The Bottom Line Subtly improved and smartly refined, the Samsung Galaxy S5 is a superior superphone that hits every mark but the sharpest design.

The Good Samsung's Galaxy S5 excels at everything that matters -- Android 4.4 KitKat OS; a bright, beautiful display; blistering quad-core processor; and an excellent camera experience.

The Bad The Galaxy S5 is a only small upgrade over the Galaxy S4; The fingerprint scanner can be confusing to use, and the heart-rate monitor is a niche feature at best.

When's the best time to buy a flagship phone? When it gets replaced by a new flagship phone, of course. Following on from the announcement of the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge , the Samsung Galaxy S5 has been given a second wind, courtesy of an update to Android 5.0 Lollipop.

Fantastic screen; Still one of the best cameras around; Now updated to Android 5.0 Lollipop; Update has improved fingerprint sensor; Better battery life than S6; Has microSD and water resistance

Not the prettiest of 2014 phones; Processor still decent; but behind the times

Samsung's fifth Galaxy model is here, and poised to take on whatever Apple has next, as well as anything else from the other manufacturers. For the new model, Samsung has revised the look, the hardware, and so much more. Is this Samsung's best phone yet?

Fast system performance; Textured back makes it easy to grip; Beautiful screen; Excellent 4G performance; Water and dust resistant; Still features a remote control; Built-in heart rate monitor is a neat idea; Amazing screen that works beautifully in direct sunlight; Monochromatic power saving option...

Australians are given virtually no control over customizing their handset; Battery life needs work; The occasional slow down tends to rear its head in the worst possible way; Remote control can't learn from unknown remotes; My Magazine seems less customisable than HTC's BlinkFeed

The Galaxy S5 is another win for Samsung. If you're looking to upgrade, there are a lot of watertight reasons to choose GS5.

Fast; powerful processor; Clean; redesigned interface; Waterproof and dustproof; Built-in fingerprint scanner; heart-rate monitor; Feels comfortable to hold; Competitive camera; MicroSD support; Removable battery with new Ultra Power Saver Mode

Stale design; Poor speaker quality; No KnockOn feature; Audio jack is on top of phone; Camera refocus is a gimmick; Packed with Samsung services

The Samsung Galaxy S5 is likely to be one of the best selling devices of 2014. It is the successor to the incredibly successful Galaxy S4 that, despite the attempts of HTC, Sony Mobile and LG, sold by the truckload.

Great display; good camera performance; fast connectivity; software makes good use of larger display; reasonable battery life

Plastic build; navigation of the user interface feels slower than it should be

A new review on an old phone which I've resurected as a temporary device (while replacing a new Huawei Mate 9 which is bascially an expensive brick with a nice camera).

$200; perfect size; reliability; and still relevant

Plastic case shows wear quickly; weak camera

Less than a year since the Galaxy S4 won rave reviews and huge sales, it's been replaced by the S5 . But can Samsung really improve on a phone that was getting vanishingly close to perfection?

Beautiful screen; powerful processor; slim build; lots of extras

Plastic casing won't be to everyone's taste; fingerprint scanner not as good as iPhone

Samsung's Galaxy S5 smartphone is a significant new device that has raised the bar with an updated design and a range of key new features. Samsung has taken a measured approach with the S5 and delivered a refined product that has made improvements in the right places.

The Galaxy S5 appears to be Samsung's best smartphone so far. There are some negative points but it is still the best handset Samsung has ever produced. The Galaxy S5 appears to be Samsung's best smartphone so far.

Outstanding Performance; HD Display is best available; Fingerprint scanner is impressive; Great snapper with great feature range; Lengthy battery life and a battery saving option

Rather dated design; Back cover and fake chrome bezel will not be everyone's cup of tea; Heartrate monitor not much use

The Samsung Galaxy S5 can be defined by one word: evolution. The camera was evolved to give clearer, faster snaps. The fitness-tracking abilities of the S5 are enhanced over the Galaxy S4 by packing in a more powerful S Health app and a dedicated heart rate monitor on the rear.