Samsung launches plastic Galaxy S5 LTE-A with Prime specs in Korea

The Samsung Galaxy S5 Prime is finally here – well, sort of. Samsung announced a version of the S5 with all the ultra high-end specs that are rumored to come on the metal Galaxy S5 Prime. The smartphone is not the long-awaited Prime, though. This device is called the Galaxy S5 LTE-A (LTE Advanced, or faster LTE) and it’s for South Korea only. 

Samsung is well known for pushing out several different versions of its flagship smartphones. The Galaxy S4 was reincarnated several times as the S4 Mini, S4 Active, and S4 LTE-A. Now, the Korean smartphone giant is doing the same thing with its latest flagship smartphone. This time around, Samsung is rumored to add yet another version of its flagship to the mix. For months we’ve been hearing about a special, super high-end version of the S5, which is known as the Galaxy S5 Prime or F. This device will reportedly be the first Galaxy S to sport a metal back.

When Samsung announced the Galaxy S5 LTE-A in Korea, many thought that the Prime had finally arrived. Indeed, the LTE-A version features many of the same specs that the S5 Prime is rumored to have.

The LTE-A model comes with the higher resolution, Super AMOLED display with 2560 x 1440 pixels. It also has the faster 2.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 processor and 3GB of RAM onboard. Samsung gave the device the same 16-megapixel camera, 2,800mAh battery, Android 4.4 KitKat, and a IP67 rating, which means it’s water and dust proof (you can put it in a meter of water for 30 minutes). However, the real cherry on top with this already great phone, is Samsung’s promise of LTE speeds of up to 225Mbps.

The LTE-A version may feature the most incredible specs currently available on a smartphone, but it also has the same old plastic and perforated faux leather design as the standard S5. In addition, it will only be available in South Korea, so it could hardly be the S5 Prime we’ve been hearing so much about. Samsung will offer the device in Black, White, Blue, Gold, Pink, and Red.