Samsung Galaxy XCover 5
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- samy
- 3Z5
- 23 Nov 2022
What the hell am I doing on this website commenting on some smartphone? Hopefully this may help some people to make their choice.
After reading some of the comments here, I was about *not* to buy this phone. Fortunately I went ahead and ordered it anyways.
I've been using this phone for a week now and quite happy about it.
- it's snappy and smooth, performing as I would expect. I'm using email, chrome, whatsapp, deezer, + some bank apps, and record some music. The phone is very responsive. I removed or disabled all the bloatware as much as possible. Believe it or not, I can even call people and send text messages.
- The battery lasts a few days in my case. I put it on airplane mode at night to save the battery.
- it has a decent pocket-size size. All the shops were selling overpriced phones that don't fit in my pocket. What the hell? If I really need a big screen I just use my laptop on which I'm writing this text.
- it is decently priced. I won't cry if it breaks
- too bad indeed that it doesn't have a notification led, but in a few weeks I will get used to it.
So overall I'm quite happy with this one!
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- Don
- 4RI
- 23 Nov 2022
Purchased one of these on eBay (USA) from a Korean seller who has sold a bunch of them. Bought primarily because of the replaceable battery (that most USA smartphones no longer have) and worldwide specs found on other websites that stated VoLTE is a feature for the model SM-G525/f. THE KOREAN VERSION IS NO GOOD FOR MOST NETWORKS IN THE USA because the specs are different - the model number - not disclosed by the sellers - ends in /N (not /f) and in this version the VoLTE feature is not present. Therefore, as USA cellular carriers are discontinuing 2G and 3G networks by the end of 2022 and are requiring compatible phones for 4G to have the VoLTE feature, this phone is not compatible. And that is likely why Samsung does not market it to the USA.
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- Anonymous
- Tm9
- 08 Nov 2022
My dad upgraded to this from original Xcover 4 (2017 version), been saying much more performance, better looking screen, usable with thin gloves.
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- Maurizio
- nMr
- 28 Oct 2022
I bought this phone for removable battery but I am not happy. It's a cat Lte 4 there are not band aggregations The device is bloated. In a enterprise device you can find Netflix !! It's not possible to remove it. For me It's last Samsung smarthone. The next it will be Nokia or Motorola.
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- whoami
- xhm
- 03 Sep 2022
exynos 850? it might enough for a featured phone only, but android? damn, samsung has gone mad🤭
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- thezentix
- n@Y
- 28 Aug 2022
Ive been looking into rugged phones for a while after i saw that the samsung lineup has removeable batteries, dual sim, (with the xcover 5) up to 1tb sdxc expansion and proper bezels, it wasnt very hard to decide what to buy, a store nearby has it available with extra battery and pen ... Im going to pick it up tomorrow.
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- Sin
- 3ag
- 22 Aug 2022
Best Samsung phone I have ever seen
This phone doesn't have any of the fatal flaws of other Samsung phones there mainstream ones
Removable battery
Headphone jack
SD card slot
Rugged
Bezels
Samsung line up of phones should be this phone design from budget too flagship
It's sad this phone is under spec and only get one budget opinion of this
shame there's no 8gb ram opinion of this phone
Most people mostly don't even a good phone does in fact exist like this
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- Papio Sphinx
- ncr
- 01 Aug 2022
I just bought this phone after days of research looking to buy a sturdy or 'rugged' (if you will) device. I looked at the Nokia XR20, Oukitel, Ulefone, Blackview, you name it. My biggest gripe with the smartphone market today is that nearly all devices are over 150mm in length, so if you want a smaller device, this will cut deeply into your options. The same goes for the aux port, about half of the phones produced these last two years have no aux anymore. For me the aux and the compactness both were a serious requirement and I couldn't do with anything else. However much the Nokia XR20 appealed to me, it was just too flipping big. I am a tree worker and I need to have my cellphone with me while climbing, I had a 144mm Samsung (A40) break on me whilst working, so I figured anything much larger would defenitely not hold up. Besides I like to operate my phone with one hand so anything above 150mm will be unwieldy IMHO. I don't use a lot of fancy apps, actually only the basics and Spotify, Whatsapp and Banking. So I wasn't looking for a flagship, yet I have had some phones in the past that were just slow to begin with and I wanted to make sure I didn't end up with that again.
I also wanted at least a decent camera, nothing too fancy, just able to make visible photos and have a acceptable shutter speed. I found out along the way that 'mp' does not mean all that much and 64mp cameras are usually just 16mp cams that cut every pixel in 4 so they can put "64mp" on the box.
Some phones on todays market have huge batteries and this is something that really appealed to me. Finding several phones with 8000mAh or more, I figured I wanted something with at least 5000/6000 mAh. But in the end I realised some phones use up a lot more battery than others and most high capacity devices come with a huge screen that sucks up battery like your grandma does eggs.
So after all this research I went with this Samsung Xcover 5. Because:
-A friend of mine has the Xcover4 and said it was really tough.
-I was already familiar with Samsung and really liked the A40.
-It was a nice size and had aux
-The camera was at least 16mp (but still it might be 4mp x4 for all I knew)
-It was said to be a rugged device and a lot of people confirmed this in their reviews
-I could buy a high end case for it (Spigen Tough Armor Backcover)
-It was affordable but not dirt cheap
I have it for some days now and it really seems like a very nice phone. It has some new cool features that are defenitely better than phones before. For instance I can use spotify songs for the alarm. And there are a ton of options in the settings menu, still it didn't cost me half as much time to take this phone into use. I spent about half a day personalising my previous phone, this one it was more like 20 minutes :D
The thing that most people mention to be kinda annoying is the key on the side to turn on the flashlight. Which is indeed a bit unhandy because it will only work if the screen is on and you easily press it accidentally. But having a good case will prevent you more from pressing it accidentally, plus you can actually customize what the button does completely, so if you hate it you can even turn the button off completely or set it to activate any app.
I usually have a lot of criticism on phones and actually hated smartphones alltogether, used a nokia 130 for about 4 years, untill 3 years ago ( and gone through 3 smartphones since then). But this one actually appeals to me. I hope it stays in production and I will review it after a decent amout of months again.
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- Anonymous
- ncr
- 21 Jul 2022
Anindya , 03 Aug 2021Why Samsung didn't release 6/128 variant of this model... moreYes, they could've made it better in terms of internal hardware, but then it would lean too much towards a desirable phone and people would stop buying new phones because they find no need to replace this one. The phone market is an ugly business, with all models being taken out of production before the test of time proved their quality and more durable devices being deliberately underspecced to keep up the sales of flagship low durability phones. Now as of 2022 compact (previously known as normal size) models are disappearing and even the new xcover is now over 150mm, even though I know no one who wants this. It's pure marketing, nobody wants it, but the illusion is kept up.
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- Organic Cold
- pwH
- 20 Jul 2022
OldSalty, 06 Jul 2022how can anyone let alone a tech giant like samsung make a d... moreFor the price you can’t expect much. This phones are more designed to be used in industrial environments like we use at work running specifics software. For that they are good
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- Nico99S
- 3fC
- 13 Jul 2022
To be honest the worst phone I have ever had, 100%. Not only is it slippery, slow, has massive FPS lag (instagram stories literally lag, has problems loading high quality videos in general), and somehow the keyboard is so awkwardly placed that hitting the wrong letter / symbol happens every time I use it, BUT it also isn't very resistant. I've had it for less than a year, dropped it only a couple of times (nothing too bad) and the screen is cracked in a corner.....come on
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- exp1orer
- 7$6
- 09 Jul 2022
As a user of Xcover 1, 2, 4, 4s and Pro, this XCover 5 has some good and bad points:
The GOOD:
The PLS screen of this smartphone is like AMOLED (compared with my A7 2017). Of course it's not as good as AMOLED but the viewing angle and dark/black shades are near AMOLED level and is better than the IPS of my Pro. The viewing angle is very good compare with my 4 and 4s. The size is a bit taller than 4/4s but this is the smallest/narrowest rugged phone from Samsung, so choice. More efficient in using its RAM than Pro which has the same OS/UI version (A12/UI4.1). It has the 4GB RAM plus, to total RAM is 8GB(?). Auto screen brightness is better than Pro. Using Google MAP as a SatNav is better in this phone than my Pro. The Map does not disorientate when you are at stop or driving in a roundabout, better than the Pro and the 4/4s.
The BAD:
Biggest flaw of this phone is the slippery side. WTF! I was expecting this phone to have a good grip because of the rough side. But to my surprise, my Pro that does not have a rough surface edges grips better than this phone. The XCover key location is always accidentally pressed because of its location when I hold it with my left hand. Samsung designer should have position it a bit higher to avoid accidental pressing. The screen is warm at its base point even if the eye comfort shield is deactivated. the colour temperature of IPS in my Pro wins hands down even against the AMOLED of my A7. Battery can hardly last a day for medium user like me.
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- OldSalty
- IJ0
- 06 Jul 2022
how can anyone let alone a tech giant like samsung make a device with an LCD display in this day and age?
- you have to suffer
- 6cG
- 02 Jul 2022
ZI, 18 May 2022get another 2 batteries and you can change the empty for a ... morewhat if one battery gets swollen?
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- exp1orer
- 7$6
- 25 Jun 2022
ZI, 18 May 2022get another 2 batteries and you can change the empty for a ... morevery bad excuse...just because it has a removable battery people have to accept its weakness...the phone should at least last a day like most of the phones nowadays...
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- Anonymous
- nyH
- 15 Jun 2022
kalatehas, 17 Mar 2022perfect workmans phone
only issue i see is that it'... moreI'd just like to interject for a moment. What you're referring to as Linux, is in fact, GNU/Linux, or as I've recently taken to calling it, GNU plus Linux. Linux is not an operating system unto itself, but rather another free component of a fully functioning GNU system made useful by the GNU corelibs, shell utilities and vital system components comprising a full OS as defined by POSIX.
Many computer users run a modified version of the GNU system every day, without realizing it. Through a peculiar turn of events, the version of GNU which is widely used today is often called "Linux", and many of its users are not aware that it is basically the GNU system, developed by the GNU Project.
There really is a Linux, and these people are using it, but it is just a part of the system they use. Linux is the kernel: the program in the system that allocates the machine's resources to the other programs that you run. The kernel is an essential part of an operating system, but useless by itself; it can only function in the context of a complete operating system. Linux is normally used in combination with the GNU operating system: the whole system is basically GNU with Linux added, or GNU/Linux. All the so-called "Linux" distributions are really distributions of GNU/Linux.
- Z
- ZI
- 8ra
- 18 May 2022
Michal, 20 Apr 2022What is wrong with samsung ? Why they put so small battery ... moreget another 2 batteries and you can change the empty for a full one :))
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- Michal
- A{t
- 20 Apr 2022
What is wrong with samsung ? Why they put so small battery inside a phone advertised for active people ?
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- BigBadSteve
- vuT
- 05 Apr 2022
Sabulikiti, 31 Mar 2022Why can't Samsung cater this kind of phones here in t... moreSabulikiti, I just bought some of the last stock here in Australia. Be consoled in that the screen resolution of this phone is *terrible* by modern cellphone standards. I might well be buying my next phone from the Philippines because this phone is one of the last models by major manufacturers here in Aust., England and the U.S. to have both a 3.5mm (analog) earphone socket and user replaceable battery. More modern USB-C socket only phones *all* have *poor* (Bluetooth *only*) audio quality, limited by the USB-C standard. And the abolition of user replaceable batteries is a planned obsolescence scam plain and simple, since replacing the battery can extend a phone's life by around 5 years, and manufacturer replacement, even when still available, is expensive and can destroy the poorly serviceable (by design) phone. At least in the Philippines 3.5mm audio sockets haven't been abolished, because the Philippines populace can't be scammed for quite as much money as in the other countries I mentioned, since on average they don't have as much. Buy yourself a very high quality impact resistant case for a Philippines phone instead, drop resistance has more to do with the case than the phone.
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- Sabulikiti
- 7Xj
- 31 Mar 2022
Why can't Samsung cater this kind of phones here in the Philippines?