Samsung’s Galaxy S4 is currently the hottest selling phone from the house of Samsung, but the smartphone will descend from the pedestal in the near future as the Korean company gears up to launch the advanced and more innovative Samsung Galaxy S5. There has not been any official word about the specifications and features of the phone yet, but the rumors coming from reliable sources and websites cannot be ignored altogether.
Make sure to read Odey Gains In Short Apple, But Loses In Long Samsung and Why I want a Nexus 5 as my next phone
Summarized below are the latest rumors and news making the rounds on the web which make the device desirable.
Buyers may not have to wait long
Buyers who are looking forward to upgrading their phone to the Galaxy S5 will probably have to wait for three or four months, which is not a long time compared to the launch date of the iPhone 6 or Nexus 6.
It is believed that the electronic giant will launch the Galaxy S5 within the first three months of 2014. These release date speculations have come from multiple sources, which strengthen the expectations of the release date for the upcoming gadget from Samsung.
Metal Galaxy S5 possible
Samsung is expected to swerve from its trend of using s polycarbonate casing for its phones. The Galaxy S5 is supposed to be all metal, and according to the Korean news site ET news, magnesium and aluminum are possible materials.
A report from EMSOdm.com also mentioned that the Galaxy S5 would have a metal casing. Reportedly, Samsung has made a payment to Catcher, which develops cases for the HTC One, the iPad and the MacBook Air. Back in September, Catcher was in the news along with Samsung; however, the cases for the device might not arrive until the second half of 2014.
There are some interesting anecdotes suggesting that the new metallic phone from Samsung could be the Galaxy F, which may be unveiled a few months before the S5. Some reports suggest that the Galaxy F may be a step ahead of the Galaxy S5 in technology, with a flexible screen similar to that of the Galaxy Round. Another model, perhaps the Galaxy S5, would keep the standard Super AMOLED screen and plastic body shell.
A report states that the Galaxy S5 may come with a flexible screen and may sport a leather polycarbonate casing like the Note 3. Also, there are chances that carbon fiber could also be used in the upcoming S5. According to a report from Android Beat, Samsung has entered into an agreement with Samsung Petrochemical and SGL Group, which is one of the largest producers of carbon fiber. Carbon fiber is a very light and strong material which would be perfect for the Galaxy S5.
Galaxy S5 may challenge iPhone with a 64-bit processor
Official news came from Samsung’s mobile head, J.K. Shin, when the executive said that the next smartphone would have a 64-bit processor. Samsung would take the bull by horns and make all possible efforts to outperform the iPhone 5S, which ensures that it would enhance its processor capacity by integrating a 64-bit chip into the Galaxy S5.
A Korean website, Digital Daily, revealed that Samsung may deploy a Exynos 6 processor, a new 14nm chip with 64-bit support and ARM’s cortex A53/A57 Big.Littleocta-core configuration. These probable features ensure that Samsung would come aggressively upon other rivals through its Galaxy S5. It is expected that the Galaxy S5 would have at least 3GB of RAM, though the company is already producing 4GB LPDDR3 mobile DRAM.
Other expected and exciting features
There is also a host of other apparent features that the Galaxy S5 is supposed to integrate.
An eye scanning security feature has supposedly become the latest passion of Samsung, and the company is expected to use it in the Galaxy S5 to get an edge over the biometric security of the iPhone 5S, which has a fingerprint sensor. The security feature is a highly anticipated one, though no reliable source has yet confirmed the news.
GalaxyClub.nl unearthed a patent filed by Samsung which stated that the company will update its ChatON messaging service to integrate multi-person conference calls. According to the patent, through the integration of the software, both front and rear cameras along with multiple streams visible along the bottom of the screen, can be used for conferencing. The system is similar to Google’s conference call system available through Hangouts, which can run ten different feeds at the same time. The software might be integrated within the ChatON or with a new TouchWiz feature.
Smartphones are getting smarter by the day. A look into the Sony Xperia Z substantiates the fact as the phone is dust and waterproof. Samsung unveiled the Galaxy S4 Active, which is a water-resistant model of its flagship. However, according to ET News, the Galaxy S5 will be a step ahead and will use waterproof and dust-proof technology. If industry onlookers are to be believed, then the Galaxy S5 would meet the standards of the S4 Active.
Some early reports stated that the Galaxy S5 would have a 13-megapixel camera with optical image stabilization, but lately reports have surfaced revealing altogether different camera specs. According to ET News, the company would use a 16-megapixel sensor that would be able to capture better images in low light. Samsung would manufacture these sensors itself, and they could feature Samsung’s own ISOCELL technology, which reportedly enhances light, thereby regulating the absorption of electrons that, in turn, gives high color fidelity, even in a darker environment.
According to a recent report, Samsung has failed to get a smooth supply of the components, which in turn has become the hurdle in integrating optical image stabilization. The components are not available for the slimmer devices. Optical image stabilization was thought to have been dropped from the Galaxy Note 3 due to a shortage of the modules.
Better software, a differentiating factor
Rumors are ripe that Samsung would launch two different versions of the Samsung Galaxy S5. One will run on Android, and the other would sport Samsung’s own Tizen operating system. However, there are slim chances of the company bringing two versions of the mobile device. Also, looking at the massive popularity of Android, Tizen does not look very competitive. The Korean company may launch the Tizen version of the Samsung Galaxy S5 in some markets.
The Samsung Galaxy S5 is also expected to have better software support, as the difference among hardware is negligible in smartphones today. The new updates would be faster for the Galaxy S5 compared to other Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (LON:BC94) (KRX:005930) devices as the company has been following the trend of bringing the new updates in its latest flagships first.