Samsung gets new mobile design head as possible S5 Prime image leaks

Galaxy S5
The days of plastic Samsung phones could be numbered.

The design of future Samsung smartphones could be quite different to those on the market today.

The company, oft-criticised for its plastic clad handsets and now Chang Dong-hoon, its Head of Mobile Design, has been replaced by Min-hyouk Lee, who was formerly Vice President of the same department.

Dong-hoon isn't leaving Samsung though, the change is simply a realignment, which according to a company statement given to Reuters allows him to "focus more on his role as Head of Design Strategy Team, the company's corporate design centre which is responsible for long-term design strategy across all of Samsung Electronics' businesses, including mobile communications."

Metal on the mind

A change in leadership might, with any luck, usher in a more premium design aesthetic for future Samsung phones. If the rumoured Galaxy S5 Prime is anything to go by it certainly looks like that's a direction which the company is interested in exploring.

Galaxy S5 Prime

It looks good, but a little close to the S5

Credit: Reddit

A new image purportedly of the super-powered smartphone has been leaked on Reddit, showing what appears to be a metal-clad Galaxy S5.

We're not entirely convinced this is for real, it could after all just be a Galaxy S5 in a stylish case, but if we take the leakster at their word then as well as being metal-clad the S5 prime will have a 'bump in all its specs' from the S5, though sadly nothing more specific than that was said.

Could this be the start of a shiny new future for Samsung handsets? Only time will tell.

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.