Samsung Galaxy S5 Review

The Samsung Galaxy S5 is the latest addition to Samsung's powerful smartphone devices in the market. At first, you'll feel the presence of its predecessor the Galaxy S5 but once you have used it for awhile, you'll notice how powerful the device is. Check out our review of Samsung Galaxy S5 below but first, check out what you'll get from buying a Samsung Galaxy S5.

Samsung Galaxy S5 specs:

As we've said earlier, Samsung Galaxy S5 feels like its predecessor, the GS4. The form, size and shape will definitely fool you at quick glance. It's made by a polycarbonate material just like GS4 but it's more light weight.

The volume key and as well as the power key is in its usual position, left and right side respectively. The 3.5mm audio port is on top along with the noise cancelling microphone and the IR blaster. At the bottom, the USB 3.0 charging port is located but now, it is now sealed by a flap cover.

But not all things were copied from the design of the Samsung Galaxy S4. If you notice, the corner of GS5 is less rounded compare to its predecessor and GS5 is way more taller, which makes it look like the Note 3. At the back of GS5, you'll see a large of difference- it is rubber-like now which is different to the glossy back of GS4. We think its made this way to add more grip when submerged in water.

Mentioning the water resistance, the S5 is a revolutionary smartphone as it can be submerge to water without harming it. The problem is, once it is submerge to water, the device is almost inoperable. You can't make the apps work underwater nor make the touch control work. The camera however can be controlled using the volume down as a shutter but based from tests, it's not ergonomically design as we experience hard time taking landscape pictures with it. Probably, the water resistance serves as safety precautions and not for entertainment purposes like taking great shots when underwater.

Lastly, the latest Samsung smarphone is now packed with a finger print scanner (the Home button serves as the scanner). The main function of this is for security logging with the device. To register, go to Fingerprint Manager and register at least three fingerprints. Based on tests, the fingerprint scanner works with 80% accuracy. It takes sometime for the scanner to recognize your fingerprint and in fact, it takes several swipe of your finger across the Home button to recognize your print. The fingerprint scanner can also function as some sort of authentication system for third party apps using Samsung Pass API.

The Galaxy S5 has a 5.1 inch Super Amoled technology display (standard for Samsung phones) which gives out 1080x1920 px resolution equivalent to 432ppi pixel density. This makes the images crisp and clear, and making the colors bright and crisp. But, as we expect to Amoled tech, it has bad experiences on outdoor visibility. However, the S5 is a bit different as it performs good than other Samsung phones in the past in terms of outdoor visibility (with sunlight directly beaming on the screen causing glare). One thing we notice on the S5 is its bezel on the side are thicker and the top and bottom are also wider. We haven't got any word from Samsung why they did such a design but, we think that they have done this to make the device more resistant to water (IP67 water resistance).

As always, Samsung phones are superb in terms of their Camera features. The 16MP camera capture can capture 4K videos at 30fps while its sensor can focus on subjects really quick. Pack it with whole new camera customization features, and you'll get the best smartphone in terms of capturing photos and recording videos. 

The speaker at the back is sufficiently loud. Even if its thin in max volume level, but it packs a lot of bass on it. You can totally compare its speaker to what S4 has. And because of that same design, it has disadvantages also like the sound can easily be muffled when holding the phone or putting it on its back. We also notice that the back cover vibrates a lot when we play a music and turn the volume at max level.It come from the bass or, the thin layer of the cover and it causes distortion to the sound sometimes. However, we think that's not really a big problem at all as their are speakers and earphones to aid you and give you great experience while listening to your favorite music. Our main concern here is sound on calls and notifications. We are glad to inform you that just like its predecessor, Samsung Galaxy S5's call quality is very good. Its voice calls are really clear thanks to the noise-cancelling microphone that really works well.

In terms of connectivity, the Samsung Galaxy S5 really performs well. In fact, messaging is without delays and you can receive and send messages very quick. Thanks to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 chip that it has, not only the messaging, but the total device performance is beyond average. It can perform task really quick and it gives you more option to customize your device without any issues. To top that, its playback is smooth and you can play high-end games without lags and crashes due to device malfunction. Overall, the performance of the device is really fluid and top notch.

But wait, that's not all the thing that a Samsung Galaxy S5 has. Its TouchWiz UI looks fresh. as it redefines its custom UI to look different from any Android devices. Plus, Samsung has continued their effort in bringing some useful and and some are improved just like a much more improve S Health, S Voice and S Planner. Although we don't like some apps like Galaxy Gifts, Galaxy essentials and Samsung apps as we consider them as mere bloatwares that adds up to the space but whose complaining, the S5 got a USB card slot that can extend your storage capacity anyway.

In addition, the device has all sorts of connectivity- LTE, Dual-band Wifi, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC, IR Blaster and more. But what we appreciate the most is Samsung Galaxy S5's ability to improve your download speed with its download booster which combines connectivity over WIFI and 3G/LTE. We've also run a test using the Battery Doctor app just to present some figures and the result was- at 54% battery (optimized), it can run for almost 13 hours without any battery saving mode. Note: Depends on how you use it though. Battery Doctor only calculate the average time left for your device to be up. When using the internet or other power hag apps, it will definitely run half on that given time. Lastly, the Samsung Galaxy S5 is built with a USB 3.0 just like the Galaxy Note 3 for faster charging time so you won't wait for your device to fully charge on longer time span.

Overall, the Samsung Galaxy S5 can easily overwhelm competition with its powerful hardware and software. Not to mention the different features it has ranging from security and safety to impressive and entertaining mobile experience. It's one smartphone that conquers a lot of smartphones. It may not look appealing because of it design almost similar to its predecessor but it got substance over form. If you're looking for a smartphone that has over-the-top quality, then look for Samsung Galaxy S5.

For the pricing, the Samsung Galaxy S5 is priced at $749.99. In Philippine market, its price currently is Php34,999. Many would say that it's too pricey for a smartphone but we think it's priced right for its value. Remember that if you want to buy the best, then you should bid for the best price to get it.