Samsung has a track record of putting out all kinds of crazy variants of their flagships, especially the Galaxy S series. Last year we had the Galaxy S4, Galaxy S4 Active, Galaxy S4 Zoom and Galaxy S4 Mini. This year we’ve got the Galaxy S5, Galaxy S5 Active, Galaxy S5 Mini and Galaxy S5 Sport. We’re already reviewed the Galaxy S5, and the Galaxy S5 Active. Which the Galaxy S5 Sport shares a lot of the same features as the Galaxy S5 Active. Have we confused you yet? I’ve been using the Galaxy S5 Sport on Sprint’s network for the past couple of weeks, and for the most part it’s been pretty good. But this review isn’t about Sprint’s network, but about The Galaxy S5 Sport. However, I will say that this is the first device from Sprint that I’ve used since they started WiFi calling. And it does work rather well.
Specs
- 5.1-inch 1920×1080 resolution Super AMOLED Display; IP67 water resistant
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 chipset
- Adreno 330 GPU
- 2GB of RAM
- 16GB of storage
- Micro SD card slot
- 144 x 74 x 8.9 mm
- 158g
- 2800mAh battery
- Android 4.4.2 KitKat with the latest version of Touchwiz
Hardware
As far as hardware goes, it’s basically a mix of the Galaxy S5 and the Galaxy S5 Active. And what I mean by that is the back still has that dimpled pattern from the Galaxy S5, although it’s not the entire back. Then the front, it looks a lot like the Galaxy S5 Active, but without the extra bumpers on the corners. I actually really like how the Galaxy S5 Sport looks, especially in blue. It’s also not that slippery. Now it’s not as grippy (is that even a word?) as the Galaxy S5, but pretty close. Everything is in all the usual places, we’ve got the power button on the right side, volume rocker on the left, Micro USB port on the bottom and 3.5mm headphone jack up top. On the back is the 16MP camera, flash and heart rate monitor. Along with the speaker down at the bottom. We’ve got physical buttons on the bottom of the front. For recents, home and back. I actually really like the buttons, as they do stand out. When you’re using the Galaxy S5 in the dark, it can be a little difficult to find the capacitive buttons as they blend in so well. The heart rate monitor works the same as it has on all of Samsung’s other devices. Set it up on S Health and let it read your heart rate and it’s ready to go a few seconds later.
Battery Life
As far as battery life goes, it wasn’t perfect. After using the LG G3 for the past month or so I’d have to say that the Galaxy S5 Sport didn’t live up to the G3′s battery life, unfortunately. I was able to get around 3-4 hours on screen on wifi. Which compared to the G3, I usually get around 6 or more hours on wifi.
Software
Sprint and Samsung did add some new stuff into the software this go ’round. When you unlock the device, it will look similar to just about every other device. But Sprint and Samsung have a few other apps they’ve packed in. One of those is Activity Zone. The Activity Zone shows you the Barometer, Compass, Flashlight and stopwatch. Which is good if you’re going on a hike. There is also a shortcut to the S Health app inside the Activity Zone, which is still one of my favorite apps.
There’s also MapMyFitness. Which is kinda like Runtastic, as it will map your runs, walks, cycling, etc. You do get 6 months of free premium membership, but after that it’s $5.99/month. So at least you get to try it out before having to shell out that cash. It is a pretty nice app for those that do a lot of running, but still hard to justify it over Runtastic, since they both have all the same features. Otherwise, all of the usual Samsung features are here like S Voice, S Health, and the Samsung App Store just to name a few. Sprint has their own fair share of bloat on here as well. We’ve got 1Weather, Amazon, eBay, Eureka Offers, Flipboard, Messaging+, Nascar Mobile 2014, NBA Gametime, NextRadio, POLARIS Office 5, Scout, Spotify, Sprint Framily Wall, Sprint ID, Sprint Music Plus, Sprint TV & Movies, Sprint Zone, and WiFi Calling.
Camera
This is literally the exact same camera as we had on the Galaxy S5. So there’s not a whole lot to say here. But I have plenty of pictures down below for you to check out.
Odds & Ends
- Exclusives. They suck. This phone would probably sell pretty well, but it’s exclusive to Sprint. The nation’s third largest carrier, which really makes the pool of potential customers small.
- Really digging the color on the Galaxy S5 Sport, seriously.
- Sprint’s network. I have to add in something about it. It is getting better, little by little.
TL;DR
It’s a great phone, but if you don’t have coverage from Sprint, I wouldn’t recommend leaving your current service provider for this phone. Everything this phone does differently – software wise – you can do with apps on the regular Galaxy S5. If only it was available on all four carriers and in other countries.
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