Samsung Galaxy S5 Announced - Launch Date 4/11/14

[Terrell352]

4k video is also usless to 96% of america

I honestly am looking forward to the S5. Yes the hardware is not the groundbreaking spec war we all were hoping for, but if they streamlined the UX, and made it work "better", I'd buy it.

 

The camera is a huge feature for me, as I use my phone almost extensively for pictures. A 2K screen would have been useless to me.

[WiWavelength]

I am hoping that Sprint will restrict download to around 1 mb or less when this is occurring. Having idiots doing that could cripple even b41  . 

 

Even a persistent 1 Mbps stream over LTE with the rest carried by Wi-Fi could be enough to soak most of a sector.  Multiply that persistent 1 Mbps stream by 15 among the 300 or so users per sector, and the sector is already running at 50-100 percent utilization.

 

AJ

[Joeynach]

Don't hold your breath. The N4 didn't drop in price until Google dropped it completely.

 

Plus it's already so cheap with top of the line specs. How much more could you want?

 

Also I want to reiterate some thoughts on here. I was a little excited for this Unpacked, but it became a massive yawn-fest once I saw the phone. Nothing new, moving along.

 

 

-Luis

What do I want, I want the price to be within the $200 amount that I have been paying for all my smartphones.  Yes, I understand those are contract subsidize prices, but hey that's what I can afford.  But with no pre-loaded bloatware, similar specs, and the plethora of LTE bands and both CDMA and GSM support so I can take the phone abroad, the N5 is looking better and better.

[Craig]

So what was everyone hoping for? More gimmicky tricks that 1% of the users ever use (finger hover preview thingy, or eye tracking to scroll the page). Honestly, the specs on any flagship phone from the past year or two are really going to be pretty future-proof for a whole lot longer than the two year upgrade cycle. I'm eligible for an upgrade from my S3 in a few days. I'm not in any hurry to upgrade right at the two year point for the first time ever. My S3 still hums along and handles anything I throw at it, which is quite a bit. A bigger battery would be nice, but were we really hoping for an octa-core processor that would just suck more juice for minimal if any improvement in performance, and anything over 1080p on this size screen is honestly overkill, a battery drain and just a pi**ing contest among marketing divisions of the manufactures. Same with the camera. I like HTC's approach to go with fewer pixels and give you better overall picture quality vs packing more and more pixels onto these minute photo sensors and destroying image quality in the process. 

In all seriousness, what else do we want in these phones? What more can they put in there that will actually be beneficial?

[Mondays In Flames]

What do I want, I want the price to be within the $200 amount that I have been paying for all my smartphones.  Yes, I understand those are contract subsidize prices, but hey that's what I can afford.  But with no pre-loaded bloatware, similar specs, and the plethora of LTE bands and both CDMA and GSM support so I can take the phone abroad, the N5 is looking better and better.

The N5, simply put, is an amazing phone. And isn't sprint doing away with contracts?

 

Regardless, I'm surprised they made the screen bigger by just .1 of an inch. They should have just kept the 5 inch screen is that's what they think the sweet spot is.

 

 

-Luis

[WiWavelength]

What do I want, I want the price to be within the $200 amount that I have been paying for all my smartphones.  Yes, I understand those are contract subsidize prices, but hey that's what I can afford.  But with no pre-loaded bloatware, similar specs, and the plethora of LTE bands and both CDMA and GSM support so I can take the phone abroad, the N5 is looking better and better.

 

That does not make any sense.  You are currently paying $200 upfront plus a service plan inflated by $20 in subsidy every month.  You can afford that, not to mention, you can afford to travel abroad.  But you cannot afford to make a downpayment and a monthly payment on Easy Pay?  Huh?  It is basically the same thing as the contract subsidy system.

 

AJ

[Joeynach]

That does not make any sense.  You are currently paying $200 upfront plus a service plan inflated by $20 in subsidy every month.  You can afford that, not to mention, you can afford to travel abroad.  But you cannot afford to make a downpayment and a monthly payment on Easy Pay?  Huh?  It is basically the same thing as the contract subsidy system.

 

AJ

I pay $200 for the phone and I expect a full two years worth of depreciation out of my investment.  My plan is discounted by my employer, so within my budget I have a certain amount I expect, budget, and am willing to pay for my cell phone service and my 2 year investment.  The fact that I pay $200 only every two years, and the price I am under contract for my monthly plan is part of what enables me to budget for such things as traveling abroad.

[jamisonshaw125]

I pay $200 for the phone and I expect a full two years worth of depreciation out of my investment.  My plan is discounted by my employer, so within my budget I have a certain amount I expect, budget, and am willing to pay for my cell phone service and my 2 year investment.  The fact that I pay $200 only every two years, and the price I am under contract for my monthly plan is part of what enables me to budget for such things as traveling abroad.

So its a 2 year contract. You're saying you just want to do that instead of doing 0 down and $22-27 a month for a subsidy plan? Makes sense. I would also prefer just to do $199 as my contract comes up and be done with it and just be in a 2 year contract. (That part doesn't really matter to me as I find my phone normally could last me longer) Only difference is next time I am probably going to sell my 5S and use that for the upgrade. 

 

Hoping a triband iPhone comes out next year and that I can still just renew my contract instead of doing a easy pay or subsidy or whatever they are going to be doing then.

[clbowens]

So its a 2 year contract. You're saying you just want to do that instead of doing 0 down and $22-27 a month for a subsidy plan? Makes sense. I would also prefer just to do $199 as my contract comes up and be done with it and just be in a 2 year contract. (That part doesn't really matter to me as I find my phone normally could last me longer) Only difference is next time I am probably going to sell my 5S and use that for the upgrade. 

 

Hoping a triband iPhone comes out next year and that I can still just renew my contract instead of doing a easy pay or subsidy or whatever they are going to be doing then.

 

Yeah, I have not paid for my last 2 galaxy s phones.  I wait for a deal at Best Buy, trade my phone in and walk out with a free new phone AND usually some left over on a Best Buy gift card.

[always_learner]

Any chance this phone is going to be a multi-carrier phone like the nexus 5 where you can just swap sims and move to another carrier with the same phone?

[ericdabbs]

I dont understand that statement? If it is triband, that is a benefit to anyone that has that phone. It's not a huge upgrade but for people stuck with older model androids or other devices it might be just what they were looking for. 

 

You do know that he was being sarcastic.  The point of Sprint even stating that it is the "ONLY carrier that supplies the GS5 with Spark speeds and Sprint Framily plans" is ridiculous.  Of course Sprint is the only carrier that can provide those services because no other carrier has access the same pool of spectrum nor have the same type of family plans.  Its one of those marketing statements to try to draw attention.

[ericdabbs]

Any chance this phone is going to be a multi-carrier phone like the nexus 5 where you can just swap sims and move to another carrier with the same phone?

 

Doubt it.  I am sure Sprint, Verizon, ATT and Tmobile will all have their own GS5 variants.  There are not going to break that model since all the carriers don't want to see their phones get unlocked and moved to different carriers with ease.

[metayoshi]

What do I want, I want the price to be within the $200 amount that I have been paying for all my smartphones.  Yes, I understand those are contract subsidize prices, but hey that's what I can afford.  But with no pre-loaded bloatware, similar specs, and the plethora of LTE bands and both CDMA and GSM support so I can take the phone abroad, the N5 is looking better and better.

You can get the phone subsidized by Sprint, though. Is that not an option? I mean, I personally didn't use my upgrade on the Nexus 5 since I wanted the 32 GB play store version, but just checking the Sprint site right now gives me a $99 price for the Nexus 5 with a new 2-year contract. That's a pretty good price for a phone with the same SoC as the LG G2, G Flex, and Samsung Galaxy Note 3.

[Joeynach]

Any chance this phone is going to be a multi-carrier phone like the nexus 5 where you can just swap sims and move to another carrier with the same phone?

Thats what I was interested in learning too, but I haven't been able to verify one way or the other yet.  So far most of the reviews I have found online leave this part of networks and band support out.

[ericdabbs]

What do I want, I want the price to be within the $200 amount that I have been paying for all my smartphones.  Yes, I understand those are contract subsidize prices, but hey that's what I can afford.  But with no pre-loaded bloatware, similar specs, and the plethora of LTE bands and both CDMA and GSM support so I can take the phone abroad, the N5 is looking better and better.

 

This is assuming that Sprint will still allow old plans to continue to upgrade their smartphones at the subsidized price.  There is a rumor from Sprint reps on this site about a March 14th date that Sprint will only offer the Easy Pay plans as the only way to pay for your smartphones.  Who knows if it will affect grandfathered plans or is only mandated for those under the My Way or Framily plans.  I hope this is NOT true and only affects the new My Way/Framily plans but who knows.

[Joeynach]

You can get the phone subsidized by Sprint, though. Is that not an option? I mean, I personally didn't use my upgrade on the Nexus 5 since I wanted the 32 GB play store version, but just checking the Sprint site right now gives me a $99 price for the Nexus 5 with a new 2-year contract. That's a pretty good price for a phone with the same SoC as the LG G2, G Flex, and Samsung Galaxy Note 3.

I agree, I am not eligible for upgrade until the fall, but if I were to upgrade with contract renewal now this seems like the best option.  Come fall of 2014 though who knows what models and prices will be for phones with contract renewal.

[jamisonshaw125]

You do know that he was being sarcastic.  The point of Sprint even stating that it is the "ONLY carrier that supplies the GS5 with Spark speeds and Sprint Framily plans" is ridiculous.  Of course Sprint is the only carrier that can provide those services because no other carrier has access the same pool of spectrum nor have the same type of family plans.  Its one of those marketing statements to try to draw attention.

[Joeynach]

This is assuming that Sprint will still allow old plans to continue to upgrade their smartphones at the subsidized price.  There is a rumor from Sprint reps on this site about a March 14th date that Sprint will only offer the Easy Pay plans as the only way to pay for your smartphones.  Who knows if it will affect grandfathered plans or is only mandated for those under the My Way or Framily plans.  I hope this is NOT true and only affects the new My Way/Framily plans but who knows.

Man I really hope that is not the case.  I am really not interested in financing my phone on my plan nor I am interested in a phone upgrade every year.  I like to get two years from my device, its a really a pain to transfer all your photos, apps, contacts, videos, and custom stuff you do to your android device to a new device.  The idea of Sprint changing their offerings under the incentive that you get to upgrade sooner really is more of a pain in my opinion.

[ericdabbs]

Man I really hope that is not the case.  I am really not interested in financing my phone on my plan nor I am interested in a phone upgrade every year.  I like to get two years from my device, its a really a pain to transfer all your photos, apps, contacts, videos, and custom stuff you do to your android device to a new device.  The idea of Sprint changing their offerings under the incentive that you get to upgrade sooner really is more of a pain in my opinion.

 

Well I am not happy about that either but it seems like Sprint is trying to imitate Tmobile every day and even the industry in general so I could see Sprint moving in that direction.  Hopefully Rocket87 who works at Sprint can chime in and see if he has any further details if the subsidized phone thing is truly going away and when and whether grandfathered Everything Data/SERO/EPRP plans are able to still upgrade through this method.  

 

The world launch date for the GS5 is 4/11/14 from what I read but you know the US carrier versions are going to be later than that because the trend is that they always have been.  The Sprint GS5 probably won't have a launch date until end of Apr/early May date. 

 

Just FYI, the Sprint Easy Pay plans in no way forces you to pay your phone sooner than 24 months so that you have yearly upgrades.  The yearly upgrade thing is an added benefit for those that want the ability to turn in their current device so that they can qualify for a new device.  If you follow the 23 monthly payments with the 24th month payment slightly larger to cover the odd amounts then you are essentially just upgrading every 2 years.

[dannible]

I posted this question yesterday but nobosy seemed to notice; Is there anything about the s5 "prime" that was mentioned in many articles prior to the unveiling. Has anything been seen or heard that would imply that it was only a false rumor or that maybe it will be announced later in the year...never.... maybe i should gfm....you know...

[ericdabbs]

I posted this question yesterday but nobosy seemed to notice; Is there anything about the s5 "prime" that was mentioned in many articles prior to the unveiling. Has anything been seen or heard that would imply that it was only a false rumor or that maybe it will be announced later in the year...never.... maybe i should gfm....you know...

 

What the heck is a S5 prime?

[kojitsari]

What the heck is a S5 prime?

I'm assuming its similar to the s4 active that AT&T had, a premium version. Possibly metal body and a few extra things to make the upgrade from an s4 seem logical.

 

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

 

[Rocket87]

Well I am not happy about that either but it seems like Sprint is trying to imitate Tmobile every day and even the industry in general so I could see Sprint moving in that direction. Hopefully Rocket87 who works at Sprint can chime in and see if he has any further details if the subsidized phone thing is truly going away and when and whether grandfathered Everything Data/SERO/EPRP plans are able to still upgrade through this method.

 

The world launch date for the GS5 is 4/11/14 from what I read but you know the US carrier versions are going to be later than that because the trend is that they always have been. The Sprint GS5 probably won't have a launch date until end of Apr/early May date.

 

Just FYI, the Sprint Easy Pay plans in no way forces you to pay your phone sooner than 24 months so that you have yearly upgrades. The yearly upgrade thing is an added benefit for those that want the ability to turn in their current device so that they can qualify for a new device. If you follow the 23 monthly payments with the 24th month payment slightly larger to cover the odd amounts then you are essentially just upgrading every 2 years.

 

 

My understanding is this may be pushed back to Q2 due to issues intergrating easy pay into best buy and radio shacks systems.

 

Anyone that doesn't believe sprint is moving towards the end of subsidies should go into a store and try and find a 2 year price tag.

[ericdabbs]

My understanding is this may be pushed back to Q2 due to issues intergrating easy pay into best buy and radio shacks systems.

 

Anyone that doesn't believe sprint is moving towards the end of subsidies should go into a store and try and find a 2 year price tag.

 

Interesting.  Those that want the GS5 and HTC One 2 will be in luck.  Get that one last subsidy price upgrade in before the change.  Also I wonder if Sprint is going to carry the LG G Pro 2 this time around.

 

You are correct, when I go to Sprint stores, I only see the Sprint Easy Pay prices and not the $199 subsidized prices.

[Rocket87]

Interesting. Those that want the GS5 and HTC One 2 will be in luck. Get that one last upgrade in before the change. Also I wonder if Sprint is going to carry the LG G Pro 2 this time around.

 

I asked our Lg rep this yesterday, she said she hadnt heard for sure which carriers would get it but she said there was a rumor going around the Lg reps of a carrier wide large launch of a phone Q2 which could be the Pro 2.