Samsung Galaxy S5 Mini

Supercow · 18 Aug 2014 at 16:28

Seems like there's no thread discussing this phone, I thought I'd create one.
I'm one of those users, after the holy grail - trying to find a phone that's not the ridiculous 5"+ size all flagships are these days, with a decent camera and acceptable spec.

I have come to loathe my HTC One M8 and Sony Xperia Z2 for the above reasons of form factor awkwardness. (Z2 being made from fragile see through cheese also doesn't help)

The Galaxy S5 mini seems to check all the boxes, so I went and ordered one - will be with me on Monday.

I guess it suffers from the same "lacklustre" design, and the CPU is not the pokiest, but I'm pretty excited about it.

Code:

Android 4.4 KitKat
1.4 GHz quad-core processor
1.5 GB RAM
4.5" Super AMOLED 720 x 1080 screen
8 MP camera with autofocus, flash, HDR & panorama
2.1 MP front facing camera
Fingerprint scanner for locking & authorisation
Ultra Power Saving Mode
Private / Kids Mode
IP 67 rated (water & dust resistant)
2,100 mAh removable battery
131.1 x 64.8 x 9.1mm
120 grams

Anyone else have this - got any feedback?

Review here:
http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_s5_mini-review-1116.php

Akagi · 18 Aug 2014 at 16:32

How can it have a 4.5" screen and be called "Mini" :confused:

Surely it should be called the Galaxy S5, and the Galaxy S5 should be called the Galaxy Share Bar?

My phone was bought new 1.5 years ago and has a 4.3" screen. It is a comfortable size, and slips into my pocket nicely. Why do people want TV's in their pockets?

Supercow · 18 Aug 2014 at 16:35

Acme said:
How can it have a 4.5" screen and be called "Mini"

Surely it should be called the Galaxy S5, and the Galaxy S5 should be called the Galaxy Share Bar?

No matter what your other half tells you, 4.5" is small and it does matter.

1985420 · 18 Aug 2014 at 17:51

Acme said:
How can it have a 4.5" screen and be called "Mini"

Because most flagship phones nowadays have screens that are 5inch+ and there are plenty of phones now hitting 6" or more :confused:

A 4.5 inch screen use to be big, but it's not 2010 anymore

The LG G2 mini has a 4.7" screen!

As for why people want "tv's in their pocket" then that's quite simple really. Smartphones do much more than just phonecalls. Everybody is different and if you only use a phone for phonecalls then fair enough, i can understand wanting a smaller phone. 95% of the time i use my phone to browse the net, play games, read emails, send sms and watch media. I find a bigger screen very beneficial and lets be honest an extra 1-2 inch in your pocket is hardly gonna make a massive difference.

As i say, everybody is different but i have massive hands and enjoy a big screen so that's the reason why i enjoy a tv in my pocket

Once you get use to a bigger screen then the "normal sized screens" just seem like little toys to me personally.

mame · 18 Aug 2014 at 19:11

£389.99 RRP. I can't see how it's going to be much better than a Moto G from those specs. I think 720x1080 is wrong, most sites have it at 1280x720. Moto G is a fair bit faster than an S3, even the 2gb model. It looks ok though but expensive.

Supercow · 18 Aug 2014 at 20:54

The Moto g makes it hard for anyone to justify the additional expense, but the camera on this, waterproofness (splashproof) and ability for larger micro SD card pipped it for me.

Macky · 18 Aug 2014 at 20:56

Don't see why anyone with half a brain would get this. HIDEOUSLY overpriced purely for the Galaxy name. Get a Moto G or a Nexus 5 or anything small that ticks the boxes. 1.5GB RAM?? What is the point why not just have 2?

Supercow · 18 Aug 2014 at 21:02

Nexus 5, too big for my half brain. The Moto g's camera is pretty awful for the other half (does it mean i have one full brain?)

krooton · 18 Aug 2014 at 21:13

I only got an S4 Mini at the start of the year, and I am with supercow on the size thing.

The S2 was perfect, so is the S4 Mini, and the S5 Mini looks more of the same. Shame it is so expensive though.

mame · 18 Aug 2014 at 21:44

Supercow said:
The Moto g makes it hard for anyone to justify the additional expense, but the camera on this, waterproofness (splashproof) and ability for larger micro SD card pipped it for me.

yeah there is that but it's about £250 more! having a quick look on the posted review and the geekbench score is almost the same 1120/1123 and they are both 4.5" 720p screens. I don't doubt this is a nicer phone but .... £250 more! When you looking at anything other than the best, surely price is a huge factor.

edit: I think the moto g is splash proof. Not sure about the ratings of each.

Supercow · 18 Aug 2014 at 22:20

Definitely overpriced, but it ticks all the boxes for me decent camera + form factor + android , so I'm willing to pay the extra on top.

Myshra · 18 Aug 2014 at 23:06

It's not good enough for the price, not even close. It's low/middle tier components and mid/high pricing - market brand will carry it but it's not something I'd recommend to anyone really.

deltalinx · 19 Aug 2014 at 06:48

They finally decided to use a 720p screen then, sigh.

Still pointless.

Supercow · 19 Aug 2014 at 08:36

Don't really get why people are fussed about having full HD, on a screen the size of a phone @ 4 - 5 " ?

chrislusty · 19 Aug 2014 at 09:39

If this is anything like the S4 mini, then it will be terrible. Runs slowly, often does random restarts, camera is shocking at least it will have 16gb storage rather than the pitiful 8gb that the s4 mini has, and a lot of it is taken up with samsung bloat.
All this comes from owning an S4 mini, i "upgraded" from an iphone 4s and that was a better phone in nearly all areas, bar screen size and not having to use iTunes to get music on it. IMHO Avoid at all costs! I cant wait to get rid of mine, but cant justify the costs of phones even on ebay at the minute.
Also the battery life is shocking too.

sarge78 · 19 Aug 2014 at 10:37

chrislusty said:
If this is anything like the S4 mini, then it will be terrible.

It isn't. But it's still overpriced, hopefully the Galaxy Alpha will drive the price down to reasonable levels. £200 would be a good starting point.

doodah · 19 Aug 2014 at 10:44

I recommended the S4 Mini to my girlfriend as her first smart phone; size was good for her and it seemed to come out on top of the HTC One Mini in the reviews. I definitely regret that decision. It has a mind of it's own, battery drains very quickly, I swear her mum's S3 camera is better and it's slow. Terrible excuse of a phone, I imagine the S5 Mini to be marginally better. The Z1C is still the king of 'minis'.

sarge78 · 19 Aug 2014 at 10:51

The Z1c is too heavy (137g) and big for a 4.3" phone, hopefully the new one will match the Galaxy Alpha and iPhone 6.

snitcher · 19 Aug 2014 at 10:54

the 8mp camera still behind. overall it is a good spec phone.

chrislusty · 19 Aug 2014 at 11:01

xibinim said:
I recommended the S4 Mini to my girlfriend as her first smart phone; size was good for her and it seemed to come out on top of the HTC One Mini in the reviews. I definitely regret that decision. It has a mind of it's own, battery drains very quickly, I swear her mum's S3 camera is better and it's slow. Terrible excuse of a phone, I imagine the S5 Mini to be marginally better. The Z1C is still the king of 'minis'.

Glad I am not the only one with the same complaints. The wife has one of these too, and her phone has more random re-starts and little bugs than mine. They are terrible. It has put me off minis and compacts for my next phone, which i know is silly, but once bitten, twice shy and all that.