Samsung has already unveiled the Galaxy S5 along with a trio of Gear watches. Even though the S5 has a typical Galaxy branded design, consumers are mainly interested in knowing how the phone stacks up against its predecessor — the Galaxy S4.
1. Specs comparison
To make the life of consumers easier, Samsung has published an infographic on its blog to show how big of an upgrade the Galaxy S5 is over its predecessor and how the Galaxy S series has matured over the last 5 years by listing their specs, right from the original Galaxy S.
Keep in mind though that the above infographic only shows the hardware evolution of the Galaxy S series of handsets and not its software evolution.
2. Side-by-Side photo and video comparison
When compared side-by-side to the Galaxy S4, the S5 does not really look that impressive with its huge bezel as evident from the image taken below by the Laptop Mag folks. The increase in dimensions, especially in height, to accommodate only a slightly bigger 0.1-inch screen does not really make sense.
The folks over at Tech Radar have also published an excellent image that compares the Galaxy S3 and S4 to the S5. The photo clearly shows how similar the design of those three Galaxy S handsets is, with the increasing screen size being the only major differentiating factor.
The hands-on video from Phone Arena compares the Galaxy S5 and S4 side-by-side and shows how similar the two phones actually look, with the back battery cover being the only part that is widely different.
The hands-on video from Android Central also compares the Galaxy S5 camera to the S4, where the former truly shines by focussing on the subject in nearly no time. The video also gives a great overview of the S5’s hardware.
3. New Galaxy S5 features
While Samsung did not talk much about TouchWiz on the Galaxy S5, it has made subtle improvements throughout the UI. Nearly everything in the interface has been given a flatter look with Samsung using the staple Android slide-out navigation drawer in its apps. Check out the excellent hands-on video from The Verge below showing off S-Health 3.0 and the heart rate monitor in action.
Samsung has definitely focused on the Camera of the Galaxy S5 as evident from its speed and all the useful software goodies added to the app. This includes a selective focus feature allowing users to get the bokeh-like shots generally seen in DSLRs. You can find more of the Galaxy S5’s other top features here.