Samsung Galaxy S5 (GSM)
Phone Scoop Review
Apr 18, 2014 by Eric M. Zeman
Samsung delivers a delightful device in the Galaxy S5. This powerful Android smartphone offers a more refined experience than its predecessor and manages to raise the bar at least a little bit. read review ›
User Reviews
Average Ratings
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a Mercedes among smartphones
Carrier: AT&T
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I loved my Galaxy s3, didn't upgrade to the s4 because not enough improvements, but when the s5 came out I had to have it. Great screen, great features, good sound, it does everything extremely well. Yes the screen is big but I can still get my thumb around the screen where I need to. If you freeze bloatware (AT&T in my case), and turn off the "sync every few minutes" items, you get great battery life. This phone handles a 128gig memory card just fine. I get better reception than my s3 did.
Cons: The camera is great, but still not enough zoom, so your zoomed photos will not be very good. The only s5 that can be flashed with custom ROMs is the T-Mobile version, all others have encrypted bootloaders. However, after rooting, installing Titanium Backup to freeze bloatware, and with Xposed modules installed, I'm not missing custom ROMs. This is just an absolutely wonderful phone.
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One of, if not the best, smartphones
Carrier: AT&T
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I have had this phone now for two weeks. I upgraded from an HTC One X+. This phone is hands down the best smartphone I have ever owned, and as a seasoned electronics engineer and gadget geek I don't make that statement lightly. Yes Samsung could have put a wiz-bang HTC/Apple like metal case on the phone but given that most everyone I know or see puts their phones in a good case.....WHO CARES!!!!!!
The screen is awesome with an infinite contrast ratio and beautiful color saturation (a little to the warm kelvin side but not bad).
The battery life is nothing short of amazing thanks to the Snapdragon 801s and AMOLED efficiency ( Kit-Kat helps also).
As most have observed, the camera does have a low-light quality weakness. Digital stabilization helps in low light but should be turned off in good lighting situations as the focus becomes almost instantaneous with this feature off.
Overall if you are looking for a feature rich phone will excellent core functionality, a rich set of bells and whistles, an excellent (but not outstanding) camera with outstanding battery life, you should strongly consider this phone. It is hard to beat.
If you a just looking for something to stoke your ego and don't really care as much about function as much as sexy cases, the HTC One (M7/8) or the I-phone might float your boat more (not that they aren't very good phones but they aren't, in my humble opinion, in the same class as the S5)
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I love this phone
Carrier: AT&T
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I haven't had much android experience outside of Samsung. I have had the Galaxy 2, 4 and now the 5. This phone is amazing. The ability to use the split screen, the camera, the audio and the just overall ease of the phone is amazing. The phone has been criticized for not being that much better that the 4 but that is simply because you cannot perfect perfection. The screen and its images always come through sharp and brilliant. The phone is fast and doesn't lag or stall between applications. The sound is great and the battery life is much better than the battery life of the 4. I love this phone's ability to go into power saving mode.
Cons: I can't stop playing with it
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Good Phone
Carrier: T-Mobile
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This review being in light of the fact that I am an avid iPhone user and love all Apple products, every once in a while I like to break away from them and try an Android out for fun and Ive gotta say this is a great phone. I actually started this time with an iPhone 5 and traded it for a Galaxy S4 and then something happened with at the TMobile store- Were all still not really sure what happened to my GS4 but it got really messed up and wouldnt read any Sim cards. So instead of losing me as a customer to ATT, TMobile offered me a trade in deal for this GS5. And I honestly couldnt be happier. Its screen is beautiful, the camera is amazing with all the features you can do with it and it is SUPER fast. I have noticed some people saying its cheaply made but its much better than the plastic GS4 I had before it. But not as well made at all as the iPhones Ive owned. The clarity and pixels on the screen are just beautiful and the battery is much much better than the GS4. I keep it plugged in most of time though but when I have had to leave for the day with no way to charge it it seems to last much much longer than most other previous phones Ive had. They made the back beautifully and almost like a case. Im still yet to put a case on it- which I know I need to do soon. And I havent tried to drop it in water yet and doubt that I will but I trust from all the other reviews that it is water proof. All in all it is a beautiful and awesome phone. Still, Im very much looking forward to Apples new release this year. Stay blessed and hope this review helps. Ps- I think the reception is fine and that review has really more to do with what area you live in and what carrier you have. I have TMobile and live in Silicon Valley so my reception on this phone has been pretty good.
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Totally Nice
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Pros:
Everything.
Cons:
Nothing, except the flashlight is stuck for 1,000,000,000,000 years.
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Great Phone
Carrier: AT&T
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I have the AT&T Galaxy S5, love it. AT&T's service works great where I use it in Northeast, I get LTE everywhere I go.
Pros:
Camera - 16 megapixel, my pics come out great
Processor - Little to no lag
Screen - full 1080P resolution, Netflix, ESPN, etc. look great
Water Resistant - many times have I dropped my device in a puddle or liquid, no worries here.
Cons:
Battery - probably an issue with most smartphones
software updates - more an android issue, but wouldn't update till hard reset my device, just most recent update to 5.1
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My first smartphone
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Hello,
Maybe, I'm just a bit dazzled and won't be able to give as sophisticated a review as some, but I am seriously loving this phone. It does more than I was ever expecting, and it does it so much better than I ever would have thought. I'm pretty sure my life has instantly become way better organized. It's even got me spending LESS time on the Internet, because I know I can check anything any time, so I no longer hesitate to walk away from the computer. So if, like me, you're the last of your friends to have a "dumbphone" and you're wondering whether to switch: go for it, you won't regret it. However, the thing I love the most is that this phone is massively customizable. (It would actually be kind of ridiculous if I didn't LOVE customization.) Every day I'm finding ways to make the phone work better for me. So that's another plus: no matter what your style is, you'll be able to make the phone work the way you want it to. Also, the size is perfect. Big enough to see everything without being too big.
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Galaxy s5 from AT&T.
Carrier: AT&T
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everything about the phone is pretty great. I wish it had a better camera though, like at least a 16mp rather than the 13mp. Being on AT&T I noticed it's the only carrier that has no option to get rid of the "Make sure you cover the charging port" notification every time I disconnect it. Kind of spotty coverage outside of urban areas (I'm in NE Wisconsin) for the most part it's great, but whenever I go out of town I tend to lose signal, which is weird because AT&T has such a good coverage map. MY fiancée has US Cellular and a really old moto device that gets signal even when I don't.
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Glad I switched from Apple!
Carrier: AT&T
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I upgraded from iPhone 4S (finally!) I love the fact that I can add a memory card and replace the battery if needed! The camera is great. And I love the android operating system.
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The Best Cell Phone So Far
Carrier: Cricket
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I have had a couple different smartphones in the past with this Samsung Galaxy S5 being one of the best I've had so far. I even had their Samsung Galaxy S3 which was good at first but started getting sluggish after having it for about 6 months to a year. With this Galaxy S5 I haven't had any issues of freezing or lag or anything of the sort. I mean I have had issues of force closes and freezes and lag but that's been because of an app that was acting funny for one reason or another. I get great call reception and clear voice calls. Data speeds are great. UI is very responsive and the screen is great accept in direct sunlight. Not to say you can't see the screen in direct sunlight but it is more difficult. I'm in the Northwest and haven't had any trouble at all with the phone reception, calls or voice.. The only CON for me is that it doesn't support the Samsung Pay with the MST but I have used Android Pay and that works great! My phone is little over a year old now and the battery still lasts all day long with moderate data use.
