Samsung has just expanded its Galaxy S5 family with the launch of the Galaxy S5 Mini, a stylish and compact smartphone with neat specs and features.
The company first launched its flagship Galaxy S5, then followed up with a more rugged Galaxy S5 Active, a camera-centric Galaxy K Zoom, a Sprint-exclusive Galaxy S5 Sport, and now the Galaxy S5 Mini.
While most "Mini" versions of flagships come with mid-range, watered-down specs compared to their larger siblings, the Galaxy S5 Mini retains some of the premium features of its bigger brother. Such features include the much-touted fingerprint-sensor, IP67 certification for dust- and water-resistance, heart-rate monitor, and the same perforated design.
"We always strive to develop devices that appeal to a range of consumer tastes and styles," Samsung Electronics CEO and Head of IT and Mobile Communication, JK Shin, boasts in the press release on Tuesday, July 1. "The Galaxy S5 mini allows consumers to enjoy the iconic design and essential and useful features of the Galaxy S5 through a maximized minimalism approach."
Specs and Features
When it comes to specifications, the Samsung Galaxy S5 Mini sports a not-so-mini 4.5-inch Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels, a quad-core processor clocked at 1.4GHz, and 1.5GB of RAM. The handset further comes with 16GB of internal storage capacity, a microSD card slot for additional memory of up to 64GB, an 8-megapixel rear camera with auto focus and LED flash, and a 2.1-megapixel front shooter. Connectivity options include Cat4 LTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, and NFC (only for the LTE version).
Apart from the lower specs and smaller size, the Samsung Galaxy S5 Mini is quite similar to the original flagship in terms of features, complete with the much-touted Ultra Power Saving Mode, as well as Private Mode and Kids Mode. Samsung makes no mention of Download Booster, however, but the feature may still be on board considering that the handset does come with Cat4 LTE support. The heart-rate monitor, meanwhile, suggests that the Samsung Galaxy S5 Mini will also integrate nicely with the company's S Health app.
Launch and Availability
In terms of availability, the Samsung Galaxy S5 Mini will launch in Russia in early July and "is planned to expand to global market" afterwards. Samsung has yet to offer pricing details for the device, but it did reveal that the Galaxy S5 Mini will be available in Charcoal Black, Shimmery White, Electric Blue, and Copper Gold color options at launch.
