News & Reviews:   Samsung Galaxy S5

The more tests the better, especially if it is something as subjective as battery life, which is why we've got this battery life test for the Samsung Galaxy S5. Covering Talk time, Web Browsing and Video playback, the Galaxy S5 does surprisingly well despite having a much brighter screen than before. This includes continuous talk time of more than 21 hours with 3G enabled along with 9 hours and 36 minutes of web browsing. In terms of battery tech specs, the Galaxy S5 does have a slightly larger 2800 mAh battery resulting in video playback of 11 hours. If you really need to save battery life Samsung have included many power saving features like the Ultra Power Saving mode, which basically turns your Galaxy S5 into an e-ink smartphone with little to no connectivity. Check out the graphs for yourself in this article.

As the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 looms on the horizon, rumours are popping up about how it might look like and what features it may have. Some of these rumours are indicating that like the artificial leather backside of the Samsung Galaxy Note 3, the look and feel of the Samsung Galaxy S5 could influence how the Galaxy Note 4 would look like. This could well mean an IP67 certified water proof and dust proof Galaxy Note 4 which is both more rugged as well as durable. Other tech specs point towards a 2K display with 2560 x 1440 pixel resolution along with a Snapdragon 801 processor and a 20.1MP camera sensor. We're thinking why not just go the distance and outfit the Galaxy Note 4 with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 but it could well be that we'll see a dotted backside on the Galaxy Note 4 in the next coming months. No details on Malaysia release dates or pricing but we expect the Galaxy Note 4 to come soon.

After being dropped, run over and dunked into an aquarium, the Samsung Galaxy S5 goes through a number of other water tests to see how far it can go. While the first test just pushes the Galaxy S5 a bit more than the IP67 certification states (depth of 1m for 30 minutes) in a pool, the second test is a lot more extreme and involves a pair of blue jeans and a washing machine. Like all of these water-proofed devices, the key to water proofing lays in the sealing, which Samsung seem to have pulled off much better than their first Samsung Galaxy S4 Active attempt. Check out the video for yourself in this article.

Samsung have just announced 4 new covers for the Samsung Galaxy S5 with wireless charging capabilities. These will include the standar replacement backplate and an S-View flip cover. Both will come in black or white but there is only pricing for the standard backplate at $30 (RM98) for now. All of the cases will have the gasket which makes the Galaxy S5 water resistant and will be compatible with Qi based chargers. The S-View flip cover looks to have an artificial leather front but the back is the same dotted plastic.

The Samsung Galaxy S5 is not only waterproof and dustproof, it is also a lot tougher than it's predecessor, the Samsung Galaxy S4. Wanting to see how much tougher the Galaxy S5 is, TechSmartt took both smartphones for a drop test. Going a bit more than the usual head and waist heights, they even did a drop test at about 10 feet, all of which the Galaxy S5 did very well with. In the end, they even drove over it with an SUV. How do you think the Galaxy S5 fared afterwards? Check out the video for yourself in this article.

A device going by the model of SM-G906S has appeared on the GFXBench website bearing the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 processor and beating quite a few graphics scores. Initially appearing with a hidden info tab, the tech specs on the device are listed to include a 2.5GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 processor, Adreno 420 graphics, 3GB RAM, a 5.2-inch display with 1440 x 2560 pixel resolution and features a 16MP rear camera. The model numbering is fairly close to that of the Samsung Galaxy S5 which could mean a more powerful Galaxy S5 version coming out later (which Samsung did do with their Samsung Galaxy S4 when they came out with the Samsung Galaxy S4 LTE+). Then again, it could be an entirely different smartphone as rumours of a more premium Samsung Galaxy F smartphone have been making the rounds as well.

We've already seen leaked tech specs on paper of the Samsung Galaxy S5 Zoom but now there is a picture of it and a possible name as well. Going as the Samsung Galaxy K Zoom, this Samsung Galaxy S5 variant will apparently have an artificial leather backside. As promised, the Zoom lens isn't as prominent (read, sticking out) as before but it is a bit difficult to judge how much based on the angle of the image. Tech specs for the Samsung Galaxy K Zoom are expected to start with a 1.6GHz quad-core processor or a 1.3GHz Samsung Exynos 5 Hexa processor with ARM Mali T624 graphics, a 4.8-inch display, 2GB RAM and Android 4.4.2 Kit Kat. The camera sensor will be 20MP and come with 10x optical zoom and Xenon flash. Still no news on pricing or Malaysia release dates but with the image already leaked we're expecting very soon, or at least within Q2 of 2014.

The Samsung Galaxy S5 upped the battery to 2800 mAh from 2600 mAh but also added on a whole bunch of upgraded tech specs and hardware as well. Many have been wondering how that would affect battery life for Samsung's latest smartphone. Thankfully, battery life benchmarks have been done with some pretty good results. While it doesn't take the top spot in all categories, it does offer more than 7 hours of continuous usage along with 10 hours of just browsing. Check out the other benchmark results for yourself in this article.

Going for a pre-order of the just locally released Samsung Galaxy S5, DiGi are now offering the smartphone from RM1199 on pre-order. Retailing at RM2399, the smartphone does cost quite a bit, so a discount past 50% is quite welcome, especially if you're planning to use a DG SmartPlan. Balancing out the lower price is the fact that you are limited to a 24 months contract but you'll still get the smartphone from 11 April 2014. The DiGi pre-order will end on 10 April 2014 and for some added value DiGi are also offering 9GB of data free for the 3 months after 19 April 2014. For more details, check out the table and links in this article.

With the Samsung Galaxy S5 well and launched here in Malaysia, Maxis is one of the first of the major telcos to come out with pre-order bundles for the smartphone. You can now get the Galaxy S5 from RM1399 (retail pricing is at RM2399) once you sign up for a TalkMore or SurfMore postpaid plan. Maxis are offering both 12 months and 24 months contracts which should be great for those who don't like to be tied to a contract for too long. However, there is one downside, the preorder is only for those subscribing to get a new number. Existing Maxis customers will have to wait a while longer with the next pre-order expected on 3 April 2014 (which isn't all that long actually). Check out the details of the bundle deals in the table and links in this article.