Galaxy S5 Developer Edition Price Announced for $600 on Verizon
The Galaxy S5 Developer Edition is now available for Verizon customers and will cost them $600 off-contract.
Samsung is directly offering this new version that comes with an unlocked bootloader to customers. It is almost identical to Verizon's variant, but doesn't feature the locked bootloader that makes it almost impossible to take advantage of custom ROMs and early software upgrades. The smartphone is also available through all of the other major U.S. carriers.
The Galaxy S5 replaces the S4 as Samsung's current flagship device and features what the company deems a "glam" design with a perforated back plate that shines in different lighting conditions. It will have full LTE coverage, Wi-Fi MIMO 802.11 to cut down buffering, and a download booster that will allow users to download 1GB worth of media in 30 seconds.
Samsung has also drastically improved the battery that now provides users with 10 hours of web surfing, 12 hours of video playback and offers a new Ultra Power Saving mode. This new mode can grant the user another 24 hours' worth of power if their phone is at 10 percent. It does this by only keeping necessary functions on and turning the screen to black and white.
Samsung also decided to install a fingerprint swipe feature that users can utilize for authorizing payments. It can unlock a special private mode which secures all important documents, settings and files.
The Galaxy S5 camera comes with a 0.3 second autofocus which is the fastest on the market, according to Samsung. It features select focus, which allows the photographer to decide what in their image will be in and out of focus, and its new HDR mode controls light exposure the moment they focus on something.