The folks at AT&T know how much I love Samsung products and loaned me the new Samsung Galaxy S5 smartphone in order to review it. Let’s just say I was very sad when it was time to send it back.
Let’s start off by saying that I’m a fan of Samsung mobile devices and this Samsung Galaxy S5 review is biased because of it. It also means I have high expectations for the phone. How did Samsung’s latest version of the Galaxy phone fare? I was impressed by everything it could do. I’m not sure how often I would use all of those functions, but it’s good to know that they’re available. I personally use a Galaxy S4 so I’ll share some comparisons between the two models.
The Galaxy S5 is sleek and more intuitive to use than its predecessors. The S5 is slightly bigger than the S4. I remember how huge the Galaxy S2 felt in my hands, but I think we’re getting used to larger smartphones, as evidenced by the popularity of the Galaxy Note 3, Nokia Lumia and Galaxy S phones. Most of us won’t mind the bigger phone, especially when the screen is bigger. Reading websites and ebooks is easier on the eyes with the bigger screen. The phone is also slightly slimmer than its previous model.
I have a lot to say about this phone so today I’m going to focus on its camera.
Like many of you, my phone is my main camera. Luckily, S5 the camera is amazing! The camera app is much more user friendly which makes it easier to change the settings such as flash, exposure, and white balance. On my Galaxy S4, I have to tap several times to get to these settings, while you need less taps on the S5. As expected, it takes great outdoor shots. I noticed at first many of my photos were a little blurry. After checking my settings, I realized that the stabilization setting default is set to “No.” Make sure to change it to yes so your photos come out clearer.
One function I was excited about is the voice activated shutter. By saying “Shoot,” “Cheese,” “Capture” or other specific words, the camera would take the photo. In theory it’s a great idea for selfies, but it din’t work every time. Above is a video of Sophia’s attempted to use the voice activated shutter. As you can see, it took several attempts before the camera actually took the photo.
Indoors were photos were great too, though it takes the camera longer to take the photo in lower lighting. Photo editing functions are available on the preview screen, instead of having to press the Menu button on the phone. All the options that are easily accessed from the main camera screen are the ones you’ll use the most.
I leave you with one of my favorite photos I took on the Samsung Galaxy S5. Look at that static electricity in action!
I’ll share more about Samsung’s exclusive apps for the Galaxy S5 in another post!
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