Samsung Galaxy S5 Rumors Get Specific: Release, Display & More

New Samsung Galaxy S5 rumors help to paint a vivid picture of the next Galaxy S smartphone ahead of launch with specific details about its design, camera, and display emerging today.

The Samsung Galaxy S5 is the most heavily rumored smartphone on the earth at the moment thanks to an avalanche of rumors that have emerged in recent weeks. As we get closer to launch, those rumors are becoming more and more specific, narrowing down some of the potential features on board Samsung’s Next Big Thing.

A trio of reports today have attempted to pinpoint three of the Galaxy S5’s biggest features: The Galaxy S5 design, the Galaxy S5 display, and the Galaxy S5’s camera. Rumors have pointed to upgrades in all three areas and these reports will all help to narrow the expectations of users in the United States and elsewhere.

SamMobile today released an extensive look at the Galaxy S5’s camera. All along, rumors have pegged the camera as a 16MP sensor and that’s exactly what the site is confirming today. While the exact sensor is unknown, the site claims that the camera will be able to shoot 4K UHD video at 30FPS and 1080p FHD video at 60FPS. In other words, it should be able to shoot beautiful content.

It also appears as though Samsung will ditch a physical camera button and go with an “invisible” camera button dubbed Side Touch. Instead of tapping a button, users will simply tap an area where the button used to be. A sensor will acknowledge that movement and a photo or video will get shot. The site claims that there will be limitations to the feature including the inability to use the sensor while the device is in Portrait Mode.

It also has leaked a number of potential software features that Samsung will include in its already extensive camera application. These are all of the features that will supposedly come with the Samsung Galaxy S5’s camera.

• 3D Tour Shot: “Create interactive virtual tours of your surroundings.”
• Sports: “Take clearer pictures of fast-moving subjects.”
• Focus Select: “Make your subjects stand out against the background by adjusting the depth of field.”
• Dual Camera: “You can take pictures and record videos using the front and rear cameras at the same time.”
• Aqua: “Appropriate for taking pictures underwater.”
• Animated Photo: “Create a picture containing moving objects by animating parts of the picture.”
• 3D Panorama: “Create a spherical panorama of your surroundings.”
• Sound & Shot: “Enrich your pictures by adding a few seconds of background sound.”
• Drama: “Takes multiple exposure pictures of a moving subject and merges them into one dramatic picture.”
• Golf: “Take pictures of a golf swing. You can then play the pictures forwards or backwards.”
• Auto Portrait: “Take self-portrait with the rear camera.”
• Rich Tone (HDR): “Take pictures with softer or richer colors by merging pictures taken in various exposures.”
• Auto: “Automatically adjusts the exposure to optimize the color and brightness of pictures. You can take single or burst shots.”
• Eraser: “Save the best picture after erasing moving objects from consecutive pictures.”
• Night: “Take brighter, clearer pictures in low light without the flash.”
• Best Face: “Select the best picture of each person from 5 consecutive pictures to get the best merged group picture.”
• Best Photo: “Take a series of pictures, and then select the best to save.”
• Continuous Shot: “Take pictures continuously.”
• Panorama: “Create a linear panorama by taking pictures in either a horizontal or vertical direction.”

The camera may not be the only upgrade that Samsung offers with the Galaxy S5. A new report from ZDNet Korea claims that the design of the Galaxy S5 will be heavily upgraded as well.

While the report doesn’t talk about metal or plastic, it does suggest that the design will be dust and water resistant, just like the design found on the Galaxy S4 Active on AT&T. This agrees with an early rumor that suggested Samsung would be looking to include this feature with the design but it disagrees with a rumor that suggested that this design quality would skip the Galaxy S5 in favor of a Galaxy S5 Active.

Two new reports, one from OLED.at and one from ETNews, suggest that Samsung will indeed be including two different display types on the Galaxy S5, fueling rumors of two different Galaxy S5 models.

The reports suggest that one device will come with QHD display resolution while the other version will come with 1080p full HD resolution. The Galaxy S5 with 1080p resolution will reportedly be the device that is released first while the “premium” version of the Galaxy S5 will come later on, a few months after the initial release.

This could explain why we’ve seen benchmarks show two screen resolutions, why User Agent Profiles on Samsung’s website showed U.S. Galaxy S5 variants with 1080p displays and why a New York Times report suggested that Samsung would be skipping QHD displays at next weeks Galaxy S5 launch event.

Of course, nothing is set in stone. Samsung still has to confirm all of these details and it will likely do so on Monday. On Monday, the company will host an Unpacked 5 Episode 1 launch event in Barcelona, Spain where it is widely expected to debut the Samsung Galaxy S5 and the Samsung Galaxy Gear 2.

The company will likely discuss features, carriers, pricing, and even the Galaxy S5 release date, a date that is expected to land in the second quarter of the year. Gotta Be Mobile has heard that the Galaxy S5 could arrive in late April though we have been unable to confirm the timing with a second source.