Announced in Mobile World Congress in Barcelona back in February, the Galaxy S5 tried to incorporate features and functions to make itself the singular, most-compelling handset in Samsung’s line-up.
In this review, we gave more attention and focus on those new features to see if the improvements were apt or it was another round of gimmicky inclusions.
Design & Construction.
The design signature of the Galaxy S5 has minimally changed compared to the Galaxy S4 from last year. The size, form and shape are almost the same. In fact, looking at it for the first time will confuse you that the S5 is indeed still the S4.
The handset looked plain and simple with its two-tone color (our review unit is black with silver trimming) and all-glass front panel surrounded by a metallic silver frame.
The unit is thin and feels light on the hands, has a good grip and just right to hold with one hand.
The volume control is on the upper left side while the power button is on the right. The 3.5mm audio port is on top along with the noise-cancelling mic and the IR blaster. At the bottom end is the USB 3.0 charging port which is sealed by a flap cover.
At the back is the 16MP rear camera with the LED flash just below it. The back cover is removable and has a rubbery feel to it with dimpled markings, probably to add grip especially when the device is subjected to water.
The polycarbonate material used in the body of the Galaxy S5 remains part of the genetic make-up of the Galaxy line. At least the device maintains its light weight and allows for removable back cover despite the water and dust resistance.
The corners are less rounded compared to the Galaxy S4, but device is still taller than the latter making it look closer to the Note 3. The bottom corner of the front panel has 2 soft buttons, Back & Recent Apps, while the middle physical button is for Home which also serves as the finger print scanner.
We’re really torn about the Galaxy S5 in the design department — on one hand, it’s a nicely done and upgraded version of the Galaxy S4 Active; on the other hand, it looks like a ruggedized yet uglier version of the Galaxy S4 with all the best hardware tucked inside.
Display.
The S5 features a 5.1-inch display using their very own Super AMOLED technology. With a resolution of 1080×1920 pixels, that brings the pixel density to 432ppi.
Super AMOLED is a Samsung standard for their flagship devices and the one they used in the Galaxy S5 looked stunning. Images are crisp and clear, the colors are bright and rich with a deep dark contrast. We still noticed that little bit of greenish hue for white backgrounds or images though.
One thing that we notice though is that the screen-to-bezel ratio of the Galaxy S5 is lower than the Galaxy S4. The bezels on the sides are thicker and the top and bottom bezels are also taller or wider. We don’t have a definitive reason why but it could be due to the IP67 rating that they had to implement the changes.
AMOLEDs have problems with outdoor visibility due to their level of brightness but it looks like Samsung has improved their display in the Galaxy S5 as it is now able to stand along other IPS LCD displays in terms of outdoor visibility and brightness levels.
OS, Apps and UI.
The Galaxy S5 came with Kitkat right out of the box, an advantage they had since partnering with Google in the Nexus program many years back.
The new TouchWiz UI looks spiffy, with a flat vector design. Samsung did a lot of refinements with the custom UI, themes and icons. Samsung continued its efforts from the Galaxy S4 to bring additional software features to the Galaxy S5 which includes an improved S Health, S Voice and S Planner.
There were a few more bloatwares that got introduced — Galaxy Gifts, Galaxy Essentials, Samsung Apps. The Smart Remote is the native app controller as remote control for IR-based devices like TVs, air conditioners, DVD players, etc (the app is powered by Peel).
Camera and Multimedia.
Samsung has been doing good with their cameras since the Galaxy S2 and they’ve continued to improve it since then. The Galaxy S5 is no exception with its powerful 16MP sensor that can capture 4K videos at 30fps.
The sensor can focus on the subjects really fast, captures the fine details and take really good low-light images. Photos and videos look rich and vibrant as well as the videos.
0 comments:
Post a Comment