Samsung Galaxy S5 Specifications: What we Know so Far

Ever since the announcement of Samsung's 'Unpacked 5' event in early February, the buzz around the Galaxy S5 has reached a new height on the internet, with numerous reports surrounding the smartphone's features confusing fans on what to expect from the upcoming device.

To help get a better perspective on the Galaxy S5's specifications, we have leafed through numerous reports and have pieced together a list of probable features, which are likely to come in the 2014 Samsung marquee phone.

Display and Design:

Most reports we have heard so far have suggested that this year Samsung is certain to make a radical shift in building the new generation Galaxy S smartphone, most probably incorporating metal to give the device a premium look, like the rival Apple iPhones.

Now a new teaser image, released by the telecom network carrier O2 in Germany, has hinted that the Galaxy S5 might feature a water-resistant body as well. The promotional ad shows a smartphone dipped in water. [Checkout the teaser image here]

This revelations come a few weeks after Dong-hoon Chang, Samsung Vice President and Head of Design Strategy, in an informal chat with Korean media house inews24, confirmed that the company would be using a new material for the upcoming phones this year, hinting that Galaxy S5 may boast a metal shell-case or at least a premium carbon-fiber body.

If Galaxy S5 really does come with a water-resistant metal body case, then Samsung will certainly raise the competition against their rivals, considering the fact that most of the new-generation smartphones are more incremental in terms of specifications than innovation.

Apart from improving the build quality, the company is also set to overhaul the Galaxy S5 exterior design. It is expected to see a bump in its display size with a boost of 2K (2560x1440p) resolutions.

According to various reports, Galaxy S5 will sport a 5.25-inch display with a pixel density of 560 ppi (pixels per inch).

Processor, RAM and Storage:

Archrival, Apple has already released the advanced 64-bit architecture-based A8 chipset (in iPhone 5S), so it would not be a surprise if the South Korean firm plants a similar chipset in the Galaxy S5, considering the fact that Samsung has its own chipset manufacturing unit, which is also known to supply internal hardware to Apple as well.

Rumour has it that Galaxy S5 might come in two variants - one with Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 series (CPU is capable of clocking up to 2.5GHz speed) processor and another with the company's in-house built 64-bit Exynos 6 Octa-core CPU.

Another notable feature of the upcoming Galaxy S5 is that it might house a new generation 20 nanometer LPDDR4 RAM (4GB). It is said to boast a high level performance and battery efficiency, compared to the current crop of physical memory chips, seen inside any mobile devices.

In terms of storage, one can expect the new Samsung smartphone to come with a 32GB inbuilt memory, having expandable options via microSD card.

Mobile Operating System:

Last month, we saw Samsung launching TabPRO and NotePRO tablets with KitKat OS at CES (Consumer Electronics Show) 2014, and so it is safe to assume that Galaxy S5 would also ship with the latest Android OS out of the box.

Check out the recent teaser image of the Samsung Unpacked 5 event:

Along with the new KitKat OS, Samsung is also said to incorporate the refurbished custom UI TouchWiz with simple interface, quick access to applications and visual appeal as well.

[Also read: Key features of Android KitKat OS)

Camera:

According to a recent post by technology enthusiast, Eldar Murtazin, the fifth generation Galaxy S device would boast a top-of-the-line 16.0-megapixel main camera.

It is said to feature ISOCELL technology with OIS (Optical image stabilization), loss-less zoom feature and 4K resolution video taking capability.

On the front side, it is expected to flaunt a 3.2-megapixel camera (with full HD video recording ability).

Smart Features:

Multi-hovering technology:

Korean media house, ETnews, citing sources, has claimed that Samsung Galaxy S5 would boast a breakthrough 'multi-hovering' technology.

This innovative technology is developed to enrich 3D gaming in Galaxy S5, wherein the user can play games on Galaxy S5, just by moving fingers in the air above the screen. The sensors on the display is said to have an ability to catch signals from multiple hovering fingers (individual) movement as far as 30mm (3cm).

Head movement tracking feature:

Last year, Samsung's Galaxy S4 came with a gamut of smart gesture control features, such as air View/ Air Gesture (photo album), smart scroll (internet browsing), smart pause (video playback),  S Voice Drive (text-to-speech convertor) though many tech critics panned some of the features as gimmicky ones that would serve less purpose for common users. Well Samsung is all set to table the Galaxy S5 with more of these features.

[Also read: Galaxy S5's Smart Features]

Galaxy S5 is expected to boast an advanced head-movement tracking feature, to browse web pages on the phone. It is said that the handset's front camera divide the user's image into various sections, then observes the change in a particular section to carry out a specific function.

Fingerprint Sensor:

In the late 2013, speculations were twirling in the media that the Samsung Galaxy S5 would house an advanced Iris scanner. However, recently new reports surfaced online stating that Samsung dropped this feature because of its technological feasibility issue.

[Also read: Samsung to use Finger-Print Sensor for Galaxy S5; Drops Iris Scanner Sensor Plans]

The Iris scanner technology required Samsung technicians to plant a second dedicated camera on the front, forcing an overhaul on the Galaxy S5's structural design. This unwarranted limitation compelled the company to adopt the fingerprint scanner.

It is said that the whole of Galaxy S5's display will act as the  finger-print sensor;  he/she can place their finger anywhere on the screen to open the lock-screen, unlike Apple's iPhone 5S , which uses a dedicated circular shaped sapphire based home button as the scanner instead.

Launch details:

The South Korean company has already announced to host the 'Samsung Unpacked 2014 Episode 1' on 24 February, though the firm is yet confirm the significance of the event. Many are betting the Galaxy S5 is certain to make its debut, considering the fact that last year Samsung did host the event to launch Galaxy S4 .

Price details:

Samsung community blog SamMobile, citing sources, has claimed that the upcoming Galaxy S5's premium variant (metal) would cost €800 (around ₹67,000), whereas the plastic model would hold a price-tag of around €650 (around ₹54,600).

Apart from the Galaxy S5 variants (metal and plastic), Samsung is also rumoured to launch a smaller Galaxy S5 Mini and and its camera specific variant Galaxy S5 Zoom later in the year, probably around mid-2014.

Rumoured specifications of Samsung Galaxy S5 include: