It’s rather difficult to keep things quiet in the age of the Internet, and it’s only ever a matter of time until a major tech release is leaked all over the worldwide web. Thus, we haven’t had to wait too long after the Consumer Electronics 2014 show to find out more about the forthcoming Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (LON:BC94) (KRX:005930) Galaxy, with the web awash over the last twenty-four hours with news of the purported specifications for this device, which have apparently come straight from the horse’s mouth.
The first confirmed piece of news about the Galaxy S5 is that it will be released in two separate versions. This has been rumored for some time, but it now seems certain that we will see a premium and budget model of the S5. The more expensive version of the two will have a metallic build, while the affordable model will be based on a plastic design. It has been mooted that the premium version of this new smartphone may be called the ‘Galaxy F’ in order to distinguish it from the cheaper version.
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (LON:BC94) (KRX:005930) has been the world’s largest manufacturer of television sets since 2006 – and I must say that I have one in my front room – so it’s unsurprising that they have always made an emphasis in the mobile devices on screen quality. The Galaxy S5 will be no different with Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (LON:BC94) (KRX:005930) evidently pulling out all of the stops in order to impress people with the image quality that the S5 can produce.
The Galaxy S5 will feature a 2560 × 1440 AMOLED display, giving it visual quality that will exceed full HD’s pixel resolution of 1920×1080. This is a pretty big deal for Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (LON:BC94) (KRX:005930), and it will be interesting to see how Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) respond to this move. Not only is the screen quality extremely good, but the size of it is also reported to be bigger than the rumored dimensions of the iPhone 6. The Galaxy S5 will feature a 5.25” screen, giving it a quarter of an inch advantage over its Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) competitor.
Processors for new Samsung phones unclear
Despite the leaks, we’re still not 100 percent certain what processors these new devices will utilize. However, as reported previously by ValueWalk, all of the evidence at this juncture still points to the devices utilizing either an eight-core Samsung Exynos 6 or a Qualcomm Snapdragon 805. It is possible that each version will feature differing processors, with the Snapdragon 805 being assigned to the premium model, but at the time of writing this remains speculation alone.
Nonetheless, based on current specifications, the Galaxy S5 is going to have exceptional graphics capability, arguably the best of any smartphone yet to hit the market. Nonetheless, as it isn’t offering a UHD display, it could be argued that it’s an evolution rather than a revolution.
But the reasons for the display quality are quite clear; aside from creating an impact with the public, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (LON:BC94) (KRX:005930) will also be including the best quality camera that they have ever put in a mobile device in the Galaxy S5. The camera in the S5 will be an upgrade from the S4’s 13-megapixel sensor, to a brand-new 16-megapixel version, although we still don’t know at this juncture whether or not Samsung will offer optical image stabilization, and there is no further information on the sensor itself other than its megapixel value.
Markets reacting to Samsung news
With the markets having gotten hold of this critical new information about this important device for Samsung, there was definitely a strong reaction in trading. Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (LON:BC94) (KRX:005930)’s share price traded up well over 1 percent after an initial surge early in the day’s trading, and it is evident that the arrival of the Galaxy S5 is broadly considered to be a big positive for Samsung’s prospects in the coming year.
Aside from the two versions of the Galaxy S5, it has also been reported today that the arrival of the new Galaxy will be followed by some other spin-off handsets. The Galaxy S5 Mini and Galaxy S5 Zoom devices will follow in what is presumed to be May or June according to the latest information, although details are decidedly sketchy on these smartphones at present. The rumor mill has indicated that the Galaxy S5 Mini will feature a 4.8in qHD Super AMOLED display, but in terms of hard evidence of spec lists nothing has surfaced as of yet.
Aside from the information discussed here, we’re not too sure about RAM, storage or any of the other specs related to the device as of yet, but enough has seeped out here to heighten anticipation for the Galaxy S5’s forthcoming release.
One aspect of this new smartphone which won’t particularly surprise anyone is that the Galaxy S5 will be running the Android operating system. It would appear that the Android version of choice will be 4.4 KitKat, and this is really something that needs to be decided at an early date, so it seems highly unlikely that this will alter ahead of its launch date.
Speaking of which, the Galaxy S5 is still penciled in for a March launch date, although confusingly you might not be able to get hold of a handset in the shops until April. Although the price point has by no means been set yet, it is expected that the premium version of the smartphone will set you back around $999, while the plastic variant may cost in the region of $799.
