As the Northern hemisphere enters
the summer season, it's the second year in a row that Samsung releases a rugged
version of its incumbent flagship. This time around, it is a toughened take on
an already IP certified device, so they went through the roof with
military-grade protection against all kinds of extremities. At least for the
time being, AT&T can call the Samsung Galaxy S5 Active its own.
The Samsung Galaxy S5 Active
requires a lot less compromises than its predecessor. As capable as it was, the
Samsung Galaxy S4 Active lacked the highly-praised Super AMOLED unit of its
civilian sibling. It also packed a lower resolution camera (8MP as opposed to
13MP), thus denying its users two of Samsung's staples.
In contrast, the newcomer features
the exact same specs as the already well-known Samsung Galaxy S5. The only
things missing are the microUSB 3.0 port and the fingerprint sensor. It has
made way for more rugged navigation keys. And they're hardware buttons again,
like on the previous generation.
Key
features
- MIL-STD-810G certification for salt, dust, humidity, rain, vibration, solar radiation, transport and thermal shock resistance
- IP67 certification for dust and water resistance
- 5.1" 16M-color 1080p Super AMOLED with Gorilla Glass 3
- Android OS v4.4.2 KitKat with TouchWiz UI
- Quad-core 2.5 GHz Krait 400 CPU, Adreno 330 GPU; Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 chipset; 2GB of RAM
- 16MP camera; LED flash; 2160p@30fps video recording
- 2 MP front-facing camera, 1080p video recording
- 16GB of built-in storage, expandable via the microSD card slot
- Heart-rate monitor
- IR gesture sensor for Air gestures
- Barometer, showing the elevation and air pressure
- Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic
- 2,800mAh removable battery
Main
disadvantages
- No OIS in the camera
- No fingerprint sensor (Galaxy S5 has it)
- No microUSB 3.0 (Galaxy S5 has it)
- Rear-mounted mono speaker
- Poor video codec support out of box
- Design is a bit too cluttered
- Only available in the United States for AT&T at the moment
At a quick glance, the Samsung
Galaxy S5 Active is everything we expect it to be - a toughened up version of
the SM-G900. The gorgeous 5.1" Super AMOLED display is on board and so is
the 16MP camera capable of 4K video recording.
The beefed up dust and shock
resistance surely is a welcome sight too. The same goes for the shortcut button
on the device which can be utilized as a camera key.
On the negative side, the S5 Active
suffers from mostly the same niggles as its regular sibling. They include poor
video codec support out of the box, lack of OIS in the camera, and the presence
of a single mono speaker.
Pundits will also point at the lack
of fingerprint sensor, though we reckon that its absence is offset by the
presence of more comfortable and sturdier, navigation buttons - ones you can
press even with safety or work gloves on. The limited availability of the
device is surely an issue too, though we are certain that a globally available
version is quite likely.
As always, we are going to kick the
review off with boxing, followed by our take on the design and build. Head over
to the next page to find out what the S5 Active is like in the flesh.
Editorial: You might notice that
this review is shorter than usual and doesn't include some of our proprietary
tests. The reason is it has been prepared and written far away from our home
office and test lab. Still, we think we've captured the essence of the device
in the same precise, informative and detailed way that's become our trademark.
Enjoy the good read!
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