Samsung Galaxy S5 - Rumours, news and release dates

The world of mobile consumers is abuzz with rumours regarding the soon-to-be-launched Samsung Galaxy S5. Prospective buyers are scampering all over the internet to gather the latest speculations and rumours about the device. And the internet doesn't let them down, with new rumours, leaked images and speculations coming out every day regarding the release dates, specifications, new UI changes, dual models ( one for the budget consumer and one for the premium consumer), etc.

Release Dates

There has been no official word from Samsung regarding the launch and release dates of the Galaxy S5 device. But till a few days back the word on the street was that the company might look at launching their flagship smartphone late February and release it a month later in the month of March, similar to what they've been doing with their previous versions of the Galaxy Smartphone.

However, an Italian Insider Flavio claimed earlier this month that the launch of the device may be pushed to mid-March in London. He is known for his information bei
ng accurate, and also his statement lines up with rumours that had earlier cropped up regarding the launch date being in March.

Another rumour doing the rounds, after a report by Bloomberg carrying a Samsung executive's quotes, is that the device would be released by the end of April. This coincides with the May 1^st, 2014 release dates asserted by the Russian blogger Eldar Murtazin.

Source: Gottabemobile.com

Design

Samsung is very well known to keep its devices smartphone designs under tight wraps. The company managed to garner a lot of attention with the Galaxy Note 3's design. The faux leather and plastic combination was a first for any of the devices under the Samsung brand.

Though we had not seen any design changes between the Samsung Galaxy S3 and Galaxy S4, company executive Lee Young Hee said to Bloomberg that, the Galaxy S5 design will most probably be different.

Earlier SanMobile, had published a report supporting the rumour that Samsung might release a budget version of the Galaxy S5 with a plastic body and a premium version with a metal body similar to Apple's iPhone's 5C and 5S respectively. However this notion was put to rest by KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, well known for predicting the features of the iPhone 5S, who claimed that the Galaxy S5 will be come in plastic bodies only and the two versions of the Galaxy S5 will be based on internal specifications and not on the design.

Display

Kuo, SanMobile and many other sources agree that at least one of the variants will sport a QHD display with 1440 x 2560 resolution with an approximate 565ppi. A QHD display would mean sharper and better looking content than on other 1080p displays. An executive to Bloomberg and Kuo, agree with other rumours that the display on the Galaxy S5 is expected to be one of the biggest in the Galaxy brand of phones approximately, 5-inches.

Camera

Both the Galaxy S4 and Galaxy Note 3 sport a 13-MP rear camera, so the Galaxy S5 is expected to get an upgrade to a 16 megapixel sensor rear camera with ISOCELL technology. Kuo's prediction and other leaks seem to align with this, so we can be rest assured, to see the Galaxy S5 with a better rear camera than it's predecessor. We might also see optical image stabilization features along with the new camera sensors.

Processor, Storage and Battery

Following previous trends of Samsung, we're sure to see Galaxy S5 with a new processor. Samsung had earlier promised that it would ship it's next Galaxy flagship smartphone with a 64-bit processor. It's also been widely rumoured, that the device may come with a 64-bit Snapdragon 805 chip from Qualcomm or Exynos 6 CPU from Samsung. But according to Kuo, the two variants of the Galaxy S5 will come equipped with two different processors, the company's Exynos 5430 octa-core 32-bit processors will be built into the premium variant, while Qualcomm's MSM8974 AC quad-core 32-bit processor will be shipped with the budget variant.

The device might come with the company's new chip, released at the end of last year, touted as the industry's first Eight GB mobile DRAM. In terms of storage, not much news or rumours have leaked out. But we can expect the Galaxy S5 to follow the Galaxy Note 3 way and abolish the 16 GB option.

Source: NDTV (Gadgets)

Fingerprint Sensor

With a slew of high-end smartphones introducing fingerprint sensors on their devices, and with TouchID being a USP of the iPhone 5S, the Samsung Galaxy S5 won't be left far behind. The Korean Herald and Kuo both have reported that the Galaxy S5 will come with a fingerprint sensor for convenience and security. Early rumours also suggested, that the Galaxy S5 might come with Iris-Scanning technology, but as time goes by, this technology might get pushed to future devices of the Galaxy series.

Software

Source: Gottabemobile.com

Galaxy S5 will definitely be running on the Android OS with Samsung's TouchWiz UX on the foreground. But we as have seen year after year, Samsung will release a new TouchWiz UX design for it's Galaxy S5. Thus far rumours and leaked images point to the UI coming with Samsung's recently launched Magazine UI, which can be seen on the latest tablets of the Galaxy brand. Rumours also indicate to a new interface with touch points in the corners to allow users to easily access app settings and shortcuts and a few improvements in the touch less gestures.

Price

With regard to the price point at which the device might be launched at, there are no confirmed reports, and it's more of a wait and watch game. But if Samsung does launch 2 variants of the Galaxy S5, with upgrades in build quality and internal materials, we can assume them to be competitively priced against the iPhone 5S and 5C.

As per the claims of SanMobile, the budget variant might be priced somewhere around 600 euros while the the premium variant might priced around 800 Euros. However, these being exorbitant prices in terms of US Dollars and INR Rupees, we might see the device being launched at prices lesser than mentioned above.

Will keep updating this post as and when newer rumours and offical announcements are made. Also, do leave your comments below, if in case I've missed out any information currently doing the rounds.

Sources: CNet, Gottabemobile.com, Ibtimes.com, trustedreviews.com, NDTV Gadgets