Samsung Galaxy 5 sizes. Samsung Galaxy S5 (SM-G900F) review. Everything as it is! USB, Bluetooth, communication capabilities

The market has not felt a shortage in the niche of mobile devices for several years. Every year, manufacturers offer customers a variety of new products. A wide assortment can be observed in all price categories. However, some users still prefer smartphones, which, as they say, are time-tested. This review will describe just such a gadget of the famous Galaxy line. It was released by a world-renowned Korean company - Samsung. The price of the Galaxy S5, its specifications and, of course, reviews will be discussed in this article.

The model debuted successfully. In 2014, it was considered one of the best on the market. The manufacturer tried to implement everything necessary in it to meet the requirements of a wide audience of buyers. What came of it? Let's figure it out together.

Positioning

At the time of its release, the Samsung Galaxy S5 model (read the reviews below) belonged to the segment of flagship devices. This is fully confirmed by the characteristics that are considered relevant to this day. At the start of sales, the price of a smartphone varied around $ 400, but with the release of new models, it gradually began to decline.

It is worth noting that for those buyers who do not seek to get a novelty, this phone is an excellent choice, time-tested. The device has a sufficient level of performance to cope with any task. However, we will not get ahead of ourselves, but in order we will get acquainted with all the characteristics.

Equipment

Although this model is not a "budget employee", it is difficult to classify the smartphone as a flagship in terms of the set of components. All that is offered to the buyer is a USB cable, documentation and charging. Many users would very much like to see a case for the Samsung Galaxy S5 in the box. But alas, it, like the film for the screen, as well as the memory card, will have to be bought separately. Headphones, unfortunately, are also missing, so we can safely say that the manufacturer saved a lot by abandoning accessories.

Appearance

The first impressions of buyers when examining this smartphone are positive. Even in spite of the plastic body, the feeling of reliability is created. And this is quite justified, since the manufacturer used high-quality materials. The phone is more rectangular in shape. The corners are slightly rounded, which undoubtedly adds to the attractiveness. The chrome frame that runs along the entire perimeter of the case is a great addition. It looks majestic and favorably distinguishes the front panel of the phone. The control panel is standard. The mechanical key contains a fingerprint scanner. The name of the company flaunts above the screen. There is a “peephole” for a selfie camera, a sensor, and an earpiece.

The back panel looks pretty impressive. The corrugated coating played an important role in this. It is worth noting that it is used not only for beauty, but also for practical purposes. For example, virtually no dirt accumulates on the back, so you don't need to purchase a case for the Samsung Galaxy S5. After all, many people have to wear it just to get rid of the stained surface, but in this phone this need disappears by itself. On the back side, the buyer will be able to see a small speaker hole, which is located at the bottom. A large "window" of the main camera is displayed at the top in the middle. Underneath there is a flash and a heart rate sensor.

The back cover can be removed very easily. The battery is hidden under it. For the Samsung Galaxy S5, the developers have chosen an interesting location of the slots in which an external drive and a SIM card are installed. On a cursory examination, it may seem that he is alone. But this is not so - the cards are inserted on both sides, so to speak with a "sandwich" (at the bottom there is a drive, and above it there is a "SIM").

In addition to all the usual elements, this smartphone has an infrared port, thanks to which the device can easily replace the remote control. For charging, there is a USB 3.0 connector covered with a chrome cap.

Screen

When choosing a smartphone, most buyers pay special attention to the capabilities of the screen. And, in principle, this is correct. After all, interaction with a gadget takes place through this particular element. Have Samsung Galaxy S5 buyers been disappointed with the screen specs? If you believe the reviews, then no. The excellent large 5.1-inch display operates at a resolution of 1920 × 1080 px. The matrix is ​​made in accordance with SuperAMOLED technology, which is undoubtedly an advantage. This company differs in that it equips its products with high-quality screens. The S5 is no exception. The high pixel density (431 ppi) guarantees a high-quality and clear image, in which, even armed with a magnifying glass, it is impossible to see pixelation. The developers did not forget about protection by installing high-quality Gorilla Glass 3.

Viewing angles and chromaticity are simply gorgeous. The picture is displayed rich and juicy. Even in direct sunlight, the information is perfectly readable, and the contrast practically does not change.

Protection standard

It is worth noting that the characteristics of the Samsung Galaxy S5, even now, are quite up to date. Many buyers were pleased with the fact that the manufacturer used IP67 protection. What does this mean? The device is not afraid of getting wet. According to the international standard, the phone perfectly tolerates immersion in water to a depth of one meter. The maximum residence time in it should not exceed 30 minutes. Users recommend that after immersion in water, be sure to wipe the screen and the connectors with a dry soft cloth. Also, the owners do not have to be afraid that if they get caught in heavy rain, their phone will stop working. This is confirmed by numerous reviews of the Samsung Galaxy S5.

Thanks to special protection, this smartphone does not need to be cleaned of dust and other small particles of debris. For example, after falling into the sand, it is enough to simply clean the top surfaces of dirt.

According to the manufacturer, the camera works perfectly in a device submerged in water. If desired, the user can take unique pictures of the underwater world, but do not forget about the limitations in depth and time.

Performance

Smartphone Samsung Galaxy S5 is not in vain equated with flagship devices. Its hardware may well compete with expensive devices. To ensure high performance, the phone is equipped with an excellent Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor. Manufactured using a 28nm process technology. Powered by four compute modules, which are developed on the basis of the Krait 400 architecture. The maximum frequency is 2500 MHz. The only drawback is the system row, limited to 32 bits. 64-bit applications are not available for such hardware. The user will feel problems only when installing new software, but the rest of the platform works fine. We can safely say that there is not a single task that the device cannot cope with.

To work with graphic images, the developers installed the Adreno 330 coprocessor. This model is perfect for working with a Full HD screen. Most games run smoothly and the user can select high graphics settings.

Memory

The capabilities of the gadget are also characterized by the RAM. Performance will directly depend on its volume. In this model, the developers used two gigabytes. However, it should be borne in mind that about half is already involved in system processes, so in fact, users only have one gigabyte left.

Unfortunately, with the size of the built-in storage, not everything is so rosy in the Samsung Galaxy S5 16Gb. From the name it is already clear that its volume is limited to 16 GB. The preinstalled software takes about 5 GB, so only 11 are left for installing applications. Is this enough? Each owner will decide for himself. For those who need additional memory, there is the option of installing an external storage device. The device supports flash drives up to 128 GB. There is a separate slot for them.

Platform

This smartphone is under the control of the fourth "Android". The original Samsung Galaxy S5 firmware has a proprietary TouchWiz interface. The developers did a good job on the shell. They redesigned and made the interface as clear as possible. Updates touched the settings menu and some applications.

With the advent of the fifth version of the operating system, the owners of this model are invited to update their gadget. To do this, simply connect to the Internet via Wi-Fi and activate the corresponding menu item.

The phone has a lot of pre-installed software. It includes popular services from Google, social networks, weather, office programs, players and more.

Cameras

The Samsung Galaxy S5 meets the needs of the most advanced user. In order to be convinced of this, just look at the characteristics of the main camera. The manufacturer did not stint and installed a 16-megapixel matrix. But this is not the only advantage of optics. It is in this model that the developers have implemented a completely new automatic focusing system. To get a high-quality picture, you just need to point the viewfinder and press the shutter. In any light, bright and clear shots can be made with the Samsung Galaxy S5, the reviews confirm this. There are many settings in the menu that are manually adjustable. The flash does the job well. The clips are recorded in high definition 4K UHD. With this quality, the maximum frame rate is limited to 30. You can increase the speed to 60 fps by changing the resolution to 1080p.

What do owners say about the front camera? Unfortunately, it cannot boast of flagship capabilities. It is based on a sensitive sensor with a resolution of 2 megapixels. From these characteristics, it is already clear that dreaming of a high-quality selfie is pointless. The only thing this module is suitable for is video communication.

Battery characteristics

When choosing a phone, the autonomy period is a mandatory criterion. It is provided not only by the battery, but also by the energy efficiency of the hardware platform. First, let's consider which battery the developers have chosen for the Samsung Galaxy S5? The battery is removable and manufactured using lithium-ion technology. Has a capacity of 2800 mAh. In comparison with its predecessor, this model shows better results. To complete the picture, you need to consider the large, high-resolution touchscreen and the rather powerful hardware platform. With all this, the Galaxy S5 is capable of working at an average load for about a day.

It is worth paying attention to the power saving mode. The device implements the Ultra Power Saving function, with which you can significantly extend the "life" of a smartphone on a single charge. When activated, the color of the image is turned off, and the multifunctional device turns into a simple "dialer". In this state, as the manufacturer assures, the phone spends no more than 10% in 24 hours.

Samsung Galaxy S5: reviews

To assess the real capabilities of a gadget, it is not enough to know only the technical characteristics. In this matter, you should also listen to customer reviews. The comments not only talk about the positive aspects of the smartphone, but also discuss the negative ones in detail. Most of all criticism was caused by the volume of the ROM. Currently, advanced users do not have enough memory of 16 GB in order to fully exploit the potential of the gadget. And if you consider that not the entire volume will be available, then hardly anyone can do without external drives. The plastic case can also be attributed to disadvantages, especially if you rely on current trends. Now even "state employees" are produced with an aluminum case, which significantly increases the level of reliability of the device.

In principle, the Samsung Galaxy S5 has no critical shortcomings. By and large, users generally highlight only strengths in reviews. What is the indisputable advantage of this gadget?

• The degree of protection of the enclosure. With this model, the manufacturer has implemented the IP67 standard, so you can not be afraid that the phone will fail if it gets wet.
• Convenient interface. Of course, it is impossible to call the fourth "Android" a fresh version, but the number of compatible office and entertainment applications is so great that the user will in no way experience any restrictions. The most advanced are encouraged to change the firmware in the Samsung Galaxy S5 to a newer one.
• Main camera resolution. The device has a high-quality model, which makes it easy to get great pictures. Recall that you can do them even under water.
• Actual characteristics of the hardware platform. The equipment allows this model to be competitive even after two years.
• Decent battery life. During the day, the device operates at an average load. And if you activate the Ultra Power Saving mode, then the smartphone will be very economical to use up the battery, thanks to which the operating time will increase significantly.

Samsung Galaxy S5 mini and Galaxy S5: the main differences

For lovers of small smartphones, the manufacturer has released a smaller copy of the Galaxy S5. The appearance of the phones is practically the same, if you don't pay attention to the dimensions. The dimensions of the device with the mini attachment are 131 × 65 × 9.1 mm. Let's compare them with the "older" version. In terms of height and width, they have decreased in comparison with the Galaxy S5 by 11 mm and 8 mm, respectively. However, the thickness of the Samsung Galaxy S5 mini, as strange as it sounds, has increased by 1 mm. The differences don't end there. For some reason, the developers have significantly underestimated the technical characteristics of the "younger" version. This is not the first time buyers have seen this trend. Let's take a closer look at the differences.

Conclusion

We can see from the review that the manufacturer did a good job on the Samsung Galaxy S5. The price of a smartphone with a flagship "filling" varies from 6500 to 10700 rubles. The device perfectly implements all the functions necessary for comfortable work. Surprisingly, even three years after the moment of release, the technical characteristics of this model are still relevant to this day, so the purchase will be quite justified.

One of the most anticipated novelties of 2014, which, despite all the criticism, has been actively and successfully sold for about two months in the domestic retail. Samsung Galaxy S5 is probably the most popular flagship in our country based on Android OS. It is also the most controversial device this year. Serious performance, rich functionality, as always, many new interesting features, but still the same missing design.

Now that all the flagships from the largest companies have already gone retail, it's time to draw conclusions regarding the Galaxy S5. The late ones turned out to be the Sony Xperia Z2, which was originally supposed to go on sale earlier than the S5 by a whole month, but in the end was late for the same period. LG has summed up the line by releasing its G3. And now we can make the most objective and balanced conclusion regarding the main Korean miracle, but first, let's figure out what is so interesting that the Samsung Galaxy SM-G900F can give us.

As always, the smartphone comes in a box made of recycled materials, in which, in addition to the device itself, there is also a charger, a synchronization cable, and a branded headset with a control panel on a cord.

And now I focus on how you can distinguish a Korean smartphone from any counterfeit that flooded the radio markets, namely, there are many different leaflets made of recycled paper in the packaging. Please note that some of them have high-quality color printing. In addition, the set from under the "original" should contain just such a warranty card.

In a box with a fake, most likely, none of this will be present. Usually, the Chinese are limited to a couple of three pieces of paper with relatively poor quality printing. Thus, we figured out how to distinguish an S5 from a fake, paying attention only to the accompanying documentation.

Appearance

In my opinion, in terms of design, the Galaxy S5 consists of exactly two smartphones. We can observe one from the front side, and the second is not at all similar to the first and we find it by turning the device over. Everything in order.

Galaxy S5. Model 1: left side

There is a chrome-plated plastic frame around the entire perimeter of the device. It is not clear whether the shiny coating will peel off. During the two months of operation of the device, there have been no negative reviews regarding this parameter from users. Obviously, the coverage is more or less high quality.

The shiny bezel protrudes strongly from the screen surface. Immediately I recall the once popular Nokia 5800, the plastic frames in which made the use of a smartphone rather inconvenient.

In Samsung, they, of course, do not stick out so much, but it would be better if they did not exist. In the same HTC One (M8) there are also protruding sides, but they are made very neatly and practically invisible.

Around the display there is a dark blue surface rolled up under glass, which is framed by a layer of a slightly different color. This is noticeable, but does not negatively affect the perception of the device.

There is one physical Home key under the display, which is also a fingerprint scanner. The button travel is light and moderately soft. On the sides there are touch buttons: the back key (on the right) and the button responsible for displaying the last used applications (on the right). It's great that Samsung engineers did not transfer the smartphone controls to the screen, but left them under the display. Many manufacturers do not follow this tradition, resulting in empty space under the screen.

Above there is an LED indicator for various events, then a mesh of the earpiece, under which the corporate designation flaunts. Closer to the right edge is the ambient light sensor, proximity sensor and front camera peephole.

The bezel of the device has three edges, which makes the boring design of the smartphone a little more interesting. On the left side of the device there are sound control keys. On the right side there is a single button that is responsible for turning off the screen.

At the top there is a sealed 3.5 mm audio output, a microphone hole and an infrared port.

At the bottom there is a hole for another microphone and a cover that hides the micro-USB 3.0 connector (type B). There is also a small loop for attaching a lace to the device.

The back of the device is compatible with the other, and what was described in the first part has nothing to do with the design of the back of the S5.

One gets the impression that two separate groups of designers were engaged in the appearance. Laughter through tears.

The first thing that catches your eye is the surface with dots pressed through the entire area. What does the back cover tactilely look like? Difficult to make a direct comparison. The closest will be a comparison with soft and glossy leather.

The back of the S5 is very pleasant to the touch. I want to touch and touch the smartphone.

In the upper part there is a peephole of the main camera, which protrudes quite strongly from the body. Directly below it, in a similar style, there is a slot for an LED flash and a heart rate monitor with an auxiliary LED. The latter slightly illuminates the skin, while measuring the pulse with the corresponding sensor.

Below are the holes for the main speaker. There are no other elements at the back anymore.

The back cover in the smartphone can be easily removed and provides access to the battery (2800 mAh). It is not possible to hot swap the memory card and SIM card, as the battery must be removed each time.

By the way, the SIM card slot is inconvenient: it is very difficult to get the card out of the slot. It is trite: there is simply nothing to pick up the plastic.

Dust and moisture protection

It's worth mentioning here that the Samsung Galaxy S5 is rated IP67 water and dust resistant according to the specs. It is understood that the smartphone can be under water at a depth of up to one and a half meters for 30 minutes.

Employees of the Korean company explain this approach by the fact that users forget to close the plugs of the connectors, as a result of which the devices still burn out. Obviously, even the regular warnings of the system that it is necessary to check the tightness of the closure of the device plugs every time after recharging does not help.

In general, you can swim with the S5 at your own peril and risk. This is not a Sony Xperia Z2 that you can safely forget in an aquarium or in a bowl of soup.

Pay attention to the rubber band on the back of the battery cover. It protects important electronic components from moisture, since after immersion, water accumulates, including under the removable cover.

Usage

The smartphone turned out to be moderately large. It is an order of magnitude larger than its predecessors (S4), but smaller than all its competitors. I suggest comparing the dimensions of the device in the table below.

Despite the very slippery back surface, the device lies securely in the hand. In the pocket of your trousers, of course, you can feel it, but it does not hinder movement. Yet this is not the Galaxy Note III, and certainly not the Sony Xperia Z Ultra. For people with small palms, Samsung has provided one-handed mode activation.

Swiping your finger across the screen from its middle to the edge, the active part of the display is reduced by half. In this case, you can reach all areas of the screen with your thumb. Reverse gesture stretches the active screen to fit the entire available area.

In addition, of course there is support for many different options for people with disabilities. Samsung is one of the clear leaders in this area.

The Samsung Galaxy S5 is available in several color options: black, blue, gold and white.

Display

The screen is covered with tempered glass with an oleophobic coating, which protects the surface from the appearance of greasy fingerprints. The distance from the edge of the display to the edge of the device is about 4 mm, which is quite a lot, but still does not leave a negative impression. Good!

Screen is a key feature of any mobile device, and the Galaxy S5 is no exception. It has a 5.1-inch Super AMOLED matrix. 1920 x 1080 resolution at 432 ppi. The margin of brightness is very large. Color reproduction is generally typical for displays built on the basis of Super AMOLED technology.

I mean, as always, there are bright acid colors with a bias in green and yellow shades.

The greenish glow is especially noticeable when looking at the smartphone screen from an angle. The sharper the angle, the greater the color distortion and a subtle metallic sheen. Black remains black under all conditions. You can verify this with the examples of the photos below.

In the options, you can select several of the preset screen profiles. A new feature is a setting that optimizes the picture depending on which application is currently being used. The mode is aimed primarily at saving battery power, since the display is traditionally the most power hungry component in the device.

The screen does not fade in the sun, everything remains readable, thanks to the anti-reflective coating of the glass and the adequate operation of the light sensor.

In the settings, you can activate the increased sensitivity of the touch surface, as a result of which you can work with your smartphone with gloves.

Specifications

• Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor with a frequency of 2.5 GHz (4 cores)
• video chip Adreno 330 (578 MHz)
• RAM 2 GB LPDDR3
• memory for storing data 16 GB (actually available 11.5 GB)
• micro SD card slot (up to 128 GB)
• 5.1 '' display with a resolution of 1920 × 1080 pixels (432 ppi) based on Super AMOLED
• front camera 2 megapixels (1920 × 1080 pixels)
• main camera 16 MP (image resolution 5312 × 2988 pixels)
• battery 2800 mAh (removable)
• protection against water and dust (IP67)
• sensors: accelerometer, gyroscope, compass, proximity sensor, barometer, light sensor, fingerprint scanner, heart rate monitor
• Android 4.4.2 platform with proprietary shell TouchWiz

• 2G, 3G, 4G (LTE)
• Wi-Fi (801.11 a / b / g / n / ac), MIMO (2 × 2)
• Bluetooth 4.0, NFC
• USB 3.0, infrared sensor, OTG, MHL
• aGPS, GLONASS

There are no questions about smartphone performance.

Everything flies without any delay. Applications, including the camera, launch very quickly.

Of course, all the latest toys are easily swallowed by a smartphone, even with the highest graphics settings.

The proprietary TouchWiz shell does not slow down, as it happens on the company's tablets. Everything is very well optimized here. In synthetic tests, the device scores almost maximum points. In AnTuTu, the smartphone gave the palm to HTC One, taking the second line. We look at the screenshots.

Camera

One of the main advantages of Samsung flagships has always been their photo capabilities. The S5 is no exception. The built-in 16 megapixel module is capable of delivering very decent image quality. Error-free focusing, good stabilization and good color reproduction are the main positive aspects of the built-in camera.

You can safely forget about additional settings and shoot only in automatic mode. Good ambient lighting will help you get decent footage. The only thing I recommend is to set the HDR setting to “On” and then the saturation of the images will be at least twice as high. The risk of blurring the image in this mode tends to zero, since the device does not take up the rate of fire.

HDR is most noticeable in backlit conditions or in the presence of strong shadows, as is often the case in direct sunlight. Pay attention to the photos below and see for yourself that I am right.

No HDR
HDR

Now let's evaluate examples of pictures taken in different conditions.

The main camera of the smartphone handles most of the possible photography variations. Again, with a lot of light, the photos come out great. In conditions with a lack of lighting, the quality of the photo, of course, deteriorates, but on the whole it looks adequate. The shots with the city streets at night look good only on the smartphone display. When you open them on the big screen, all the flaws of the pictures immediately rush into your eyes. Noise, of course, is present, but still to a lesser extent. The exposure is correct, due to which there is no transition to green or scarlet shades.

And yet the Samsung Galaxy S5 has one of the best cameras out there.

As always, there is a very large number of settings, from which even guys are in the eyes. From habit, it is very difficult to find the right one quickly.

Of course, there are many different shooting scenarios available, including skin retouching, and shooting fast-moving objects, and creating panoramas and much more. There is even a fisheye filter.

With the built-in camera, you can create virtual tours of the premises. I think real estate agents will be very happy. Although, except on the device itself, you will not be able to view such pictures anywhere else.

The quality of videos captured with the main camera is very good. The detail and choice of exposure do not raise any questions. In addition, it is possible to set the tracking autofocus or independently indicate the object for focusing. In this case, the camera quickly and without errors “grabs” the subject. Needless to say, it is better to independently evaluate the capabilities of a video camera in a smartphone:

During video recording, the size of the video is displayed (in the upper right corner in the screenshot), which increases as the recording takes.

4K video is pleasing to the eye with deep detail. You don't have to go far for an example:

The fingerprint scanner

I have already mentioned the central button, which has a built-in fingerprint sensor. When activating the parameter, at the beginning it is proposed to go through the procedure for entering a fingerprint, for which you need to swipe your finger several times over the Home button. You can register up to three fingers. Of course, you won't be able to deceive the Pribluda, since the preliminary setting is very accurate.

You do not need to deliberately slowly and carefully slide your finger over the button. This can be done quickly, the main thing is that the entire print falls into the "field of view" of the sensor. It makes a fool of the sensor only when moisture gets on it, but the system immediately warns about it. In other cases, scanning is always correct. The only thing is that it is rather difficult to enter the fingerprint of the hand with which you hold the device. You need to have some skill or do it just with two hands.

By entering a fingerprint, you can unlock your smartphone, buy applications and make purchases in other stores. It does not shine for us yet.

Sound and video playback

The supplied headset has good sound quality. In addition, it is equipped with a playback control panel. The bundled headphone cable is very tough and flat, which makes it less tangled.

It is gratifying that Samsung generally includes headphones in the kit, which, moreover, are not bad in quality.

LG, for example, have abandoned this approach in almost all of their devices, for which they are a minus.

The playback quality through third-party headphones is at the expected good level. In this respect, the S5 does not differ from competitors' products. In direct comparison with the iPhone 5, Apple's solution wins. The sound on the S5 differs for the worse only by a barely noticeable flatness and weaker low frequencies. The maximum volume threshold is almost comparable to that of the iPhone, which is generally a rare occurrence.

In the settings, of course, there is an equalizer with ready-made presets. In addition, it is possible to activate additional audio effects such as studio sound, concert hall simulation, and more.

In the parameters, you can pass a special Adapt Sound test, after which the playback is optimized for each channel. For some, perhaps even for many, the ears hear differently, and in order to level this difference, the engineers added this feature. This is how it looks in theory. In practice, I personally did not notice any changes.

The sound through the external speaker is loud, lively and without extraneous creaks and whistles, as could be seen in the tablet.

As always, Samsung's solutions handle most of the popular codecs right out of the box. Just look at the list of supported formats:

• audio: MP3, M4A, 3GA, AAC, OGG, OGA, WAV, WMA, AMR, AWB, FLAC, MID, MIDI, XMF, MXMF, IMY, RTTTL, RTX, OTA
• video formats: MP4, M4V, 3GP, 3G2, WMV, ASF, AVI, FLV, MKV, WEBM
• available video codecs: H.263, H.264 (AVC), MPEG4, VC-1, Sorenson Spark, MP43, WMV7, WMV8, VP8

Energy consumption

The device has a removable battery with a capacity of 2800 mAh.

The main thing is, of course, not the capacity and some figures there, but the optimization of energy consumption in the device. For the work done by engineers in this direction, you can safely put the highest mark.

Galaxy S5 is able to work on a single battery charge for up to two days with average use: the brightness was adjusted automatically, Wi-Fi and other wireless interfaces did not turn off, surfing the Internet took about 3 hours, 10 minutes of talks a day, 3 hours was spent using other functions, about 100 photographs were taken. A very good result!

In the settings it is possible to set the battery saving mode, in which the work of some of the functions used will be limited. In this case, the screen switches to a gray-only display. Thanks to this feature of the Super AMOLED screen, it consumes significantly less energy in monochrome. There is access to all the capabilities of the device, but the background data transfer stops and works only through the channel from Samsung. In other words, third party web apps will not receive push notifications.

That's not all. If you need to stay in touch for at least the next 24 hours at 10% battery charge, you can activate the extreme power consumption mode. In this state, the system completely excludes the possibility of using the basic functions of the smartphone. The device turns into a black and white dialer and nothing more.

Software capabilities

As always, various special chips are sewn into the system. Many have known each other for a long time, and we will dwell on some in more detail.

Of course, fine tuning of the various input types is available. But the appearance and use of the keys is ill-considered. The virtual buttons are very small and difficult to hit without errors.

It's strange that with such a large display, the manufacturer installed such an uncomfortable keyboard. It may be a matter of habit, but it makes no sense to endure it when you can install a third-party solution.

S Planner

This, friends, is a calendar. The Samsung Galaxy S5 is a very mainstream product. Many will switch to this smartphone from another manufacturer, many will come across such an advanced device for the first time. And most of these people will need a calendar. And the corresponding name is simply not available in the system. You can only guess that the S Planner app replaces the usual calendar by looking at the icon. In general, a strange approach, for which new users will definitely not favor a fresh gadget.

Standard file manager Is a necessary and important gizmo on any modern device. All the necessary tools for working with files, of course, are there, but they are hidden in the drop-down menu. It is convenient when everything is at hand, but there is no such thing here.

Gestures

Chip " instant overview»Helps to flip through photos, music, a page in the browser by waving a palm over the display. The gesture sensor responds clearly and almost flawlessly. Most likely, there is no point in taking on permanent armament, but as a joke, ala to show it to friends, it will do very well. You can feel like a real Jedi.

Setting " smart pause"Works out of the ordinary. You can safely forget about this feature, at least until the next software version. Maybe the chips will still debug the work.

»Makes it possible to open a preview picture without going to it, if you hold your finger directly over the image and do not touch the screen. The gesture works correctly only in the gallery. In the video player, instead of previewing, playback starts from the point you hold your finger over.

Samsung has not forgotten about users who have small children. For this purpose, the program " Child mode", In which the smartphone loads the corresponding colorful skin. As such, the device only gives access to a limited number of preselected programs. For example, the photo application is simplified as much as possible:

It is also possible to make audio recordings, which can later be dubbed by a specially trained crocodile. You can listen to music and watch pre-loaded cartoons. There is also a simple drawing.

Exit from the mode is carried out using a password.

Along with the nursery, there is also simple mode... Its essence lies in the fact that all additional and not very important settings are hidden, and instead of the usual icons there are enlarged symbols.

Similar to the Guest Mode in the G3, Samsung has installed it on its smartphone. The number of applications that can use this scenario is limited. You just need to choose in advance and set passwords.

Remote Control

The Smart Remote utility is responsible for controlling household appliances through an infrared transmitter at the end of the smartphone. The program is arranged in a peculiar way. Instead of the standard procedure for setting up, for example, a TV, you first need to select a country, then a region, after the cable TV operator (and if there is none?) And only then, you can go to the remote control interface. The latter, by the way, never caught my 50-inch panel from Panasonic. The LG G2 and Sony Z1 Compact did not have this problem. The TV was immediately littered with smartphones. In general, a strange and inconvenient application.

Nowadays fashionable direction, within which all manufacturers are trying to come up with something of their own and teach the user to take care of their health. All basic information about user activity is collected in a beautiful aggregator application. Everything as usual. It is possible to set goals, build charts, count calories, steps, and more. Of course, not as rich in functionality as in the same Lifelog from Sony, but also quite a powerful solution.

You can install and embed third-party applications into the program itself, which will work in conjunction with the parent application and smartphone sensors.

The main feature, of course, is the ability to measure the pulse. To do this, you need to place your finger on a special window under the rear camera module, freeze, do not shake your smartphone and it is advisable not to breathe at all. Only in this case, the measurement of the heart rate is correct.

You can independently evaluate other interface elements from the screenshots below.

The iconic smartphone of last year was the Samsung S5, model SM-G900F. This device, although in appearance and strongly resembles its predecessor, but it has a number of significant differences. It is about its capabilities and characteristics that will be discussed further.

Positioning

Originally referred to premium solutions S5 SM-G900F. This is truly a flagship device. Its characteristics and parameters are relevant to this day. Although now a more advanced smartphone has appeared (we are talking about the flagship of 2015 - Samsung S6) from this Korean manufacturer, in terms of hardware and software parameters, the difference between them is not so significant. Therefore, this gadget can still be attributed to the premium segment. At the same time, its cost has significantly decreased over the past time. This nuance makes its purchase even more justified. Moreover, it will serve you for more than one year and will become a faithful assistant in solving various problems, regardless of their level of complexity.

What do we get in the box when we buy?

Although it is the flagship device of the S5, the package bundle is very modest. It includes, in addition to the battery and smartphone, the following:

• Interface cord.
• A quick start guide (it also contains a warranty card).
• Charger.

The cover, protective film and memory card will have to be purchased separately for an additional fee. The same statement applies to the speaker system. It's good if you have good headphones. If not, then we buy immediately. Moreover, to get good sound, they must have the proper quality.

Design

The S4 and S5 of the SM-G900F have a lot in common. Most of the front panel in the S5 is occupied by a 5.1-inch display, which is protected by shock-resistant Gorilla Eye glass. This device uses its third generation. Below the screen is a typical control panel, which consists of 2 touch buttons (located at the edges of the device) and one mechanical (located in the center of the panel). A fingerprint sensor is integrated into the same mechanical button. This innovation is one of the most important differences between the S4 and S5. Above the display are displayed: a front camera, distance sensors, light and gesture sensors, an LED event indicator and an earpiece. On the left is the power button of the device, and on the right is the volume control. On the bottom edge of the "smart" phone there is a hole for the spoken microphone and micro-USB format. Above are located: a port for connecting a stereo headset, a microphone for making a loud conversation. On the back cover of the gadget, there are usually the main camera, double illumination and a loud speaker. It should also be noted that the degree of protection of the case of this device is IP67. This allows it to be submerged under water to a depth of 0.5 meters and protects against possible dust penetration.

Semiconductor base

Samsung SM-G900F is based on one of the best computing platforms for mobile devices - Snapdragon 801, which is developed by the leading manufacturer of ARM chips - Qualcomm. This processor consists of 4 modified computing cores based on the Krait 400 architecture. All are manufactured using a 28nm manufacturing process and can be overclocked with peak performance up to 2.5 GHz. Now, a year after the start of sales of this gadget, there are still no devices in the middle segment whose performance level would match the computing capabilities of this chip. The Snapdragon 801 can handle almost any task today without any problems. The only thing he will definitely have problems with is new 64-bit applications. All of its main registers can handle only 32 bits per clock cycle. Hence the possible problems with the new software. But so far there are not so many such applications, and the transition process itself is not going so quickly.

Screen

The S5 SM-G900F boasts one of the finest displays in its niche. Its diagonal is an impressive 5.1 inches even by today's standards. It is made according to the technology typical for this manufacturer - "SuperAMOLED". Its resolution is 1920x1080. The image on it is displayed in the "FullHD" format. The screen, as noted earlier, is protected by a special third-generation Gorilla Eye shock-resistant glass. The image quality on this screen raises no objections. Individual pixels on it without special devices are almost impossible to distinguish with an ordinary eye.

Graphics accelerator

The developers did not forget to equip the graphics accelerator SM-G900F. Galaxy devices are not always equipped with this component. This device has "Adreno 330" installed. This video card even now belongs to the top-end. If we add to this the relatively low resolution of the display in 1920 × 1080, then in general there are no problems with the processing of graphic information. This is quite enough for solving the most resource-intensive tasks today. The only problem might be handling new programs that are optimized to run 64-bit applications. They were already developed for the new "hardware" and will definitely not work on this graphics accelerator. So far, there is very little such software, and the process itself, as already mentioned, is rather slow.

Cameras

The highlights of your life can be easily captured digitally with the main camera in the SM-G900F. It is based on a 16 megapixel sensor. There are many modes of its operation at the software level. All this makes it possible to obtain sufficiently high-quality images in almost any situation. There's also an autofocus system and, of course, a dual LED backlight. With video recording, this camera is also doing great. It can record video in 2160 p format with a refresh rate of 30 images per second. There is also the possibility of recording in 1080 p, but in this case the number of images will double and amount to 60 frames per second. The sensor of the front camera is more modest - 2 megapixels. This will be enough for making video calls. But the "selfies" obtained with its help will be of average quality.

Memory

The capacity of the integrated storage is identical for all Samsung SM-G900F devices - 16Gb. At the same time, part of it is occupied by pre-installed software, and about 11.5 GB is allocated for the needs of the user. With reasonable use, this should be enough for comfortable work on this device and there will be no shortage of free space. If the built-in Samsung Galaxy SM-G900F 16Gb is not enough for you, then you can increase the amount of memory using an external flash card. The necessary slot is in this device and the maximum capacity of the external storage in this case can reach 128 GB. The RAM in this gadget is 2 GB. Of these, about half (that is, 1 GB) is used immediately by system processes. The rest of the RAM is allocated to the user to run his applications.

The battery of the gadget and its autonomy

The indisputable advantage of the Samsung SM - G900 F is its autonomy. The device is equipped with a removable 2800 mAh battery. We add to this a 5.1-inch screen with a resolution of 1920 × 1080, as well as a productive, but no less energy-efficient processor, and we get 2-3 days of battery life with an average load. If you watch a FullHD video or play a demanding toy, then the specified value will be reduced to 12 hours. You can, of course, use this device to a minimum, and in this case you can count on 4 days of battery life. But at the same time, the smartphone will turn into an ordinary "dialer" and will only be able to make calls and send and receive short text messages.

Data exchange

The S5 SM-G900F boasts a complete list of interfaces required for comfortable operation. Everything is here.

• The presence of two built-in Wi-Fi transmitters at once allows you to count on 300 Mbit / s if you have an appropriate router. Built-in support for the latest version of "Wi-Fi" - "ac". Also, the developers have not forgotten about its rather old modification - "a", which is still found on various types of devices. As a result, downloading large amounts of information to this smartphone using this wireless interface should definitely not be a problem.
• This smartphone can function in almost all modern mobile networks. There is support for GSM (in them the speed is limited to 500 kb / s), HSDPA (in such 3G networks, the speed can theoretically reach 42 Mbit / s) and LTE (in this case, the speed will be higher and can reach 150 Mbit / s.) ...
• There is also "Bluetooth" in the gadget. This transmitter allows you to output an audio signal to the system. Also, using it, you can exchange small photos or videos with similar smartphones. In some cases, it is also possible to synchronize with a PC using "Bluetooth".
• Using the infrared port installed in this smartphone and special software, it can be easily turned into a remote control for a music center, DVD player or TV.
• This gadget supports two navigation systems at once: domestic "GLONASS" and international GPS. With their help, this "smart" phone can be easily turned into a full-fledged navigator.
• Another important wireless interface is NFC. Its presence allows you to transmit and receive large amounts of information from similar devices in a matter of minutes.
• There are only two wired methods of transferring information in this device: 3.5 mm audio jack and microUSB.

Software

Initially, the Samsung Galaxy SM-G900F runs on an operating system such as Android 4.4. An update to version 5.0 is available since March this year. Therefore, the first time you connect to the World Wide Web, you can update the system software. A typical shell for this line of devices is installed on top of the operating system - TouchWiz UI. It is with the help of the last software component that the user in a matter of minutes can optimize the interface of this gadget to fit his needs. As for the rest, the set of pre-installed software is standard: social clients, a set of mini-applications from Google and the usual set of programs built directly into the operating system itself.

The price of a "smart" phone today

The price of the Samsung S5 SM-G900F starts in dollars for the black variant. The rest of its modifications - in white, gold and blue cases - cost approximately the same at the moment: from $ 430. For comparison, we can cite last year's flagship from Sony - Xperia Z3. With fairly similar technical parameters, it will cost significantly more - $ 460. Accordingly, the starting price of $ 400 makes the purchase of this device really justified. At the same time, you get a really high-quality and functional device.

Owners about smartphone

Be that as it may, the main disadvantage, according to most owners of the Galaxy S5 SM-G900F, is 16Gb of built-in storage, of which the user can only count on 11.5 GB. This issue can be easily and simply solved by installing an external flash card. It is, of course, not included in the package and will have to be purchased separately. Otherwise, this gadget boasts an impressive list of advantages:

• Protected from moisture and dust.
• Great and flawless main camera.
• A very powerful hardware platform.
• Not a bad degree of autonomy of the device.
• An impressive set of supported interfaces.

Outcomes

The SM-G900F boasts an ideal combination of price and quality. It has everything for convenient and comfortable work, and its characteristics will be relevant for more than one year. All this makes its purchase even now, after a year from the start of sales, quite justified.

Contents of delivery:

• Telephone
• Charger with USB cable
• Instructions
• Wired stereo headset

Positioning

A parity situation has arisen on the world market - de facto, the market was divided by two players, Apple and Samsung. Each company has its own flagship, for Apple this is actually the only product - the iPhone, in the calculation of the old models or the iPhone 5c, which appeared in 2013, you can not take. For Samsung, the range of products is significantly larger, but the main focus is on the Galaxy S, which is the best-selling phone that rivals the iPhone. In 2013, sales of the Galaxy S4 came close to the iPhone 5, in some countries they even exceeded the iPhone by several months, but then a new model came out, and everything returned to square one. Samsung rightly believes that the Galaxy S4 has become a successful product, although dreams that its sales will exceed those of the iPhone did not come true. Moreover, the potential of this device is very high, until today its versions are being released that will live on the market for at least another year and a half. And then Samsung fell into exactly the same trap as Apple before them - the previous models began to look more attractive than the new ones. Let me remind you that with the release of the iPhone 5 and the new version of iOS 7, many people suddenly began to buy the iPhone 4s, since the design of this device, its characteristics seemed to them better. There was no difference in the quality and size of the screen, there were no significant, big differences either. This happened for the first time for Apple, when the old model, unexpectedly after the release of the new one, did not become a niche, but occupied up to half of the sales.

For Samsung, Apple's model is not quite suitable, it is difficult to draw direct parallels - so after the release of S4, sales of S3 remained high and noticeable, but these were products of completely different price classes. Unlike Apple, Samsung's flagships are constantly getting cheaper throughout the year, with a total loss of 33 percent in initial value. Therefore, it will not be possible to shift the situation to Apple, the companies are in different positions. But it's safe to say that the Galaxy S5 tried to keep all the features of the previous device, as well as not make it a competitor to the Note 3, plus keep sales of all S4 variants. Despite all the public announcements, sales plans and the like, we can safely say that the Galaxy S5, despite its flagship status, does not play such a role for Samsung. Perhaps this is due to the release of an older version of the device, the presence of which is denied in the company, or the release of Note 4 in September, to which the focus is gradually shifting. Of course, the sales volume of this model will be at least at the S4 level, possibly 10-15 percent higher. But sales will be boosted by the cheaper S4 variants, the bet is on them, as well as the Note line. This happened for the first time and looks like a deliberate decision, from which all the characteristics of the flagship follow.

For the first time in the Galaxy S5, the technical characteristics do not exceed those for the Note line model, in our case it is Note 3. Formally, we can talk about an improved camera, but it does not offer any striking differences in the quality of photos, the processor is about the same performance, the amount of memory, including the RAM, less in S5. These are clearly products of different classes, and Note 3 looks very advantageous against the background of S5, it was clearly breathed a second life with this announcement.

For the buyer, this means that the purchase of the Galaxy S5 is not at all as profitable as it might seem at first glance, since its alternatives look extremely attractive and interesting. First of all, this is Galaxy S4, secondly - Note 3. It is curious that there is almost no reason for choosing the S5 in front of these devices - all these reasons are insignificant, and their combination will not be an outweighing factor for the majority. While it is possible that many consumers will change their phones by inertia, this group of buyers has remained unchanged for many years. As an unclear factor remains the release date of the new iPhone, if it takes place in the summer, it will have an impact on the choice of many people. It is also obvious that by increasing the screen size, Apple will eliminate one of the most serious complaints about these smartphones. These factors will certainly have an impact on the S5's sales and choices.

Many software chips from the Galaxy S5 may not come to the previous models, not because of the possibility of their implementation, but for purely marketing reasons, it is necessary to show the difference in the devices, to draw attention to the new product.

An interesting question is whether it is worth changing the Galaxy S4 to the S5. Such a replacement will be pleasant (faster device, better camera, there are different chips), but you won't notice much difference. Although there is still a certain sense in this. But replacing Note 3 with Galaxy S5, in my opinion, definitely makes no sense, these are products of different classes. However, let's take a look at what the S5 is.

Design, dimensions, controls

Samsung tries not to experiment with the design of its devices, it remains unchanged from year to year. While testing the Galaxy S4 Black and S5 for the duration of the work, I kept confusing which phone was in front of me. It is almost impossible to distinguish them from the front panel at a cursory glance. You will be able to do this much better from the pictures, but in life they are completely similar - even slightly different sizes are not striking.

The phone measures 142x72.5x8.1 mm and weighs 145 grams. Let me remind you that the S4 had these parameters 136.6x69.8x7.9 mm, 130 grams. Slightly higher, slightly wider. In the hand, the difference is not felt in any way, exactly the same grip - it fits easily in any pocket.

Samsung Galaxy S5 and Samsung Galaxy S4

Designers have come off on the back cover of the device - it has a skin-like structure, with uniform dots applied to the surface. Initially offered in 4 different colors.

Two years ago, I had an X-Drago Dash Dot case that had almost the same design as what the back looks like in the S5.

I cannot recall a case when a manufacturer would have copied someone else's case when creating his flagship. This is another indicator of the crisis of ideas that is on the market - the same solutions are chewed by many companies.

The sensation from the back cover is strange, it is a little oily, as if soaked in some kind of solution. When you hold the device in your hands, your fingers begin to sweat on this lid (it is possible that this is an individual reaction of my body, but others also noted this after asking a question about their feelings).

Another characteristic feature is the warning that it is necessary to tightly close the cover of the charging connector, it appears after each charge. There are no sensors here, just common sense, suggesting that to charge the device, you opened the connector. Also, after opening the case, you are asked to check its tightness.

On the left side surface is the volume rocker, on the right - the on / off button. At the top there is a 3.5 headphone jack, it is moved to the right (on the S4 on the left and next to the second microphone), this is done so that the microphone is not blocked when the headphones are on. There is also an IrDA window.

Samsung Galaxy S5 and Apple iPhone 5S

Samsung Galaxy S5 and Samsung Galaxy Note 3

Above the screen, you can see a 2MP front-facing camera as well as a proximity sensor. The physical key under the screen is adjacent to two touch-sensitive buttons - everything is unchanged here, except that the assignment of the keys has changed in accordance with how it is done in KitKat.

Display

Perhaps this is the biggest disappointment - for the first time Samsung decided not to increase the screen resolution for its flagship, but only slightly increase the diagonal - now it is 5.1 inches at a resolution of 1080x1920 pixels (432 dpi, in the S4 - 441 dpi). It is impossible to see individual pixels of the screen, the resolution of the human eye does not allow this. There are no barriers for superhumans, and they see pixelation even on this device. Screen type SuperAMOLED, displays up to 16 million colors.

One of the user's misconceptions is that Super AMOLED screens are too bright, saturated and unnatural. In the screen settings, you can choose any display option, including those typical for screens from other manufacturers (dimmer, natural colors). It is interesting that the screens of other manufacturers give the maximum possible, and it is impossible to make them brighter, more contrasting, and the colors richer. At Samsung, the flexibility is maximized.

Just like the S4, there is an "Optimize Display" option. This is the most interesting setting, since the device analyzes the level of illumination around and, depending on the conditions, sets the contrast, brightness, plus adjusts the colors on the screen. It turns out that white looks white in almost all conditions. Another setting is "Professional photography" (formerly called Adobe RGB), but it has almost no effect on the image display quality, the latter does not change noticeably compared to other settings (I was not able to notice this).

The screen looks great in the sun, there are no problems, the readability has increased a little, this is due to the change in the screen itself, which I would like to say separately. So, for the first time testing the video playback time on this device and the S4 Black Edition at maximum screen backlighting, I noticed the white backlighting on the S5, the picture looked much worse. This was a clear step backward.

After playing with the settings, I discovered a rather funny thing - the picture quality is excellent and completely comparable to the S4 with automatic backlighting (default setting), but an attempt to turn the brightness up instantly leads to negative consequences. Also, the quality of the Adaptive Display is such that it is focused on the power saving mode, the colors are muted. To get a picture like on the S4, you should choose one of the other display modes.

With brightness, everything became clear in the sun, with automatic adjustment, it turns up in these conditions, readability in direct sunlight increases dramatically. Although I could not notice much difference in Moscow with the same Note 3 (Samsung Galaxy S5 in the photos above).

I have a strong feeling that the default settings are in favor of some scenario in which people want not very bright, muted colors and medium backlighting - plus it saves battery. You should choose these parameters for yourself.

And here are some pictures of the comparison of the screen with the S4. Let me remind you that the screen in the S4 was and remains the best on the market, in the S4 review there was a large comparison of displays, the situation has not changed in a year.

Comparison with Samsung Galaxy S4, Samsung Galaxy S5 below:

Comparison with Samsung Galaxy S4, Samsung Galaxy S5 from above:

Fingerprint scanner

The feature is quite curious and appeared in response to the fingerprint scanner in the iPhone 5s, where you need to put your finger on the button. Unlike Apple's implementation, in the S5 you just need to swipe in the center of the screen and touch the center key. In the settings, you can register up to 3 prints, it is very inconvenient to hold the phone with one hand, holding the phone with it. Someone, perhaps, will trick it, and it will work out, but it does not work out for me - therefore, only with two hands. Apple only has one hand - and the device itself is smaller.

The scanner almost always works perfectly, detects the fingerprint quickly and unlocks the phone. During operation, several times I saw a message that the surface of the device is wet, I was asked to wipe it. Apparently, a sensor is involved here, which is already in the S4 and measures the ambient temperature and humidity.

It is difficult to say anything special about the scanner, everything works and does not cause any complaints.

Battery and power saving modes

The phone has a 2800 mAh Li-Ion battery (the S4 has 2600 mAh), the manufacturer specifies for the device up to 390 hours of standby time, up to 21 hours of talk time, as well as up to 10 hours of watching videos and about 45 hours of listening to music. ... Out of touch with reality, these results are impressive, but you and I know very well that in practice, most Android smartphones do not live so long and show completely different results.

Before discussing the operating time of the device, let me remind you that initially only the S5 version, built on the Qualcomm chipset, appears on the market, the Exynos version will be later - therefore, we are talking only about this version of the phone. But there shouldn't be much difference.

Samsung Galaxy S4 and Samsung Galaxy S5

So, the easiest way was to take the same FullHD movie in X.264 and see how long the Galaxy S4 can play it (I took the Black Edition version on Qualcomm). Video playback software - MX Player, no hardware decoding. The result with maximum screen brightness, mute and offline mode turned out to be typical - about 9.5 hours.

For most modern smartphones, this is an unattainable result, for example, MTK devices play a similar video for about 4-5 hours (with a comparable battery capacity). Testing the S5 revealed a curious moment - the device worked for about 12 hours and 40 minutes. Unfortunately, during the playback, it went to the main menu once, so it was necessary to restart the playback - but the impact of this incident is minimal, it can be ignored, since the screen time shows how long the video has been spinning.

Many people are impressed by the “naked” numbers, but how often do we watch videos non-stop and do not use other features? Of course, not often, because the phone is a universal harvester, in which we use literally all the possibilities. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate in aggregate how the battery works, how long it allows the phone to last. Here we can say that the S5 does not differ much from the S4, the operating time is comparable - with heavy use of the device, it will sit down by about lunchtime (3-4 hours of screen operation and a couple of GB of data). With not very strong exploitation, it will be able to live until the evening. Unfortunately, I did not manage to notice much difference from the S4, the device definitely loses to the same Note 3, which remains the record holder in terms of energy consumption at the moment and calmly lives up to the evening with any use profile.

However, in the phone's settings, two more power saving modes were added to the existing power saving modes, and they also created a quick power button for them. There is a usual power saving mode, in which you can limit the background work of applications, enable gray colors for the screen (for AMOLED this is a chip - gray color consumes almost no energy). Moreover, in the gray scale, you can work almost everywhere, even watch a video - but it will be gray, which is not very pleasant and convenient.

I was interested to see if you can live a whole day in this power consumption mode. I managed it calmly, we can say that the device will last for two days, but it won't give you pleasure. It is unlikely that there are people who will use the screen in such a color scheme. There is also another limitation - in Whatsapp and other programs that use a background connection, work stops, you stop receiving messages. For social networks that Samsung and the SNS program know, as well as with the access permissions obtained on the phone (Facebook, Instagram, 4square, Twitter), you receive push messages from the Samsung service. That is, the power saving mode also has a software feature - instead of push messages from different services / programs, they come in a certain interval from only one. This interval cannot be configured, all settings are hidden from the user. Look at the graphs of using the phone in this mode.

This saver mode is good when you run out of battery, but you need all the features of your phone. Then, on 10 percent of the charge, you can safely live for about two hours, practically denying yourself nothing. Two hours is an active use of the device, just in your pocket it can live much longer.

In the early firmware of the device, the startup widget for the power saving mode showed the approximate operating time in two modes - normal and maximum. The first mode has been removed for the commercial version, it can be activated from the menu, but you cannot see the estimated operating time.

The maximum mode of limiting power consumption cuts almost everything, with 35 percent of the battery charge the phone will be able to work in standby mode for at least 4 days. But, of course, it all depends on how you use it. The gray scale also turns on, but all communications are cut off, the list of running applications is limited only to those that you allowed, all background processes are turned off. This is a very deeply revised procedure, since many system functions are disabled, you will not be able to take a screenshot in this mode, many built-in options will be unavailable (but you do not need them).

I liked this mode because when the battery runs out, activating this mode with one touch, you can safely live until the evening - SMS and voice will be available to you.

The bottom line is that we have a fairly typical and gluttonous Android, which, however, works quite comparable to the iPhone 5s on the same tasks. To avoid unnecessary disputes and battles, I want to emphasize that each of us has our own set of applications, work profile, backlight brightness, and so on. The phone, which will work for one person for two days, will sit down for another person for lunch. Therefore, it is not worth giving the operating schedules of your devices, they do not say anything at all, it is necessary to compare the devices simultaneously, with the same load. For S5, you should focus on a full day of work, taking into account the fact that you will use certain energy saving chips, without denying, however, all the pleasures of this device.

Camera

A separate material is devoted to the camera, in which you can find out everything that is possible about it.

Hardware platform, memory, performance

The phone uses the Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8974AC chipset, also called the Snapdragon 801. This is the fastest chipset from Qualcomm at the moment, its previous version MSM8974AB was used in a device like the LG G2. Quad-core processor, maximum frequency 2.45 GHz, graphics coprocessor clocked at 578 MHz (previously 450 MHz). Also, the LPDDR3 memory bus frequency was overclocked - from 800 to 933 MHz. In many ways, this is exactly what gives an increase in productivity.

The amount of RAM is 2 GB (after downloading, half is free), built-in memory is 16 GB (there is a 32 GB version, but it is unlikely that it will be widely available on the market). The amount of memory occupied by programs is about 4 GB. Memory card - up to 64 GB.

In synthetic tests, the device shows excellent results, outperforming the same Note 3, despite the smaller amount of RAM.

Before the commercial firmware appeared, the performance was lower, the device was outperforming the Note 3. Now it is slightly higher in performance. But these are synthetic tests that are of interest to fans of virtual parrots. For them - a few more tests.

In everyday life, the speed of the device is excellent. The interface is extremely responsive and fast. Those who know how to see the brakes will see them everywhere - but at the moment this is one of the fastest devices. There is no difference with the iPhone 5s in terms of operating speed.

USB, Bluetooth, communication capabilities

Bluetooth... Bluetooth version 4.0 (LE). When transferring files to other devices that support this technology, Wi-Fi 802.11 n is used, and the theoretical transfer speed is about 24 Mbps. Testing the transfer of a 1 GB file showed a maximum speed of about 12 Mbps within three meters between devices.

The model supports various profiles, in particular Headset, Handsfree, Serial Port, Dial Up Networking, File Transfer, Object Push, Basic Printing, SIM Access, A2DP. Working with headsets does not raise any questions, everything is commonplace.

USB connection... In Android 4, for some reason, they abandoned the USB Mass Storage mode, leaving only MTP (there is also a PTP mode).

The USB version is 3, the data transfer rate is about 50 Mb / s.

When connected via USB, the device recharges.

The microUSB connector also supports the MHL standard, which means that using a special cable (available from electronics stores), you can connect your phone to a TV (to the HDMI output). In fact, the standard describes the ability to connect via microUSB to HDMI. This solution looks preferable to a separate miniHDMI connector on the case.

The maximum data transfer rate in LTE is 150 Mbps.

Wi-Fi... Supports 802.11 a / b / g / n / ac standard, the wizard is similar to that for Bluetooth. You can remember the selected networks, automatically connect to them. It is possible to set up a connection to the router with one touch, for this you need to press a button on the router, and also activate a similar button in the device menu (WPA SecureEasySetup). Of the additional options, it is worth noting the setup wizard, it appears when the signal is weak or disappearing. You can also configure Wi-Fi to work on a schedule.

Also, for the 802.11 n standard, the HT40 operating mode is supported, which allows you to double the Wi-Fi bandwidth (requires support from another device).

Wi-Fi Direct... A protocol that aims to replace Bluetooth or compete with its third version (it also uses Wi-Fi version n to transfer large files). In the Wi-Fi settings menu, select the Wi-Fi Direct section, the phone starts looking for devices around. We select the desired device, activate the connection on it, and voila. Now, in the file manager, you can view files on another device, as well as transfer them. Another option is to simply find the devices connected to your router and transfer the necessary files to them, this can be done from the gallery or other sections of the phone. The main thing is that the device supports Wi-Fi Direct.

NFC... The handset has NFC technology, which can be used with various additional applications.

S Beam... A technology that allows you to transfer a file of several gigabytes to another phone in a few minutes. In fact, we see in the S Beam a combination of two technologies - NFC and Wi-Fi Direct. The first technology is used to bring up and authorize phones, but the second is already used to transfer the files themselves. A creatively redesigned way of using Wi-Fi Direct is much easier than using a dual-device connection, file selection, and so on.

Infrared port... It is necessary to use the phone as a control panel for various household appliances. Automatically adjusts for almost any vehicle model.

Software features - some chips and kids mode, S Health

I described all the features of the new version of TouchWiz, preinstalled programs and all the new features in a separate and voluminous article. This is done on purpose so as not to be repeated here.

The Galaxy S5 puts a lot of emphasis on new modes of operation for people with impaired motor coordination, hearing or vision impairments. In terms of a set of built-in capabilities, this is one of the most powerful models, along with the technology from Apple. But usually during the test you skip this menu (it appears at the first boot), and then you do not go there. However, another non-trivial function has appeared in it, this is a baby monitor. You can put the phone next to your baby, and then he will catch his cry, and then the camera flashes will inform you about it. Since my children have already grown up, I could not test this function in practice. The phone does not respond to the recorded crying of the baby, and if you want to see how Murtazin howls, then watch the video below - this device also did not respond to my howl. This does not mean that the baby monitor is not working, but most likely it is useless.

Another interesting hardware "trick" is download acceleration: Galaxy S5 can simultaneously download data via Wi-Fi and LTE, increasing the speed. This works if the remote server supports multithreading of files from an arbitrary location. But since there are no completely unlimited tariffs with LTE in our country, you need to use Download Booster with great care: the speed gain will be noticeable only when downloading large files, and they will quickly use up the available gigabytes.

Display

The Galaxy S5's display has grown to 5.1-inches, while the body has also increased compared to the S4 - thicker bezels had to be made due to the water resistance. This is a FullHD matrix made, as you might guess, using Super AMOLED technology with Pentile (reduced number of green subpixels). Pentile is clearly visible by its peculiar moiré in light areas. However, if you do not look at the screen and do not know about Pentile, then you can hardly notice anything: the color saturation and the highest contrast are more likely to strike your eyes.

The screen remains well readable even in direct sunlight: at the same time, according to a special algorithm, the colors change: they become completely unnatural, but the contrast increases even more. And this is the most important thing: it is important to see at least something in such a situation, and not to try to process the photo for printing.

Software

On top of Android 4.4, the proprietary Samsung TouchWiz shell is installed, which, no matter how scolded it, does not greatly change the logic of the interface of the operating system itself. Unlike the "bare" Android, there are a lot of improvements here. The most interesting of them are familiar from the Galaxy S4 - for example, the eye tracking function: while you look at the screen, it does not turn off.

There is a multi-window mode: for example, you can split the screen into two parts and display data from different applications in them: browser and email client, YouTube, Hangouts, and so on.