Samsung has just unveiled at Mobile World Congress 2014 in Barcelona its GALAXY S5, as well as the Gear 2, Gear 2 Neo and Gear Fit.
Worldwide release on 11 April 2014 in almost 150 countries. Prices TBA.
The new Samsung GALAXY S5 comes in 4 colours: charcoal Black, shimmery White, electric Blue and copper Gold.
New features of the GALAXY S5 include a heart rate monitor, fingerprint scanner and IP67 water resistance.
The GALAXY S5 has a 5.1″ Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels.
It has a 5.1-inch Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels, runs on a 2.5GHz Snapdragon quad-core processor with 2GB RAM, powered by a 2,800 mAh battery and ships with Android 4.4 KitKat.
The GALAXY S5 now has a 16-megapixel rear-facing camera and a 2-megapixel front-facing camera.
It will also come with NFC, LTE, Bluetooth 4.0 and 16GB or 32GB storage.
The smartphone will come in four colours: charcoal Black, shimmery White, electric Blue and copper Gold. It now comes with “perforated” plastic covers.
Side views of the Samsung GALAXY S5.
The new S Health 3.0 on the GALAXY S5 will work with the GALAXY Gear to provide “a comprehensive personal fitness tracker to help users monitor and manage their behavior, along with additional tools including a pedometer, diet and exercise records, and a new, built-in heart rate monitor”.
The fingerprint scanner can register three different fingerprints – registration requires eight swipes, different from holding down the finger on the Apple iPhone 5s.
The fingerprint scanning is used for unlocking the phone and can be used to make mobile payments via PayPal.
The blue Samsung GALAXY S5 with the Gear 2.
The new camera on the GALAXY S5 has 16 megapixels and records video at 4k, even though the screen on the smartphone displays only a quarter of that resolution at 1080p.
Features include slow motion (as in the iPhone 5s), as well as post-capture refocus (as in the Lytro light field camera).
The camera uses hybrid autofocus – adding phase detection (in addition to the usual contrast detection in smartphones) that is used by DSLRs to enable fast AF in as little as 0.3 seconds.
The gold Samsung GALAXY S5 with the Gear Fit.
Samsung promises 10 hours of LTE web browsing or 12 hours of video playback.
An Ultra Power Saving mode switches the display to black and white and runs only essential functions such as phone calls and SMS – stretching the battery life up to 24 hours.
The press release for the new Samsung GALAXY S5 smartphone is included below.
Samsung unveils Galaxy S5 to focus on what matters most to consumers
The company’s 5th generation Galaxy S redefines how technology innovation enhances our lives
February 24, 2014 – Barcelona, Spain, February 24, 2014 – Samsung Electronics today announced the fifth generation of the Galaxy S series, the Galaxy S5, designed for what matters most to consumers.
The new Galaxy S5 offers consumers a refined experience with innovation of essential features for day-to-day use.
The Galaxy S5 combines an advanced camera, the fast network connectivity, dedicated fitness tools and enhanced device protection features as consumers stay fit and connected in style.
Capture the moments that matter
Capturing and saving precious memories is one of the most important smartphone features today. The new Galaxy S5 offers superior camera functionality, featuring a 16 megapixel camera with an enhanced menu and user interface that allow consumers to effortlessly take, edit and share photos.
The Galaxy S5 offers the world’s fastest autofocus speed up to 0.3 seconds and the advanced High Dynamic Range (HDR), reproduce natural light and color with striking intensity at any circumstances.
Also new Selective Focus feature allows users to focus on a specific area of an object while simultaneously blurring out the background. With this capability, consumers no longer need a special lens kit to create a shallow depth of field (DOF) effect.
Tap into the fastest connections
The Galaxy S5 offers the most advanced LTE experience and Wi-Fi performance available today, ensuring blazing fast data speeds for unrivaled media consumption and productivity.
The Galaxy S5 supports the fifth generation Wi-Fi 802.11ac and 2X2 MIMO, and supporting the large number of LTE frequency with LTE Category 4 standard.
For consumers seeking an even faster connection, the Galaxy S5 now features Download Booster, an innovative Wi-Fi technology for boosting data speed by bonding Wi-Fi and LTE simultaneously. No matter where a consumer is, the Galaxy S5 will help ensure they have the fastest available connection.
Be more fit and active
With the enhanced S Health 3.0, the new Galaxy S5 offers more tools to help people stay fit and well.
It provides a comprehensive personal fitness tracker to help users monitor and manage their behavior, along with additional tools including a pedometer, diet and exercise records, and a new, built-in heart rate monitor.
Galaxy S5 users can further customize their experience with an enriched third party app ecosystem and the ability to pair with next generation Gear products for real-time fitness coaching.
Express modern, glam look
The Galaxy S5 blends iconic Samsung design with modern trends to appeal to a range of consumer tastes and interests. The Galaxy S5 features a perforated pattern on the back cover creating a modern glam look.
Its new sleek, contoured shape comes in an array of vivid colors, including charcoal Black, shimmery White, electric Blue and copper Gold, to complement the style of the individual consumer.
Essential device protection
The Galaxy S5 is IP67 dust and water resistant. It also offers a Finger Scanner, providing a secure, biometric screen locking feature and a seamless and safe mobile payment experience to consumers.
The Ultra Power Saving Mode turns the display to black and white, and shuts down all unnecessary features to minimize the battery consumption.
Tags: Android, Android 4.4, Galaxy, Gear, KitKat, launch, S5, Samsung, smartphones, smartwatches, Tizen, unveil
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