Now that Samsung’s flagship Galaxy S5 handset has been unveiled, we can well expect to see its family of variants getting a makeover, too.
It appears at least one of those – the smartphone-camera combo Zoom model – may already be close to release following the publication Friday of what’s claimed to be a spec list for the device.
The information, posted online by benchmark site GFXBench, suggests the next iteration of the Zoom will launch with enhancements across the board.
For starters, the camera’s pixel count is said to jump from 16 megapixels to 19 megapixels (5184 x 3888), however, we’ll really want to see the quality of the images from the device before deciding if the pixel increase can be considered an improvement.
There’s no information on whether any changes have been made to its optical zoom. The original model, which launched last summer, was noted for being the first smartphone ever to incorporate a 10x optical zoom, controlled via the ring located around the lens. For more on this, and to see what Les Shu, DT’s photography editor, found when he compared images from the Zoom with those taken by the iPhone 5S, which has a digital zoom, click here.
As for the S5 Zoom’s front shooter, this is listed as 2 megapixels, slightly up from the 1.9-megapixel camera on the S4 Zoom.
We can also expect to see a 4.8-inch 720p display on the new model – still not massive, but a definite improvement on the piddly 4.3-inch offering on the current device.
Said to launch with Android 4.2.2. KitKat, the next Zoom could also feature Samsung’s new Exynos 5 hexa-core processor (a step up from the original’s dual core), which, incidentally, is currently powering the Galaxy Note 3 Neo.
Other under-the-hood details include 2GB of RAM (up from 1.5GB) and 16GB of storage (double the original).
While the suggested specs for the S5 Zoom are a definite improvement on the original model, we’ll have to wait and see if Samsung has made any changes to its physical design. One of the criticisms leveled at the Zoom by DT’s mobile editor Jeffrey Van Camp was that it was simply too big, making it uncomfortable to hold. Of course, with a whopping great lens attached, Samsung designers will have done well to make it less bulky, but they might at least have been able to make the main body a little slimmer.
There’s no official word on when the revamped Zoom might hit stores, though May is being widely suggested as a strong possibility.
