I guess the S5 review embargo has lifted

[cronos]

Yea I should have specified. For the Verizon model unlock of the bootloader and s off came out yesterday.

Got it. Thanks.

 

[gorcorps]

Its another Samsung phone. I don't understand how people still get excited over this. It's not like we are seeing huge improvements. I'm still using a note 2 and feel no need to upgrade

Some of the AT battery tests show nearly double the battery life compared to the GS4. That's pretty damned impressive. Are you one of those guys who judges a phone based solely on how it looks in pictures?

 

[Roland00Address]

Has Brian left AT? Sort of surprised he didn't do either this or the M8 review.

He was still with anandtech as of MWC in late February but he has been doing a lot less AT since Christmas.

 

[zerogear]

Locked bootloader? Sounds like Samsung is doing an HTC back in 2010. I hope it comes back to bite them in the ass.

 

[poofyhairguy]

Locked bootloader? Sounds like Samsung is doing an HTC back in 2010. I hope it comes back to bite them in the ass.

Unfortunately it seems Samsung is using Verizon's logic: we offer one token device at full cost that is open so that is good enough.

I was expecting some public backlash around this with the S5 launch but that doesn't look like the case. The locked bootloaders won.

 

[evident]

Has Brian left AT? Sort of surprised he didn't do either this or the M8 review.

he probably didnt want to review this phone because of the external memory and battery debacle

 

[sze5003]

Unfortunately it seems Samsung is using Verizon's logic: we offer one token device at full cost that is open so that is good enough.

I was expecting some public backlash around this with the S5 launch but that doesn't look like the case. The locked bootloaders won.

What device do they offer that is unlocked?

 

[poofyhairguy]

What device do they offer that is unlocked?

I am assuming the Google Play Edition will be unlocked like before.

 

[s44]

There was and is also a Verizon-specific unlocked dev edition S4 (now called "generic" for some reason). I assume the same will happen for the S5.

 

[sze5003]

I know the HTC models were dev editions but I don't remember seeing them on google or htc for Verizon, only for tmobile or AT&T.

 

[Roland00Address]

he probably didnt want to review this phone because of the external memory and battery debacle

There are rumors that he is going to be taking less work with Anandtech (still works though) to be focusing on his graduate education.

 

[evident]

There are rumors that he is going to be taking less work with Anandtech (still works though) to be focusing on his graduate education.

sure. I just think the fact that this phone has a removable battery, yet gets double the battery life of the s4 makes the case for a non servicable battery less defendable, (this was one of the points in the hate external sd and battery article) and that he didnt want any part of this review. :biggrin:

 

[gorcorps]

sure. I just think the fact that this phone has a removable battery, yet gets double the battery life of the s4 makes the case for a non servicable battery less defendable, (this was one of the points in the hate external sd and battery article) and that he didnt want any part of this review. :biggrin:

Well, given that it's still behind the m8 it makes your comment pretty pointless

 

[ChronoReverse]

Well, given that it's still behind the m8 it makes your comment pretty pointless

Only according to Anandtech. I've never forgotten buying the One X (which they STILL put on their battery charts) because of Anandtech's amazing battery life results for it only to find that my phone (and everyone else's on XDA) has only medium battery life. I'm not sure why but somehow their test suite gives great results to HTC phones.


Even if I were in the market for a new phone though, I wouldn't get the S4 after the knox crap and the fact this time around they're all bootloader locked. Has Samsung even mentioned anything about a GPE?

 

[Muadib]

Well, given that it's still behind the m8 it makes your comment pretty pointless

Behind how?????

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

Only according to Anandtech. I've never forgotten buying the One X (which they STILL put on their battery charts) because of Anandtech's amazing battery life results for it only to find that my phone (and everyone else's on XDA) has only medium battery life. I'm not sure why but somehow their test suite gives great results to HTC phones.


Even if I were in the market for a new phone though, I wouldn't get the S4 after the knox crap and the fact this time around they're all bootloader locked. Has Samsung even mentioned anything about a GPE?

The AT&T model got great battery life supposedly right?

But honestly at the end of the day these benchmarks are terrible indicators of real world performance. There's some takeaways from them, but it's important to note to not rely on a single site. Even if we love AT's battery tests the most, I also pay close attention to Ars, Phone Arena and especially GSM Arena. The more data you gather, the better picture you get for these phones.

 

[OCGuy]

Finally can dump the S3. Verizon is doing a BOGO w/contract.

S4 just didn't have enough for me, but this seems like a good jump.

 

[WelshBloke]

Even if I were in the market for a new phone though, I wouldn't get the S4 after the knox crap and the fact this time around they're all bootloader locked. Has Samsung even mentioned anything about a GPE?

The ones direct from Samsung aren't locked down are they?

 

[sze5003]

The ones direct from Samsung aren't locked down are they?

Will depend the carrier I suppose. Verizon will be locked for sure. But that site said they all would be.

 

[IeraseU]

Seems like the battery life issue with smartphones is finally being addressed with a combination of higher capacity batteries, more efficient screens and SoCs. All day battery life seems like a safe bet for the S5.

 

[WelshBloke]

Will depend the carrier I suppose. Verizon will be locked for sure. But that site said they all would be.

I mean the ones that you buy from expansys or clove or the like rather than the ones that you get off your carriers.

 

[sze5003]

I mean the ones that you buy from expansys or clove or the like rather than the ones that you get off your carriers.

Not sure about that. I know the US models will most likely be boot loader locked until someone exploits them.

 

[deputc26]

The S5 would have been a beautiful phone 2 yrs ago.
With the introduction of the minimal bezel G2, the S5 is ugly to me.
I can't stand big bezel phones anymore. Its wasted space to me.
Nothing on this phone that make me want to switch from a G2.

This

 

[Zaap]

^ a fair point. I could go completely bezel-less and be quite content.

 

[Dari]

The article says that grayscale is now green. The new UPSM relies on grayscale. I wonder what other surprises GS5 customers will get with this new OLED screen.