Sooner or later this was coming anyway. Samsung had to show up to the QHD table with something. Either this device announced today or the upcoming Galaxy Note 4 or that Galaxy F no one is sure about that has been leaking all over the internet. The Galaxy S5 LTE-A is not a surprise device. Samsung has a long history of introducing better-looking, better-specced smartphone models in its home country of Korea. With Korea being one of the few places that has LTE Advanced, we’ve become used to LTE-A supporting devices from the likes of Samsung and LG. The Galaxy S5 LTE-A simply continues that new-found tradition.
Save for support for LTE Advanced, a QHD display, 3 GB RAM and the new Snapdragon 805 SoC are what primarily differentiates this device from its elderly sibling, the international version of the Galaxy S5. The IP67 certification, fingerprint scanner, heart rate sensor and the general design of the device remain as they are on the Galaxy S5.
The Galaxy S5’s 1080p display is already regarded as one of the best smartphone screens ever and with the human eye not able to pick out individual pixels even at full HD level, for those who are always after the best specifications in a device, the most exciting thing about the S5 LTE-A is the processor. It is the first time we’re seeing the Snapdragon 805 on a real world device coming to the market.
Specifications of the device are as follows:
- Size & weight: 142.0 x 72.5 x 8.1 mm, 145g
- Display: 5.1 inch Super AMOLED 2560 x 1440 pixels (577 ppi)
- Processor: Quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 clocked at 2.5 GHz backed by an Adreno 420 GPU
- Memory: 3 GB RAM
- Camera: 16 MP main/ 2 MP front. With ISOCELL
- OS: Android 4.4 KitKat
- Battery: 2800 mAh
- Network: Broadband LTE-A, 4G LTE-A
The device goes on sale later in the summer at a an equivalent of $920 through Korean carriers SK Telecomm (SKT) at first and LG Uplus (LG U+) and Korea Telecomm (KT) later on . Korea is the first country in the world to have all its carriers on LTE-Advanced with KT being the latest to do so back in January 2012 with its Olleh branded 4G LTE (seen those LG G3s? Yeah). The device will be available in Charcoal Black, Shimmery White, Electric Blue, Copper Gold, Sweet Pink and Glam Red colours.