Samsung Unveils Galaxy S5 Plus

Samsung unveiled Galaxy S5 Plus with Snapdragon 805 processor; the new smartphone brings a faster LTE connection and improved performance than its predecessor Galaxy S5.

Immediate benefits of the Snapdragon 805 over the 801 are vastly improved memory bandwidth (roughly a 70% increase) which cuts down on multitasking bottlenecks and the upgraded GPU (Adreno 420 vs Adreno 330) is both faster and more power efficient. A new processor (Krait 450 vs Krait 400) also adds more zip, but isnt the main talking point. Samsung has slightly downclocked the 805 chipset in the S5 Plus compared to the Note 4 and contentious Nexus 6 and its four cores each run at 2.5GHz rather than 2.7GHz.

The Galaxy S5 Plus also has improved 4G performance compared to the original S5 with support for LTE Advanced. This brings the potential for 300Mbps downloads on the LTE Advanced networks being rolled out by most major carriers. By comparison the Galaxy S5 supports 150Mbps downloads. Upload rates are unchanged with both handsets offering a maximum of 50Mbps uploads.

Samsung hasnt announced whether it will keep selling the Galaxy S5 now the S5 Plus has been announced, but it seems highly unlikely that the company would drop it less than eight months after release. The Samsung Galaxy S5 Plus is otherwise identical to the version that launched early this year. It has a 5.1″ 1080p screen and not a QHD screen like the Galaxy S5 LTE-A. There’s a 16MP camera with 2160p video (no OIS like the Note), 2GB RAM and 16GB storage, the same 2,800mAh battery too.

Right now the phone is available only in the Netherlands from what we can tell, As for Galaxy S5 Plus availability, Samsung has announced an initial launch in Europe with Holland the unlikely debut country. We await news of where it will be released next and whether it will come Stateside.

Samsung Galaxy S5 Plus main specs

• 5.1-inch screen
• 1920*1080 resolution
• 805 Qualcomm Snapdragon quad-core processor
• 2GB RAM
• 16 MP rear camera (no OIS) and 2MP front camera
• 16GB internal storage; expendable memory card slot up to 128GB
• Water resistance
• 2800mAh removable battery