It just so happened historically - simply due to the fact that Korea has recently become a developed and high-tech country - that Samsung has always been in the role of catching up, whichever product line you take. And she always professed the approach “we will overtake and overtake”, and, as a rule, not so much in the sense of “we have better”, but that “we have more”. Whether this is good or bad is an open question, but this approach has always worked and eventually allowed Samsung to become one of the largest and most influential companies in the complex and changeable high-tech market.

The Koreans themselves seem to be still at a loss about this and do not fully understand what to do. Because it’s one thing to be successful and dynamic “number two”, and quite another to try to orchestrate the market, come up with new ideas, develop hitherto non-existent directions and stuff like that. It cannot be said that Samsung is not trying to do this - they are even trying. But so far, with varying success: Korean inventions are often very artificial.

Apparently, Samsung decided to slow down a little with the usual quantitative approach. It’s not that it’s completely abandoned - of course, in the Galaxy S5 there is a certain amount of “bigger”, “higher” and “more often”, but it still feels like an attempt to do some serious work on the bugs: to do not only “a lot”, but also "Good".

⇡ Appearance and ergonomics

Design is a delicate matter. When it comes to the company's products, which are sold in millions of copies - and therefore, obviously, a huge number of people really like it, then everything is quite complicated. Here it is necessary to speak about design carefully: either good or nothing. Otherwise, there will be plenty of people who are indignant at value judgments. So about the aesthetic component, sorry, this time we just keep silent and focus on the facts. The facts are as follows: compared to the Galaxy S4, the new smartphone has become more square in shape, has acquired corrugations on the metallic rim, the back panel is now decorated with a leatherette coating, and the dimensions have grown significantly. As a result, S5 is more like Galaxy Note 3 than on the Galaxy S4. Is that instead of a "line" on the back - "perforation".

Structurally, the S5 does not differ at all from all previous Samsung devices. price category. Inside the magnesium frame, which plays the role of a strong and rigid frame, outside - exclusively plastic "kit". Either the plastic panels in the S5 have become a little thicker than in the S4, or the vibration isolation has been strengthened, but the “sonority” of the case, characteristic of the previous Samsung flagship, has seriously decreased. The case still vibrates when tapped, but much less noticeably.

The main innovation of the Galaxy S5 is the appearance of protection against moisture and dust. Koreans have already tried their hand at this genre, but earlier separate models of smartphones were created for experiments. In the "normal", "basic" flagship, Samsung uses this feature for the first time.

Moisture and dust protection is implemented according to the IP67 class. It was not without a marketing ploy: in the opinion of an ignorant person, IP67 is obviously more and “better” than IP58, which claims for its Sony flagships. In fact, this is not at all the case: the fact is that the Ingress Protection rating (the same IP abbreviation) consists of two numbers that are independent of each other. The first digit speaks of dust protection and only about it - accordingly, in terms of water protection, the IP6x class is no better than IP5x.

Second distinguishing feature Galaxy S5 - the presence of a fingerprint sensor. Like Apple, the sensor is built into the only physical button on the front. But it works in a completely different way: you can turn on the iPhone with a button and, holding your finger on it for a split second, unlock the smartphone. AT samsung galaxy S5, these actions are divided into two independent operations: you must first turn on the smartphone, and then slide the registered finger from the mark on the display to the sensor.

Fingerprint sensor built into the home button

The sensor works quite well - it recognizes the finger quite stably, even if you hold it at all sorts of unnatural angles, except that it doesn’t work upside down. But the process itself is less convenient than Apple's, and takes a little longer. However, even in this form it turns out much faster than with entering a password or a pattern of dots. Additional actions can be tied to the fingerprint sensor - up to the authorization of transactions in PayPal.

There is only one "loud" speaker in the Samsung Galaxy S5, it is located at the back. Sounds pretty nice and very loud

However, it should be borne in mind that, as in the case of the iPhone, they have already learned how to bypass protection: for this, you need to take some actions that are not exactly simple, but still by no means quantum mechanics. So it’s worth minimizing the risk: do not tie the most valuable and easily “monetized” logins-passwords like banking passwords to “fingers”, and also use those fingers for identification, good prints from which, most likely, will not remain on the glass of the front panel - the little finger or unnamed.

The third unusual feature of the Samsung Galaxy S5 is the built-in heart rate sensor. It is located in a small niche on the back of the case, the camera flash is placed in the same niche. The sensor is a pair of elements: a diode that illuminates the finger, and a simple camera that reads the pulsation.

Due to the protected design, the body has grown seriously. The display at the same time increased purely formally - by 0.1 inches. So there is no question of some new level of comfort when working with the screen, but you have to reach for the necessary elements much further. Visually, the Galaxy S5 does not give the impression of a large device - the shape greatly smoothes the dimensions - but in fact it almost caught up with the Xperia Z1. And it greatly overtook the LG G2, equipped with a larger screen.

However, this is the problem with most modern flagships: they are all too big. We are already used to this: we have long learned to stretch our fingers to such distances that it was difficult to imagine before, as well as quickly intercept the tubes from a comfortable grip into one that makes it easier to reach the button with your finger.

⇡ Specifications

Samsung Galaxy S5 (SM-G900F)
Display	5.1" 1920x1080 AMOLED
Touch screen	Capacitive, up to 10 simultaneous touches
Air gap	Not
Oleophobic coating	There is
Polarizing filter	There is
CPU	Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 MSM8974AC v3: four cores Qualcomm Krait-400 (ARMv7), frequency 2.46 GHz; process technology 28 nm HPm
Graphics controller	Qualcomm Adreno 330, 578 MHz
RAM	2 GB LPDDR3-1600
Flash memory	16 GB (about 12 GB available) + microSD
Connectors	1 x micro-USB 3.0 (MHL) 1 x 3.5mm headset jack 1 x micro SD 1 x micro SIM
cellular	2G/3G/4G Qualcomm MDM9x25 modem (built into processor), WTR1625L transceiver + WFR1620 receiver One micro-SIM card
Cellular 2G	GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 MHz
Cellular 3G	WCDMA 850/900/1900/2100 MHz DC-HSPA+ (42.2/5.76 Mbps)
Cellular 4G	LTE FDD band 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 20 (2100/1900/1800/850/2600/900/800 MHz) LTE Cat. 3 (150/50 Mbps)
WiFi	802.11a/b/g/n/ac, 2.4 and 5 GHz
Bluetooth	4.0
NFC	There is
IR port	There is
Navigation	GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, Beidou
Sensors	Ambient light sensor, proximity sensor, accelerometer/gyroscope, magnetometer (digital compass), barometer, fingerprint sensor, heart rate sensor
Main camera	16 MP (5312x2988), 1/2.6" Samsung S5K2P2 CMOS sensor with back-illumination and ISOCELL technology, element size 1.12 µm autofocus, LED flash
Front-camera	2 MP (1920x1080), 1/7.3" Samsung S5K8B1YX03 CMOS sensor, back-illuminated, element size 1.12 µm, no autofocus, no flash
Food	Removable battery 10.78 Wh (2800 mAh, 3.85 V) Built-in NFC antenna in the battery
The size	142x73mm Body thickness: 8.3mm (9.7mm including camera)
Weight	145 g
Water and dust protection	IP67
Operating system	Google Android 4.4.2 (KitKat) Samsung's own TouchWiz skin
recommended price	29 990 rubles
* Also available with 2 GB RAM and 16 GB storage

⇡ Hardware and communications

In past years, Samsung flagships first appeared with their own Exynos processors and only then, due to the special wishes of American operators cellular communication, there were versions on Qualcomm chips. The turning point occurred at the launch of the Galaxy Note 3: both Exynos and Qualcomm Snapdragon versions were announced for this model at the same time.

For the Galaxy S5, the version (or rather, “versions” - there are quite a lot of them for different markets) on American processors will become the main one. Modifications on Exynos also exist, but already as secondary-auxiliary, for some special markets - it is not yet clear for which ones, they have not yet gone on sale. One way or another, the SM-G900F version equipped with Qualcomm processor Snapdragon 801 with the uncomplicated model name MSM8974AC v3.

The American chipmaker at the beginning of this year introduced a fair amount of confusion in his the lineup, so it makes sense to provide a table that shows the differences between different Qualcomm SoCs.

	Maximum CPU frequency	Maximum GPU frequency	ISP	eMMC	Dual SIM Dual Active	Memory interface
Snapdragon 800
MSM8974VV v2	2.2 GHz	450MHz	320 MHz	4.5	Not	800 MHz
MSM8974AAv2	2.3 GHz	450MHz	321 MHz	4.5	Not	800 MHz
MSM8974AB v2	2.3 GHz	550MHz	322 MHz	4.5	Not	933 MHz
Snapdragon 801
MSM8974AAv3	2.3 GHz	450MHz	323 MHz	5.0	Yes	800 MHz
MSM8974AB v3	2.3 GHz	578MHz	465 MHz	5.0	Yes	933 MHz
MSM8974ACv3	2.5 GHz	578MHz	465 MHz	5.0	Yes	933 MHz

So, MSM8974AC v3 is the most powerful Qualcomm chip in existence today. It is still quad-core and 32-bit - the Krait-400 architecture is used, working with the ARMv7 instruction set. But compared to the "normal" 800th a new version noticeably overclocked: higher maximum frequency both the computing cores themselves and the graphics adapter built into the processor, the chip can work with more fast memory, even ISP is overclocked - the unit responsible for working with cameras.

In addition, new versions of Qualcomm's flagship chips have added support for a faster interface for connecting eMMC 5.0 flash memory, as well as support for two SIM cards in Dual SIM Dual Active (DSDA) mode. The latter, however, for our Galaxy versions S5 is not relevant - there is only one SIM card in it, the micro format.

The amount of RAM has not changed compared to that in the Galaxy S4 and is still 2 GB. The type of memory, apparently, is the same as in the Galaxy Note 3 - LPDDR3-1600. As for the flash drive, there are versions with both 16 GB of internal memory (of which about 12 GB are available), and with 32. Of course, microSD cards are supported, Samsung prefers not to limit the user in their desire to expand the storage capacity.

By and large, everything is the same with communication: the same MDM9x25 modem is built into Snapdragon 801 as in Snapdragon 800, which can work with any existing networks second and third generation, and also supports operation in LTE category 4 networks. Support for faster networks LTE Cat. 6 (recall that in Moscow such a network is already operating within the Garden Ring) will have to wait until the next generation of the modem, MDM9x35. Moreover, at first this modem will be external, and only by the release of Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 will it move to the SoC.

As for the RF part, everything is more interesting here: the Samsung Galaxy S5 uses a new WTR1625L transceiver equipped with a WFR1620 companion chip, which is an additional receiver and is designed to implement carrier frequency aggregation technology. The Galaxy S5 also has a QFE1100 chip responsible for Envelope Tracking technology. All this additional equipment in theory allows you to increase the data transfer rate and reduce power consumption.

Connectors for microsim cards and memory cards in the Samsung Galaxy S5 are located in a "sandwich". And the NFC antenna is built into the battery

With a set of supported ranges, alas, everything is not as great as we would like. Samsung prefers to demarcate markets, including support for cellular networks. This is good for merchants in local markets, but not very pleasant for those who travel frequently and want to use fast data transfer in any part of the world. SM-G900F is the European version of the device, and in Europe there will be no problems with communication. However, it is not as well suited for other regions: many popular 3G/4G bands in the US are not supported. Not to mention China.

The micro-USB 3.0 connector is hidden under a flap. You will have to open it every time to charge it, the ability to connect a docking station is not provided, but you can purchase a back panel with wireless charging- of course, for extra money

For a wired connection, a micro-USB 3.0 interface with MHL support is used. Wireless interfaces - full set: at the service of the user and dual-band wifi adapter 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, and Bluetooth 4.0, and NFC. There is also an infrared port - so the smartphone can work universal remote control remote control. Among other things, this can be useful if you want to turn down the volume of the TV in some public place.

For work with navigation satellite networks meets the Qualcomm iZat Gen8B module built into the processor, exactly the same as in the Snapdragon 800. Recall, in addition to the already standard GPS systems and GLONASS, this module and the WTR1625L transceiver already mentioned above also support the Chinese Beidou. Moreover, the Samsung Galaxy S5 seems to have become the first “global” smartphone for which Beidou support is declared in the official specifications and is really implemented - for the first time we managed to catch Chinese satellites on SGS5.

Samsung Galaxy S5 GPS/GLONASS/Beidou receiver test. Left to right: 15 seconds after launch; one minute after the start; in room

Navigation works very quickly: even without access to Galaxy networks S5 literally in a matter of seconds finds a half dozen satellites and confidently determines the coordinates. It's the fastest navigation smartphone we've ever seen - the speed is amazing.

Detailed testing of one of the most anticipated smartphones of the new season

Of course, one of the most long-awaited and expected new products among mobile devices of the coming year is the next update of the flagship line. Samsung smartphones— Galaxy S5. The novelty does not need a special introduction - for last years The Korean company Samsung Electronics managed not only to become scandalous due to countless litigations with the competing American Apple, but also to take one of the leading positions in the world market for the sale of tablets and, of course, smartphones.

From left to right: Samsung Galaxy Note 3, Galaxy S5, Galaxy S4, Apple iPhone 5s

By the way, in recent years, Koreans have firmly accustomed users to the idea that Samsung always has two flagship smartphone. 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 went on sale, about which we wrote so much in our time. Now it's the turn to update a series of smartphones with a more "civilized" design.

Samsung Galaxy S5 and Galaxy S4

Smartphones of the Galaxy S series have always been very different from their semi-tablet counterparts from the Note line precisely in size - they were rather elegant devices in size. However, with the release of the Galaxy S5, it must be admitted, the distance separating them is shrinking more and more. And not only the size of each next representative of the Galaxy S line is getting larger, but in the Note line they are consistently decreasing. The Galaxy Note 3 has become the smallest among its brothers, and the Galaxy S5, on the contrary, has become so large that it’s time to think about it: 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, but we have already said about the dimensions. Does the whole difference now lie only in the presence or absence of an electronic pen?

Samsung Galaxy S5 and Galaxy Note 3

In any case, a special technological breakthrough from the new flagship of the Galaxy S line should not be expected. No new technological discoveries have yet been made, and everything that has been discovered has already been put into practice, and now they are finishing, finishing, polishing - improving functionality. And it's not just about Samsung devices - the whole market is now in anticipation of 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 technically, the new flagship does not differ much from the previous one (Samsung Galaxy S4) - now the focus is on improving functionality. Ultra-fast data transfer capabilities, an updated camera control interface, a wide range of fitness apps, a heart rate monitor, a fingerprint scanner, 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 Samsung is currently working on. Gigabytes and gigahertz somehow suddenly faded into the background, which is probably for the better. Surprisingly, the Koreans did not even add RAM to their new flagship - the Galaxy S5 still has 2 GB of RAM, although the new product still has some changes in terms of hardware.

Key Features 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
Permission	1920×1080, 432 ppi	1920×1080, 424ppi	1920×1080, 440ppi	1920×1080, 400ppi	1920×1080, 386ppi
SoC	Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 (4x Krait 400) @2.5GHz		MediaTek MT6592 (8 ARM Cortex-A7 cores) @2.0 GHz	Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 (4x Krait 400) @2.2GHz	Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 (4x Krait 400) @2.2GHz
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; video 4K), front (2 MP)		rear (13 MP; video 1080p), front (2 MP)	rear (13 MP; video 1080p), front (5 MP, video 1080p)	rear (13 MP, 4K video), front (2 MP, 1080p video)
Dimensions	142×73×8.1mm, 145g	139×71×8.9mm, 143g	140×69×7.9mm, 120g	149×77×7.9mm, 147g	151×79×8.3mm, 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 cores Krait 400, 2.5 GHz
• GPU Adreno 330, 578 MHz
• operating room android system 4.4.2 Kitkat
• Touchscreen display Super AMOLED, 5.1″, 1920×1080, 432 ppi
• Random access memory (RAM) 2 GB, inner 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), point WiFi access
• NFC, infrared
• GPS (A-GPS), Glonass
• Camera 16 MP, autofocus, LED flash, video UHD (4K) 30 fps
• Camera 2 MP (front)
• Accelerometer, gyroscope, distance sensor, compass, barometer, Hall sensor (magnetic field), ambient light, gestures (infrared), fingerprint scanner, heart rate sensor
• Dust and moisture protection according to IP67 standard
• Li-ion battery 2800 mAh
• Dimensions 142×72.5×8.1 mm
• Weight 145 g

Appearance and usability

As already mentioned, the new model of the Galaxy S series has become much larger in size than the previous one. It feels like in the hand, the smartphone has finally crossed that invisible line called “a little more, and it 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 the path of life with a "shovel" at the ready, in size new Galaxy S will not feel anything out of the ordinary. Still, it is smaller than the Galaxy Note 3, although the difference is already minimal. And yet, it is still not clear why it was necessary to do with almost identical screens new model so much more than the previous one. In the Galaxy S4, for example, the side frames 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 the same in size. has changed.

Concerning 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 companies (including numerous wearable gadgets). The only pity is that at the exorbitant prices at which the current flagships are sold, the company was greedy to provide real skin - 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 wall of the smartphone is made of leather. Texturing on plastic differs from that of the Galaxy Note 3: a sort of pseudo-embossing was used here, as if a pattern of numerous dots was squeezed into the skin. Looks nice and fresh, at least better than glossy plastic for a long time adorned the surfaces of all Galaxy S and Galaxy Note.

As for metal, it is not here either: the shiny “chrome” bezel around the entire perimeter of the case (exactly the same as in previous models, only with a different pattern) is sprayed onto plastic, not real metal. This bezel, by the way, has also become much wider and even thicker, adding weight to the smartphone as a whole.

The surface of the rim is quite slippery - due to it, as well as due to the considerable mass, it is quite inconvenient to lift the device from the surface of the table, since the fingers do not feel confident grip.

The back cover can be easily removed from the case and just as easy to put on - it is traditionally fastened on several plastic latches, there is a barely noticeable ledge for hooking with a fingernail. Under the cover are hidden slots for SIM-cards and memory cards, located "sandwich" one above the other.

Below is a compartment for a removable battery- it props up the cards, but the memory card can still be replaced "hot". The device uses only one SIM card, Micro-SIM format, a microSD memory card can be used here up to 128 GB.

At the back of the smartphone there is a square window of the camera module, it is quite large in size, next to it is an LED flash. Below, in the recess, the eyes of the sensor for measuring the pulse are visible. 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 lower is a hole for sound output from the ringing speaker with a twig slightly curved outward, and the silver chrome-plated company logo adorns all this.

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, with its oblong mechanical key under the screen, which this time has received additional functionality. This button is also responsible for scanning the fingerprint - now no one can blame the Koreans for not having golden smartphone with a fingerprint scanner. Unlike the iPhone scanner, here you can’t just put your finger on it: you need to swipe it along the key, and even at the right speed - if you hurry, you can fail. In this regard, the iPhone scanner looks preferable: not only do you 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 swipe over the sensor with the other, which is very tiring, and most users will most likely simply disable this feature.

The touch buttons next to the mechanical ones have a bright white backlight with a customizable glow time, which is commendable. Above, above the screen, a longitudinal slot is visible in the protective glass for sound output from the conversational speaker, eyes are visible next to it front camera and sensors. Here there is also led indicator an alert that lights up in different colors depending on the charging status and incoming events - its functions can be configured: disabled or enabled individually.

There are two buttons on the side faces of the device: on the left - volume control, on the right - power and lock. The large metalized keys of all Samsung smartphones have a soft stroke and distinct pressing, they are excellent in the blind, and in general, in this regard, the products of the Korean company are one of the best on the market.

On the upper end, there is a headphone jack (3.5 mm) and a peephole of an infrared transmitter, which serves to control various equipment as a remote control, comfortably located one next to the other. Appropriate proprietary software called Smart Remote goes from model to model - of course, it is also available here. Functionality Smart programs Remote is on top: it is not only capable of linking a smartphone using infrared port with any technique, 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 acquired dust and moisture protection according to the IP67 standard. 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 gasket was 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, Galaxy S3). By tradition, they were given romantic names: Jet Black (black), Sparkling White (white), Electric Blue (light blue) and Copper Gold (golden). For additional jewelry, in particular, a keychain or strap, no fasteners are provided.

Screen

The Samsung Galaxy S5 smartphone is equipped with a Super AMOLED touch 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 432 ppi here - the dot density is very high.

Outside the screen is covered protective glass. The thickness of the side frames from the edge of the screen to the edge of the case 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. Multi-touch technology here allows you to handle up to 10 simultaneous touches. The screen can be controlled by gloved hands, while it becomes more sensitive to any touch, so the settings left the option to disable this feature. The smartphone also has a proximity sensor that blocks the screen when you bring the smartphone to your ear.

Detailed examination using measuring instruments held by the editor of the sections "Monitors" and "Projectors and TV" Alexey Kudryavtsev. 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 anti-glare filter that is superior in reducing the brightness of reflections to the screen filter of Google Nexus 7 (2013) (hereinafter simply Nexus 7). For clarity, here is a photo in which a white surface is reflected in the off screens (on the left - Nexus 7, on the right - Samsung Galaxy S5, then they can be distinguished by size):

Due to the slight difference in the hue of the reflection and the frames, it is difficult to visually assess the amount of reduction in the brightness of the reflection, however, statistics from graphic editor shows that the screen of the S5 is indeed a little darker than that of the Nexus 7. The ghosting of the 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 Google Nexus 7), so fingerprints are removed much more easily and appear at a slower rate than in the case of conventional glass.

When displaying a white field in full screen and when manual control brightness, its maximum value was 340 cd / m², the minimum - 2 cd / m². Despite not the highest brightness value, even in bright daylight, the smartphone can be used, as 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 outputting white on half the screen, the maximum brightness with manual adjustment rises to 360 cd/m². The low brightness mode allows you to use your smartphone without any problems even in total darkness. Works automatic adjustment brightness by the ambient light sensor (located to the right of the front speaker). You can make adjustments to how this function works by moving the adjustment slider from −5 before +5 units. Next, for three conditions, we present the screen brightness values ​​for three values ​​of this setting - for −5 , 0 and +5 . In total darkness in automatic mode brightness is reduced to 4, 9 and 16 cd/m² respectively (generally a little dark), in an artificially lit office environment (approximately 400 lux) 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 a little more) - rises 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 the work of this function corresponds to the expected. When the brightness is lowered, modulation appears at a frequency of 240 Hz. The figure below shows brightness (vertical axis) versus time (horizontal axis) for three brightness settings:

It can be seen that at maximum brightness there is practically no modulation (the amplitude is insufficient for visual distinguishability of flicker), but at medium and low brightness the relative modulation amplitude is high, so image flicker can be seen in the test for the presence of a stroboscopic effect or simply with rapid eye movement. Depending on individual sensitivity, such flickering can cause increased fatigue.

This smartphone uses a Super AMOLED matrix - an active matrix on organic light emitting diodes. 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 microphoto:

(For comparison, see the gallery of microphotographs of screens used in mobile technology.)

For such matrices, Samsung introduced the name PenTile RGBG. The manufacturer considers the screen resolution based on green subpixels, on the other two it will be two times lower. The location and shape of the subpixels in this variant is similar to the variant in the case of the Samsung Galaxy S4 screen. This version of PenTile RGBG is better than the old one with red squares, blue rectangles and stripes of green subpixels. However, some uneven contrasting borders and other artifacts are still present. For example, when displaying a black and white world through one pixel (the original can be taken from here) vertical lines look uneven, and the horizontal ones are not contrasting and are separated not by white, but by a greenish gap. A fragment (the original photo is available at the link) of a macrophoto reveals the cause:

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, some unevenness of the lines occurs. When horizontal lines there is no white gap (there are green subpixels) or black (there are red and blue subpixels). However, these artifacts are of purely academic interest, since under conditions mobile use it is extremely difficult to visually distinguish such small details. As a result, the margin of resolution eliminates the "features" of the PenTile RGBG matrix.

The screen is characterized by excellent viewing angles, although the white color becomes slightly tinted when deviated at relatively large angles, but the black color is just black at any angle (although the reflection from bright objects has a bluish halo that is more horizontally elongated, which causes black areas in the light may lighten slightly to acquire a "metallic" tint). So black that the contrast parameter in this case is simply not applicable. When viewed perpendicularly, the uniformity of the white field is excellent. For comparison, here are photos in which Samsung screens The Galaxy S5 and the second competitor displayed the same images, while the brightness of the screens was set to approximately 210 cd/m². White field perpendicular to the screens:

An excellent uniformity of brightness and color tone white field. And a test picture (in mode Standard):

The color reproduction is clearly not bad, but with all the conventionality of the forced color balance in the camera, set to 6500 K, it is clear 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 field:

The brightness at an angle for both screens has noticeably decreased (to avoid strong darkening, the shutter speed is doubled compared to the previous two photos), but in the case of Samsung, the drop in brightness is much less pronounced. And a 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.

Switching the state of the matrix elements is almost instantaneous, but at the on (and less often off) front there may be a step (or two) with a width of 16.7 ms (corresponding to a screen refresh rate of 60 Hz). For example, this is how the dependence of brightness on time looks like when moving from black to a hue of 25% (according to the numerical value of the color) and vice versa:

In some conditions, the presence of such a step can lead to plumes trailing behind moving objects, but in normal use it is almost impossible to see these artifacts. On the contrary, dynamic scenes in films on OLED screens are distinguished by high clarity and even some “twitchy” movements.

The ability to adjust color reproduction 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 the three fixed profiles is selected, except for the profile dynamic, built on 32 points with equal intervals by the numerical value of the grayscale value, the gamma curve did not reveal any blockage either in the highlights or in the 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 apparent contrast of the image. Recall that in the case of OLED screens, the brightness of image fragments dynamically changes in accordance with the nature of the displayed image - it decreases for light images in general and increases for dark ones. As a result, the resulting dependence of brightness on hue (gamma curve), most likely, slightly does not correspond to the gamma curve static image, since the measurements were carried out with a sequential output of shades of gray almost on the entire screen. This image dynamism is enhanced by selecting the option Auto config. screen brightness. Below are the dependences of brightness on time obtained when switching from a black field to a white one and back with the option turned off and on Auto config. screen brightness:

In the second case, the brightness starts to decrease after some time. 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 coverage is pressed to the borders of sRGB, but still remains a little wider:

Without correction, the spectra of the components are very well separated:

In the case of a profile Cinema with the maximum correction, the color components already mix a little with each other:

Note that on screens with a wide color gamut, the colors of normal images optimized for sRGB devices appear unnaturally saturated. This can be seen in the photos above. However, a visual assessment showed that when choosing a profile Cinema saturation is noticeably reduced, and colors become close to natural. The screenshot taken after selecting this profile is shown below:

Unfortunately, the most recognizable shades - skin, for example - still remain slightly oversaturated.

The balance of shades on the gray scale is not ideal, but, in general, acceptable. Color temperature in profiles dynamic and Standard significantly higher than 6500 K, in the remaining two it is close to 6500 K, while in the gray scale section from white to dark dark gray, this parameter does not change very much. The deviation from the blackbody spectrum (ΔE) remains below 10 units over most of the gray scale, which is considered a good indicator for a consumer device, and also changes slightly:

(The darkest areas of the gray scale can in most cases be ignored, as there the color balance does not of great importance, and the measurement error of 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 reduced to a comfortable value. It is acceptable, 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 color balance close to the standard (when choosing the appropriate profiles). At the same time, let's recall the general advantages of OLED screens: true black color, excellent white field uniformity, less than LCD, the drop in image brightness when viewed from an angle. The disadvantages include modulation of the screen brightness, which appears at medium and low values brightness. Users who are particularly sensitive to flicker may experience fatigue as a result. However, overall the screen quality is very high.

Sound

In terms of sound, the smartphone is about the same as the Galaxy S4. The sound is moderately bassy, low frequencies not deprived, clean in the entire range, but not so loud - there were devices even louder ( HTC One or Oppo Find 5, for example). The sound outlet grille is cut into the back wall, so that the sound is muffled when the device is on the table. AT conversational dynamics the voice of a familiar interlocutor, timbre and intonation remain recognizable, lead telephone conversations on the Samsung Galaxy S5 is quite comfortable.

To play musical compositions in the device, a choice of three pre-installed players is provided: Google Play Music, Yandex.Music and Samsung's own player. All sound effects when playing tunes with a branded player are combined by a technology called SoundAlive - however, some of them are available only with headphones connected. The same applies to the sound optimization function. There are a lot of various virtual effects, they are combined here in a matrix of squares, you can experiment for a very long time.

Camera

Samsung Galaxy S5 is equipped with two modules of digital cameras with a resolution of 16 and 2 megapixels. The front one takes pictures with a maximum resolution of 1920 × 1080, and shoots video with the same resolution.

The main, rear camera is equipped with a new 16-megapixel module with ultra-fast autofocus (focusing in 0.3 seconds), stabilization, single-section LED flash and the ability to shoot video in UHD (4K) resolution. In addition to one trendy feature - 4K video recording - another one is used here: as in the latest Sony Xperia Z2, there was a possibility of selective focusing, which allows you to highlight certain part images, leaving the background blurry. That is, now to create the effect of shallow depth of field (DOF), you no longer need to use special lenses and lenses.

When shooting in automatic mode, which is set by default, photos are obtained at a size of 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 visible, interactive, their drawing is clear, the entire menu is perfectly visible even in the brightest sunlight. In general, the settings menu for controlling the camera turned out to be perhaps the best on the market in terms of ease of access to all functions and overall visibility.

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 and fast shooting modes. Sample test videos are shown below.

• Movie #1 (189 MB, 3840×2160, 4K)
• Clip #2 (58 MB, 1920x1080, 1080p)
• Clip #3 (123MB, 3840×2160, 4K indoor)
• Movie #4 (71 MB, 1280×720, slow motion)
• Movie #5 (4 MB, 1920×1080, fast)

Sample photos with our comments are presented below.

	Image sharpness is good.
	Sharpness across the field of the frame is also quite good.
	Small details are worked out quite well.
	With backlight, the camera does not do so well, but the exposure is well chosen.
	On thin lines, you can notice small waves from the operation of the noise reduction - but only upon closer examination.
	In low light, you can see the noise - however, relatively small.
	The camera handles noise in the shadows well. True, the detail from this suffers a little.
	The camera does well in low-light macro, but you should use the focus because of the relatively slow shutter speeds.
	In good light, macro photography works well with the camera.
	Another example of a good macro.
	The text worked out well, but a little damaged. However, it is possible that the camera works more accurately with smaller text.
	The stitching of panoramas is almost perfect. Only dynamic objects suffer, which is quite natural.

	Lighting ≈1300 lux. The camera does very well.
	Lighting ≈460 lux. The situation practically does not change.
	Lighting ≈240 lux. Noises become noticeable, especially their processing.
	Lighting ≈240 lux, flash. The flash noticeably improves the situation, almost returning the original resolution.
	Lighting<1 люкс. В темноте камера не справляется.
	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 only honored with 1/3 ″ format matrices (not counting 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 the quality of images. And, I must say, the result is already noticeable to an inquisitive eye.

Firstly, quite good work with noise is already visible. Their processing still leaves much to be desired, but if you do not look at the images pixel by pixel, then noticeable strong color noise in the shadows is almost invisible. Of course, this is the result of noise reduction, but the higher resolution allows it to work more subtly, and the increased sensor size slightly reduces the likelihood of strong noise. Of course, we will not start talking about the size of the pixel (like HTC) and the qualities of the camera supposedly resulting from this, but the increase in the sensor definitely pays off. Secondly, image detail has improved, which is also the merit of higher resolution and an enlarged sensor.

I would like Samsung to improve the noise reduction, then the camera can already be compared with ordinary compacts. Although even without this, she shows herself very worthy, and it is clear that they did a good job on her. The camera's optics work quite smoothly across the entire field of the frame and on all plans. 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 noise reduction - such a processing result looks very archaic in the pictures of a modern flagship.

Based on the results of shooting the stand, we can conclude that the real resolution of the images may not be the highest, but we have already stipulated 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 not quite natural. However, the resolution of the camera is quite decent. It is also worth noting the good work of the flash, and the sensor, which works quite stably in different lighting conditions.

In general, the camera is made very worthy, almost at the level of compact cameras. Of course, there is something to work on in it, and in general there is something to strive for. But even in its current form, it is well suited for shooting documentaries and feature stories.

Telephone part and communications

The developers put special emphasis on the communication capabilities of the Samsung Galaxy S5: the smartphone works 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 that comply with 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 both with the GPS system (with A-GPS) and with the domestic Glonass. The speed and quality of the GPS-module does not raise any complaints: the system works quickly, smoothly, the navigation module finds the first satellites almost instantly, and even indoors.

Spontaneous reboots / shutdowns were not observed during testing. The screen of the smartphone is large, so the drawing of letters and numbers on virtual keyboards is quite comfortable to control. It is very convenient that there is a dedicated top row with numbers - you do not have to switch the layout every time. But the layout itself and the layout of the keys are not the same as those of others: instead of just clicking on the dedicated button with the image of a globe, here you have to switch language layouts by scrolling sideways on the spacebar, which is certainly less convenient. The phone application supports Smart Dial, that is, while dialing a phone number, a search is also carried out immediately by the first letters in contacts. Support for non-stop writing by sliding is available here, but there is no possibility to move the keyboard closer to one of the edges, as on Galaxy Note series tablets.

OS and software

The system uses the Google Android software platform of the latest version 4.4.2 (Kitkat) and the proprietary graphical user interface TouchWiz, the appearance of which has changed. He became, according to the new fashion, more “flat”, which clearly benefited him, although the traditional Asian frivolity remained. The appearance of the settings menu has changed: now all icons look like exactly the same circles and they are arranged in a single long list. But, of course, the menu display can be changed, leading to the old view with vertical tabs. In this case, there will be no longer four, 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, by clicking on which a context menu opens with quick access to the most popular applications. The notification menu has received two additional dedicated oval buttons for quickly switching to search throughout the smartphone and enabling quick connection to familiar devices.

To the various ways to lock the smartphone, another one has now been added: you can lock the screen using a fingerprint scanner, the scanner of which is built into the central key below the screen. To successfully memorize the texture of the pad of your finger, you must swipe at least eight times on the sensor, after which you will also have to come up with a standard digital code in case the 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.

By the way, the security issue has been strengthened in the Samsung Galaxy S5 with another innovation: now, due to the appearance of the “Children” mode, you can open access only to certain permitted programs, and then calmly entrust the device for 30 thousand rubles to a child to play.

If we are talking about games, then it is worth noting that we tested such games as Dead Trigger 2 and Asphalt 8 on a smartphone - no problems were found with their playback.

Another specific mode of operation has been added to the smartphone, about which the developers themselves spoke a lot at the presentations. In fact, this is the usual energy-saving mode that any built-in program for saving energy in mobile devices has, it’s just that Samsung brings its smartphone to completely “depletion” in this mode. When the maximum power saving mode is activated, not only all network interfaces are disabled, but also the graphical interface of the shell becomes black and white, and the number of applications allowed to work is severely 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.

One of the central applications pre-installed in modern top-end Samsung smartphones, which developers are constantly reminded of, is a program for monitoring one's own health called S Health. The program has a wide range of health-improving functions: a pedometer, exercise recording, nutrition control, etc. Now the application has not only received a 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 heart beats using an ordinary smartphone camera, and 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 pulse. Naturally, this data is stored, processed and displayed in the form of graphs and tips for maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

Performance

The hardware platform of the Samsung Galaxy S5 is based on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 single-chip quad-core system (SoC). The chip version was limited to 2.36 GHz.

The processor is supported in graphics processing by the same Adreno 330 video accelerator, but here there is an increase in frequencies: the GPU is already overclocking to 578 MHz instead of 450 MHz. About 12 GB (out of 16) are initially available for the user's needs in the device, the amount of RAM here is 2 GB - in this regard, surprisingly, there was no increase, while Sony equipped its latest 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.

Since the most powerful and most productive of the competing serial platforms is now SoC MediaTek MT6592, the configuration of which includes 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 in the first place. Recall that we recently released a review of the powerful TCL Idol X + smartphone, which is built on the maximum version of this platform. Also, of course, it is worth adding to the comparison the results shown in the same tests by the previous version of the Qualcomm platform - Snapdragon 800, which runs all the top smartphones of last year. 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 Samsung Galaxy S5 data received today.

To get an idea of ​​the platform performance of the tested smartphone, let's run a standard set of tests.

For convenience, we have summarized all the results obtained by us when testing a smartphone in the latest versions of popular benchmarks in tables. Several other devices from various 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:

The test 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, given that the previous version of the Snapdragon 800 coped with it. As for the comparison with the Snapdragon 800, according to the results of all tests, there was practically no real increase: the same maximum 35K points in AnTuTu, and in other benchmarks, the difference is negligible - 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. If you rely on the numbers of the popular AnTuTu benchmark, it looks something like this: eight MediaTek MT6592 cores with a frequency of 2 GHz demonstrate 31K points in this test (26 thousand points for the eight-core Zopo 998 and THL T100S with a lower frequency of processor cores - 1.7 GHz), and about 35,000 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. There are two main conclusions from all these comparisons: TCL Idol X + is the first MediaTek smartphone that managed to get close to the leading Qualcomm solutions, albeit due to twice as many processor cores. And secondly, the new version of Qualcomm's top platform brought almost no increase in performance, although this microscopic superiority allowed it to gain a foothold on the podium even more firmly as the undisputed leader among platforms for mobile devices. According to the above, the Samsung Galaxy S5 smartphone based 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 (due to which the speed can rise above 60 fps).

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 operation of the Mali-450MP4 video subsystem is still noticeable: this video accelerator produces approximately 47 fps in those test modes in which the Adreno 330 produces 60 fps.

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 depend significantly on the browser in which they are launched, so that the comparison can only be truly correct 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" when playing video (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 for mobile devices it is important to have support for hardware video decoding at the chip level, since it is most often impossible to process modern versions using processor cores alone. Also, do not expect everything from 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, the Samsung Galaxy S5 is 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 most often only this option saves the day when the regular player cannot play the audio track of the file. That is, in the case of the Samsung Galaxy S5, in order to play three out of five of our test files (MKV) normally, you will have to use a software decoder (at least for audio decoding - video can be decoded by hardware) - neither Hardware nor Hardware + , nor, of course, the decoder of a regular video player is not able to play these common types of files with sound on the network. And this is a clear drawback, because we have a solution with an excellent in all respects 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 the MX Player, the situation will somehow change. By the way, top LG and Sony smartphones are always in perfect order in this plate, 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	Regular video player
DVDRip	AVI, XviD 720×400 2200 Kbps, MP3+AC3	plays normally	plays normally
Web-DL SD	AVI, XviD 720×400 1400 Kbps, MP3+AC3	plays normally	plays normally
Web-DL HD	MKV, H.264 1280x720 3000Kbps, AC3
BDRip 720p	MKV, H.264 1280x720 4000Kbps, AC3	plays normally, sound only with software decoder (Hardware+ not supported)	Video plays fine, no sound¹
BDRip 1080p	MKV, H.264 1920x1080 8000Kbps, AC3	plays normally, sound only with software decoder (Hardware+ not supported)	Video plays fine, no sound¹

¹ Audio in MX Video Player only played after switching to software decoding Hardware+ not supported); The regular player does not have such a setting.

Additionally, the MHL interface was tested. To test it, we used the LG IPS237L monitor, which 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 conducted the test using a proprietary Samsung adapter, while MHL output was carried out at a resolution of 1920 by 1080 pixels at 60 fps.

When the smartphone is in portrait orientation, the image on the monitor screen is also displayed in portrait orientation, while the image on the monitor is inscribed in the screen boundaries in height, 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. When the smartphone is in landscape orientation, the image on the monitor screen is displayed in landscape orientation, while the image on the monitor is inscribed within the screen boundaries and exactly matches the image on the smartphone screen. The exception is the start screen, which is displayed only in portrait orientation:

The sound is output via MHL (in this case, the sounds were heard through the headphones connected to the monitor, since there are no speakers in the monitor itself) and has a 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 the buttons on the smartphone case. In principle, in the smartphone settings, you can select the sound output mode - stereo or surround. However, in our case, the monitor only accepted 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 "Methodology for testing video signal playback and display devices. Version 1 (for mobile devices)"). Screenshots with a shutter speed of 1 s helped determine the nature of the output frames of video files with different parameters: the resolution varied (1280 by 720 (720p), 1920 by 1080 (1080p) and 3840 by 2160 (4K) pixels) and frame rate (24, 25, 30, 50 and 60 fps). In tests, we used the MX Player video player in Hardware mode, as there were a lot of artifacts in Hardware+ mode. The results of this test (the block titled "Smartphone screen") are summarized in the table:

Note: If both columns Uniformity and Passes green ratings are set, this means that, most likely, when watching movies, artifacts caused by uneven interleaving and dropping frames will either not be visible at all, or their number and visibility will not affect viewing comfort. Red marks indicate possible problems with the playback of the respective files.

According to the criterion for displaying frames, the quality of playing video files on the screen of the smartphone itself is high, since frames (or groups of frames) can be displayed with more or less uniform alternation of intervals, and there are no frame drops. The smartphone can even display 4K resolution files up to and including 30p. However, uniform frame interleaving is a relatively unstable state, since some external and internal background processes cause the correct interleaving of intervals between frames to periodically fail. 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 border of the screen, one to one in pixels, that is, in the original resolution (adjusted for some features of PenTile). 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 vary too much in brightness and color tone, which can lead to excessive visibility of compression artifacts.

With a monitor connected via MHL, when playing video with a standard player, the image of the video file is displayed only in landscape orientation, while only the picture of 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 (monitor output)" block. The output quality is very good. When playing video files with Full HD resolution (1920 by 1080 pixels) on the monitor screen, the image of the video file itself is displayed exactly along the border of the screen while maintaining true proportions, and the resolution corresponds to Full HD resolution. The brightness range displayed on the monitor is equal to the standard range of 16-235, that is, all gradations of shades are displayed in the shadows and in the highlights.

The conclusion is typical: the MHL connection can be used for games, watching movies, web browsing and other activities that benefit from a multiple increase in screen size. True, you will have to purchase an adapter specifically for Samsung or find the appropriate adapter.

Battery life

The lithium-ion battery installed in the Samsung Galaxy S5 has a good by modern standards, but not a record-breaking capacity of 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	5:20 p.m.	12:30 pm	4h 30m
TCL Idol X+	2500 mAh	12:30 pm	7h 20m	3 a.m.
Lenovo Vibe Z	3050 mAh	11:45 a.m.	8 a.m.	3h 30m
Acer Liquid S2	3300 mAh	16h 40m	7h 40m	6 a.m.
LG G Flex	3500 mAh	23h 15m	13h 30m	6h 40m
LG G2	3000 mAh	20:00	12:30 pm	4h 45m
Sony Xperia Z1	3000 mAh	11:45 a.m.	8 a.m.	4h 30m
Samsung Note 3 N9005	3200 mAh	22h 30m	14:00	4h 45m

Continuous reading in the FBReader program (with a standard, light theme) at the minimum comfortable brightness level (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 the 3D games mode the smartphone withstood 4.5 hours worthy for such a screen, and I was really pleased with such stability: its predecessor Galaxy S4 at first overheated a lot and with these tests do poorly, 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

Summarizing the review of the Samsung Galaxy S5 is both easy and difficult. It's easy, because perhaps no one needs to explain why the flagship smartphones of the Korean company are deservedly one of the best on the market. And it’s not only the combination of top-end technical characteristics and maximum performance that distinguishes them, there is something else. It seems to us that the company is one of the few who are not ashamed to spy on the desires of users. For most manufacturers, this always remains only unfulfilled pompous slogan promises, but 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 desires of buyers. Want a removable battery? - Get it. Need a memory card slot? - Yes, for God's sake, we do not mind! Suddenly fell in love with the golden color? “Here, we now have a golden smartphone. And with such simple actions, coupled with good quality products 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 someone off the cliff. The one who knows how to adapt survives, and this is what the 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, a powerful filling, complete technical equipment, good battery life and maximum functionality, a few added features like a heart rate monitor and a fingerprint scanner - all this is worthy of praise. Although, it’s worth recognizing that there were not so many noticeable innovations in the fifth Galaxy S that it could rightfully be called a completely new model, in terms of design and appearance, it’s 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 this). It’s even surprising how the Koreans didn’t call this Galaxy S4s model - such a “letter modifier”, which has already become universally recognized, denoting an improved version of the model, would be more appropriate here. But it's all just a little embarrassing.

But what is really depressing is the way Samsung breaks down the prices of its top-end smartphones. It seems that the Koreans no longer remember that prices can sometimes be varied somehow - they reached the 30,000th mark with the previous flagship and now put the same price tag on all subsequent models as a matter of course. The cunning thought in the minds of entrepreneurs, obviously, is this: “They will complain the first time, but the next time they will be glad that they didn’t raise the price even higher.” 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 this about the products of this Korean company in the future?

HTC One M8 for my friend and wrote a review in which he called it relevant, despite the fact that the HTC One M9 has been on sale for several months. So, last year's flagship from HTC is far from the only one that managed to maintain its relevance a year later. It manifests itself in different aspects, its role is played not only by the fact that not everyone can afford new flagships due to the exchange rate, but also by the fact that the top smartphones of 2014 have such good characteristics that it is not easy for new devices to bypass. In the case of HTC, a small redesign was carried out, in fact, and simply the rejection of the ultrapixel camera as the main one. Even the strip with the logo, which wildly annoys many connoisseurs of flagship lines, has not been removed either.
In the case of Samsung, whose last year's top device will be discussed in this review, the work on the bugs was carried out to a greater extent, the design changed, the display resolution increased, the new flagship became thinner, and so on ... Moreover, the company dared to release based on the "master" device, a version with an innovative curved display on both sides.

All this is good, of course, but any desire to purchase the latest device is broken by the prices that manufacturers so rapidly raise, as if not noticing the "crisis" in our markets. Fortunately, we have the opportunity to purchase last year's flagship devices, which also have great features, performance and the latest version of the Android operating system, due to the release of new ones.

Selection and order

One of these flagships is the Samsung Galaxy S5, which I bought on AliExpress. This item attracted me with many positive reviews and an average rating of 4.8 stars.
I was also pleased with the presence of as many as four versions of the smartphone, and I’m not talking about colors at all (the choice of which also takes place), but about versions of smartphones for different markets and regions. The following versions are available for selection:

• EU Version G900H
• EU Version G900F
• US Version G900T
• US Version G900A

Obviously, most readers of this text are interested in the first two. Both of them will work with all our operators, but they have one rather significant difference. They use different versions of representatives of one of the main characteristics for top-end smartphones, namely processors. The G900F uses Snapdragon 801, which is perhaps traditional for the flagships of 2014, but in the G900H version, Samsung engineers used a processor of their own design - Samsung Exynos 5 Octa 5422. In connection with the latter, there is an opinion that the H version works a little faster, since the processor from Samsung is more optimized for the rest of the hardware.
In practice, the difference is not noticeable.
Of the colors I mentioned above, white, blue, black and gold are available.
I ordered a white EU Version G900F smartphone.

First Impressions

The smartphone is served in a small but rather thick wood-like box.

Included, in addition to the smartphone itself, were:

• Charger
• USB-MicroUSB cable
• good headphones
• documentation
  

The phone itself is thin, pleasant to the touch and not heavy. It's nice enough to hold in your hands.

First of all, I was surprised by the unusual connector at the bottom of the case.

As it turned out later, the usual microUSB is also suitable for it.

Characteristics:

• 5.1" Super AMOLED screen, 1080 x 1920 resolution and Corning Gorilla Glass 3.
• dimensions 142 x 72 x 8mm
• weight 145 grams
• OS - Android 4.4 factory, upgrade to version 5.0.1 is available
• Processor Samsung Exynos 5 Octa 5422
• RAM 2 GB
• 2800 mAh Li-Ion battery
• Main camera 16 Megapixels, photo resolution 5312x2988, LED flash, stabilization, HDR
• Frontal 2 Megapixels.
• Memory 32 GB + microSD up to 128 GB.
• GSM, 3G, LTE,
• WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC, GPS, GLONASS
• Accelerometer, gyroscope, gesture, light, proximity and heart rate sensors
• The fingerprint scanner
• 3.5 mm audio jack
• Micro USB 3.0 connector
• Protection IP67

User experience and interesting functionality

Perhaps I'll start with the fact that immediately upon arrival, the phone was upgraded to Android version 5.0.

The interface is almost imperceptible, the smartphone is equipped with TouchWiz, which completely overlaps the standard interface of the system and is just stuffed with many useful and not very functions.

Those who do not like TouchWiz will be interested in the ability to install firmware from the Galaxy S5 Google Play Edition model with "pure" Android.

On the back cover, in addition to the camera and the flash, there is a heart rate sensor that almost accurately copes with its task.

The lid itself is very flexible and pleasant to the touch.

The main camera of 16 megapixels takes decent pictures in high resolution, which distinguishes it from its main competitor - HTC One M8.

The front camera of 2 megapixels can easily cope with the tasks of video communication and selfie.

Pleasantly implemented such soft-chips as:

• one-hand operation mode (reduces the active area of ​​the screen)
• multi-window mode
• automotive mode
• gesture control (for example, scroll through music by holding your hand over the display)
• perhaps the most convenient implementation of the SOS function (by triple pressing the lock button)
• energy-saving mode, which I will remember later.
• quick pairing "over the air" with printers.

Perhaps the most pleasant thing about this smartphone is the screen. He's just gorgeous. Full HD resolution is more than enough. I sincerely do not understand the point of using more in smartphones (and in tablets, perhaps). Over the years, Samsung has brought Amoled technology to near perfection. Someone may still not be pleased with the color reproduction and other nuances, but the IPS that I love cannot compete with it in terms of energy efficiency. This actually results in an ultra-efficient energy-saving mode, which simply makes the color scheme of the entire system black and white, which leads to a significant reduction in energy costs and allows, if necessary, the smartphone to live an extra few, or even a dozen hours.

With active use of the smartphone is enough for a day. And if you want, the battery charge can be stretched even for three or four days.

Conclusions:

The Samsung Galaxy S5 is undeniably still an up-to-date smartphone, and if you need good features and a good camera, this is what you need. (If there is no need for a camera with high resolution pictures - also look towards HTC One M8).

Thank you for your attention.
I will be happy to answer any questions you have in the comments.

One of the most anticipated new products of 2014, which, despite all the criticism in its direction, has been actively and successfully sold for about two months in domestic retail. Samsung Galaxy S5 is probably the most popular Android flagship in our country. In addition, this is the most controversial device of this year. Serious performance, rich functionality, as always a lot of new interesting features, but still the same missing design.

Now that all the flagships from the largest companies have already reached retail, it's time to draw conclusions about the Galaxy S5. Latecomers were the Sony Xperia Z2, which was originally supposed to go on sale earlier than the S5 by a whole month, but ended up being late by the same period. LG 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 recycled box, which, in addition to the device itself, also contains a charger, a synchronization cable, and a branded headset with a remote control on a cord.

And now I’m focusing on what makes it possible to distinguish a Korean smartphone from any fake that the radio markets are inundated with, namely, there are a lot of various leaflets made from recycled paper in the package. Please note that some of them have high-quality color printing. In addition, in the kit from under the "original" there should be 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 printing of relatively poor quality. 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 completely different from the first and we find it by turning the device over. About everything in order.

Galaxy S5. Model 1: front side

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

The shiny frame protrudes strongly above the screen surface. I immediately 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 not to have them. In the same HTC One (M8) there are also protruding sides, but they are made very carefully and are almost 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 it does not negatively affect the perception of the device.

Under the display, there is one physical home button, which is also a fingerprint scanner. Button travel is light and moderately soft. On the sides 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 an empty space under the screen.

Above is an LED indicator for various events, then a speaker grid, under which a brand name flaunts. Closer to the right edge is the ambient light sensor, proximity sensor and front camera eye.

The edging of the device has three ribs, which makes the boring design of the smartphone a little more interesting. On the left side of the device are the volume keys. On the right side there is one single button responsible for turning off the screen.

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

At the bottom there is a hole for another microphone and a plug 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 completely different 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 involved 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 look like? It's hard to make a direct comparison. The closest will be a comparison with soft and glossy skin.

The back surface of the S5 is very pleasant to the touch. The smartphone wants to be touched and touched.

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 holes for the main speaker. There are no other elements behind.

The back cover of the smartphone can be easily removed and provides access to the battery (2800 mAh). There is no hot-swap of 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. Trite: plastic simply has nothing to pick up.

Dust and moisture protection

It is worth mentioning here that according to the specifications, the Samsung Galaxy S5 has IP67 water and dust resistance. It is understood that the smartphone can be under water at a depth of 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 regular warnings of the system do not save that it is necessary to check the tightness of the device’s plugs every time after recharging.

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

Notice the rubber band on the back of the battery cover. It protects important electronics from moisture, as after immersion, water accumulates, including under a 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 propose to compare the dimensions of the device in the table below.

	Length	Width	Thickness	The weight
Samsung Galaxy S5		72,5
Samsung Galaxy S4	136,6
HTC One (M8)	146,4	70,6
Sony Xperia Z2	146,8	73,3
LG G3	146,3	74,6

Despite the very slippery back surface, the device lies securely in the hand. In the pocket of trousers, of course, it is felt, but it does not hinder movement. Still, this is not a Galaxy Note III, and certainly not a Sony Xperia Z Ultra. For people with small hands, Samsung has provided the activation of the control mode with one hand.

By 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. The reverse gesture stretches the active screen to fit the entire available area.

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

The Samsung Galaxy S5 is on sale in several color variations: black, blue, gold and white.

Display

The screen is covered with tempered glass with an oleophobic coating that protects the surface from oily 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!

The screen is a key parameter of any mobile device, and the Galaxy S5 is no exception. There is a Super AMOLED matrix with a diagonal of 5.1 inches. Resolution 1920 × 1080 pixels at a density of 432 pixels per inch. The margin of brightness is very large. Color reproduction is generally typical for displays based on Super AMOLED technology.

I mean, as always, there are bright acid colors with a green-yellow tint.

Especially greenish glow is noticeable when looking at the smartphone screen at an angle. The sharper the angle, the stronger the color distortion and a faint metallic reflection appears. Black stays black under any conditions. You can verify this in the examples of the photo below.

In the options, you can select several of the preset screen profiles. New is a setting that optimizes the picture depending on which application is currently being used. The mode is aimed, first of all, at saving battery consumption, since the display is traditionally the most voracious component in the device.

In the sun, the screen does not fade, 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 on.

Specifications

• Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor with a frequency of 2.5 GHz (4 cores)
• video chip Adreno 330 (578 MHz)
• RAM 2 GB LPDDR3
• storage memory 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)
• 2800 mAh battery (removable)
• water and dust protection (IP67)
• sensors: accelerometer, gyroscope, compass, proximity sensor, barometer, light sensor, fingerprint scanner, heart rate monitor
• platform Android 4.4.2 with proprietary shell TouchWiz

• 2G, 3G, 4G (LTE)
• Wi-Fi (801.11 a/b/g/n/ac), MIMO (2x2)
• Bluetooth 4.0, NFC
• USB 3.0, infrared sensor, OTG, MHL
• aGPS, GLONASS

There are no questions about the performance of the smartphone.

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

Of course, all the most modern 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 here is very well optimized. In synthetic tests, the device scores almost maximum points. In AnTuTu, the smartphone gave the palm to HTC One, taking second place. Let's look at the screenshots.

Camera

One of the main advantages of Samsung's flagships has always been their photo capabilities. 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 score on additional settings and shoot only in automatic mode. Good ambient lighting will help you get decent shots. The only thing I recommend is to set the HDR setting to "On" and then the saturation of the pictures will be at least twice as high. The risk of smearing the image in this mode tends to zero, since the device does not hold a rate of fire.

The HDR mode is most noticeable when backlit or in the presence of strong shadows, as is often the case in direct sunlight. Take a look at the photos below and see for yourself that I'm right.

Without HDR
HDR

And now let's evaluate the examples of pictures taken in various conditions.

The main camera of the smartphone copes with most of the possible variations of photography. Again, with a lot of light, the photos turn out great. In conditions with a lack of lighting, the quality of the photo, of course, deteriorates, but in general it looks adequate. Frames with the night streets of the city look good only on the display of a smartphone. When you open them on the big screen, all the flaws in the pictures immediately catch your eye. Noise, of course, is present, but still to a lesser extent. Exposure occurs correctly, which is why there is no fade into green or scarlet shades.

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

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

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

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

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

While recording a video, the size of the video is displayed (in the upper right corner of the screenshot), which increases as the duration of the recording.

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

The fingerprint scanner

I have already mentioned the central button, which has a built-in fingerprint sensor. When the parameter is activated, 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 on the Home button. Up to three fingers can be registered. Of course, it will not work to deceive the stray, since the preliminary setting is very accurate.

No need to specially slowly and carefully slide your finger over the button. This can be done quickly, as long as the entire print falls into the "field of view" of the sensor. The sensor fools only when moisture gets on it, but the system immediately warns about this. In other cases, scanning is always correct. The only thing is that entering the fingerprint of the hand with which you hold the device is quite difficult. 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. We don't get it yet.

Sound and video playback

The headset from the kit has a good sound quality. In addition, it is equipped with a playback control panel. The bundled headphone cable is very rigid and flat, due to which it is less tangled.

It is gratifying that Samsung generally put headphones in the kit, which, moreover, are also of good quality.

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

The quality of playback through third-party headphones is at the expected good level. In this parameter, S5 does not differ from competitors' products. In a direct comparison with the iPhone 5, Apple's solution wins. The sound on the S5 differs for the worse only in 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 reproduction, and more.

In the parameters, you can pass a special Adapt Sound test, after which playback is optimized for each channel. For some, perhaps even for many, ears hear differently, and in order to level this difference, engineers have 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 squeaks and whistles, as it could be observed 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, of course, is not the capacity and some numbers there, but the optimization of power 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 up to two days with average use: the brightness was adjusted automatically, Wi-Fi and other wireless interfaces were not turned off, surfing the Internet took about 3 hours, 10 minutes of calls per day, 3 hours were spent using other functions, about 100 photographs were taken. Very good result!

In the settings, it is possible to set the battery saving mode, in which the operation of some of the functions used will be limited. In such a case, the screen changes to a gray only display mode. Thanks to this feature of the Super AMOLED screen, in a monochrome state, it consumes significantly less energy. 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 network applications will not receive push notifications.

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

Software Features

As always, various special chips are sewn into the system. Many have long been familiar, and we will dwell on some in more detail.

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

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

S Planner

This, my friends, is a calendar. The Samsung Galaxy S5 is a very mainstream product. Many will switch to this smartphone from another manufacturer, many will encounter such an advanced device for the first time. And most of these people will need a calendar. And the corresponding name is simply not in the system. You can guess that the S Planner application replaces the same regular calendar only by 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 thing 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 here there is no such thing.

Gestures

Chip " instant review" helps to flip through photos, music, a page in the browser by waving your palm over the display. The gesture sensor responds clearly and with virtually no misses. Most likely, it makes no sense to take it for permanent armament, but as a joke, ala to show to friends, it will fit very well. You can feel like a real Jedi.

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

” allows you to open a preview image 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 place 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 shell. In this form, the device gives access to only a limited number of pre-selected programs. For example, the photo application is simplified as much as possible:

There is also the ability to make audio recordings, which can later be voiced 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 by password.

Along with the children's, 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 Guest Mode in the G3, Samsung has installed . 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 uniquely designed. Instead of the standard setup procedure, for example, a TV, you first need to select a country, then a region, after a 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.

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

You can install and integrate 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 preferably not breathe at all. Only in this case, the measurement of the heart rate occurs correctly.

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

If you want to purchase a high-quality, stylish, productive, and, most importantly, inexpensive smartphone, then Korean copies of Samsung are exactly what you need.

The catalog of our online store contains the best replicas from a reliable manufacturer, proven by many years of experience in cooperation. Thanks to this, our company provides an additional quality guarantee for 1 year, during which any breakdown is repaired absolutely free of charge.

How to choose a Korean copy of Samsung Galaxy

Of course, Galaxy is the best series of models from the world famous South Korean manufacturer. Before ordering a phone, it is worth spending a few minutes to study the characteristics. Pay attention to the following options:

• Processor clock speed and number of cores. The final performance largely depends on this module.
• The amount of RAM and built-in memory. RAM is responsible for processing requests and storing files of currently used applications, so the more it is, the better.
• Assemblies and materials used in the manufacturing process. In a good copy, they match the original.

Why buy Korean Samsung from us

The price of any replica on our website is lower than the average market indicator, and given the provision of a bonus for each purchase and the possibility of delivery to any city in Russia, we can say with confidence that our store has no analogues.