If the Galaxy S4 has certainly been one of the top models of Samsung declined the most (Active, Advance, Zoom, Mini, Value Edition, Mini Value Edition), the Galaxy S5 is no slouch ( Active, K, Advance / Plus Mini, Sport). Certainly the most unloved Galaxy Sx, the S5 is however now one of the best value for money on the market: Snapdragon 801, Full HD screen, waterproof chassis, fingerprint reader, good camera. All for 350 euros in open market.
A good technical sheet on which Samsung intends to use to market the Galaxy S5 New, a model that incorporates the principle of Galaxy S3 Neo (it does not rejuvenate us ) by adapting it to the 2014 flagship and by including some more touches still current. We will live a real journey through time …
more different on the inside and outside
Because of appearance, as we shall see, the smartphone is clearly very close to the original model: same screen, same plastic frame, even biometric sensor, even removable cap You really have to be picky to find external differences. However, inside, it is not the same song. Fortunately, Samsung has not had the bad idea to review the configuration of the cheap S5 original, as you will be able to realize
- dimensions. 142 x 72.5 x 8.1 mm
- Weight: 145 grams
- Screen / size ratio: 69.6%
- IP67 certified sealed Panel
- Super AMOLED screen of 5.1 inches 1080p (resolution of 432 pixels per inch)
- Samsung Exynos 7480 chipset with core Cortex-hui A53 cores clocked at 1.55 GHz.
- ARM Mali-T720 GPU MP2
- 2 GB RAM
- 16 GB of internal storage (expandable by microSDXC)
- 2800 mAh battery (removable)
- Category 6 compliant LTE, dual band WiFi ac, Bluetooth 4.1, GPS (GLONASS), NFC, FM radio, MirrorLink
- Heart on the back
- 16 megapixel camera sensor with LED flash and optical opening to f / 1.9. Compatible 1080p video
- 5 megapixel webcam, optical wide-angle opening of f / 1.9, supports 1080p video
- Android 5.1.1 with Touchwiz interface
Vis-à-vis the first Galaxy S5, you can observe some changes. First, the protective glass is no longer Gorilla Glass. It therefore seems more sensitive to external aggressions. The Snapdragon 801 has been replaced by a home Exynos chipset. The mobile loses done a great GPU. The modem has more recent versions of wireless connections (including LTE, WiFi and Bluetooth). The fingerprint reader disappears. The webcam is greatly improved. And Android has been updated to version 5.1.1. The mobile should logically go under Marshmallow.
Design: the same 99%
As we have indicated in the preamble, the Galaxy S5 New Galaxy S5 is very similar to the original. The dimensions, weight, frame, materials, screen: as many details that do not strictly have moved. Since the construction is identical, the smartphone has a removable shell and hence a battery that can be changed easily. By removing the battery, you access the SIM and microSD ports (always one on the other). We are relatively familiar territory, since a large proportion of the 2015 catalog of Samsung has inherited most of the ergonomic features of Galaxy S5. On the back cover, you uncover the seals which seal the phone. Remember, all the same, Samsung’s technological prowess at the time, the company was the only one to create a tight design with removable shell and removable battery
The proximity to the Galaxy S5 extends to photo sensor always accompanied by the heart rate monitor. As usual with Samsung, we find a large AMOLED panel highlighted by a button “home” surrounded on both capactivies navigation keys. Since Samsung has no plans to remove this physical button, as far as the space around serve a purpose. However, the fingerprint reader that was hidden under the knob S5 (and the S6) disappears. The location of the distinctive physical elements is repeated identically: Ignition right under your thumb volume left, 3.5mm jack and microUSB top to bottom. You will notice that it is no longer protected by a hatch, unlike the S5: a sign that Samsung is changing. Slices are always surrounded by the plastic silvery and shiny. Polycarbonate reign on this phone, even if it worked here (for this distinctive pattern dotted) to hide its true nature.
habits resume faster
Once in hand, the Galaxy S5 New so much like the Galaxy S5, although few details have changed. Product dimensions are ideal because its use with one hand not a problem. The quality of construction remains the same, with one or two minor improvements (like the lack of protection hatch for external ports). Phone use also remains the same. We are obviously disappointed with the disappearance of the Gorilla Glass panel, as it provides good protection against scratching while providing excellent responsiveness of the touch stress.
screen side, that of positives and a slightly negative. Let’s start with the latter: while Samsung accustomed us since the beginning of 2015 to increasingly thin borders (or non-existent in the case of Edge S6) around the screen, the Galaxy S5 New features than its model original. This is only a detail, but it’s a shame. Especially since Samsung has made some intelligent technological modifications (again, isolating the microUSB port) when he took over the Galaxy S5 design. Why not shave the edges? Like the Sharp Aquos smartphones, thin borders still fall over the qualities of a beautiful screen. Especially as the New S5 is masterful: Super Amoled this slab is well defined, very bright, offers high contrast and rich colors, without exaggerating the saturation. And angles are always very open. This is a technical element that would be a shame to sacrifice.
A body of 2014, an interface 2015
interface side, we find the usual Touchwiz over Android 5.1.1 Lollipop. The version of Touchwiz here this is the recent smartphones like Galaxy J5 we tested last week or Galaxy S6 and its variants. No revolution then to wait in Touchwiz, especially if you know the overlay of Samsung. If you have not had the opportunity to discover or rediscover the interface since the launch of the S5, know that it has changed in a year and a half. First, it is less bulky and thus easier to carry on more economic models. It is graphically less busy (shopping widgets have virtually all disappeared). The child and private modes are also left to rot.
Then some Samsung preinstalled software is no longer (as Gear), giving each user the choice to enrich their experience Touchwiz according to their taste. Among the applications included at launch, we noted S Planner, S Voice, S Health, Galaxy Apps (logic) and Smart Manager, not to mention customized system applications (Gallery, Music, Video, Radio, Internet, Clock, etc.) . They are not necessarily visible, but other notable software ahead: Shop Theme to apply themes to Touchwiz, Smart Connect to connect multiple Samsung devices, or Download Booster, to download files using the WiFi and 4G simultaneously. The settings menu has changed slightly to highlight configurable shortcuts rather than an arbitrary list of settings
Of course, given recent commercial partnerships with Microsoft, all of Mobile Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, onedrive, OneNote, Skype) is included. But it comes with 100 GB of storage on onedrive for two years. Which is not so bad, especially if you’re not a fan of Dropbox and you have reached your quota ceiling on Google Drive. This other partner. Flipboard via the screen Magazine, left the home of the interface
Performance not so equal that it
In the end, with less, Samsung manages to make more. And that’s good, of course. Especially since the passage of the Galaxy S5 at New Galaxy S5 has had a considerable effect inside the smartphone. We were talking about earlier: this is the chipset. The Snapdragon 801 gave way to a 7 Exynos Octa 7480, a midrange chipset 1.6GHz and economic application composed of hearts and a GPU rather “average”. The Snapdragon 801 will certainly remain a favorite of techies chipsets, as it was energetic, powerful and controlled. The best example is the OnePlus. Tested in our columns, the original flagship killer reached 48,000 points and 20,500 AnTuTu points 3D Mark (Ice Storm Unlimited). With the 7480, this is not the same song. For, as the eight Cortex-A53 cores are able to compete with the quad-core Krait 400, and again, as the GPU ARM Mali-T720 is not worth a Adreno 330.
From left to right: Basemark OS AnTuTu and the New S5, on AnTuTu former S5
Here are the results of the Galaxy S5 New in the benchmarks: 38 355 points AnTuTu, 805 points on Basemark 0S II 7884 points 3D Mark (Ice Storm Unlimited) 724 points and 3570 points Geekbench 3 (respectively in single-core and multi-core). A note about AnTuTu. Apart from differences due to the RAM (3GB in OnePlus, 2GB Samsung), the difference between the OnePlus (and all other products under Snapdragon 801) and the New Galaxy S5 is not on operations related to calculation. As we have noticed, the eight hearts behave well. However, it is on the graphics 3D the rub: the Exynos carries half the score of the Snapdragon. This is confirmed also with 3D Mark, suggesting that the chipset is perhaps not necessarily cut to display Full HD … And this is also confirmed with the scores we recorded with the Galaxy S5, There is a year and a half: the former flagship reached the 36,000 point only
Always a good multimedia platform?
Does it prevents the Galaxy S5 to be New good multimedia platform? Somehow, no. First, because the Touchwiz interface is clearly lighter. So she weighs less on system resources (which have not really changed in a year and a half). Then, because a smartphone can not be judged solely on its chipset. This is the case for example in video where the quality of the screen, already brushed above, the dedicated reader and integrated codecs are equally important. And it is clear that Samsung continues to deliver an excellent application, largely better than Vanilla Android. For, as on other aspects of the interface (clock, taking notes, web browser), the Touchwiz inputs are not obvious, both in video player, it’s a pleasure each time renewed. Too bad the audio output, a mono speaker on the back of the phone is also of poor quality. It was not the height of the Galaxy S5. This will not be the fort of New S5.
In Play, the music is not the same. If the screen quality is undoubtedly important here (and once again we regret the lack of a Corning Gorilla Glass), the chipset (including its graphic part) is particularly sought. With Dead Trigger 2, we were pleasantly surprised to see that it was possible to force the switch to the more qualitative graphics. Moreover, it is the average quality graphics that the game was settled. For two observations, it is not always the case. A good point then. After changing the setting, we found that the game lacked fluidity slightly passages. Rest assured, these few slowdowns were never bothersome, even though it may cause some hiccups surprises. For the occasion, we also tested a second game in the same style, but more recent: Dead Effect 2 BadFly Interactive. A game of zombies, again, in science fiction oriented environments. A game rather beautiful and that works pretty well, despite this GPU Mali …
Dead Trigger 2 with light effect left to right Effect 2 Dead
Phew, ! nothing has changed photo
picture side, we have good news: the New S5 S5 is not cheap, on the contrary. We are pleased that Samsung has taken the photo sensor Galaxy S5 of origin (or possibly his successor by now). With a resolution of 16 megapixels, as the Galaxy S6, this component offers beautiful shots. In the example below, the camera happened to preserve a good level of detail in the dark areas, despite strong light exposure on the building opposite. Similarly, the level of detail is preserved on the sunny sides and colors were not sacrificed (as you can see from green plants). Even when zooming, the sound remains restricted.
Photo taken with the Galaxy S5 New
Photo taken in exposure with the Galaxy S5 New
The photo application, meanwhile, hardly changes. She always offers specific modes with opening and exposure presets. In automatic mode, you can manually increase the exposure compensation to bring a little more shine to photography. Note that, as often with Samsung, it is best not to change the settings, because the sensor, lens and image processor will certainly do better. This is the case in the second example above, where we have overexposed the image to increase the brightness of the street. Still, all is visible and exploitable.
A good mid-range, but not the best
In conclusion, the Galaxy S5 New is, as a whole, the worthy successor (and not its successor) of the former flagship. If some items were rejuvenated and updated, not always in the direction of improvement (as in the case of the chipset, the home button or screen protection), the recipe remains the same as a whole, with its qualities and sometimes also its flaws. But we are generally satisfied, although it is a market segment where we wished that Samsung is a little edgier to be able to compete OnePlus, Meizu and Honor. Including the internal storage and RAM. Maybe Samsung could he have chosen to remove the heart rate monitor, always gadget, not the fingerprint reader, which will be more useful to Android and Samsung Pay Pay?
We want to meet here two questions that will certainly guide your decision to buy the mobile (or not). First, there is the New Galaxy S5 better than the Galaxy S5, today almost the same price? Not always. The replacement of the Snapdragon 801, which we believe is a matter of economic balance is regrettable if your mobile is also your portable game console. The withdrawal of the fingerprint reader is another less justifiable. However, this weakness is compensated by providing better connectivity, including LTE. Then there is the New Galaxy S5 its price? Yes, no doubt. The photo, the screen construction (if one exception of materials), sealing, connectivity and even Touchwiz (who would have thought) are undeniable advantages that make it a good value. The best ? Do not push it either cap …
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