Sprint and Samsung Unveil the Galaxy S5 Sport
Today Sprint and Samsung announced a new addition to the Galaxy S5 family. The new device is similar to the Galaxy S5 Active in its purpose, sporting a more rugged design better suited for being used during workouts and exercise than the standard Galaxy S5. However, the appearance of the Galaxy S5 Sport is closer to the design of the original Galaxy S5 than the Galaxy S5 Active is.
In terms of specifications the new Galaxy S5 Sport is essentially identical to the Galaxy S5. It sports the same 5.1" 1920×1080 Super AMOLED display and a 2.5GHz quad core Krait 400 based Snapdragon 801 CPU paired with an Adreno 330 GPU and 2GB of LPDDR3 RAM. On the back there's Samsung's 16MP sensor with ISOCELL technology to reduce crosstalk between pixels, along with the LED flash and the heart rate monitor. The front of the device has the same 2MP camera, but you'll notice that Samsung has replaced the capacitive navigation buttons with physical keys which will function more reliably with fingers that are wet or sweaty from exercise. At 144mm x 74mm x 8.9mm in size with a mass of 158g it is also slightly larger and heavier than the normal Galaxy S5. Like all Galaxy S5 variants, the Galaxy S5 Sport has IP67 certification for dust and water resistance.
Connectivity is similar to the Galaxy S5 with support for 2×2 802.11ac, Bluetooth 4.0, USB3.0, GPS/GNSS, MHL, DLNA, and NFC. Being a Sprint device, the Galaxy S5 Sport has support for Sprint's EV-DO network as well as LTE with Sprint advertising the device as supporting their Sprint Spark tri-band LTE network on bands 25, 26, and 41.
The big difference from the original Galaxy S5 is in the software. The Galaxy S5 Sport still comes with Android 4.4.2 and Samsung's Touchwiz UI but Sprint is including some preloaded software to appeal to those who are interested in keeping fit. The device is acting as the launch vehicle for a new service Sprint is creating called Sprint Fit Live which they are billing as a complete mobile health and fitness package. Below are some of the features included in this service for those purchasing the Galaxy S5 Sport.
- Track, monitor, and share workout activity with 12 months of free MapMyFitness MVP, which includes premium content such as customized audio coaching, training plans, live tracking and more. MapMyFitness is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Under Armour, a leading performance and innovation brand.
- Access Spotify Workout playlists with free Spotify premium for six months for customers who are on Sprint Framily plans or three months for other Sprint customers.
- Live the Healthy Lifestyle by receiving updated smart, contextual health and fitness content.
- Customize the look and feel of fitness tracking, education, music and healthy living content displayed on the wallpaper or full screen experience.
In addition to the Sprint exclusive fitness focused features, the Galaxy S5 Sport has all of Samsung's health related software such as S Health. Sprint is also offering buyers $50 off the Samsung Gear Fit for a limited time.
The Samsung Galaxy S5 Sport will be available on Sprint in Electric Blue and Cherry Red on July 25. The phone will be available for $0 with 24 monthly payments of $27.09.