The Samsung Galaxy S5
is bound to become one of the hottest selling handsets and so it must
undergo heavy scrutiny. Battery life is an everyday worry, especially
with bigger screens and faster chipsets.
The way Samsung hawked the many features in prior versions of its Galaxy S series smartphones, you'd think the devices belonged in a circus act: Step right up and see all the tricks your phone can do.
However, this wow-the-consumer strategy too often went over the top. Things such as waving your hand to take a call made a neat demonstration, but I don't know many people who actually answered that way.
Not that you could entirely blame Samsung for trying to make its phones stand out against formidable competition. The fact is, along with Apple's iPhones, the Galaxy phones are the most popular premium smartphones around the world.
The Galaxy S5 is the first smartphone to boast a dedicated heart-rate monitor. The phone is dust- and water-resistant, too, to a depth of one meter for 30 minutes (though the evaluation units that Samsung supplied weren't ready for any kind of water-testing). The USB connector is sealed under a protective flap.
Samsung also added a fingerprint scanner that you can use to unlock the phone, log on to your Samsung.com account, or to make payments through PayPal. Alas, I had trouble with the first test unit Samsung supplied — my fingerprint batting average was no better than 30%. To be fair, Samsung suspected I had gotten a wonky phone, and on a replacement device, I did a whole lot better (though the results still weren't perfect.). The fingerprint scanner doesn't work as well as the similar feature Apple has on the iPhone 5s.
A heart-rate monitor, protection against water and a fingerprint scanner may be the Big Top attractions this time around. But it's the basics that should sell this very solid Android handset. I can easily recommend it, even if aside from that heart-rate sensor, it doesn't break a lot of new ground. In other words if you have an S4 and are happy with it, there's no urge to upgrade.
The S5 has an eye-popping 5.1-inch Super Amoled 1080p display that can adapt to its lighting environment. It's thin but a bit longer than the S4. At 5.1-ounces (vs. 4.6 ounces) it adds some heft, but not to the point where I was bothered. Samsung chose a design with a dimpled plastic back. It doesn't come close to measuring up to the premium feel of the HTC One (M8) that was recently introduced and that is crafted from an all-metal uni-body design. It was much the same design story with last year's models. But the S5 is comfortable to hold.
The Galaxy S5 doesn't have all the circus tricks. But water resistance and heart-rate sensor are definitely welcome, and this is a solid device. Sometimes less is more.
The way Samsung hawked the many features in prior versions of its Galaxy S series smartphones, you'd think the devices belonged in a circus act: Step right up and see all the tricks your phone can do.
However, this wow-the-consumer strategy too often went over the top. Things such as waving your hand to take a call made a neat demonstration, but I don't know many people who actually answered that way.
Not that you could entirely blame Samsung for trying to make its phones stand out against formidable competition. The fact is, along with Apple's iPhones, the Galaxy phones are the most popular premium smartphones around the world.
The Galaxy S5 is the first smartphone to boast a dedicated heart-rate monitor. The phone is dust- and water-resistant, too, to a depth of one meter for 30 minutes (though the evaluation units that Samsung supplied weren't ready for any kind of water-testing). The USB connector is sealed under a protective flap.
Samsung also added a fingerprint scanner that you can use to unlock the phone, log on to your Samsung.com account, or to make payments through PayPal. Alas, I had trouble with the first test unit Samsung supplied — my fingerprint batting average was no better than 30%. To be fair, Samsung suspected I had gotten a wonky phone, and on a replacement device, I did a whole lot better (though the results still weren't perfect.). The fingerprint scanner doesn't work as well as the similar feature Apple has on the iPhone 5s.
A heart-rate monitor, protection against water and a fingerprint scanner may be the Big Top attractions this time around. But it's the basics that should sell this very solid Android handset. I can easily recommend it, even if aside from that heart-rate sensor, it doesn't break a lot of new ground. In other words if you have an S4 and are happy with it, there's no urge to upgrade.
The S5 has an eye-popping 5.1-inch Super Amoled 1080p display that can adapt to its lighting environment. It's thin but a bit longer than the S4. At 5.1-ounces (vs. 4.6 ounces) it adds some heft, but not to the point where I was bothered. Samsung chose a design with a dimpled plastic back. It doesn't come close to measuring up to the premium feel of the HTC One (M8) that was recently introduced and that is crafted from an all-metal uni-body design. It was much the same design story with last year's models. But the S5 is comfortable to hold.
The Galaxy S5 doesn't have all the circus tricks. But water resistance and heart-rate sensor are definitely welcome, and this is a solid device. Sometimes less is more.
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