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Samsung Galaxy S5 Neo review: Outdated and outclassed

Our Rating :
£144.99 from
Price when reviewed : £300
inc VAT

The Galaxy S5 Neo was top of its class, but has since faded into obscurity, with the J5 and A5 following suit

Pros

  • Incredible battery life
  • Great camera
  • Gorgeous display

Cons

  • A tad sluggish
  • Doesn't run plain Android (TouchWiz)
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Samsung Galaxy S5 Neo review: Display

Of course, the Galaxy S5 Neo only has to power a 5.1in 1,920×1,080 resolution display instead of a more demanding 2,560×1,440 panel, but I’d much rather have a longer, better life over a greater number of pixels. You can’t really tell the difference when it comes to overall sharpness either, as Samsung’s Android 5.1.1 TouchWiz interface still looks crisp and clear despite ‘only’ having a pixel density of 432ppi compared to the S6’s 576ppi (remembering that Apple’s original ‘Retina Display’ was only 326ppi).

The S5 Neo’s picture quality is also just as good as its S6 siblings as well, as Samsung’s Super AMOLED panel covered a full 100% of the sRGB colour gamut and delivered pitch-perfect 0.00cd/m2 blacks in our colour calibration tests. Likewise, its infinity:1 contrast ratio ensures there’s plenty of detail to be found in darker images, and its peak brightness of 352.31cd/m2 is perfectly practical for outdoor use.

Samsung Galaxy S5 Neo home button^ The S5 Neo might not have a fingerprint sensor any more, but that’s no great loss in our books

Samsung Galaxy S5 Neo review: Camera

The 16-megapixel camera remains one of its strongest features, too, as photos looked great both indoors and out. Colours were rich and true to life and there was plenty of detail on show throughout each frame. Noise was also kept to an absolute minimum, and there was more than enough contrast available to help pick out highlights and lowlights.

Some of our indoor shots were a little hazy in lower lighting conditions, however, and the flash left images looking quite dark overall. Object outlines were still soft when I turned on our external lamp, but there was a greater amount of fine texture detail present in the fur of our teddy bear, for instance, compared to my shots with the lamp off.

Samsung Galaxy S5 Neo camera test^ In Auto mode, photos looked fantastic, as colours looked rich and natural with a high level of detail

Samsung Galaxy S5 Neo camera test HDR^ Switching to HDR mode improved contrast levels further, capturing even more cloud detail than before

Samsung Galaxy S5 Neo camera test indoors^ Indoor shots could be a little soft around the edge, even with plenty of light, but it still produces very good photos

Samsung Galaxy S5 Neo review: Verdict

In some respects, the Samsung Galaxy S5 Neo is a reminder of just how good the original Galaxy S5 was. It had an incredible battery life, a great camera and a gorgeous display, and for some, this will be more than enough reason to choose this over its closest rival, the Nexus 5X. The OnePlus 2 is another handset for your shortlist, it’s significantly faster and cheaper at £289 but it’s also considerably bigger, which might put off some.

It’s worth reinforcing that the Neo isn’t an upgrade of the S5 itself, however if you have an S4 or S5 and it’s now the worse for wear, then the S5 Neo is a reasonably-priced, like-for-like replacement for its namesake.

However, the S5 Neo’s outer trappings do now feel distinctly old-fashioned, and its chipset, while competent, has now been surpassed by its newer rivals. Given the choice, I’d still choose the Nexus 5X over the S5 Neo, as it not only feels more modern and up to date, but its plain Android 6.0 interface is far more straightforward to use, than Samsung’s 5.1.1-based TouchWiz software – unless of course you’re already familiar with Samsung’s take on Android. All things considered, though, the S5 Neo is still a great phone for £300, and for that it wins a Recommended award.

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Hardware
ProcessorOcta-core 1.6GHz Samsung Exynos 7580
RAM2GB
Screen size5.1in
Screen resolution1,920×1,080
Screen typeSuper AMOLED
Front camera5 megapixels
Rear camera16 megapixels
FlashLED
GPSYes
CompassYes
Storage (free)16GB (11GB)
Memory card slot (supplied)microSD
Wi-Fi802.11ac
BluetoothBluetooth 4.1
NFCYes
Wireless data3G, 4G
Size142x73x8.1mm
Weight145g
Features
Operating systemAndroid 5.1.1
Battery size2,800mAh
Buying information
WarrantyOne year RTB
Detailswww.samsung.com/uk
Part codeSM-G903F

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