Samsung has confirmed that it will be holding an event in Delhi to launch the latest flagship Galaxy S5 in India. A company source told Tech2 that the launch event will take place on March 27, the coming Thursday, though it’s unlikely that the phone will go on sale that day.
What’s possible is that Samsung will kick-off pre-orders for the S5, along with some introductory discounts, and operator and services tie-ups specific to India. The company is already bundling in a bunch of apps with the phone. As was announced during the Samsung Unpacked 5 event last month, the company will start selling the phone from April 11, and this has been confirmed by the pricing details that have been released for the US. As of now, there’s no word on whether Samsung will be also launching the Gear 2, Gear 2 Neo, Gear Fit and the S Band wearables along side the new flagship.
We know nearly everything there is to know about the Galaxy S5, without seeing the phone first hand. Samsung is betting big on the fitness feature and the heart rate monitor on the phone will get a lot of airtime in the promotions. It’s the first phone to feature such a dedicated sensor. In addition, Samsung has also made the S5 waterproof, which has seemingly added a bit of bulk to the handset, forcing the bezels around the display to be slightly bigger than one would expect. Another USP is the fingerprint scanner on the home button, which will let you sign in to many services with just a swipe. We are yet to see how this works in real-world usage and whether it can go toe-to-toe with the iPhone fingerprint scanner.
In terms of design, you will not see much difference between the departing flagship the Galaxy S4 and the S5. While they both have a very similar general profile, the biggest and most noticeable change is on the back, where a dimpled polycarbonate exterior takes the place of the glossy panel on the previous flagship.
