The Samsung Galaxy S5 and the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 are among the top rated higher end Androids released by Samsung.
While the Samsung Galaxy S5 is rated as a smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 is considered to be related to the tablet category. The Galaxy Note 3 is slightly more economically priced than the Galaxy S5. Both the phones have a lot of appealing features that make them much sought after. The Samsung Galaxy S5 and the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 have been termed as two key flagship phones of Samsung. It may be interesting to note that the Galaxy Note 3 was introduced in the market towards the end of 2013. The Galaxy S5 followed a few months later in early 2014.
Design, Dimensions and Weight
Both the Galaxy phones have a removable plastic rear which gives them a great advantage. However the Galaxy S5 smartphone comprises a dimpled back like most other phones in its series. The Galaxy Note 3 encompasses faux leather back, which renders it a leathery texture.
The Samsung Galaxy S5 is marginally thinner and looks reasonably narrower than the Samsung Galaxy Note 3. It is also heavier than the Galaxy Note 3 by slightly more than 20 grams.
Verdict: The Samsung Galaxy S5 wins over the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 owing to its better manageable size. While you can operate the Galaxy S5 comfortably with one hand, the Galaxy Note 3 requires you to use both hands for its effective operation.
Dust and Water Resistance
The Galaxy S5 smartphone features IP67 certification that provides the phone resistance against dust and water. However, this does not mean that the Galaxy S5 is 100 percent waterproof. On the other hand, the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 does not have this certification.
Verdict: Without doubt, the IP67 certification gives the Galaxy S5 a slightly leading edge over the Samsung Galaxy Note 3.
Stylus
While the Galaxy S5 smartphone does not feature a stylus, the S pen stylus forms an integrated part of the Galaxy Note 3. The stylus can be helpful and useful when you use drawing apps or when you want to write freehand without using the virtual keyboard. The Note 3 encompasses inbuilt handwriting recognition software for this purpose.
Verdict: The Galaxy Note 3 takes the upper hand as far as this hardware feature is concerned and is a good choice over the Galaxy S5 if you do not want to keep typing out messages or want to try out your drawing skills.
Screen Display
The Galaxy S5 portrays a 5.1-inch Super AMOLED display with 1920×1080 pixel resolution and a pixel density of 432ppi. While the display technology and pixel resolution are very much the same in the Samsung Galaxy Note 3, it has a larger screen of size 5.7 inches and lesser pixel density of 386ppi. Both the phones are equipped with Corning’s Gorilla Glass 3 screen covering. Although the Galaxy S5 has a smaller screen, the greater pixel density helps it render better display quality and sharper pictures than the Galaxy Note 3. Colors are also produced better in Samsung Galaxy S5.
Verdict: The Samsung Galaxy S5 ranks a step ahead with its more accurate colors and brighter display rendition, as well as better portraying of details.
Audio
The speakers of the Samsung Galaxy S5 produce slightly louder sound than those of the Samsung Galaxy Note 3. However, with respect to clarity, the Galaxy Note 3 tends to render more audible sounds.
Verdict: The Samsung Galaxy Note 3 wins over the Samsung Galaxy S5 because of its ability to deliver richer and more accurate sound effects.
Camera
The Samsung Galaxy S5 and the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 are both equipped with front-facing and rear-facing cameras. While the Galaxy S5 depicts a 16-megapixel ISOCELL rear-facing camera with a LED flash and 1/2.6-inch sensor, the Galaxy Note 3 uses a 13-megapixel rear-facing camera with LED flash and 1/3.06-inch sensor. Although the photo quality is almost the same in both the phones, the Galaxy S5 offers better capturing of details and low light performance. Another plus point with the Galaxy S5 is its phase detection focus and selective focus capabilities. However the Galaxy Note 3 has some interesting and unique features such as animated photos for creating GIF files and sound & shot so that you can capture some audio to be played along with your video. Apart from their distinctive features, the phones also comprise some really good common features. The front-facing camera functions the same way in both Samsung Galaxy S5 and Samsung Galaxy Note 3.
Verdict: The Samsung Galaxy S5 emerges victorious over the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 with its overall better shooting experience. However, if you would prefer to give importance to taking selfies, the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 might be a better choice.
CPU Processor, Graphics Processor and RAM
The Samsung Galaxy S5 encompasses a Snapdragon 801 CPU with a clocking frequency of 2.5GHz as against the Snapdragon 800 CPU with a clocking frequency of 2.3GHz in the Samsung Galaxy Note 3. Although the CPU processor of the Galaxy S5 is more powerful than that of the Galaxy Note 3, the difference is hardly noticeable when it comes to performance. Thus, both the phones can be considered to be on par in this regard. They also feature the same Adreno 330 graphic processor. The real difference between the two phones is in their inbuilt RAM. While the Samsung Galaxy S5 comprises the standard 2GB RAM, the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 is equipped with an additional 1GB RAM.
Verdict: The Samsung Galaxy Note 3 wins over the Samsung Galaxy S5 with its additional inbuilt RAM.
Internal Memory and RAM
Both Samsung Galaxy S5 and Samsung Galaxy Note 3 are available in two variants of internal memory – 16GB and 32GB. They also offer scope for memory expansion with a memory card. However the memory can be expanded up to 128GB in Galaxy S5 while the Galaxy Note 3 supports memory expansion only up to 64GB.
Verdict: The Samsung Galaxy S5 takes the lead with its ability to support more memory expansion than the Samsung Galaxy Note 3.
Software
The Samsung Galaxy S5 operates on the version 4.4 of the Android OS, while the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 runs on the Android 4.3 operating system. However, there are a few Galaxy Note 3 tablets available that operate on the Android 4.4. Both tablets incorporate the TouchWiz user interface with the TouchWiz UI of Galaxy S5 being a slightly newer version than that of Galaxy Note 3. With TouchWiz UI, both phones offer a standard row of apps at the bottom of their home screens, in addition to providing shortcuts to contacts, Internet, messages and apps.
Verdict: There is no clear winner as far as the software feature is concerned. While the interface appears more appealing in the Galaxy S5, it is more robust in the Galaxy Note 3.
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