Detailed testing of one of the most anticipated smartphones of the new season
Of course, one of the most anticipated and anticipated new products among mobile devices of the coming year is the next update of the flagship line of Samsung smartphones - Galaxy S5. The novelty does not need a special introduction - in recent years, the Korean company Samsung Electronics has managed not only to become scandalously famous due to countless litigations with the competing American Apple, but also to occupy one of the leading places in the world market for the sale of tablets, and, of course , smartphones.
Left to right: Samsung Galaxy Note 3, Galaxy S5, Galaxy S4, Apple iPhone 5s
By the way, in recent years, Koreans have firmly taught users that Samsung always has two flagship smartphones on the market at the same time. They are representatives of two top product lines moving in parallel courses - Galaxy Note and Galaxy S. Not so long ago, another update of the tablet phone line happened - the Samsung Note 3 smartphone, which we wrote about so much, went on sale. Now the turn has come to update a series of smartphones with a more "civilized" design.
Samsung Galaxy S5 and Galaxy S4
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Smartphones of the Galaxy S series have always been very different from their half-tablet counterparts from the Note line precisely in size - they were quite elegant devices in terms of dimensions. However, with the release of the Galaxy S5, admittedly, the distance between them is shrinking more and more. Moreover, not only the sizes of each successive representative of the Galaxy S line are getting larger, but in the Note line they are consistently decreasing. Galaxy Note 3 has become the smallest among its brothers, and Galaxy S5, on the contrary, has acquired such large dimensions that it is time to think about: what, in fact, is the difference between the modern representatives of the two lines? Their performance is absolutely the same, the design is similar, the price is the same, and we have already mentioned the dimensions. Does the only difference now lie in the presence or absence of an electronic pen?
Samsung Galaxy S5 and Galaxy Note 3
In any case, you should not expect a special technological breakthrough from the new flagship of the Galaxy S line. New technological discoveries have not yet been made, but everything that has been discovered has already been implemented, and now they are refining, finishing, polishing - improving functionality. And we are talking not only about Samsung devices - the whole market is now waiting for something new. This, by the way, is clearly seen in the example of the last two world IT exhibitions that took place at the beginning of the year in Las Vegas and Barcelona. The products of the Korean company are no exception: hardware and technology, the new flagship does not differ much from the previous one (Samsung Galaxy S4) - now the focus is on improving functionality. Super-fast data transfer capabilities, an updated camera control interface, a wide range of fitness apps, a heart rate monitor, a fingerprint reader, and agreements with the world's leading content and service providers to pre-install a variety of applications with a long-term prepaid subscription - that's it. , which is now working at Samsung. Gigabytes and gigahertz somehow suddenly faded into the background, which is probably for the best. Surprisingly, the Koreans did not even add RAM to their new flagship - the Galaxy S5 still has 2 GB of RAM, although the new item still has some changes in hardware.
Main characteristics of Samsung Galaxy S5 (model SM-G900F)
| Samsung Galaxy S5 | LG G2 | TCL Idol X + | Lenovo Vibe Z (K910) | Samsung Galaxy Note 3 (N9005) | |
| Screen | 5.1 ″, Super AMOLED | 5.2 ″, IPS | 5 ″, IPS | 5.5 ″, IPS | 5.7 ″ Super AMOLED |
| Resolution | 1920 × 1080, 432 ppi | 1920 × 1080, 424 ppi | 1920 × 1080, 440 ppi | 1920 × 1080, 400 ppi | 1920 × 1080, 386 ppi |
| SoC | Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 (4-core Krait 400) @ 2.5 GHz | MediaTek MT6592 (8 cores ARM Cortex-A7) @ 2.0 GHz | Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 (Quad Core Krait 400) @ 2.2 GHz | Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 (Quad Core Krait 400) @ 2.2 GHz | |
| GPU | Adreno 330 | Adreno 330 | Mali 450MP4 | Adreno 330 | Adreno 330 |
| RAM | 2 GB | 2 GB | 2 GB | 2 GB | 3 GB |
| Flash memory | 16 GB | 16/32 GB | 16 GB | 16 GB | 16-64 GB |
| Memory card support | microSD | — | — | — | microSD |
| operating system | Google Android 4.4 | Google Android 4.2 | Google Android 4.2 | Google Android 4.2 | Google Android 4.3 |
| Battery | removable, 2800 mAh | non-removable, 3000 mAh | non-removable, 2500 mAh | non-removable, 3050 mAh | removable, 3200 mAh |
| Cameras | rear (16 Mp; 4K video), front (2 Mp) | rear (13 Mp; video 1080p), front (2 Mp) | rear (13 Mp; video 1080p), front (5 Mp, video 1080p) | rear (13 Mp; video 4K), front (2 Mp, video 1080p) | |
| Dimensions | 142 x 73 x 8.1 mm, 145 g | 139 x 71 x 8.9mm, 143g | 140 x 69 x 7.9 mm, 120 g | 149 x 77 x 7.9 mm, 147 g | 151 x 79 x 8.3mm, 168g |
| average price | T-10725078 | T-10505130 | T-10632117 | T-10516952 | T-10545574 |
| Samsung Galaxy S5 offers | L-10725078-10 | ||||
- SoC Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 (MSM8974AC), 4-core Krait 400, 2.5 GHz
- GPU Adreno 330, 578 MHz
- Operating system Android 4.4.2 Kitkat
- Super AMOLED touchscreen display, 5.1 ″, 1920 × 1080, 432 ppi
- Random access memory (RAM) 2 GB, internal memory 16 GB
- Support for microSD memory cards up to 128 GB
- 2G, 3G, 4G networks (LTE Cat.4, up to 150/50 Mbps)
- Bluetooth 4.0 BLE / ANT +
- USB 3.0, OTG, MHL
- Wi-Fi 802.11a / b / g / n / ac HT80, MIMO (2 × 2), Wi-Fi hotspot
- NFC, infrared
- GPS (A-GPS), Glonass
- Camera 16 MP, autofocus, LED flash, video UHD (4K) 30 frames / s
- Camera 2 MP (front)
- Accelerometer, gyroscope, distance sensor, compass, barometer, Hall sensor (magnetic field), light, gesture (infrared), fingerprint sensor, heart rate sensor
- Dust and moisture resistant to IP67
- Li-ion battery 2800 mAh
- Dimensions 142 x 72.5 x 8.1 mm
- Weight 145 g
Appearance and usability
As already mentioned, the new model of the Galaxy S series has become significantly larger in size than the previous one. It feels like the smartphone has finally crossed that invisible line called "a little more, and there will be too much": now the device has become really bulky and surprisingly heavy. For the breast pocket of a shirt, for example, this is now certainly an inaccessible guest, although, of course, people who have firmly decided to follow their life path with a shovel at the ready will not feel anything unusual in the size of the new Galaxy S. It is still smaller than the Galaxy Note 3, although the difference is already minimal. Nevertheless, it is still not clear why it was necessary to make the new model so much larger than the previous one with practically identical screens. In the Galaxy S4, the side frames, for example, are only 3 mm wide, while in the Galaxy S5 they suddenly grew to 4 mm, the same applies to the upper and lower parts of the frame - they also suddenly became much wider, although the screen itself is practically not in size has changed.
As for the appearance, here the developers clearly adhere to a single design line: metal and leather, leather and metal - they are now used in all mobile devices of the company (including numerous wearable gadgets). The only pity is that at the sky-high prices at which the current flagships are sold, the company was greedy to provide real leather - maybe then these devices would look really stylish. But no, as in previous times, ordinary molded plastic is used here to create the appearance that the back of the smartphone is made of leather. The texturing on the plastic differs from that of the Galaxy Note 3: here they used a kind of pseudo-embossing, as if a pattern of numerous dots was squeezed out in the skin. Looks nice and fresh, at least better than the glossy plastic that has long adorned the surfaces of all Galaxy S and Galaxy Note.
As for the metal, it is not here either: the shiny "chrome" bezel along the entire perimeter of the case (exactly the same as in the previous models, only with a different pattern) is a spray on plastic, not real metal. This bezel, by the way, also became much wider and even thicker, adding weight to the smartphone as a whole.
The surface of the bezel is quite slippery - due to it, as well as due to the considerable mass, it is rather inconvenient to lift the device from the table surface, since the fingers do not feel a confident grip.
The back cover can be easily removed from the case and just as easy to put on - it is traditionally fixed on several plastic latches, there is a barely noticeable ledge for engaging with a fingernail. The cover hides the slots for the SIM-card and the memory card, located in a "sandwich" one above the other.
Below we have equipped a compartment for a removable battery - it supports cards, but the memory card can still be replaced with a "hot" one. The device uses only one SIM-card, Micro-SIM format, a microSD memory card can be used here up to 128 GB.
In the back of the smartphone there is a square window of the camera module, it is quite large in size, next to it there is an LED flash. Below in the recess are the eyes of the pulse sensor. The heart rate sensor camera is recessed into the body, and it also has its own backlight - a small LED element illuminates the vessels of the finger attached to the camera, while it counts heartbeats. Even below there is a hole for sound output from the calling speaker with a twig slightly curved outward, and all this is decorated with a silver chrome logo of the company.
The front panel has not undergone significant changes - it is a completely recognizable element of all Samsung mobile devices. It stands out, first of all, for its elongated mechanical key under the screen, which this time has received additional functionality. This button is also responsible for scanning a fingerprint - now no one can blame Koreans for not having a golden smartphone with a fingerprint scanner. Unlike the iPhone scanner, here you can't just put your finger on: you need to slide it along the key, and even at the right speed - if you hurry, you might fail. In this regard, the iPhone scanner looks preferable: not only you do not need to move your finger, but you can also put your finger on the button at any angle, which allows you to hold the device with any comfortable grip. In the case of the Samsung Galaxy S5 scanner, you will have to hold the device with one hand and slide the other over the sensor, which is very tedious, and most users will most likely simply turn off this function.
The touch buttons next to the mechanical one have a bright white backlight with customizable lighting times, which is commendable. Above, above the screen, you can see a longitudinal slot in the protective glass for sound output from the earpiece, next to it you can see the eyes of the front camera and sensors. There is also a notification LED, which shines in different colors depending on the charging status and incoming events - its functions can be configured: disabled or activated separately.
There are two buttons on the side faces of the device: on the left - volume control, on the right - on and off. The large metallized keys of all Samsung smartphones have a soft stroke and a distinct pressure, they are perfectly located blindly, and in general, in this regard, the products of the Korean company are one of the best on the market.
At the top, one comfortably located next to one another a headphone jack (3.5 mm) and an infrared transmitter eye, which serves to control various equipment as a remote control. The corresponding proprietary software called Smart Remote moves from model to model - of course, it is also available here. The functionality of the Smart Remote program is at its best: it is not only able to connect a smartphone using an infrared port to any equipment, but also can act as an interactive program guide.
At the bottom, the USB 3.0 connector is covered with a metallized cover with a rubber gasket - it protects the smartphone from dust and moisture getting inside. Yes, yes, the new flagship of the Galaxy S line has finally got IP67 dust and moisture protection. In principle, the previous model also had it, but there it was a separate branch of the line called Galaxy Active. Protection in the Galaxy S5 is arranged in the same way as there: a rubber seal is glued to the inner surface of the back cover, and the connectors are closed with special plugs. It's nice that every time you put on the back cover or remove the plug from the Micro-USB connector, the smartphone itself reminds you to close the protective covers (the reminder can be turned off).
And finally - about the most pleasant: now a new color has appeared in the arsenal of the Galaxy S line - golden. In addition to it, there are three more colors on sale that have already adorned Samsung's flagship devices (for example, the Galaxy S3). Traditionally, they have been given romantic names: Charcoal Black (Black), Sparkling White (White), Electric Blue (Light Blue), and Copper Gold (Golden). For additional decorations, in particular a keychain or a strap, no fasteners are provided.
Screen
The Samsung Galaxy S5 smartphone is equipped with a Super AMOLED sensor matrix. The screen dimensions are 63 × 113 mm, the diagonal is 5.1 inches, the resolution is 1920 × 1080 pixels. Such a parameter as the density of pixels per inch is here equal to 432 ppi - the density of pixels is very high.
Outside, the screen is covered with a protective glass. The thickness of the side frames from the edge of the screen to the edge of the body is about 4 mm, the frames are not very narrow, they were smaller in the previous model.
The brightness of the display can be adjusted manually, or you can use automatic adjustment. The multitouch technology here allows you to process up to 10 simultaneous touches. The screen can be operated with gloved hands, and at the same time it becomes more sensitive to any touch, so in the settings prudently left the option to disable this function. The smartphone also has a proximity sensor that locks the screen when you bring the smartphone to your ear.
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Alexey Kudryavtsev, editor of the “Monitors” and “Projectors and TV” sections, conducted a detailed examination using measuring instruments. Here is his expert opinion on the screen of the test sample.
The front surface of the screen is made in the form of a glass plate with a mirror-smooth surface, resistant to scratches. Judging by the brightness of the reflected objects, there is a very effective antiglare filter, surpassing the Google Nexus 7 (2013) (hereinafter simply the Nexus 7) screen filter in terms of reducing the reflection brightness. For clarity, here is a photo in which a white surface is reflected in the turned off screens (on the left - Nexus 7, on the right - Samsung Galaxy S5, then they can be distinguished by their size):
Due to the slight difference in the color tone of the reflection and the borders, it is difficult to visually assess the amount of decrease in the brightness of the reflection, however, statistics from the graphics editor show that the screen of the S5 is indeed slightly darker than that of the Nexus 7. The doubling of reflected objects is very weak, this indicates that there is no air gap between the layers of the screen. On the outer surface of the screen there is a special oleophobic (grease-repellent) coating (very effective, maybe a little better than the Google Nexus 7), so fingerprints are removed much easier, and appear at a slower rate than in the case of ordinary glass.
When the white field was displayed on the full screen and with manual brightness control, its maximum value was 340 cd / m², the minimum was 2 cd / m². Despite the not the highest brightness value, even in bright daylight, the smartphone can be used, since an effective anti-glare filter helps out. You also need to take into account the fact that in this case the smaller the white area on the screen, the lighter it is, that is, the actual maximum brightness of the white areas will almost always be higher than the specified value. For example, when displaying white on half of the screen, the maximum brightness when manually adjusted increases to 360 cd / m². The low brightness mode allows you to use your smartphone without any problems even in complete darkness. Automatic brightness control works according to the light sensor (it is located to the right of the front speaker). You can make adjustments to the operation of this function by moving the setting slider from −5 before +5 units. Further, for three conditions, we give the screen brightness values \u200b\u200bfor three values \u200b\u200bof this setting - for −5 , 0 and +5 ... In complete darkness in automatic mode, the brightness decreases to 4, 9 and 16 cd / m2, respectively (in general, a bit dark), in an office illuminated with artificial light (about 400 lux), the brightness is set to 100, 180 and 270 cd / m2 (acceptable ), in a brightly lit environment (corresponds to lighting on a clear day outdoors, but without direct sunlight - 20,000 lux or slightly more) - increases to 420-425 cd / m2 for all three correction values, which is more than the maximum with manual adjustment and should be enough to ensure readability in the sun. In principle, the result of this function is as expected. When the brightness decreases, modulation appears with a frequency of 240 Hz. The figure below shows the dependence of brightness (vertical axis) on time (horizontal axis) for three values \u200b\u200bof brightness adjustment:
It can be seen that at maximum brightness, modulation is practically absent (the amplitude is insufficient for visual discernibility of flicker), but at medium and low brightness, the relative amplitude of modulation is high, therefore, image flickering can be seen in the test for the presence of a stroboscopic effect or simply with fast eye movements. Depending on individual sensitivity, such flickering can cause increased fatigue.
This smartphone uses a Super AMOLED matrix - an active matrix based on organic LEDs. A full color image is created using subpixels of three colors - red (R), green (G) and blue (B), but there are twice as many green subpixels, which can be referred to as RGBG. This is confirmed by a fragment of a micrograph:
(For comparison, you can see the gallery of photomicrographs of screens used in mobile technology.)
For such matrices, Samsung has introduced the name PenTile RGBG... The manufacturer considers the screen resolution for green subpixels, for the other two it will be two times lower. The location and shape of the subpixels in this variant is the same as in the case of the Samsung Galaxy S4 screen. This PenTile RGBG version is better than the old one with red squares, blue rectangles and green subpixel stripes. However, some uneven contrast borders and other artifacts are still present. For example, when displaying a black-and-white world one pixel apart (the original can be taken from here), the vertical lines look uneven, and the horizontal ones are low-contrast and are separated not by white, but by a greenish gap. A fragment (the original photo is available at the link) of the macro photograph reveals the reason:
It can be seen that the vertical lines have a black gap and that the sum of the colors of the subpixels can be considered white, but due to the red subpixels on one side, there is some unevenness in the lines. In the case of horizontal lines, there is neither white gap (there are green subpixels), nor black (there are red and blue subpixels). However, these artifacts are of purely academic interest, since it is extremely difficult to visually distinguish such small details in a mobile environment. As a result, the resolution margin levels out the "peculiarities" of the PenTile RGBG matrix.
The screen is characterized by excellent viewing angles, although white when deflected at relatively large angles takes on a slight tint, but black is just black at all angles (although reflection from bright objects has a bluish halo more elongated horizontally, which is why there are black areas in the light may lighten slightly and acquire a "metallic" tint). So black that the contrast setting is simply not applicable in this case. The uniformity of the white field is excellent when viewed from a perpendicular view. For comparison, here are some pictures showing the same images on the screens of the Samsung Galaxy S5 and the second competitor, with the brightness of the screens set to about 210 cd / m². White field perpendicular to screens:
Excellent uniformity of brightness and color tone of the white field can be noted. And the test picture (in the Standard):
The color reproduction is clearly not bad, but despite the conventionality of the forced color balance in the camera, set at 6500 K, you can see that the colors of the S5 are clearly "colder" and have too high saturation. Now at an angle of approximately 45 degrees to the plane and to the side of the screen. White box:
The brightness at an angle on both screens has noticeably decreased (to avoid strong darkening, the shutter speed is doubled in comparison with the previous two photos), but in the case of Samsung, the drop in brightness is much less pronounced. And the test picture:
It can be seen that the colors did not "float" on all screens and the brightness of the Samsung S5 at an angle is noticeably higher.
The switching of the state of the matrix elements is performed almost instantly, but at the on (and less often off) front there may be a step (or two) 16.7 ms wide (corresponds to a screen refresh rate of 60 Hz). For example, this is how the dependence of brightness on time looks like when switching from black to a shade of 25% (by the numerical value of the color) and vice versa:
In some conditions, the presence of such a step can lead to trails trailing behind moving objects, but in normal use these artifacts are almost impossible to see. On the contrary, dynamic scenes in films on OLED screens are distinguished by high definition and even some "jerky" movements.
The ability to adjust the color rendition is implemented on the page with a choice of profiles, one of which implies some kind of automatic adjustment (profile Adapt Display):
In case one of three fixed profiles is selected, except for the profile Dynamic, built on 32 points with equal intervals by the numerical value of the shade of gray, the gamma curve did not reveal any blockage either in highlights or in shadows, and the exponent of the approximating power function is 2.28-2.30, which is slightly higher than the standard value of 2.2 , while the real gamma curve practically does not deviate from the power dependence:
For profile Dynamic The gamma curve has a slightly S-shaped character, which increases the visible contrast of the image. Recall that in the case of OLED screens, the brightness of the image fragments dynamically changes in accordance with the nature of the displayed image - decreases for light images in general and increases for dark ones. As a result, the obtained dependence of brightness on the hue (gamma curve), most likely, does not correspond a little to the gamma curve of a static image, since the measurements were carried out with sequential output of shades of gray on almost the entire screen. This dynamic picture is enhanced when the option is selected. Auto tuning screen brightness... Below are the dependences of brightness on time, obtained when switching from black to white and vice versa with the option turned off and on. Auto tuning screen brightness:
In the second case, the brightness begins to decrease after a while. The picture is slightly darkened, but the energy is saved a little.
Color gamut in case of profiles Dynamic, Standard and Professional photography very wide and almost covers Adobe RGB coverage:
When choosing a profile Cinema the coverage shrinks towards the sRGB borders, but still remains a little wider:
Without correction, the spectra of the components are very well separated:
In case of a profile Cinema with maximum correction, the color components are already slightly mixed with each other:
Note that on screens with a wide gamut, the colors of conventional images optimized for sRGB devices appear unnaturally saturated. This can be seen in the above photos. However, a visual assessment showed that when choosing a profile Cinema saturation is noticeably reduced to bring colors closer to natural. The screenshot taken after selecting this profile is shown below:
Unfortunately, the most recognizable shades - skin, for example - are still slightly oversaturated.
The gray scale balance is imperfect, but generally acceptable. Color temperature in profiles Dynamic and Standard significantly higher than 6500 K, in the other two it is close to 6500 K, while this parameter does not change very much on the gray scale from white to dark-dark gray. The deviation from the blackbody spectrum (ΔE) remains below 10 units for most of the gray scale, which is considered a good indicator for a consumer device, and also changes slightly:
(In most cases, the darkest areas of the gray scale can be ignored, since the color balance there is not very important, and the error in measuring color characteristics at low brightness is large.)
To summarize: the screen has a fairly high maximum brightness and a very effective anti-glare filter, so the smartphone can be used outdoors without any problems even on a sunny summer day. In complete darkness, the brightness can be lowered to a comfortable value. It is permissible, but in bright light, it is even recommended to use the mode with automatic brightness adjustment, which works more or less adequately. The advantages of the screen include a very good oleophobic coating and close to standard color balance (when choosing the appropriate profiles). At the same time, let's recall the general advantages of OLED screens: true black color, excellent uniformity of the white field, less than that of LCDs, a drop in image brightness when viewed from an angle. The disadvantages include the modulation of screen brightness, which appears at medium and low brightness values. Users who are particularly sensitive to flicker may experience fatigue as a result. However, the overall screen quality is very high.
Sound
In sound terms, the smartphone is about the same as the Galaxy S4. The sound is moderately bass, low frequencies are not deprived, clean in the entire range, but not so loud - there were also louder devices (HTC One or Oppo Find 5, for example). The grille for sound output is cut into the back wall here, so the sound is muffled when the device is on the table. In the conversational dynamics, the voice of a familiar interlocutor, timbre and intonation remain recognizable, it is quite comfortable to conduct telephone conversations on Samsung Galaxy S5.
The handset offers a choice of three pre-installed players for playing music: Google Play Music, Yandex.Music and Samsung's own player. All sound effects when playing melodies by a proprietary player are combined by a technology called SoundAlive - although some of them are available only with headphones connected. The same goes for the sound optimization function. There are a lot of various virtual effects, they are combined here into a matrix of squares, you can experiment for a very long time.
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Camera
Samsung Galaxy S5 is equipped with two digital camera modules with a resolution of 16 and 2 megapixels. The front one takes pictures with a maximum resolution of 1920 × 1080, with the same resolution it also shoots video.
The main rear camera is equipped with a new 16-megapixel module with ultra-fast autofocus (focusing in 0.3 s), stabilization, one-section LED flash and the ability to shoot videos in UHD resolution (4K). In addition to one trendy feature - 4K video recording - another one is used here: as in the newest Sony Xperia Z2, there is a selective focus option that allows you to highlight a certain part of the image, leaving the background blurred. That is, now you no longer need to use special lenses and lenses to create a shallow depth of field (DOF) effect.
When shooting in automatic mode, which is set by default, photos are taken at 5312 × 2988. I really liked the design and organization of the new camera control interface. Here, as in the case of the audio settings menu, everything is divided into equivalent cells, each of which is always in sight, interactive, their drawing is distinct, the entire menu is perfectly visible even in the brightest sunlight. In general, the settings menu for camera control turned out to be perhaps the best on the market in terms of ease of access to all functions and general clarity.
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The camera can shoot video in UHD (4K) resolution, there are several resolutions to choose from, up to a maximum of 3840 × 2160. In the settings, traditionally for the latest top models of the mobile market, there are also slow-motion and fast-motion modes. Examples of test videos are presented below.
- Movie # 1 (189 MB, 3840 × 2160, 4K)
- Movie # 2 (58 MB, 1920 × 1080, 1080p)
- Movie # 3 (123 MB, 3840 × 2160, 4K indoors)
- Movie # 4 (71 MB, 1280 × 720, slow motion)
- Movie # 5 (4 MB, 1920 × 1080, accelerated)
Examples of photos with our comments are presented below.
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The image sharpness is good. |
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Sharpness is also good across the frame. |
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Small details are worked out well enough. |
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The camera does not do so well in backlighting, but the exposure is good. |
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On thin lines, you can see small waves from the noise reduction - but only on closer inspection. |
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In low light, you can see the noise - however, relatively small. |
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The camera handles noise in the shadows well. True, the detailing suffers a little from this. |
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Macro in low light is good for the camera, but it is worth using the stop because of the relatively long shutter speeds. |
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In good light, the camera does well in macro photography. |
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Another example of a good macro. |
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The text is well done, but slightly damaged. However, it is possible that the camera works more accurately with smaller text. |
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Panorama stitching is almost perfect. Only dynamic objects suffer, which is quite natural. |
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Illumination ≈1300 lux. The camera is doing very well. |
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Illumination ≈460 lux. The situation remains practically unchanged. |
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Illumination ≈240 lux. Noises become noticeable, especially their processing. |
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Illumination ≈240 lux, flash. The flash noticeably improves the situation, almost returning the original resolution. |
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Lighting<1 люкс. В темноте камера не справляется. |
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Lighting<1 люкс, вспышка. И в темноте вспышка отрабатывает очень хорошо. |
First of all, it is worth noting that now the camera has a 1 / 2.6 ″ sensor, and not just a higher resolution, while earlier smartphone cameras were awarded only 1/3 ″ matrixes (excluding Nokia), or even less. until Sony decided to install a 1 / 2.3 ″ sensor in the Xperia Z1. So Samsung, following Sony, began a slow but steady movement towards improving image quality. And, I must say, the result is already visible to an inquisitive eye.
First of all, good work with noise is already visible. Their processing still leaves much to be desired, but if you do not consider the images pixel by pixel, then noticeable strong color noise in the shadows is practically not visible. Of course, this is the result of the noise reduction, but the higher resolution allows it to work more subtly, and the increased size of the sensor slightly reduces the likelihood of strong noise. Of course, we will not indulge in arguments about the pixel size (similar to HTC) and the allegedly resulting camera qualities, but the increase in the sensor definitely bears fruit. Secondly, the image detail has improved, which is also the merit of a higher resolution and an enlarged sensor.
I would like Samsung to refine the noise reduction, then the camera can already be compared with ordinary compacts. Although even without this, she shows herself very worthily, and it is clear that they have worked hard on her. The camera optics work fairly smoothly across the entire field of the frame and on all shots. Of course, it would be strange to see flaws in the flagship in such places, but we have already encountered this. Sharping can only be found if you know where to look. The only thing that really cannot be called ideal is the work of the noise control - such a processing result looks very archaic in the images of a modern flagship.
Based on the results of shooting the stand, we can conclude that the actual resolution of the images is probably not the highest, but we have already mentioned that in this case this is far from the main characteristic, especially in the vicinity of such values, since the resolution can be high, but at the same time not quite natural. Nevertheless, the camera resolution is quite decent. It is also worth noting the good work of the flash, and the sensor, which works out quite stably in different lighting conditions.
In general, the camera is made very decently, almost at the level of compact cameras. Of course, there is something to work on in it, and in general there is much to strive for. But even in its current form, it is well suited for shooting documentary and fictional subjects.
Telephone part and communications
The developers put special emphasis on the communication capabilities of the Samsung Galaxy S5: the smartphone operates in the fifth generation of Wi-Fi 802.11ac networks with support for 2 × 2 MIMO mode - in this mode, data can be received and transmitted in two streams, that is, up to two times faster than in the first generations of 802.11ac compatible devices. In addition, the device provides support for a large number of 4G (LTE) frequencies and speeds corresponding to the LTE Category 4 standard - up to 150 Mbps. With the SIM-card of the domestic operator Megafon, the smartphone in practice confidently finds and works with the LTE network.
In addition, the smartphone has support for the 5 GHz Wi-Fi band and the NFC standard. As a standard, you can organize a wireless access point via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth channels, there is a Wi-Fi Direct mode. The navigation module works with both the GPS system (with A-GPS) and the domestic Glonass. The speed and quality of the GPS-module does not give rise to any complaints: the system works quickly, faultlessly, the navigation module finds the first satellites almost instantly, and even indoors.
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No spontaneous reboots / shutdowns were observed during testing. The screen of the smartphone is large, so the drawing of letters and numbers of virtual keyboards is quite comfortable to control. It is very convenient that there is a dedicated top row with numbers - you don't have to switch the layout every time. But the layout itself and the arrangement of the keys are not the same as those of others: instead of just pressing the dedicated button with the globe, here you have to switch the language layouts by side scrolling with the spacebar, which is certainly less convenient. The phone application supports Smart Dial, that is, when dialing a phone number, a search is immediately carried out by the first letters in contacts. Support for non-tear-off writing by sliding is here, but the ability to move the keyboard closer to one of the edges, as on the Galaxy Note series tablets, is not here.
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OS and software
The system uses the Google Android software platform of the latest version 4.4.2 (Kitkat) and the proprietary graphic user interface TouchWiz, the appearance of which has undergone changes. He became, according to the new fashion, more "flat", which obviously did him good, although the traditional Asian luridness remained. The appearance of the settings menu has changed: now all the icons have the appearance of absolutely identical circles and they are located in the form of a single long list. But, of course, the display of the menu can be changed, bringing it to the old view with vertical tabs. In this case, there will be no longer four of them, as before, but as many as six. In general, I liked the new look of the interface and the settings menu more than the old one: everything is combed, ordered, symmetrical, working with various subsections of the menu has become more intuitive. The menu of installed applications has not undergone significant changes, but now you can display a special button on the home screen, clicking on which opens a context menu with quick access to the most popular applications. The notification menu has received two additional dedicated oval buttons for quick navigation to search the entire smartphone and enable quick connection to familiar devices.
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Another one has now been added to the various ways to lock the smartphone: you can lock the screen using your fingerprint, the scanner of which is built into the center key under the screen. To successfully memorize the texture of your fingertip, you must swipe the sensor at least eight times, after which you will also have to come up with a standard digital code in case your finger remains unrecognized within five attempts. It's a shame when the developer also imposes restrictions on the personal password you create: an attempt to limit yourself to a digital password failed - you need to intersperse numbers with letters.
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By the way, the security issue has been strengthened in Samsung Galaxy S5 with another innovation: now, due to the appearance of the "Kids" mode, you can open access only to certain permitted programs, and then calmly entrust the device for 30 thousand rubles to play the child.
Since we are already talking about games, it is worth noting that we have tested such games as Dead Trigger 2 and Asphalt 8 on a smartphone - no problems with their playback were found.
Another specific mode of operation has been added to the smartphone, which the developers themselves talked about a lot at presentations. In fact, this is the usual energy-saving mode, which any built-in program for saving energy in mobile devices has, just Samsung brings its smartphone to complete "exhaustion" in this mode. When the maximum power saving mode is activated, not only all network interfaces are turned off, but also the graphical interface of the shell turns black and white, and the number of applications allowed to work is strictly limited. Naturally, in this mode the smartphone can "work" much longer (who would doubt it), but this work will be carried out in a very limited framework.
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One of the central applications pre-installed in modern top-end Samsung smartphones, which developers constantly remind of, is a program for tracking their own health called S Health. The program has a wide range of functions useful for health promotion: pedometer, exercise recording, nutrition control, etc. Now the application not only received the new version of S Health 3.0, but also acquired additional functionality in the form of a dedicated hardware heart rate counter. In principle, some programs used to try to count heartbeats using an ordinary smartphone camera, but now they have allocated a whole block with a small camera and backlight for this. You need to put your finger on the recess in the back of the smartphone, and then the program will count your heart rate. Naturally, this data is saved, processed and displayed in the form of graphs and tips for a healthy lifestyle.
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Performance
The hardware platform of the Samsung Galaxy S5 is based on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 single-chip quad-core system (SoC). The new platform has the functionality of Snapdragon 800 with a slightly higher frequency of processor cores: the chip version was limited to 2.36 GHz.
The processor is supported in graphics processing by the same Adreno 330 video accelerator, but an increase in frequencies can be traced here as well: the GPU is already overclocked to 578 MHz instead of 450 MHz. About 12 GB (out of 16) of the device's own memory for the user's needs is initially available, the amount of RAM here is 2 GB - in this regard, surprisingly, no build-up has occurred, while Sony has equipped its newest flagship with three gigabytes. random access memory. MicroSD memory cards are supported in this model, you can also connect external flash drives, keyboards and mice using a special adapter in OTG mode.
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Since the most powerful and the most productive of the competing serial platforms is now SoC MediaTek MT6592, which is configured with eight full-fledged processor cores [simultaneously] operating at a frequency of up to 2 GHz, it is logical to include its results in the comparison first of all. Recall that recently we released a review of the powerful TCL Idol X + smartphone, which is based on the maximum version of this platform. Also, of course, it is worth adding to the comparison the results demonstrated in the same tests by the previous version of the Qualcomm platform - Snapdragon 800, on which all top smartphones of last year work. However, the most important battle today will still not take place, because the main competitor of the hero of today's review, the flagship smartphone Sony Xperia Z2, also built on the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 801, has not yet reached our test lab. In the near future, we will definitely compare it with the data obtained today from the Samsung Galaxy S5.
To get an idea of \u200b\u200bthe performance of the tested smartphone platform, let's run a standard set of tests.
All the results obtained by us when testing the smartphone in the latest versions of popular benchmarks, we have summarized for convenience in tables. Several other devices from different segments are usually added to the table, also tested on similar latest versions of benchmarks (this is done only for a visual assessment of the obtained dry numbers). Unfortunately, within the framework of one comparison it is impossible to present the results from different versions of benchmarks, so many worthy and relevant models remain behind the scenes - due to the fact that they once passed the "obstacle course" on previous versions of test programs.
Testing in MobileXPRT, as well as in the latest versions of AnTuTu 4.x and GeekBench 3:
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The testing results are as follows. As for the competing MediaTek MT6592, the latest Qualcomm system (Snapdragon 801) coped with it in all respects. In general, this is not at all surprising when you consider that the previous version of Snapdragon 800 coped with it. As for the comparison with Snapdragon 800, according to the results of all tests, there was practically no real gain: all the same maximum 35K points in AnTuTu, and in other benchmarks the difference is scanty - within the margin of error.
By the way, with regard to these very resulting figures: since the smartphone being tested today is a landmark device, and the rest will be equal to it throughout the year, it is probably worth recalling the fresh alignment of forces. Based on the figures of the popular AnTuTu benchmark, it looks like this: eight MediaTek MT6592 cores with a frequency of 2 GHz demonstrate 31K points in this test (26 thousand points for eight-core Zopo 998 and THL T100S with a lower frequency of processor cores - 1.7 GHz), and about 35 thousand - in top smartphones such as LG G2, Sony Xperia Z1, Acer Liquid S2 and now Samsung Galaxy S5, built on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 800/801 hardware platform. Two main conclusions emerge from all these comparisons: TCL Idol X + is the first smartphone on the MediaTek platform, which managed to get close to the leading solutions on Qualcomm, albeit due to twice as many processor cores. And the second: the new version of the top-end Qualcomm platform practically did not bring an increase in performance, although this microscopic superiority allowed it to even more firmly gain a foothold on the podium as the undisputed leader among platforms for mobile devices. According to the above, the Samsung Galaxy S5 smartphone on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 platform is currently one of the most powerful smartphones on the planet.
When testing in 3DMark for the highest performing smartphones, it is now possible to run the application in Unlimited mode, where the rendering resolution is fixed at 720p and VSync is disabled (which can cause the speed to rise above 60 fps).
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The results of testing the graphics subsystem in the Epic Citadel gaming test, as well as Basemark X and Bonsai Benchmark:
The lag in the Mali-450MP4 video subsystem is still noticeable: this video accelerator produces about 47 fps in those test modes in which the Adreno 330 produces 60 fps.
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Browser cross-platform tests:
As for benchmarks for evaluating the speed of the javascript engine, you should always make allowances for the fact that the results in them significantly depend on the browser in which they are launched, so that the comparison can be truly correct only in the same OS and browsers, and this possibility is available when testing not always. In the case of Android OS, we always try to use Google Chrome.
Video playback
To test the "omnivorous" video playback (including support for various codecs, containers and special features, such as subtitles), we used the most common formats, which make up the bulk of the content available on the Web. Note that it is important for mobile devices to have support for hardware decoding of video clips at the chip level, since it is often impossible to process modern versions at the expense of processor cores alone. Also, do not expect a mobile device to decode everything, since the leadership in flexibility belongs to the PC, and no one is going to challenge it.
With video playback on the Samsung Galaxy S5, things are not as smooth as we would like. Surprisingly, this is one of the rare smartphones in which the popular MX player flatly refuses to start with the Hardware + decoder, and more often than not, this is the only option that saves the situation when the standard player cannot play the audio track of the file. That is, in the case of the Samsung Galaxy S5, in order to normally play three out of five of our test files (MKV), you will have to use a software decoder (at least for decoding sound - the video can be decoded by hardware) - neither Hardware nor Hardware + , nor, of course, a standard video player decoder is not capable of playing these widespread network file types with sound. And this is a clear drawback, because we have a solution with an excellent in all respects a large and high-quality screen and maximum performance, which could become an excellent multimedia assistant. By the way, Galaxy Note 3 also has similar problems - we hope that with the release of updates for MX Player, the situation will somehow change. By the way, top smartphones LG and Sony always have complete order in this table, because even with their own hardware they are able to play all the files presented, not to mention support for all modes of the MX player.
| Format | Container, video, sound | MX Video Player | Native video player |
| DVDRip | AVI, XviD 720 × 400 2200 Kbps, MP3 + AC3 | reproduced normally | reproduced normally |
| Web-DL SD | AVI, XviD 720 × 400 1400 kbps, MP3 + AC3 | reproduced normally | reproduced normally |
| Web-DL HD | MKV, H.264 1280 × 720 3000Kbps, AC3 | ||
| BDRip 720p | MKV, H.264 1280 × 720 4000 Kbps, AC3 | plays normally, sound only with software decoder (Hardware + not supported) | video plays fine, no sound¹ |
| BDRip 1080p | MKV, H.264 1920 × 1080 8000 Kbps, AC3 | plays normally, sound only with software decoder (Hardware + not supported) | video plays fine, no sound¹ |
¹ the sound in MX Video Player was played only after switching to software decoding (mode Hardware + not supported); the standard player does not have such a setting
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Additionally, the MHL interface was tested. To test it, we used an LG IPS237L monitor that supports direct MHL connection using a passive Micro-USB to HDMI adapter cable. Recall that Samsung has implemented its own version of this interface at the physical level. As a result, to connect an external device via MHL, you need to use special adapters or connect standard MHL adapters through simple passive adapters. In this case, we carried out the test using a proprietary Samsung adapter, while the MHL output was carried out at a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels with a frequency of 60 fps.
In the portrait orientation of the smartphone, the display of the image on the monitor screen is also carried out in portrait orientation, while the image on the monitor is inscribed in the height of the screen, and wide black fields are displayed on the right and left. In this case, the actual resolution on the monitor screen is, of course, lower than the resolution on the smartphone screen. In the landscape orientation of the smartphone, the display of the image on the monitor screen is carried out in landscape orientation, while the image on the monitor is inscribed in the boundaries of the screen and exactly matches the image on the smartphone screen. An exception is the startup screen, which is displayed only in portrait orientation:
The MHL sound is output (in this case, the sounds were heard through the headphones connected to the monitor, since there are no speakers in the monitor itself) and is of good quality. At the same time, at least multimedia sounds are not output through the loudspeaker of the smartphone itself, and the volume is controlled by buttons on the smartphone body. Basically, in the smartphone settings, you can select the sound output mode - stereo or surround. However, in our case, the monitor only received stereo sound, so there was no choice. The smartphone connected via MHL is charging.
To test the display of video files on the screen of the device itself, we used a set of test files with an arrow and a rectangle moving one division per frame (see "Testing methods for video playback and display devices. Version 1 (for mobile devices)"). Screenshots with an exposure of 1 s helped to determine the nature of the frame output of video files with various parameters: the resolution varied (1280 by 720 (720p), 1920 by 1080 (1080p) and 3840 by 2160 (4K) pixels) and the frame rate (24, 25, 30, 50 and 60 fps). In the tests, we used the MX Player video player in the Hardware mode, as there were many artifacts in the Hardware + mode. The results of this test (block labeled Smartphone Screen) are summarized in the table:
Note: If both columns Uniformity and Skips green ratings are set, this means that, most likely, when watching movies, artifacts caused by uneven alternation and skipping of frames will either not be visible at all, or their number and visibility will not affect the viewing comfort. Red marks indicate possible problems with the playback of the respective files.
According to the criterion for outputting frames, the quality of video playback on the screen of the smartphone itself is high, since frames (or groups of frames) can be displayed with a more or less uniform alternation of intervals, and there are no frame drops. The smartphone can even display 4K files up to and including 30p. However, uniform frame interleaving is a relatively unstable state, since some external and internal background processes lead to periodic failure of the correct interleaving of intervals between frames. When playing video files with a resolution of 1920 by 1080 (1080p) on a smartphone screen, the image of the video file itself is displayed exactly along the edge of the screen, one to one pixel by pixel, that is, in its original resolution (adjusted for some PenTile features). The brightness range displayed on the screen actually corresponds to the standard range of 16-235 - in the shadows only a couple of shades merge with black, but in the highlights all gradations of shades are displayed. However, dark scenes may not look very good, as the darkest shades differ too much in brightness and color tone, which can lead to overly noticeable compression artifacts.
With a monitor connected via MHL, during video playback with a standard player, the video file is displayed only in landscape orientation, while only the video file is displayed on the monitor, and only information elements and virtual controls are displayed on the smartphone screen.
The results of the monitor output tests are shown in the table above in the "MHL (output to the monitor)" block. The output quality is very good. When playing video files with a resolution of Full HD (1920 x 1080 pixels) on the monitor screen, the image of the video file itself is displayed exactly on the edge of the screen, maintaining the true proportions, and the resolution corresponds to the Full HD resolution. The brightness range displayed on the monitor is equal to the standard range of 16-235, that is, all shades are displayed in the shadows and highlights.
The takeaway is typical: an MHL connection can be used to play games, watch movies, display web pages, and other activities that benefit from the exponential increase in screen size. True, you will have to purchase an adapter specifically for Samsung or find an appropriate adapter.
Battery life
The lithium-ion battery installed in the Samsung Galaxy S5 has a good capacity by modern standards, but not a record 2800 mAh. Accordingly, in terms of battery life, the device showed very good results, which we traditionally summarized in a comparative table.
| Battery capacity | Reading mode | Video mode | 3D Game Mode | |
| Samsung Galaxy S5 | 2800 mAh | 17h 20m | 12h 30m | 4h 30m |
| TCL Idol X + | 2500 mAh | 12h 30m | 7h 20m | 3h 00m |
| Lenovo Vibe Z | 3050 mAh | 11h 45m | 8h 00m | 3h 30m |
| Acer Liquid S2 | 3300 mAh | 16h 40m | 7h 40m | 6h 00m |
| LG G Flex | 3500 mAh | 23h 15m | 13h 30m | 6h 40m |
| LG G2 | 3000 mAh | 20 h 00 m | 12h 30m | 4h 45m |
| Sony Xperia Z1 | 3000 mAh | 11h 45m | 8h 00m | 4h 30m |
| Samsung Note 3 N9005 | 3200 mAh | 22h 30m | 14h 00m | 4h 45m |
Continuous reading in the FBReader program (with a standard, light theme) at the minimum comfortable brightness level (the brightness was set to 100 cd / m2) lasted more than 17 hours until the battery was completely discharged, and when continuously watching YouTube videos in high quality (HQ) with the device lasted 12.5 hours with the same brightness level through the home Wi-Fi network, in 3D games mode the smartphone withstood 4.5 hours worthy for such a screen, and really pleased with such stability: its predecessor Galaxy S4 at first was very overheated and with These tests do not work well, and only with the firmware update the situation returned to normal. With the new flagship, even now, before the start of sales, no problems were found in this regard, and by the way, the device heats up much less than its predecessor.
Outcome
Summing up a Samsung Galaxy S5 review is both easy and difficult. Easy, because perhaps no one needs to explain to anyone why the flagship smartphones of the Korean company are deservedly among the best on the market. And what makes them stand out is not only the combination of top-end technical characteristics and maximum performance, there is also something else. It seems to us that the company is one of the few who are not ashamed to spy on users' desires. For most manufacturers, this always remains only unfulfilled pretentious slogan promises, and in practice, no matter how much users cry about something, they will never get it. But the Koreans have a completely different point of view on this matter; they readily satisfy any customer desires. Want a removable battery? - Get it. Need a memory card slot? - Yes, for God's sake, we do not mind! Suddenly you fell in love with the golden color? - Here, and we now have a golden smartphone. And with such simple actions, coupled with high-quality product quality and huge production volumes, the Korean company managed to climb to the very top of the mountain, pushing many along the way, and simply throwing some off the cliff. The survivor is the one who knows how to adapt, and this is what Koreans do best.
As for the hero of today's review, here we can say with confidence that he has become a worthy successor to the flagship line. An excellent screen, powerful hardware, full technical completeness, good battery life and maximum functionality, several added features like a heart rate monitor and a fingerprint scanner are all worthy of praise. Although, we must admit that in the fifth Galaxy S there were not so many notable innovations that one could rightfully call it a completely new model, in terms of design and appearance, so for sure (in this regard, by the way, there was even a kind of decline: the smartphone has become heavier, larger, rougher - everyone admits it). It’s even surprising how the Koreans didn’t call this model Galaxy S4s - such a “letter modifier”, which has already become generally recognized, denoting an improved version of the model, would be more appropriate here. But this is all just a little confusing.
What's really depressing is how Samsung is pushing the prices of its top smartphones. It seems that the Koreans no longer even remember that prices can sometimes vary somehow - they got to the 30,000 mark with the previous flagship and now put the same price tag on all subsequent models as a matter of course. The tricky thought in the minds of entrepreneurs is, obviously, this: "They will complain for the first time, but the next time they will be glad that they did not raise the price even higher." And so, by the way, it happened: now users are already happy that the price of the new flagship at the start of sales was not raised higher than that of the previous one. This is very alarming, and of course, against this background, it is difficult to recommend such a device for purchase: it is certainly very worthy, but for many, Samsung products may not be affordable right now. Did we think about five years ago that we would talk like that in the future about the products of this Korean company?
Many were surprised by the fact that almost immediately after the official presentation of the flagship Galaxy S5 in China (and not only), they began to churn out clones of the new Android smartphone. Recall that already on the second day after the announcement in Barcelona, \u200b\u200bwe already reported that the Chinese managed to create the Goophone S5. Therefore, if you are planning to buy a Galaxy S5 from a non-mobile carrier soon, which may seem like a great idea, then you are advised to take a look at some tips so that you can determine if your future purchase is an original Galaxy S5 or a fake.
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The Goophone S5 might actually appear to be the original Galaxy S5, but only from afar, as upon closer inspection, the quality of the materials is very different from the Korean one. Although, if you don't care, then the characteristics of a fake may well be enough to boast one or two times to friends. However, such fakes do not have any of the proprietary features that Samsung introduced this year (including a fingerprint scanner and IP67 protection).
Another Galaxy S5 clone appeared a little later - this is the No.1 S7, which was also released by the Chinese manufacturer GizChina. However, this fake still has moisture protection, like the original Galaxy S5, but no more. The original Samsung flagship still has a higher degree of protection. The No.1 S7 clone has a 13-megapixel autofocus camera, an eight-core MT6592 processor with 1.7GHz and 1GB of RAM. On the other hand, it also has USB 3.0 support and a 5.1-inch Full HD display, as well as a microSD slot. But this fake works on Android 4.2.
Original Galaxy S5 vs fake
If you cannot look into the technical specifications of the phone that you are holding in your hands and intend to buy it, then you definitely need to take a closer look at several points. This can help you avoid buying a fake Galaxy S5:
- Take a few photos to see the result, and also take a look at specific new features like real-time HDR and selective focus. Surely a fake will not have such opportunities.
- Also, there will be no fake fingerprint scanner like the Galaxy S5, no heart rate monitor under the camera flash.
- The clones do not have such specific "smart" functions as Smart Stay and support for other gestures for control. You can see them in the settings.
- Perhaps even the Google Play market will be absent on the fake. Also check for Samsung branded apps - S Health, ChatOn, Samsung Wallet, SideSync 3.0, or Samsung Content Viewer.
- Also, the counterfeit will probably have a USB 2.0 port, and not USB 3.0, which is visually immediately different - it is 2 times wider than USB 2.0.
- Application names and settings may be partially in Chinese.
- You are allegedly buying a Galaxy S5 before April 11, although the official start date only came today.
The same goes for any other smartphone. It will be better if you buy a smartphone from an official supplier, and not from a dubious reseller who cannot confirm the originality of the device.
What do you think about fakes of popular devices? Do you think this is bad or is it better to buy a fake than to spend money on a branded smartphone?
Crazy (very "AWESOME") pens of Chinese workers work very quickly. The Chinese love to counterfeit everything from trinkets to luxury cars. This time, the conversation will focus on the fake Korean smartphone Samsung Galaxy S5 and photo evidence and a warning to everyone not to get a fake.
Earlier we wrote about, which was dealt with by the company GooPhone, which released a fake the day after the official presentation of the phone in Barcelona. The difference is that the copy was made more responsibly, let's say. Although on the back of the device you can find the inscription GooPhone and its cost will be about $ 300, which is already quite a lot.
Although the fake and the original are "similar" as two drops of water ... No, it's a joke. Already starting from the box we see some strange inscription Smtel. In principle, it is not new - the inscriptions "Adibas" on fake shoes in city markets are such a feature, because you can get it on your ears for using a trademark.
Immediately visible to the eye is a crooked interface, an unknown operating system.
An attempt to fake the knobby surface of the back cover of the original device.
The Chinese were in such a hurry to make a copy that they even overworked and completed it with a white case, similar to a business card holder. Horrible.
With each passing day, counterfeit smartphones are becoming more and more difficult to distinguish from original devices. Counterfeiters master new materials and make copies as similar as possible to the original. Undoubtedly, Apple accounts for the most counterfeit copies, but the Korean company Samsung also suffers from dishonest Chinese smartphone manufacturers. Since the release of the Samsung Galaxy S5 smartphone, companies from the Middle Kingdom have begun to rivet similar smartphones and sell them to naive buyers. How to distinguish Samsung Galaxy S5 from a fake and not fall for the bait of scammers?
Chinese manufacturers of non-original phones are trying to reduce the final cost of the device in various ways. Smartphones are equipped with weak cameras and low-resolution screens, and instead of eight-core processors, budget SoCs from MediaTek are used.
You shouldn't buy the Samsung Galaxy S5 in little-known stores and on the Internet marketplaces. Saving 2-5 thousand rubles can result in the purchase of a fake or defective device. You should not believe the low cost, as such a smartphone can be either unoriginal or "gray". Buy electronics only in well-known stores, for example, in Svyaznoy or Euroset.
What if you already have a smartphone in your hands? How to distinguish an original Samsung Galaxy S5 from a Chinese counterfeit? First of all, pay attention to the presence of a fingerprint scanner. It simply cannot be in fakes, since the cost of the sensor is quite high.
It will be useful to investigate the quality of the camera. As a rule, weak cameras are installed in fake versions of smartphones. The original Galaxy S5 has a “Dual camera” function as well as an HDR mode.
It is worth looking at the smartphone menu as well. There should be no Chinese characters anywhere. If any application launched with a splash screen in Chinese, then you can be sure that this is a fake Galaxy S5. Each "fifth Galaxy" has a set of pre-installed branded applications from Samsung: Samsung Wallet, S Health, Content Viewer.
In addition, the non-original smart does not have a heart rate monitor, which is located on the back of the body under the camera flash, as well as unique gesture control functions (Smart Stay).
Of course, fakes are getting better every day, but it is quite possible to distinguish a real Samsung Galaxy S5 from a fake without looking at the smartphone menu. The back of the S5 has a special grooved structure, and the USB plug has the inscription "USB". On top of that, the original Korean smartphone is IP67 rated. You can safely dip it into the water, and it will continue to work further. As for the Chinese copy, then, most likely, after meeting with moisture, it will quickly cease to function.
To learn more about the differences between fake and original Galaxy S5, see this video:
A surprising and unpleasant surprise was that almost immediately after the official debut of the Galaxy S5 flagship in China (and other countries), the mass production of clones of the new Android smartphone started. So already on the second day after the announcement in Barcelona, \u200b\u200bthere was news that the Chinese quickly created the Goophone S5 - a fake Galaxy s5. That is why this article and the tips indicated in it are devoted to all those who decided to make an excellent purchase in the near future in the form of a non-mobile operator. By following them, the buyer will be able to determine whether the phone in the store matches the original characteristics of the Galaxy S5, avoiding the purchase of a fake.
How to distinguish a fake s5?
In reality, the Goophone S5 appears to be identical to the original Galaxy S5 only from a distance, as the quality of the materials is immediately noticeable upon closer inspection. For those who do not care, the characteristics of a fake will be enough to brag a couple of times to friends. But in such fakes, the user will never find those proprietary features that were presented by Samsung this year (including IP67 protection and a fingerprint scanner).
The second clone of Galaxy S5 was not long in coming - this S7 is all from the same Chinese manufacturers GizChina. Having turned out to be of better quality, the fake even received protection from moisture, which is present in the original Galaxy S5. This was the end of it. And the level of protection itself, for that matter, is still higher in the Samsung flagship. Clone No.1 S7 is equipped with a 13-megapixel camera with autofocus, 1GB of RAM and an eight-core MT6592 processor with a frequency of 1.7GHz and. USB support is available here, there is a microSD slot. The 5.1-inch display has Full HD resolution. But the fake Galaxy S5 runs on Android 4.2.
In the absence of an opportunity to familiarize yourself with the technical parameters of the phone that is in your hands, do not be lazy as carefully as possible to familiarize yourself with the points below, which will help you distinguish a fake s5, and then subsequently perform them. In this case, you will most likely be able to avoid purchasing a fake Galaxy S5:
Take a couple of shots with your camera and see the result. Look for new features like real-time HDR or selective focus. Most likely, such opportunities will not be counterfeit.
You won't find a fake Galaxy S5 fingerprint scanner, or a heart rate monitor under the camera flash.
Clones are not able to perform such specific “smart” functions as Smart Stay and respond to other control gestures. All this is in the settings.
It is likely that even access to the Google Play market will not be fake. It is also a good idea to check for branded applications - S Health, Samsung Wallet, ChatOn, SideSync 3.0, as well as Samsung Content Viewer.
Instead of the standard USB 3.0 port for the model, there will probably be USB 2.0. It is very easy to distinguish it visually - it is 2 times narrower than USB 3.0.
There shouldn't be any Chinese characters in app names and settings!
And, of course, any smartphone model simply cannot appear on sale before the official start of sales, just as the price declared by the manufacturer cannot be lower.
- Take a few photos to see the result, and also take a look at specific new features like real-time HDR and selective focus. Surely a fake will not have such opportunities.
- Also, there will be no fake fingerprint scanner like the Galaxy S5, no heart rate monitor under the camera flash.
- The clones do not have such specific "smart" functions as Smart Stay and support for other gestures for control. You can see them in the settings.
- Perhaps even the Google Play market will be absent on the fake. Also check for Samsung branded apps - S Health, ChatOn, Samsung Wallet, SideSync 3.0, or Samsung Content Viewer.
- Also, the counterfeit will probably have a USB 2.0 port, and not USB 3.0, which is visually immediately different - it is 2 times wider than USB 2.0.
- Application names and settings may be partially in Chinese.
- You are allegedly buying a Galaxy S5 before April 11, although the official start date only came today.
The same goes for any other smartphone. It will be better if you buy a smartphone from an official supplier, and not from a dubious reseller who cannot confirm the originality of the device.
What do you think about fakes of popular devices? Do you think this is bad or is it better to buy a fake than to spend money on a branded smartphone?
A surprising and unpleasant surprise was that almost immediately after the official debut of the Galaxy S5 flagship in China (and other countries), the mass production of clones of the new Android smartphone started. So already on the second day after the announcement in Barcelona, \u200b\u200bthere was news that the Chinese quickly created the Goophone S5 - a fake Galaxy s5. That is why this article and the tips indicated in it are devoted to all those who decided to make an excellent purchase in the near future in the form of a non-mobile operator. By following them, the buyer will be able to determine whether the phone in the store matches the original characteristics of the Galaxy S5, avoiding the purchase of a fake.
How to distinguish a fake s5?
In reality, the Goophone S5 appears to be identical to the original Galaxy S5 only from a distance, as the quality of the materials is immediately noticeable upon closer inspection. For those who do not care, the characteristics of a fake will be enough to brag a couple of times to friends. But in such fakes, the user will never find those proprietary features that were presented by Samsung this year (including IP67 protection and a fingerprint scanner).
The second clone of Galaxy S5 was not long in coming - this S7 is all from the same Chinese manufacturers GizChina. Having turned out to be of better quality, the fake even received protection from moisture, which is present in the original Galaxy S5. This was the end of it. And the level of protection itself, for that matter, is still higher in the Samsung flagship. Clone No.1 S7 is equipped with a 13-megapixel camera with autofocus, 1GB of RAM and an eight-core MT6592 processor with a frequency of 1.7GHz and. USB support is available here, there is a microSD slot. The 5.1-inch display has Full HD resolution. But the fake Galaxy S5 runs on Android 4.2.
In the absence of an opportunity to familiarize yourself with the technical parameters of the phone that is in your hands, do not be lazy as carefully as possible to familiarize yourself with the points below, which will help you distinguish a fake s5, and then subsequently perform them. In this case, you will most likely be able to avoid purchasing a fake Galaxy S5:
Take a couple of shots with your camera and see the result. Look for new features like real-time HDR or selective focus. Most likely, such opportunities will not be counterfeit.
You won't find a fake Galaxy S5 fingerprint scanner, or a heart rate monitor under the camera flash.
Clones are not able to perform such specific “smart” functions as Smart Stay and respond to other control gestures. All this is in the settings.
It is likely that even access to the Google Play market will not be fake. It is also a good idea to check for branded applications - S Health, Samsung Wallet, ChatOn, SideSync 3.0, as well as Samsung Content Viewer.
Instead of the standard USB 3.0 port for the model, there will probably be USB 2.0. It is very easy to distinguish it visually - it is 2 times narrower than USB 3.0.
There shouldn't be any Chinese characters in app names and settings!
And, of course, any smartphone model simply cannot appear on sale before the official start of sales, just as the price declared by the manufacturer cannot be lower.
Now you can distinguish a fake Samsung Galaxy s5 from the original. Remember, all these rules and verification methods apply to other smartphones as well. It is always best to buy a smartphone from an official supplier, avoiding contact with questionable middlemen.
