Samsung launches plastic Galaxy S5 LTE-A with Prime specs in Korea

By Malarie Gokey June 18, 2014

samsung galaxy s5 lte a prime korea — Image used with permission by copyright holder

The Samsung Galaxy S5 Prime is finally here – well, sort of. Samsung announced a version of the S5 with all the ultra high-end specs that are rumored to come on the metal Galaxy S5 Prime. The smartphone is not the long-awaited Prime, though. This device is called the Galaxy S5 LTE-A (LTE Advanced, or faster LTE) and it’s for South Korea only.

Samsung is well known for pushing out several different versions of its flagship smartphones. The Galaxy S4 was reincarnated several times as the S4 Mini, S4 Active, and S4 LTE-A. Now, the Korean smartphone giant is doing the same thing with its latest flagship smartphone. This time around, Samsung is rumored to add yet another version of its flagship to the mix. For months we’ve been hearing about a special, super high-end version of the S5, which is known as the Galaxy S5 Prime or F. This device will reportedly be the first Galaxy S to sport a metal back.

When Samsung announced the Galaxy S5 LTE-A in Korea, many thought that the Prime had finally arrived. Indeed, the LTE-A version features many of the same specs that the S5 Prime is rumored to have.

The LTE-A model comes with the higher resolution, Super AMOLED display with 2560 x 1440 pixels. It also has the faster 2.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 processor and 3GB of RAM onboard. Samsung gave the device the same 16-megapixel camera, 2,800mAh battery, Android 4.4 KitKat, and a IP67 rating, which means it’s water and dust proof (you can put it in a meter of water for 30 minutes). However, the real cherry on top with this already great phone, is Samsung’s promise of LTE speeds of up to 225Mbps.

The LTE-A version may feature the most incredible specs currently available on a smartphone, but it also has the same old plastic and perforated faux leather design as the standard S5. In addition, it will only be available in South Korea, so it could hardly be the S5 Prime we’ve been hearing so much about. Samsung will offer the device in Black, White, Blue, Gold, Pink, and Red.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

As DT's Mobile Editor, Malarie runs the Mobile and Wearables sections, which cover smartphones, tablets, smartwatches, and…

Mobile

Save up to $1,150 on the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra today

Recent apps view on the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra.

Tablets are great if you're the sort of person who doesn't want to lug around a laptop all the time and finds having a tablet an excellent alternative. If that's the case and you want to use a tablet as a laptop replacement, then you'll want to go for one of the best tablets on the market, such as the Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra. Luckily, there's a pretty substantial Memorial Day offer from Samsung that gives you a straight discount from $950 to $1,200, as well as up to $800 worth of trade-in credit. That means you could potentially get the Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra for as low as $150, assuming you trade in a high-end tablet, although you're more likely to get half of that if yours is a couple of years old. Still, the original $250 discount plus another $400-$800 can be pretty substantial.

Why you should buy the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra
When we originally reviewed the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9, our conclusion was that it was a hard tablet to recommend, primarily because it was outrageously expensive, especially since the iPad Pro is cheaper. That said, with the discount and potential trade-in credit, the price isn't so bad, and some of the other excellent features start to stand out, such as the truly massive 14.6-inch screen, which is bigger than the 12.9-inch iPad Pro. Of course, that does come with its own problem, which is that it's pretty heavy to hold, especially for long periods, although if you use it with a case that has a stand, that issue can be substantially mitigated.

Mobile

Best Samsung phone Memorial Day deals: Galaxy Z Fold 5, Galaxy S23, and more

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 cover sreen selfies.

It's an excellent time to buy a Samsung phone, as you can already shop some early Memorial Day deals that have slashed the prices of various Samsung smartphone models. Samsung is one of the premiere brands in the smartphone industry, so there's always high demand for opportunities at savings when buying any of their devices. To help you finish your shopping for a smartphone as soon as possible, we've rounded up the best Samsung deals that are currently available for Memorial Day, but you're going to have to hurry if you want to take advantage of any of them because they may disappear at any moment.
Best Samsung phone Memorial Day deals

Whether you're looking for discounts on the latest models of the Samsung Galaxy smartphones, namely the Samsung Galaxy S24 series and the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5, or if you're on the hunt for phone deals that will make affordable devices such as the Samsung Galaxy A14 even cheaper, you wouldn't want to miss this year's Samsung phone Memorial Day deals. We've gathered our top picks below so you won't have to search for the bargains yourself, but you need to make your decision on which Samsung phone to buy quickly. These bargains are for Memorial Day, but we're not sure if they'll still be online when the holiday rolls in.

Mobile

Save 25% on the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 for Memorial Day

A person holding the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5, showing the top of the hinge.

While the foldable phone market has been booming in the last couple of years with entries like the OnePlus Open and the Motorola Razr, Samsung still remains the top dog when it comes to foldable phones. That means if you want the best of the best, you're going to want to go for a Galaxy Z Fold 5, which easily outperforms pretty much any other foldable phone. Of course, being a high-end phone, it does get pretty expensive, which is why this early Memorial Day deal from Amazon that brings it down to $1,350 from $1,800 is worth snatching up quickly.

Why you should buy the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5
What's interesting about the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 is that it's not actually a massive upgrade from the previous Galaxy Z Fold 4, at least not in the way that most flagship phones tend to be when the new generation comes in. As such, its new features may not look as great to those who have the Fold 4, but for those who are coming in fresh into the foldable world, it really knocks everything out of the park. For example, it has become a lot thinner than previous iterations, making it a lot easier to carry in your pocket without feeling like you're carrying a literal brick, and on top of that, the hinges have been improved to be even more quiet and long-lasting.