Samsung Galaxy S5

On the hardware front, the Galaxy S5 provides an arguably smaller upgrade than we’ve seen with past releases. The Super AMOLED display has seen a slight bump to 5.1-inches, and still packs the same 1080p resolution we’re used to. The Snapdragon 600 SoC of the Galaxy S4 is swapped out for the newer Snapdragon 801. A 16-megapixel camera is seen on the back, complete with 4K video recording. Nothing major, just continual improvements in all the key areas.

• 5.1”, 1920 x 1080 Super AMOLED display (432 ppi)
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 SoC
• 2.5 GHz quad-core CPU, Adreno 330 GPU, 2GB RAM
• 16/32 GB internal storage, microSD card slot
• 16 MP camera, 1/2.6” sensor, f/2.2 lens, 4K video
• IP67 water resistant
• Fingerprint scanner, heart rate monitor
• 2,800 mAh, 10.78 Wh battery
• LTE, Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC
• Android 4.4 ‘KitKat’
• 145 grams, 8.1mm thick

Design

Not much has changed, design-wise, between the Galaxy S III of 2012 and the Galaxy S5 of 2014. The plastic remains, the imitation metal remains, and typical Samsung elements like the protruding camera, physical home button and prominent sensor array, also remain. The back panel is removable and the display gets slightly larger with each release.

Where changes have been made, the changes are for the better. Samsung has finally listened to the complaints and has opted for a plastic rear housing that doesn’t feel cheap, slippery and awful. The new Band-Aid-style texturing feels surprisingly nice, and gives the phone a touch of class where it hasn’t had any in the past.

But it’s still plastic, which up against the aluminium HTC One M8 and Apple iPhone 5s, or the glass Sony Xperia Z2, seems a little lacklustre. The fake metal rim around the Galaxy S5 does it no favors either, as it’s blatantly plastic. With that said, I do like the all-glass front panel which looks reasonably good, especially when you power up the brilliant Super AMOLED display.

While it’s not the best smartphone build going around, it’s easily the best Galaxy S design so far. The Galaxy S5’s body is very ergonomic, with the curves seemingly sculpted to match the human hand. It’s not the slimmest phone ever released at 8.1mm thick, but it doesn’t feel chunky to hold, nor heavy at 145 grams. The shift away from the smooth, glossy back panel also makes the handset easier to keep in your hands as it’s considerably less slippery.

Next to the physical home button, which thanks to the fingerprint scanner has less travel than you’d expect, are the two capacitive soft buttons. Finally, the menu button has been canned after it was made a legacy feature in Android 4.0 way back in 2011. It's been replaced with the far more useful recent apps button, allowing quick multitasking and switching of apps.