The Samsung Galaxy S5 will get its official debut in just a few hours at a special event in Barcelona at this year’s Mobile World Congress, but you can see what it looks like right now thanks to a massive leak of photos coming from two different sources, including SaudiAndroid and HardwareZone. The pics show a device that remains very similar to previous generations, with a strongly dimpled plastic back, larger display and built-in fingerprint scanner.
The S5’s dimensions put it squarely between the Galaxy Note 3 and Galaxy S4, allowing for the larger 5-inch diagonal display that has been rumored already. The original Galaxy Note, you may recall, had a 5.3-inch diagonal display, which means the main flagship is approaching the original phablet’s dimensions slowly but surely.
In the pics, we also get a peek at some of the new software features of the Galaxy S5, including a “Download Booster” which apparently uses both LTE and Wi-Fi to speed up sizeable downloads of over 30MB, as well as the fingerprint scanning app itself. The device also apparently has IP67 water and dust-proofing, which should make it a very rugged device indeed, and that it carries a 16-megapixel camera on the back. Expect that camera to have some other special powers, as there appears to be potentially a small secondary lens or some other kind of sensor living next to the flash now.
The design looks overall pretty similar to its predecessor, and there’s still plastic being used on the rear panel. It has a dimpled look this time around, however, and comes in at least white or black, but it’s a little disappointing to see Samsung stick with essentially the same old formula for its flagship. Still, with high levels of water and dust resistance, this could prove to be one of the more durable smartphones out there (the plastic may not feel super premium, but it withstands drops pretty well).
We’ve also heard (via 9to5Google) that Samsung will offer up custom app deployments on the Galaxy S5 based on a shopper’s job and interests, so that could affect homescreen appearance and other UI factors on these new flagships. We’ll have to wait to see exactly what the new device is packing, but we won’t have to wait long: The Unpacked5 event kicks off at 2 PM ET (11 AM PT) today.
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