We’d seen secret snaps of a more rugged S5 waiting in the wings, but now the Samsung Galaxy S5 Active has gone official with AT&T in the US.
We were just as surprised as most of the internet, when leaked snaps and videos of the Samsung Galaxy S5 Active emerged, particularly as the classic Galaxy S5 had already impressed us with its waterproofed design. The new S5 Active looks to be a harder-wearing beast that, as far as we can tell, sports the same impressive spec sheet.
There’s the same vibrant 5.1-inch Full HD Super AMOLED display, a 2.5GHz quad-core processor with 2GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage, expandable via microSD by an additional 128GB, Android 4.4 KitKat swathed in TouchWiz (Samsung’s custom user interface) and a 2-megapixel front-facing snapper. It even retains the heart-rate sensor underneath its 16-megapixel rear camera for the fitness fanatics out there.
The one omission is the PayPal-certified fingerprint scanner integrated into the home button, which remains a feature unique to the vanilla S5. Just as with the Galaxy S4 Active, the S5 Active display sits above a set of three larger physical buttons for app switching, home and back functions instead.
Provided you’re alright trading in a fingerprint scanner for extra protection, the Galaxy S5 Active looks to be one of the best choices on the market, if you can get ahold of one. Presently US carrier AT&T lords exclusivity over the handset and even badgering Samsung UK directly hasn’t given us much more to go on, with regards to availability elsewhere.
The company’s official line states, “Galaxy S5 Active is available in the US market; however, we do not have any specific plans for other markets at the moment.”
If you are lucky enough to be stateside and fancy picking up the toughest flagship smartphone around, it’s available in Titanium Gray, Ruby Red and Camo Green off contract for $714.99 or on a two-year plan with an upfront cost of $199. You can also grab it on AT&T’s 18 month Next scheme for $27.50 a month for 26 months.
Want to get your hands on the S5 Active or are ruggedized phone cases your preferred method of smartphone protection? Let us know in the comments.
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