First Impression: Samsung Galaxy S5

Subtle changes could make difference

A recent New York Times article said phones were getting bigger by the day. Looking at the evolution of Samsung's flagship devices from its Galaxy series, one can understand why.

The S5 is bigger than its previous iterations, and design-wise, is similar to the Note 3. The S5 is similar in dimensions to the S4, but a bit bigger. That's where most similarities end, at least in terms of design. The S5 is more rectangular than the S3 or S4 and its screen is about 0.1 inch bigger than the 5-inch display of the S4. The front face and the ports are similar to the S4, with one notable exception. There is a big flap at the bottom covering the microUSB/USB 3.0 port. One-handed operation is smooth. The phone is all plastic and proud to be so. The patterned back looks great and offers a good grip. Besides black and white, the phone is also available in blue and gold - the colour of the phone actress Freida Pinto sported at the event.

The phone is light and, in the limited time we used it, the processor seemed zippy. The TouchWiz interface has been revamped. But the two most talked about features were the fingerprint scanner and the heart rate sensor. Of course, the phone's also dust-proof and water-proof - a bucket wasn't available to dunk the phone into it. The fingerprint scanner, on the phone's home button, is different from that on the Apple iPhone 5s. While in the 5s, one needs to place one's finger on the home button, on the S5, one needs to swipe across. The camera's resolution has been bumped up to 16 megapixel and Samsung claims it can focus automatically on objects in just 0.3 seconds.

Another cool feature is selective focus - where one can blur out some parts of a shot a la DSLRs.

We found it a bit of a hit-and-miss indoors.

The S5 hasn't made revolutionary changes from its predecessor, the S4. The subtle changes, however, make it feel less gimicky (it still has the gesture sensors) and a more serious device. Is it a good phone? From our limited interaction, it certainly feels so, but at Rs 51,000-53,000, it better be.

Samsung also launched the Gear 2, Gear 2 Neo (running Tizen and without a camera) and the curved fitness band, Gear Fit, at the event. Samsung has moved the camera from the strap to the watch body in the Gear 2.

PROCESSOR
Octa core (Quad 1.9 GHz +Quad 1.3 GHz)
STORAGE
16 GB internal +microSD slot (up to 128GB cards supported)
OPERATING SYSTEM
Android 4.4.2 (KitKat) with TouchWiz