Samsung Galaxy S5: Tips and Tricks. Connecting galaxy c5 to a computer. How to use Samsung Galaxy as a tethering or Wi-Fi hotspot. Using my device as a PC modem Galaxy s5 won't connect to my computer

1. One-handed operation

Samsung Galaxy S5 is still big smartphone and Samsung knows about it. Fortunately, there is a special mode in the settings, which, when turned on, allows you to "squeeze" the smartphone screen to size, so that it is convenient to cope with the interface with one hand - or rather, with the thumb.

If you are comfortable using your left hand and position the screen displays on the left side of the display, you can move it yourself. This option first appeared on the Galaxy Note. You can find it in the sound and display settings.

2. Toolbox tools

The Toolbox allows you to use context menu on the Galaxy S5. This option is also hidden in the sound and display settings.

All you need to do is add your favorite applications, but no more than 5. After that, a small "floating" button will be located on the screen, which will always be located on the smartphone screen. This means that at any time you can open the desired application, regardless of what is currently open on the screen - you are reading a message, viewing a page in a browser, or something similar.

3. Scan the fingerprint with a lateral movement of the finger

This item sounds completely incomprehensible. But you already know that the Galaxy S5 has such a scanner that can be used both to unlock a smartphone and third party applications to authenticate actions, it's just impossible to use this option with one hand.

Fortunately, you can register your fingerprint by swiping sideways instead of top to bottom. Just open the scanner settings and ignore the demo when the gesture is shown from top to bottom. You can register your thumbprint with a sideways motion. It will also work.

4. Grouping applications by folders

If you think you know all about this, you are probably wrong. To keep the application tray neat, create folders here. This will save you space by not constantly scrolling through the menu looking for desired application... What could be easier - to group games into one folder.

To create new folder, you have to open the application tray and click the button in the upper right corner and select the option to create a folder. Then you can open a new folder and add any applications you see fit here.

5. HDR mode

There is one new opportunity at Galaxy cameras S5 - show the picture in HDR processing even before you take a new photo. Now you don't have to take pictures first and then watch the result.

This means that you can immediately balance the settings as desired - contrast, shadow, etc.

6. Display the number of steps on the lock screen

Samsung has added some new fitness options in the updated S Health 3.0. Now the pedometer can constantly show the number of steps taken, but there is also an interesting feature - this can be presented immediately on the lock screen. Whenever you take your smartphone in hand, you will know how much you have walked.

7. Opening quick settings swipe with two fingers

There are hardware keys for quick access to the notification panel, but if you need to open the entire list of settings switches, then just slide two fingers across the screen from top to bottom.

In fact it is standard function for Android, but Samsung has refined it to its fullest, so you can open Settings and turn on / off any setting option whenever you want.

8. Multi-window multitasking mode

The Galaxy S5 has an option to work with multiple windows, which is a feature of the Galaxy Note family. Now you don't have to think about having to minimize the application to open another one. 5-inch Galaxy screen The S5 will let you work with two applications at the same time.

Recall that in this mode of operation, the smartphone offers a split screen - on one part you can, for example, chat on Twitter, and on the second part you can browse the web.

9. Lack of unnecessary applications

Samsung has prepared a lot of new proprietary bells and whistles for the Galaxy S5, but unlike previous generations of devices, this time Samsung decided not to overload new flagship all applications at once. You have received only the most basic things.

However, in the application tray, you can find the branded Samsung app Apps - in this market you can easily download a lot of additional applications, including WatchOn, Samsung Wallet, or S Note.

10. Navigation has changed

The Galaxy S5 has already received a button configuration change at the bottom. As usual, the center button is the standard Home button, but there used to be a Back button and an application button on the sides.

Now the menu button is gone. Instead, you'll have to use the Menu button in the apps themselves, which was already on the Galaxy S4 in the transitional version. This is a direct jump to standard set buttons, which is in stock Android.

Detailed testing of one of the most anticipated smartphones of the new season

Undoubtedly, one of the most anticipated and anticipated novelties among mobile devices of the coming year is the next update of the flagship line. Samsung smartphones- Galaxy S5. The novelty does not need a special introduction - in recent years, the Korean company Samsung Electronics has managed not only to become scandalously famous due to countless litigations with the competing American Apple, but also to occupy one of the leading places in the world market for the sale of tablets, and, of course , smartphones.

Left to right: Samsung Galaxy Note 3, Galaxy S5, Galaxy S4, Apple iPhone 5s

By the way, the Koreans in recent years have firmly taught users that Samsung always has two flagship smartphones on the market at the same time. They are representatives of two top product lines moving in parallel courses - Galaxy Note and Galaxy S. Not so long ago, another update of the tablet phone line happened - the Samsung Note 3 smartphone, about which we wrote so much, went on sale. Now the turn has come to update a series of smartphones with a more "civilized" design.

Samsung Galaxy S5 and Galaxy S4

Smartphones of the Galaxy S series have always been very different from their semi-tablet counterparts from the Note line precisely in size - they were quite elegant in size devices. However, with the release of the Galaxy S5, it must be admitted that the distance separating them is shrinking more and more. Moreover, not only the sizes of each successive representative of the Galaxy S line are getting larger, but in the Note line they are consistently decreasing. The Galaxy Note 3 has become the smallest among its brothers, and the Galaxy S5, on the contrary, has acquired such large dimensions that it is time to think about: what, in fact, is the difference between the modern representatives of the two lines? Their performance is absolutely the same, the design is similar, the price is the same, and we have already mentioned the dimensions. Is it really all the difference now lies only in the presence or absence of an electronic pen?

Samsung Galaxy S5 and Galaxy Note 3

In any case, you should not expect a special technological breakthrough from the new flagship of the Galaxy S line. New technological discoveries have not yet been made, but everything that has been discovered has already been implemented, and now they are refining, finishing, polishing - improving functionality. And this is not only about Samsung devices - the whole market is now in anticipation of something new. This, by the way, is clearly seen in the example of the last two world IT exhibitions, which took place at the beginning of the year in Las Vegas and Barcelona. The products of the Korean company are no exception: in terms of hardware and technology, the new flagship does not differ much from the previous one (Samsung Galaxy S4) - now the focus is on improving functionality. Super-fast data transfer capabilities, an updated camera control interface, a wide range of fitness apps, a heart rate monitor, a fingerprint reader, and agreements with the world's leading content and service providers to pre-install a variety of applications with a long-term prepaid subscription - that's it. , which is now working at Samsung. Gigabytes and gigahertz somehow suddenly faded into the background, which is probably for the best. Surprisingly, the Koreans have not even added RAM to their new flagship - the Galaxy S5 still has 2 GB of RAM, although the new item still has some changes in hardware.

Main characteristics of Samsung Galaxy S5 (model SM-G900F)

• SoC Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 (MSM8974AC), 4 cores Krait 400, 2.5 GHz
• GPU Adreno 330, 578 MHz
• Operating room Android system 4.4.2 Kitkat
• Touch display Super AMOLED, 5.1 ″, 1920 × 1080, 432 ppi
• RAM(RAM) 2 GB, inner memory 16 GB
• Map support microSD memory up to 128 GB
• 2G, 3G, 4G networks (LTE Cat.4, up to 150/50 Mbps)
• Bluetooth 4.0 BLE / ANT +
• USB 3.0, OTG, MHL
• Wi-Fi 802.11a / b / g / n / ac HT80, MIMO (2 × 2), point Wi-Fi access
• NFC, infrared
• GPS (A-GPS), Glonass
• Camera 16 MP, autofocus, LED flash, video UHD (4K) 30 frames / s
• Camera 2 MP (front)
• Accelerometer, gyroscope, distance sensor, compass, barometer, Hall sensor (magnetic field), light, gesture (infrared), fingerprint sensor, heart rate sensor
• Dust and moisture protection according to IP67 standard
• Li-ion battery 2800 mAh
• Dimensions 142 x 72.5 x 8.1 mm
• Weight 145 g

Appearance and usability

As already mentioned, the new model of the Galaxy S series has become significantly larger in size than the previous one. It feels like the smartphone has finally crossed that invisible line called "a little more, and there will be too much": now the device has become really bulky and surprisingly heavy. For the breast pocket of a shirt, for example, this is now certainly an inaccessible guest, although, of course, people who have firmly decided to follow the path of life with a "shovel" at the ready, in size new Galaxy S will not feel anything out of the ordinary. It is still smaller than the Galaxy Note 3, although the difference is already minimal. And nevertheless, it is still not clear why it was necessary to make the new model so much larger than the previous one with practically identical screens. In the Galaxy S4, the side frames, for example, are only 3 mm wide, while in the Galaxy S5 they suddenly grew to 4 mm, the same goes for the upper and lower parts of the frame - they also suddenly became much wider, although the screen itself is practically not in size has changed.

Concerning appearance, then here the developers clearly adhere to a single design line: metal and leather, leather and metal - they are now used in all mobile devices companies (including numerous wearable gadgets). The only pity is that with the sky-high prices at which the current flagships are sold, the company was greedy to provide real leather - maybe then these devices would look really stylish. But no, as in previous times, ordinary molded plastic is used here to create the appearance that the back of the smartphone is made of leather. The texturing on the plastic differs from that of the Galaxy Note 3: here they used a kind of pseudo-embossing, as if a pattern of numerous dots was squeezed out in the skin. Looks nice and fresh, at least better than glossy plastic, long time adorning the surfaces of all Galaxy S and Galaxy Note.

As for the metal, it is not here either: the shiny "chrome" bezel along the entire perimeter of the case (exactly the same as in the previous models, only with a different pattern) is a sputtering on plastic, not real metal. This bezel, by the way, also became much wider and even thicker, adding weight to the smartphone as a whole.

The surface of the rim is rather slippery - due to it, as well as due to the considerable mass, it is rather inconvenient to lift the device from the table surface, since the fingers do not feel a confident grip.

The back cover can be easily removed from the case and just as easy to put on - it is traditionally fixed on several plastic latches, there is a barely noticeable ledge for engaging with a fingernail. Under the cover, there are slots for a SIM-card and a memory card, located in a "sandwich" one above the other.

Below they arranged a compartment for a removable battery- it supports cards, but the memory card can still be replaced with a hot one. The device uses only one SIM-card, Micro-SIM format, microSD memory card here can be used with a capacity of up to 128 GB.

In the back of the smartphone there is a square window of the camera module, it is quite large in size, next to it there is an LED flash. Below in the recess are the eyes of the sensor for measuring the pulse. The heart rate sensor camera is recessed into the body, and it also has its own illumination - a small LED element illuminates the vessels of the finger attached to the camera, while it counts the heartbeats. Even below there is a hole for sound output from the calling speaker with a twig slightly curved outward, and all this is decorated with a silver chrome logo of the company.

The front panel has not undergone significant changes - it is a completely recognizable element of all Samsung mobile devices. It stands out, first of all, for its elongated mechanical key under the screen, which this time has received additional functionality. This button is also responsible for scanning a fingerprint - now no one can blame Koreans for not having a golden smartphone with a fingerprint scanner. Unlike the iPhone scanner, here you can't just put your finger: you need to slide it along the key, and even at the right speed - if you hurry, you can fail. In this regard, the iPhone scanner looks preferable: not only you do not need to move your finger, but you can also put your finger on the button at any angle, which allows you to hold the device with any convenient grip. In the case of the Samsung Galaxy S5 scanner, you will have to hold the device with one hand and swipe the sensor with the other, which is very tedious, and most users will most likely simply turn off this function.

The touch buttons next to the mechanical one have a bright white backlight with customizable lighting times, which is commendable. Above, above the screen, you can see a longitudinal cut in the protective glass for the sound out of the earpiece, next to it you can see the eyes front camera and sensors. There is also an LED notification indicator, which shines in different colors depending on the charging status and incoming events - its functions can be configured: disabled or activated separately.

There are two buttons on the side faces of the device: on the left - volume control, on the right - on and off. The large metallized keys of all Samsung smartphones have a soft stroke and a distinct pressure, they are perfectly located blindly, and in general, in this regard, the products of the Korean company are one of the best on the market.

At the top, there is a headphone jack (3.5 mm) and an infrared transmitter eye, which is used to control various equipment as a remote control. Corresponding proprietary software called Smart Remote moves from model to model - of course, it is also available here. Functionality Smart programs Remote is at its best: it is not only able to connect a smartphone using an infrared port with any equipment, but also can act as an interactive program guide.

At the bottom, the USB 3.0 connector is covered with a metallized cover with a rubber gasket - it protects the smartphone from dust and moisture getting inside. Yes, yes, the new flagship of the Galaxy S line has finally got IP67 dust and moisture protection. In principle, the previous model also had it, but there it was a separate branch of the line called Galaxy Active. Protection in the Galaxy S5 is arranged in the same way as there: a rubber seal is glued to the inner surface of the back cover, and the connectors are closed with special plugs. It's nice that every time you put it on back cover or the plug is removed from the Micro-USB connector, the smartphone itself reminds you to close the protective covers (the reminder can be turned off).

And finally - about the most pleasant: now in the arsenal of the Galaxy S line has appeared new color- golden. In addition to it, there are three more colors on sale that have already adorned Samsung's flagship devices (for example, the Galaxy S3). Traditionally, they have been given romantic names: Charcoal Black (black), Sparkling White (white), Electric Blue (light blue), and Copper Gold (golden). For additional decorations, in particular a key chain or a strap, no fasteners are provided.

Screen

The Samsung Galaxy S5 smartphone is equipped with a Super AMOLED sensor matrix. The screen dimensions are 63 × 113 mm, the diagonal is 5.1 inches, the resolution is 1920 × 1080 pixels. Such a parameter as the density of pixels per inch is here equal to 432 ppi - the density of pixels is very high.

Outside the screen is covered protective glass... The thickness of the side bezels from the edge of the screen to the edge of the body is about 4 mm, the bezels are not very narrow, they were smaller in the previous model.

The brightness of the display can be adjusted manually, or you can use automatic adjustment. The multitouch technology here allows you to process up to 10 simultaneous touches. The screen can be operated with gloved hands, and at the same time it becomes more sensitive to any touch, so in the settings prudently left the possibility of turning off this function. The smartphone also has a proximity sensor that locks the screen when the smartphone is brought to the ear.

Alexey Kudryavtsev, editor of the “Monitors” and “Projectors and TV” sections, carried out a detailed examination using measuring instruments. Here is his expert opinion on the screen of the test sample.

The front surface of the screen is made in the form of a glass plate with a mirror-smooth surface, resistant to scratches. Judging by the brightness of the reflected objects, there is a very effective antiglare filter, surpassing the Google Nexus 7 (2013) (hereinafter simply the Nexus 7) screen filter in terms of reducing the reflection brightness. For clarity, here is a photo in which a white surface is reflected in the turned off screens (on the left - Nexus 7, on the right - Samsung Galaxy S5, then they can be distinguished by their size):

Due to the slight difference in the color tone of the reflection and borders, it is difficult to visually assess the amount of decrease in the brightness of the reflection, however, statistics from graphic editor shows that the screen of the S5 is indeed slightly darker than that of the Nexus 7. The doubling of reflected objects is very weak, which indicates that there is no air gap between the layers of the screen. There is a special oleophobic (grease-repellent) coating on the outer surface of the screen, (very effective, maybe slightly better than Google nexus 7), therefore, fingerprints are removed much more easily, and appear at a slower rate than in the case of ordinary glass.

When the white field was displayed in full screen and with manual brightness control, its maximum value was 340 cd / m², the minimum was 2 cd / m². Despite not the most high value brightness, even in bright daylight, the smartphone can be used, as an effective anti-glare filter helps out. You also need to take into account the fact that in this case the smaller the white area on the screen, the lighter it is, that is, the actual maximum brightness of the white areas will almost always be higher than the specified value. For example, when displaying white on half of the screen, the maximum brightness when manually adjusted increases to 360 cd / m². The low brightness mode allows you to use your smartphone without any problems even in complete darkness. Automatic brightness control works according to the light sensor (it is located to the right of the front speaker). You can make adjustments to the operation of this function by moving the setting slider from −5 before +5 units. Further, for three conditions, we give the screen brightness values ​​for three values ​​of this setting - for −5 , 0 and +5 ... In complete darkness in automatic mode, the brightness decreases to 4, 9 and 16 cd / m2, respectively (generally a bit dark), in an office illuminated with artificial light (about 400 lux), the brightness is set to 100, 180 and 270 cd / m2 (acceptable ), in a brightly lit environment (corresponds to lighting on a clear day outdoors, but without direct sunlight - 20,000 lux or slightly more) - increases to 420-425 cd / m2 for all three correction values, which is higher than the maximum with manual adjustment and should be enough to ensure readability in the sun. In principle, the result of this function is as expected. When the brightness decreases, modulation appears with a frequency of 240 Hz. The figure below shows the dependence of brightness (vertical axis) on time (horizontal axis) for three values ​​of brightness setting:

It can be seen that at maximum brightness, modulation is practically absent (the amplitude is insufficient for visual discernibility of flicker), but at medium and low brightness, the relative amplitude of modulation is high, therefore, image flickering can be seen in the test for the presence of a stroboscopic effect or simply with fast eye movement. Depending on individual sensitivity, such flickering can cause increased fatigue.

This smartphone uses a Super AMOLED matrix - an active matrix based on organic light-emitting diodes. A full color image is created with subpixels of three colors - red (R), green (G) and blue (B), but there are twice as many green subpixels, which can be referred to as RGBG. This is confirmed by a fragment of a micrograph:

(For comparison, you can see the gallery of photomicrographs of screens used in mobile technology.)

For such matrices, Samsung introduced the name PenTile RGBG... The manufacturer considers the screen resolution for green subpixels, for the other two it will be two times lower. The location and shape of the subpixels in this variant is the same as in the case of the Samsung Galaxy S4 screen. This PenTile RGBG variant is better than the old one with red squares, blue rectangles and green subpixel stripes. Nevertheless, some uneven contrast borders and other artifacts are still present. For example, when displaying a black-and-white world one pixel apart (the original can be taken from here), the vertical lines look uneven, and the horizontal ones are low-contrast and are separated not by white, but by a greenish gap. A fragment (the original photo is available at the link) of the macro photograph reveals the reason:

It can be seen that the vertical lines have a black gap and that the sum of the colors of the subpixels can be considered white, but due to the red subpixels on one side, there is some unevenness in the lines. In the case of horizontal lines, there is neither white gap (there are green subpixels), nor black (there are red and blue subpixels). However, these artifacts are of purely academic interest, since under conditions mobile use it is extremely difficult to visually distinguish such small details. As a result, the resolution margin levels out the "peculiarities" of the PenTile RGBG matrix.

The screen is characterized by excellent viewing angles, although white color takes on a slight tint when deflected at relatively large angles, but black is just black at all angles (although reflection from bright objects has a bluish halo more elongated horizontally, which is why there are black areas in the light may slightly lighten and acquire a "metallic" tint). So black that the contrast setting is simply not applicable in this case. When viewed from a perpendicular view, the uniformity of the white field is excellent. For comparison, here are some photos showing the same images on the screens of the Samsung Galaxy S5 and the second competitor, with the screen brightness set to about 210 cd / m². White field perpendicular to screens:

Excellent uniformity of brightness and color tone of the white field can be noted. And the test picture (in the Standard):

The color rendition is clearly not bad, but with all the conventionality of the forced color balance in the camera, set at 6500 K, you can see that the colors of the S5 are clearly "colder" and have too high saturation. Now at an angle of approximately 45 degrees to the plane and to the side of the screen. White box:

The brightness at an angle on both screens has noticeably decreased (to avoid strong darkening, the shutter speed is doubled in comparison with the previous two photos), but in the case of Samsung, the drop in brightness is much less pronounced. And the test picture:

It can be seen that the colors did not "float" on all screens and the brightness of the Samsung S5 at an angle is noticeably higher.

Switching the state of the matrix elements is performed almost instantly, but on the on (and less often off) front there may be a step (or two) 16.7 ms wide (corresponds to a screen refresh rate of 60 Hz). For example, this is how the dependence of brightness on time looks like when switching from black to a shade of 25% (by the numerical value of the color) and vice versa:

In some conditions, the presence of such a step can lead to trails trailing behind moving objects, but in normal use it is almost impossible to see these artifacts. Quite the opposite - dynamic movie scenes on OLED screens are different high definition and even some "jerky" movements.

The ability to adjust the color rendition is implemented on the page with a choice of profiles, one of which implies some kind of automatic adjustment (profile Adapt Display):

In case one of the three fixed profiles is selected, except for the profile Dynamic, built on 32 points with equal intervals by the numerical value of the shade of gray, the gamma curve did not reveal any blockage either in the highlights or in the shadows, and the exponent of the approximating power function is 2.28-2.30, which is slightly higher than the standard value of 2.2 , while the real gamma curve practically does not deviate from the power dependence:

For profile Dynamic The gamma curve has a slightly S-shaped character, which increases the visible contrast of the image. Recall that in the case of OLED screens, the brightness of image fragments dynamically changes in accordance with the nature of the displayed image - decreases for light images in general and increases for dark ones. As a result, the obtained dependence of brightness on the hue (gamma curve), most likely, does not correspond a little to the gamma curve of a static image, since the measurements were carried out with sequential output of shades of gray on almost the entire screen. This dynamic picture is enhanced when the option is selected. Auto tuning. screen brightness... Below are the dependences of brightness on time, obtained when switching from black to white and vice versa with the option turned off and on. Auto tuning. screen brightness:

In the second case, the brightness begins to decrease after some time. The picture is slightly darkened, but the energy is saved a little.

Color gamut in case of profiles Dynamic, Standard and Professional photography very wide and almost covers Adobe RGB coverage:

When choosing a profile Cinema the coverage shrinks to the sRGB borders, but still remains a little wider:

Without correction, the spectra of the components are very well separated:

In case of a profile Cinema with maximum correction, the color components are already slightly mixed with each other:

Note that on screens with a wide gamut, the colors of conventional images optimized for sRGB devices appear unnaturally saturated. This can be seen in the above photos. However, a visual assessment showed that when choosing a profile Cinema saturation is noticeably reduced and colors are brought closer to natural. The screenshot after selecting this profile is shown below:

Unfortunately, the most recognizable shades - skin, for example - are still slightly oversaturated.

The grayscale balance is imperfect, but generally acceptable. Color temperature in profiles Dynamic and Standard significantly higher than 6500 K, in the other two it is close to 6500 K, while this parameter does not change very much on the gray scale from white to dark dark gray. The deviation from the blackbody spectrum (ΔE) for most of the gray scale remains below 10 units, which is considered a good indicator for a consumer device, and also changes slightly:

(In most cases, the darkest areas of the gray scale can be ignored, since the color balance there does not really matter, and the error in measuring color characteristics at low brightness is large.)

To summarize: the screen has a fairly high maximum brightness and a very effective anti-glare filter, so the smartphone can be used outdoors without any problems even on a sunny summer day. In complete darkness, the brightness can be lowered to a comfortable value. Acceptable, but in bright light - it is even recommended to use the mode with automatic brightness adjustment, which works more or less adequately. The advantages of the screen include a very good oleophobic coating and a color balance close to standard (when choosing the appropriate profiles). At the same time, let's recall the general advantages of OLED screens: true black color, excellent uniformity of the white field, less than that of an LCD, a drop in image brightness when viewed from an angle. The disadvantages include the modulation of the screen brightness, which appears at medium and low brightness values. Users who are particularly sensitive to flicker may experience increased fatigue due to this. However, the overall quality of the screen is very high.

Sound

In sound terms, the smartphone is about the same as the Galaxy S4. The sound is moderately bass, low frequencies not deprived, clean in the entire range, but not so loud - there were devices and louder ( Htc one or Oppo Find 5, for example). The grille for sound output is cut into the rear wall here, so the sound is muffled when the device is on the table. In the conversational dynamics, the voice of a familiar interlocutor, timbre and intonation remain recognizable, it is quite comfortable to conduct telephone conversations on the Samsung Galaxy S5.

The handset offers a choice of three pre-installed players to play music tracks: Google play Music, Yandex.Music and Samsung's own player. Everything sound effects when playing melodies by a proprietary player, they are united by a technology called SoundAlive - however, some of them are available only with headphones connected. The same goes for the sound optimization function. There are a lot of various virtual effects, they are combined here in a matrix of squares, you can experiment for a very long time.

Camera

Samsung Galaxy S5 is equipped with two digital camera modules with a resolution of 16 and 2 megapixels. The front one takes pictures with a maximum resolution of 1920 × 1080, and it also shoots video with the same resolution.

The main rear camera is equipped with a new 16-megapixel module with ultra-fast autofocus (focusing in 0.3 seconds), stabilization, one-section LED flash and the ability to shoot videos in UHD (4K) resolution. In addition to one trendy feature - 4K video recording - there is another one used here: as in the latest Sony Xperia Z2, there was a possibility of selective focusing, which allows you to highlight a specific part of the image, leaving the background blurred. That is, now you no longer need to use special lenses and lenses to create a shallow depth of field (DOF) effect.

When shooting in automatic mode, which is set by default, photos are taken at 5312 × 2988. I really liked the design and organization of the new camera control interface. Here, as in the case of the audio settings menu, everything is divided into equivalent cells, each of which is always in sight, interactive, their drawing is distinct, the entire menu is perfectly visible even in the brightest sunlight. In general, the settings menu for camera control turned out to be perhaps the best on the market in terms of ease of access to all functions and general clarity.

The camera can shoot video in UHD (4K) resolution, there are several resolutions to choose from, up to a maximum of 3840 × 2160. In the settings, traditionally for the latest top models of the mobile market, there are also slow-motion and fast-motion modes. Examples of test videos are presented below.

• Movie # 1 (189 MB, 3840 × 2160, 4K)
• Movie # 2 (58 MB, 1920 × 1080, 1080p)
• Movie # 3 (123 MB, 3840 × 2160, 4K indoors)
• Movie # 4 (71 MB, 1280 × 720, slow motion)
• Movie # 5 (4 MB, 1920 × 1080, accelerated)

Examples of photos with our comments are presented below.

	The image sharpness is good.
	Sharpness is also good across the frame.
	Small details are worked out well enough.
	The camera does not do so well in backlighting, but the exposure is good.
	On thin lines, you can see small waves from the noise reduction - but only on closer inspection.
	In low light, noise can be discerned - however, relatively small.
	The camera handles noise in the shadows well. True, the detailing suffers a little from this.
	Macro in low light is good enough for the camera, but it is worth using the stop because of the relatively long shutter speeds.
	In good light, the camera does well in macro photography.
	Another example of a good macro.
	The text is well done, but slightly damaged. However, it is possible that the camera works more accurately with smaller text.
	Panorama stitching is almost perfect. Only dynamic objects suffer, which is quite natural.

	Illumination ≈1300 lux. The camera is doing very well.
	Illumination ≈460 lux. The situation remains practically unchanged.
	Illumination ≈240 lux. Noises become noticeable, especially their processing.
	Illumination ≈240 lux, flash. The flash noticeably improves the situation, almost returning the original resolution.
	Lighting<1 люкс. В темноте камера не справляется.
	Lighting<1 люкс, вспышка. И в темноте вспышка отрабатывает очень хорошо.

First of all, it is worth noting that now the camera has a 1 / 2.6 ″ sensor, and not just a higher resolution, while earlier smartphone cameras were awarded only 1/3 ″ matrixes (not counting Nokia), or even less. until Sony decided to install a 1 / 2.3 ″ sensor in the Xperia Z1. So Samsung, following Sony, began a slow but steady movement towards improving image quality. And, I must say, the result is already noticeable to an inquisitive eye.

First of all, you can already see good work with noise. Their processing still leaves much to be desired, but if you do not look at the images pixel by pixel, then noticeable strong color noise in the shadows is practically not visible. Of course, this is the result of the noise reduction, but the higher resolution allows it to work more subtly, and the increased size of the sensor slightly reduces the likelihood of strong noise. Of course, we will not indulge in arguments about the pixel size (similar to HTC) and the supposedly resulting camera qualities, but the increase in the sensor definitely bears fruit. Secondly, the image detail has improved, which is also the merit of a higher resolution and an enlarged sensor.

I would like Samsung to improve the noise reduction, then the camera can already be compared with ordinary compacts. Although even without this, she shows herself very worthily, and it is clear that they have worked hard on her. The camera optics work fairly smoothly across the entire field of the frame and on all shots. Of course, it would be strange to see flaws in the flagship in such places, but we have already encountered this. Sharping can only be found if you know where to look. The only thing that really cannot be called ideal is the work of the noise control - such a processing result looks very archaic in the images of a modern flagship.

Based on the results of shooting the stand, we can conclude that the actual resolution of the images is probably not the highest, but we have already mentioned that in this case this is far from the main characteristic, especially in the vicinity of such values, since the resolution can be high, but at the same time not quite natural. Nevertheless, the camera resolution is quite decent. It is also worth noting the good work of the flash, and the sensor, which works out quite stably in different lighting conditions.

In general, the camera is made very decently, almost at the level of compact cameras. Of course, it also has something to work on, and in general there is much to strive for. But even in its current form, it is well suited for shooting documentary and fictional subjects.

Telephone part and communications

The developers put special emphasis on the communication capabilities of the Samsung Galaxy S5: the smartphone works in the fifth generation of Wi-Fi 802.11ac networks with support for 2 × 2 MIMO mode - in this mode, data can be received and transmitted in two streams, that is, up to two times faster than in the first generations of 802.11ac compliant devices. In addition, the device provides support for a large number of 4G (LTE) frequencies and speeds corresponding to the LTE Category 4 standard - up to 150 Mbps. With the SIM-card of the domestic operator Megafon, the smartphone in practice confidently finds and works with the LTE network.

In addition, the smartphone has support for the 5 GHz Wi-Fi band and the NFC standard. As a standard, you can organize a wireless access point via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth channels, there is a Wi-Fi Direct mode. The navigation module works with both the GPS system (with A-GPS) and the domestic Glonass. The speed and quality of the GPS-module are not satisfactory: the system works quickly, reliably, the navigation module finds the first satellites almost instantly, and even indoors.

Spontaneous reboots / shutdowns were not observed during testing. The screen of the smartphone is large, so the drawing of letters and numbers of virtual keyboards is quite comfortable to control. It is very convenient that there is a dedicated top row with numbers - you don't have to switch the layout every time. But the layout itself and the arrangement of the keys are not the same as those of others: instead of just pressing the dedicated button with the globe, here you have to switch language layouts by side scrolling with the spacebar, which is certainly less convenient. The phone application supports Smart Dial, that is, when dialing a phone number, a search is immediately carried out by the first letters in contacts. Support for continuous writing by sliding is here, but the ability to move the keyboard closer to one of the edges, as on the Galaxy Note series tablet phones, is not here.

OS and software

The system uses the Google Android software platform of the latest version 4.4.2 (Kitkat) and the proprietary graphic user interface TouchWiz, the appearance of which has undergone changes. He became, according to the new fashion, more "flat", which obviously did him good, although the traditional Asian luridness remained. The appearance of the settings menu has changed: now all icons have the appearance of absolutely identical circles and they are located in the form of a single long list. But, of course, the display of the menu can be changed, bringing it to the old view with vertical tabs. In this case, there will be no longer four of them, as before, but as many as six. In general, I liked the new look of the interface and the settings menu more than the old one: everything is combed, ordered, symmetrical, working with various subsections of the menu has become more intuitive. The menu of installed applications has not undergone significant changes, but now you can display a special button on the home screen, clicking on which opens a context menu with quick access to the most popular applications. The notification menu has received two additional dedicated oval buttons to quickly navigate to the search throughout the smartphone and enable quick connection to familiar devices.

Another one has now been added to the various ways of locking the smartphone: you can lock the screen using your fingerprint, the scanner of which is built into the center key under the screen. To successfully memorize the texture of your fingertip, you need to swipe the sensor at least eight times, after which you will also have to come up with a standard digital code in case your finger remains unrecognized within five attempts. It's a shame when the developer also imposes restrictions on the personal password you create: an attempt to limit yourself to a digital password failed - you need to intersperse numbers with letters.

By the way, the security issue has been strengthened in Samsung Galaxy S5 with another innovation: now, due to the appearance of the "Kids" mode, you can open access only to certain permitted programs, and then calmly entrust the device for 30 thousand rubles to play the child.

Since we are already talking about games, it is worth noting that we tested games such as Dead Trigger 2 and Asphalt 8 on a smartphone - no problems with their playback were found.

Another specific operating mode has been added to the smartphone, which the developers themselves talked about a lot at presentations. In fact, this is the usual power-saving mode that any built-in program for saving energy in mobile devices has, just Samsung brings its smartphone to complete "exhaustion" in this mode. When the maximum power saving mode is activated, not only all network interfaces are turned off, but also the graphical interface of the shell turns black and white, and the number of applications allowed to work is strictly limited. Naturally, in this mode, the smartphone can "work" much longer (who would doubt it), but this work will be carried out in a very limited framework.

One of the central applications preinstalled in modern top-end Samsung smartphones, which developers constantly remind of, is a program for tracking their own health called S Health. The program has a wide range of functions useful for improving health: a pedometer, exercise recording, nutrition control, etc. Now the application not only received the new version of S Health 3.0, but also acquired additional functionality in the form of a dedicated hardware heart rate counter. In principle, some programs used to try to count heartbeats using an ordinary smartphone camera, but now they have allocated a whole block with a small camera and backlight for this. You need to put your finger on the groove in the back of the smartphone, and then the program will count your heart rate. Naturally, this data is saved, processed and displayed in the form of graphs and tips for a healthy lifestyle.

Performance

The hardware platform of the Samsung Galaxy S5 is based on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 single-chip quad-core system (SoC). the chip version was limited to 2.36 GHz.

The processor is supported in graphics processing by the same Adreno 330 video accelerator, but an increase in frequencies can be traced here as well: the GPU is already overclocked to 578 MHz instead of 450 MHz. About 12 GB (out of 16) of the device's own memory for the user's needs is initially available, the amount of RAM here is 2 GB - in this regard, surprisingly, no increase has occurred, while Sony has equipped its newest flagship with three gigabytes. random access memory. MicroSD memory cards are supported in this model, you can also connect external flash drives, keyboards and mice using a special adapter in OTG mode.

Since the most powerful and most productive of the competing serial platforms is now SoC MediaTek MT6592, which is configured with eight full-fledged processor cores [simultaneously] operating at a frequency of up to 2 GHz, it is logical to include its results in the comparison in the first place. Recall that recently we released a review of the powerful TCL Idol X + smartphone, the work of which is based on the maximum version of this platform. Also, of course, it is worth adding to the comparison the results demonstrated in the same tests by the previous version of the Qualcomm platform - Snapdragon 800, on which all top smartphones of last year work. However, the most important battle today will still not take place, because the main competitor of the hero of today's review, the flagship smartphone Sony Xperia Z2, also built on the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 801, has not yet reached our test laboratory. In the near future, we will definitely compare it with the data obtained today from the Samsung Galaxy S5.

To get an idea of ​​the performance of the tested smartphone platform, let's run a standard set of tests.

All the results obtained by us when testing the smartphone in the most recent versions of popular benchmarks, we have summarized for convenience in tables. Several other devices from different segments are usually added to the table, also tested on similar latest versions of benchmarks (this is done only for a visual assessment of the obtained dry numbers). Unfortunately, within the framework of one comparison, it is impossible to present the results from different versions of benchmarks, so many worthy and relevant models remain "behind the scenes" - due to the fact that they once passed the "obstacle course" on previous versions of test programs.

Testing in MobileXPRT, as well as in the latest versions of AnTuTu 4.x and GeekBench 3:

The results of testing are as follows. As for the competing MediaTek MT6592, the latest Qualcomm system (Snapdragon 801) coped with it in all respects. In general, this is not surprising at all, considering that the previous version of Snapdragon 800 coped with it. As for the comparison with Snapdragon 800, according to the results of all tests, there was practically no real gain: all the same maximum 35K points in AnTuTu, and in other benchmarks the difference is scanty - within the margin of error.

By the way, with regard to these very resulting figures: since the smartphone being tested today is a landmark device, and the rest will be equal to it throughout the year, it is probably worth recalling the fresh alignment of forces. Based on the figures of the popular AnTuTu benchmark, it looks like this: eight MediaTek MT6592 cores with a frequency of 2 GHz demonstrate 31K points in this test (26 thousand points for eight-core Zopo 998 and THL T100S with a lower frequency of processor cores - 1.7 GHz), and about 35 thousand - in top smartphones such as LG G2, Sony Xperia Z1, Acer Liquid S2 and now Samsung Galaxy S5, built on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 800/801 hardware platform. There are two main conclusions drawn from all these comparisons: TCL Idol X + is the first smartphone on the MediaTek platform, which managed to get close to the leading solutions on Qualcomm, albeit due to twice as many processor cores. And the second: the new version of the top-end Qualcomm platform practically did not bring an increase in performance, although this microscopic superiority allowed it to even more firmly gain a foothold on the podium as the undisputed leader among platforms for mobile devices. According to the said, the Samsung Galaxy S5 smartphone on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 platform is currently one of the most powerful smartphones on the planet.

When testing in 3DMark for the most productive smartphones, it is now possible to run the application in Unlimited mode, where the rendering resolution is fixed at 720p and VSync is disabled (which can cause the speed to rise above 60 fps).

The results of testing the graphics subsystem in the gaming test Epic Citadel, as well as Basemark X and Bonsai Benchmark:

The lag in the Mali-450MP4 video subsystem is still noticeable: this video accelerator produces about 47 fps in those test modes in which the Adreno 330 produces 60 fps.

Browser cross-platform tests:

As for benchmarks for evaluating the speed of the javascript engine, you should always make allowances for the fact that the results in them significantly depend on the browser in which they are launched, so that the comparison can be truly correct only in the same OS and browsers, and this possibility is available when testing not always. In the case of Android OS, we always try to use Google Chrome.

Video playback

To test the "omnivorous" video playback (including support for various codecs, containers and special features, such as subtitles), we used the most common formats that make up the bulk of the content available on the Web. Note that it is important for mobile devices to have support for hardware video decoding at the chip level, since it is often impossible to process modern versions using processor cores alone. Also, do not expect a mobile device to decode everything, since the leadership in flexibility belongs to the PC, and no one is going to challenge it.

With video playback on the Samsung Galaxy S5, things are not as smooth as we would like. Surprisingly, this is one of the rare smartphones in which the popular MX player flatly refuses to start with the Hardware + decoder, and most often only this option saves the situation when the standard player cannot play the audio track of the file. That is, in the case of the Samsung Galaxy S5, in order to normally play three out of five of our test files (MKV), you will have to use a software decoder (at least to decode audio - the video can be decoded by hardware) - neither Hardware nor Hardware + , nor, of course, the standard video player decoder is not capable of playing these widespread network file types with sound. And this is a clear drawback, because we have a solution with an excellent in all respects a large and high-quality screen and maximum performance, which could become an excellent multimedia assistant. By the way, Galaxy Note 3 also has similar problems - we hope that with the release of updates for MX Player, the situation will somehow change. By the way, top-end smartphones LG and Sony always have complete order in this plate, because even with their own hardware they are able to play all the files presented, not to mention support for all modes of the MX player.

¹ the sound in MX Video Player was played only after switching to software decoding (mode Hardware + not supported); the standard player does not have such a setting

Additionally, the MHL interface was tested. To test it, we used an LG IPS237L monitor that supports direct MHL connection using a passive Micro-USB to HDMI adapter cable. Recall that Samsung has implemented its own version of this interface at the physical level. As a result, to connect an external device via MHL, you need to use special adapters or connect standard MHL adapters through simple passive adapters. In this case, we carried out the test using a proprietary Samsung adapter, while the MHL output was carried out at a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels with a frequency of 60 fps.

In the portrait orientation of the smartphone, the display of the image on the monitor screen is also carried out in portrait orientation, while the image on the monitor is inscribed in the height of the screen, and wide black fields are displayed on the right and left. In this case, the actual resolution on the monitor screen is, of course, lower than the resolution on the smartphone screen. In landscape orientation of the smartphone, the display of the image on the monitor screen is carried out in landscape orientation, while the image on the monitor is inscribed in the boundaries of the screen and exactly corresponds to the image on the smartphone screen. An exception is the startup screen, which is displayed only in portrait orientation:

The MHL sound is output (in this case, the sounds were heard through the headphones connected to the monitor, since there are no speakers in the monitor itself) and is of good quality. At the same time, at least multimedia sounds are not output through the loudspeaker of the smartphone itself, and the volume is controlled by buttons on the smartphone body. Basically, in the smartphone settings, you can select the sound output mode - stereo or surround. However, in our case, the monitor only received stereo sound, so there was no choice. The smartphone connected via MHL is being charged.

To test the output of video files on the screen of the device itself, we used a set of test files with an arrow and a rectangle moving one division per frame (see "Testing methods for video playback and display devices. Version 1 (for mobile devices)"). Screenshots with an exposure of 1 s helped to determine the nature of the frame output of video files with various parameters: the resolution varied (1280 by 720 (720p), 1920 by 1080 (1080p) and 3840 by 2160 (4K) pixels) and the frame rate (24, 25, 30, 50 and 60 fps). In our tests, we used the MX Player video player in the Hardware mode, as there were a lot of artifacts in the Hardware + mode. The results of this test (block labeled "Smartphone Screen") are summarized in the table:

Note: If both columns Uniformity and Skips green ratings are set, this means that, most likely, when watching movies, artifacts caused by uneven alternation and skipping of frames will either not be visible at all, or their number and visibility will not affect the viewing comfort. Red marks indicate possible problems with the playback of the respective files.

According to the criterion for outputting frames, the quality of video playback on the screen of the smartphone itself is high, since frames (or groups of frames) can be displayed with a more or less uniform alternation of intervals, and there are no frame drops. The smartphone can even display 4K files up to and including 30p. However, uniform interleaving of frames is a relatively unstable state, since some external and internal background processes lead to periodic failure of the correct interleaving of intervals between frames. When playing video files with a resolution of 1920 by 1080 (1080p) on a smartphone screen, the image of the video file itself is displayed exactly along the edge of the screen, one to one pixel by pixel, that is, in its original resolution (adjusted for some PenTile features). The brightness range displayed on the screen actually corresponds to the standard range of 16-235 - in the shadows only a couple of shades merge with black, but all the shades are displayed in the highlights. However, dark scenes may not look very good, as the darkest shades differ too much in brightness and color tone, which can lead to overly noticeable compression artifacts.

With a monitor connected via MHL, during video playback with a standard player, the video file is displayed only in landscape orientation, while only the video file is displayed on the monitor, and only information elements and virtual controls are displayed on the smartphone screen.

The results of the tests of output to the monitor are given in the table above in the block "MHL (output to the monitor)". The output quality is very good. When playing video files with a resolution of Full HD (1920 x 1080 pixels) on the monitor screen, the image of the video file itself is displayed exactly on the edge of the screen, maintaining the true proportions, and the resolution corresponds to the Full HD resolution. The brightness range displayed on the monitor is equal to the standard range of 16-235, that is, in the shadows and highlights, all gradations of shades are displayed.

The takeaway is typical: an MHL connection can be used to play games, watch movies, display web pages, and other activities that benefit from the exponential increase in screen size. True, you will have to purchase an adapter specifically for Samsung or find an appropriate adapter.

Battery life

The lithium-ion battery installed in the Samsung Galaxy S5 has a good capacity by modern standards, but not a record capacity of 2800 mAh. Accordingly, in terms of battery life, the device showed very good results, which we traditionally summarized in a comparative table.

Continuous reading in the FBReader program (with a standard, light theme) at the minimum comfortable brightness level (the brightness was set to 100 cd / m2) lasted more than 17 hours until the battery was completely discharged, and when continuously watching YouTube videos in high quality (HQ) with the device lasted 12.5 hours with the same brightness level through the home Wi-Fi network, in 3D games mode the smartphone withstood 4.5 hours worthy for such a screen, and really pleased with such stability: its predecessor Galaxy S4 was at first very overheating and with These tests do not work well, and only with the firmware update the situation returned to normal. With the new flagship, even now, before the start of sales, no problems were found in this regard, and by the way, the device heats up much less than its predecessor.

Outcome

Summing up a Samsung Galaxy S5 review is both easy and difficult. It's easy, because perhaps no one needs to explain to anyone why the flagship smartphones of the Korean company are deservedly among the best on the market. And what makes them stand out is not only the combination of top-end technical characteristics and maximum performance, there is also something else. It seems to us that the company is one of the few who are not ashamed to spy on users' desires. For most manufacturers, this always remains only unfulfilled pretentious slogan promises, and in practice, no matter how much users cry about something, they will never get it. But the Koreans have a completely different point of view on this matter, they readily satisfy any desires of buyers. Want a removable battery? - Get it. Need a memory card slot? - Yes, for God's sake, we do not mind! Suddenly you fell in love with the golden color? - Here, and we now have a golden smartphone. And with such simple actions, coupled with good quality products and huge production volumes, the Korean company managed to climb to the very top of the mountain, pushing many along the way, and simply throwing some off the cliff. The survivor is the one who knows how to adapt, and this is what Koreans do best.

As for the hero of today's review, here we can say with confidence that he has become a worthy successor to the flagship line. An excellent screen, powerful hardware, full technical completeness, good battery life and maximum functionality, a few added features like a heart rate monitor and a fingerprint scanner are all worthy of praise. Although, we must admit that in the fifth Galaxy S there were not so many notable innovations that one could rightfully call it a completely new model, in terms of design and appearance, so for sure (in this regard, by the way, there was even a kind of decline: the smartphone has become heavier, larger, rougher - everyone admits it). It’s even surprising how the Koreans didn’t call this model Galaxy S4s - such a “letter modifier” that has already become universally recognized, denoting an improved version of the model, would be more appropriate here. But this is all just a little confusing.

What's really depressing is how Samsung is pushing the prices of its top-end smartphones. It seems that Koreans no longer even remember that prices can sometimes vary somehow - they got to the 30,000 mark with the previous flagship and now put the same price tag on all subsequent models as a matter of course. The tricky thought in the minds of entrepreneurs, obviously, is this: "For the first time they will complain, but the next time they will be glad that they did not raise the price even higher." So, by the way, it happened: now users are already happy that the price of the new flagship at the start of sales was not raised higher than that of the previous one. This is very alarming, and of course, against this background, it is difficult to recommend such a device for purchase: it is certainly very worthy, but for many, Samsung products may not be affordable right now. Did we think about five years ago that we would talk like that in the future about the products of this Korean company?

You can connect your Samsung Galaxy S 5 phone to your car stereo. You can also connect your phone to your TV. There are different approaches to connecting if you are connecting audio to your stereo or audio and video to your TV.

How to connect Samsung Galaxy S 5 to your stereo system

While the ability to listen to music on the go is convenient, it's also enjoyable to listen to music on your home or car stereo. Your Galaxy S 5 phone presents your stereo with a near-perfect version of what was going on. The sound quality that comes out is only limited by the quality of your stereo.

Plus, you can play music files and playlists stored on your phone, which can be more convenient than playing CDs. To do this, you need to plug the 3.5mm jack from the cable to the 3.5mm jack available on newer stereos.

When you play music in the same way as with a headset, it will play through stereo. While every stereo is unique, the correct setting for the selector knob is AUX. You will be entertained. Enjoy.

How to connect Samsung Galaxy S 5 to TV

You can also play videos from your phone on your TV, but you need a few things. First, you need to get a Samsung HDTV Smart adapter.

The list price is around $ 25, but you can find it on the internet for a few dollars less. After you have one of them, you need to collect a few more things.

First you need a standard HDMI cable. If you have an HDTV, this is a standard cable. If you don't have one handy, you can grab one from your game console. I'm sure your kids won't mind as long as you put things the way you found them when you're done.

Finally, you need to have a handy USB cable / charger that you use to charge your phone. Connecting your phone to an HDTV provides more power than the safe delivery of your battery will allow, so you'll need to plug in the charging cable. However, instead of connecting to the bottom of the phone (as if you were charging it), follow these steps:

Connect your phone, charger / cable, HDTV Smart adapter and HDMI cable next to your TV.

This example shows how to connect TV components to your phone. The order of steps is arbitrary. You could work the other way around or start in the middle.

Connect the HDMI cable to an open HDMI port on your TV.

If you are not disconnecting your existing HDMI cable, plug one end of the HDMI cable into an open port on your HDTV. Remember the name or number of that port.

Connect the other end of the HDMI cable to the HDMI port on the HDTV Smart adapter.

Connect micro USB from charger to HDTV Smart adapter.

This is the only place where things can go wrong. You are used to connecting micro USB to the bottom of your phone. In this case, you connect it to the HDTV Smart adapter.

Connect Micro USB from HDTV Smart Adapter to the bottom of your phone.

This will fit into the port on the right. The port on the left remains open.

Turn on your TV and point it at this port.

It is suggested that you remember the name or number of the HDMI port connected to the TV. If you forgot, find it now.

You should now see and hear everything that happens on your phone on your TV. Launch the app and enjoy!

Your phone cannot switch the playback of the average video signal from your phone to playback on your TV. If you happen to be in the middle of your movie, you need to close the Video Player application and restart the application and the movie.

The official presentation of the new flagship device from Samsung - Galaxy S5 will take place very soon. This event will take place online in two days, and the start of sales is scheduled for the twentieth day of March this year. Most users are almost 100 percent sure that the new device will undoubtedly run on the Android 4.4.2 operating system, since the previous generation of this device has already received an update to this OS version yesterday.

Based on the foregoing, it is logical to assume that connecting the Galaxy S5 to a computer will not be difficult and is performed in several simple and not requiring special skills from the owner's side. In our material, we will take a closer look at how to connect Galaxy S5 to a computer or laptop running as on Windows 7, Linux (Ubuntu) or Mac OS operating systems, how it will be possible to transfer files, photos, music, upload them to a gadget and back.

Well, if you are reading this material, then, most likely, you already own a brand new device from Samsung. Now, let's talk in more detail about USB connections.

At the moment, there are two types of connecting this phone model to a PC, laptop or netbook:

1. Connection to a PC based on Windows 7 and Windows 8. At the moment it is known that these "operating systems" already contain the drivers necessary for the connection, and you will not need to download anything additional from the Internet. Take your Galaxy S5 phone with the included USB cable to your computer. Within a few minutes (if you are doing this for the first time), the devices exchange data and are configured to work together. After completing this process, in the "My Computer" menu you can find a new removable disk. This will be your phone. Now you can freely download and upload files, photos, music and everything else between your smartphone and computer. When finished, you must first safely unplug the compound device in Windows and then unplug the cable.

Attention, for proper operation of synchronization with the PC of the Samsung Galaxy S5 on Windows Vista, Windows XP and others, additional Samsung USB Driver may be required, which can be easily found on the Internet.

2. Connection to PC based on Mac OS. To do this, you need to download the special Android File Transfer software on the android.com/FileTransfer page and install it following simple and clear instructions. After that, you can safely connect your smartphone to your computer and start the process of exchanging information. This is done using the Finder program, which is available on every Mac OS-based PC.

If you want to change the type of connection, for example, to work the phone in modem mode for a computer, then you need to go to the main settings of the Galaxy S5, go to the section "Device" - "Memory" - "Menu".

Samsung smartphones are currently very popular, but their operation raises questions from inexperienced users who are not yet accustomed to working with such powerful and wayward devices. To use all the capabilities of modern mobile devices from a South Korean manufacturer, you need to know how to connect Samsung to a computer.

First, try moving your favorite music onto a new lubricant. Check with yourself which version you need. To work, set the connection mode to the multimedia device. In the program window, click "Music" and then "plus" to add files to your device or memory card.

Start by connecting your phone to your computer. Try this a second time. When launched, the program generates graphic code that automatically connects the device to the computer after scanning. However, in the upper right corner of the application, you will find an invisible application icon that will allow you to scan the code displayed on your computer screen. The program converts the recording so that it looks as good as possible on a mobile device. Select a media category and click the Add button to add new entries.

What is needed

To connect Samsung, you must first install the proprietary Samsung Kies utility on your computer. This app for Samsung phones is the same as iTunes for Apple products. Simply put, without it, you will not be able to make a backup, update the firmware, or edit contacts.

Another component necessary for connection is a USB cable through which the connection will be made.

If you do not need to work with the smartphone system, and you just want to connect it as a USB flash drive, then the Samsung Kies program is not needed. After connecting via USB interface, the phone will be automatically detected as a removable media, and you can work with its files.

Connection procedure

The first step is to download the installation package of the Samsung Kies application to your computer. You can do this on the official website by selecting the version suitable for your operating system and mobile device.

The installation of the program is carried out according to the standard scheme with the acceptance of the terms of the license agreement. The only important step is choosing the right codec.

On the add-ons installation screen, check the "Unified Driver Installer" item.

The program is installed - now you can connect your smartphone to your computer using a USB cable. Samsung Kies will automatically pair with your mobile device.

Working with the application

Immediately after starting the program, open the "Tools" menu and go to the "Settings" section. On the General tab, change the location of the application folder from the system drive to the D: file partition. Now, if Windows crashes and you have to reinstall the system, the files saved from the smartphone will not be lost anywhere.

The main functions of the application are moved to the left menu, so working with the contents of the smartphone does not raise any questions.

If, for example, you need to view and edit photos, then you go to the "Photos" section and do whatever you think is necessary with its contents - copy, change the name, transfer to your computer, etc.

Among the features of the program is a powerful tool for creating a backup copy of all user data and settings, allowing you to restore your phone if necessary.

You can select the components to be saved on the "Backup / Restore" tab.

All the parameters and personal data you specified will be packed into a special archive, from where you can then return them to your phone.

To work with phonebook entries, go to the "Contacts" section in the menu on the left. At the top, you will see tabs that indicate where your contacts are stored - mobile device memory, Google account, SIM card.

To edit a contact, left-click on it. A convenient form will open in which you can make changes.

Do not forget to click on the checkmark after editing - this is how you save the changed contact.

Another handy feature is combining identical entries.

To remove duplicate contacts, right-click on any entry and select "View the list of duplicate contacts".

Look at the list that the app will give you and click the Merge Duplicate Contacts button.

Samsung Kies automatically checks the firmware of the connected device and prompts you to update the software if necessary.

To independently start the search for a new version and install the firmware, click on your phone model in the left menu.

The device information page will open. There is an "Update" button here, which is active when a new firmware version is available.

Modern smartphones are equipped with high-quality cameras that can take pictures and record videos, as well as powerful processors that allow you to run games with high-quality graphics.

Often there is a need to transfer files between the computer and the phone, and just save all the data (for example, the phone book) to the computer. There are various ways to do this - via cloud storage, via a public Wi-Fi network, however, many users are conservative and prefer to transfer data via a USB cable.

Samsung kies

Samsung produces special software for computers that allows you to connect your smartphones and copy media files, back up your address book, and more. This program is called Samsung Kies.

The program was released in 2009 as a means of interacting Samsung devices with computers. Kies supports all platforms on which Samsung smartphones are created - Bada, Tizen, etc., however, the main direction of work is programs on Android devices. This program supports gadgets with Android version up to 4.2

Downloading from the official site.

When the phone and the program are connected, the interface consists of a panel on the left and an active window on the right. The panel displays a list of connected devices and a data library, and the active window displays the currently open section.

Using the library, you can open:

• List of contacts;
• Music;
• Photo;
• Video recordings;
• Podcasts, etc.

In case the user is experiencing problems with the connection of his device, the program can try to diagnose the problem on its own and fix it.