Samsung Galaxy S5 Mini

Available now
1st July 2014

We will get straight to the point - the Samsung Galaxy S5 Mini is not a mini version of the Samsung Galaxy S5. If you were expecting the same sort of features as are in the S5 but in a smaller package then you are likely to be very disappointed.

Most manufacturers use these "mini" phones to try to pass off a midrange handset as something more than it is, but Samsung are among the worst culprits in this respect. The S5 Mini has a 4.5" 720 x 1280 display, a 1.4GHz quad-core CPU with 1.5GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage plus a microSD slot. On the back is an 8 megapixel camera with 1080p video recording plus a 2.1 megapixel one on the front. Usefully, the Galaxy S5 Mini is dust and water resistant to IP67 standards and it comes with a reasonably decent 2100 mAh battery.

As with the bigger version, the Galaxy S5 Mini comes with Android 4.4 (KitKat), and it also sports a fingerprint reader, heart rate monitor plus a full range of sensors and an infra-red feature. There appears to be an LTE version with NFC, and a non-LTE version without NFC. The Galaxy S5 Mini also shares a similar somewhat stylish design to the S5, but apart from those features the Galaxy S5 Mini could be just about any other run-of-the-mill Samsung Galaxy smartphone.

The S5 Mini is an OK handset and those features that really do come from the S5 lift it slightly above the rest of Samsung's midrange devices.. and it's certainly a lot better than the miserable Galaxy S4 Mini.

Samsung say that the S5 Mini will be available first in Russia in early July in black, blue, white and gold colours with other regions to follow, and it seems there will be single-SIM and dual-SIM versions. Quoted retail prices are between €429 in Slovakia to €499 in Austria which is frankly a lot more than we think this handset is actually worth.