Galaxy S5 Mini release date, display and power
Samsung's range of mini mobiles might not have the headline specs of the Galaxy S or Galaxy Note phones but they've carved out a sizeable niche for themselves.
Popular with those who want something slightly smaller and cheaper, but with many of the same positive qualities as Samsung's flagships, the Mini series started life in 2012 with the introduction of the Galaxy S3 Mini.
The Samsung Galaxy S5 Mini will be the Korean firm's third iteration of this product line, and while no concrete details are known yet the rumors and leaks are painting a picture of what to expect.
There's little doubt that we will be seeing the Galaxy S5 Mini soon however, after Samsung New Zealand leaked details of the handset online. Samsung Finland also wants in on the act after a support page for the SM-G800F appeared online.
The Galaxy S5 has the model number SM-G900, so the SM-G800 handle would fit the bill for the Galaxy S5 Mini and the "F" suffix denotes it's the European version.
While the model numbers appear to match up, there could be a name change on the table for the S5 Mini as the Galaxy S5 Dx briefly appeared on Samsung's website.
We've seen the S3 Mini and Galaxy S4 Mini turn up with severely cut down spec lists compared to their full fat brothers, but the introduction of the Sony Xperia Z1 Compact saw it inherit the same processor, RAM, GPU and 20.7MP camera from the flagship Xperia Z1.
Could Samsung take a leaf out of Sony's book for the Galaxy S5 Mini? We sure do hope so, but it's pretty unlikely.
Cut to the chase
- What is it? A cut down version of the flagship Galaxy S5
- When is it out? Possibly mid-July 2014
- What will it cost? Expected to be £350-£400 (around $550, AU$650) SIM free
Samsung Galaxy S5 Mini release date and price
It's not known when the Samsung Galaxy S5 Mini will be released, but the latest reports point towards a mid-July launch for the handset.
The Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini arrived at the end of June and initial rumors suggested the S5 Mini would arrive at a similar time, but it's now become clear that this won't be the case.
Don't expect a big fanfare around the Galaxy S5 Mini launch though, as Samsung tends to prefer a soft launch in the way of a press release.
There aren't any price rumors yet but the S4 Mini launched for around £350 / $520 SIM free, so we'd expect the S5 Mini to be around the same, putting it at the upper end of the mid-range.
With increasingly fierce competition from the likes of the HTC One Mini 2, OnePlus One and the Google Nexus 5 you can always hope that Samsung might bring the price down, but we reckon chances are slim.
Samsung Galaxy S5 Mini display
With mini in the name it's a given that the Galaxy S5 Mini's screen will be smaller than the display on the full size Samsung Galaxy S5 - that is after all, the point of this product category - but by the looks of things it won't exactly be tiny.
SamMobile reported that the handset would ship with a 4.5-inch 1280 x 720 Super AMOLED screen, so it won't be full HD but if these rumors are accurate it will be both higher resolution and slightly bigger than the qHD (540 x 960) Galaxy S4 Mini.
It's looking like SamMobile might be on to something, as the Galaxy S5 Mini also popped up on Indian import/export site Zauba, where it states that the phone has a 4.47-inch screen.
If that wasn't enough a third screen size has been touted for the S5 Mini, this time via GFXBench which pegs the display at 4.8 inches with the same 1280 x 720 resolution.
It looks like 4.5 inches and a 720p resolution may be the winners, as SamMobile now claims to have got its hands on a Galaxy S5 Mini, confirming in the process that it does indeed sport a screen that size.
That's not exactly "Mini", and means the Galaxy S5 Mini would still be bigger than the 4-inch iPhone 5S, but considering the LG G2 Mini has a 4.7-inch display Samsung will actually be a little more sensible if it sticks to 4.5 inches.
Samsung Galaxy S5 Mini power
For Samsung, mini seems to mean both smaller and lower powered and the Galaxy S5 Mini will probably be no exception. So if you're expecting something along the lines of the Z1 Compact you're likely to be disappointed.
Having said that, current rumors point to a device that's rather more capable than the Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini.
Sam Mobile's insiders initally claimed that the Galaxy S5 Mini has a quad-core Snapdragon processor, and since then the website says its got hold of the handset which sports a quad-core Exynos 3 processor and 1.5GB of RAM. While it will hardly be high end it could seriously show up the dual-core Galaxy S4 Mini.
What model the processor will be is unknown but Snapdragon 400 seems to be the processor of choice for mid-range phones at the moment so that seems likely - a leak via GFXbench backs up this theory with a 1.4GHz quad-core 400 chip and 1.3GB of RAM.
The speed the processor will be clocked at is unclear, however a user agent profile for a device named SM-G750A popped up on Samsung's servers in March and the profile revealed that the device had a 2.3GHz quad-core processor.
That would be pretty speedy, but it's possible that this is the Galaxy S5 Neo rather than the S5 Mini, especially as the most recent model number rumors point to the S5 Mini being the SM-G800.
Plus a Snapdragon 400 chip wouldn't support speeds that fast, so if it really is going to be 2.3GHz then we'll be looking at a different processor model - perhaps the Snapdragon 800 which features in the Galaxy Note 3.
Galaxy S5 Mini design, camera, OS and what we want
Samsung Galaxy S5 Mini design
There's no word yet on how the Samsung Galaxy S5 Mini will look, but the Galaxy S4 Mini basically inherited the design of the Samsung Galaxy S4 just in a shrunk down size, so we'd imagine the S5 Mini will do the same with the Galaxy S5's design.
One thing we have heard though is that according to Sam Mobile it will have the same IP67 water and dust resistant credentials as the Galaxy S5, which puts it one-up on the Galaxy S4 Mini and most other compact smartphones, other than the Sony Xperia Z1 Compact.
Those dust and waterproof credentials have been given further backing after a Samsung New Zealand appeared to let slip on the rugged specs of the Galaxy S5 Mini.
That also leaves the door open for a removable rear cover and battery pack, plus the inclusion of a microSD slot - staples of the current Samsung smartphone experience.
A removable rear cover and battery pack are pretty much now confirmed after SamMobile posted images of the handset online showing exactly that.
Samsung Galaxy S5 Mini camera
The camera is one area which might not be getting much of an upgrade over the Galaxy S4 Mini sadly.
All we've heard on it so far comes from sources at Sam Mobile, which claim it will have an 8MP main snapper along with a 2MP camera on the front.
That's almost identical to the Galaxy S4 Mini, which has an 8MP camera on the back and a 1.9MP one on the front, so it's disappointing if true.
Of course that doesn't count out the possibility that the Galaxy S5 Mini will inherit some of the fancy camera features from the Galaxy S5, so there's still hope that its photo skills could impress.
Rather oddly, a spec leak via GFXbench pegs the rear snapper on the S5 Mini at 7MP. We find it hard to believe that Samsung would reduce the camera quality, so we're not taking this too seriously.
Samsung Galaxy S5 Mini storage
Currently it's thought that the Samsung Galaxy S5 Mini will have 16GB of built in storage, which is double what the S4 Mini has.
There's no word on whether or not it will have a microSD card slot, but most Samsung handsets do so we'd be surprised if this one didn't.
Samsung Galaxy S5 Mini operating system
The Samsung Galaxy S5 Mini will almost certainly run Android 4.4 KitKat since that's the most recent version of Android and this is a reasonably high profile phone.
But beyond that being the obvious choice anyway we've also heard from Sam Mobile's insiders that that's what it will ship with. Not to mention the fact that a recent Google memo suggests all new handsets will have the latest version of its OS.
It's a dead cert that it will also be overlaid with Samsung's TouchWiz interface, in all likelihood the same version as the Samsung Galaxy S5.
- Read our in-depth Samsung Galaxy S5 review
Samsung Galaxy S5 Mini battery and connectivity
It looks like the Samsung Galaxy S5 Mini might have a 2100 mAh battery, if the information revealed by Sam Mobile is accurate.
That's a little bigger than the 1900mAh unit in the Galaxy S4 Mini, but with the extra power under the hood it will need all the help it can get. It's also expected to come with an IR blaster.
What we want to see
So far the Galaxy S5 Mini looks more or less like we were expecting, a mid-range phone with a smaller screen and worse specs than the Galaxy S5, but there's still a lot that we don't know and a lot that we hope for, some of which is realistic, other things not so much.
1. High end power
This isn't going to happen. Samsung has positioned its Mini line as mid-range handsets, so mid-range is what we'll get, but there are disappointingly few compact phones with high end specs.
Apple is still doing it for now and the Sony Xperia Z1 Compact does it, but that's about it. The market is flooded with mid-range phones, but a shrunk down Galaxy S5 that really is a Galaxy S5 in all but size would certainly be desirable.
2. A better camera
The current rumors doing the rounds point to an 8MP snapper, which potentially isn't bad but it's hardly inspiring either, especially as last year's Galaxy S4 Mini had a camera with the same megapixel count.
So a boost in megapixels would be great, but beyond that it would also be nice to see it inherit some of the camera features from the Galaxy S5. So fast autofocus or real time HDR for example.
3. Ultra Power Saving Mode
The headline features on the Galaxy S5 were its fingerprint scanner and heart rate monitor, but arguably they're both a bit of a gimmick and in any case there's not much chance a mid-range phone like the S5 Mini will be inheriting them.
There is however a chance that it might come with Ultra Power Saving Mode, another feature from the full fat S5, which turns the screen black and white and lowers power consumption to maximise the battery life.
Obviously this is a mode you'd want to use sparingly, but it can be pretty useful when your phone is running dangerously low on juice.
There's a good chance the S5 Mini will have a removable battery and if this feature makes it in as well then it could be one of the best phones around for battery.
4. A competitive price tag
It's likely that the Samsung Galaxy S5 Mini will cost over £350 (around $550, AU$650), despite the fact that it will probably be less powerful than the £300, $350 Nexus 5 and potentially little if any more powerful than the Moto G, which can often be found for as low as £100, $150 if you shop around.
You'd think that would price it out of the market, but it won't, because it's Samsung, a company which has almost as much brand power and loyalty as Apple. Still, it would be nice if Samsung at least tried to price the Galaxy S5 Mini competitively.
- It might not be billed as a mini phone but the iPhone 5S is pretty small. It's also very good.
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