Samsung Galaxy S5 Sport Review

The Samsung Galaxy S5 Sport is a smartphone that checks all the boxes for a powerhouse device. With a Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor, it's beefy enough to run all current Android mobile games with ease. The phone boasts 2GB of RAM, which may seem minimal now, but considering the latest flagship phones, it's still a respectable amount. Onboard storage is where things get interesting, with 16GB of space that's partially taken up by Android TouchWiz and Sprint's software, leaving you with just 10GB.

However, there's an added bonus to this phone's storage – the ability to expand it further. A microSD card slot on the back allows users to add an additional 128GB of storage, giving them more room for their files, apps, and games. The camera is also present, along with a heart rate monitor, providing essential features for those looking to capture life's moments or track their fitness goals.

One notable change in the S5 Sport compared to its predecessor, the standard Galaxy S5, is the use of a standard USB port instead of Samsung's newer design. While this may seem like a minor difference, it's something that could affect how users interact with their device. The phone, however, still delivers impressive performance thanks to its powerful processor and ample RAM. With an Adreno 330 GPU, gamers can enjoy silky-smooth visuals and fast multitasking capabilities.

The battery life of the S5 Sport is another selling point for this device. According to Samsung's specifications, it offers around 21 hours of constant talk time and up to 16.2 days of full standby time. In real-world use, I found that it managed around 18 hours with moderate use, which includes a decent amount of screen-on time. While not the longest battery life in the Android world, the S5 Sport still delivers impressive endurance for its size.

However, there's one significant drawback to using this phone – the software. Running on Android KitKat and TouchWiz, the latest version of Samsung's skin on top of Android, Sprint has had a considerable influence on the device's user interface. As soon as you boot up the home screen, you'll notice it's cluttered with applications offering free trials or links to the Play Store downloads. The app drawer is equally filled with similar promotional materials and other unused apps.

Sprint also has its own set of features that are prominently displayed on this device, including a floating button for accessing Sprint's Health suite and a page-turn animation in the top corner. While these features might appeal to some users, they're likely to be seen as unnecessary additions by others.

The Sports Suite is another notable aspect of the S5 Sport, aimed at fitness enthusiasts. It includes a pedometer, heart rate monitor, and other tracking tools designed to help users stay on top of their physical activity. However, upon closer inspection, many of these applications are redundant or overlap with one another.

If you're considering purchasing the S5 Sport, there are a few questions to ask yourself: Do you want Samsung's latest flagship device? Are you okay with its thickness and lack of added protection compared to other Galaxy models? If so, then this phone might be perfect for you – especially if you value it as a statement piece due to its sporting features.

One final note about the S5 Sport is that Sprint has undoubtedly had an oversized influence on its software. The sheer amount of bloatware included with this device is staggering, with numerous trial applications and other freebies that expire after 30 days or less. If you're not a fan of dealing with unnecessary apps or would prefer to have more control over your phone's interface, the S5 Sport might not be the best choice.

In conclusion, the Samsung Galaxy S5 Sport is a great idea wrapped in poor execution. Despite its powerful specs and impressive performance, it suffers from a cluttered user interface, bloatware galore, and an awkward design that sets it apart from other Galaxy models. If you value these features over having a premium smartphone experience, then this device might be for you – but if not, there are plenty of better alternatives available.

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**Full Disclosure and Additional Notes**

As I continued to use the S5 Sport, I couldn't help but feel that Samsung had made a mistake by releasing it. The sheer amount of bloatware was overwhelming, with numerous applications offering free trials or links to download from the Play Store. Upon further investigation, I discovered that many of these applications were simply trial versions or duplicates of existing apps.

While some might see this as an advantage – getting new features for free – I'd argue that it's more of a hindrance. Users should be able to choose which apps they want on their phone, not have them forced upon them by the manufacturer.

Another concern I had was the lack of added protection compared to other Galaxy models. The S5 Sport is thicker than its predecessor, but it doesn't seem to offer any additional safety features like waterproofing or a metal back.

Lastly, while the Sports Suite might appeal to some fitness enthusiasts, others may find it redundant or unnecessary. As someone who values having control over their phone's interface and apps, I found this aspect of the S5 Sport to be less than ideal.

In conclusion, the Samsung Galaxy S5 Sport is an interesting device that could work well for those who want a premium smartphone experience but aren't particular about design or software features. However, with its bloatware, awkward design, and lackluster user interface, it's difficult to recommend this phone without caveats.

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**Conclusion**

In conclusion, the Samsung Galaxy S5 Sport is an interesting device that checks all the boxes for a powerhouse smartphone but falls short in terms of software features and overall design. With its powerful specs and impressive performance, it could be an excellent choice for those who value these aspects above all else – but for most users, there are better alternatives available.

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The Samsung Galaxy S5 Sport is a solid device that offers impressive performance, battery life, and expandable storage options. However, with its cluttered user interface, bloatware galore, and awkward design, it's difficult to recommend this phone without caveats.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enandroid authority what is going on my name is kevin the tech ninja and today we're gonna do a full review of the galaxy s5 sport meet samsung's galaxy s5 sport available only on sprint bulky rubbery and colorful are just a few adjectives that comes to mind when using the s5 sport for the first time sure it's a galaxy s5 and all the things that made the s5 the s5 you can pretty much find here it's around 10 grams heavier and its rugged design style makes it look a lot bulkier than it truly is the power button is located on the right hand side and on the opposite side as you'd expect you find the volume rocker albeit the buttons are a bit clickier it's still in the same location the rubbery feeling of the sport does not give it a sense of a premium device not seeing the s5 did but the aesthetics on the sport takes it down a notch further the sport comes in few different colors the red version that i have is more of a metallic burnt red color which looks pretty good the navigation buttons are one major change that you'll find on the s5 sport no longer you'll find the tactile buttons but rather physical buttons slightly raised and a carbon fiber type of design the sport has the same 5.1 ammo led screen that was found on the s5 which isn't a bad thing at all it still has a high pixel density at 432 ppi and the bright and vivid screen brings in clean and detailed images text pop and also video playing looks great the blacks are deep and the whites are a pure white it's not that yellowish color that you sometimes see in other handsets samsung really crafted a fantastic screen that is actually underrated doesn't get enough credit sometimes on the back of the device you'll find a 16 megapixel camera with a led flash the aperture is at f 2.2 which allows it to be pretty decent at low light and it gives you a really nice depth of field just like the vanilla s5 the camera and good lighting is fantastic although in low lighting it lacks color but still grabs a better image than most phones when it comes to video recording you can record at 4k resolution at 30 frames per second the screen is in 4k but you can watch it on a 4k display and trust me on this it looks really really good on the hardware side of things you'll find a decently spec device at this time this isn't exactly cutting edge as these specs were announced about six months ago you'll find the qualcomm snapdragon 801 processor which gives you good performance with excellent battery life the adreno 330 gpu which is beefy enough to run all current android mobile games that are out there today and you'll find two gigabytes of ram on board which is pretty much a bare minimum now to be considered a flagship phone onboard storage you'll find 16 gigabytes but after it's all said and done after android touchwiz and sprint takes their share it leaves you with a measly 10 gigabytes thankfully you can expand the onboard storage up to an additional 128 gigabytes with a micro sd card on the back you'll find the camera and also a heart rate monitor now one small change from the s5 to the sport is that it's using a standard usb port and not samsung's newer usb port design not sure what the true reason is for this change with any device running a snapdragon 801 with two gigabytes of ram you'd expect the following good battery life silky smooth performance and fast multitasking the s5 sport is no exception the bare specs of this device allows it to be a true streamer and handles most tasks with little issues even when gaming that utilizes the adreno 330 gpu it runs fast the battery life is what you'd expect from the s5 up to 21 hours of constant talk time and up to 16.2 days of full standby time i received around 18 hours of moderate use with 2 hours and 30 minutes of screen on time now where the performance takes a hit it's sadly at fault of the software the s5 sport is running android kitkat as expected the latest version of touchwiz is in tow as well touchwiz is samsung skin right on top of android it adds tons of new features like window and window application s health and power saving mode sprint has a huge influence on the software on the phone and it's evident the first moment you booted up the home screen is cluttered with applications that provides free trials or links to the play store downloads and you'll find even more once going into the app drawer here you'll find about four pages littered with applications promotions and other stuff you frankly wouldn't use even beyond the extra apps there are a few things that consistently run on the home screen sprint has a floating button that lets you get into the health portion of the phone and also a page turn animation that sits in the top corner and if you go into this you'll find additional fitness applications and other goodies that they provide since sport is in its name then it's only proper to mentioning its sporting features right sure you have the s health suite that's found on the standard s5 which is a pedometer it even lets you track your heart rate with the monitor that's located on the back what else does it provide you to help you with sports stuff within the sports suite there is little use for most of the applications and links in there a lot of these applications are normal applications you can find the app store and a lot of them have some overlapping features with each other if you are unsure if this phone is for you then answer these few questions do you want samsung's newest phone do you mind that it's thicker than the s5 and does not provide any additional protection if you think a phone that's geared to activity with cool inspiration sayings on the wallpaper will motivate you to work out then go for it but if i need to sum up the s5 sport in one line then it's this the s5 sport is a great idea but that was ruined by a carrier with a bad design here's a few notes that i wanted to add after the review i don't want to underestimate the amount of bloatware was on this device this is the most bloatware heavy device i ran into in my whole life now i've used phones from verizon from sprint from 18 t and t mobile now this sprint version of the galaxy s5 sport has so many applications it dumbfounded me the amount of applications that it comes with that are trial applications and other applications that expire in 30 days or anything like that so i want to say that first and also i don't want to underplay the fact that it's still a galaxy s5 which is still a flagship device so it does run very well it's a quick phone it looks good and it's actually not that heavy but when you compare it to the galaxy s5 the normal one i just don't see the big benefit between the two and plus the s5 sport right now is a hundred dollars more than the galaxy s5 as always guys my name is kevin the tech ninja make sure you drop me a like down below if you like this video and subscribe to my channel for more great videos and content as always guys my name is kevin the tech ninja you have yourself a great day and this is android authority your source for all things android take care guys youandroid authority what is going on my name is kevin the tech ninja and today we're gonna do a full review of the galaxy s5 sport meet samsung's galaxy s5 sport available only on sprint bulky rubbery and colorful are just a few adjectives that comes to mind when using the s5 sport for the first time sure it's a galaxy s5 and all the things that made the s5 the s5 you can pretty much find here it's around 10 grams heavier and its rugged design style makes it look a lot bulkier than it truly is the power button is located on the right hand side and on the opposite side as you'd expect you find the volume rocker albeit the buttons are a bit clickier it's still in the same location the rubbery feeling of the sport does not give it a sense of a premium device not seeing the s5 did but the aesthetics on the sport takes it down a notch further the sport comes in few different colors the red version that i have is more of a metallic burnt red color which looks pretty good the navigation buttons are one major change that you'll find on the s5 sport no longer you'll find the tactile buttons but rather physical buttons slightly raised and a carbon fiber type of design the sport has the same 5.1 ammo led screen that was found on the s5 which isn't a bad thing at all it still has a high pixel density at 432 ppi and the bright and vivid screen brings in clean and detailed images text pop and also video playing looks great the blacks are deep and the whites are a pure white it's not that yellowish color that you sometimes see in other handsets samsung really crafted a fantastic screen that is actually underrated doesn't get enough credit sometimes on the back of the device you'll find a 16 megapixel camera with a led flash the aperture is at f 2.2 which allows it to be pretty decent at low light and it gives you a really nice depth of field just like the vanilla s5 the camera and good lighting is fantastic although in low lighting it lacks color but still grabs a better image than most phones when it comes to video recording you can record at 4k resolution at 30 frames per second the screen is in 4k but you can watch it on a 4k display and trust me on this it looks really really good on the hardware side of things you'll find a decently spec device at this time this isn't exactly cutting edge as these specs were announced about six months ago you'll find the qualcomm snapdragon 801 processor which gives you good performance with excellent battery life the adreno 330 gpu which is beefy enough to run all current android mobile games that are out there today and you'll find two gigabytes of ram on board which is pretty much a bare minimum now to be considered a flagship phone onboard storage you'll find 16 gigabytes but after it's all said and done after android touchwiz and sprint takes their share it leaves you with a measly 10 gigabytes thankfully you can expand the onboard storage up to an additional 128 gigabytes with a micro sd card on the back you'll find the camera and also a heart rate monitor now one small change from the s5 to the sport is that it's using a standard usb port and not samsung's newer usb port design not sure what the true reason is for this change with any device running a snapdragon 801 with two gigabytes of ram you'd expect the following good battery life silky smooth performance and fast multitasking the s5 sport is no exception the bare specs of this device allows it to be a true streamer and handles most tasks with little issues even when gaming that utilizes the adreno 330 gpu it runs fast the battery life is what you'd expect from the s5 up to 21 hours of constant talk time and up to 16.2 days of full standby time i received around 18 hours of moderate use with 2 hours and 30 minutes of screen on time now where the performance takes a hit it's sadly at fault of the software the s5 sport is running android kitkat as expected the latest version of touchwiz is in tow as well touchwiz is samsung skin right on top of android it adds tons of new features like window and window application s health and power saving mode sprint has a huge influence on the software on the phone and it's evident the first moment you booted up the home screen is cluttered with applications that provides free trials or links to the play store downloads and you'll find even more once going into the app drawer here you'll find about four pages littered with applications promotions and other stuff you frankly wouldn't use even beyond the extra apps there are a few things that consistently run on the home screen sprint has a floating button that lets you get into the health portion of the phone and also a page turn animation that sits in the top corner and if you go into this you'll find additional fitness applications and other goodies that they provide since sport is in its name then it's only proper to mentioning its sporting features right sure you have the s health suite that's found on the standard s5 which is a pedometer it even lets you track your heart rate with the monitor that's located on the back what else does it provide you to help you with sports stuff within the sports suite there is little use for most of the applications and links in there a lot of these applications are normal applications you can find the app store and a lot of them have some overlapping features with each other if you are unsure if this phone is for you then answer these few questions do you want samsung's newest phone do you mind that it's thicker than the s5 and does not provide any additional protection if you think a phone that's geared to activity with cool inspiration sayings on the wallpaper will motivate you to work out then go for it but if i need to sum up the s5 sport in one line then it's this the s5 sport is a great idea but that was ruined by a carrier with a bad design here's a few notes that i wanted to add after the review i don't want to underestimate the amount of bloatware was on this device this is the most bloatware heavy device i ran into in my whole life now i've used phones from verizon from sprint from 18 t and t mobile now this sprint version of the galaxy s5 sport has so many applications it dumbfounded me the amount of applications that it comes with that are trial applications and other applications that expire in 30 days or anything like that so i want to say that first and also i don't want to underplay the fact that it's still a galaxy s5 which is still a flagship device so it does run very well it's a quick phone it looks good and it's actually not that heavy but when you compare it to the galaxy s5 the normal one i just don't see the big benefit between the two and plus the s5 sport right now is a hundred dollars more than the galaxy s5 as always guys my name is kevin the tech ninja make sure you drop me a like down below if you like this video and subscribe to my channel for more great videos and content as always guys my name is kevin the tech ninja you have yourself a great day and this is android authority your source for all things android take care guys you\n"