Samsung Galaxy S5: Why it impresses and disappoints

Now that Samsung’s flagship phone is out, all the hype is dying down. Some may look at it in marvel and some will just stay put and wait for another company’s flagship phone. Either way, I think I’ve already classified myself as someone in between; I believe that in most ways, the Galaxy S5 underwhelms the hard-core users but manages to spark some attention in me.

SGS5

Let’s start with the disappointments; the Samsung Galaxy S5 didn’t feature a new display as a lot were expecting and Snapdragon 805 & Exynos was nowhere to be found (perhaps, Samsung has learned that the non-LTE Exynos isn’t a huge seller anyway). Not that the display is bad and not that the 801 is slow, but surely it didn’t live up to the hype of most people. 

Then there’s Samsung playing with 2GB RAM instead of 3GB, which I don’t really get. Samsung has already incorporated 3GB RAM into their Note line and there have been reports already that they’re moving into 4GB capacities so that’s one downgrade you’ll see if you’re coming from the Note 3. My final disappointment is one that I probably share with a lot of people — Samsung’s use of plastic. They’ve already done it with the Galaxy J so I don’t see why not. They can still incorporate metal without losing the identity of the phone anyway, but more on that later.

sgs5 2

Now let’s begin with the things that I found quite interesting. Everything else has been incremental and that’s fine. Samsung, as a business, has a winning formula in its hands so to simply improve on it is a good business decision. Battery life is surely going to increase because of the higher capacity, the software tweaks and hardware optimization. There’s also the inclusion of the Download Booster which is nice to have and then the 16-megapixel shooter that is capable of 4K video recording and faster time-to-focus. While it’s not using the ISOCELL we were expecting, we can’t really judge as we haven’t tested the sensor yet.

A few elements we could have missed are Samsung’s inclusion of the heart rate monitor, which shows that they are truly serious on pushing fitness as a main feature of their Galaxy line, and their addition of IP67 water & dust resistance and the fingerprint scanner, which eliminates a huge edge that the competition has over Samsung (hint: Sony).

Finally, while the overall design has been disappointing for me, I can still cope up to why Samsung has not left their design ethos. The shape, the pattern and the elements found in the Galaxy S such as the physical home button is brand identity, something we’ve already tackled in the past. Sammy could have seen that many people praised the Galaxy Note 3 for its faux leather back and wished to shift away from glossy plastic but didn’t want to take the full risk of changing things – so they stuck with a finish that’s somewhat similar to the 1st gen Nexus 7‘s. While it has been disappointing for me as a geek, it’s something I totally understand in another perspective.

Anyway, it’s the age of increments and small upgrades nowadays, isn’t it? I doubt any successor to a flagship phone will be mind-blowing anytime soon. After all, the supply depends on demand. If you don’t want to see more of it, don’t buy it. Regardless of the Galaxy S5′s impressive feats and disappointments to us, we’re sure that it’s going to ship millions anyway — because aside from hardware and software, it’s experience and marketing that sells.

The post Samsung Galaxy S5: Why it impresses and disappoints appeared first on YugaTech | Philippines, Tech News & Reviews.

Samsung Galaxy S5: Why it impresses and disappoints

Now that Samsung’s flagship phone is out, all the hype is dying down. Some may look at it in marvel and some will just stay put and wait for another company’s flagship phone. Either way, I think I’ve already classified myself as someone in between; I believe that in most ways, the Galaxy S5 underwhelms the hard-core users but manages to spark some attention in me.

SGS5

Let’s start with the disappointments; the Samsung Galaxy S5 didn’t feature a new display as a lot were expecting and Snapdragon 805 & Exynos was nowhere to be found (perhaps, Samsung has learned that the non-LTE Exynos isn’t a huge seller anyway). Not that the display is bad and not that the 801 is slow, but surely it didn’t live up to the hype of most people. 

Then there’s Samsung playing with 2GB RAM instead of 3GB, which I don’t really get. Samsung has already incorporated 3GB RAM into their Note line and there have been reports already that they’re moving into 4GB capacities so that’s one downgrade you’ll see if you’re coming from the Note 3. My final disappointment is one that I probably share with a lot of people — Samsung’s use of plastic. They’ve already done it with the Galaxy J so I don’t see why not. They can still incorporate metal without losing the identity of the phone anyway, but more on that later.

sgs5 2

Now let’s begin with the things that I found quite interesting. Everything else has been incremental and that’s fine. Samsung, as a business, has a winning formula in its hands so to simply improve on it is a good business decision. Battery life is surely going to increase because of the higher capacity, the software tweaks and hardware optimization. There’s also the inclusion of the Download Booster which is nice to have and then the 16-megapixel shooter that is capable of 4K video recording and faster time-to-focus. While it’s not using the ISOCELL we were expecting, we can’t really judge as we haven’t tested the sensor yet.

A few elements we could have missed are Samsung’s inclusion of the heart rate monitor, which shows that they are truly serious on pushing fitness as a main feature of their Galaxy line, and their addition of IP67 water & dust resistance and the fingerprint scanner, which eliminates a huge edge that the competition has over Samsung (hint: Sony).

Finally, while the overall design has been disappointing for me, I can still cope up to why Samsung has not left their design ethos. The shape, the pattern and the elements found in the Galaxy S such as the physical home button is brand identity, something we’ve already tackled in the past. Sammy could have seen that many people praised the Galaxy Note 3 for its faux leather back and wished to shift away from glossy plastic but didn’t want to take the full risk of changing things – so they stuck with a finish that’s somewhat similar to the 1st gen Nexus 7‘s. While it has been disappointing for me as a geek, it’s something I totally understand in another perspective.

Anyway, it’s the age of increments and small upgrades nowadays, isn’t it? I doubt any successor to a flagship phone will be mind-blowing anytime soon. After all, the supply depends on demand. If you don’t want to see more of it, don’t buy it. Regardless of the Galaxy S5′s impressive feats and disappointments to us, we’re sure that it’s going to ship millions anyway — because aside from hardware and software, it’s experience and marketing that sells.

The post Samsung Galaxy S5: Why it impresses and disappoints appeared first on YugaTech | Philippines, Tech News & Reviews.

Samsung Galaxy S5: Why it impresses and disappoints

Now that Samsung’s flagship phone is out, all the hype is dying down. Some may look at it in marvel and some will just stay put and wait for another company’s flagship phone. Either way, I think I’ve already classified myself as someone in between; I believe that in most ways, the Galaxy S5 underwhelms the hard-core users but manages to spark some attention in me.

SGS5

Let’s start with the disappointments; the Samsung Galaxy S5 didn’t feature a new display as a lot were expecting and Snapdragon 805 & Exynos was nowhere to be found (perhaps, Samsung has learned that the non-LTE Exynos isn’t a huge seller anyway). Not that the display is bad and not that the 801 is slow, but surely it didn’t live up to the hype of most people. 

Then there’s Samsung playing with 2GB RAM instead of 3GB, which I don’t really get. Samsung has already incorporated 3GB RAM into their Note line and there have been reports already that they’re moving into 4GB capacities so that’s one downgrade you’ll see if you’re coming from the Note 3. My final disappointment is one that I probably share with a lot of people — Samsung’s use of plastic. They’ve already done it with the Galaxy J so I don’t see why not. They can still incorporate metal without losing the identity of the phone anyway, but more on that later.

sgs5 2

Now let’s begin with the things that I found quite interesting. Everything else has been incremental and that’s fine. Samsung, as a business, has a winning formula in its hands so to simply improve on it is a good business decision. Battery life is surely going to increase because of the higher capacity, the software tweaks and hardware optimization. There’s also the inclusion of the Download Booster which is nice to have and then the 16-megapixel shooter that is capable of 4K video recording and faster time-to-focus. While it’s not using the ISOCELL we were expecting, we can’t really judge as we haven’t tested the sensor yet.

A few elements we could have missed are Samsung’s inclusion of the heart rate monitor, which shows that they are truly serious on pushing fitness as a main feature of their Galaxy line, and their addition of IP67 water & dust resistance and the fingerprint scanner, which eliminates a huge edge that the competition has over Samsung (hint: Sony).

Finally, while the overall design has been disappointing for me, I can still cope up to why Samsung has not left their design ethos. The shape, the pattern and the elements found in the Galaxy S such as the physical home button is brand identity, something we’ve already tackled in the past. Sammy could have seen that many people praised the Galaxy Note 3 for its faux leather back and wished to shift away from glossy plastic but didn’t want to take the full risk of changing things – so they stuck with a finish that’s somewhat similar to the 1st gen Nexus 7‘s. While it has been disappointing for me as a geek, it’s something I totally understand in another perspective.

Anyway, it’s the age of increments and small upgrades nowadays, isn’t it? I doubt any successor to a flagship phone will be mind-blowing anytime soon. After all, the supply depends on demand. If you don’t want to see more of it, don’t buy it. Regardless of the Galaxy S5′s impressive feats and disappointments to us, we’re sure that it’s going to ship millions anyway — because aside from hardware and software, it’s experience and marketing that sells.

The post Samsung Galaxy S5: Why it impresses and disappoints appeared first on YugaTech | Philippines, Tech News & Reviews.

Samsung to host event on Feb 24, likely Galaxy S5 launch

Samsung has just posted on their Twitter an invitation for their Unpacked event on February 24 at Barcelona, Spain. Following the rumors of an early launch and having a promising ’5′ on the invite – we can only say that there is a high possibility of seeing the Samsung Galaxy S5 before the month ends.

Unpacked 5

The Samsung Galaxy S5 is expected to have a 2K display, a 64-bit Exynos CPU with a Snapdragon 805 variant, 4GB RAM, Samsung’s ISOCELL imaging technology and a brand new design language – in hardware and in software. Metal is poised to shine as speculated and a brand new TouchWiz will be running the show.

Samsung Galaxy S5

Stay tuned to YugaTech for more updates and coverage! For the meantime, you may want to read Samsung’s next flagship phone here:

 

Updated: We’ve also gotten another source confirming that the Galaxy S5 will be revealed the night before Mobile World Congress. – Yuga

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Samsung Galaxy S5 official specs revealed

After providing us with high-res snaps and benchmark test results of the rumored Galaxy Note 3 Neo, SamMobile is at again; this time they’ve shed more light on some of the inner workings of Samsung’s upcoming flagship handset.

sgs5

For starters, the site claims that Galaxy S5 will boast an AMOLED display with Quad-HD (2,560×1,440) resolution. The screen size is yet to be confirmed, but the recent rumors point to a panel which measures 5.25 inches.

Next up is the engine. According to the site’s insider, GS5 will be offered in two models; one that runs on an Exynos 6 processor (supposedly the non-LTE variant) and another one that’s powered by a Snapdragon 805 SoC with Adreno 420 GPU. Details about the RAM and Storage capacities weren’t provided in the leak, but the GS5 is suspected to have 3-4GB of RAM and 16GB internal storage.

galaxy s5

The Galaxy S5 is expected to run on Android KitKat right off the bat and will have a 16MP camera on the back to boot. Surprisingly, Samsung will allegedly offer their upcoming hero device in plastic and metal construction.

In addition to the “confirmed” specs, SamMobile’s informer also says that the South Korean firm will launch Galaxy S5 Mini, as well as a camera-centric variant which will be called Galaxy S5 Zoom.

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