Qualcomm gained WIFI expertise through its Atheros acquisition. 802.11ac is built into the Snapdragon SoC and the 802.11ac standard allows for optional 2 MIMO spatial streams and up to 8 so my guess is the Snapdragon 800 variant used in the S5 is a new spin.
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Samsung Galaxy S5 Watch Thread
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Qualcomm gained WIFI expertise through its Atheros acquisition. 802.11ac is built into the Snapdragon SoC and the 802.11ac standard allows for optional 2 MIMO spatial streams and up to 8 so my guess is the Snapdragon 800 variant used in the S5 is a new spin.
Err... Sorry. But just because 802.11ac has support for mimo and link aggregation, it doesn't mean every hardware supports that aspect of it. The Snapdragon 800/801 does not support mimo.
http://www.qualcomm.com/media/documents/files/snapdragon-801-product-brief.pdf
And a funny pic!
Bandaid
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This is not true at all. I use TouchID all day, and demo it to people by showing that my other fingers or thumb do not unlock the device. I have never had a single false positive, and that's demoing the phone dozens of times every day.
I 100% disagree with you. Typing a password/pin/swype gesture 10+ times a day is annoying and something I'm waiting to get rid of.
I've had a fingerprint scanner on my work laptop for a long time. It's incredibly useful, especially when corporate IT policy password requirements become increasingly convoluted.
I have a work provided phone and unlock it with a pin (pin or password required by IT security policy) 10x times more per day than I do my laptop. A fingerprint scanner to unlock would be wonderful instead of me typing the pin 20+ times a day.
I think you're both right, to some degree.
Having a fingerprint reader is helpful, and I'd rather have the feature than not. With that said, there's little doubt that the feature wouldn't be on the GS5 (or at least, wouldn't be located in the home button) if Apple hadn't done it.
Same thing is true for the gold GS5 option. Samsung has done gold phones before, but it's only including one on launch in this instance because Apple has a gold iPhone 5s. We know Samsung is capable of more original things, and pushing the limits... why does it feel compelled to shadow another company in overt ways that may not even help its sales?
In fairness, I don't have a password lock on my phone so I could see how that could be extraordinarily annoying and a fingerprint scanner could help to alleviate that.
T4rd
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I agree. But I don't think Samsung's implementation of it is nearly as good as the iPhone's. Swiping your thumb, esp. on a large phone like the GS5 (which looks noticably larger than the GS4 that is debatably a one-handed device already) is going to be pretty awkward with just one hand. Plus, I hope those demo units on the floor yesterday were exceptions, because it looks like the error rate on them was unacceptably high.
It is actually kind of funny. It's almost like Apple dared Samsung to "copy that with your feeble small thumb button!"
I wouldn't be surprised if the Galaxy Note 4 or GS6 would have a larger trapezoidal button.
P.S. I seriously don't know who approved of the dimpled look on the gold version... cause it only makes it look extremely cheap... and more and more like a bandaid!
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If there's one positive for me (not for Samsung), it's that after seeing the S5 I'm willing to wait too see what other phones are coming along. The fingerprint scanner would have been (along with better battery life), a great motivator to move from the S3.
But, as you've said, I can barely replicate the finger scanning motion with my S3 using one had, let alone the S5. Maybe it can scan the side of my thumb?
Of course, Samsung has destroyed the S3 (lag galore!) with their 4.3 Update, so I'm highly motivated to upgrade regardless.
T4rd
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Odd, the 4.3 update breathed new life into my Note 2. It was becoming lagtastic on 4.1.2 before. It seemed like any 4.1.2 based ROM would start out nice, but bog down significantly over time. I guess I would attribute that to the lack of TRIM support prior to 4.3. Coworker has a Verizon GS3 though and he said it sped his phone up a lot too.
I'm sure it'll be $200 for the 16GB. They wouldn't price it above the iPhone equivilant and all of the previous GSx phones started out at $200 on-contract. For off-contract, usually $650 I think.
HardUp4HardWare
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You are not alone...
You aren't alone
I am here with you...
Seriously though, considering the number of times I check my phone daily a lock would be a huge hassle. Most lock methods are also easily circumvented.
Ocellaris
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Except for that feature being around on Windows Mobile phones over five years ago, you might have a point.
Good ideas will be copied and iterated on.
Yea I dont know why people think android's notification system was original. If I remember correctly my HTC touch, touch pro 1/2 had pretty much the same notification system as android. Probably because HTC worked with Google on the first android phone and tried to port Touchflo etc to it. But Android stole ideas from everyone. I dont think I have ever seen anything innovative or new from Android or iOS for that matter.
FordFanboy
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Waited for this launch before upgrading. With the G2 being free-$20 with contract, I don't know why anyone would go with the S5. I picked up a G2.
FadedSpark
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Man, I've owned every GS device to this point, and I'm actually not interested in this one... The GS4 was almost a pass, but with the HTC One not offering a swappable battery / a giant battery, I went GS4...
This? Meh. Completely unexciting with phone already having just about every feature they added, like the waterproofing.
I might just go Z2 and say screw it, at least sony puts out decent sources for the AOSP rom devs to work with.
This? Meh. Completely unexciting with phone already having just about every feature they added, like the waterproofing.
I might just go Z2 and say screw it, at least sony puts out decent sources for the AOSP rom devs to work with.
My phone was fine until the 4.3 update. I've done the usual stuff (cleared cache, looked at the apps running, etc) but it's the same. Not that I have many background apps installed or running in the the first place.
I did search through various forums and other people do have the same issues, others do not...the magic of technology!
T4rd
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PocketNow has an article trying to counter all the negative reactions the GS5 has received already.
I think it makes some decent points;
- The IP 57 is certainly a nice addition. Sure, Sony has been doing it on the Xperia phones, but GL getting their phones in the US (at least on-contract). FU for that, Sony.
- Better software, I'll hold judgement for until I see reviews and more about it. What I find interesting though is that while the GS5 and GS4 (imminent now at least with some veriants) are on 4.4/Kitkat, the UI between them seems considerably different, esp. in the notification shade with the toggles. I wonder if Samsung was trying to hold off on the new UI for the GS5 launch and will push it to other phones getting 4.4 later or if older phones are going to be stuck on the old-style Samsung UI (which would be retarded).
- Camera seems to be up in the air still, but from what I've seen so far, it seems like it will be a considerable improvement on the GS4s camera (which was decent except in lower-light settings). I'm more interested in how it will perform in low-light settings and I haven't seen anything on this yet. My Note 2 and wife's GS4 are pretty bad in even moderately low-light settings. They have night modes that help a lot, but it amplifies the noise too and forget shooting anything that's moving at all.
- Accessories, meh. I pass on Samsung's (way) overpriced accessories so I couldn't care less about them. I do find it annoying that they didn't integrate wireless charging into the GS5 though and will probably charge $50 for a plastic cover with a copper panel on it instead.
- On the fence about the new features being gimmicks or not. A heartrate sensor is pretty much a novelty IMO though. Does it really matter what your heartrate is when you're doing anything (unless you're elderly)? Just do your exercise and move on. If I somehow end up with a GS5 in a few months, I might use it a few times, but I can't see myself depending on it for anything.
Another thing I'd like to hit on is internal storage. Apparently you'll have less than half of your 16GBs available to you on the 16GB model. That's absurd. I'm surprised they even have a 16GB model after launching the Note 3 with 32GB+ only. But if they're going to have a 16GB model, they need to market it as a 8GB if they're going to take an outstanding 5GBs for just system ROM. Did they not learn anything from this exact same issue that they had to address with the GS4? I'm hoping that those display models were just completely bloated up with no software compression/optimization done at all and are not representative of what we'll see in production.
I think it makes some decent points;
- The IP 57 is certainly a nice addition. Sure, Sony has been doing it on the Xperia phones, but GL getting their phones in the US (at least on-contract). FU for that, Sony.
- Better software, I'll hold judgement for until I see reviews and more about it. What I find interesting though is that while the GS5 and GS4 (imminent now at least with some veriants) are on 4.4/Kitkat, the UI between them seems considerably different, esp. in the notification shade with the toggles. I wonder if Samsung was trying to hold off on the new UI for the GS5 launch and will push it to other phones getting 4.4 later or if older phones are going to be stuck on the old-style Samsung UI (which would be retarded).
- Camera seems to be up in the air still, but from what I've seen so far, it seems like it will be a considerable improvement on the GS4s camera (which was decent except in lower-light settings). I'm more interested in how it will perform in low-light settings and I haven't seen anything on this yet. My Note 2 and wife's GS4 are pretty bad in even moderately low-light settings. They have night modes that help a lot, but it amplifies the noise too and forget shooting anything that's moving at all.
- Accessories, meh. I pass on Samsung's (way) overpriced accessories so I couldn't care less about them. I do find it annoying that they didn't integrate wireless charging into the GS5 though and will probably charge $50 for a plastic cover with a copper panel on it instead.
- On the fence about the new features being gimmicks or not. A heartrate sensor is pretty much a novelty IMO though. Does it really matter what your heartrate is when you're doing anything (unless you're elderly)? Just do your exercise and move on. If I somehow end up with a GS5 in a few months, I might use it a few times, but I can't see myself depending on it for anything.
Another thing I'd like to hit on is internal storage. Apparently you'll have less than half of your 16GBs available to you on the 16GB model. That's absurd. I'm surprised they even have a 16GB model after launching the Note 3 with 32GB+ only. But if they're going to have a 16GB model, they need to market it as a 8GB if they're going to take an outstanding 5GBs for just system ROM. Did they not learn anything from this exact same issue that they had to address with the GS4? I'm hoping that those display models were just completely bloated up with no software compression/optimization done at all and are not representative of what we'll see in production.
there's a couple of really good apps for heartrate detection using your camera already.
The internal storage is write hilarious when 32 GB eMMC are cheap as heck and Samsung itself manufactures them. And with the new Android OS crippling the microSD performance, it does get you to wonder about if Samsung is intentionally saying you'll take whatever we give you.
I think the issue is more Samsung's past history and modus operandi. It's virtually certain that the company was watching the iPhone 5s launch event closely, making notes as to which features it wanted to copy for the GS5. Apple certainly picks up features from others, but it's rarely in the same kind of rush.
The fingerprint reader I'm fine with, because that's a functional element that (theoretically) improves the experience. However, the gold back and flatter interface look? Those weren't necessary at all, and they suggest that Samsung was anxious about having equivalents to whatever Apple was doing... even if Apple's features weren't entirely original.
T4rd
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That article is kind of vague, but it looks like that just affects apps being installed to external storage, not for other misc files;
Samsung may not be able to patch it this time to enable apps to be installed on the SD card anymore, which sucks for people who install large games on their 16GB (w/ 8GB usable) phones, but doesn't affect me really.
it's impossible for me now to not have more than 16GB of apps/OS installed. I had that trouble back in the GS2 days, and with even less memory now, there is no way I get a 16GB model of GS5.
HardUp4HardWare
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Sigh, the memory thing is complete turd.
Maybe I will wait on my preorder.
8GB?! Holy crap, Can anybody give me a bright side on this?
Maybe I will wait on my preorder.
8GB?! Holy crap, Can anybody give me a bright side on this?
LGabrielPhoto
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Its easier to find your apps because you can only install a handful?
Z2 it is for my GF as I am a Z Ultra owner and was waiting for the new releases to get her a new phone.
The bright side is that there's a 32GB model, and that you can buy another smartphone if you're not willing to pay for more than 16GB. I don't see this getting much better unless Samsung's pact with Google sees it remove a lot of the bloat.
HardUp4HardWare
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The carrot on the stick is what I am ever dealing with. and Verizon who I hate.
Samsung will undoubtedly release a new phone this fall with OIS and better everything.
THe HTC and LG and blah blah blah. Wish I could just get a Sony.
172floater
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With the amount of fluff they add to the galaxy s4 and s5, the 32gb should be the new base standard to buy. Looks like the Z2 for me unless the rumors of a higher end S5 with metal build and better processor are true.
citizen__erased
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I'm shocked at just how underwhelming the s5 really is. Stupid people will still buy it though. And there are a lot of stupid people in the world....
While I don't plan on "upgrading" from my Note 3 to the S5, the S5 at a lower price than the S4 off contract might be enough of an incentive to drive sales for those of us that switched to the AT&T Mobile Share Value plan.
Yet another report hints Galaxy S5 could sell for less than Galaxy S4: http://bgr.com/2014/02/26/samsung-galaxy-s5-price/
It may all be part of Samsung's grand plan as there are still rumors of a premium S5 being released with better specs, build, etc. but at a higher price point
All-metallic version of Galaxy S5 might launch in May under the Galaxy F moniker: http://www.sammobile.com/2014/02/26...ght-launch-in-may-under-the-galaxy-f-moniker/
Yet another report hints Galaxy S5 could sell for less than Galaxy S4: http://bgr.com/2014/02/26/samsung-galaxy-s5-price/
It may all be part of Samsung's grand plan as there are still rumors of a premium S5 being released with better specs, build, etc. but at a higher price point
All-metallic version of Galaxy S5 might launch in May under the Galaxy F moniker: http://www.sammobile.com/2014/02/26...ght-launch-in-may-under-the-galaxy-f-moniker/
Here's a great breakdown of the accuracy of Galaxy S5 rumors.
Many of the rumors were bunk, even the ones that a lot of people (including a few here) were convinced were accurate. The golden rule of rumors remains true: if you don't see hard evidence that a feature will be in the next product, or the rumor doesn't come from someone with a near-perfect track record, assume it's false.
Also, don't assume that the announcement of a technology means it will end up in a product right away. It usually takes months of engineering and production to actually put that in a shipping device. The Note 4 could end up carrying some of the features people believed would end up in the GS5... maybe.
Many of the rumors were bunk, even the ones that a lot of people (including a few here) were convinced were accurate. The golden rule of rumors remains true: if you don't see hard evidence that a feature will be in the next product, or the rumor doesn't come from someone with a near-perfect track record, assume it's false.
Also, don't assume that the announcement of a technology means it will end up in a product right away. It usually takes months of engineering and production to actually put that in a shipping device. The Note 4 could end up carrying some of the features people believed would end up in the GS5... maybe.