I just got back from my run, which I tracked with my phone. While I ran, I listened to some podcasts and a nice lady told me how fast I was going and how far I had gone. On my phone.
And I'm thinking, "How can they make this any better?"
Ladies and gentlemen, the Samsung Galaxy S5...
Not even a year since Samsung released the S4 and already it's time to consider an upgrade. But what does the new one offer the 2013 model can't provide? Do this year's modifications add up to a major evolution, or are they just a collection of minor tweaks?
For that matter, was there really anything wrong with the SIII?
Of course there wasn't. These days, phones are pretty much all awesome but that doesn't mean you can't make them a bit awesomer.
At this point, I've had limited access to the latest model, so I can only really give you first impressions. Let's start with size, shape and feel...
It's too big. There's always a fine balancing act between screen size and something you can actually hold with one hand. Obviously everyone wants a massive screen, but two handed operation makes it a mini-tablet, not a handset.
In truth, the screen is only slightly larger, but the phone itself is quite a lot longer than the S4 - about the same width though. On the bright side, the new dimpled back plate provides a much grippier surface than its more plastic-feeling predecessors.
The S5 is water and dust resistant. Don't take it swimming, but you can drop it in the loo, as this video clearly demonstrates. This means you can go running in the rain, no probs. Unfortunately, it also means a cover over the USB socket at the bottom. It's actually a double USB port, because there's a microUSB 3.0 socket right next to the normal one - a belt-and-suspenders approach Apple didn't take when they made all their previous accessories obsolete with the new cable for the iPhone 5. So it's a big plug hole, requiring a big plug if you want to keep things watertight.
This is a major pain in the arse. Nobody wants to fumble around with fiddly little rubber bungs just to plug in or unplug their charger. And if that wasn't annoying enough, every time you unplug your charging cable, a reminder window pops up on the screen nagging you to make sure that plughole is all covered up again in case you get things wet and dusty. How many times do I need to be told? I get it. Put the plug back in. What am I going to do, leave it dangling around, hanging off the bottom of my phone. STOP REMINDING ME! Hopefully wireless charging options will be made more available for this handset than the last couple of generations, making the whole tedious plug process redundant. (That's right, guys. You can actually charge your S3 or S4 wirelessly, although you will have to scour the net pretty intensively to source the right accessories. I don't know why Samsung doesn't ship their handsets with wireless charging back plates by default, like Nokia does with their Lumias)
But the S5's bung hole is literally the only thing I could fault in the whole 4 days I had to play with it.
Everything about this phone just works a little bit more seamlessly and in some cases, a lot faster. Apps generally opened more quickly than on the S4. You can select the Download Booster function which combines the best of your WiFi and Mobile Data speeds to suck large files into your phone more efficiently than ever. But what really blew me away was the consistency of the WiFi connection. Apparently there are not one, but two swanky new WiFi antennae in there somewhere and whatever they've done to them, my streaming experience became noticeably smoother and more stable.
Some new features are just cute - like Kids Mode, which gives your sprogs access to the fun stuff without risking them messing up your important bits. Other features are potentially life-changing; the S Health app has been souped up to monitor even more of your exercise and nutrition routines than ever before. This all syncs up with Samsung's latest range of wearables, so you can literally plug yourself into the matrix. I tried this combination first hand (excuse the smartwatch pun) in an actual gym the other day. I nearly died, but was impressed by the results, which I'll share with you in the next blog.
I could go on all day, and that's probably the point. None of the changes are massive, but in combination, there are enough of them to make this Galaxy a very tempting upgrade.
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