We spent some brief hands-on time with the Samsung Galaxy S5 in Barcelona, during Mobile World Congress. And more recently we’ve been pouring through some of the early reviews that have begun hitting the web. Now our turn has come. Our Galaxy S5 review unit is now in-hand and for today we are sharing some first impression style thoughts.
Naturally, this post comes with the promise of something with a bit more depth once we have a bit more time to form solid opinions. Some of what we are seeing today comes as a refresher. For example, the Galaxy S5 sitting here feels just as nice and solid as it did during our time in Barcelona.
Similar to some of the reports in those reviews — we also aren’t quite so sure about the fingerprint reader. It works, and we are not going to give up on it just yet, but at this point it does give us a bit of reason for concern. One of the key features we plan to spend time with is the whole fitness aspect. The Galaxy S5 has built in heart rate monitor as well as the S Health integration. Of course, this is a good time to mention we also have a Gear Fit on our wrist.
As you can see from the image sitting above — it does have the vertical display orientation. Despite the limited width, information is still nicely displayed. Of course, having the data sit vertically does make it a bit easier to read at a glance. It was nice to see Samsung introduce some new fitness products, but those who are considering this as a way to replace some of the other activity trackers should know something. The Gear Fit doesn’t always track. You actually need to start an activity to begin tracking.
Shifting back to the Galaxy S5. The unit we have is specific for AT&T, just in case anyone was wondering. There are some AT&T branded apps, but that should really go without saying. As we mentioned before, we look at those carrier branded apps as being a sort of trade-off in terms of being able to get the handset under subsidy. After all, not many people are anxious to shell out full retail when buying a new smartphone. The gallery sitting below offers a quick tour around the handset.
We happen to like the look and feel of the Galaxy S5, as we did with the Galaxy S4. Sure, there are other phones some will consider better, but even Samsung has their loyal audience. We also pulled out a Galaxy S4 to do a little side by side comparison. As you’ll see in the images — the Galaxy S5 is a bit bigger, but also a bit more squared.
The Galaxy S4 measured in at 5.38 x 2.75 x 0.31-inches and weighed in at 130 ounces. In comparison, the Galaxy S5 is 5.59 x 2.85 x 0.32-inches with a weight of 145 ounces.
Both models have a similar display size, and both look really good in person. But having said that, the Galaxy S5 did drop a bit in terms of PPI. The GS4 is 441 vs. the 432 of the GS5. Otherwise, the Galaxy S5 display measures in at 5.1-inches and has a resolution of 1920 x 1080.
Some additional images of the two handsets can be seen below.
We still need some additional time to see about the battery life, but there was a small bump going from the Galaxy S4 (2600 mAh) to the Galaxy S5 (2800 mAh). We also plan to spend quite a bit of time with the camera. After all, there are plenty of people curious to see how the 16MP camera is going to stand up in terms of real world shooting.
We will have our full Galaxy S5 review in the not too distant future. In the meantime make sure to keep an eye on the Samsung Galaxy S5 tag here on Android Community, which is where the review, as well as any additional GS5 coverage will find a home once published.
