Samsung Galaxy S5 rumors and possible specs revealed

Seoul: As Samsung is about to unveil its flagship smartphone Samsung Galaxy S5, now new report revealed device’s speces and features

The Samsung Galaxy S5 is set to be one of the biggest smartphone launches of 2014. A new Samsung event invitation has hinted we’ll see a redesign of Touch Wiz with the Galaxy S5, while a leaked picture supposedly showing the S5′spackaging provides another set of possible specs.

Samsung is the main driver of innovation in the smartphone market today.

The annual release schedule for smartphone flagships has become pretty standard in recent years. The Galaxy S2 was unveiled in February and released in May 2011. The Galaxy S3 was revealed and released in May 2012. The Galaxy S4 was shown off in March and released in April 2013. However, it looks like Samsung is pushing its next phone forward after disappointing S4 sales.

It also doesn’t hurt that Samsung sold an estimated 20 million Samsung Galaxy S4s within two months.

Samsung Galaxy S5 release date

Samsung looks set to hold the first of its annual keynote events Samsung Unpacked at Mobile World Congress. The company is unlikely to hold another major event in March, so it looks increasingly like that Samsung will show off the Galaxy S5 for the first time at the show.

It looks as though our prediction could well be correct with the Samsung Galaxy S5 release date being set for April after a Samsung executive confirmed that the S5 would launch alongside the Galaxy Gear 2 at the same time it launched the S4 last year.

As for when you’ll be able to get your hands on it? If we were betting people, we’d say the last Friday of April – so Friday, April 25th.

Samsung Galaxy S5 specs

Relatively little is known about the Samsung Galaxy S5’s specs. Speaking to Korea Times, Samsung’s co-CEO Shin Jong-Kyun has promised the company will match the processor found in Apple’s new iPhone 5s.

Despite that promise, it appears that Samsung may not be matching it when it comes to it being 64-bit. According to KGI Securities’ Ming-Chi Kuo, the Samsung Galaxy S5 will come in two varieties, but neither will have a 64-bit processor. The Prime is said to be coming with a Samsung octa-core Exynos 5430 processor, while the Standard model is said to be coming with a quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor.

While it may not match it in terms of the amount of bits, if it turns out the Prime model does come with a octa-core processor, Samsung could out do Apple in sheer brute force. The lack of 64-bit support could also have something to do with both models only coming with 3GB RAM, according to Ming-Chi. The main reason for moving up from 32-bit chips is to break through the 4GB limitiation.

If Samsung is planning on sticking with 3GB of RAM, it makes more sense for it to opt for raw power, rather than add a feature which isn’t really going to be used.

Samsung had confirmed that it is working on 64-bit processors for its 2014 handsets – although the company stopped short of actually announcing which handsets they were. If it turns out that Ming-Chi is right – and he has a history of being right – it may mean we have to wait until the Galaxy Note 4 before we see it.

To be honest, it would make more sense for the time being for the Galaxy Note 4 to debut 64-bit chips. Along with giving the company more time to perfect the technology (see below), it would also make more sense to pack its powerhorse phablet with more RAM – and so benefit from a 64-bit chip.

Stephen Woo, president of Systems SI at Samsung electronics told CNET that the company is taking a “two-step approach” to developing 64-bit chips.

According to Woo, the firm is planning on developing a 64-bit chip based on designs from ARM. Once it has mastered that technology, it will design its own chip. It is believed it will be the latter chip that ends up in both of Samsung’s 2014 flagships smartphones.

“We are marching on schedule,” Woo said Wednesday. “We will offer the first 64-bit [processor] based on ARM’s own core. After that, we will offer an even more optimised 64-bit [processor] based on our own optimisations.”

One other snippet of information we have is that the Samsung Galaxy S5 will supposedly feature fast charging capabilities. According to sources speaking with PhoneArena, the next Galaxy will arrive with a new type of lithium ion battery that will hold 20 per cent more energy than the S4 and can be fully charged in just two hours.

Eye scanning security?

According to AndroidSAS, the Galaxy S5 could one-up the fingerprint scanner on the iPhone 5S and take the lead in biometric security with an eye-scanning sensor. The idea is that S5 owners will be able to scan their eyes in order to unlock their smartphones. This would supposedly offer a higher level of security, but the sources are unnamed and there’s nothing to substantiate the rumor. We’ll be sure to keep an eye on this one.

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Fingerprint scanner, or not?

We’ve already seen a report from the Korea Herald in which a Samsung official is quoted as saying “We never officially admitted that Samsung was weighing the fingerprint system and Knox for Galaxy Note 3 for security functions. We are not yet developing the technology.”

Analysts at KGI don’t agree, and included biometric fingerprint scanning in a recent list of expected S5 specs. Of course, if the eye scanning rumor has any truth to it then fingerprints are probably out the window.

Galaxy S5 could run Tizen OS

Samsung has not given up on its own Tizen operating system. The International Business Times reckons the company may release a Tizen version of the Galaxy S5. Would Samsung release two different versions of the S5, one with Tizen and one with Android 4.4 KitKat? It doesn’t seem likely, and we don’t think Samsung is ready to ditch Android for its own platform yet. Maybe the Tizen version may be limited to specific markets, if it exists at all. We’ll have to wait and see.

Stronger, more efficient battery

An anonymous source told PhoneArena.com the Galaxy S5 will have a slightly larger, 2900mAh battery inside. The interesting part is the cell should be the same size as the S4′s 2600mAh battery, as it may use a new technology which would see it store 20-percent more energy without physically increasing in size. More standby without sacrificing size and weight? Sign us up, but battery tech doesn’t move very quickly, so we’ll remain skeptical on this one until Samsung tells us otherwise.

Waterproof comes standard

Smartphones are getting tougher. At the start of this new flagship cycle the Xperia Z made a splash with its waterproof and dustproof credentials. Samsung released the Galaxy S4 Active as a waterproof variant of its flagship, but ET News thinks the Galaxy S5 may take things one step further and be waterproof and dustproof straight out of the box. According to the report, “industry sources” say the Galaxy S5 will meet the same standards as the S4 Active, which will bring into line with some of the other top Android smartphones.

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That’s it for the Samsung Galaxy S5 rumor roundup, but come back soon because we will update this article with fresh rumors as they crop up.

Samsung Galaxy S5 looks

The Samsung Galaxy S5 will sport an entirely new design according to Samsung Mobile executive vice president Lee Young Hee. Speaking to Bloomberg she confirmed that the S5 would be a bold departure after consumer feedback suggested that people didn’t really see the difference between the S3 and the S4.

This would certainly fit with the rumour that claimed Samsung is looking to move away from using polycarbonate back covers for its phones