• After 15+ years, we've made a big change: Android Forums is now Early Bird Club. Learn more here.

***Official Galaxy S5 First Impressions Thread***

got the s5 on friday afternoon and still have an s4. a few impressions...

- s5 screen is noticeably nicer. brighter and seems to have better color reproduction than the s4. doesn't have a blue-ish hue as the s4.
- s4 was already fast with almost no lag, but the s5 is slightly faster with everything.
- camera is a significant improvement all around. really impressive low light capabilities.
- slightly larger and slightly more heft than the s4. with the bigger battery and more stuff crammed this is expected. not a big deal, but noticeable.
- changing the left capacitive button to the app switcher from the menu on s4 button is a change, but long pressing the app switcher button on the s5 makes it function as menu button.
- battery life is about a 15% improvement over the s4. guesstimate. the ultra power saving mode is a nice feature.
-charge port cover is a pia and i've already removed mine. makes me concerned about dock options since i have a very convenient dock for my s4 and would like one for the s5.

overall it's definitely an improvement over the s4 in all areas. i'd only have hoped for it to be slimmer and lighter, but this will definitely do. being water resistant is a nice tradeoff too.
 
Upvote 0
I love my S5 minus the fact that they got rid of the Mobile Hotspot app so now you have to open "More Networks" in settings to get to the hotspot. Other then that and the charging port cover no complaints!

this bugged me too as i use the mobile hotspot frequently. found two alternatives to enable it quickly...the app hotspot express from the play store works well and nova laucher will let you create a shortcut to the native mobile hotspot app.
 
Upvote 0
I love my S5 minus the fact that they got rid of the Mobile Hotspot app so now you have to open "More Networks" in settings to get to the hotspot. Other then that and the charging port cover no complaints!
I'm not sure what app you're talking about. Is it not an option as a quick setting button in the notifications panel anymore? That's how I turn it on/off on my S4.
 
Upvote 0
Charging port door is definitely a PIA, my nails aren't thin enough to catch the very small lip to open it easily, so it takes me a while to get just the right angle to open it. So far, that's the only thing I don't love, but I do understand the reasoning behind it. I haven't even replaced the launcher yet (and I almost always do that first thing on a new phone.) Of course, I'm coming back to Android from an 8 month stint with an iPhone, so I could just be in a state of euphoria and anything non-iPhone makes me giddy right now.
 
Upvote 0
Liking mine so far, first 2 days of ownership on the same charge ! I reckon when I stop playing with it constantly I'll get nearer 3 days.

My firmware has had the shutter click mute option removed, which is a bit annoying.

Also, I don't understand why they removed the ability ot have some apps on the lockscreen, bit annoying that.

Aside from that I really like it. Feels very well built to me
 
Upvote 0
Liking mine so far, first 2 days of ownership on the same charge ! I reckon when I stop playing with it constantly I'll get nearer 3 days.

My firmware has had the shutter click mute option removed, which is a bit annoying.

Also, I don't understand why they removed the ability ot have some apps on the lockscreen, bit annoying that.

Aside from that I really like it. Feels very well built to me
Wait, so playing around with the phone and you get 2 days of charge? If I'm using the phone playing around I dont get even 12 hours.
 
Upvote 0
Love mine. Had the Note 2 & S3 before. Got this S5 with a black flip leather case two days ago. I'm a pro photographer so the camera features are important, like when I go to Disneyland next week, I will leave my Nikon D3 at home and use this phone instead. Along with that, the screen is real nice, battery lasts all day for a change, 5 screen modes, it's FAST... Weather proofing is nice too. A lot of nice features and programs on this phone.

My only complaint is the color choices. I like RED. Here in the NW, there is only black or white to choose from. So when they come out with a good looking red flip case, I'll get one.

You know what gets me though... all the reviews bashed the "plain Plastic" looks of the S5. It doesn't look or feel cheap at all to me. Feels very solid. If you drop it, Samsung plastic is more durable then the alum or metal finishes on the other phones.

Here the thing... all the reviews rave about how good the HTC & iPhone looks... and say the Samsung is, uh... Bland... well most people go and put a case of some kind on their phone and then all that hype is moot. I got the S-View Flip Cover.

I like Samsung as most of my gear is Samsung, my notebook, Tab 3, S3, Note 2 and several different sizes Samsung HDTV's in the house. So I wasn't gonna jump ship this time. Glad I didn't.
 
Upvote 0
Wait, so playing around with the phone and you get 2 days of charge? If I'm using the phone playing around I don't get even 12 hours.

I got the phone last Friday, started using it right away, had about 50-60% charge, that ran out Saturday Afternoon, so I charged it and was down to 10% late on Monday.
I think I've charged it twice since then, but its not got to 10% either time.

I'm guessing you have a US firmware (Verizon/Sprint etc), seems they modify the firmware quite a bit and it ends up being heavier on battery from what I can gather.
 
Upvote 0
this bugged me too as i use the mobile hotspot frequently. found two alternatives to enable it quickly...the app hotspot express from the play store works well and nova laucher will let you create a shortcut to the native mobile hotspot app.

There's a widget in widgets for that. I quickly turns on/off your hotspot without having to go to the app to go through the routine of turning it on/off. The S3 didn't have that widget but its there now, there are also other widgets that makes my day easier as well.
On a side note I love my S5 moved from S3, very intuitive and the battery is great compared to the S3' battery. I'm still feeling it out there's so much to get familiar with.
 
Upvote 0
I got my S5 today, and I have moved over to this phone from, believe it or not, an iPhone 5S!

I have for many many many years been a fan of the Apple Products, and have kept my iPad 3, but I feel the iPhone is now very restricted in apps, and if you Jailbreak an iPhone, its impossible to restore an old firmware as Apple Patch them and make restoring old firmwares impossible as they stop signing them as official once a new one is released.

The Jailbreak made things very buggy, apps not working properly, and to be honest, most of the interest in Jailbreaking died when the famous "Installous" site went from the scene

There is much more "User" support for the Android range of phones, and your not tied to an APP store, third party releases are plentiful and they dont need to be approved by Apple either!!

Having a hard time getting to grips with the menus and stuff, I did like the way the IOS 7 system looked, and the ease to put apps into folders just by moving them, not sure if this is possible on the S5 but I havent really looked into it, but I did take the tip above and got rid of the Magazine lol so thank you for that :)

How many people are considering "Rooting" there new S5?
 
Upvote 0
There's a widget in widgets for that. I quickly turns on/off your hotspot without having to go to the app to go through the routine of turning it on/off. The S3 didn't have that widget but its there now, there are also other widgets that makes my day easier as well.
On a side note I love my S5 moved from S3, very intuitive and the battery is great compared to the S3' battery. I'm still feeling it out there's so much to get familiar with.

on the verizon version of the s5 there doesn't seem to be a widget. it looks like other carriers included it though.
 
Upvote 0

BEST TECH IN 2023

We've been tracking upcoming products and ranking the best tech since 2007. Thanks for trusting our opinion: we get rewarded through affiliate links that earn us a commission and we invite you to learn more about us.

Smartphones