By the end of September 2013, Samsung will mark the sixth month in circulation of the Galaxy S4 since its release date, further opening the doors on speculations about the handset's replacement, which at this stage is known as the Galaxy S5.

Talks on the GS5 have been gaining ground, fuelled largely by hints from Samsung official and mock ups from gadget designers wanting to share their vision of the upcoming Android toy.

Also, since the details about the iPhone 5S and the Galaxy Note 3 have been mostly revealed, it seems natural for tech watchers to shift their focus on the next big thing, which in all certainty will not be touching down this year.

So all eyes are trained on 2014 and basing on the GS4 launch that took place March this year, its successor will likely take a peek at around the same time next with the actual release date to follow shortly.

And as the GS5 rollout timeframe is pretty much given, though far from being confirmed, so are some of its specs and features - five of them are outlined below:

The Galaxy S5 new look and build

Samsung is reportedly revising the Galaxy S model. The South Korean tech giant has already established its reputation as one of the top smartphone makers (it is in fact number one) so the time has come to raise the prestige bar a bit higher.

This will happen as the GS5 will allegedly take on a new metallic look, probably using the same technology that Apple has been flashing with its Mac notebooks and maybe the iPhone 6 if this rumoured iOS phablet becomes a reality.

In the GS5, Samsung is shedding its plastic image to cover its planned hero phone in aluminium or magnesium, reports said.

Durable display panel

High-resolution display is a given for the GS5 as it is expected to improve on what the GS4 and the Galaxy Note 3 have already served. The big news for the device is the new screen material it will bring to the table. If whispers lead to the issuance of the Note 3 with YOUM display panel, which is flexible, then in all likelihood the GS5 will boast of the same feature.

The phone's screen size, however, will likely stay below the standard phablet mark, which to date has already breached the 6-inch limit. Expect 5.2-inch, tops, which is the same dimension seen with LG G2.

Upscale camera

Both the GS4 and the Note 3 served 13MP on their main shooters and the modest estimate for the GS5 jump is at least 16MP. But the rumoured entry of optical image stabilisation into the camera equation is considered as one major boost not only for the Samsung device but also for the smartphone industry as a whole.

It should be automatic too that the Galaxy maker will deploy a more enhanced shooting apps with the GS5 camera hardware. The new cam software should come with fancy and practical features that will please camera enthusiasts and professionals.

Jaw-dropping component upgrades

If Samsung is to be believed, what's inside of the GS5 will centre on a 64-bit processing chip, which Apple had introduced via the iPhone 5S. But in order to exceed the 5S innovation, Samsung will likely push for the quad-core class of the same computing standard, which should set the stage for the same to become universal on 2014 devices.

RAM provisions will also level up in the GS5 with 2GB becoming the basic issue while the internal storage will be bumped up too to 32GB with 16GB becoming part of history or limited to mid-range and entry level smartphones.

Android or Tizen or both

No way will Samsung exit the Android world as it has yet to establish an ecosystem that will match that of Apple's. As such, the soul of the GS5 will remain Android-base, which by first quarter of 2014 should be Android 5.0 or Key Lime Pie if Google will retain that flavour.

Or another version will run on Tizen, Samsung's in-house OS, if only to test how the software will fare in the real world.

As mentioned, the Galaxy S5 release date is forecasted to happen on March 2014 but that is not written in stone, meaning the actual outing could be earlier or a little later.