Luxelanai - With the Samsung Galaxy Alpha release on the horizon, there are bound to be some deals for the Samsung Galaxy S5. For Galaxy S4 users who don’t have an interest in the Galaxy Alpha and are looking to upgrade, one of your options is likely the Galaxy S5 – but should you really upgrade, or just wait it out? In this article, we’ll cover everything from design to battery life to help you decide.
You’ll find a huge plus to the Galaxy S5 is the fact that it’s water resistant with IP67 certification. All open ports are rubber sealed to resist water, and as long as the seals are in place, dropping the device in water isn’t an issue.
You could always get the Galaxy S4 active, which features slightly lower specs.
The cause for the extra width in the Galaxy S5 is due to the fact that there are plenty of extra sensors in the device. It features a fingerprint scanner and heart rate sensor, which both require a decent amount of space. The Galaxy’s fingerprint scanner requires you to swipe across your home button, and is a little more finicky than Apple’s TouchID feature.
Although the Galaxy S5′s heart rate sensor is a neat gadget, it’s a little difficult to access when working out. The sensor is just below the camera lens on the back of the device and can be used in the S Health app. This isn’t exactly “exclusive” to the Galaxy S5 though. With a third-party heart rate app, you can get the same exact readings on the Galaxy S4 using the camera and LED flash.
You’ll find that the Galaxy S5’s screen is only a smidge larger than the S4, by 0.1 inches, but it still has the same resolution of 1080p. Despite these facts, image quality on the Galaxy S5 is leaps and bounds better due to a rework of its Super AMOLED screen. Engineers put a lot of effort into calibrating the contrasts and colors of the display, allowing its colors to look very natural. The Galaxy S4′s screen is great, but there’s a definite quality difference.
Both the Galaxy S4 and the Galaxy S5 are the same when it comes to storage. You’ll have the option of either a 16GB or 32GB device, and a slot for a micro SD which allows you to expand your memory up to 128GB.
Under the hood, you’ll find that the Galaxy S5′s Snapdragon 801 quad-core clocked at 2.5GHz is comparable to other devices released back in 2013-2014, but is much better than the Galaxy S4′s Snapdragon 600 quad-core clocked at 1.9GHz. Most users won’t notice the difference in daily use, but benchmarks released by Geekbench show how much better the Snapdragon 801 is than the 600. The Galaxy S4 scored 2,240 points, whereas its successor scored a whpoping 2,908 points. Both devices feature 2GB of RAM.
You’ll find the GPU gets an upgrade as well. The Galaxy S5 is running on the Adreno 330 instead of the Adreno 320 the Galaxy S4 runs on. The Adreno 330 is a juiced-up version, running at 578MHz. You’ll find that the Galaxy S5 will be able to play high quality games for a bit longer than the Galaxy S4 as time goes on, but let’s be honest, the average consumer is happy playing Candy Crush Saga, so this won’t affect many people.
One of the best upgrades you’ll find on the Galaxy S5, in my opinion, is a micro USB 3.0 connector. You can, of course, still use a regular micro USB on the device, but by using a micro USB 3.0, you’ll find that you get much faster data transfer rates and your device will charge in half the time. Not only that, but it tends to wiggle less than the Galaxy S4′s regular micro USB port does.
The Galaxy S5 has a different and slightly better camera than the Galaxy S4, even though they sound fairly similar. You’ll find a 13MP camera on the S4 (made by Sony) that has the ability to record a video at 1080p. On the Galaxy S5, you’ll find a Samsung ISOCELL 16MP camera able to record video at 4K. The Galaxy S5 will produce sharper images, but in decent lighting, the products will be close to the same.
Software-wise, the Samsung Galaxy S5 has a newer version of the TouchWiz interface. It’s a significant visual improvement, but is still similar in functionality to Galaxy S4’s version of TouchWiz. Both devices run on Android’s KitKat v 4.4.
In terms of battery life, the S5’s battery is 2,800mAh. You’ll find that the larger battery combined with the new CPU allows for a few extra hours of use. Inside the Galaxy S4, there’s a 2,600mAh battery, but the older CPU doesn’t help in terms of battery extension. They both feature a power-saving mode, but they differ quite a bit in terms of what the modes do. The S4′s power-saving mode throttles the CPU and cuts back on screen brightness, but the S5 now makes the screen black and white and only allows access to a few pre-selected apps. The S5′s version of power-saving mode can now allow users to make a battery at 15% capacity last all day if they try hard enough.
In all honesty, the Galaxy S5 isn’t too much better than the Galaxy S4, even though it’s been improved. We recommend waiting for either the Note 4, Alpha, or even the Galaxy S6. Galaxy S4 users, don’t rush to upgrade your device, unless you really need to. The Galaxy S5 does have some cool features though, that’s for sure.
Samsung Galaxy S5 gets compared to its predecessor, the Galaxy S4In terms of aesthetics, the Galaxy S5 is certainly pleasing on the eye. It features a perforated plastic backplate, with a soft finish. It’s a few millimeters wider than its predecessor, the Galaxy S4, and 15 grams heavier, weighing 145 grams in total. The Galaxy S4 is 7.9mm thick and weighs 130 grams. It’s more plastic looking, but is far more comfortable to hold in one hand than the Samsung Galaxy S5. Both devices feature a removable backplate for access to the battery, which is a common love amongst Galaxy users. We all know how handy this can be when your battery has decided to give out. Color-wise, the Galaxy S5 is available in blue, gold, white, and black. You have more options with the Galaxy S4, with silver, black, white, blue, purple, and red.
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| Samsung Galaxy S5 vs Samsung Galaxy S4 News |
You could always get the Galaxy S4 active, which features slightly lower specs.
The cause for the extra width in the Galaxy S5 is due to the fact that there are plenty of extra sensors in the device. It features a fingerprint scanner and heart rate sensor, which both require a decent amount of space. The Galaxy’s fingerprint scanner requires you to swipe across your home button, and is a little more finicky than Apple’s TouchID feature.
Although the Galaxy S5′s heart rate sensor is a neat gadget, it’s a little difficult to access when working out. The sensor is just below the camera lens on the back of the device and can be used in the S Health app. This isn’t exactly “exclusive” to the Galaxy S5 though. With a third-party heart rate app, you can get the same exact readings on the Galaxy S4 using the camera and LED flash.
 |
| Samsung Galaxy S5 vs Samsung Galaxy S4 News |
Both the Galaxy S4 and the Galaxy S5 are the same when it comes to storage. You’ll have the option of either a 16GB or 32GB device, and a slot for a micro SD which allows you to expand your memory up to 128GB.
Under the hood, you’ll find that the Galaxy S5′s Snapdragon 801 quad-core clocked at 2.5GHz is comparable to other devices released back in 2013-2014, but is much better than the Galaxy S4′s Snapdragon 600 quad-core clocked at 1.9GHz. Most users won’t notice the difference in daily use, but benchmarks released by Geekbench show how much better the Snapdragon 801 is than the 600. The Galaxy S4 scored 2,240 points, whereas its successor scored a whpoping 2,908 points. Both devices feature 2GB of RAM.
You’ll find the GPU gets an upgrade as well. The Galaxy S5 is running on the Adreno 330 instead of the Adreno 320 the Galaxy S4 runs on. The Adreno 330 is a juiced-up version, running at 578MHz. You’ll find that the Galaxy S5 will be able to play high quality games for a bit longer than the Galaxy S4 as time goes on, but let’s be honest, the average consumer is happy playing Candy Crush Saga, so this won’t affect many people.
 |
| Samsung Galaxy S5 vs Samsung Galaxy S4 News |
The Galaxy S5 has a different and slightly better camera than the Galaxy S4, even though they sound fairly similar. You’ll find a 13MP camera on the S4 (made by Sony) that has the ability to record a video at 1080p. On the Galaxy S5, you’ll find a Samsung ISOCELL 16MP camera able to record video at 4K. The Galaxy S5 will produce sharper images, but in decent lighting, the products will be close to the same.
Software-wise, the Samsung Galaxy S5 has a newer version of the TouchWiz interface. It’s a significant visual improvement, but is still similar in functionality to Galaxy S4’s version of TouchWiz. Both devices run on Android’s KitKat v 4.4.
In terms of battery life, the S5’s battery is 2,800mAh. You’ll find that the larger battery combined with the new CPU allows for a few extra hours of use. Inside the Galaxy S4, there’s a 2,600mAh battery, but the older CPU doesn’t help in terms of battery extension. They both feature a power-saving mode, but they differ quite a bit in terms of what the modes do. The S4′s power-saving mode throttles the CPU and cuts back on screen brightness, but the S5 now makes the screen black and white and only allows access to a few pre-selected apps. The S5′s version of power-saving mode can now allow users to make a battery at 15% capacity last all day if they try hard enough.
Samsung Galaxy S5′s specs aren’t impressive enough
In all honesty, the Galaxy S5 isn’t too much better than the Galaxy S4, even though it’s been improved. We recommend waiting for either the Note 4, Alpha, or even the Galaxy S6. Galaxy S4 users, don’t rush to upgrade your device, unless you really need to. The Galaxy S5 does have some cool features though, that’s for sure.
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