The battle for supremacy at the top of the smartphone market has moved up a gear, with the latest high-end smartphone from Samsung hitting the shops. RTÉ’s Science and Technology Correspondent Will Goodbody has been taking a look at the Samsung Galaxy S5.
It seems like eons ago that Samsung unveiled the S5 in the usual frenetic razzmatazz at Mobile World Congress.
Today it finally hit the shelves here in Ireland, heralding in a new phase in the ongoing battle among manufacturers for the honour of holding the title of the world’s best smartphone.
At first look the S5 doesn’t appear all that different to its predecessor, the S4. It has a plastic case, with a chrome trim, and a removable dimpled back cover. Certainly not as smart as the iPhone 5S or the new HTC One M8, but respectable nonetheless.
Inside it packs substantial processing punch, with a 2.5Ghz Snapdragon 801 Quad-core processor that certainly makes it feel quick and responsive.
It also comes with either 16 or 32GB of on board memory, but crucially it also has a MicroSD slot which allows expansion of up to 128GB.
It is obviously 4G ready, while the screen is a 5.1” Super AMOLED with full HD (1920x1080), which is bright and responsive.
The 2800mAh battery has been beefed in such a way that Samsung claims it will give 21 hours of talk time and 13 hours of video playback – though I didn’t have a demo model for long enough to put it to the test.
The battery remains removable, which is a distinct advantage in comparison to the HTC One and iPhone. There’s also an ultra power save mode, which ditches colour from the display and limits app functionality, to significantly boost battery life.
Under-the-hood power aside, manufacturers continue to pile more and more effort into improving on-board cameras, and the S5 is no exception.
The main rear facing camera is 16MP, while the front facing unit is 2MP. The S5 shoots 4k video, which is nice, except for the fact that very few of us own 4k TVs yet and it eats up storage.
Picture quality in both still and video mode is crisp and extra software gimmicks allow you play tricks with your pics, like selective focus shooting; which captures the image at near and far focal lengths, allowing the user to choose whether they want the foreground or background in focus after the picture has been taken.
The camera app is a little slow, though, which might prove the difference between capturing that memory or not.
Samsung is going hard and fast after the fitness market, with its Galaxy Gear and Gear Fit range of smart watches. But it is also chasing this segment with the S5 too which comes with a built in pedometer and activity monitor.
And you can even track your heart rate by placing your finger tip on the sensor on the back cover. It’s a bit fiddly, but with a bit of practice it works – perhaps even better than my heart!
It’s hard to imagine people using it that much, though, when such a range of smaller, lighter and more discrete health tracking devices are now available.
Following the introduction of one on the iPhone 5S, the Galaxy S5 really had to include a fingerprint sensor. It’s situated on the home button on the front, and again takes a little training and persistence to get used to. It can be used for a variety of tasks, like security and verification of online payments.
There are also the touch-free gesture controls that were introduced on the S4. However, because they failed to make an impact, Samsung is wisely not making a fuss about them this time around.
Again following in the footsteps of others, the S5 has an IP67 rating, meaning it is waterproof up to 1 meter for 30 minutes, provided the rubber cover over the micro-SD slot on the bottom is closed.
The handset also features an infra-red emitter, which enables it to be used in conjunction with an app as a remote control - though I can’t think why you would.
The handset is available from today from Carphone Warehouse, Samsung and other operator outlets for between €609.99 and €639.99 on pre-pay. While the starting prices on contract across the different operators range from free to €249.
Overall, during the short time I had to play with the S5, I found it to be a pretty decent phone.
It certainly lacks the physical attractiveness of its rivals, and its interface - while improved - remains busy and at times confusing.
But the camera is impressive, the fingerprint sensor is a welcome addition and all in all it will, for now, hold its own in what has become a very competitive segment of the market.
