Samsung Galaxy S5 Review: A lot has been said about the galaxy S5 since its release in April and as much as I’d like to say yes we’ll take their word for it, I don’t think I will let them off so easily. I say let’s take this pretty little thing from Samsung on a spin, TechCity style, shall we?
The Samsung Galaxy S5 is an android powered device with a 5.1″ 1080p x 1920p screen, 16 MP camera and 2 GB of RAM, the Galaxy S5 has lots of new features.
The user interface is way different from the Galaxy S4, It’s sleeker, smoother and a beauty to behold. The notification bar is different and very orderly. Taking the phone out of idle mode makes an interesting experience as there are a variety of screensaver images you can choose from; so fluid you can almost touch them. The 5.1” screen with a 1920 by 1080ppi resolution is very bright and impresses a million times more than the Galaxy s4. The icons which were also upgraded make the Galaxy S5 look more than just another member from the Samsung Galaxy series.
Design
At first glance, The Samsung Galaxy S5 looks a tad similar to the Samsung Galaxy S4, but look closely and you’ll see that it is different. The Back cover on the galaxy S5 is made of plastic as we have always seen with other Samsung Premium devices, it has a good grip and gentle feeling which is different from the faux leather we saw on the Samsung galaxy Note 3 though a lot of critics feel the plastic back cover should be replaced with something of more quality like what we have on the iphone and HTC premium devices.
Display
The Galaxy S5 has a 5.1” touch screen and a resolution of about 1080X1920 Pixels, which is exceptionally bright and impresses a great lot more than the devices out in the market.
Camera
Critics have in the past, pointed out that disappointing cameras have become a staple of Android phones. However, with the 16 megapixel camera on the backside of the Galaxy S5 just might be one of the best Android cameras of all time, coupled with a 2megapixel front facing camera. It’s safe to say that you’ll get one of the best smartphone cameras on the market with the Galaxy S5.
On the S5, taking pictures is more than the click of a button. Apart from the usual suspects; the Panorama mode, Drama shot, Dual shot etcetera that we saw in the S4, with the S5, you can catch a moment in half a moment with the fastest auto focus mode where you take a picture faster than you can say cheese! HDR mode gives you a preview of the best looking shot before you take it. One shot and that’s it! Selective focus mode blurs the object in the background and focuses on the object right in front of you making your operation of the s5 camera a professional of some sort.
Memory
The Galaxy S5 available for sale in Nigeria comes with an internal memory of 16 gigabyte expandable with a microsd card up to 128 gigabytes.
Ultra Power Saving Mode
A power saving mode might seem like a no-brainer, but no phone has done it as well as the new Ultra Power Saving Mode on the Galaxy S5 especially in this part of the world (Nigeria) where power is a major concern. When the mode is activated, the phone turns off all applications or functions that primarily drain battery life and leaves only the core ones still running. It also has a greyscale setting where it’s significant less battery usage stuns with the phone’s Super AMOLED display going into black and white mode and this keeps the phone’s for instance, 10% battery life functioning for another 24hours.
Fingerprint scanner
The fingerprint sensor or scanner on the S5 is just on the home button and does not only let you unlock your phone and grant exclusive access to your device and your Samsung account, it also allows you to use it as an alternative to entering passwords and Samsung has released an SDK which will open up fingerprint technology to developers. In fact, the first app to present the integration of Samsung’s fingerprint scanning technology is Paypal. Not sure anyone in Nigeria has tried that just yet, but the idea is, an S5 user will be able to login to their account and scan their finger to authorize the payment of items at any shop that accepts Paypal on mobile. How cool is that!
Water Resistance
The Galaxy S5 can be dipped in water for at most 30 minutes, one minute deep and even more can be operated with wet hands and what not. It’s interesting to note that if it stays under water for more than 30 minutes and it gets damaged, the ADH feature covers its repair.
Heart Rate Monitor
The Galaxy S5 comes with a built in Heart rate sensor which enables you to measure your heart rate directly on your phone by steadily placing your finger behind the phone.
Battery
The Samsung Galaxy S5 comes with a 2,800mAh removable battery, up from 2,600mAh in the Galaxy S4. With respect to battery life, the Galaxy S5 does really well just in general. Even without the Ultra Power Saving Mode turned on, the device can get through a day on normal use. It’s a pretty amazing feat considering how big and bright the Galaxy S5’s display is.
Connectivity Option
Connectivity options on the Galaxy S5 useful in Nigeria include HSPA+, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, ANT+, Bluetooth 4.0, USB3.0, NFC, and Infrared remote functionality.
Verdict
I have to admit that the S5 plays down on almost all the premium features that got us particularly excited on the S4 like the Air gesture, air view, smart stay, S voice etcetera which the S5 also comes fully packed with, but I see an underlying note of individuality, personalized settings in safety and health with respect to sensors like the fingerprint sensor, heart rate sensor, ultra power saving mode, it is undoubtedly a more intent device that awarding the Galaxy S5, high-end phone of the year would be a no-brainer.