Two of the biggest phones are going head to head when the Samsung Galaxy S5 arrives and takes on the Apple iPhone 5S. One of the devices is large, robust and built on Android and the other is delicate and designed for ease of use on iOS. So which will come out on top?
The Samsung Galaxy S5 should be making its way out on 11 April and it will arrive in over 100 countries around the world.
There is no official price tag for the Samsung Galaxy S5 at the moment but it is thought that it will come in around £550.
There has been talk that the SIM free version of the Samsung Galaxy S5 will comes in at about £600, which is the same as the current Samsung Galaxy S4.
You can get hold of the iPhone 5S for £549 off contract and there are also models for £629 and £709, this depends on storage of course.
The Samsung Galaxy S5 and the Apple iPhone 5S are both fast handsets and they are great for multi-tasking.
The Samsung Galaxy S5 offers the 2.5GHz Qualcomm quad core processor along with 2GB of RAM and this means it is very smooth and fast.
The Apple iPhone has the A7 64 bit processor at between 12GHz to 1.3GHz. The dual core Cyclone processor has been combined with 1GB of DDR3 RAM. Apple bragged about the handset being twice as fast as its predecessor and we haven’t come across any issues with performance.
The Apple iPhone 5S with the A7 processor means that iOS 7 runs very smooth and all apps and web pages do load fast, which make the device a pleasure to use.
In benchmark tests the A7 processor in the iPhone 5S show how much faster the device is as it completed tests in 417ms. The Apple iPhone 5 with iOS 7 took 721ms, while the Samsung Galaxy S4 took 922ms.
Geekbench tests showed scores that were similar as the Apple iPhone 5S came in with 721 points. the GLBenchmakr 2.7 tests saw the iPhone come in at 53fps, while the iPhone 5 managed 41fps. The biggest difference was with the T-Rex HD test as the iPhone 5S scored 37fps. It is thought that the Samsung Galaxy S5 will score just as good in tests when it arrives.
The Samsung Galaxy S5 has the looks of Samsung so it’s not changed such a great deal and it does have a similar look to the Samsung Galaxy Note 3. It should have its own look to be fair.
When holding it the Samsung Galaxy S5 doesn’t take on the look of a premium phone and Samsung have given the device a perforated back, which is supposed to feel natural but we just don’t see the benefit of it.
The Samsung Galaxy S5 is dust and water proof and comes with a rating of IP67, which means it shouldn’t die on you if it gets wet. However you do have to make sure that the port covers are on and the back cover is in place.
The Samsung Galaxy S5 will be available in white, black, blue and copper gold, which takes on a peach colouring.
The Samsung Galaxy S5 is 142 by 72.5 by 8.1mm, and weighs 145g. The device should be robust and you might get away without using a cover.
The Apple iPhone 5S on the other hand is more delicate and the aluminium body does scratch easily. It is thin and light at 112g and 7.6mm thick.
The iPhone 5S comes in gold and white trim and there is silver, black and grey options. This does look like the iPhone 5 in black with graphite on the edges.
The Samsung Galaxy S5 offers a camera of 16MP and it has autofocus of 0.3 seconds. There is also a selective focus mode which means you can choose from three different focal points and video can be shot in 4k.
Close to the flash there is a heart rate monitor, you just put your finger on the sensor and get a readout with the S Health app.
The Apple iPhone 5S offers the 8MP camera with True Tone flash and BSI and it can take video at 1080p, it also comes with a Slo-Mo mode. The front of the iPhone 5S has a camera of 1.2MP which can take video at 720p.
The camera of the iPhone 5S comes with a better 8MP sensor with f/2.2 aperture and Two Tone flash with two LEDs. The FaceTime camera can take photos at 1.2MP and video at 720p.
The Apple iPhone 5S has iOS 7 and the Samsung Galaxy S5 will have KitKat 4.4 so this is a matter of personal choice.
Both devices have an interface that is easy to use. iOS is better for those who are security conscious and Android is better for those who like to customise.
The Samsung Galaxy S5 will be available in choices of 16GB and 32GB and it has support for external storage.
The Apple iPhone 5S is offered in 16GB, 32GB and 64GB but doesn’t support external storage.
The display of the Samsung Galaxy S5 is 5.2 inches and so it’s just a little larger than that of the Samsung Galaxy S4, it is full HD and Super AMOLED.
The display of the Apple iPhone 5S is 4 inches with a ratio of 10:9 and resolution of 640 x 1136 with ppi of 326.
All in all the Samsung Galaxy S5 is built well and is packed with features. It offers a good camera, storage and connectivity. The same applies to the Apple iPhone 5S but the Samsung Galaxy S5 has the bigger display. Both devices come with a fingerprint scanner and offer good storage, but the Samsung Galaxy S5 supports SD card.
When it comes down to it, the choice will be a difficult one and it could come down to availability and the cost of the handset along with personal choice.
