Samsung Galaxy S5 Active review: Combat ready

Unboxing

The Samsung Galaxy S5 Active ships in a white/orange box with AT&T branding. Inside you will find the smartphone, stereo headphones, USB cable, charger, as well as a couple of booklets.

The AT&T retail package • the EU package

Overall, the handset has you covered in terms of extra accessories. This is hardly a surprise considering its stature in both Samsung's and AT&T's product lineup.

Design, build quality, handling

Design-wise, the Samsung Galaxy S5 Active follows the same path as its predecessor. The handset looks like a tougher version of the corresponding flagship - despite the extra armor it is undeniably a member of the Samsung Galaxy S family.

Typical Samsung design with added armor

To make its ruggedness even more prominent, the smartphone is available in eye-popping color schemes. They include Ruby Red, Titanium Gray, and Camo Green like our test unit. We found the latter to be a great conversation starter, though, we reckon, it will certainly not appeal to everyone.

Samsung Galaxy S5 Active for Europe

One downside of the newcomer's design that we found is the overwhelming mix of different textures throughout its body. While we do understand the necessity of extra protection, we reckon that some uniformity would have been welcome by many.

Build quality of the Samsung Galaxy S5 Active is exceptional. The smartphone is literally built like a tank (it kinda looks like it belongs in one too in Camo Green). Thanks to its construction, IP67 and MIL-STD-810G ratings, the handset is part of the small club of devices which can be used comfortably without a protective case.

The physical measures of the S5 Active are 145.3 x 73.4 x 8.9mm, at a weight of 170.1 grams. Unsurprisingly, the Active is thicker and heavier than the regular S5 (8.1mm and 145 grams). However, considering the added layers of protection, we believe the extra bulk is well worth it.

Galaxy S5 Active sized up against the regular S5

Handling the Samsung Galaxy S5 Active is a pleasant experience. The handset is one of the grippiest we've encountered in a long time. Every surface save for the display has a pleasant texture to it, so accidental drops are extremely unlikely. But even if you do let it slip off your grasp, there'll be no damage done.

Handling the Galaxy S5 Active for Europe

The handset has one major handling advantage over its regular sibling. Its hardware back and recent apps buttons cannot be pressed accidentally like the capacitive ones of the SM-G900.

Display

The Samsung Galaxy S5 Active features the same 5.1" FullHD Super AMOLED display as the regular version. Its pixel density is 432ppi.

The display of the Samsung Galaxy S5 Active

Cinema mode offers true to life colors that were thought impossible on AMOLED. The Galaxy S5 Active's display really makes the "LCD offers more natural colors" argument useless. And, as usual, Samsung offers more saturated screen modes if you prefer your images punchy rather than accurate.

It's true that unlike most of its competitors, the display still employs a PenTile matrix, rather than a conventional RGB, but the diamond arrangement makes sure that results in no visible artifacts and, with pixel densities north of 400ppi, you can't take away points for sharpness either. You can only spot differences if you compare two panels side by side and look from so close that your eyes hurt, which is hardly ever going to be the case.

The brightness levels of the Samsung Galaxy S5 Active are slightly lower than on the regular Galaxy S5, though on par with the previous generation Galaxy S4. However, due to their low reflectivity, this doesn't affect outdoor performance. Keep in mind that enabling the auto tone setting in the screen option limits the maximum brightness to under 300 nits, so if that matters to you, you better keep it off.

The sunlight legibility, quite expectedly, is top-notch and the Galaxy S5 Active is a s a solid performer outdoors. The sunlight contrast ration is very close to the traditional Galaxy S5 display.

Sunlight contrast ratio

• Nokia 808 PureView
  4.698
• Samsung Galaxy Note 4
  4.033
• Samsung Galaxy Note 3
  3.997
• Apple iPhone 5
  3.997
• Apple iPhone 6
  3.838
• Samsung Galaxy Note Edge
  3.799
• Samsung Galaxy K zoom
  3.675
• Nokia Lumia 930
  3.567
• Apple iPhone 5s
  3.565
• Samsung Galaxy S5
  3.549
• Nokia Lumia 735
  3.547
• Alcatel Idol X+
  3.527
• Apple iPhone 5c
  3.512
• Samsung Galaxy Alpha
  3.509
• Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo
  3.487
• Motorola RAZR MAXX
  3.42
• Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III
  3.419
• Samsung Galaxy S5 Active
  3.406
• Nokia Lumia 925
  3.402
• Gionee Elife S5.5
  3.386
• Samsung I9505 Galaxy S4
  3.352
• Samsung Omnia W
  3.301
• Samsung Galaxy S5 mini
  3.174
• Samsung I9000 Galaxy S
  3.155
• Samsung Ativ S
  3.129
• Samsung I9190 Galaxy S4 mini
  3.127
• Samsung Galaxy S4 zoom
  3.118
• Nokia N9
  3.069
• Apple iPhone 6 Plus
  3.023
• Samsung Galaxy Note
  2.97
• Samsung Galaxy Premier
  2.958
• Sony Xperia Z1
  2.95
• HTC One S
  2.901
• Samsung I8730 Galaxy Express
  2.861
• BlackBerry Q10
  2.856
• Samsung I9100 Galaxy S II
  2.832
• HTC Desire Eye
  2.815
• Gionee Elife S5.1
  2.812
• Samsung Galaxy S II Plus
  2.801
• BlackBerry Z30
  2.79
• Sony Xperia ZR
  2.672
• Huawei Ascend P1
  2.655
• Sony Xperia Z3
  2.618
• Sony Xperia Z3 Compact
  2.616
• Sony Xperia T3
  2.609
• BlackBerry Passport
  2.595
• Nokia Lumia 900
  2.562
• Motorola Moto G 4G
  2.546
• HTC One Max
  2.537
• Nokia Lumia 720
  2.512
• HTC One
  2.504
• Motorola Moto G
  2.477
• Sony Xperia Z
  2.462
• Xiaomi Mi 4
  2.424
• Samsung Galaxy S III mini
  2.422
• Lenovo Vibe Z2 Pro
  2.416
• LG G Flex
  2.407
• HTC One (M8)
  2.371
• Motorola RAZR i
  2.366
• Meizu MX4
  2.366
• Sony Xperia ZL
  2.352
• Samsung Galaxy Note II
  2.307
• HTC One (M8) for Windows
  2.291
• Oppo Find 7a
  2.279
• Alcatel One Touch Hero
  2.272
• Apple iPhone 4S
  2.269
• HTC Desire 600 dual sim
  2.262
• Nokia Asha 311
  2.25
• LG Nexus 5
  2.228
• Nokia Lumia 820
  2.193
• HTC One (E8)
  2.185
• Nokia Lumia 920
  2.17
• HTC One X
  2.158
• Nokia N8
  2.144
• Nokia Lumia 620
  2.142
• Nokia 515
  2.134
• HTC Desire 500
  2.129
• Xiaomi Redmi Note
  2.119
• Sony Xperia acro S
  2.119
• Nokia Lumia 1020
  2.103
• Oppo Find 5
  2.088
• Sony Xperia SL
  2.078
• Nokia Lumia 630
  2.056
• BlackBerry Z10
  2.051
• Huawei Ascend Mate7
  2.024
• Samsung I9295 Galaxy S4 Active
  2.022
• Apple iPhone 4
  2.016
• HTC One mini
  2.003
• Xiaomi Mi 3
  2.001
• Huawei Ascend P7
  1.992
• LG G2
  1.976
• OnePlus One
  1.961
• Oppo R819
  1.957
• Sony Ericsson Xperia ray
  1.955
• Sony Xperia Z2
  1.944
• Sony Xperia E3
  1.943
• Nokia Lumia 1320
  1.941
• HTC One mini 2
  1.94
• Samsung Galaxy Camera
  1.938
• Sony Xperia J
  1.932
• Acer CloudMobile S500
  1.931
• LG Nexus 4
  1.926
• LG G Pro 2
  1.922
• Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3
  1.913
• Nokia Asha 308
  1.911
• HTC Butterfly 2
  1.905
• Sony Xperia T
  1.894
• Nokia Lumia 830
  1.887
• HTC Desire X
  1.878
• HTC Butterfly
  1.873
• HTC Windows Phone 8X
  1.873
• HTC Butterfly S
  1.867
• Huawei Ascend P6
  1.865
• Huawei Ascend Mate
  1.845
• LG G2 mini
  1.838
• LG G3
  1.82
• Nokia Lumia 1520
  1.813
• HTC Desire 616 dual sim
  1.797
• Sony Xperia V
  1.792
• HTC Desire 816
  1.783
• Sony Xperia Z1 Compact
  1.772
• HTC Desire 700 dual sim
  1.769
• Sony Xperia U
  1.758
• Meizu MX3
  1.754
• LG Optimus G
  1.753
• Sony Xperia T2 Ultra
  1.74
• Sony Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact
  1.735
• Sony Xperia SP
  1.733
• LG Optimus 4X HD
  1.691
• Oppo Find 7
  1.691
• HTC One V
  1.685
• BlackBerry Q5
  1.682
• LG Optimus Vu
  1.68
• Xiaomi Mi Pad 7.9
  1.672
• LG Optimus GJ
  1.666
• LG Optimus 3D Max
  1.658
• HTC Desire V
  1.646
• Samsung Galaxy Xcover 2
  1.632
• Samsung Galaxy Ace 3
  1.622
• Jolla Jolla
  1.605
• Sony Xperia Z Ultra
  1.578
• Sony Xperia go
  1.577
• Samsung Galaxy Ace 2 I8160
  1.566
• Samsung Galaxy Core
  1.563
• LG Optimus G Pro
  1.552
• Motorola Moto E
  1.545
• LG Optimus 3D
  1.542
• Nokia Asha 302
  1.537
• BlackBerry Curve 9320
  1.488
• Sony Xperia M
  1.473
• Oppo N1
  1.47
• Meizu MX 4-core
  1.462
• Nokia Lumia 610
  1.432
• Samsung Galaxy S Duos
  1.4
• Sony Xperia M2
  1.393
• Microsoft Lumia 535
  1.393
• Samsung Galaxy Grand Neo
  1.393
• Samsung Galaxy Grand 2
  1.38
• Sony Xperia E1
  1.372
• Nokia Lumia 625
  1.371
• Gigabyte GSmart G1355
  1.361
• Sony Xperia L
  1.351
• Samsung Galaxy Mega 5.8
  1.35
• Xiaomi Redmi 1S
  1.35
• HTC Desire 510
  1.34
• Sony Xperia M2 Aqua
  1.331
• Sony Xperia miro
  1.324
• Samsung I9082 Galaxy Grand
  1.321
• Samsung I8530 Galaxy Beam
  1.315
• HTC Desire C
  1.3
• Nokia X
  1.291
• Sony Xperia C
  1.283
• Nokia Asha 503
  1.281
• Nokia Asha 501
  1.27
• LG Optimus L7
  1.269
• Nokia Lumia 510
  1.268
• Samsung Galaxy Fame
  1.245
• LG Optimus L9
  1.227
• Meizu MX
  1.221
• Samsung Galaxy Young
  1.22
• Sony Xperia E
  1.215
• Nokia XL
  1.204
• Sony Xperia E dual
  1.203
• Asus Memo Pad 7 ME176C
  1.198
• Samsung Galaxy Pocket
  1.18
• Nokia Asha 305
  1.178
• Nokia Asha 306
  1.175
• Sony Xperia neo L
  1.169
• Sony Xperia tipo
  1.166
• Nokia Lumia 520
  1.161
• Samsung S6802 Galaxy Ace Duos
  1.148
• Samsung Galaxy mini 2
  1.114