Samsung has added another interesting option to its lineup with the all-new Samsung Galaxy S5 Plus, and on paper it looks like a device that wants to be your daily driver. Announced in 2014, October. Released 2014, November, it arrives at a time when the competition is as tight as ever.
Design & Display
Up front there is a 5.1 inches, 71.7 cm 2 (~69.6% screen-to-body ratio) screen, pushing a resolution of 1080 x 1920 pixels, 16:9 ratio (~432 ppi density). Colours look punchy and text stays clean, so you will not have much to complain about here. The build feels well put together, and Samsung has clearly paid attention to the in-hand feel. You can pick it up in a few finishes, including Charcoal Black.
Performance & Software
Powering the Samsung Galaxy S5 Plus is the Qualcomm APQ8084 Snapdragon 805 (28 nm), paired with 2GB of RAM. For the kind of tasks most of us throw at a phone, there is plenty of muscle here. It runs Android 4.4.2 (KitKat), TouchWiz UI out of the box, so the software experience feels current.
Camera
The camera setup is one of the talking points here, with a 16 MP sensor doing the heavy lifting. Point-and-shoot results are reliable, and that is exactly what most buyers want.
Battery
Battery duties are handled by a Li-Ion 2800 mAh, removable unit, which should comfortably see most people through a full day on a single charge.
Our Opinion
After spending time with the spec sheet and what Samsung is promising, here is where we land. Samsung has clearly gone for substance over gimmicks here, and we respect that approach. It gets the basics right, offering a dependable main camera, a crisp display, which is exactly what most buyers are really after. In day-to-day use it feels like the kind of device you can rely on, whether you are replying to messages, scrolling through social media, watching videos or taking the odd photo. There are rivals that beat it in one area or another, as is always the case in this segment. But taken as a whole, the Samsung Galaxy S5 Plus is a sensible, well-judged choice that should keep most users happy for a good while. If you have used this device or are planning to pick one up, do let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
