Samsung Galaxy S5 Crystal Edition Teased Online; Tipped to Debut in May
A new Samsung Galaxy S5 smartphone is displayed at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona Reuters

Samsung Galaxy S5 is the new addition to Samsung's Galaxy S series family. The Korean tech giant unveiled its latest flagship at the MWC 2014. Is the Galaxy S5 a worthy successor to the mighty Galaxy S4? And the more important question is, should you upgrade or not? Here is a comparison between the Galaxy S5 and Galaxy S4.

Galaxy S5

Galaxy S4

Size

142.0 x 72.5 x 8.1 mm

136.6 x 69.8 x 7.9 mm

Weight

145g

130g

Screen

5.1 inches Super AMOLED

5.0 inches Super AMOLED

Resolution

1080 × 1920 pixels

1080 × 1920 pixels

OS

Android 4.4.2 with Samsung UI

Android 4.2 with TouchWiz UI

Storage

16/32GB

16/32/64GB

SD Card Slot

Yes

Yes

Processor

2.5GHz Quad core

Quad-core Snapdragon 600

RAM

2GB

2GB

Connectivity

Wi-Fi, 4G LTE, HSPA+, NFC

Wi-Fi, 4G LTE, HSPA+, NFC

Camera

16MP Rear, 2.1MP Front

13MP Front, 1.3MP Front

Bluetooth

Yes, version 4.0

Yes, version 4.0

Motion Processor

Heart Rate Monitor

MPU-6050

Fingerprint sensor

Yes

Yes

Water Resistant

Yes, IP67 rated

No

Battery

2800 mAh

2600 mAh

Charger

USB 3.0

Micro USB

Marketplace

Google Play Store

Google Play Store

Ave. Price

$N/A

$200+

Availability

April on AT&T, Sprint

AT&T, Sprint, T-Mob, Verizon

There is no doubt that the Galaxy S4 is among the most powerful devices when it made its debut in 2013. In fact, it remains more than capable of competing with the new devices in the market today, however, the mobile market moves really fast.

Despite rumours of having 64-bit architecture, Samsung made a standard boost in power with the Galaxy S5 that out powers the Galaxy S4. The Galaxy S5 also features a super battery-saving mode and a couple of fitness tools which includes a heart-rate monitor. However, the heart-rate monitor is nothing new as it can be installed with some free apps.

The Galaxy S5 is blazing fast and it is optimised to take advantage of the 4G LTE technology, which brings the promise of better download speeds and coverage. Being the first smartphone with Wi-Fi and MIMO support, Samsung claims that the Galaxy S5 will deliver up to twice the download speeds for streaming and browsing.

The Galaxy S5 and Galaxy S4 almost look alike. In fact, it is hard to tell which phone is which. Apart from the slight boost in size, the front of the two devices appears quite identical.

The Galaxy S5 features a new home key with fingerprint sensor, which can be used to unlock or verify online payments. Furthermore, the Galaxy S5 is a little bit ruggedized being water-resistant, which means it can be submerged in 3 feet of water for up to 30 minutes.

The camera of the Galaxy S5 is also hard to ignore for its impressive features to tout. The resolution improved from the 13MP of the Galaxy S4 to 16MP for the Galaxy S5, which is capable of capturing 4K video with advanced auto-focus features.

The Verdict

The Galaxy S4 remains one of the most successful smartphones in the market but the Galaxy S5 is clearly an upgrade over its predecessor. With all the notable upgrade to the internals and additional features of the Galaxy S5, it's a bit tempting to upgrade.

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