The Samsung Galaxy S5 unveiled at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona a day or two ago seems to have one on the iPhone 5S if specs are anything to go by. As far as the specs are concerned, the Samsung Galaxy S5 has superior processing power, camera, display, memory, battery and has matched the iPhone 5S on add-on features like the fingerprint scanner.
Samsung Galaxy S5, S4 and iPhone 5S comparison table
The table below is a head to head comparison of the key specs and features on the Samsung Galaxy S5, the iPhone 5S and the Samsung Galaxy S4. See commentary below.| Samsung Galaxy S5 | iPhone 5S | Samsung Galaxy S4 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dimensions | 142 x 72.5 x 8.1 mm (5.59 x 2.85 x 0.32 in) | 123.8 x 58.6 x 7.6 mm (4.87 x 2.31 x 0.30 in) | 136.6 x 69.8 x 7.9 mm (5.38 x 2.75 x 0.31 in) |
| Weight | 145 g (5.11 oz) | 112 g (3.95 oz) | 130 g (4.59 oz) |
| Memory | 16/32 GB storage, 2 GB RAM, microSD, up to 128 GB | 16/32/64 GB storage, 1 GB RAM DDR3, No microSD slot | 16/32 GB storage, 2 GB RAM, microSD, up to 64 GB |
| Camera | 16 MP, 5312 x 2988 pixels, autofocus, LED flash | 8 MP, 3264×2448 pixels, autofocus, dual-LED (True Tone) flash | 13 MP, 4128 x 3096 pixels, autofocus, LED flash, |
| Display | Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors, 1080 x 1920 pixels, 5.1 inches (~432 ppi pixel density), Corning Gorilla Glass 3 | LED-backlit IPS LCD, capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors, 640 x 1136 pixels, 4.0 inches (~326 ppi pixel density, Corning Gorilla Glass, oleophobic coating | Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors, 1080 x 1920 pixels, 5.0 inches (~441 ppi pixel density), Corning Gorilla Glass 3 |
| Battery | Li-Ion 2800 mAh battery, Up to 390 hours standby, 21 hours talk time | Non-removable Li-Po 1560 mAh battery (5.92 Wh), Up to 250 standby, 10 hours talk time | Li-Ion 2600 mAh battery, Up to 370 hours standby, 17 hours talk time |
| Colors | Black, White, Blue, Gold | Space Gray, White/Silver, Gold | White Frost, Black Mist (I9506)/ Arctic Blue, Red Aurora, rose gold white, rose gold black, deep black |
| Sim | Nano-Sim | Nano-Sim | Micro-Sim |
| Finger print scanner | Yes | Yes | No |
| OS | Android OS, v4.4.2 (KitKat) | iOS 7, upgradable to iOS 7.0.4 | Android OS, v4.2.2 (Jelly Bean) |
| CPU | Quad-core 2.5 GHz Krait 400, Adreno 330 | Dual-core 1.3 GHz Cyclone (ARM v8-based) | Quad-core 2.3 GHz Krait 400 |
| Secondary Camera | Yes, 2 MP,1080p@30fps, dual video call | Yes, 1.2 MP, 720p@30fps, face detection, FaceTime over Wi-Fi or Cellular | Yes, 2 MP,1080p@30fps, dual video call |
| Camera Features | Dual Shot, Simultaneous HD video and image recording, geo-tagging, touch focus, face and smile detection, image stabilization, HDR | 1/3” sensor size, 1.5 µm pixel size, simultaneous HD video and image recording, touch focus, geo-tagging, face detection, HDR panorama, HDR photo | Dual Shot, Simultaneous HD video and image recording, geo-tagging, touch focus, face and smile detection, image stabilization, HDR |
| Data speeds | HSDPA, 42.2 Mbps; HSUPA, 5.76 Mbps; LTE, Cat4, 50 Mbps UL, 150 Mbps DL | DC-HSDPA, 42 Mbps; HSDPA, 21 Mbps; HSUPA, 5.76 Mbps, LTE, 100 Mbps; EV-DO Rev. A, up to 3.1 Mbps | HSDPA, 42.2 Mbps; HSUPA, 5.76 Mbps; LTE, Cat4, 50 Mbps UL, 150 Mbps DL |
| Protection Rating | IP67 certified – dust and water resistant, Water resistant up to 1 meter and 30 minutes | N/A | N/A |
Dimensions, size and display
As expected, the Galaxy 55 upgrades almost every aspect of its predecessor, the Samsung Galaxy S4. The differences is size and dimension between the two are negligible suggesting that there is only so much that Samsung can now do with the size of devices. Maybe they have gone as far as they can in terms of increasing the size and slimming the devices.
With the iPhone 5S just over an inch smaller in screen size than the Samsung Galaxy S5, Apple probably has room to increase the size of their next flagship. I’d prefer if they don’t. When I handled the iPhone 5S, i felt it was just perfect! I felt no discomfort in handling and navigating around the screen and side buttons. All can be done with one hand.
Camera
Samsung goes all out with the Samsung Galaxy S5. They almost double the numbers on the iPhone 5S’s iSight camera and adds features that put it nearer to professional capabilities. However, the faster shutter speed and shallower depth of field abilities are all nice but it will come down to how easy to use these features are. The iSight camera kills it in this regard. Still the simplest smartphone camera I have used.
Battery
This area is always difficult to judge. The battery may have great capacity, but if the device is power hungry then the battery is no good. The battery on the iPhone 5S is generally lacking and they should improve on that. The Samsung Galaxy S5 has almost double the capacity on the iPhone 5S but I suspect the many features it has (eg: heart rate sensor, integration with Gear, download booster, etc) will be demanding on this capacity. I am also a bit skeptical on the ultra power saving feature which Samsung claims to be able to give the device 3 days of standby time, with the battery at 10%. I would be more interested to know how much time the Ultra power saving feature gives me at optimal use.
Processor
Again the Samsung Galaxy S5 looks better on the processor. Just a slight more processing power over the S4, but almost doubles the what the iPhone 5S can do. Again this is all on paper. Like with the battery, a processor is only as good as how it handles what’s inside the device. The processor on the iPhone 5S has lower specs but definitely does well to deliver.
To round it up, the Samsung Galaxy S5 is definitely better than the iPhone 5S on paper. From the unveiling presentation, the S5 camera looked like the next best thing, so did the display. The new water and resistance features will also give it an edge over other high end devices but hardly a decisive factor in consumer decision making. We will get a clearer picture on the Samsung Galaxy S5 come April.
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5 comments
We should be comparing the S5 with the Z2
yep i agree with tybo45. The comparison is pointless those that use iphone stick to iphone, those that use android stick to Android so your comparison should be with other Android phones.
Anyway my 2 cents on this phone is:
I have been walking around with a cracked S3 counting down the days before i will have the S5, and what a disappointment.
If specs are to go by then the Z2 is the better phone. better Camera, More Ram, looks better. The only things that will cause me to spend money on the S5 will be price. If by some miracle its cheaper but atleast $200 then i will but it otherwise i am going to be Sony.
get miracle money
Clearly Samsung is better. One thing they don’t give us on specs is durability
Thanks Tendai Mupaso