Samsung Galaxy S5 Mini

Product Information

In terms of looks, the S5 Mini shares many of the same design cues as its big brother. Besides the obvious decrease in size, you’d be hard pushed to tell them apart as they both have the same pimpled rear panel to help provide more grip (although the S5 Mini had a decidedly more oily texture than our well-worn S5), and the metallic plastic rim has an identical ribbed design. Even the heart rate sensor is in the same place, sitting just below the rear 8-megapixel camera. Macro samples came out nice and sharp as well. The Galaxy S5 mini was able to get really close to the subject and captured detailed images.

The S5 Mini wasn’t able to run Epic Citadel at our usual Ultra High Quality setting either, so we had to settle for running our benchmarks on High Quality instead. On this setting, it managed a very smooth average of 53.7fps. This is promising for anyone who likes playing more demanding games on the move, but graphical fidelity was disappointing. Here's our photo quality comparison tool. We've enrolled the Samsung Galaxy S5 mini and faced it with the Sony Xperia Z1 Compact (in 8MP Superior Auto mode) and the Apple iPhone 5s. We like the design of the Samsung Galaxy S5 mini and the fact that it hasn't moved away from the original. This is the first mini since the Sony Xperia Z1 Compact that does justice to its original. The Galaxy S5 mini and S5 look astonishingly alike and that has carried over to the feel of the device. Controls Not only has Samsung translated the design of the Galaxy S5 into its mini variant but the company has also successfully made it feel the same. The materials feel equal in terms of quality and the phone feels equally-comfortable in the hand. We also noticed that Samsung has toned down its oversharpening ways - the images don't look as processed as what we've become used to seeing from Samsung.

The Samsung Galaxy S5 Mini has excellent battery life and a decent camera, but its downgraded performance holds it back

Samsung easily claims it has one of the best HDR modes on the market at the moment and the effect is up to the task on the Galaxy S5 mini. Below you can see the off and on samples to compare. HDR does a good job of exposing the shadows in the images and still take care of blown-out highlights in the images. The effect also offers a balanced look and doesn't appear exaggerated.

The bottom has an exposed microUSB port and the main microphone. It's nice to have the microUSB exposed instead of under a flap that you'd need to pry open every time you want to charge your phone but you should be wise to wait until the port is dry before plugging in a charger.The images are detailed and sharp, the camera is fast to focus and save and the photos look great on the phone's HD display or on a PC. Update: Phones have gotten bigger, it’s fair to say – especially if you’re a fan of Samsung. Handsets start at 5in, and the S6 and S7 didn’t get their own “mini” versions, leaving the Galaxy S5 Mini the last small (sort of) flagship Samsung produced. Assuming you can find one in 2017 (most places have retired it), is it worth owning? Shadow areas weren’t too muddy either and the sky was very well exposed