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Is Samsung ditching its signature, industry-leading displays in the Galaxy S5?

Published Jan 6th, 2014 3:19PM EST
Galaxy S5 Specs

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Samsung’s Galaxy S5 is shaping up to be one of the most exciting smartphones of the year, provided the rumors we’ve seen thus far pan out. According to a new report, however, Samsung’s next-generation flagship phone might lack a feature that is arguably the most important and impressive thing about Samsung’s hero phones: one of Samsung’s signature Super AMOLED displays. Chinese tech blog IT168 on Monday reported that Samsung is having some serious problems producing small Super AMOLED displays with 2K resolution. As a result, the company has supposedly decided to source displays from Sharp that utilize an entirely different technology.

The report claims that Samsung’s upcoming flagship Galaxy S5 handset will utilize Low-Temperature Polysilicon (LTPS) displays built by Sharp rather than its own displays, which utilize AMOLED technology. LTPS technology could certainly end up yielding a gorgeous smartphone screen for the Galaxy S5, but Samsung’s Super AMOLED display on the Galaxy Note 3 was dubbed the best smartphone display of the year. As such, it could end up being a bit disappointing if Samsung goes in a different direction on the Galaxy S5.

Of course, IT168‘s report is anything but confirmed. Also, Samsung is expected to launch several different versions of the Galaxy S5 this year, and it’s unclear if some models might get the LTPS panels while others get Super AMOLED displays.

Beyond the 2K screen, Samsung’s Galaxy S5 is rumored to feature an integrated eye scanner for enhanced security, 4GB of DDR4 RAM, a 64-bit 8-core processor or a quad-core Snapdragon processor depending on the region, a 16-megapixel camera with new technology that improves low-light photo quality, a 4,000 mAh battery, and Android 4.4 KitKat. At least one version of the S5 will reportedly feature a premium metal case.

Samsung’s new flagship smartphone is expected to be unveiled sometime during the first quarter this year.

Zach Epstein
Zach Epstein Executive Editor

Zach Epstein has been the Executive Editor at BGR for more than 10 years. He manages BGR’s editorial team and ensures that best practices are adhered to. He also oversees the Ecommerce team and directs the daily flow of all content. Zach first joined BGR in 2007 as a Staff Writer covering business, technology, and entertainment.

His work has been quoted by countless top news organizations, and he was recently named one of the world's top 10 “power mobile influencers” by Forbes. Prior to BGR, Zach worked as an executive in marketing and business development with two private telcos.