Samsung Galaxy S5 Release Date, Specs, Rumors

Samsung Galaxy S5 Concept Art

Samsung Galaxy S5 Release Date:

The Samsung Galaxy S5 is anticipated during the Mobile World Congress 2014 in Barcelona between February 24 to 27. The Mobile World Congress is when Samsung previously released the Samsung Galaxy S4 so we would be surprised if the next-gen flagship didn't also come out around roughly the same time frame. We expect the Samsung Galaxy S5 to come out during the Mobile World Congress 2014 to be followed by the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 during IFA Berlin 2014.

Samsung Galaxy S5 Specs and Features:

The Samsung Galaxy S5 specs aren't official but we do have plenty of information about them. The Samsung Galaxy S5 design is expected to be aplastic body. Early on there was some talk in Design 3.0 that the Samsung Galaxy S5 would have an all-metal body like that found on the HTC One and the iPhone 5s. The Samsung Galaxy S5 will have a plastic body but Samsung is developing a premium high-end line of Samsung devices, the Samsung Galaxy F series which is likely to have a more all-metal premium body. The Samsung Galaxy S5 design was also rumored to have a flexible display similar to what is currently available for the Samsung Galaxy Round and LG G Flex but that doesn't seem likely just yet either. Samsung is probably working on a separate set of truly flexible devices that it will launch separately from the Samsung Galaxy S5.

The Samsung Galaxy S5 has basically been confirmed to have a 64-bit processor, which means that it will require at least 4GB of RAM in order to take advantage of those capabilities. Adding to the certainty that we will see a 64-bit processor for the Samsung Galaxy S5 is the fact that ARM has recently announced that it will be adding 64-bit processor support to Android Open Source. Essentially what this means is that the groundwork is already being laid for when Android becomes capable of 64-bit processing.

If you aren't aware, ARM doesn't manufacture any ARM-based products themselves. What they do is: license their instruction sets to third party companies, allowing them to design their own products implementing ARM's architectures, System-on-Chips, memory, interfaces, and radios. Guess who just happens to license this technology from ARM? You guessed it. Samsung and Qualcomm. (For what it's worth, Apple does this too.)

The Samsung Galaxy S5 processor itself in addition to being 64-bit with 4GB of RAM will be a next-gen Exynos octa-core processor. Interestingly Samsung is also preparing to develop it's own CPU core technology rather than just taking licenses from ARM, "The slide on Samsung's 64-bit CPU plans shows a two-step approach, first developing 64-bit cores based on ARM designs, then moving to its own bespoke designs, similar to the way Qualcomm operates. The plans could be seen as a way for Samsung's phones to become even more vertically-integrated." Android Central also reports that in addition to thisSamsung is planning on upgrading it's displays to 560ppi AMOLED screens over the the 440ppi SuperAMOLED panels found on the Samsung Galaxy S4 and it will include 4K capabilities.

Samsung also showed where its mobile displays will be heading in 2014, with slides revealing plans for 560ppi AMOLED panels with an RGB subpixel arrangement - a considerable step up from the 440ppi SuperAMOLED used in the Galaxy S4, which features a diamond PenTile subpixel arrangement. Resolution-wise, an additional slide shows Samsung is targeting 1440p (2560x1440) resolution smartphone displays in 2014. A little basic math tells us 1440p with a density of 560ppi points to a screen size of around 5.25 inches. But that's nothing compared to the projection for 2015, which has phone displays reaching the dizzy heights of 2160p (3840x2160 or 4K) the year after next.

The Samsung Galaxy S5 camera will be a 16-megapixel ISOCELL cameraaccording to the latest reports. The implications of this will be improved low-light photography, according to SamMobile, "ISOCELL technology allows for better low-light photography, while also producing images with better color reproduction, sharpness and richness compared to the BSI technology used today." On the other hand there is not yet confirmation of if the 16-megapixel ISOCELL camera includes optical image stabilization (OIS) which is odd because OIS is considered an industry norm at this point and is found on the Nexus 5 camera. At this point that's a fair amount to know about a device that won't show up till early 2014. We're sure that Samsung will be tweaking and modifying what it intends to bring to consumers with the Samsung Galaxy S5.