With the Winter Olympics finally over, the eyes of the world have swung to Barcelona to get a glimpse of the next generation of mobile devices at the annual Mobile World Conference. Every year, the world’s major mobile hardware companies descend here to show off their new designs and this year looks no different with a number of announcements and releases being rumored. The biggest splash so far has been the announcement of the Samsung Galaxy S5. Here are five things to know about Samsung’s new flagship phone.

samsung-galaxy-s5

Design

If you were looking for new aesthetics or game changing design, you have come to the wrong place, but if you are a fan of the Note 3 then you are in luck. The S5 seems to be a mix of the Note 3 and the S4 with a tweak. It has a perforated back which adds some welcome texture to the device’s usual plastic feel. It’s IP67- rated, translation it’s water and dust resistant, meaning it can be put in three feet of water for 30 minutes.  It will also come in a number of shades ranging from Charcoal Black, Shimmery White, Copper Gold and Electric Blue.

Biometrics

One of the things that Samsung has lagged behind some of the competition is the addition of a fingerprint scanner for unlocking and processing payments, well the S5 makes the jump. The scanner is integrated into the home button and is activated by the owner swiping across it like the Apple phone. If you want to share access you have the ability to add three profiles.

Also via the camera flash, the S5 is now able to take your pulse. This works well to the upgraded S Health app that has a pedometer, fitness coach and exercise tracker.

Camera

The camera on the S5 gets a bit of a boost from 13 to 16 MP. It also adds Phase Detection autofocus, typically found in DLSR cameras, will help you catch better pictures of subjects that have a hard time staying still.

Specs

The S5 measures in at 5.59 inches tall by 2.85 inches wide and .32 inches deep and weighs about 5.1 ounces making it a little longer and heavier than the S4. Under the hood the S5 has received some top of the line parts including a Quad Core Snapdragon 800 chipset and a slightly larger battery that the S4 which Samsung says can give you 21 hours of talk time. It will have 16GB and 32 GB options with an optional SD card that can support up to 128 GB. It will also run on Android 4.4 Kit Kat.

When can you get it?

The S5 will release on April 11 and will come to most of the major carriers as well as retailers although some colors may be specific to certain places.

February 25, 2014  
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