I’ve had a love-hate relationship with the Galaxy S5 for 10 years

In my opinion, 2014 was undoubtedly the best year for smartphones; great phones like the HTC One M8, LG G3, and OnePlus One were all launched that year. This week marks the tenth anniversary of the best of the best Android phones of 2014, the Samsung Galaxy S5.

When I first started in tech journalism, I was lucky enough to work in the review department for a few weeks. At the time, I had a love-hate relationship with the Galaxy S5, although I definitely loved it more than I hated it. Let me turn back the time machine and take you back to another era.

Perhaps the most striking thing about booting up the Galaxy S5 for the first time is how Samsung has dialed back its clunky interface in dramatic ways. With its fifth-generation S flagship, the company has taken a more restrained approach to TouchWiz, eschewing fancy bells and whistles that are enabled by default. This is a big deal because Samsung really went a little overboard with the gimmicks and software bloat on the Galaxy S4.

It’s not that I didn’t like TouchWiz at first. I thought the Galaxy S3’s UX, with its green and blue hues and nature-inspired touch sounds, was very cool and unique at launch. But with the release of the S4, I began to despise this user experience, especially because of Samsung’s popularity at the time, everyone kept the phone’s default system sounds and you couldn’t escape those system sounds. Even now it annoys me when I hear those “swishing” ripples of water.

Then there are the extra Galaxy S4 features that come out of the box, like scrolling through pages by tilting the phone or air gestures (think a basic version of the Google Pixel 4 XL Motion Sense). Some of these are still available on the S5, but most are disabled by default. Thank God!

This bloated approach to Android skinning also manifested itself in performance issues, especially in the months and years after the S4’s release. Yes, long-term performance has been a concern for every Android OEM in 2013, but it’s felt more keenly with Touchwiz than with LG and HTC’s skins. So I’m happy to see that the Galaxy S5 makes everything better.

What is my favorite thing about S5? It must be the camera. It’s the first mainstream phone to feature real-time HDR technology, which quickly combines exposures to deliver crisp, clear HDR footage. It sounds like a common feature on modern camera phones, but HDR was still in its infancy at the time. In fact, I remember a few phones after the S5 that still had ghost images or took a while to process HDR images. The Galaxy S5 is probably the first phone I’ve used that I’m happy with having HDR enabled by default.

But that’s not to say its photos are perfect. The Galaxy S5 camera still suffers from Samsung’s over-saturated colors. Highlights are also often overexposed, and noise can be seen in the shadows without needing to zoom in. Still, this was one of the best camera phones of its time, which goes to show how far the industry has come since then.

The Galaxy S5 also stands out for its IP67 rating, making it the first mainstream Galaxy S phone to be water-resistant. I was excited to see this feature at the time, especially after having used the Xperia Z and Motorola Defy series a year or two ago. I could have done without the micro USB port plug, though, as these types of seals wear out over time. The phone also offers microSD card support and a removable battery, making it an attractive option for enthusiasts.

One of the most controversial aspects of the Galaxy S5 is its dimpled plastic back. A lot of people hate it, but I’m mostly indifferent to it. Luckily, the back has a matte-like feel rather than the cheap shiny plastic seen on the Galaxy S4, but somehow I expected something softer or rubbery. This design was also launched when HTC launched a metal back cover and LG launched a leather version of the LG G3. Regardless, the Galaxy S5’s back is an improvement over the S4’s shiny, smooth plastic back.

But the biggest problem with the Galaxy S5 is that the fingerprint scanner is terrible. This is a swipe-based scanner that requires you to swipe down on the home button. I received my device a few months after I reviewed the iPhone 5s, and I think Samsung’s scanner is a huge downgrade in comparison. People forget that Apple set the trend for intuitive fingerprint unlocking, and Android OEMs failed to adequately respond in almost a year. In fact, the HUAWEI Mate 7 I reviewed in early 2015 was the first Android phone I used with a great fingerprint scanner.

This is also the first Galaxy flagship phone to feature a heart rate scanner below the rear camera. The scanner requires you to stand completely still, which isn’t ideal if you’re a runner or cyclist. At launch, the technology is also only available in the S Health app. Even then, I thought that if you really wanted heart rate tracking, a fitness tracker was the way to go.

The Samsung Galaxy S5 is one of the best examples of Samsung listening to its audience, especially audiophiles. With a lighter, more powerful TouchWiz skin, HDR photography as standard, and the triple threat of IP67/removable battery/microSD slot, this is definitely an upgrade from the Galaxy S4. In fact, we think this is the second-best Galaxy S series phone in our Galaxy S series rankings ever.

Still, Samsung’s 2014 flagship phone had its fair share of weaknesses, including a poor fingerprint scanner, a sketchy heart rate monitor, and a design that lagged behind its competitors at the time. But overall, this is an impressive device that shows that Samsung isn’t afraid to embrace everything that makes Android unique.

The Galaxy maker took a very different path with the Galaxy S6, launched in 2015, opting for a premium design and iPhone-like pricing. Unfortunately, this comes at the expense of features like water resistance, microSD card support, wireless charging, and a removable battery. I really wonder what Samsung phones would look like today if Samsung had continued on the path it took with the Galaxy S5 10 years ago.