Look at the image above. On the left, you have a gorgeous aluminum smartphone with a premium look and feel. On the right, you have slim plastic smartphone with a removable back cover and a swappable battery. Wouldn’t it be nice to choose from both of these great options when purchasing your next handset? It looks like Samsung’s “gadget spam” strategy might finally bring us the best of both worlds next year when the hotly anticipated Galaxy S5 finally becomes a reality.
We have seen countless Galaxy S5 rumors in recent months and reports seem to be bouncing back and forth. Some say Samsung’s next flagship smartphone will sport a plastic case. Others insist that the S5 will finally be metal and that unibody casings have already been ordered.
As it turns out, both sets of rumors might be accurate.
According to a listing discovered on import shipping manifest tracker Zauba by SamMobile, Samsung has just had an unreleased smartphone delivered from South Korea to India for testing purposes. The handset carries the model number “SM-G900F,” which brings about a very interesting theory.
First, that model number is clearly linked to the SM-G900S smartphone that appeared on a benchmark score tracker earlier this week. That phone, believed by many to be Samsung’s Galaxy S5, features specs that include an ultra HD 2K resolution display that apparently measures about 5.25 inches diagonally.
Now, we know how much Samsung loves gadget spam. In fact, it launched eight different versions of the Galaxy S4 alone in 2013, as we noted in a recent review. The “900F” variation on this new smartphone being imported into India for testing certainly seems like a variation on the “900S” phone.
And about that “F”…
Several earlier reports have suggested that Samsung is working on a premium “Galaxy F” smartphone line that will feature metal housings. Instead, it may be that this “F” refers to a premium variant of the Galaxy S5. If Samsung launches even half as many Galaxy S5 models as it did Galaxy S4 models, there would still be more than enough room for an ultra high-end metal version. Then the “standard” version of the Galaxy S5 might still be plastic — or pleather/plastic, as the case may be — as we have seen in several reports.
Metal, plastic or both, the Galaxy S5 is shaping up to be a beast of a smartphone. Beyond the 2K display, rumored specs include Samsung’s new 64-bit eight-core Exynos processor or a quad-core Snapdragon processor depending on the device model, a 16-megapixel camera that touts intriguing new technology, 3GB of RAM, a 4,000 mAh battery and Android 4.4 KitKat.
Several reports have also suggested that the Galaxy S5 will launch a bit earlier than expected. A recent claim says the phone will debut sometime in the first quarter next year while another report suggested the new flagship phone will be unveiled as soon as next month.
