Android L’s official release is getting closer and while some tech enthusiasts are tinkering with Google’s latest mobile operating system, OEMs are already preparing their hardware for Mountain View’s new software. Quite possibly the busiest of the bunch, Samsung appears to be testing Android L on its Galaxy S5 and the folks at SamMobile have managed to get their hands on a rough build of the forthcoming software.
Samsung’s Galaxy S5 is already ships in multiple colors, so how about an additional hue? Today, Best Buy announced that it will exclusively offer an Electric Blue version of Samsung’s current flagship smartphone starting on August 17th for $100. The recolored GS5 will go on sale on August 17th and will be available to AT&T, Sprint and Verizon customers.
The smartphone gold rush is showing no signs of slowing down, as Samsung announced today that its Galaxy S5 will be available in the trendy hue across all major US carriers starting on May 30th. Samsung is billing this shiny shade as fashionable, but we think it’s a trend that needs to be as short-lived as possible. While we’re all for seeing devices have a little pizazz, we’d like to see something more original. Ever since Apple launched a gold iPhone last year, it seems like every smartphone manufacturer has jumped on the bandwagon. Nevertheless, if your wireless service is tied to AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon or US Cellular, a gold Galaxy S5 can be yours in less than a fortnight.
When it comes to smartphones people often go gaga for specs and while beefy processors and gigabytes of RAM always sound good, quality software can be a real game changer. For example, Samsung’s new Galaxy S5 ships with a 2.5GHz quad-core processor pushed by 2GB of RAM. On paper this handset should breeze through everyday tasks and crush a bargain bin device like Motorola’s Moto E in any performance-based challenge.
An unannounced Samsung device listed as SM-G900FG recently cleared the Bluetooth SIG’s certification, so what might it be? The current model of the Galaxy S5 carries the SM-G900F, which suggests that this mystery gadget could be the Google Play edition of the GS5. Adding support to this theory, last year’s Galaxy S4 was listed as GT-I9505, with it’s Google Play counterpart being referred to as GT-I9505G. So that “G” at the end of this foreign device really stands out.
Samsung’s Galaxy S5 might be dust and water resistant, but the company’s flagship smartphone is now ready to take on the roughest of terrains — the office. Today, the South Korean electronics manufacturer announced a new version of its Knox security software that lets GS5 owners use their phone at their job. Rebranded as Knox Workspace, this updated platform features two new cloud-based services Knox EMM and Knox Marketplace. The former gives your employer’s IT department remote access to your device, while the latter is the software’s dedicated app store.
The Verizon variant of the Galaxy S5 may be having a little camera trouble, but depending on who you ask, this might not be the handset’s biggest issue. Although Android’s setup offers a lot of flexibility, Big Red’s version of Samsung new flagship ships with a locked bootloader. This makes it extremely difficult to take advantage custom ROMs and early software updates. Verizon locking down the Galaxy S5’s bootloader has become such an issue, a band of developers are offering a bounty (now over $11,000) to whoever can find an effective workaround to this problem.
The Samsung Galaxy S5’s camera is a major selling point for the company’s new flagship smartphone, however a newly discovered bug may soon turn would-be buyers away from the device. There have been several reports across the web documenting an issue with the handset’s shooter — most notably its Verizon version — that completely breaks the phone’s camera.
With the release of a new flagship smartphone, you can pretty much guarantee that Samsung will release a new marketing campaign taking jabs at the iPhone. But in the case of the Galaxy S5, the company has turned things up notch. In the past we’ve seen Sammy make subliminal references to Apple’s devices, but the company has never mentioned the iPhone by name.
Samsung’s Group Play app for the Galaxy S5 is reportedly set to receive an update today that will enable a group camcorder sharing option for the company’s new flagship smartphone. Uncovered by SamMobile, version 3.0 of Group Play lets you capture and share video across up to four Galaxy S5s. When synced, the director (host device) can view, edit and merge sequences from other devices within the group. As of writing this, the app has not been updated at the Play Store, but version 3.0 is expected to land sometime later today.