dubai
Samsung’s Galaxy S5 is similar to the Galaxy S4 with some software additions and hardware improvements that don’t appreciably add any value to the handset. It is a more solid phone than the Galaxy S4 but it doesn’t have a premium feel in the hand like so many other high-end phones on the market.
The main additions are the fingerprint scanner and the heart-rate monitor. Even though heart-rate monitor apps are already available on the Android app store, Samsung has added a hardware sensor to monitor heart beats. It is quite novel but it is not accurate as taken by a doctor and Samsung warns users from relying on it as a medical device.
The sensor is integrated into the camera flash and users need to place their finger on the sensor to track the heart beat. It builds a database of records but it is not for serious fitness philes.
The fingerprint scanner stores profiles of only three fingers compared to five by the iPhone 5. It is easy to set up but you need to be precise.
The 5.1-inch Super AMOLED device is powered by a quad-core 2.5GHz processor and runs on the latest Android 4.4 KitKat. It has 2GB of RAM and 16/32GB of internal storage capacity and can be expanded up to 128GB using microSD card.
Even though it is full HD, the resolution is slightly lower than S4 but it is difficult to notice the difference. The S5 has 432 pixels per inch compared to 441 in the S4.
The screen produces crisp and colourful images with high contrast. The phone adjusts its display according to different lighting conditions, which is pretty good and no need to adjust manually.
The S5 is lighter and faster and runs smoothly. The whole phone is made of plastic except the silvery-trimmed mold on the sides. The back cover has tiny dimples and looks like faux leather and rejects fingerprints. It weighs 145 grams.
The S5 now features the USB 3.0 port, similar to Note 3, but it is also backward compatible.
The other added features are water and dust resistant. The phone, when immersed in water for 30 minutes at one-metre depth, was able to operate smoothly.
The charging port and MHL 2.0 port are covered by a flap to keep the phone water- and dust-resistant. Before immersing it in water, be sure to check the port flap. The flap is tricky to open.
Samsung has tweaked the TouchWiz user interface on top of the regular Android user interface with some added abilities.
The Google services folder is loaded onto the home screen and the notifications tray has added two new quick-access buttons for S Finder and Quick Connect. Swiping right from the home screen will take you to My Magazine newsfeed introduced in Note 3.
It is basically taking the Flipboard topics and showing them in categories. Users can choose the topics that interest them.
Major overhaul
The settings menu has undergone a major overhaul with circular icons and with different layout settings.
The biggest advantages of S5 are the ultra power-saving battery mode and the download booster. By activating the power saving feature, even with 25 per cent battery life, the device can run for one full day. The phone turns to black and white from the colour mode and turns off most connections and activates only when needed. In download booster, which utilises both WiFi and LTE connections to improve transfer speeds on files larger than 30MB, but it works behind the scene and it is not noticeable. It is a very good feature when you need to download a bigger file or high-capacity movie.
The S Health app and widgets, found also in S4, are updated and more polished. The widget keeps a tally of the steps taken or calories burnt and with a built-in nutrition monitor and all-new heart-rate tracker.
Samsung is the king when it comes to smartphone cameras.
The 16MP autofocus camera with f/2.2 lens and LED flash takes beautiful snaps with good contrast and accurate colours in ample light conditions. The Samsung-made Isocell sensor makes the camera quicker and makes low light images clearer. The autofocus takes around 0.3 second to click an image.
Samsung has improved its low light image capturing ability and they aren’t as blurry and grainy as the G4 but still suffer in low-light conditions. The images look grainy but colours stay accurate. The S5 sports the same front and rear camera dual-shot features found in S4 and most of the same modes and filters. It does not have optical image stabilisation but instead relies on a software-based alternative Samsung calls Picture Stabilisation.
The new addition is the real-time HDR. With this feature, users can preview the scene before taking the photo, which is really good and cool. HDR reduces overexposure and increases image detail.
Videos captured on the Full HD device are crisp and colours pop up. It can also record videos in ultra high definition or 4K.
The 2MP front-facing camera is good only for selfies.
The newly-added Selective focus feature de-focuses the background or foreground depending on user needs. The phone takes a few pictures and processes them. Here Samsung uses a software gimmick instead of the sensor found in HTC One M8.
Regarding connectivity, it has WiFi, 4G LTE, USB 3.0, DLNA, MHL 2.0, WiFi Direct Bluetooth 4.0 and NFC.
The 2800mAh removable battery pack extends the life of the device for one full day of use for light to moderate users. For heavy users, it gives around 12 hours of juice on 3G network and around 10 hours of video playback. The Galaxy S5 (LTE) 32GB is priced at Dh2,899 while the S5 (LTE) 16GB is Dh2,699, and the (3G) 16GB is Dh2,599.
