Samsung is still the leading brand on Android, dominating device sales as far back as the Galaxy S and establishing itself as a brand to be reckoned with. Especially in the wake of releases such as the Galaxy Note line with innovative stylus support and big, beautiful screens and battery life. Samsung’s last release in the Galaxy S line was the Samsung Galaxy S4, all the way back in April of this year, released to very positive reception. What does Samsung have in store for the Galaxy S5, though? Read ahead as we go through the rumors and attempt to find out the specs and release date on the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S5.
1. Metal frame and body details
The latest rumors seem to suggest that Samsung will be dropping the current plastic/poly-carbonate frames employed for the Galaxy S line, and instead go with some sort of true metal frame to hold the innards of the device and offer increased stability and resistance. The leaked pictures of the pre-production frames attest to this, and also reveal some extra details about the body and component placement:
Based on the pictures, we are also able to see that the new phone will be both taller and wider than the Galaxy S4, and that the headphone jack will no longer be located in the top left of the device, and instead will be located in the bottom:
In addition to this, the microUSB port seems to be a standard 2.0 port, instead of the microUSB 3.0 port found in the more recent Galaxy Note 3, which is faster but also much wider. Strange decision considering they pushed 3.0 on the Note 3, but maybe there just wasn’t enough space for a wider port. It’s also worth noting that a metal frame does not say anything about what kind if materials will be employed in the outer body of the device: Samsung may still choose to go with the much criticized but admittedly functional plastic bodies that have become a trademark of the Galaxy S series by this point.
2. Camera
All information at this point seems to guarantee that the Samsung Galaxy S5 will ship with a 16MP camera, which to be honest is not too shabby. Samsung has always shipped good quality cameras on its devices, and it seems like this time will not be an exception. Of course, mere pixel count says very little about the actual image quality of the camera sensor, but it’s a good start. However, while the 16MP figure is almost a guarantee at this point, the details are a bit fuzzy. For some reason, it seems like Samsung will not be using a sensor with OIS (optical image stabilization), a feature that had also been rumored for the Note 3 but ended up not being accurate. OIS is a feature that you see more and more in high-end mobile cameras, and does wonders to guarantee a better quality shot, so it seems bizarre that Samsung will not be employing one in its flagship phone. It seems that the reason given at this point is that camera modules with OIS are thicker than its counterparts, and it would not fit the thin body of the Galaxy S5. Still, if this rumor turns out to be accurate, it will be a shame.
3. 64-bit CPU
Apple made a major stride in terms of specifications when it revealed the A7, its leading SoC with a first in the mobile industry: a CPU with 64-bit support. While 64-bit support does not guarantee better performance, it’s an important feature to have, and allows for greater amounts of RAM and performance optimizations in the future. Well, it seems like the Galaxy S5 might be the first smartphone with 64-bit support in the world of Android. ARM has been touting the concept for a while now, and all we seem to know is that Samsung has agreed to a 64-bit solution for one of its leading smartphone platforms. Whether that means the Galaxy S5 or the Note 4, it remains to be seen, but the decision will probably come down to whether the chips are available in time for release or not.
4. RAM and Battery
In addition to the above rumored CPU, details have also been passed around about what RAM and battery capacity the phone may ship with. At this point, 3GB of RAM seems to be the magic number, but it’s also somewhat of an expected value and consistent with the gradual specs bump Samsung usually does. What seems more surprising is the battery, a huge 4000mAh capacity that is very rare to see in a phone. Lets hope this means that Samsung is pushing for a very good battery life, instead of the phone being so power-hungry that it requires a battery that large just to last the day.
5. Release date
Right now, the most likely release dates seems to point to late February or early March. Manufacturing is expected to begin early January. That would be a little earlier than past Galaxy S releases though, so it might be worth keeping an eye out for updates – chances are that Samsung is buying itself a little time to account for difficulties during manufacturing and that the release schedule may end up being in April, just in time for Easter.
What are you most looking forward to in the latest Samsung Galaxy S5? Any specific features or enhancements you’d love to see? Let us know in the comments below!
Carlos S.
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