Samsung unveiled its fifth generation of the Galaxy S series, the Galaxy S5, at MWC 2014 last night.
As expected, the S5 is taking a back to basics approach with the company concentrating on what matters most to consumers. Or at least, what they hope matters the most.
People certainly like nice photos and the Galaxy S5 features a 16 megapixel camera with a new menu and interface speeds up the process of taking, editing and sharing your snaps.
Samsung claims the S5 offers the world’s fastest autofocus speed of up to 0.3 seconds and there’s also a new Selective Focus feature, allowing you to focus on a specific area of an object while simultaneously blurring out the background.
The Galaxy S5 supports the fifth generation Wi-Fi 802.11ac and 2X2 MIMO, and supports a large number of LTE frequencies with LTE Category 4 as standard. For consumers seeking an even faster connection, the Galaxy S5 now features Download Booster, an Wi-Fi technology for boosting data speed by bonding Wi-Fi and LTE simultaneously.
People certainly like nice photos and the Galaxy S5 features a 16 megapixel camera with a new menu and interface speeds up the process of taking, editing and sharing your snaps.
Samsung claims the S5 offers the world’s fastest autofocus speed of up to 0.3 seconds and there’s also a new Selective Focus feature, allowing you to focus on a specific area of an object while simultaneously blurring out the background.
The Galaxy S5 supports the fifth generation Wi-Fi 802.11ac and 2X2 MIMO, and supports a large number of LTE frequencies with LTE Category 4 as standard. For consumers seeking an even faster connection, the Galaxy S5 now features Download Booster, an Wi-Fi technology for boosting data speed by bonding Wi-Fi and LTE simultaneously.
New camera features 'World's fastest' autofocus
As rumoured, nay expected, the S5 has a number of health and well-being features on board. So your phone can act as your personal fitness tracker with tools including a pedometer, diet and exercise records, and a new, built-in heart rate monitor. Galaxy S5 users can further expand that experience with a third party app ecosystem and the ability to pair with next generation Gear products for real-time fitness coaching.
“With the Galaxy S5, Samsung is going back to basics to focus on delivering the capabilities that matter most to our consumers,” said JK Shin, President and Head of IT & Mobile Communications Division at Samsung. “Consumers are looking for mobile tools that inspire and support them as they improve their everyday lives. The Galaxy S5 represents an iconic design with essential and useful features to focus on delivering the ultimate smartphone on the market today through people inspired innovation.”
“Consumers are looking for mobile tools that inspire and support them as they improve their everyday lives."
Style-wise, the S5 features a perforated pattern on the back cover and the ever-so-slightly new more contoured shape comes in an array of colours, including charcoal Black, shimmery White, electric Blue and copper Gold – so is it copper, or gold?
The Galaxy S5 is also IP67 dust and water resistant and offers a Finger Scanner, providing a secure, biometric screen locking feature and also a mobile payment experience to consumers.
The device will be available globally through Samsung’s retail channels, e-commerce and carriers in April.
It was telling of Samsung’s new stripped-back approach that the company chose not to make a big play of the device specifications but we know you want them so have a glance below.
What do you make of the S5?
The Galaxy S5 is also IP67 dust and water resistant and offers a Finger Scanner, providing a secure, biometric screen locking feature and also a mobile payment experience to consumers.
The device will be available globally through Samsung’s retail channels, e-commerce and carriers in April.
It was telling of Samsung’s new stripped-back approach that the company chose not to make a big play of the device specifications but we know you want them so have a glance below.
What do you make of the S5?
Network | LTE Cat.4 (150/50Mbps) |
Display | 5.1" FHD Super AMOLED (1920 x 1080) |
Processor | 2.5GHz quad-core application processor |
OS | Android 4.4.2 (KitKat) |
Camera | 16MP (rear), 2.0MP (front) |
Video |
UHD@30fps, HDR, video stabilizationVideo Codec : H.263, H.264(AVC), MPEG4, VC-1, Sorenson Spark, MP43, WMV7, WMV8, VP8 Video Format: MP4, M4V, 3GP, 3G2, WMV, ASF, AVI, FLV, MKV, WEBM |
Audio |
Audio Codec : MP3, AMR-NB/WB, AAC/ AAC+/ eAAC+, WMA, Vorbis, FLAC Audio Format: MP3, M4A, 3GA, AAC, OGG, OGA, WAV, WMA, AMR, AWB, FLAC, MID, MIDI, XMF, MXMF, IMY, RTTTL, RTX, OTA |
Camera Features | HDR (Rich tone), Selective Focus, Virtual Tour Shot, Shot & More |
Additional Features |
IP67 Dust- and water-resistant Ultra Power Saving Mode Download Booster S Health 3.0 Quick Connect Private Mode Kids Mode |
Google Mobile Services | Chrome, Drive, Photos, Gmail, Google, Google+, Google Settings, Hangouts, Maps, Play Books, Play Games, Play Newsstand, Play Movie & TV, Play Music, Play Store, Voice Search, YouTube |
Connections |
WiFi: 802.11a/b/g/n/ac HT80, MIMO(2x2), Bluetooth: 4.0 BLE / ANT+ USB 3.0 NFC IR Remote |
Sensors | Accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer, Hall, RGB ambient light, Gesture(IR), Finger Scanner, Heart rate sensor |
Memory |
RAM: 2GB Internal Memory: 16/32GB microSD slot up to 128GB |
Dimensions | 142.0 x 72.5 x 8.1mm, 145g |
Battery |
2800mAh Standby time: 390 hrs / Talk time: 21 hrs |
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