Samsung Galaxy S5 Active vs. S4 Active – Can Galaxy S5 Active Beat its Predecessor

The Samsung Galaxy S4 Active was released June 2013. This handset is packed with amazing features and great software and hardware performances. Meanwhile, the Galaxy S5 Active, touted to be the rugged version of the Galaxy S5, was released in selected markets in May 2014.

Readers who are interested in buying one of the aforementioned handsets should check out this specification and price comparison.

Display, Exterior and Size

The Samsung Galaxy S4 Active features a 5 inches TFT screen, bundled with 1,080 x 1,920 pixels display resolution. The latest Galaxy S5 Active comes with a 5.1 inches Super AMOLED display, and the resolution is same as its predecessor. The Galaxy S4 and S5 Active handsets come with solid pixel strength of 441 ppi and 432 ppi respectively.

Even though, the Samsung Galaxy S4 Active comes with a relatively inferior TFT screen, compared to the Super AMOLED display of the bigger Galaxy S4; the display quality and colour density are very impressive.

The thickness and the weight of Galaxy S4 Active are 0.36 inches and 151 g respectively. The Galaxy S5 Active, on the other hand, comes with a thickness of 0.35 inches and a weight of 170 g. The bumped up weight in Galaxy S5 Active is mainly due to the ruggedness of the handset.

It is worth noting that, both the handsets feature water and dust resistant exteriors and hence they are IP67 certified. However, the rugged Galaxy S5 Active is shock resistant (MIL-STD-810G certified) as well. In addition, the Samsung Galaxy S5 Active houses sturdy physical buttons.

Hardware and Software

The Galaxy S5 Active is powered by a quad-core Krait 400 (Qualcomm Snapdragon 801) processor, clocked at 2.5 GHz. The Galaxy S4 Active, on the other hand, is powered by a quad-core (Qualcomm Snapdragon 600) Krait 300 processor, clocked at 1.9 GHz. Both the handsets house 2 GB of RAM. Also, the Galaxy S5 Active runs on the latest Android v4.4.2 KitKat OS, while the Galaxy S4 Active runs on Android v4.2.2 Jelly Bean (upgradable).

Camera

The Galaxy S4 Active sports an 8 MP rear-facing camera with LED flash and a 2 MP front-facing camera, whereas the Galaxy S5 Active houses a whopping 16 MP rear-facing camera with LED flash and 2 MP front-facing camera units. In addition, the Galaxy S5 Active can shoot 4K (3,840 x 2,160) videos.

Memory

Both the phones house 16 GB of internal storage and they come with microSD card slot for memory expansion. However, the maximum expansion limit of Galaxy S5 Active and S4 Active stand at 128 GB and 64 GB respectively.

Battery

The Galaxy S4 Active houses a solid 2600 mAh battery unit that provides up to 17 hours of talk-time and 312 hours of stand-by time. The Galaxy S5 Active comes with a relatively higher 2800 mAh battery unit. This handset can provide up to 29 hours of talk-time and 480 hours of stand-by time.

SIM

Both the phones support micro-sim.

Colour

The Samsung Galaxy S4 Active comes in urban grey, dive blue and orange flare shades. The Galaxy S5 Active comes in camo green, titanium grey and ruby red shades.

Misc

1. The Samsung Galaxy S5 Active will feature a 'convenience key' located on the side of the handset. Upon pressing the key, the Active Zone app gets activated and it brings apps like compass, stopwatch, flashlight, and barometer, among others on the home screen.

2. It is worth mentioning that, the original Galaxy S5 comes with a hard key (Home) and two soft keys (Back and Task Switcher). The sturdy Galaxy S5 Active, on the other hand, features hard keys for all three buttons.

3. In addition, both the phones support NFC.

Price

The Samsung Galaxy S4 Active is priced at AU$449.95 in Australia. According to Amazon, a ruby red version of the Samsung Galaxy S5 Active specific to the U.S. market is priced at US$649, which roughly translates to AU$695 in Australia.

What do you think of this phone? Will Galaxy S5 Active kill both Galaxy S4 Active and Galaxy S5? Feel free to leave a comment.