Samsung Galaxy S5 vs S4 vs Note 3: specs comparison

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Samsung Galaxy S5 vs S4 vs Note 3: specs comparison
The much-hyped Samsung Galaxy S5 has just arrived and it’s a gradual evolution over last year’s Galaxy S4, and an even milder one when compared against the Galaxy Note 3. Samsung says it has gone back to the basics when creating the Galaxy S5, and this effort resulted in two big new features - a fingerprint scanner built right in the home key (hello, iPhone 5s) and a heart rate monitor positioned right below the rear camera.

We’ll take a separate look at these two, but one thing we’re particularly curious is just sheer performance. With no Quad HD (QHD) display on board, some of the excitement about the Galaxy S5 will die down, but fact remains that it’s a powerful smartphone on par with the top competitors out there.

Some of these competitors are Samsung’s own devices - the preceding Galaxy S4 and the 5.7-inch Galaxy Note 3 phablet. How much of an improvement is the Galaxy S5 over them? Take a look at the table below to find out.

Samsung Galaxy S5 Samsung Galaxy S4 Samsung Galaxy Note3

Design

Dimensions
5.59 x 2.85 x 0.32 inches
142 x 72.5 x 8.1 mm
5.38 x 2.75 x 0.31 inches
136.6 x 69.8 x 7.9 mm
5.95 x 3.12 x 0.33 inches
151.2 x 79.2 x 8.3 mm
Weight
5.11 oz (145.0 g) 4.59 oz (130.0 g) 5.93 oz (168.0 g)
Materials
Back: Plastic Back: Plastic
Resistance
Water, Dust; IP67
Biometrics
Fingerprint (swipe)
Features
Touch sensitive control keys, Interchangeable covers, Notification light Notification light Stylus, Interchangeable covers
Keys
Left: Volume control; Right: Lock/Unlock key Left: Volume control; Right: Lock/Unlock key Left: Volume control; Right: Lock/Unlock key
Colors
Black, Gold, Blue, White Black, Blue, Red, White Black, Pink, White

Display

Size
5.1-inch 5.0-inch 5.7-inch
Resolution
1920x1080px, 432 PPI 1920x1080px, 441 PPI 1920x1080px, 386 PPI
Technology
Super AMOLED Super AMOLED Super AMOLED
Screen-to-body
69.76 % 71.91 % 74.78 %
Colors
16 777 216 16 777 216
Features
Scratch-resistant glass (Corning Gorilla Glass 3), Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor Scratch-resistant glass (Corning Gorilla Glass 3), Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor Scratch-resistant glass (Corning Gorilla Glass 3), Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor

Hardware

System chip
Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 MSM8974-AC (28 nm) Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 8974 Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 MSM8974
Processor
Quad-core
2500 MHz
Krait 400
Quad-core
1900 MHz
Krait 300
Quad-core
2300 MHz
Krait 400
GPU
Adreno 330 Adreno 320 Adreno 330
RAM
2GB (LPDDR3) 2GB (LPDDR3) 3GB (LPDDR3)
Internal storage
32GB 64GB 64GB
Storage expansion
microSDXC up to 128 GB microSDXC up to 64 GB microSDHC up to 64 GB
OS
Android (6.0 Marshmallow, 5.1 Lollipop, 5.0 Lollipop, 4.4.4, 4.4.2), Samsung TouchWiz UI Android (5.0 Lollipop, 4.4.2, 4.3, 4.2.2) Android (5.0 Lollipop, 4.4.4, 4.4, 4.3)

Battery

Capacity
2800 mAh 2600 mAh 3200 mAh
Type
Li - Ion Li - Ion Li - Ion

Camera

Rear
Single camera Single camera Single camera
Main camera
16 MP (BSI sensor, PDAF)
Aperture size: F2.2
Focal length: 31 mm
Sensor size: 1/2.6"
Pixel size: 1.12 μm
13 MP (Autofocus, CMOS image sensor, BSI sensor)
Aperture size: F2.2
Focal length: 31 mm
Sensor size: 1/3.06"
Pixel size: 1.14 μm
13 MP (Autofocus, CMOS image sensor, BSI sensor)
Aperture size: F2.2
Focal length: 31 mm
Sensor size: 1/3.06"
Pixel size: 1.12 μm
Flash
LED LED LED
Video recording
3840x2160 (4K UHD) (30 fps), 1920x1080 (Full HD) (60 fps)
HDR, Continuous autofocus, EIS, Video calling, Video sharing
1920x1080 (Full HD) (30 fps)
EIS
3840x2160 (4K UHD) (30 fps), 1920x1080 (Full HD) (60 fps), 1280x720 (HD) (120 fps)
Continuous autofocus, Video light, EIS, Video calling
Front
2.1 MP, Video capture: 1920x1080 (Full HD) 2 MP, Video capture: 1920x1080 (Full HD) 2 MP, Video capture: 1920x1080 (Full HD)

Connectivity & Features

Bluetooth
4.0 4.0 4.0
WLAN
802.11 a,b,g,n,ac,dual-band
Multiple antennas, MIMO, Hotspot, Wi-Fi Direct
802.11 a,b,g,n,ac,dual-band
Hotspot, Wi-Fi Direct
802.11 a,b,g,n,ac,dual-band
Wi-Fi Direct, Hotspot
USB
microUSB, USB 3.0 microUSB, USB 2.0 microUSB, USB 3.0
Hearing aid compatible
T3
HDMI
Yes Yes Yes
Location
GPS, A-GPS, Glonass GPS, A-GPS, Glonass GPS, A-GPS, Glonass
Sensors
Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Pedometer, Compass, Hall (for flip covers), Gesture, Barometer, Step detector, Step counter Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass, Thermometer, Gesture, Humidity, Barometer Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass, Thermometer, Gesture, Humidity, Barometer
Other
NFC, ANT+, Infrared, Tethering, Computer sync, OTA sync NFC, ANT+, Infrared, Tethering, Computer sync, OTA sync NFC, ANT+, Infrared, Tethering, Computer sync, OTA sync

Multimedia

Headphones
3.5mm jack 3.5mm jack 3.5mm jack
Speakers
Earpiece, Loudspeaker Earpiece, Loudspeaker Earpiece, Loudspeaker
Features
Album art cover, Background playback Album art cover, Background playback Album art cover, Background playback, Preset equalizer
Screen mirroring
MHL DLNA,Wireless screen share,MHL DLNA,MHL
Additional microphone(s)
Noise cancellation, Video recording

Cellular

4G (FDD)
Bands 1(2100), 2(1900), 3(1800), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 20(800 DD) Bands 1(2100), 3(1800), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 18(800 Lower) Bands 2(1900), 3(1800), 4(AWS-1), 5(850), 8(900), 17(700 b), 18(800 Lower)
3G
Bands 5(850), 8(900), 2(1900), 1(2100) Bands 5(850), 8(900), 2(1900), 1(2100) Bands 5(850), 8(900), 2(1900), 1(2100)
Data Speed
LTE Cat 4 (150/50 Mbit/s), HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s, HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s, UMTS LTE Cat 3 (100/50 Mbit/s), HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s, HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s, UMTS LTE Cat 4 (150/50 Mbit/s), HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s, HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s, UMTS
SIM type
Micro SIM Micro SIM Micro SIM
VoLTE
Yes Yes Yes

Phone Features

Notifications
Haptic feedback, Music ringtones (MP3), Polyphonic ringtones, Vibration, Flight mode, Silent mode, Speakerphone Haptic feedback, Music ringtones (MP3), Polyphonic ringtones, Vibration, Flight mode, Silent mode, Speakerphone
Other features
Voice dialing, Voice commands, Voice recording Voice dialing, Voice commands, Voice recording

Regulatory Approval

FCC approval
Date approved: Mar 14, 2013
FCC ID value: A3LGTI9505
Date approved: Nov 07, 2013
FCC ID value: A3LSMN9005
Measured SAR
Head: 0.50 W/kg
Body: 0.65 W/kg
Simultaneous Transmission: 1.17 W/kg
Wireless Router: 0.67 W/kg
Head: 0.24 W/kg
Body: 0.72 W/kg
Simultaneous Transmission: 1.07 W/kg
Wireless Router: 1.04 W/kg
EU SAR
Head: 0.29 W/kg

Availability

Officially announced
Feb 24, 2014 Mar 14, 2013 Sep 04, 2013


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