Samsung Galaxy S5 Reviewed

Samsung GALAXY S5

Introduction

The Galaxy S5 is Samsung's flagship phone for 2014 and more than 10 million units were shifted in its first month on sale. Is it a success? Certainly in terms of sales figures it's right up there.

Should we get carried away by sales numbers alone? A phone should stand on its merits and the Galaxy S5 has made some important improvements to certain key areas over the Galaxy S4.The screen and camera are significantly better than those on last year's model. 

The Design

The Samsung Galaxy S5 is a more solid phone than the Galaxy S4, that's for sure, and looks more well-packaged thanks to the wider back and the grippier, pock-marked battery cover.

However, it doesn't look like a cutting edge smartphone. It seems more akin to the product of a Galaxy Note 3 and the S4, with the metal-effect band around the outside subconsciously making me search for an S Pen.

The rear of the phone isn't something that wows either. While I think the comparisons to a sticking plaster are a little cruel, it does share a more 'medical' feel, especially in the white colour.

The Display

The Full HD Super AMOLED screen delivers 22 percent higher brightness than the Galaxy S4 without munching down any more power, according to Display Mate .You can head over there now to see the full, detailed run down of just what makes this a brilliant screen in superb detail.

But here's the upshot: the days of the Super AMOLED screen being a colourful mess are over. Samsung has plied the Galaxy S5 with all manner of settings to let you find the exact balance you want, and features like Adapt Display are excellent at making sure that even in bright light, the screen is clear.

Annoyingly this latter mode can't be used with all apps, but it still makes the main ones, like internet browser and gallery, look a lot better even outside.

The Camera

Samsung has a history of making smartphones with good cameras, but that doesn't mean it can rest on its laurels. The competition is getting fiercer: Nokia, Sony and even Chinese outfits like Oppo are doing some fantastic things with imaging. And so must Samsung. With the GS5, the company added a 16MP rear camera, some clever new editing tricks and a new "ISOCELL" technology that improves sharpness, low-light performance and color accuracy. (In case you're wondering, the front-facing camera is still capped at 2MP.)

Just like the One M8, the GS5's top resolution uses a 16:9 aspect ratio for wide screen images, rather than the traditional 4:3. Fun fact: If you don't like going widescreen, the highest res you can get is 12MP, which is actually a lower resolution than the GS4's 13MP 4:3 camera. Obviously, pixel count isn't everything, and there are other aspects of the imaging experience to consider, but I still found this a tad disappointing.

Performance

The Galaxy S5 is one powerful device with a powerful Snapdragon 801 quad-core processor cloaked at 2500MHz  coupled with 2Gb of RAM. It is able to perform all day to day tasks easily and switching between apps and playing graphics intensive games is a breeze.