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Samsung Galaxy S5 mobile review

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S Aadeetya
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Every year we are greeted with a new flagship Galaxy device from Samsung and this year we have seen the incoming of Galaxy S5. The Galaxy S5 has the same monotonous design that has become the fulcrum of Galaxy smartphones but for a flagship device there needs to be more that meets the eye.

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Same old; same old

Galaxy S5 borders on the same design ethics of sleek frame, curves on the side and metallic framing on the sides. However, the S5 feels a lot for slimmer than S4 even with its bigger size and that seems to be the only saving grace as far as looks is concerned. The front is somewhat backed up by matte perforated plastic finish that, thankfully is neither glossy nor fingerprint magnet.

Bright, crisp but high saturated colors

The S5 sports a 5.1 inch crisp, bright display but with its fair share of high color levels that are common with Samsung displays. For a change, the company has opted for Corning Glass 3 display on its smartphone and with that you have assurances of no scratches even with rigorous usage. The bezel space is well balanced with the display and makes for a good viewing experience. The refreshed TouchWiz UI is simple, less cluttered and good to look but still heavily loaded to take up lot of storage space.

Same old Exynos mania hits India

One thing that remain unclear is Samsung's fascination with Exynos chipsets and that too for India. Alright we do understand the fact that Snapdragon variant is meant 4G (LTE) markets, which is still coming up in India but if HTC can brings its original model then why not Samsung? That said, the octa-core packed on the S5 is more truer than the one of S4. The eight-cores function together and with 2 GB RAM that translates into top-end performance (highlighted in fig), making it like for like competition for HTC and Sony. But we do hope the Snapdragon variant comes in nick of time. Playing games like Subway Surfer and more demanding titles as Asphalt 8: Airborne and Fifa 2014 was a lag-free experience, with minor heating observed but nothing drastic. Add to that you have a USB 3.0 port that means faster data transfer and charging time, better than the previous versions. The in-built speaker placed at the back is average if compared with the likes of HTC One M8 and the positioning itself feels rather odd if someone wants to use the speakerphone option.

Some more features; health takes precedence too

The other addition on the S5 is Fingerprint scanner which accepts 3 user profile but the overall experience is rather clumsy. The positioning and sensor tends to act weird at times and unlike Apple iPhone 5S where you have to press on the Touch ID, with S5 you have to slide your finger down. There is a heart rate sensor at the back which offers real-time health reading via S Health app and the results are quite accurate. You can check your heart beat by placing a finger on the sensor (that emits red light) and that works well too.

Spot on camera; functional power options

The phone comes with a 16 MP rear camera that is definitely one of the pluses that S5 offers. Images taken during daylight offer crisp detail and clarity which goes amiss in some of the devices and during low-light we did observe noise but then all of them in this range but definitely better than the most we have come across. The battery life has improved drastically thanks to some nifty options like power-saver and ultra-power saver mode wherein your phone goes into the monochrome era. S5 will easily run its course for more than day.

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