It’s been roughly eight months since the Samsung Galaxy S4 hit the market, and with the end of the year closing in, leaks and rumors concerning the next smartphone in the SGS line-up have started hitting the blogosphere. Yes, Samsung is apparently planning on launching a new Galaxy S smartphone, but that shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone, given the tremendous success of this particular series.
Given how highly-acclaimed the Galaxy S4 is (and the SGS line-up in general), gadget enthusiasts expect the SGS5 to be an amazingly good flagship smartphone. Is that going to be the case? We can never be too sure, but judging by what we’ve learned from the multitude of leaks that have surfaced lately, the SGS5 will definitely turn some heads. Join us below and we’ll discuss in detail about what the Galaxy S5 might have to offer. Remember, this information is not official, so take it with a grain of salt.
Hardware Specifications
First, let’s start off with what might be found under the handset’s hood.
As some of you might know, Qualcomm has recently announced a new high-end mobile processor – the Snapdragon 805 chip. Rumors now suggest that the upcoming SGS5 will benefit from this SoC. The SD 805 delivers four Krait 450 cores, a frequency of up to 2.5 GHz and a new Adreno 420 graphics chip capable of 2160p resolution.
However, there are theories suggesting that the Galaxy S5 is going to hit the market in two main variants – one of which will be equipped with Samsung’s own Exynos silicon. The upcoming Exynos 6 octa-core processor developed by the Korean manufacturer takes advantage of 64-bit architecture, allowing the developer to fit a larger amount (more than 3 GB) of RAM. Unfortunately, it seems that the Exynos 6 is still going to adopt the big.LITTLE architecture, so the SoC is not going to be a true octa-core unit.
The idea that the Galaxy S4 will arrive in both Snapdragon and Exynos flavors has been followed by rumors suggesting that the Snapdragon 805-powered model will feature 3 GB of RAM, whereas the Exynos 6 variant will take advantage of 4 GB of RAM. Both models would allegedly be powered by a 4,000 mAh battery.
That’s all for the CPU, so let’s move on to the display.
Previous leaks have suggested that the Samsung Galaxy S5 is going to feature a screen larger than 5 inches. Specifically, some sources claim that the device will feature a 5.3 inch panel. The more impressive bit of information however, is the idea that the display will offer a resolution of 2560 x 1440. Once again, this shouldn’t come as a surprise to those of you who have followed the latest events on the mobile market. During these past several months there have been plenty of reports confirming that the next-gen flagship smartphones will boast this type of resolution. The Vivo Xplay 3S is one of these devices, and back in October, Japan Display unveiled two 2560 x 1440 smartphone displays.
Camera (Still No OIS?)
One of the biggest questions surrounding the upcoming Galaxy S5 is whether or not the handset’s main camera will take advantage of OIS (optical image stabilization). This type of technology has become the new standard for every respectable high-end smartphone, but unfortunately, Samsung hasn’t managed to implement OIS in any of its Galaxy smartphones (except for the Galaxy S4 Zoom hybrid). Word is that Samsung’s inability to deliver an OIS camera on the Note 3 is due to its part suppliers. Unfortunately, fresh reports suggest that the same issue will persist next year as well, and that the Galaxy S5′s camera could lack optical image stabilization.
On the bright side, the gadget will most likely take advantage of the 16 MP ISOCELL camera that was unveiled during the “Samsung Analyst Day 2013″ event. This technology replaces BSI (back side illumination) and is capable of forming a physical barrier between neighboring pixels, isolating them and allowing more photons to be absorbed into the correct pixel. This process reduces electrical crosstalk between pixels, and the end product is a more color-accurate image and higher performance in low light conditions.
Samsung Galaxy S5 – Design and Software
While successful, the Galaxy S (and Note) series is still somewhat overshadowed by the fact that other devices offer premium build quality and materials – critics complain that the S line-up doesn’t offer much aside from cheap-feeling plastic.
The good news is that Samsung has been working on fixing this issue for a long time, and next year the company might finally be able to enjoy the fruits of its labor. Recent rumors and leaks now suggest that the SGS5 is going to feature a metal chassis that will be produced by Catcher. Catcher is the company that produces the aluminum unibody of the successful HTC One, as well as the iPad mini 2′s chassis.
On the other hand, there are whispers suggesting that the SGS5 will hit the market in two main variants, one of which will feature a curved design, a flexible OLED panel and a metal chassis. The other model is supposed to adopt an AMOLED panel and a plastic case. This approach seems very reminiscent of Apple’s lastest iPhone launch.
As far as software goes, the Galaxy S5 is expected to arrive with Android 4.4 KitKat out of the box, as well as a new TouchWiz user interface. There’s not a lot to discuss about the rumored TouchWiz UI, except for the fact that Samsung has recently filed a patent for a new multi-party video conference feature. If everything goes according to plan, chances are that this feature will make its debut on the S5 and the new TouchWiz UI.
Release Date
Now that we’ve got all of these details out of the way, you may be wondering when we’ll get the chance of buying the SGS5. Once again, nothing is set in stone at this point, but recent reports have suggested that it will be released a bit earlier than expected. If these bits of information are correct, then the Galaxy S5 will hit the market in Q1 2014, sometime by the end of March 2014. The device could also be present at the MWC conference that will take place in Barcelona next February.
Do you have any thoughts regarding these leaks and rumors? What are your expectations from the Samsung Galaxy S5, and are you planning on perhaps buying one as soon as it hits the market? Share your thoughts by leaving a comment below.
Vlad Andrici is editor for gforgames.com and writes about technology issues. Follow Vlad on Google Plus.