S5 hands on - better but oh that back

[dawheat]

Got to play with the S5 at a Samsung experience store. Some quick thoughts while I'm out. Will add more later.
- the screen is quite nice. Quite bright and at 100% seems brighter than my Note 3 with whiter whites. I took . pic next to my wife's iPhone and the whites were pretty good.
- build quality feels a bit better, more susubstantial. The hone
home button action feels more dampened.
- fingerprint scanner seemed to read OK and combined with a sview cover could be convenient. Mild improvement over a pin.
- the back feels better than the S4 and even Note 3 but it's not pretty. I think it's a step back from the Note 3, though better than glossy plastic.

 

[Maximus96]

i'd hate to flip open that plug to charge it every time...

 

[openwheel]

So the "white" seems white on a display model, but what is the setting? 50%? 75%? 100%? Is power saving mode turned on or off?

 

[dawheat]

So the "white" seems white on a display model, but what is the setting? 50%? 75%? 100%? Is power saving mode turned on or off?

Not sure what the S5 was at, but the iPhone as at about 60%. I was more surprised that the newest AMOLED screen is able to produce white whites as older versions couldn't, regardless of brightness level. I was very happy with the Note 3 screen over the Note 2, including outdoor visibility - the S5 seems like another methodical improvement.

Liked the Gear Fit, but it's definitely a casual device. Looks and feels more like a sports/outdoors/fitness type wearable compared to my 1st gen Gear.

As previously stated, the back feels fine but does look a bit painful. No way around it unless you slap on a case.

 

[WelshBloke]

i'd hate to flip open that plug to charge it every time...

I think that I could live with that once a day.

 

[Ravynmagi]

I'm surprised by the change of back textures by Samsung. They just barely started using the faux leather back, it's on their Note 3, new Note and Galaxy Tab Pro tablets, their upcoming Chromebook 2 will have it. I think some other laptops will have the faux leather top as well.

So why is the S5 singled out with this fugly dimpled texture? Very strangle. And I'd rather have the camera flush. That much jut bugs me.

 

[openwheel]

yeah the faux leather is fantastic to hold and maintenance free. Easily my favorite design feature on the Note 3

 

[dawheat]

The S5 screen review by Displaymate also lines up with what I saw in store - it's a decent improvement over the S4 screen, especially in brightness and power efficiency. Not as much of a step over the Note 3 screen, though it is better. Between the Galaxy S and Note launches, it feels like we see a half step forward in AMOLED tech every 6 months.

http://www.displaymate.com/Galaxy_S5_ShootOut_1.htm

However, with how good the Note 3 and S5 screens are, it does feel like the improvement curve is levelling out. I fully expect the Note 4 screen to be brighter, more accurate, and more power efficient than the Note 3 screen, but not nearly at the level of improvement of the Note 2 -> Note 3.

 

[s44]

Damnit, I didn't realize there was a recent thread to bump so I started my own. Did you see the bit about independent calibrations to each gamut standard? That's amazing.

The next step in AMOLED is full flex.

 

[dawheat]

Damnit, I didn't realize there was a recent thread to bump so I started my own. Did you see the bit about independent calibrations to each gamut standard? That's amazing.

The next step in AMOLED is full flex.

So being that Samsung has had these modes for a while, is what you're remarking on the fact that two modes actually seem calibrated to some standard, and not just Movie/Cinema mode?

I know Movie/Cinema mode in the last year has been Samsung's way of being closer to sRGB and is the only mode I've used.

I'm guessing that in the past, the Professional mode actually didn't map to any particular standard, so the change is now that it's an attempt to be close to Adobe RGB?

 

[s44]

Yeah, check the results. They are now sRGB and Adobe respectively.

 

[surasak]

i'd hate to flip open that plug to charge it every time...

Yea I think that will be annoying too. I'm sure samsung has done its testing so the flap will lasts through the phone's life time, but I still I don't feel it's the best way to charge the phone.

It really should come with wireless charging, or the old-school magnetic charging like the Z2. I actually prefer the old-school, albeit the lack of compatibility between phones.