Samsung Galaxy S5 is official

Korean electronics giant Samsung today announced the new Galaxy S5 smartphone. Simultaneously unveiled at Unpacked 2014 events in Barcelona and New York, the phone is Samsung’s flagship model for this year.

“With the Galaxy S5, Samsung is going back to basics to focus on delivering the capabilities that matter most to our consumers. Consumers are looking for mobile tools that inspire and support them as they improve their everyday lives. The Galaxy S5 represents an iconic design with essential and useful features to focus on delivering the ultimate smartphone on the market today through people inspired innovation,” said JK Shin, President and Head of IT & Mobile Communications Division at Samsung.

Featuring a 5.1-inch Super AMOLED Full HD display, Samsung Galaxy S5 comes with 16MP rear camera, 2.1MP front camera, Android 4.4, 2GB of RAM and 2.5GHz Snapdragon 801 quad-core processor. In addition, the phone packs IR remote, NFC, LTE, Wi-Fi, 16/ 32GB of internal storage and microSD card slot.

As rumoured earlier, Samsung has also included a fingerprint scanner on the Galaxy S5, which is integrated in the home-button of the phone. A total of three fingerprints can be setup in the phone right now but we expect the future updates to include support for more.  The company has also included a heart-rate monitor in the phone. In addition, Galaxy S5 is water and dust-resistant, so we won’t need an “Active” variant of the phone.

Design-wise, the phone is hardly a departure from the company’s previous flagship models, although Samsung has made a few tweaks here and there.  Also, Samsung has ditched the Android menu button from S5 and included the multitasking button, something which Google has been asking manufacturers for quite some time now.

On the software front, Samsung has included Android 4.4 and a toned-down version of Touchwiz on the smartphone. The company has also skipped on the dozens of S-apps that it used to include in previous Galaxy S series smartphones.

Pricing and availability: The Galaxy S5 will go on sale globally through Samsung’s retail channels, e-commerce and carriers beginning April 2014 in Charcoal Black, Shimmery White, Electric Blue and Copper Gold colour options. There is no word on pricing right now.

Samsung Galaxy S5 Specifications

• Display: 5.1-inch FHD, Super AMOLED, (1920 x 1080)
• Processor: 2.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon 801 application processor
• OS: Android 4.4.2 (KitKat)
• Cameras: 16MP (rear), 2.0MP (front)
• Camera Features: UHD recording, HDR (Rich tone), Selective Focus, Virtual Tour Shot, Shot & More
• Durability: IP67 Dust- and water-resistant
• Pre-loaded Samsung Apps and features: Download Booster, S Health 3.0, Quick Connect, Private Mode, Kids Mode
• Connectivity, Ports: Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac HT80, MIMO(2×2), Bluetooth: 4.0 BLE / ANT+, USB 3.0, NFC, IR Remote
• Sensors: Accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer, Hall, RGB ambient light, Gesture(IR), Finger Scanner, Heart rate sensor
• Memory: 2GB of RAM, 16/32GB of internal storage, microSD card slot
• Dimensions: 142.0 x 72.5 x 8.1mm, 145g
• Battery: 2800mAh