The Samsung Galaxy Note 5 is hands down the best Galaxy Note ever released. In fact, it’s the best Android smartphone, period.
While the Galaxy Note 5 does have a few compromises to go along with the new design, it’s Samsung’s most premium smartphone so far. It delivers several features the iPhone and other Android competition can’t, with the S-Pen stylus or fingerprint scanner, and is just an all-around fabulous device. The Galaxy Note 5’s premium new design, unbeatable 5.7-inch screen and exceptional 16 megapixel camera earned it a GottaBeMobile Editors’ Choice Award.
It has a beautiful and big 5.7-inch display wrapped in an all-new aluminum design, enhancements to the S-Pen stylus, the latest version of Android and more, all while being smaller than last year’s Galaxy Note. This is a smartphone I can recommend without hesitation.
Samsung sent over a Galaxy Note 5 to review, an AT&T model priced at $739 off contract, or $30 a month for 24 months. It’s an expensive purchase considering it loses features compared to the Note 4, but more on that below. I’ve used it nearly three weeks alongside a trusty Galaxy S6 and Nexus 6, and have come to love its perfect size. It isn’t too big, like older Note phones, and isn’t too small either. I’ll be focusing mainly on the 5.7-inch display, the new S-Pen stylus features and the great camera.
There’s no getting around the fact that this is a big smartphone and may be too oversized for some users. That said, this year Samsung packed better specs, improved hardware and more features into a device smaller than last year’s even though it has the same size screen. That makes the Note 5 finally a device easy enough for most to hold and use with one hand, which has always been a problem for the Note line.
What We Like:
Unbeatable 5.7-inch 2560 x 1440 Quad-HD Display
16 Megapixel Camera that’s great for beginners & advanced enough for photography enthusiasts
Completely revamped all-aluminum and glass design
Smaller than the Galaxy Note 4, easier to hold and use
Fast & Wireless Charging
What We Don’t Like:
No micro-SD slot to expand storage
No removable or replaceable battery
Smaller battery than last years Note 4
Bottom Line: Those in the market for a big phone will likely end up getting the Note 5 and will love it. It has everything buyers love about the Galaxy S6 but it’s bigger, better and faster. Samsung has finally put together a well-rounded premium smartphone. The design, camera and screen can’t be beat. The S-Pen has tons of new features that makes it worth using: the fingerprint scanner is better than last year and they added wireless mobile payments (Samsung Pay) that will work everywhere. Not to mention fast charging and fast wireless charging. Then they wrapped it in an aluminum frame that’s better than the iPhone 6.
This phone has it all, does it all and looks good doing it. Samsung thought of everything. The only downside is there’s no micro-SD slot, which is a huge compromise due to the new design. But with 32 or 64GB of storage and the cloud, users will barely miss the micro-SD slot.
Galaxy Note 5 Display
The Galaxy Note 5 has the best screen I’ve ever used. It’s simply gorgeous. It has better colors and a higher resolution than any iPhone with a Retina Display, as well as higher than most HDTV’s. Whether users watch movies, play games, send texts or browse the web everything is bright, crisp and clear.
The biggest factor for me, and buyers, is that it’s the same 5.7-inch size as last year with a 2560 x 1440 Quad HD (2k) resolution, yet the device is physically smaller than the Galaxy Note 4. This is the first Galaxy Note I’ve felt comfortable holding.
Put it side-by-side with most of the competition and it’s somewhat hard to tell a difference, but it’s brighter and has better colors. I enjoy the fact that it has a bigger screen than the competition, but is physically smaller and easier to hold.
Galaxy Note 5 Design
There is no fake leather design on back, plastic that looks aluminum like the Galaxy Note 3 or other awful design flaws. This is a premium smartphone made out of aluminum with clean, chamfered edges and covered in durable, strengthened Gorilla Glass 4 on the front and back. When we say this is Samsung’s best phone we mean it. It’s a shining example of what a “premium” smartphone should be.
In late February, Samsung confirmed two successors for the Galaxy S5. A Samsung Galaxy S6 and a curved version called the Galaxy S6 Edge. The two devices arrived with tons of upgrades including 5.1-inch high-resolution displays, powerful Exynos 7 processors, excellent rear and front-facing cameras, updated TouchWiz and Android software, premium designs, tons of storage, and more.
The Samsung Galaxy S6 (and Galaxy S6 Edge) are two of the best phones on the market and phones that we’ve been using since their release in April. We love the Galaxy S6. It’s one of the best phones on the market, Android or otherwise, and it’s a device that you must consider before buying your next device.
While we, and many others, think the Galaxy S6 is one of the best phones you can buy, it’s not a perfect smartphone. It’s pretty close to perfection but there are still some things that we think you might hate about the Samsung Galaxy S6, its features, and its support.
Today, ahead of the Galaxy Note 5 launch, we want to take a look at a few things that we, and others, dislike about the Galaxy S6. These might be deal breakers for some of you and they’re important to keep in mind as you do research ahead of your next smartphone purchase.
Slow Updates
Slow updates aren't the only thing we hate about Samsung and the Galaxy S6. We also hate the fact that Samsung's notorious for passing along bad information or no information at all about its Android software updates.
The company's plans are never laid out for you ahead of time. It typically confirms an update for a few devices and then leaves the rest up to carriers. Most carriers don't like to communicate with their customers ahead of time so more often than not, you're left in the dark wondering when or even if an update will roll out. It's frustrating.
Even worse is that Samsung has failed to set a standard when it comes to the duration of a device's software support. Sometimes its two years, sometimes not. It's not consistent and there's no official policy, at least a public policy, in place to guide potential buyers.
When you buy an iPhone, you know that you'll get at least three years of software support. Apple doesn't say this on the box or in the manual but we know it will get three years or more because it's set a standard over the years. It's why the iPhone is such a solid investment. You know that you can hold onto it for a long, long time. Not the case with the Galaxy S6.
If you buy the Galaxy S6 today, you have absolutely no idea how long support will last. Maybe it'll get two years, maybe one and a half, maybe three. Only Samsung knows. Or does it?
With the iPhone 6 you get 3+ years of support. With the Galaxy S6, you'll be lucky if you get two. With an iPhone, you typically get most of what an iOS update has to offer. With Samsung's updates, you sometimes get scraps.
Remember, these two phones cost the same.
Mysterious Software Support
App Ecosystem
3 / 5
Another thing that we don't like about the Samsung Galaxy S6 is the app ecosystem that Android provides. There are two parts to this.
One, the Android versions of applications are often uglier than their iOS counterparts. In our experience, we've also found them to be buggier. They also tend to be slower to new features and occasionally they won't get a feature at all.
And two, many developers still release iOS applications before they release on Android. A recent example is Fallout Shelter. Bethesda's popular game arrived for iOS in June. It's still not available on Android and at best, it will arrive in August. That's two months after the iOS release. This is just one example.
Since we use both iPhone and Android, this isn't a problem. But most of you won't be using two phones. You'll be using a Galaxy S6 or something else. Something to think about if you're coming from iPhone or you want quick access to the best applications.
Learning Curve
4 / 5
If you're coming from a phone like the Galaxy Note 4 and Galaxy S5, you'll probably be able to acclimate to the Galaxy S6 and its software fairly quickly. TouchWiz has changed (for the better) and you'll be familiar with many of its features and their names.
If you aren't coming from a Galaxy phone, you're probably going to hate the Samsung Galaxy S6's steep learning curve. And yes we know there is an Easy Mode but the fact that there is an Easy Mode helps to prove our point.
Samsung's Galaxy S6 comes loaded with features but many of these features are hard to find. Samsung simply doesn't do a good enough job explaining them to new and novice users and it could be months, perhaps even years before you're able to unlock the phone's full potential.
The Galaxy S6 is easier to use than previous Galaxy S models and the Galaxy Note but it's still not as intuiative as the iPhone and iOS. iOS is much easier to pick up and master.
Non-Removable Battery
This is something that we also hate about the iPhone. The iPhone 6 and Galaxy S6 don't come with removable batteries. What this means is that you're unable to install an extended battery for more juice and you're forced to take the phone in or send it away if you need a replacement.
In our time with the two devices, they've exhibited solid battery life though that's not the case for everyone. Many Galaxy S6 users hate the device's battery life. It was also a feature that critics complained about in their reviews.
We don't hate the battery life on our Galaxy S6 but we hate the fact that we have to buy an expensive bulky case to add extra charge.
Mileage is going to vary but this could certainly be a problem for those of you used to getting excellent battery life out of your current device.
The Samsung Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge have two light up buttons on each side of the dedicated home button, and they glow when users interact with the device. This is so you know where they are, and can easily see the back and recent apps buttons. These only stay lit up for 1.5 seconds on the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge, and some owners may want to adjust this and make them stay lit longer.
The capacitive touch buttons simply don’t stay on long enough for most users, and to make matters worse Samsung let carriers in the United States remove the option to adjust it. With the Galaxy S5 you could change this setting from 1.5 to three seconds, six seconds, off, or always on when the screen is on. However, all carriers but AT&T completely removed this setting on the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge, but we have a way around that.
For some these lights can be frustrating when in a dark environment and will want to turn them off completely, and for others 1.5 seconds is simply not long enough. AT&T has the lights stay on for six seconds, which is perfect for most, but if you want to adjust them on AT&T and other carriers, read on for the quick instructions.
Every time you touch the screen or use the Samsung Galaxy S6 or Galaxy S6 Edge these lights turn on, but they quickly turn off and you no longer see where the buttons are. Those on AT&T are probably happy with the six second light duration, but may want to turn them off or turn it down to a shorter amount of time.
Then, for Samsung Galaxy S6 owners that bought the smartphone from Verizon, T-Mobile, Sprint or US Cellular, you’ll have to use an app to change this, because for some unknown reason all other carriers removed the option in settings. It’s frustrating that such a simple setting has been removed from almost all versions of this phone, but luckily for owners there’s a way around this poor decision.
Instructions
Those with the AT&T Samsung Galaxy S6 or Galaxy S6 Edge simply need to head into Settings > Display > Touch key light duration > and change this to 1.5 seconds, six seconds, always off, or always on. It’s just that simple. A few taps in settings and you’re all done. See the screenshot below.
s you can see, this is clearly a very easy and simply to understand option in settings on the AT&T Galaxy S6. I have mine set to six seconds as I find that to be the perfect option, but wouldn’t mind three seconds being a choice.
However, I can’t complain, because if you have the Galaxy S6 from any carrier other than AT&T you don’t have this option at all and have to download a third party app from the Google Play Store.
The link above is for a simple little application that will allow all Samsung Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge owners to easily change the capacitive touch lights on their phone. You’ll be able to turn them completely off, set them to always stay on, or change the light duration.
As you can see above there are more than enough options for owners with this application. The slider changes the amount of time the button lights stay on, and that’s about all there is to the app. Extremely simple and easy. The developer states this was made specifically for the Galaxy S6, but mentions it should work with any and all Galaxy devices, but it hasn’t been tested.
Top tips and trick for Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge(Samsung)
It has been three weeks since Samsung's new Galaxy S series flagship smartphones featuring cutting edge technology went on sale in the UK and other regions across the globe.
While most of you are quite familiar with Galaxy devices, those who have bought a brand new Galaxy S6 or, S6 Edge would be in search of guides to access all the new features Samsung has stuffed.
IBTimes UK brings you a list which bundles a whole lot of tips and tricks to get started with the new Galaxy devices. The list includes shortcuts to use the features as well as to access them.
Double tap home button to launch the camera in one second. You might also disable the double-tap quick launch in camera options to get rid of the delay when pressing the home button. This feature makes the home button quicker.
Use themes to change the look of your phone.
Go to your App drawer and long press an icon if you want to move or, delete it. The small circles with the red sign will let you delete an app which is from a third-party or, disable it if it is a built-in one.
Hold Power button for more than seven seconds for the phone to reboot. Hold Volume Up + Home + Power buttons together to boot the phone into recovery. Hold Volume Down + Home + Power to boot it into Download Mode.
If you want to capture a selfie, just frame the image first then put your finger on the heart rate sensor under the LED light at the back.
When you want to download a large file, 30MB+, and you have LTE (you are near Wi-Fi), activate Download Booster from Settings>> More Connection Settings. This combines both Wi-Fi and LTE connection into one for faster download speed.
Enable the Notification reminders from Settings>> Accessibility.
Users are recommended to claim free the 100GB storage with OneDrive.
You can hide your private content including photos, videos, music and web history by activating Private Mode which can be found under Settings>> Privacy and safety.
Use Do Not Disturb mode for any person who is not allowed to contact you when the feature is on.
For Screen Pinning, navigate to Lock screen and Security >> Other Security Settings>> Pin Windows.
You can customise your screen grid (4x4, 4x5, or 5x5) by pinching in when you are on home screen.
To enable Developer Options, go to Settings>> About Device>> Tap on Build Number 10 times and unlock Developer Options.
Ensure that your device is faster by going to Developer Options then setting window animation scale, transition animation scale and animator duration scale to 0.5.
When you are in an app (like Chrome, Gallery or, anything else), and drag your finger from the upper right corner to the middle of the screen the app shrinks, which makes it more usable with one hand.
You can get changing lock screen wallpapers by changing it under the settings and select Multiple Wallpapers in the selection box.
If you are experiencing issues with Snapchat videos, go to Developer Options and uncheck Nuplayer.
For better results with the fingerprint scanner, register your thumb multiple times for it to be more accurate.
To capture screenshot hold Power + Home at the same time or, use palm swipe (turn on in settings).
For Direction lock, a new way of unlocking the phone, go to Settings>> Accessibility.
Under voice wake you can use Svoice to set a custom phrase to wake up the phone to listen to a command.
If you rest any registered fingers over the scanner, it will light up which registry it is in. It is helpful if you need to redo the fingerprint.
Remove the bloatware on Galaxy S6/S6 Edge using this method shared by recognised developer, gatesjunior. This method does not require rooting.
Go into recovery mode and wipe your cache, power off phone then reboot if battery drains out in standby.
Go to the dialer, press the green dial button to load the last dialed number.
Disable the capacitive lights without rooting the phone by using the Galaxy Button Lights, by forum member Avrex.
The volume down button can be used to take pictures when the camera app is running.
Use volume keys in default messaging app to increase or, decrease font size.
If you want to enable grayscale without going into Super Power Saving mode, go to Settings>> Personal>> Accessibility>> Direct access and turn both direct access on and grayscale. Doing this, a triple tap of the home button will toggle grayscale on and off.
With theSamsung Galaxy S5 Android 5.0 Lollipop release date picking up steam, we want to take an updated look at what users should expect from the Samsung Galaxy S5 Lollipop update and its release moving forward.
For several weeks, we heard rumors about Samsung’s Android 5.0 Lollipop update release plans. We heard that the company was hard at work on several Lollipop updates including upgrades for the Samsung Galaxy S5, Galaxy Note 4, Galaxy S4, and Galaxy Note 3. These four devices represent four of its newest smartphones so the leaks, rumors and details did not come as a complete surprise.
Samsung made good on several of those rumors last week when it confirmed the start of the Galaxy S5 Android 5.0 Lollipop roll out in Poland. It also confirmed updates for the Galaxy Note 4, Galaxy Note 3, and Galaxy S4 though those updates will not be starting until sometime in early 2015. Specific release dates have yet to be confirmed.
The Samsung Galaxy S5 Android 5.0 Lollipop update is the only Samsung Galaxy Lollipop update that’s rolling out and unsurprisingly, we’ve been getting a ton of questions about Samsung’s plans for its current Galaxy S flagship. Samsung is fairly secretive about its Galaxy Android roll outs and release dates and it also puts a lot of the control in the hands of individual carriers.
The testing process is very unpredictable and thus, Android update release dates for Galaxy smartphones and tablets are unpredictable. That said, we’ve got some idea about what to expect.
With the Galaxy S5 Lollipop release ongoing, we want to take a look at what we expect now from Samsung and its Galaxy S5 Android 5.0 roll out. This will rope in what we know so far and what we see for the future. Our goal here is to get you as prepared as possible for the update and set your expectations, something that for the moment, Samsung refuses to do.
More Silence
If you’re expecting Samsung to confirm every single Samsung Galaxy S5 Lollipop update or every single Galaxy S5 Lollipop release date in the coming days, you might want to think about tempering your expectations.
Samsung might make an announcement, once it deems the initial Galaxy S5 Lollipop roll out a success, but we expect that announcement to be broad. In other words, we would expect it to confirm the update for its Galaxy S5 variants and leave the release date information to its individual carrier partners. That’s how these things work.
Unfortunately, most carriers keep their ETAs and release dates to themselves. U.S. carriers in particular. It’s a glass half-full, half-empty situation. While it’s nice to have early ETAs and release dates, ETAs and release dates for software updates often change around. So, either way, there could be a source of frustration.
More Early Confirmations
We do expect some carriers to issue early confirmations about their Galaxy S5 Android 5.0 Lollipop plans. We’ve already seen French carrier SFR relay some official Galaxy S5 Lollipop news to its users and we expect other carriers to do the same in the weeks ahead.
Do not expect U.S. carriers to be included here. We almost never see U.S. carriers, outside of Sprint, confirm early Galaxy Android update release details. Instead, expect Australian carriers, Rogers in Canada and some other European carriers to outline their plans ahead of time. Just remember, ETAs are often pushed back so these early details might change over the course of time.
Galaxy S5 LTE-A Android 5.0 Lollipop Update in 2015
Last week, Samsung confirmed that it would roll out the Galaxy S5 Android 5.0 Lollipop update to the Galaxy S5 LTE-A model sometime in early 2015. We expect Samsung to stick to this timeline for one of its important Galaxy S5 variants.
We also expect that timing to encompass Samsung’s other Galaxy S5 variants including the Galaxy S5 Active, Galaxy S5 mini, and the Galaxy K Zoom. Variants like these typically follow weeks or months behind the regular model so we would expect roll outs for all of these sometime next year. Early 2015 is a possibility but not a guarantee.
More Galaxy S5 Android 5.0 Lollipop Releases Soon
We wouldn’t be surprised if more Galaxy S5 Android 5.0 Lollipop updates rolled out in December. SFR already says that it plans to get the update out sometime this month and it’s clear that Sprint, a top American carrier, already has the update in testing and is progressing towards a final release to the public-at-large.
The Galaxy S5 Lollipop roll out is limited to Poland and three carriers in Korea at the moment but we should see some pick up over the next few days as Samsung looks to continue its push in Europe and Asia. We also expect the company to start asserting itself in other key regions with the United States being one of those markets.
The U.S. is always at the forefront of these major Galaxy Android updates and we expect to see the same thing here. Look for Sprint to be among the first to the software update as the carrier attempts to lure consumers to its network in 2015. Sprint’s been on a roll with Android updates and we don’t see it slowing down any time soon.
Do not expect updates to pour out during the holidays but we definitely see a few more rolling out before the end of the year.
Similar Galaxy S5 Android 5.0 Lollipop Updates
Expect your Galaxy S5 Android 5.0 Lollipop update to be similar to the one that rolled out to users in Poland and South Korea. We expect to see carriers implement their own bug fixes and enhancements but we don’t expect to see any major features missing or any significant differences between the versions of this update.
As expected, the update delivers a number of big time changes including Google’s brand new Material Design. In accordance with Google’s wishes, Samsung redesigned many of its key applications to fit the new look of Google’s brand new operating system. We expect carriers to adopt all of these changes and tack on some changes of their own.
A Move to Android 5.0.1 Lollipop
Google’s Android 5.0.1 Lollipop update is out and it fixes a number of bugs on board the operating system. Given its presence as Google’s most stable version of Android, at least at the moment, we would expect Samsung, or at the very least some carriers, to push out the Android 5.0.1 update instead of the Android 5.0 Lollipop update.
If the Android 5.0.1 Lollipop update sticks around, and it might, we could see a roll out to the Galaxy S5 as Google, Samsung and Samsung’s carrier partners work to stabilize the Galaxy S5’s software. We haven’t heard about any major bugs yet but then again, the software is very limited right now. We expect Lollipop issues to emerge once the roll out starts pushing out at a rapid pace.
Samsung upgraded its Galaxy devices with Android 4.4.2 KitKat and over time, Android 4.4.4 KitKat, and we would not be surprised if the company made a similar move here with Android 5.0.1 Lollipop.
Lengthy Roll Out
Finally, expect this to be a lengthy roll out. In true Samsung fashion, the company’s already taking its time with the initial push. We expect it to slow roll out its international upgrade and for it to take several months to complete. Same goes for the Galaxy S5 Android 5.0 Lollipop process for individual carriers.
Again, release dates depend on internal testing and as we’ve seen, testing can been a bumpy road. Look for the majority of updates to land next year and for the update to take several months to roll out.
Winter is finally here and soon Christmas and the coldest months will arrive. All the while it will be snowing for days and freezing cold. If you’ve ever tried to use your smartphone or Galaxy device with gloves, it doesn’t quite work. Here we’ll explain how to use yourGalaxy Note 4with gloves. Samsung recently introduced a mode specifically to allow users to handle their smartphones even whilst wearing gloves.
Samsung’s Galaxy Note 4 has been available for a little while now, and with more and more owners enjoying the large 5.7-inch device and everything the Note 4 has to offer, we’ve been getting a lot of questions about certain tasks.
Touchscreen devices don’t play well with gloves, and as a result many of Samsung’s recent devices have a feature to curb this exact problem. If you’ve ever been to NYC or Chicago in February you know what we mean. Taking gloves off for a few moments to send a text is never fun, and Samsung has a quick and simple setting to enable you to keep them on, and those typing fingers warm. Read on for the details.
Of course there are a lot of different options here, and many accessory sites sell gloves that are built and designed specifically to work with touchscreen devices like our iPad or Galaxy Note 4. However, many are cheap gloves or simply too expensive. So instead, just enable a feature in settings to make this extremely easy, and work with any gloves you already own.
It gets cold in the winter, we get it, and taking your gloves off to reply to a text isn’t ideal. So keep those gloves on and follow our simple instructions below.
Use the Galaxy Note 4 with Gloves
The Samsung Galaxy S4, Galaxy S5, and even the Galaxy Note 3 all have a similar feature, so this isn’t anything new for existing users. However, if you’ve newly acquired the Galaxy Note 4 and are experiencing problems now the winter months are here, lets fix it in less than 30 seconds.
Instructions:
It’s really quite easy. Samsung introduced a simple feature in the settings menu that will allow the smartphone to crank up the display sensitivity to a level you wouldn’t usually use, one that will recognize touch input through thick gloves. The option is the same for most Galaxy devices, but in a slightly different place with the redesigns to the Note 4 software.
“Increase Touch Sensitivity” is the setting we’ll be searching for today. Users with the Note 4 will tap the menu button (left of the dedicated home button) and head into system settings. You’ll also be able to tap the Gear-shaped settings icon in the app tray to quickly access the device settings menu. From here you’ll choose the second column listed as “Device” and head into “Display” settings.
All you’ll need to do is head into the display settings and scroll to the bottom. The last option is a checkbox to increase the touchscreen sensitivity. This cranks it up to a high level, something you won’t want to keep enabled on a day to day basis, but if you’re out in the cold it will be high enough that the screen will recognize touch input even while you’re wearing gloves.
That’s it and you’re all done. The touch controls aren’t perfect, or extremely responsive, but it sure beats having to take off your gloves and risk some frostbite. Be sure to keep this feature disabled during daily activities, and only use it when you need to, as it could affect battery life or have you pocket dialing on accident if the user doesn’t have a lockscreen passcode or security.
Despite both being great devices, both the SamsungGalaxy S5and SonyXperia Z3were received with groans of complaint that they were only a marginal upgrade on their predecessors, the Galaxy S4 and Xperia Z2. In Sony's case, this is much closer to the truth, as the Xperia Z2 appeared only six months prior to the Z3 and Samsung has been accused of this for years. Perhaps this is simply a symptom of unrealistic expectations though, as both devices are outstanding examples of the best that Android has to offer. But which one is the better smartphone?
Both the Xperia Z3 and Galaxy S5 make minor changes to a pretty familiar style we've seen in multiple previous generations. The Z3 adds a brushed aluminum frame and rubberized plastic bumpers for added shock absorbency on the corners, but all things considered, it's pretty much the same Xperia look we already know. The Galaxy S5 may have tweaked the corners and switched up the rubberized plastic texture on the back, but again, there's not much here to distinguish it from any other Samsung device.
The Xperia Z3 has adopted a more hand-friendly feel with rounded edges but the front and back are still nice plates of glass with the familiar camera lens placement and hardware buttons, including a dedicated shutter button. The Galaxy S5 opts for a ribber plastic trim with more rounded corners but again, goes hand-friendly with the textures back panel, which is removable. The S5 has the usual hardware button placement and physical home button, although this time it also houses a finger scanner.
The S5 pops a heart rate monitor and dual-LED flash on the back underneath the slightly elevated camera lens, and the speaker is located at the bottom left hand corner as usual. The Z3, on the other hand, has front-mounted stereo speakers and a single LED on the back. Both devices support microSD expansion: the Galaxy S5 under the removable battery cover, and the Xperia Z3 under a waterproof flap. Both devices have waterproof flaps over their microUSB charging ports. Both phones have uncovered headphone ports up top, but the S5 packs also packs an IR blaster whereas the Z3 does without.
Both devices are nicely put together but the Xperia Z3 is a much better looking phone. Combined with the added protection of its better IP rating and arguably nicer material choices, the Xperia Z3 feels more sturdy and refined than the S5. On the water front, the Xperia Z3 has IP65/68 certification compared to the Galaxy S5's IP67 rating: this means both devices are dustproof but the S5 is water resistant in up to one meter of fresh water for 30 minutes, while the Z3 can withstand jets of water (say, from a tap) and continuous submersion in over one meter of fresh water.
There's not much in it in terms of display: the Xperia Z3 has a 5.2-inch Full HD IPS LCD screen with a pixel density of 424 pixels per inch. The Galaxy S5 has a 5.1-inch Full HD Super AMOLED display with a pixel density of 432 ppi. Both devices are similar widths but the Z3 is noticeably taller, but it is also much thinner than the S5.
The Z3 wraps the screen with smaller bezels on the sides than the S5, but there's also more going on above and below the display. The S5's AMOLED is typically brilliant, with bright, saturated colors and high contrast, although it doesn't perform as well in bright sunlight due to the display technology used. The Xperia Z3 has improved on the quality of the Z2 display, which was itself a nice improvement on the Xperia Z1, and it shows: the Z3 display is super bright and crisp.
The Xperia Z3 comes with advanced display options like X-Reality for vibrant images and Super-vivid Mode for, well, even more vibrant images. Sony also lets you adjust the white balance of the screen which is another nice touch, and admittedly, with everything beefed up it can actually compete with the luminous colors of the Samsung. Your preference for the better display will depend largely on just how much control you like or how bright and saturated you like your colors by default.
Both devices have way too many software features to go into too much detail here, so I'll give you the broad strokes version. The Xperia Z3 runs the now familiar Xperia UI which is clean and minimal but perhaps a little dated looking. The Galaxy S5 opts for the revitalized but slightly uneven new TouchWiz interface. Both devices are running Android KitKat, although the Z3 ships with Android 4.4.4 and the Galaxy S5 is still sitting on Android 4.4.2.
The Xperia Z3 has a lot of notable software features including a particular focus on multimedia. Of course, audio quality is one of Sony's focal points, with audio settings tweaks and the Digital Sound Enhancement Engine demonstrating a nice improvement over the Xperia Z2. PlayStation 4 integration is well on the way, with PS4 Remote Play allowing you to wirelessly switch between any PS4 gaming on your phone or console. The Z3 also pushes
Software is Samsung's forte, occasionally tending to go a little overboard with more features than you know what to do with. The Galaxy S5 has some great options on board though like Multi-Window Mode, Download Booster (depending on region and carrier), finger scanner shortcuts to your PayPal and Samsung accounts, the customizable floating Toolbox bubble for quick access to your favorite apps and features, and more. Blocking Mode and Private Mode are nice additions, as is Samsung's sand-boxed Knox platform for device sharing.
Both phones feature power saving modes, health monitoring and some gesture controls. The Xperia Z3 keeps it simple with gesture-based call handling and double tap to wake the screen while Samsung goes all out with a variety of air gestures and air view pop-ups (like a mouse rollover on a PC). Both the Z3 and S5 support cloud printing, screen mirroring and NFC. Needless to say, there's plenty to keep you busy on either device, it's simply a case of matching the particular software feature set to your lifestyle: are you all about gaming, multimedia and customization or multitasking and business oriented features.
Despite having the same processors on board, the Xperia Z3 outclasses the Galaxy S5 with an additional GB of RAM. The TouchWiz interface is noticeably slower than the Sony's Xperia UI, but both devices are packing serious hardware and can handle processor-heavy tasks with ease. Unless, of course, you try to record 4K video on the Z3, in which case it has a tendency to overheat like the Z2 did. At least you'll be able to record a little longer on the Z3 though.
This is the category you've probably jumped straight to, because the camera is the highlight of both the Xperia Z3 and the Galaxy S5. On paper, the Xperia Z3 looks great, with a 20.7 MP Sony Exmor sensor. The Galaxy S5 packs a 16 MP ISOCELL sensor. Both cameras handle 4K video, HDR and a whole host of custom shooting and recording modes it would be foolish to dive into too deeply here. Samsung has always had great cameras and builds on that history but Sony has struggled to impress recently with the Z1 and Z2. The Z3's camera is a marked improvement.
Suffice to say both cameras have you covered as far as basic shooting options go and the additional extras are purely up to your personal shooting style. The Sony has a great manual mode, including an ISO setting of 12,800 which produces low light shots in a class far beyond that of the S5. The Samsung lacks this incredible low light range but does an acceptable job in high contrast settings and produces more natural skin tones, where the Z3 goes a little yellowish. Check out the image gallery and draw your own conclusions but both the Z3 and S5 have outstanding cameras.
The S5 knocked our socks off when we saw just how well Samsung had managed to handle battery life, even without the Ultra Power Saving Mode (and especially with it). The Galaxy S5 stands as one of the benchmarks for battery performance in the current crop of Android devices, right up there with the HTC One (M8).
But the Xperia Z3 manages to put the Galaxy S5 to shame, easily outlasting it in normal usage. The S5 has a 2,800 mAh battery and the Z3 a 3,100 mAh battery (which is actually a little smaller than that in the Z2), but the Z3's battery is built in and the S5's is removable. This may be the deciding factor for you even if the Z3's built-in battery performs better.
Xperia Z3 vs Galaxy S5: Tech Specs
SONY XPERIA Z3
SAMSUNG GALAXY S5
SYSTEM
Android 4.4.4 KitKat, Xperia UI
Android 4.4.2 KitKat, TouchWiz UI
DISPLAY
5.2-inch IPS LCD, 1,920 x 1,080 pixels (424 ppi)
5.1-inch Super AMOLED, 1,920 x 1,080 pixels (432 ppi)
PROCESSOR
Snapdragon 801, 2.5 GHz, quad core, Adreno 330
Snapdragon 801, 2.5 GHz, quad core, Adreno 330
RAM
3 GB
2 GB
INTERNAL STORAGE
16/32 GB + microSD (up to 128 GB)
16/32 GB + microSD (up to 128 GB)
BATTERY
3,100 mAh, non-removable
2,800 mAh, removable
CAMERA
20.7 MP (back), 4K video, HDR, 2.2 MP (front)
16 MP (back), 4K video, HDR, 2 MP (front)
CONNECTIVITY
GSM, HSPA, LTE, NFC, Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band
GSM, HSPA, LTE, NFC, Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, IR blaster
The Xperia Z3 clearly rates higher in most categories, and this makes a lot of sense, with the device coming out over six months after the Galaxy S5. However, when we compared the Xperia Z2 it was a close call between the two devices and this time around the decision is only marginally easier to make. This is the problem.
As the successor to the Xperia Z2, the Z3 should be light years ahead of the Galaxy S5, but instead it only slightly increases the already existing gap between the S5 and Z2. Sony's strategy of releasing a new flagship every six months sounds great on paper, but when this doesn't allow for significant enough jumps in hardware to be made, one has to ask if the concept is actually worth while.
The Z3 really should have made a bigger impression against the Galaxy S5, so even though I think the Z3 is the better device, the margin really should have been much greater. Whether that is a testament to the S5 or a criticism of the Z3 I'll leave up to you. What it all boils down to though is the thought that the Xperia Z3 is what the Xperia Z2 should have been and the Galaxy S5 perhaps should have just been the Galaxy S5 LTE-A. Or maybe my expectations are just too high as well?
Which phone do you think is better? Is either one of them up your expectations?
