Samsung Galaxy S5 vs Samsung Galaxy S4

Features

If anything the Galaxy S4 has feature-overload, with the likes of Air View, Air Gesture and Smart Scroll all sounding exciting on paper, but feeling a bit gimmicky in practice.

Galaxy S5 fingerprint

The new features added for the S5 sound rather more useful. The long rumoured fingerprint scanner made the cut. The Samsung Galaxy S5 is also IP67 certified dust and water resistant and has the ability to combine Wi-Fi and 4G to increase the speed of downloads.

heart rate

Fitness seems to be a big focus for the Galaxy S5 too, as Samsung's added a new version of its S Health app to the phone and the camera flash can double as a heart rate monitor if you leave your finger on it for around 8 seconds.

Camera

The 13-megapixel snapper on the Galaxy S4 is capable of taking great shots, but it's likely to be bettered by the 16-megapixel camera on the Galaxy S5. Aside from upping the megapixel count, the S5's camera also allows you to change the focus of shots after taking them. It can also take pictures in just 0.3 seconds and it's able to show the effects of HDR in real-time, so you can see how a picture will look before you take it.

Galaxy S5 camera

The Galaxy S4 can shoot 1080p video, but the Galaxy S5 again trumps it with its ability to shoot 4K footage and even the front-facing camera gets a little better, up from two megapixels on the S4 to 2.1 megapixels on the S5.

Security

The Galaxy S4 has the standard security features that we've come to expect from Android phones, such as a choice of a pin, password, pattern or face unlock.

The Samsung Galaxy S5 adds to the options with its fingerprint scanner which is on the home key. You just slide your finger downwards to use it. Not only can it be used to unlock your phone, but it can also provide access to private data and replace passwords.

Verdict

S5 and S4

The Samsung Galaxy S4 is undeniably still a great handset, but it looks set to take more of an upper mid-range position in Samsung's line-up now, making it a phone ideal for those who want a good all-round performer without paying top end prices.

The S5 meanwhile takes its place at the top of the range with the expected specs boost alongside a host of new features which make it a phone to be reckoned with. If you want the latest and greatest, this is it.

James Rogerson

James is a freelance phones, tablets and wearables writer and sub-editor at TechRadar. He has a love for everything ‘smart’, from watches to lights, and can often be found arguing with AI assistants or drowning in the latest apps. James also contributes to 3G.co.uk, 4G.co.uk and 5G.co.uk and has written for T3, Digital Camera World, Clarity Media and others, with work on the web, in print and on TV.