Samsung Galaxy S5 launch window for SA

MTN South Africa expects to launch the Samsung Galaxy S5 in mid–2014, a spokesperson for the operator has told MyBroadband.

The mobile operator said that the Galaxy S5 is one of multiple new ranges from Samsung that is in testing on its network.

MTN said that it is busy doing functional and network testing on the device, the outcomes of which will determine if, and how soon after the Galaxy S5’s international debut, it will launch here.

Vodacom has confirmed that it will be selling the Samsung Galaxy S5 when it lands in South Africa.

Details of the new Android smartphone flagship from Samsung have yet to be confirmed, but an official announcement from the Korean electronics giant is expected on Monday, 24 February 2014 from Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

Hardware hearsay

As usual before the announcement of such a high-profile device, the rumour-mill is in overdrive. Between Sammobile and Russian blogger Eldar Murtazin, the hardware specifications expected from the Samsung Galaxy S5 are as follows:

New rumours have surfaced recently, suggesting that Samsung will first launch a 1080p version of the Samsung Galaxy S5, with a QHD model following later.

The device is also set to come in metal and plastic versions (leading to speculation that the plastic model could feature the slightly lower spec display), and has also been tipped to be ruggedised like Sony’s Xperia Z range.

Rumours have also emerged that the Samsung Galaxy S5 will include a fingerprint scanner near the home button, which is usually placed below the display in the middle of the device.

Unlike the reader on the iPhone 5s, it will reportedly be a swipe-based scanner that is sensitive to moisture.

New Samsung smartphone UI being “explored”, according to @evleaks

GUI gossip

In addition to the “spec-bump” expected from a new version of a smartphone range, the Galaxy S5 is also expected to feature a new user interface to replace Samsung’s venerable TouchWiz “skin” for Android.

Well-known industry leaker @evleaks posted screenshots of the rumoured interface in January and Samsung also hinted at a new interface in its teaser for its upcoming Unpacked⁵ event.

Fortunately for the Samsung faithful (and other smartphone enthusiasts), with Unpacked⁵ scheduled for Monday evening, the wait to hear whether all these rumours were true is almost over.

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