The Samsung Galaxy S5: Bigger Is Better?

The concept of bigger being better—or more loosely, that “size matters”—is one that applies to a variety of things in our modern society, especially when we’re talking about technology. When smartphones became more ubiquitous in nature in the mid-to-late 2000s, thanks to companies like Apple, the aforementioned adage appeared ancient. Here we had a series of products, particularly the (almost-extinct) iPods and iPhones, that continued to shrink in size with the release of each upgraded device. But now, it looks like the tides could be turning back to size’s favor. And if not that, then they’re at least trying to find a middle ground that will ensure we can keep everything in our pockets while getting the biggest screen possible.

This all appears to be the case in the ongoing battle for popularity between Samsung and Apple for smartphone superiority. While there are definitely other notable developers/companies out there, these two have certainly emerged as the leaders of the pack. And Samsung looks prepared to give its competition a nudge with the announcement of its latest flagship device. That’s the Galaxy S5, which was first revealed by Verizon Wireless and then officially unveiled during the 2014 Mobile World Congress in Spain from Feb. 24-27.

The more notable specs on the phone are as follows: a 5.1-inch screen; a camera that packs 16 megapixels (and a front one with 2.1 megapixels); 2 gigabytes of RAM; and 16/32 gigabytes of memory. The RAM and hard-drive features aren’t necessary upgrades over the Galaxy S4, but they’re surely better complemented by a faster processor—a 2.5GHz quad-core processor to be exact. So what all does this mean for the size? Well, we’re in for a bigger phone based on the screen size alone. However, is the one-tenth of an inch increase enough to really cause concern for size-wary smartphone users? Yes and no.

If you simply cannot fit something larger than the iPhone 5s and its 4-inch screen in your pocket, then you’re probably not a Samsung consumer anyway. Their phones, at least in the past few years, have typically been bigger than their competitors. But if you’ve been flirting with the idea of going the Galaxy route, Gizmag has a great breakdown of why the size difference really isn’t even that noticeable—unless you wear skinny jeans. Essentially, the true differences reside within the more technical aspects; such as the colors being more realistic on an iPhone 5s and more vibrant on the Galaxy S4.

As a result, the whole “bigger is better” debate really boils down to what works best for you, the consumer. And if you happen to be a ride-or-die fan of Apple, you may want to read up on the International Business Times’ predictions for the iPhone 6. They’re projecting that the regular version of the phone will have a 4.7-inch screen while the “XL” version will hit 5.5 inches. That’s all speculation, of course, but it will be interesting to see the reactions if such drastic increase in screen size occurs. Will we then embrace the idea that, in this case, bigger is better? Maybe so.

Article by Kevin Gannon