Samsung Galaxy S5 And The Apple iPhone 5s Review
Some of the most important brands in the smartphone market are Apple and Samsung. In this review, we take a look at the two company’s most recent smartphone offerings: the Samsung Galaxy S5 and the Apple iPhone 5S.
These two flagships are powerful but there are differences in their design and architecture. A lot of the changes in the Galaxy S5 and the iPhone 5S are found in their specs and their user interfaces.
Design and build quality
- Apple continues to follow the same design philosophy they have for every other S release of the iPhone. This includes the use of an aluminum unibody.
- The 5S looks like its predecessors but has added a fingerprint scanner to the home button and incorporates a dual-LED flash beside it’s camera.
- The home button is also now chrome and looks difference from the previous recessed designs.
- Samsung retains the form factor of previous Galaxy S devices in the Galaxy S5.
- The Galaxy S5 has added a fingerprint scanner in the home button.
- A new recent apps/multitasking key replaces the capacitive menu button.
- The back plate of the Galaxy S5 now has a perforated soft-touch plastic design.
- The Galaxy S5 has a bigger screen then the iPhone 5S.
- The iPhone 5S is the more pocketable design and is easier to use one handed.
Display
- The Samsung Galaxy S5 has a 5.1 inch screen
- The iPhone 5S has a 4 inch screen
- The screen of the 5S has been praised for accurate color reproduction, good brightness and great viewing angles.
- It still uses the same screen as the iPhone 5 for 336 ppi
- The Galaxy S5 uses Super AMOLED technology which gives it vivid colors and distinct blacks.
- With a 432 ppi, the images are a little crisper in the Galaxy S5.
- The larger surface can also be more pleasing for media consumption.
- While the iPhone S5’s compactness might make it more pocketable, the larger screen of the Galaxy S5 is more fun.
Performance
- The iPhone S5 uses iOS which specializes in fluid animations and optimization.
- The interface was revised in the iOS 7.
- The iPhone S5 can easily handle most tasks with its 64-bit processor.
- The Galaxy S5 has a 2.5 GHz quad-core Snapdragon 801 processor.
- This is backed by an Adreno 330 GPU with 2 GB of RAM.
- The Galaxy S5 is currently one of the most powerful Android devices out there.
- There are rarely any stutters or lags given as it still uses Samsung’s resource-heavy TouchWiz UI.
Hardware
- The Galaxy S5 has more features then the iPhone 5S
- The Galaxy S5 has a heart rate monitor, NFC support, a microSD slot, an IR blaster and a removable battery.
- The Galaxy S5 has IP67 certification, which means its dust and water resistant.
- Both the Galaxy S5 and the iPhone 5S have fingerprint scanner in their home buttons. The Galaxy S5’s mechanism uses a swipe gesture; the iPhone 5S needs the user to touch to scan.
Battery
- The iPhone S5 has a 1,560 mAH. Due to Apple’s optimizations, the power can last a day with moderate use.
- The Galaxy S5 has a 2,800 mAh battery for good battery life that can also be extended with various power-saving modes.
- Removable batteries allow you to carry a spare just in case.
Camera
- Samsung Galaxy S5 has a 16 MP ISOCELL camera.
- They have removed some of the camera apps features that the Galaxy S4 had and added a few key ones like Live HDR and Selective Focus.
- You can get great quality photos with the Galaxy S5. The zoom of the photos will allow you to get a certain sharpness and a good level of detail.
- Low-light photos have been improved but there is still some graininess.
- The iPhone S5 has a 8 MP iSight camera.
- The camera app comes with some interesting features, including Auto HDR.
- Images are very good.
- If you like to play around with your smartphone camera and customize its features, you should go for the Galaxy S5. If you want a simple but good camera go for the iPhone 5S.
Software
- Apple revamped their UI in 2013 with the iOS7. This UI is simplistic if responsive and reliable.
- The iOS7 added Control Center users access by swiping up from the screen bottom. This allows you to access brightness, connectivity toggles, the music player and shortcuts’ to common apps.
- If you like customizing your UI, you won’t really like the iOS7.
- Samsung uses the TouchWiz UI in the Galaxy S5.
- There has been few changes between the version of TouchWiz in the Galaxy S5 and earlier devices.
- Multi Window has returned and a Toolbox and Download Booster function have been added.
- The Settings app and the notification center now have a circle motif.
- MyMagazine is a new app located on the left of the home screen. It allows you to access your social media feed
Final Thoughts
- Both the Galaxy S5 and the iPhone S5 are great representatives of their specific brans and companies. As there are a lot of differences in the form factor and ecosystems of these two devices, the choice boils down to personal preferences.
Summary:
Samsung Galaxy S5
- Bigger screen that uses Super AMOLED technology and has a higher megapixel count.
- Has twice the battery capacity
- Has an IP67 rating for better resistance to dust and water.
- Has a high level of customizability
- Is a multitasking powerhouse
Apple iPhone 5S
- The Apple iPhone 5S is more compact in size and can feel more accessible
- The user experience is polished and smooth.
- The design is classy.
- The iPhone 5S has been optimized to take full advantage of its 64-bit architecture.
- The user interface is fast and reliable
- The battery life is decent.
- If you want a simple and straightforward device, or you’re an Apple stalwart, this is your device.
What do you think? Samsung Galaxy S5? Or iPhone 5S?
JR
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