14 DAY TRIAL // I used to be a loyal Samsung Galaxy S fan having purchased the Galaxy S II back in 2011, which I still think is one of the best smartphones in the family.
The next year I couldn’t stay away from the Galaxy S III, even though the Galaxy S II was still able to meet my day to day needs. Oh well, I thought that a much larger display supporting HD (720p) resolution and a quad-core processor would really make a difference.
And it did, but I wasn’t really impressed with the Galaxy S III overall design. I did not dislike it, of course, but I was still attached to the Galaxy S II, which was a game changer on the smartphone market.
Anyway, since the first leaks on Galaxy S4, I kind of wanted to get rid of my Samsung Galaxy S III as fast as possible. I knew that I would get a slightly larger display with a better resolution and a slight bump in the processor’s speed, but what I really wanted was a design that would make it stand out.
I mean I’m paying for a device that’s supposed to be top of the line, is it too much for me to ask for something else other than plastic? I thought the Galaxy S II and Galaxy S III would pave the way for another type of material that Samsung would use in its flagship smartphones.
Nevertheless, I was determined to give Samsung another chance and switched the Galaxy S III for the brand new Galaxy S4, last year. It only took a few months and the plastic frame started to chip away.
The S II is the best thing that happened to the Galaxy S series
But that is not all. After about 8 months of use, the Galaxy S4’s display gave in and I had to replace it. Luckily, I did not have to pay anything as the warranty covered the replacement of the display.
After one year of use, my plasticky Galaxy S4 looks like it barely survived a war. I couldn't wait to switch it for the Galaxy S5, which was supposed to feature a metallic chassis.
I’m not sure whether Samsung ever had the intention to launch a metal-clad Galaxy S5 at any point during the smartphone’s development, but I felt betrayed when the South Korean company showcased the flagship handset earlier this year at Mobile World Congress trade fair in Barcelona, Spain.
Since I own two phone numbers, I have decided to get the Galaxy S5 and keep the Galaxy S4 as well. It’s not like they were too different anyway. I won’t even talk about the fact that the slight improvements in hardware do not justify the high price of the Galaxy S5 in any way.
However, I will mention that the build quality of the Galaxy S5 is a disgrace considering we’re talking about a flagship smartphone.
Samsung has decided to make the Galaxy S5 dust and water resistant, but for that to work it has applied a rubber stripe that covers the microUSB port. That’s supposed to prevent the water from infiltrating into the motherboard and other components inside.
I hated that rubber stripe from the moment I had to charge my phone for the first time. For a device that needs to be charged almost every day, it’s really annoying to pull it out using your fingernail.
Well, it looks like starting today I won’t have this issue anymore. As you can see from the pictures attached in the gallery, the rubber stripe has finally gave in to my attempts to pull it out in order to charge my phone and broke.
I’m aware that it’s a simple rubber stripe, but I’m not sure why it has broken after 5 months of use. Is that supposed to happen to all Galaxy S5 units after a certain amount of time or was I the unlucky one?
No, I’m pretty sure that it’s the build quality and the material used that led to this issue, which by the way I’m not complaining about. I have finally got rid of one of the most annoying aspects regarding the Galaxy S5, so I can now recharge my phone without having to hurt my thumbs every time I try to pull it out.
I’ve had the chance to use many flagship smartphones from other companies, but none looks so cheap as my Galaxy S4 and Galaxy S5 units. I can’t even compare it with the HTC One M8, LG G2 or Nokia Lumia 930.
With that in mind, I don’t think that I’ll be anxious to upgrade to Galaxy S6 anymore, unless Samsung really puts some effort into designing its flagship smartphones.
