Samsung Galaxy S5 release date, price, specs & screen rumors
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Posted on 2 Jan 2014 at 11:29
UPDATED on 15th January 2014 with the full list of leaked specs
It's coming up for a year since the Samsung Galaxy S4 was launched. While the phone did well and was generally well lauded, many people thought it was just an iterative improvement over the Galaxy S3. If Samsung wants to continue its momentum and to keep growing its market share, it's clear that the next model, the Samsung Galaxy S5 is going have to offer a lot more.
With just a matter of weeks until we're likely to see the official launch of the S5, it's time to take a look at what we can expect. In this article we're looking at all of the Galaxy S5 release date, price and specs rumours, sifting through the information to work out what we can expect to see.
SAMSUNG GALAXY S5 SPECS LEAKED
If information obtained by SamMobile is correct, then we now know the fullSamsung Galaxy S5 specs. We'll summaries everything that was leaked here, but you may want to read the rest of the article to find out what else is rumored, particularly as the leak has not been confirmed by Samsung.
According to the information, it's seems as though the Samsung Galaxy S5 will come in two models: one plastic and a more expensive, premium metal version. It's not clear if there will be different model names, but it could be that the metal version is called the Samsung Galaxy F, rumors of which started appearing a couple of months ago.
We don't know how the two phones will differ, other than build quality. Rumors currently have it that the metal version will still have a removable back panel, which should mean a user-replaceable battery.
The high-resolution screen should come as no surprise to anyone, with a 2,560x1,440 AMBLED display set to appear. This will make the Samsung Galaxy S5 the highest-resolution smart phone. Screen size will increase from the Galaxy S4's 5in, up to 5.25in. This is still comfortably smaller than the 5.7in screen of theSamsung Galaxy Note 3.
The camera should be upgraded, with the sensor moving from the 13-megapixel sensor of the Galaxy S4 up to 16-megapixels for the Galaxy S5. We don't know if Samsung intends to introduce hardware optical image stabilization (OIS).
Internally, the Galaxy S5 will have a choice of processors, with the 64-bit Exynos 6 and Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 both available. The Exynos 6 will use ARM's big.LITTLE architecture, which means it will have four low-power cores available when the phone's not doing much, and four high-power cores for more intensive tasks.
The choice of CPU is similar to the Galaxy S4, which had versions with an Exynos 5 chip and Qualcomm chip. In the S4's case, this was because the Exynos didn't support LTE; however, with the Galaxy S5, the Exynos 6 does support LTE, so there's no clear split between models. It could well be that the premium metal version gets 64-bit Exynos, while the plastic version gets the Exynos 5 chip instead.
No other specs were leaked, so carry on reading to find out about the latest rumours.
SAMSUNG GALAXY S5 SCREEN
It doesn't seem likely that Samsung will increase the screen size from the Samsung Galaxy S4 much. Going beyond 5in would mean that the Galaxy S5 would start to encroach on the territory of the Galaxy Note 3.
A minor increase in size could happen, but a increase in resolution from the Galaxy S4's Full HD display seems a lot more likely. Androidbeat reported that roadmap slides show WQHD (2,560x1,440) screens estimated to arrive in 2014 and Ultra HD (3,840x2,160, otherwise known as 4K) due in 2015.
That roadmap was given some substance earlier when benchmark scores (mentioned in the previous section) revealed a 2,560x1,440 resolution display on an unannounced Samsung smartphone using the model name SM-G900S. The results make no mention of screen size, although we can make an educated guess; Samsung's roadmap specifically mentions 560 pixels per inch (PPI) pixel density screens, which would equate to 5.25in based on the resolution. Indeed, all of the rumours suggest that this screen size and resolution will be used on the Galaxy S5.
What's less clear is the technology that will be used. Samsung typically uses its Super AMOLED technology for its flagship phones, so we'd expect that to be the case for the Galaxy S5.
In fact, SamMobile even reported that the screen had entered production in December 2013, which would make sense given the imminent launch.
The screen in production uses a pentile arrangement of sub-pixels will be used, with green pixels alternated with red and blue pixels. A diamond pixel arrangement will be used, too, with diamond-shaped pixels designed to make the screen look sharper.
So far so good, but recent reports suggest that Samsung is having trouble manufacturing this AMOLED display in sufficient quantities, given how popular the smartphone is likely to be. Some rumours suggest that the S5 may have to have switch to an LTPS LCD display manufactured by Sharp.
Samsung has a three per cent stake in Sharp, so it's not beyond the realms of possibilities that it would use this and take its manufactured screens. According to the rumours, the Sharp screen would still have the 2K resolution, so the S5 wouldn't be downgrading here.
All previous rumours about Samsung devices ditching AMOLED for LCD have proved to be false, so we have to take this one with a pinch of salt. However, if the S5 does go LCD, we'd expect and hope that the rumoured Samsung Galaxy F, the new high-end, premium phone, would get an AMOLED screen.
One thing seems to be off the cards, though: a curved screen. Although Samsung has the technology to produce curved displays, we haven't seen this screens in huge volume. Given the desire and demand that the S5 will likely have, a standard flat screen, albeit one with a super-high-resolution, seems like a safer bet.
SAMSUNG GALAXY S5 LAUNCH DATE
If there's one thing that we can be more certain about, it's the launch date of the Galaxy S5. We're coming up to the year anniversary of the Galaxy S4, so the predictable launch cycle means that the Galaxy S5 will be launched around the same time.
Taking one year after the S4's reveal would put us with a March 2014 release date. However, we may actually get the phone a little earlier in February at the MWC show in Barcelona.
Samsung's head of design strategy, Dong-hoon Chang seemingly confirmed that the Galaxy S5 is due to launch at MWC in February in an interview.
This would be strange for the company, as it hasn't released a flagship smartphone at MWC for years, preferring to have its very-own launch event. If the company sticks with this, following previous form, it would mean that the S5 will most likely have its own launch event in the middle of March.
A freelance journalist has even Tweeted that he expects the next global Samsung launch to be held in London in mid-March. Given the timing, the most obvious product to launch would be the Samsung Galaxy S5. However, given that the S3 was launched in London and the S4 in New York, will Samsung move country completely again?
The good news is that we're not going to have to wait long to find out. With MWC in February, we'll know pretty quickly if the company is launching the Galaxy S5 there. If the new smartphone doesn't appear at MWC, then it should only be a matter of weeks before we see it at its own launch event.
SAMSUNG GALAXY S5 RETINA SCANNER
SAMSUNG GALAXY S5 OPERATING SYSTEM AND UI
It doesn't take a genius to work out that, as the Galaxy S5 will be an Android smartphone, it will run the latest version of the mobile operating system: Android 4.4 KitKat.
As well as faster multitasking and a new immersive mode, KitKat also has better cloud integration. It also supports, on the right hardware, the ability to be activated by voice without having to press a button first.
So far, so obvious, but with Samsung adding its own tweaks to the operating system, the question is, how far will it go with modifying the operating system? Many people thought that the Galaxy S4 felt like a minor improvement over the S3, so completely revamping the OS could do the job.
EVLeaks, which has a good track record, recently posted a picture on Twitter of Samsung's experimental smartphone UI. This could potentially be the interface that we see on the Galaxy S5.
As you can see from the image above, Samsung appears to have tweaked both the lock screen and one of the home screens, opting for square widgets that lock together, although it has also left a traditional Android home screen.
What's making us think that this could the way that Samsung wants to go, is our time with the Samsung Galaxy NotePro and Samsung Galaxy TabPro tablets, which were launched at CES 2014.
These tablets have Samsung's Magazine UX interface. This creates new home screens, with special square widgets that lock together, giving you all of your data in one place, with home screens for work, personal and media. It's not dissimilar to the leaked smartphone screenshot, so it may well be that the Galaxy S5 has its own Magazine UX-style user interface.
SAMSUNG GALAXY S5 PROCESSOR
Apple moved its entire new mobile platform to 64-bit with the launch of the iPhone 5S, iPad Air and iPad Mini, so it's time for Samsung to play catch-up. By all reports, the Samsung Galaxy S5 will ship with a 64-bit processor as well.
Samsung’s CEO of Mobile Shin Jong-Kyun has stated that the company's "next smartphones will have 64-bit processing". There were rumours that the chip would be delayed and wouldn't appear until the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 was released later in 2014, but it looks as though Samsung's back on track.
A senior ARM executive stoked these rumours futher, telling the Korea Herald that the company had finalised a deal with Samsung to provide the Galaxy S5 with a 64-bit chip. This would make it the first Android device to support 64-bit operations.
The as yet unnamed chip is expected to be known as the Exynos 6, making it the successor to the Exynos 5 found in the Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 edition. However, previous Samsung smartphones used Qualcomm processors here in the UK compared to Exynos chips elsewhere in the world, so it's unclear if Samsung intends to use a similar strategy for the Galaxy S5.
This is particularly true following benchmark results were spotted online showing an unannounced Samsung smartphone with a Snapdragon 800 CPU running at 2.5GHz - a higher frequency than any other mobile device released to date.
Of course, a 64-bit processor isn't much good without a compatible 64-bit operating system. While Apple made the jump to 64-bit using hardware and iOS 7, Samsung doesn't write Android, so it will need Google to write a 64-bit version.
SAMSUNG GALAXY S5 CAMERA
The 13-megapixel camera was one of the highlights of the Galaxy S4, but since then we've seen the 20-megapixel Sony Xperia Z1 and the incredible 41-megapixelNokia Lumia 1020. It's fair to say, then, that competition is tough and Samsung could go in several directions to up the quality of its camera.
Currently doing the rounds, reported by Samsung Tomorrow, is that the company's ISOCELL sensor technology could be used in the Galaxy 5. This new sensor technology physically separates each pixel, minimising electrical crosstalk, producing sharper pictures with less noise.
GforGames reported that during Samsung's 2013 Analyst day a slide revealed that a 16-megapixel ISOCELL sensor was marked for 2014 and 2015 smartphones. Although not an outright confirmation, it's the biggest indicator yet that the Galaxy S5 will include a 16-megapixel rear camera. Unfortunately there's no mention of optical image stabilisation (OIS), which could prove problematic if other smartphone companies up their camera technology in 2014 as well.
Depending on how quickly Samsung's engineers make progress, the Galaxy S5 could even see a 20-megapixel camera. According to Korean news sourceETNews, the company is developing a 20-megapixel smartphone camera sensor now, with a view to include it in handsets from the second half of 2014 onwards. This would seemingly be too late for the proposed Q1 launch date for the S5, although it's always possible the technology is perfected ahead of schedule, or the phone itself slips to a later launch date.
SAMSUNG GALAXY S5 EYE SCANNER
Samsung smartphones are renowned for their extra software features, with Smart Stay and Smart Pause turning off the screen and pausing videos respectively when the front-facing webcam detects you looking away. The company may go a step further, with the Galaxy S5 adding eye scanning security if a new patent filing proves accurate.
A detailed analysis by PatentBolt reveals how an upcoming Samsung smartphone could use a retina scanner, much in the same way as current iris scanners work now. Crucially, the patent explains that this design would be cheaper to implement than existing iris scanners, which makes us think this is one rumour worth keeping an eye on.
We're beginning to see more smartphones put an emphasis on security, with Apple's iPhone 5s using TouchID fingerprint sensors and the HTC One Max following suit. Samsung doesn't like to be left behind, so we're betting that there's a good chance some form of extra security will make its way to the Galaxy S5.
SAMSUNG GALAXY S5 BUILD QUALITY
As great as the Samsung Galaxy S4 was, the plastic case just isn't as attractive as the all-metal one on the iPhone 5S. So, is 2014 the year that Samsung goes all-metal? According to the latest rumours, it is, with the Samsung Galaxy F being touted as a replacement for the Galaxy S.
However, it may be that Samsung decides to launch two new phones with the Samsung Galaxy F having a metal case, as reported by ETNews.
According to the site, the Galaxy F will be launched just after the S5, coming with a metal case. Although prototyped in Europe, the new phone will be produced on a production line in Vietnam.
Rumours also point to the Galaxy F having a higher specification than the S5, although we're not sure that Samsung would go that far and stop the S series being its top-end phone.
As for the S5 we currently don't have more information about whether it will have a metal case or not. Moving to metal would make it harder to have a replaceable battery. As the Galaxy S4 is the only high-end smartphone with this option, we can't see Samsung getting rid of that competitive advantage.
It looks like we're going to have to wait a couple of months to find out if there will be a Samsung Galaxy S5 and Samsung Galaxy F, and what they're going to be made of.
However, Samsung may go a different route. It recently bought a 50 per cent share of carbon fibre specialist, the SGL Group. That suggests that Samsung will forgo metal, opting for a classy carbon fibre finish instead. That could work well for the company, as it would distinguish its products from Apple, while giving the Galaxy S5 a classy and robust case.
There are also rumours that, following the Samsung Galaxy S4 Active, Samsung with make the Galaxy S5 waterproof and dustproof out of the box. It's certainly something that the company could do, but we're not sure that this is the killer feature that will turn people away from the iPhone.
Samsung could also be working on a brand-new design, completely changing the way its phones look. Reported by SamMobile patents have been uncovered, showing a squarer design for a Samsung phone, removing the physical home button. The patents were applied for in 2011 in South Korea and 2012 in the US, so there's no telling if or when they'll actually be used.
SAMSUNG GALAXY S5 PRICE
It's pretty clear that the Galaxy S5 is going to cost the same as the Samsung Galaxy S4, so expect to pay around £600 SIM-free. If there's a whole bunch of extra tech in the handset we could see the price go up, but as Apple stringently keeps the same pricing structure, we can't see Samsung wanting to be seen as the expensive manufacturer.
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