Customer Ratings & Reviews

Everything you could want in a cell phone and more is here. The Samsung Galaxy S5 is awe-inspiring. So let's get into it. First, the screen. While I am getting a little annoyed by how large cell phones are getting, I see the need for it. The picture quality is superb! But seen on a smaller screen, the quality would not shine through. I've always hated viewing videos on my cell phone, but the S5 does a great job of making me miss my laptop less. And games are more enjoyable too! Photos are so clear it's mindboggling. No cons here. Discussing the processor and other "brain" components is boring, so suffice it to say that the S5 is very fast and multitasks very well, without being a drain on the battery. Which brings me to... The battery! I've never seen such an impressive battery life. I don't know if they're using a special sort of battery or they've just figured out a way to use power more efficiently (which, without getting into it, they have figured out a way), but I don't care. All I care about is that my phone lasts all day and I'm a fairly heavy user. I must admit though, I'm not a heavy caller and making calls does use a lot of juice. I do use a lot of data however (both WiFi and 4G), and thus far have never run out of power. The camera is phenomenal, albeit cumbersome. There are just too many options for the casual user. If you're a professional photographer or even just a hobbyist, you've got a dedicated device. So if you're taking photos on your phone, you're probably just a regular person trying to capture a moment. In which case, you don't need 7,000 options that you don't know how to use. It's overkill and it's confusing. But, it does take great photos! I won't discuss data. We all have different carriers, so we'll all have different experiences. I use AT&T and for the most part have had no problems, except in underdeveloped parts of town. I will say, however, that the phone switches automatically between your 4G and your WiFi to help use less of your data plan. While that's very cost-efficient, I sometimes find that I'll be in the middle of something and my phone will get hung up waiting on the switch. That being said, there is an option to turn off the automatic switching. So, your choice. Most of you will already know that Samsung uses the Android operating system. Google is to credit or blame for most of what's going on there, and I, for one, like what they're doing, especially when compared to Apple, Microsoft, or even Blackberry. However, each phone maker tweaks Android to fit their vision. Before the S5, I had the HTC One. Let me just say that I am far happier with the S5 in almost every way. (I used to be a big Blackberry fan, but sadly, they're not keeping up.) Another point I won't get too much into is features. As I mentioned earlier, this phone is so feature rich, it's truly incredible. It does everything you're gonna want and it does it well, and it usually far exceeds expectations and the competition. I do have two things I'm not so in love with though. The first is the call quality. As I said, it's no worse than any other phone, but it still needs attention. For instance, with all the technological advances they've made, why do we still have half-duplex instead of full-duplex? (More info here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speakerphone) The phone call experience is the one time when I feel like I'm back in the 1980s. My second problem with this phone is the sound output. First, it's just not loud enough. I'm not talking about the little speaker on the back. I'm not expecting much from that. I'm referring to the "line out" and bluetooth. I like to use Audible to listen to books while I'm travelling to and from work or when I'm at the gym. When I play Pandora or the songs I have stored, the volume is acceptable at best. But with the audiobooks, it simply cannot be heard. Second, it has a safety feature that you cannot disable. It's supposed to help you protect yourself from going deaf. Thanks. Much obliged. But, I'm not a 4-year-old. If you insist on being a bit of a nanny, at least let me disable your mothering once you've tried to warn me. I would never let those two minor issues dissuade you from buying this phone. The Samsung Galaxy S5 is still, by far, the best phone I've ever owned. I cannot imagine what they could ever do to top it, but I'm sure I'll buy the next iteration when they do achieve a new level of supremacy.

I'm a heavy app user, and this phone is great for me. It has tons of storage. The camera is great too, and so is the video picture and sound quality. The water resistant claim IS true - yesterday I dropped the phone in some food I had on my lap and had to rinse it off. You'd never know I had it under water! Also, the phone's casing is great at withstanding impacts. I've accidentally dropped it on hard tile and concrete several times with no damage to the phone.

The best notable benefit of S5 is its short charging time and long battery life. This is very good for a student like me who stays in campus most of the time without worrying running out of battery. The camera's quality is excellent and its picture processing speed is faster compared with the S3 I used to have. Lastly but obviously the cool BestBuy's metallic blue color is something you enjoy every day.

What's not to love about this phone. The 16-megapixel camera will replace your point and shoot camera. It has a large beautiful screen that will amaze you with its brilliance. Water and dust resistant this phone can withstand some abuse. Love it!

I was hesitant to switch to this phone, only due to the larger size. I worried about it so much it delayed my purchase by approx 6 months. However, when my phone started acting unreliably, and there was an awesome Black Friday sale price, I made the plunge. I am so glad I did! I only regret I didn't do it 6 months earlier. The size is just bigger enough to enjoy a bigger screen display, and keyboard. The size is still very manageable. All of the features are similar to the previous Galaxy phone I had, but better. The display is brighter, clearer, the camera better, and the maneuverability improved. I absolutely love this phone and everything about it! I also discovered a free app called Drippler that gives tons of tips on features with this phone. I learn a little more each day what this phone can do, and how to do it. It's awesome.

I haveve had Apple products for my last 2 phones. Smartest thing I did was getting thing phone. Larger screen, clearer picture and a whole lot faster than my previous phones.

We just got these new Galaxy S4 Active phones & already love them. With the built in shock absorber & built in water proof capability, there was no need to go out & buy a bulky expensive case. Plus, they are super fast & easy to use!

I upgraded from a Samsung Galaxy S2 Skyrocket to this phone, so first off it is a big leap forward in technology. It doesn't make it any less awesome though. I exercise semi-regularly and so the fitness features seemed cool but not super important. It turned out that this is one of my favorite features though. My Garmin heart rate monitor syncs with this phone and really allows me to track my exercise more effectively than I could have imagined. I don't intend to test it purposefully, but the waterproof feature was a big deal for me too. I feel a sense of comfort that a little water or any other liquid will not kill my phone like the wicked witch of the west. The finger scanner is something I don't even use. Kind of a wasted feature in my opinion. I keep my phones in cases so they don't get destroyed to start with so that makes the finger scanner basically inaccessible. The same goes for the heart rate sensor on the back of the phone. This is an expensive device and I intend to protect it. Had they placed it on in a better way I may try to use them, but they aren't important features to me. The replaceable batter isn't important to me, but the SD card slot is and that is basically why I purchased this phone instead of waiting for an S6. I made my decision as soon as the announcement was released from Samsung confirming the features of the new model. This phone is awesome and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a new smartphone. Well designed and feature and spec packed in my opinion. You won't regret this purchase. The screen size is perfect for the average person. The note is way to big to be comfortable and if you want a bigger screen buy a tablet. That's my two cents. Hope my opinion helps.

The phone is wonderful. Has a long battery life (at least for me). Screen is a nice size to see what you are doing. Has a lot of features that are great. takes GREAT pictures!!

Screen is beautiful, battery lasts most of the day and can be swapped out easily. Bought a wireless charging pad which is great to have at work. Functionally, there isn't anything better than Android (iPhones look nice and are easy to use) but for my money I want something that can do more and have a larger screen. Being water resistant and dust resistant is great. The constant reminders I mention, are related to every time one removes the phone from the chargers, they are reminded to close the back cover and USB housing.

I tend to keep my phones for at least 2.5-3 years. I chose the Galaxy S5 over the S6 for three reasons. 1) S5 has a replaceable battery and the S6 does not. Prior to this phone I had an S3, and I replaced the battery twice. 2) The S5 has some environmental resistance features that the S6 does not. Supposedly it can be immersed for some period of time. I don't plan on testing this feature, but having those qualities seems better than not having them. 3) Cost. The Samsung phones over the past several years are all incremental upgrades...next one is a little faster, camera is a little better etc. Ia the S6 a little better than the S5?--yes. Is it $200-300 dollars better? In my opinion--no. I am an AT&T customer, and I bought the phone outright. Cost was the same between AT&T and Best Buy. I went with Best Buy because I could both use reward certificates that were close to expiring, and earn additional rewards certificates for the purchase.

I upgraded from an iPhone 4S to this phone. I like almost everything about this phone more than the iPhone. The battery life is great. I'm on my phone all the time. Usually by lunch my iPhone would be dead. This phone is usually only at about 60%. If I forget to plug it in overnight it's not a huge deal and I know it will still be usable the next morning. It's faster and I like the web browser on this more. On my iPhone if you double tapped to zoom in it would only zoom in a tiny bit and you still couldn't read. On this one it zooms enough to read and not have to go back and forth to read things. The only two things I dislike about this phone both have to do with the camera. The camera kind of sticks out a little bit unless you have a case on it. So if you put it down the back rests on the camera. Also the picture quality doesn't seem to be as good as my old iphone. It's not horrible but there is a noticeable difference in quality. It's not huge but it might bug some people.

I have some serious love going on for this phone -- I went from a gs3 to the s5 only because I dropped my s3 and broke it. I had only planned to get an s4 thinking it would be cheaper. I was thrilled to know that the s5 was available in a bundle that made it possible to get a tablet too - and I jumped at the chance. I'm so glad I did!! It's a great phone -- it's larger than the s3 - the screen resolution is much better and the camera is great!! I am still in the learning curve of all the great features but every one I have found so far has been wonderful! There's a "health" app on it that is a step tracker that can come on the moment you get out of bed and start tracking those 10,000 steps per day as long as you keep it in your pocket when you walk. Doesn't work if it sits on your desk or in your purse all day...bummer. The battery life is much improved and the sound quality as well. All around TERRIFIC phone!! Wish they had left the ocean ring tone in there though -- that's my only criticism...I love the samsung galaxy line -- they are on top of it!!

This is my second Android phone. And compared to the last one I had, I have seen great improvements in this phone in comparison to that phone! The Samsung Galaxy S5 phone is fast when it comes to surfing the Internet. The camera takes great high-definition pictures as well as the camcorder recording high-definition videos. Use of my data plan (when necessary) is very minimal versus my last Android phone. Use of power is minimal as well when I perform a number of tasks with the phone (and the phone doesn't run very hot either). Charging of the phone is very quick. Although I have yet tapped into the phone's overall capability, I am very pleased with it!

I LOVE this phone! It has many neat options. I love using the S-Health and I found that it influences me to reach my daily step goal. I love being able to check my heart rate too! It has a great camera with many great effects! The slow mode and fast mode are hilarious! I also like how you can download more effects to the camera. I like how you can access the camera from the lock screen. The only thing so far that I have found that I don't care much for is what happens when you receive a new text message. In my old galaxy phone, if you received a text message and opened the messages, it would go straight to the new message. This phone will go to the last person I texted. I have sent many text messages to the wrong person. I am not sure if this is something that I can change or not. I have not found any switches for this, but ultimately I LOVE this phone and would highly recommend it!

I am a visual type of person, and the gold casing is what drew me to this phone. Once I "tinkered" with the features, I fell in love. Samsung is an excellent brand, and the quality of the pictures it takes, the videos that play, and the overall phone i above and beyond what I have seen. I love the screen size, and the phone isn't big or bulky. Plus, i can take the battery out if I choose, unlike all the new phones they have out there. This is a great buy, and I recommend it to everyone!

I love the phone but the sales person talked me into signing up for the "AT&T Next" program by telling me that I would actually save money. She said that I would get a credit on my plan that would more than offset the cost of the phone. Since she had to pull up my contract with AT&T I figured she had access to all my plan's information but this was not the case. I was already receiving the credit on my plan and when I called AT&T after receiving my latest bill to inquire about the extra charges I was told that since I went through a third party there was nothing they could do about it. Now I'm in the process of dealing with Best Buy and their AT&T representative to try and get this resolved, and so far it is not going well. My advice is to make sure you know exactly what is being offered and whether or not you already have it.

My wife and kids use all Apple products and I know Apple is at the front of the line, but Samsung 5 is really great, if not better. Size, weight, and feel makes the psychical touch 1st class. Not to mention that technology is every bit as current as the newest iPhone 5s, iPhone 6, or the latest Galaxy 6 edge. If you want a great phone this is it. It is really fast and reliable.

This is my first smart phone. Had cell phones for 20 years finally decided to get a smart phone. Heard all the horror stories about short battery life and such. The battery lasts me about 4 days with minimal usage. Otherwise a day or more with moderate usage. The carrier AT&T provides me full coverage in my house where US Cellular did not. I have not had any problems with the phone. The camera is great and the screen is very sharp.

Okay, granted I am not a high power user, but I do a lot of FB posting and commenting with a group and need a good interface for that and this phone works so much better than my previous (cheap less "smart") phone. I am so glad I am spending the extra money. So far the AT&T service has been fabulous...a big improvement over my experience with them a few years ago. I still haven't explored all of the capabilities or uses for this phone so I am sure this will be an adventure. THE CAMERA is really good and intuitive and easy to use.