanner
            Water Resistant
            Dust Resistant
            4k Video Recording
            60fps 1080p Video recording
            Ultra Power Saving Mode
            Private Mode
            Kid friendly mode

            1. People expect way to much. It annoys me how greedy people are.

            2. 4K rofl

              I wish I had 4K in my phone but this… this is just a spec to impress phandroids who never actually use their devices. 4K on any phone looks terrible at the moment. Shouldn’t even be called that. You only get a huge file with video full of artifacts.

            3. It’s pretty useless unless you have a high resolution monitor or a 4K TV.

              But it’s not true that it looks terrible, watch some of the 4K videos on youtube from Galaxy Note 3 users, even with youtube compression the detail is amazing, I’m using a 2560*1440 monitor so I get some benefit from the extra resolution.

    27. My Note 3 is still better than the S5 which is something I’ve never seen in the past cycle updates. I mean I was expecting a faster processor (or type) and GPU, at least 3 GB of RAM, 32GB of ROM, a metal build, front stereo speakers, higher resolution screen or innovation, less bezel and maybe some innovations I’m not thinking of?!

      The S5 is a joke to me?! I mean who wants or needs AC MIMO (2×2) when most people don’t have AC routers? And IP-67 durability? It’s a phone/computer not a swimming companion? And a heart rate monitor? WTF?! Yeah, that was on my “MUST-HAVE” features list!? I didn’t want a fingerprint sensor as I don’t like the idea of my fingerprints in “the cloud” but I can understand it as they are all doing it now. CAT 4 LTE is a joke as you won’t have this phone by the time it’s in the US! The only decent upgrade is the camera at 16MP with the new focus methods, and what the heck happened to that so called hidden dedicated camera button?

      The phone itself looks like it was designed by LEGO for a new type of DUPLO kids LEGO block?! The new OS is a nasty shade of light blue, plus AMOLED screens have battery saving features if items are black, which this now negates and it simply functions like a kids toy with huge blue everywhere and circles! WTF Samsung! The Note 4 better not be anything like this piece! I’ve never seen a company go back so far other than Nokia, lol. Just WOW!!!!

      5th

      1. 32 GB of ROM, god damn no space left for storage then :/

        1. You stupid!!!!LMFAO

          1. read what he writes:

            ” I mean I was expecting a faster processor (or type) and GPU, at least 3 GB of RAM, —-> 32GB of ROM <—-, a metal build, front stereo speakers, higher resolution screen or innovation, less bezel and maybe some innovations I'm not thinking of?!"

            1. I caught that too. I’m just laughing at you making fun of that.

    28. S5 boring. I can’t wait till Friday to get my g2

    29. That setting menu is so freaking annoying

    30. Sony Z2, HTC M8, or if my claws can manage it, perhaps a G2 Pro (can’t wait until the G3)….. some very interesting phones coming up. The S5 isn’t really one of them as far as I am concerned.

    31. Not bad but a few things I don’t like.

      1. No optical image stabilization
      2. 16GB/32GB flash storage
      3. Phone is noticeably bigger than the S4
      4. Touchwiz is boring, needs a major update
      5. Knox

      1. no ois.. are you serious. they just gave you a state of the art, isocell technology from the future.

        1. isocell should make it more light sensitive, well that’s if you believe the press from Samsung, we will see how it fairs in reviews.

          1. Samples are in, GG This is the camera to beat this year.
            http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2662379

            1. But it’s not being compared to anything, the Galaxy S4 can take some really great shots, but also some really rubbish shots depending on the lighting and how steady the users hands are. :)

              I want to see comparisons under the exact same conditions, so just over a month too wait.

    32. All I want to know is… When is the Google Play Edition coming?

    33. I will buy an S5! (in blue probably)

      No more bulky lifeproof case or ziplock bags for bike rides, hikes or beach outings when it might rain.

      No more searching for an outlet to sit next to in a restaurant after a long day with the super power saver mode. (and modest battery increase)

      No more worries when someone uses my phone with files unlocked only with my finger.

      Hopefully not more waiting at “a good spot” for downloads with 4G/wifi combo and improved 4G & wifi support. (I do have 802.11ac @ home and work)

      Hopefully no more fingers on my neck watching my stopwatch with the dedicated heart monitor. (never found the flash apps very accurate)

      Phones break when your drop them that’s why most have cases. Why do I care if my phone is metal if its in a case? Look at a dropped HTC one or 5s sans case, now the fancy metal is dented and the screen cracked! Ask any iPhone user how many times the front or back has been replaced. I’ve replaced the LCD on my S4 in 15 minutes using a youtube video, try that with your HTC, LG or Motorola. (I have and it’s not as simple as a Samsung)

      I don’t need or want bragging rights, I just want practical improvements to my quality of life, from what I see, the S5 will do that for me.

      1. You’re in for a disappointment.

        1. I’d say he’s in for one of the best phones of 2014.

    34. It looks like a band-aid

    35. 8GB OF USABLE SPACE!? WTF!? HAIL NO!! 2 games and I’m done. =.[
      Does Tmo sell the 32GB variant of the GS4? I don’t see it online.

      If Tmo doesn’t sell the 32GB variant of the GS5, I wouldn’t even be able to consider this phone. What tha french toast am I’m supposed to do with 8GB? I mean, I could have app backups on an SD card and just restore apps as I play them. Because I’d really want to do that. =.=

      I hope there aren’t any exclusives. I remember Samsung being one of my favorite brands of phones back in my non-smart phone days.

      1. sd car dumfuq

        1. ROFL@Joseph ..

          But Nickname90, First of all we get 10.7gb out of the 16 Gigs. Not 8. Please stop spewing bs that can easily be googled lol.

    36. ‘it’s not just meant to be a good-looking smartphone’? It’s not meant to be a good-looking smartphone!

    37. Samsung as usual has so many awesome features under the hood as well as out.
      I’m loving that the Galaxy S5 has
      IP67 certification,
      USB 3.0,
      Heart Rate Monitor,
      ISOCell Camera (Best),
      Simultaneous LTE + Wifi downloads,
      Ultra power saving mode capable of going 24 hours on 10% battery.
      Better display,
      Better Battery,
      Better Processor.
      Oh, and you can throw in the fingerprint scanner.

      1. IP67 – We have gone years without this already, so why do we
        need this now?
        USB 3.0 – Good but just evolutionary.
        Heart Rate Monitor – Gimmick.
        ISOCell Camera – Not sure they’re even confirmed that, still an unproven
        technology.
        Simultaneous LTE + Wifi downloads – Don’t care, don’t need this.
        Ultra Power Saving – Gimmick, i’ll never use it.
        Better Display – It’s 0.1″ bigger, same diamond penile arrangement, big Whoop.
        Better Battery – Display is larger and it has more sensors so it needs it.
        Better Processor – Evolutionary, compared to the i9506 it’s a marginal improvement.
        Fingerprint scanner – Gimmick.

        1. Hahah, oh you silly Martin. if that’s your logic, I am afraid what you’ll give every other phone out there right now. ROFL. Personally, I’ve gotten deep into these remarkable phones Samsung is releasing and there is no doubt they far outrank every single phone out there in so many ways!

          1. Remarkable? Deep?

            Sounds like you’ve been drinking the Samsung kool-aid, it’s a nice phone but take a few steps back and get some perspective.

            HTC M8, Sony Xperia Z2, LG G3, LG G Pro 2, Note 4 and other devices will also be released this year.

            Also some of the the existing devices are still very good, LG G2, Xperia Z1, Note 3 and the Nexus 5.

      2. The fingerprint scanner sucks compared to Apple’s implementation. It’s a swipe sensor. Must be swiped perfectly vertically at a precise speed so it won’t work with one hand only. And you must wake the phone before.
        So wake the phone, hold it with one hand while swiping with one finger of he other hand. Compare that to press the home button with a finger from the hand your are holding the phone with to wake and unlock in less than a second.
        No one will use Samsung’s implementation. It’s obvious.

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