The Samsung Galaxy S5 is an Android-based smartphone unveiled, produced, released and marketed by Samsung Electronics as part of the Samsung Galaxy S series. Unveiled on 24 February 2014 at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, it was released on 11 April 2014 in 150 countries as the immediate successor to the Galaxy S4. As with the S4, the S5 is an evolution of the prior year's model, placing a particular emphasis on an improved build with a textured rear cover (Removed with the Galaxy S6), IP67 certification for dust and water resistance (Removed with the Galaxy S6 but re-added with the Galaxy S7), a more refined user experience, new security features such as a fingerprint reader and private mode, expanded health-related features including a built-in heart rate monitor, a USB 3.0 port, and an updated camera featuring speedy auto-focus through phase-detection. The video resolution has been upgraded to 2160p (4K) and the frame rate at 1080p has been doubled to 60 for a smooth appearance.
The Galaxy S5 received mostly positive reviews; the phone was praised for its display, hardware, camera, long battery life, and incorporating water resistance while retaining a removable battery and MicroSD card slot, making it the final in its series with the former. However, the S5 was criticized for bloatware, its unresponsive fingerprint scanner, and its ostensibly non-"premium" polycarbonate in light of rival smartphones' metal or glass bodies.
In August 2015, following the release of its then-latest flagship, the Galaxy S6, Samsung released an updated version called the "Galaxy S5 Neo" which has an Exynos 7 Octa (7580) processor clocked at 1.6 GHz. It has 2 GB of RAM, 16 GB of internal storage, USB 2.0 port, comes with Android 5.0.2 "Lollipop", and lacks fingerprint unlocking and 4K (2160p) video recording.
Release date
The Galaxy S5 was unveiled on 24 February 2014 as part of the company's presentation at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain. Samsung Electronics president JK Shin explained that consumers did not want a phone dependent on "eye-popping" or "complex" technology, but one with "beautiful design and performance", a "simple, yet powerful camera", "faster and seamless connectivity", and fitness-oriented features.
Samsung announced that it would release the S5 on 11 April 2014 in 150 countries—including the United Kingdom and United States. On 18 June 2014, Samsung unveiled an LTE-Advanced version of the S5, exclusively released in South Korea. Unlike other models, the LTE-A version also upgrades the display to a quad HD, 1440p panel.
Shortly after the release of the S5, it was discovered that some Samsung Galaxy S5 devices—particularly those on Verizon Wireless—were suffering from a major bug that caused the device's camera hardware to permanently cease functioning, and display a "Camera failed" error on-screen whenever users attempt to use the camera. Both Samsung and Verizon confirmed the issue, which affected a limited number of Galaxy S5 devices; Samsung instructed users affected by the bug to contact the company or their carrier to have their phone replaced under warranty.
Specifications
Hardware and design
Changes
The design of the S5 evolves upon the design of the S4. It features a rounded, polycarbonate chassis carrying a "modern glam" look with a dot pattern similarly to that on the 2012 Google Nexus 7 tablet computer, faux metal trim and a removable rear cover. Unlike past models, the S5's rear cover uses a higher quality soft plastic and is dimpled to improve grip.
The S5 is IP67 certified for dust and water resistance. As such, the phone is able to be submerged in water up to for up to 30 minutes. The S5's Micro-USB 3.0 port uses a removable cover. The S5 is available in Charcoal Black, Electric Blue, Copper Gold, and Shimmery White color finishes. The S5's screen is a 1080p Super AMOLED panel, which is slightly larger than that of the S4, and allows for automatic brightness and gamut adjustments. Its minimum dimmable brightness level has been lowered to facilitate vision in dark environments without the need for third-party screen filter overlay apps which would interfere with screen captures.