Introducing The Samsung Galaxy S5 – Is It All It’s Cracked Up To Be?

Whilst the Samsung Galaxy S5 is destined to be one of the best-selling mobile phones of 2014, many reviewers have pointed out that it isn’t really a huge step up from the Galaxy S4. As with any smartphone release, the S5 has its hits and misses – it is ultimately up to the consumer whether they rate it or hate it.

Design
One of the main points that has been raised in regards to the Galaxy S5 is that it looks and feels pretty similar to its predecessor, the Galaxy S4.

  • The phone is almost entirely plastic. The sides are trimmed in ridged metallic plastic and the back has a soft touch textured and pitted finish.
  • At launch, the phone will be available in four colours – black (which is actually a very dark grey), blue, gold and white.
  • The phone is an amazing 8.1mm thick and is only a couple of milimetres wider than the Galaxy S4 – even though it has a slightly larger screen.

Water Resistance
The Galaxy S5’s water resistance operates much the same as this feature does on any other smartphone – there are rubber seals on the plastic cover and on the flap that sits over the USB port. This waterproof border is less than a millimetre thick, however, and probably won’t last forever.

 

Fingerprint Scanner
The sensor for this feature sits underneath the central select button, but you also need to swipe over the very bottom of the touchscreen to activate the scanner. It has been suggested that this feature isn’t very easy to use – once your swipe has been rejected three times, you are relegated to a traditional password.

‘What’s with all these new features,’ you ask? Unfortunately, smartphone technology appears to have plateau’d and, whilst this may only be a temporary occurrence, manufacturers don’t have much else to offer consumers other than features. It’s just a shame that they didn’t take more time to develop them.