Samsung Galaxy S5 Specs Rumours

Samsung's Galaxy Note 3 hadn't even made it to the shelves before rumours of the Galaxy S5 began to emerge. With the Samsung Galaxy S4 selling well, but not attracting the same degree of excitement as some rival devices, the Galaxy S5 will be key device for Samsung in 2014.
From possible release dates to improvements in build, camera and display, the claims are in full swing for the S4 successor and to make it easy for you, we have rounded them all up here.

Samsung Galaxy S5 release date

If a report from Korean site Joseilbo is anything to go by, we might be seeing the Samsung Galaxy S5 launching pretty sharpish in the new year. The site claims internal Samsung meetings have led to the belief that the company will unveil the device in mid-January with it going on sale by February.
This cycle wouldn't follow Samsung's usual Galaxy release pattern, which is normally in March/April, but with reports suggesting the S4 missed the company's internal sales projection despite it selling more than 40 million handsets worldwide, it wouldn't be an unreasonable timeline if Samsung wanted to shake things up a little early.

More recently, Korean site ET News has suggested manufacturing for the Galaxy S5 will begin in Vietnam in January, with the handset going on sale before the end of the quarter. That would see Samsung ready to launch the device by the end of March, which is closer to the sort of timescale we would expect, and would be typical for Samsung's flagship device.

Samsung Galaxy S5 display

At its Analyst Day in Seoul last month, Samsung presented a road map of where it plans to take its screen resolutions over the next couple of years and it suggests we can expect a mighty bump for the Galaxy S5.
Although 4K displays were touted for 2015, Samsung proposed it would be taking a step up to a 2560 x 1440 pixel resolution display in the "gap" year, suggesting it's possible we could see it arrive on the S5. The company also said it was looking further into phones that can bend, flex, and even fold.


There were rumours of a wraparound display also reported, but this could be for another device rather than the Galaxy S5, or perhaps the premium version if the two options-rumour is accurate. Until further evidence emerges, it seems we are looking at a 5-inch Super AMOLED display with a pixel density of 560ppi for the Galaxy S5, which would be super-sharp and class leading.

Samsung Galaxy S5 build

It looks like we can expect an improvement in the build of the next Galaxy device. According to Korean site ET News, the Galaxy S5 will be the first Galaxy device to replace a polycarbonate casing in favour of aluminium and magnesium alloy.
The site claims industry sources say that adopting a metal rear casing will help Samsung to compete directly with its rivals such as HTC and Apple who's flagships both feature premium quality bodies. It is also suggested that the design will be reinvigorated in terms of materials and aesthetics but no details were given, so for now this is just speculation.
But that isn't all in terms of build. According to Electronic Times, the Galaxy S5 is rumoured to be waterproof and dustproof from the box, taking some of the technology used in the S4 Active and following in the footsteps of Sony's Xperia Z and Xperia Z1.
The Samsung Galaxy S4 Active swapped a couple of the S4 specifications for a more rugged body and a camera that worked underwater but it isn't likely Samsung will want to increase the size or weight of the S5. This could just be a case of fans drawing up a wishlist of specs, we're not entirely convinced that the S5 will make this move.

More recently, one of the most interesting rumours to emerge is the idea that Samsung will release two versions of the Galaxy S5, just like Apple did with its latest iPhone, bringing the iPhone 5S and more affordable iPhone 5C.
The rumour comes from ET News and claims both versions will come with the same specifications, but the premium device will sport a metal casing and flexible display, while the other option will be a plastic casing and normal screen.

Samsung Galaxy S5 camera

Samsung is working on a new 16-megapixel sensor with optical image stabilisation according to a report from Korea in August. The sensor wasn't due to be ready in time for the Note 3, but it is said to have been designed specifically for its flagship slimline Android phones so the S5 has a good chance of being in the running.
The sensor is described by Samsung as "the world's highest-performance camera module" and its OIS allows for correcting angular errors of up to 1.5-degrees off target, reducing blur and increasing sharpness.



If it makes it into the Galaxy S5, which would seem likely, it will mean shots and full HD video recordings will be eight times brighter than other competing sensors according to Samsung. We'd also expect support for 4K video capture, as found in the Note 3.
In addition, the autofocus technology is said to have been improved, using less power and reducing the drain on the battery.

Samsung Galaxy S5 processor, battery and storage

Apple recently launched its iPhone 5S with a 64-bit processor under the hood and it looks as though we might see Samsung do the same.
According to Digitimes, Samsung Display and Japan Display will begin making its WQHD displays soon and 64-bit CPUs. Although the track record for Digitimes isn't flawless, the display rumour had appeared from another source previously so it could well have some legs in this case. The same report from Digitimes also suggested Samsung would be packing in a 16-megapixel camera, which was also claimed by another source.
The 64-bit processor does carry some further weight though, as Stephen Woo, Samsung's president of System LSI, said earlier in November the company would be following in Apple's footsteps with a 64-bit chip so we would imagine this is fairly likely for the S5.
The Galaxy S5 is also rumoured to be coming to market with 3GB of RAM to match the Note 3 and a 4000mAh battery.

Conclusion

The rumours are in full swing and we expect we will be seeing plenty more in the coming weeks, especially if the rumours of a January unveiling are true.
There have been no image leaks of the device itself so far and therefore it is hard to determine what it will look like, although a metal casing and redesign seems likely.
We also expect the display resolution to increase, and the camera be improved along with the speed of the device itself with a more powerful processor

Read more: pocket-lint