{"id":100510,"date":"2014-04-11T14:48:01","date_gmt":"2014-04-11T12:48:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/?p=100510"},"modified":"2014-04-11T15:43:58","modified_gmt":"2014-04-11T13:43:58","slug":"samsung-galaxy-s5-hands-on","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/smartphones\/100510-samsung-galaxy-s5-hands-on.html","title":{"rendered":"Samsung Galaxy S5 hands-on"},"content":{"rendered":"

Samsung South Africa held a launch event for the Galaxy S5 on Thursday evening (10 April 2014), offering media and other attendees some supervised hands-on time with the smartphone.<\/p>\n

While we couldn\u2019t test all the advertised features (dunking the demo unit in your drink was apparently frowned upon), we could get a feel for the tweaks to Samsung\u2019s industrial design, user interface, and camera.<\/p>\n

Build quality<\/h3>\n

As with its predecessor, the light plastic used on the Samsung Galaxy S5 makes the device feel cheap.<\/p>\n

However, there is something to be said for the new textured back cover on the Samsung Galaxy S5, which feels grippier than the smooth plastic used on the S4.<\/p>\n

Samsung has also received an IP67 rating for the Galaxy S5, which specifies that the device has been tested for dust and water ingress.<\/p>\n

The \u201c67\u201d means it is dust proof and water resistant for 1 metre for up to 30 minutes.<\/p>\n

\"Samsung<\/a>

Samsung Galaxy S5 rear<\/p><\/div>\n

User interface<\/h3>\n

Aside from introducing round icons, Samsung\u2019s TouchWiz user interface on the Samsung Galaxy S5 appears largely unchanged.<\/p>\n

Those that like TouchWiz won\u2019t be caught off-guard by significant changes, and those (like me) who don\u2019t like TouchWiz at all can just replace it with a third-party launcher application from Google Play.<\/p>\n

The only concern that remains insofar as disliked default applications go is that they continue to take up space because you can\u2019t uninstall them easily.<\/p>\n

Camera<\/h3>\n

The superficial testing we were able to do with the camera suggested that the number of new interesting features appear to work well.<\/p>\n

This season\u2019s camera trick of choice seems to be manipulating the depth of field of a photo after it has been taken.<\/p>\n

Even in the low-light environment at the launch event this \u201cSelective Focus\u201d (as Samsung likes to call it) worked perfectly, allowing you to choose whether you want a blurry background or foreground, or whether you want everything in focus.<\/p>\n

Samsung also claims that the Galaxy S5 has the fastest autofocus time of any smartphone camera out there at the moment.<\/p>\n

During my tests it was evident that the autofocus was quick, but it will be difficult to verify the claims without doing side-by-side tests with all this year\u2019s heavy-hitters.<\/p>\n

Ultra Power Saving Mode<\/h3>\n
\"Samsung<\/a>

Samsung Galaxy S5 ultra low power mode<\/p><\/div>\n

Another potentially great feature on the Galaxy S5 is its \u201cultra power saving mode\u201d, which Samsung claims will give an additional 24 hours of standby time per 5% of charge remaining.<\/p>\n

While we got to see the mode in action, we were unfortunately not able to hang around to verify that the device does last as long as advertised.<\/p>\n

Warranty & Ecosystem<\/h3>\n

The internal hardware, build quality, and system software are only part of the equation when considering a smartphone nowadays.<\/p>\n

One aspect of Samsung\u2019s value proposition that no-one can ignore is the so-called accidental damage from handling (ADH) warranty.<\/p>\n

As with the Galaxy Note 3, the S5 comes with ADH Premium, which has been amended since its launch last year to include two free no-questions asked screen or liquid damage repairs on the device for 24 months.<\/p>\n

The warranty includes free collection and delivery of the damaged device and a loan unit.<\/p>\n

It also includes guaranteed buyback for the first 12 months after you bought the device, which Samsung calls \u201cSmart Value\u201d. The buyback price is 25% of the recommended retail price at the time of purchase.<\/p>\n

If you \u201cSmart Value\u201d your device for another Samsung device covered by ADH Premium within the first 12 months, the unused ADH benefits on your Galaxy S5 carry over to the next 24 month period.<\/p>\n

Samsung also includes a number of other freebies with its devices it calls \u201cGalaxy Gifts\u201d.<\/p>\n

This includes free cloud storage for limited periods on Bitcasa<\/strong> (1TB for 3 months), Box<\/strong> (50GB for 6 months), and Dropbox<\/strong> (50GB for 2 years). It also includes free subscriptions to Bloomberg Businessweek <\/strong>(12 months) and Wall Street Journal<\/strong> (6 months).<\/p>\n\n\t\t