14 DAY TRIAL // Soon, South Korean mobile phone maker Samsung might announce a new flavor of the Galaxy S5 flagship handset, one that could arrive on shelves with a more ruggedized design when compared to the original, and the phone might have just made an appearance at the FCC.
Supposedly called Samsung Galaxy S5 Active, the smartphone was spotted on the website of the Federal Communications Commission with model number SM-G870A attached to it, and might arrive on shelves in the United States at AT&T, SammyToday discovered.
The handset has emerged online with support for the wireless carrier’s 4G LTE network (bands 2, 4 and 17), as well as with dual-band Wi-Fi connectivity packed inside, and with NFC capabilities.
Moreover, the smartphone appears to feature the same battery as the original Galaxy S5, namely a 2800mAh unit, though it is 143 mm tall and 73.42mm wide, which makes it a bit larger than the existing phone, which measures 142 x 72.5 mm, as PhoneArena points out.
Galaxy S5 Active has made it to the headlines a few times before, when it was rumored to arrive on shelves with model number SM-G870x attached to it, and the new FCC listing appears to confirm that.
Furthermore, while only the AT&T version of the device has been spotted at the moment, Galaxy S5 Active is actually expected to land on shelves at other wireless carries in the United States as well, including Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon.
What remains to be seen, however, is what exactly the new device will have to offer in terms of ruggedness when compared to Galaxy S5.
Last year’s Galaxy S4 Active came to the market with dust- and water-resistance capabilities that were not present inside the Galaxy S4, but things are a bit different right now.
Galaxy S5 is already IP67 certified, which suggests that the new phone might be tougher than it, supposedly packing IP68 certification, so as to allow users to submerge it deeper under water. The rest of Galaxy S5 Active’s hardware specs might remain unchanged compared to the flagship.
No official confirmation on this has been provided as of now, but it seems that it might not be too long before all the necessary details on the new smartphone are made official.
Given the fact that SM-G870A has already been approved by the FCC, chances are that an official launch will follow soon, and that the smartphone will land on shelves shortly. Keep an eye on this space for additional details on this.