Samsung Galaxy S 5 Review
by Anand Lal Shimpi & Joshua Ho on April 8, 2014 12:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- Samsung
- Mobile
- Galaxy S 5
The Galaxy S5 is another phone to join the list of phones that ship with a fingerprint scanner for unlocking the device. While the Motorola Atrix 4G was the first to have a fingerprint scanner, it was mostly forgotten as a feature until Apple reintroduced it to the market in the form of TouchID. HTC also released the One max with a fingerprint scanner, which was generally viewed with mixed reactions due to the swipe sensor. Overall, it seems that while no one has a perfect implementation, Apple has the best implementation on the market today.
I do think it's important to give Samsung some credit, as the Synaptics-provided capacitive fingerprint scanner does work. Although not perfect, the GS5 is definitely better with its fingerprint scanner than had it shipped without it.
Samsung integrated Paypal and Samsung Account verification into the fingerprint scanner software as seen below, which is neat and shows the direction that fingerprint scanners could take in terms of identification and verification.
The fingerprint scanner is a high-DPI capacitive one based upon the Chipworks teardown, and in effect, is identical to the fingerprint scanner in the One max. The big difference is that it's integrated into the home button on the front of the phone as seen above, although based upon my experiences the home button is the only area with high precision capacitive sensing. The sensor detects features of the finger by measuring the effect that the dermis of the skin has on the electrostatic field that is generated by the touchscreen, and at sufficiently high resolution, the sensor can interpret the effect accurately enough that a map of the finger can be generated.
What is different from the One max is that it is much more difficult to use. The enrollment process is simple enough, and is accomplished by swiping eight times over the sensor as seen above (just like with TouchID, you can enroll multiple fingers in place of one by switching the digits you swipe with during the 8 swipe training process). After that, the fingerprint scanner can be used as a unlock method, along with the Paypal and Samsung Account login as previously stated. Where things get difficult is actually unlocking the phone. The sensor is simply too low to reasonably use with one hand, especially because the fingerprint scanner requires straight swipes with very little diagonal deviation. The scanner is also quite sensitive to swiping either too slow/fast or swiping at an inconsistent rate, and will often fail if the user is not consistent in swiping from enrollment to unlock. Enrolling the finger at multiple angles does help a bit with the issue, but it doesn't fundamentally change the experience.
It's pretty easy to adjust to the GS5's fingerprint sensor if you give up on the hope of a one hand unlock. If you're ok with swiping with another hand, the sensor works pretty well and is a great alternative to a long password.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
296 Comments
View All Comments
Mondozai - Tuesday, April 8, 2014 - link
Alexey, your unwittingly hilarious comments are comedy gold. Keep up the good work! :DAlexey291 - Tuesday, April 8, 2014 - link
*shrug*I'm glad to have amused you. So did you already preorder one of the last year's devices repackaged for this year's prices? :)
melgross - Tuesday, April 8, 2014 - link
Slightly? You mean that twice the speed is a slight improvement, among other things? The screen works just fine outdoors, by the way, and it will work better than the S5, as it's still noticeably brighter.akdj - Wednesday, April 9, 2014 - link
Sorry, gotta call BS. A) you've NOT seen the latest iPhones 4-5s or B) you're not using 'currently an S4'. The iPhone for YEARS has both had a phenomenal display, well calibrated out of the box and EXTREMELY EASY to read in sunlight, bright rooms, choose the place. I own the 5s (my personal phone) and Note 3 (Biz). Love em both...but to proclaim an iPhone isn't easy to read in sunlight or outdoors is Pure, GradeAAA horse pucky. It's not tough to cheat my N3 in bright rooms and outdoors, and I'm enjoying both displays. SAMOLED & my LCD. Kinda cool time to be a part of technology but the S4 was a bad joke. S3 owners had/have a special phone. If they have exhausted a two year contract, the S5 is a HUGE Win for them. A massive boost in every facet compared to the '4' and a worthy upgrade for the Galaxy fans.Boring year? You're a tough fella to impress. 4k capture on a mobile cam. HiDPI displays, 'Moore's Mobile Law' seems in effect. We got a 64bit chip last year. The A8 instruction set. A quad core, 2.3GHz phone with 3GB of RAM...& these numbers from the Snapdragon and Adreno graphic updates...on 32bit SOCs. Phenomenal cameras, LTE and AC WiFi, USB 3 and waterproofing. The iPhone fingerprint scanner is phenomenal. If this one's good...that's some incredibly convenient security! Man...'rehash'. 'Write the year off!' Where do bozos like you hail from?
Streamlined - Wednesday, April 9, 2014 - link
Gotta agree with this one. Say what you will about the iPhones but they are, hands down, the best phones to read in bright sunlight.pppp6071 - Wednesday, April 9, 2014 - link
@Alexey291 R u dumb or acting like one. Read the charts once more regarding display. Nexus 5 is has best screen out there till date. Dude u do so much comedy...Myrandex - Wednesday, April 9, 2014 - link
I read in direct sunlight on my Lumia 920 and it's LCD screen. Color accuracy washes out but it does get very bright.deathdemon89 - Wednesday, April 9, 2014 - link
Same with my 925 and its OLED screen. It's probably more a software implementation thing with the Nokia devices.sephirotic - Tuesday, April 8, 2014 - link
G2 Doesn´t have a SD card slot, so it sucks, would never buy it.coburn_c - Tuesday, April 8, 2014 - link
If it had an SD card slot it would have a smaller screen and battery and be mediocre like the S5. I haven't had a phone with an SD card slot in years and am doing just fine.