Galaxy S5by Samsung

TECHWALLA

VERDICT

Clearly above average. Only a couple of issues keep this from being best in class.

86^%

TECHWALLA SCORE

based on the following sites

91^%
90^%
90^%
90^%
83^%
80^%
78^%
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PROS

A waterproof phone is just plain cool. Submerge it for up to 30 minutes in three meters of water and it'll survive.
The screen's color is accurate, vivid, and bright. It's a screen you'd expect to find on a top-of-the-line smartphone.
Performance issues need not apply; the Galaxy S5 is a fast and reliable device.

CONS

TouchWiz still exists, and while it's cleaned up a bit, it still smells of bloatware.
The overall design of the S5 feels cheap thanks in part to its plastic back.
The well-intentioned fingerprint scanner doesn't always work on first swipe.

The Galaxy S5 was the last in Samsung's long line of devices with a plastic back, removable battery, and expandable storage. It's equipped with a 5.1-inch display, 16 MP camera, 2,800 mAh battery, and fingerprint scanner. A heart rate sensor that integrates with Samsung's S Health app is located on the back. The Galaxy S5 is available in black, white, and gold with storage options of 16GB and 32GB.

86^%

TECHWALLA SCORE

based on the following sites

91^%
90^%
90^%
90^%
83^%
80^%
78^%
Show More Reviews

Price Watch

LIST PRICE
$499
$224.50Buy


Name	Galaxy S5	Galaxy Note 5	Xperia Z3	Galaxy Note edge	Desire Eye
Manufacturer	Samsung	Samsung	Sony	Samsung	HTC
Techwalla Score	86^%	89^%	85^%	81^%	80^%
List Price	$499	$696	$450	$806	$459

91^%

To be honest, appearance has never been a strong characteristic of Samsung's Android-powered products.

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90^%

My biggest complaint with [fingerprint] scanners like these -- which HTC also has on its supersize One Max, by the way -- is that they can o…

My biggest complaint with [fingerprint] scanners like these -- which HTC also has on its supersize One Max, by the way -- is that they can often be inaccurate.

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90^%

The S5 makes an attempt to match the iPhone's security measures with fingerprint recognition. The system doesn't seem quite as detailed as A…

The S5 makes an attempt to match the iPhone's security measures with fingerprint recognition. The system doesn't seem quite as detailed as Apple's, and seems less inclined to recognize your print first time but in general it seemed to work pretty well.

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90^%

The Galaxy S5 may not feel as premium but it is water resistant, has an outstanding screen (if you choose the right settings) and battery li…

The Galaxy S5 may not feel as premium but it is water resistant, has an outstanding screen (if you choose the right settings) and battery life that stands head and shoulders above Apple's phone.

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83^%

The display here is a surprising improvement over the S4. The difference is easy enough to see with the naked eye, especially when you put t…

The display here is a surprising improvement over the S4. The difference is easy enough to see with the naked eye, especially when you put the two devices side by side.

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80^%

A 5.1-inch, 1920 x 1080-pixel AMOLED display? Yes, please. The Galaxy S5's screen pairs an explosion of rich color with crisp detail.

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78^%

Make no mistake: this is a very good phone. And Samsung did nearly all the important things well. With a great screen, great battery life, a…

Make no mistake: this is a very good phone. And Samsung did nearly all the important things well. With a great screen, great battery life, and a good camera, the S5 leaves me with few reasons not to recommend it — and the waterproof body is a fantastic bonus. But I don't love anything about this device.

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The display is incredible. I say that with the caveat that the displays on all flagship Android phones today are incredible. They're all aro…

The display is incredible. I say that with the caveat that the displays on all flagship Android phones today are incredible. They're all around 5 inches, and they all have full HD resolution (1,920 x 1,080). Colors really pop on the Galaxy S5's Super AMOLED screen, although it tends to give whites a slightly bluish tinge.

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Multitasking is a breeze as well, with no stutters found in the new recent apps screen, but I could have done without the smooth yet lengthy…

Multitasking is a breeze as well, with no stutters found in the new recent apps screen, but I could have done without the smooth yet lengthy fade transition between apps.

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Though unassuming and perhaps predictable, the Galaxy S5's physical hardware is a considerable improvement on previous models, with Samsung …

Though unassuming and perhaps predictable, the Galaxy S5's physical hardware is a considerable improvement on previous models, with Samsung finally figuring out how to do plastic right.

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The removable plastic back does have a couple of significant virtues: You can swap in a spare battery or pop a memory card into the MicroSD …

The removable plastic back does have a couple of significant virtues: You can swap in a spare battery or pop a memory card into the MicroSD slot for affordable storage expansion.

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The camera is spectacular, easily on par with the iPhone 5S camera and the Nokia Lumia 1020 camera, two of the best on the market.

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75^% Said they'd buy it again.

Positive Reviews

Great smartphone; No problems with it after 1.5 years.

by Rekette Something10/20/2015

I've had this phone for a year and a half, and it's still working perfectly fine. It might feel like a cheap build at first, but it makes up for it by being lightweight and it is quite durable. I've dropped it several times, which leaves scratches in the corners, but nothing permanently broken. I've used it in the rain. It is truly waterproof. And there is no lag in applications, even though I've nearly filled the data. The camera is decent, though I wouldn't say it was the best, especially the front camera at night. I like having the back button and application button along with the main button, as it feels more intuitive and gives more control and customization options than with an iPhone's solitary button, and doesn't use up any real-estate for the screen. Possibly one of the most useful things about this phone is the multi-window option, which allows the use of two applications at once (like music and google maps, or youtube and messenger). This is so convenient and I use it all the time. Excellent for the multi-tasker or the multi-media consumer.

Negative Reviews

Just average

by Young Kim 9/11/2015

I got this phone about 15 month ago and not so happy with it. First look wasn't too bad and it was running fine until I installed certain amount of apps. Now it seems to be pretty slow and sometimes applications freezes. Water resistant concept was not too bad even though I never dropped in a water but electric charging port cover got ripped off for no reason so it is not water resistant any more. Back side camera seem to be good but front side camera sucks especially at night. Finger Scanner was one of the cool features that some people like but it doesn't work well. You should scan your finger in a right direction otherwise it won't work. Overall it does its job but there are some things that they might have done better.