Samsung Galaxy S5: Top 6 features

Samsung Galaxy S5

Samsung has finally announced its much-talked about flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S5. On the surface, it does not look very different from its predecessor, the Galaxy S4, though it features a slightly bigger screen.
However, it does bring a number of new features to the device. Here is a look at the top 6 features of Galaxy S5 




Water and dust resistant body


The Samsung Galaxy S5 is IP67 certified and is resistant to water and dust. It is not the first Samsung Galaxy phone to come with this feature as the Galaxy S4 Active also touted the same. Sony’s high-end Xperia smartphones are also water and dust-resistant.
The phone’s USB port too is protected with a flap for making the phone resistant.


Heart rate monitor


Samsung claims Galaxy S5 is the first smartphone to come with a built-in hear rate monitor. The monitor is placed at the back of the phone right next to the LED flash and will track the user’s heart rate through the index finger. The monitor will work in conjunction with new health apps part of the S-Health 3.0 suite, in line with Samsung’s focus on health and wellness features.


Finger sensor


The iPhone 5S brought the first ‘usable’ fingerprint sensor to the market. Taking a cue, the Galaxy S5 also includes a fingerprint sensor which it calls Finger Scanner on the phone’s Home button.
Unlike the iPhone’s touch ID, this one needs users to swipe their fingers and not hold it. The scanner can be used to lock the phone and for authenticating mobile payments via PayPal.


Improved camera with 4K video


The Samsung Galaxy S5’s sports an improved 16MP rear camera capable of recording 4K video at 30 frames per second. Samsung claims Galaxy S5 offers the world's fastest auto-focus speed up to 0.3 seconds.
It also offers slow-motion video recording and Lytro-like re-focus feature. The camera also includes hybrid auto-focus, offering both contrast detection and phase detection, features found in DSLR cameras.


Faster internet connectivity


Galaxy S5 supports Wi-Fi 802.11ac and 2X2 MIMO, in addition to supporting the large number of LTE frequency with LTE Category 4 standard.
The phone also includes a unique feature called Download Booster, that combines Wi-Fi and LTE connections to achieve faster download speeds. As of now, it is not clear if Galaxy S5 supports Indian 4G LTE bands.


New software


Galaxy S5 comes with Android 4.4 KitKat, the latest iteration of the mobile OS. The phone includes a new version of TouchWiz, Samsung’s UI layer featuring flatter design elements.
Interestingly, apart from the new S-Health 3.0 suite of health apps, Samsung has not talked about any other custom Samsung apps or content stores.