Skip to main content

Samsung S5

See All Stories

Galaxy S5 sales 40% worse than expected, 25% down on S4 sales, says WSJ

Site default logo image

While we knew last month that sales of the Samsung Galaxy S5 were down, the WSJ believes it has specific numbers.

In all, Samsung sold about 40% fewer Galaxy S5 smartphones than expected, with about 12 million units sold to consumers in the first three months since April compared with about 16 million units for the preceding flagship phone, the Galaxy S4, according to people familiar with the matter.

Samsung is said to be considering a major leadership shake-up in response to the numbers … 
Expand
Expanding
Close

Flying BA from London’s Heathrow? Your flight now departs from Terminal Samsung Galaxy S5

Site default logo image

Update: It turns out Samsung isn’t exactly rebranding the terminal. iMore received clarification from Heathrow that Samsung is actually just renting regular advertising space available to anyone and using the slogan”Terminal Samsung Galaxy S5″ in its ad:

“Heathrow Terminal 5’s signage and passenger wayfinding has not changed,” a Heathrow spokesperson told iMore. “Samsung have rented advertising space in Terminal 5 with a tongue-in-cheek campaign using the line: ‘Terminal Samsung Galaxy S5’.”

But only for the next two weeks. The Verge reports that Samsung has bought saturation advertising for the Galaxy S5 in Terminal 5 at London’s Heathrow airport for a fortnight, and is even referring to the terminal as Terminal Samsung Galaxy S5. While the airport says the terminal hasn’t officially been renamed, a Heathrow spokesman said that they are “relaxed” about Samsung pretending it has.

From Samsung’s description of the campaign, it will certainly be impossible to miss: 
Expand
Expanding
Close

Samsung Galaxy S5 vulnerable to same fingerprint hack as iPhone 5s

Site default logo image

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfhLZZWBn5Q]

The same German security researchers who demonstrated a hack of the iPhone 5s Touch ID fingerprint sensor have released a video showing that the same hack also works with the Samsung Galaxy S5.

The hack relies on photographing a latent print from something like a glass in a bar, then using lab techniques to transfer the image of the print into wood glue, which is then applied to someone else’s finger to activate the sensor … 
Expand
Expanding
Close

The things HTC and Samsung think will get you to choose between the One M8 and Galaxy S5

Site default logo image

Training materials leaked from both HTC and Samsung identify the arguments each manufacturer hopes will persuade you to buy its new flagship handset.

HTCSource posted a flyer showing that HTC has five main arguments, and seven secondary ones, for the HTC One M8. The primary features highlighted are the metal casing, two front speakers, tap & swipe features to facilitate one-handed use, the duo camera and the HTC Advantage program … 
Expand
Expanding
Close

Review roundup: Samsung Galaxy S5 is very good, but perhaps not good enough

Site default logo image

The early reviews of the Samsung Galaxy S5 are in, and the general verdict appears to be that it’s a very good phone – but perhaps doesn’t offer any really persuasive reason to upgrade from the S4.

Re/Code took the view that the waterproofing was the only real standout feature.

I’ve been testing the new S5 for a couple of weeks, and I like it, though I didn’t find it especially exciting or novel. In every major hardware area, it’s a very good phone, with a sharp, gorgeous screen that, at 5.1 inches, is a teeny bit bigger than the five-inch display on last year’s model, the S4 […]

Overall, the Galaxy 5S is a very good phone, but not one compelling enough for me to recommend that you buy it to replace last year’s Galaxy or the current iPhone. But there’s one caveat: If you drop your phone in water a lot, you want this one …


Expand
Expanding
Close

Samsung Galaxy S5 pricing & availability confirmed as Verizon opens pre-orders

Site default logo image

Verizon has started accepting pre-orders for the Galaxy S5, confirming pricing at $199.99 on a two-year contract (after $50 mail-in rebate), or $599.99 full retail without contract, with shipping from 11th April. These are similar deals to those already announced by AT&TT-Mobile and Sprint.

Verizon has also extended its HTC One and Samsung ATIV buy-one, get-one-free deal to the S5 – though only if you sign a two-year contract for each … 
Expand
Expanding
Close

Samsung Galaxy S5 teardown highlights 16MP camera sensor, biosensor and fingerprint scanner

Site default logo image

Chipworks managed to get its hands on a Galaxy S5 ahead of Samsung’s new flagship handset officially going on sale on 11th April, and has been taking a look inside. The model it obtained was a Korean one, thanks to several carriers releasing it early. We’ve also noted third-party suppliers on Amazon advertising it as available in 1-2 days.

While Chipworks has only just begun its analysis, it does provide a sneak peek of the innards, together with a steer on three of the elements it plans to examine in detail: the fingerprint sensor, heart-rate chip and camera sensor.

The company says that the fingerprint sensor is split into two parts, a touch sensor embedded in the home button, and a second part connected to the touchscreen. It isn’t yet clear whether the screen simply detects a touch and switches on the sensor, or whether data from the touchscreen forms part of the identification process.

 
Expand
Expanding
Close

Samsung Galaxy S5 “best smartphone display ever tested” by specialist test company DisplayMate

Site default logo image

DisplayMate Technologies, which makes display test kit for every major screen manufacturer in the world, has declared that the new Samsung Galaxy S5 has “the best performing smartphone display that we have ever tested” with “a long list of new records.”

While OLED screens have long been considered to be playing catch-up with LCD, DisplayMate says that the S5 demonstrates that the race has now been won.

In a span of just four years OLED display technology is now challenging and even exceeding the performance of the best LCDs across the board in brightness, contrast, color accuracy, color management, picture quality, performance in high ambient light, screen uniformity, and viewing angles …


Expand
Expanding
Close

Site default logo image

Samsung shows Galaxy S5 teaser ad during the Oscars, though record-breaking tweet likely worth more [Video]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmF-1WGwdhw]

Don’t expect to learn anything new from it, as it’s just a teaser, but you can watch above the 30-second TV ad for the Samsung Galaxy S5 shown during the Oscars. The ad was clearly put together especially for the event, with an awards theme.

Samsung was one of the main sponsors of the award ceremony, but it was a tweeted photo taken by Ellen DeGeneres on a Galaxy Note 3 that probably generated the more valuable publicity for the company, with over 2.5M retweets.

Samsung announced its new flagship handset at Mobile World Congress last month. The water-resistant phone has a 5.1-inch full HD display, 2.5GHz quad-core processor, 16MP main camera, heart-rate sensor and fingerprint scanner. Samsung has said that the phone will be on sale “by April.”

Site default logo image

Chinese phone cloner Goophone copies Samsung S5, some specs & all, in under 48 hours

Goophone, the Chinese company famous for making cheap-and-cheerful rip-offs of high-end handsets, has taken just two days to create its copy of the Samsung Galaxy S5. Unlike its iPhone copy, based on a low-spec Android handset, the company has even got close to the real specs with its Goophone S5 (yep, it really is that shameless).

The knock-off handset matches the real thing with a 1920×1080 display, 2GB RAM and 2800mAh battery, gets close with cameras (13MP/5MP against 16MP/2.1MP) and includes dual SIM slots into the bargain. Don’t expect the same performance from the 2GHz octa-core MediaTek chip, however, and the quality of the screen is unlikely to stand close scrutiny.

At $300 contract-free, it comes in at around half the expected price of the real thing.

Via Engadget

Site default logo image

Samsung illustrates the evolution of its Galaxy S series in a new infographic

Samsung has posted an infographic providing a visual history of its Galaxy S series of smartphones following the launch of the new Galaxy S5.

It’s a slightly surprising move, serving to draw attention to the relatively modest boost in specs of the latest model, with a tiny increase in screen size, small bump in processing power and a bit more battery life (likely accounting for most of the weight gain), with the increase in camera resolution from 13 to 16MP the only substantial improvement shown.

No mention is made of the fingerprint scanner and heart-rate sensor that were the most notable new features.

HTC tries to woo U.S. customers with free screen damage cover in HTC Advantage program

Site default logo image

Image: ggpht.com

For those who may be waiting to choose between the Samsung S5 and the new HTC flagship handset code-named the M8, HTC has a little sweetener for you: a free, one-time replacement of the screen if you break it within the first six months of ownership. The company is also promising to offer Android updates for two years.

Now when customers buy any HTC One they can rest assured their device will be future proofed, with major Android updates for 2 years from launch. And it’s nearly accident proof too, because we will replace a broken screen for free once within the first 6 months you own it—let’s face it accidents do happen and we want to keep your device in great condition … 
Expand
Expanding
Close

Samsung Galaxy S5 said to have fingerprint unlock, with website logins also supported

Site default logo image

The fingerprint sensor is said to be embedded in the home button

SamMobile is reporting that the Samsung Galaxy S5 will have a fingerprint sensor which will both unlock the phone and allow automated website logins. We’re expecting to see the S5 officially announced at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on 24th February, though it may not go on sale until March or April.

It had earlier been rumored that the S5 would have iris recognition, but a KGI Research document pointed instead to a fingerprint sensor, which SamMobile claims to be able to confirm via sources inside Samsung.

We are finally confirming that Samsung’s upcoming flagship device, the Galaxy S5, will be equipped with a fingerprint sensor […]

Samsung hasn’t opted for on-screen buttons and is still using physical buttons, like it has been using in the past on all of its flagship devices. The sensor itself works in a swipe manner, which means that you would need to swipe the entire pad of your finger, from base to tip, across the home key to register your fingerprint properly … 
Expand
Expanding
Close

Samsung S5 “Prime” & “Standard” models on the way, Sprint getting lower-spec’d one?

Site default logo image

Samsung looks set to launch at least two different versions of the Galaxy S5, its replacement for the current range-topping S4, code-named Prime and Standard – and it appears possible that Sprint will be getting the lower-spec version.

The two versions first showed up in benchmarks by AnTuTu, showing a Prime model labelled US Cellular and a lower-spec Standard model labelled Europe … 
Expand
Expanding
Close

Samsung teases new-look TouchWiz, hints at possible first look at Galaxy S5 this month

Site default logo image

Samsung has updated its blog with what appear to be nine new-look icons, each with a superscript 5 hinting at the possibility of an earlier-than-expected first look at the Galaxy S5 at the company’s Unpacked event at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on 24th February. Samsung had previously suggested that the S5 would be launched “by April.”

It’s possible that Samsung could officially announce the Galaxy S5 on the 24th but not make it available for sale until April … 
Expand
Expanding
Close

Leaked screenshot suggests Google Now lookalike for improved TouchWiz UI on Samsung S5

Site default logo image

We’re not fans of manufacturer overlays, preferring our Android experience undiluted, but a leaked screenshot suggests that a revamped version of Samsung’s TouchWiz user-interface may actually be both attractive and useful.

Leaked by usually reliable source @evleaks, the screenshot shows live updates covering everything from flight delays to delivery notifications. It’s not known whether Samsung is grabbing the data from Google Now, and merely overlaying its own user-interface, or creating its own data feeds … 
Expand
Expanding
Close

Samsung Galaxy S5 confirmed for April, new design, may have iris-scanner

Site default logo image

Galaxy S5 design needs to be different to the S4, says Samsung

Samsung didn’t reveal much that was new in a fairly wide-ranging interview with Bloomberg, but exec VP of the company’s mobile division Lee Young Hee did tease a couple of things while confirming that the Galaxy S5 would be released by April.

The company is “studying the possibility” of including the iris-recognition security system we told you about last month. If Samsung succeeds, it would be a neat piece of one-upmanship on the Touch ID fingerprint scanner in Apple’s iPhone 5S, iris-recognition being both faster and more secure than fingerprints.

The company also said that it recognized that the design of the S4 wasn’t sufficiently different from the S3, and that we can expect something significantly different from the S5 … 
Expand
Expanding
Close

Site default logo image

As Apple launches plastic phone, Samsung plans metal one?

Just as Apple launched a plastic iPhone, Samsung is reputedly planning a switch to a metal case for the Samsung S5 due to replace the S4 next year.

Taiwan’s Taipei Times cites supply-chain sources as saying that Samsung has been making enquiries about an order for up to 30 million metal cases for the 2014 version of its flagship handset. To add to the irony, Barclays analysts suggested that one of the manufacturers which may be in line for the contract is the same one that makes metal cases for both iPad and MacBook Pro.

Our checks suggest Catcher has been qualified as one of the major sources on the total metal casing smartphone volumes at 10 [million to] 30 million next year from Samsung. The final order allocation is to be confirmed in early first quarter 2014, subject to price bids by approved vendors.

Interestingly, a metal case would seem to rule out any plans by Samsung to take full advantage of its flexible display.

Via Gizmodo

Manage push notifications

notification icon
We would like to show you notifications for the latest news and updates.
notification icon
You are subscribed to notifications
notification icon
We would like to show you notifications for the latest news and updates.
notification icon
You are subscribed to notifications